Invisible Pain
Title: Invisible Pain (1/?)
Author: his_angel16
Pairing: Jaejin/Wonbin, onesided!Jaejin/Hongki
Genre: Angst, Romance
Rating: PG
Summary: Jaejin always hid his feelings. When he confessed, he had a chance of changing his words as if he had never spoken them. Now, all he can do is wonder if he had chosen right.
A/N: Hello! ^^ This is my first time posting here. If I've done something wrong, please inform me and I'll fix it! Thanks~.
Chapter One:
Hongki felt someone tugging on his arm, trying to wake him. He rolled over, pinning the person to his bed next to him with a small smile on his lips. Jaejin let out a small squeak of surprise, trying to get Hongki to let him up.
“What’s wrong, Jaejinnie?” the elder asked, his mouth centimeters from the younger’s ear. Jaejin squirmed at the closeness of his hyung, unsure if he should really ask his question.
“H-hyung, I want y-you to help me with s-something,” Jaejin stuttered, his hands grasping Hongki’s arm.
“What do you want help with?” Hongki placed his lips on Jaejin’s neck next to his ear. He chuckled at the squeak the younger let out. “Shhh, Jaejinnie, you’ll wake the others up.”
“C-can we go to a different room, then?”
Without warning, Hongki pushed himself up, rolling off his bed. He hooked an arm under Jaejin’s knees and wrapped the other around his shoulders before lifting him off of the bed. Jaejin clasped his hands over his mouth to keep from squeaking too loudly as Hongki walked with him out the door and down the hallway. He entered the last room possible and closed the door with his foot. Jaejin looked around, the room not being familiar.
“How’s this room?” Hongki set the younger down, smiling at the uncertainty in his eyes. “What do you need help with?”
Jaejin was silent for a moment, trying to gain confidence in front of his hyung. After realizing that he would never be confident in front of the person before him, he closed his eyes, deciding to just say it. “I’m in love with you,” he whispered softly.
“What? I couldn’t hear you, Jaejin.” Hongki took a few steps closer, stopping when he was arms’ distance away. “What’d you say?”
Jaejin bit his lip, his vision blurring as his control was slipping away. He looked at Hongki, trying to mask his feelings. He swallowed before he dared to speak. “I said he’s in love with you.”
“Who is?” Hongki looked down, trying to think of who’d like him. While his eyes were downcast, he didn’t notice the few tears that escaped or Jaejin wiping them away furiously. He didn’t see how pained Jaejin’s expression was as he said the next words.
“It’s Minhwan.” As Hongki slowly looked up, Jaejin had controlled his expression enough to look somewhat okay.
“What…?”
“I said that it’s Minhwan who is in love with you. He told me on our way to school after Seunghyun told us that he likes Jonghun hyung.”
“Seunghyun likes Jonghun?” Hongki smiled. “That’s great! I know that Jonghun likes Seunghyun, too! He told me himself!”
“I’m glad. But how do you feel about Minhwan?” Jaejin braced himself, knowing Hongki liked the younger to some extent or he wouldn’t have crawled into bed with him one night. Jaejin had pretended to sleep as Hongki had passed, daring to peek when he heard Minhwan sigh in contentment.
“Well, he is cute.” Hongki smiled as he stared at Jaejin. “I like Minhwan, too.”
“You do?” Jaejin felt his heart skip a beat, tears burning his eyes. The elder nodded once, confirming his words. “That’s good. Minhwan will be happy.”
“Should I tell him?”
“I think you should. He’d be happy to know the feeling is mutual.”
“I’ll go wake him up and tell him.” Hongki raced out of the room, heading down the hall. Jaejin rushed out of the room, heading for the front door. He slipped on his shoes and dashed out as tears began to fall. He sprinted away from their home, ignoring that it was early morning and that no businesses were open.
“Yah, Minhwan!” Hongki shook the younger eagerly. He smiled as he opened his eyes, staring up at him. “I have something to tell you!” His loud voice woke up Seunghyun and Jonghun, both of them sitting up and yawning.
“What is it, hyung? I want to go back-”
“I like you,” Hongki interrupted.
“What? Y-you like me? But how did you know I…?”
“Jaejin told me.”
“Jaejin hyung told you about my feelings?” Minhwan felt a little angry at Jaejin, something that never happened. He looked up to and respected him, but he felt that Jaejin had betrayed him.
“He asked me if I could help him with something and then he told me that you like me. He asked how I thought of you and it’s the same.” Hongki smiled before placing a kiss against the corner of Minhwan’s lips. He laughed at seeing the younger’s face turn red.
“Speaking of hyung, where is he?” Seunghyun asked.
"Oh, he’s-” Hongki turned, looking back down an empty hallway. “That’s odd. He was just here a minute ago…”
“Maybe he’s in the kitchen,” Jonghun suggested. He threw his comforter off and climbed out of bed, heading to the door. He peered out and inhaled a large breath. “Yah, Jaejin, come here!” No response. He looked over his shoulder before walking through the house to the kitchen. “Jaejin, we-”
“He’s not here?” Seunghyun looked around. “Maybe he’s in the bathroom?”
As they searched the house, they concluded that Jaejin was nowhere to be found. They slumped down onto the couch and chairs in the living room, saddened by the thought of not being able to find their friend.
“Yah, call his phone!” Minhwan blurted. He scrambled to his feet and raced to the bedroom, grabbing his phone and racing back to the others. He hit speed dial and placed the phone to his ear. “Come on, hyung, pick up. Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick-” A phone buzzed. Their eyes zeroed in on the counter, seeing Jaejin’s phone move slightly as it buzzed.
Seunghyun looked over at the window as rain pelted it. He flinched into Jonghun’s side as thunder boomed overhead. “What if Jaejin hyung went outside?”
“He hates thunderstorms, so he wouldn’t go-” Hongki dropped his sentence as his eyes locked on the empty space where Jaejin’s shoes should be. “He went outside…”
Jaejin flinched every time lightning struck or thunder boomed. He didn’t want to stop running, though. He was grateful to the rain for masking his tears since people were starting to come out from their homes. He hurried down the street, finally seeing the building he was heading for. It was a store that was open twenty-four hours. As he ran toward it, a lightning bolt flashed in the sky before him, making him wince and stop to cover his ears. The thunder roared a second later, making him cower. He felt someone’s arm wrap around him.
“Come on, let’s get you inside,” the person said. Jaejin couldn’t decipher the voice, although he knew it was familiar. He allowed the familiar stranger to lead him toward an apartment building, inside, and up to the third floor. As he unlocked his door, he pulled Jaejin inside. “Take off your shoes and go into the bathroom.”
Jaejin looked up, startled to see the man before him. “Wonbin hyung? I thought you left?”
“I did.” He frowned at Jaejin, pointing toward a doorway. “Bathroom is that way. I’ll get you some dry clothes.”
“Thanks, hyung.”
Jaejin watched Wonbin walk down a small hall and disappear into a room. He turned and started down the hallway the elder told him to go down, searching for the bathroom. He spotted it a minute later and stepped inside as lightning crackled, the thunder soon following. He cowered against the wall, crouched in a ball, and covering his ears. He heard Wonbin enter the bathroom, sighing when he saw the younger.
“Shhh, Jaejin. You’re okay.” Wonbin sat down next to the younger, pulling him closer, and wrapping his arms protectively around him. “Some things never change, huh?”
Jaejin shook his head. “I miss you, hyung. You’d always make sure you were right next to me whenever it was about to storm.”
“And whenever lightning flashed, I’d cover your ears to help block out the thunder.” He smiled. “That was one thing I always thought of when it stormed. I couldn’t help but think about who’d be covering your ears in my place…” He laughed. “It makes me a little jealous just thinking about someone else doing that for you. It was my thing, you know?”
Jaejin smiled, closing his eyes. “Yeah, it is your thing. Nobody else had ever done it.” Lightning flashed again, making him wince. He felt hands cover his ears, making the thunder seem less loud. After the thunder stopped, Wonbin removed his hands.
“Do they even know how much you hate storms?”
“Hongki knows.” Jaejin suddenly remembered what happened that made him leave without telling anyone. “Wonbin, Minhwan likes him, too…”
Wonbin looked down at the younger. He noticed Jaejin’s crestfallen expression, his pain overflowing. “Minhwan told him first, didn’t he?”
“I told him that Minhwan liked him. I was hoping that he didn’t like Minhwan back, but he does. I left when he said he was going to tell Minhwan his feelings.”
“You left knowing that it was going to storm?”
Jaejin shook his head, pushing himself away from Wonbin. “I wasn’t paying attention to the weather when I ran out. It wasn’t even raining when I left. It came out of nowhere.” He noticed his vision blurring again. “I tried to tell him, but I didn’t have the courage to. And now he’s with Minhwan…”
“Here, change before you catch a cold and then we’ll talk in the living room.” Wonbin stood, placing the dry clothes on the vanity counter. He turned to leave, but noticed Jaejin wasn’t getting up. “Jaejin, if you catch a cold-”
“I don’t care if I do.” Jaejin closed his eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks. He pulled his knees against his chest, wrapping his arms around them. A sob escaped his lips, him finally being able to cry out his pain. “I still like him a lot, Wonbin. So much that I was crying before I left the house. He never noticed it.”
“You always hid them away. Your feelings were a secret between you and me.”
Another sob escaped Jaejin’s lips. “Yeah, my feelings were always a secret. And look where it got me. Hongki and Minhwan like each other. Jonghun has Seunghyun. I don’t have anyone and there’s nothing that’ll make me stop loving Hongki.”
“Change and we’ll talk in the living room.” Wonbin left the younger to the simple task as he went into his kitchen. He roamed through his cupboards and pulled out a box of instant hot cocoa mix. He fetched two mugs from another cupboard and ran the water until it was steaming. He looked over his shoulder when he heard Jaejin enter the room, his own clothes a little too big for the younger.
“Is that-”
“You’re favorite drink in the world? Yes, it is.” Wonbin stirred the mix into the steaming mugs, finally placing the spoon in the sink. “Shall we sit and talk like old times?”
Jaejin smiled as the memories flooded back. “I’d like that, hyung.”
Wonbin led Jaejin into the living room, setting the two drinks on the coffee table. He sat down on the couch, cross-legged. Jaejin shuffled forward, a little embarrassed that they were still like brothers when it concerned relationship troubles. He sat down next to Wonbin, looking away from the elder’s frown.
“Something wrong, Jaejinnie?”
He shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong, hyung. It’s just been a long time since you’ve comforted me, so it’s difficult again…”
Wonbin chuckled, uncrossing his legs and stretching them out. He rested his feet on the coffee table, pulling Jaejin against his side. “So, tell me about what happened earlier that had you so depressed that you didn’t notice storm clouds rolling in.”
“Hongki hyung said that he likes Minhwan. I tried telling him at first that I liked him, but I couldn’t make myself speak loud enough.” Jaejin buried his face against Wonbin’s chest, his tears seeping through the fabric of the elder’s shirt. “I shot myself in the foot, so to speak.”
“Jaejin, are you absolutely certain that you’ll only love Hongki? I mean, there are thousands of people that roam this planet. Are you sure that you’ll only love Hongki?”
“I don’t know. But right now what I feel for him is too strong, Wonbin. I can’t face the two of them, not when they know the other likes them…”
“Then don’t go back.”
“What?” Jaejin pushed himself up to face the elder, seeing the seriousness of his face. “You want me to…just leave?”
“I was referring to leave the dorms, but you could leave them altogether if you wanted. You wouldn’t need to worry about a place to stay since I’m back in town. And you wouldn’t have to suffer by seeing them every day.”
“I don’t know, Wonbin.” He thought for a moment before turning away. “I hate to ask this, but…can I stay here for a few days? If I face them now, I might not be able to keep myself from having a complete breakdown.”
“Of course you can stay for a little while.” Wonbin smiled. “You need to call them, though. They’re probably worried that you left.”
Jaejin frowned. “I left my phone there.”
“Use the landline. I’ll go make us some breakfast. What do you want?”
“The rice and ramen you always used to make for me whenever I was upset.” Wonbin nodded as he walked into the kitchen. Jaejin reached over the arm of the couch, picking up the phone. He dialed Jonghun’s number, placing the receiver to his ear. “Jonghun hyung, it’s me, Jaejin. I wanted to let you guys know that I’m okay. And that I’ll be staying with a friend of mine for a few days. Bye.”
Jonghun slammed his phone onto the kitchen table, startling the other members of FT Island. They stared at him, awaiting an answer. When he frantically answered his phone, he had sighed in relief that it was Jaejin. Now, they weren’t so sure the news was good.
“So, what’d Jaejin say?” Minhwan asked.
“He’s staying at a friend’s for a few days,” Jonghun replied sharply. Seunghyun rubbed his back.
“So, Jaejin’s not coming home for a while?” he repeated. His bottom lip jutted out as he pouted. “But who’s going to help me with my homework?”
“Did he say who he was staying with? Or why?” Hongki questioned.
“No, he didn’t. All he said was that he’s okay and that he won’t be home for a few days.” He sighed, crossing his arms on the table and laying his head on them. “I wonder what made him run out like that. It’s not like him.”
“I wonder if he likes one of us and was upset after knowing that we all like the person that likes us. He seemed fine, though. After we talked, he actually told me I should tell Minhwan that I like him.”
“Then maybe he likes Jonghun hyung or Seunghyun.” Minhwan looked at the both of them. “They are somewhat cute.”
“Guys, I think I know who he likes…” Hongki’s mind drifted back to the first thing Jaejin whispered. He remembered he hadn’t heard it well enough to make out the sentence. “The first thing Jaejin had said to me was something about someone liking me. But then he said Minhwan likes me. There were way too many syllables in the second sentence than in the first.”
“So, what is it you think he said?”
“He said he likes me.” His eyes widened. “Wait a minute. He said the words in love and not like.” He stared at the younger members of FT Island, his eyes wider than before.
“Jaejin’s in love with you…?”
Author: his_angel16
Pairing: Jaejin/Wonbin, onesided!Jaejin/Hongki
Genre: Angst, Romance
Rating: PG
Summary: Jaejin always hid his feelings. When he confessed, he had a chance of changing his words as if he had never spoken them. Now, all he can do is wonder if he had chosen right.
A/N: Hello! ^^ This is my first time posting here. If I've done something wrong, please inform me and I'll fix it! Thanks~.
Chapter One:
Hongki felt someone tugging on his arm, trying to wake him. He rolled over, pinning the person to his bed next to him with a small smile on his lips. Jaejin let out a small squeak of surprise, trying to get Hongki to let him up.
“What’s wrong, Jaejinnie?” the elder asked, his mouth centimeters from the younger’s ear. Jaejin squirmed at the closeness of his hyung, unsure if he should really ask his question.
“H-hyung, I want y-you to help me with s-something,” Jaejin stuttered, his hands grasping Hongki’s arm.
“What do you want help with?” Hongki placed his lips on Jaejin’s neck next to his ear. He chuckled at the squeak the younger let out. “Shhh, Jaejinnie, you’ll wake the others up.”
“C-can we go to a different room, then?”
Without warning, Hongki pushed himself up, rolling off his bed. He hooked an arm under Jaejin’s knees and wrapped the other around his shoulders before lifting him off of the bed. Jaejin clasped his hands over his mouth to keep from squeaking too loudly as Hongki walked with him out the door and down the hallway. He entered the last room possible and closed the door with his foot. Jaejin looked around, the room not being familiar.
“How’s this room?” Hongki set the younger down, smiling at the uncertainty in his eyes. “What do you need help with?”
Jaejin was silent for a moment, trying to gain confidence in front of his hyung. After realizing that he would never be confident in front of the person before him, he closed his eyes, deciding to just say it. “I’m in love with you,” he whispered softly.
“What? I couldn’t hear you, Jaejin.” Hongki took a few steps closer, stopping when he was arms’ distance away. “What’d you say?”
Jaejin bit his lip, his vision blurring as his control was slipping away. He looked at Hongki, trying to mask his feelings. He swallowed before he dared to speak. “I said he’s in love with you.”
“Who is?” Hongki looked down, trying to think of who’d like him. While his eyes were downcast, he didn’t notice the few tears that escaped or Jaejin wiping them away furiously. He didn’t see how pained Jaejin’s expression was as he said the next words.
“It’s Minhwan.” As Hongki slowly looked up, Jaejin had controlled his expression enough to look somewhat okay.
“What…?”
“I said that it’s Minhwan who is in love with you. He told me on our way to school after Seunghyun told us that he likes Jonghun hyung.”
“Seunghyun likes Jonghun?” Hongki smiled. “That’s great! I know that Jonghun likes Seunghyun, too! He told me himself!”
“I’m glad. But how do you feel about Minhwan?” Jaejin braced himself, knowing Hongki liked the younger to some extent or he wouldn’t have crawled into bed with him one night. Jaejin had pretended to sleep as Hongki had passed, daring to peek when he heard Minhwan sigh in contentment.
“Well, he is cute.” Hongki smiled as he stared at Jaejin. “I like Minhwan, too.”
“You do?” Jaejin felt his heart skip a beat, tears burning his eyes. The elder nodded once, confirming his words. “That’s good. Minhwan will be happy.”
“Should I tell him?”
“I think you should. He’d be happy to know the feeling is mutual.”
“I’ll go wake him up and tell him.” Hongki raced out of the room, heading down the hall. Jaejin rushed out of the room, heading for the front door. He slipped on his shoes and dashed out as tears began to fall. He sprinted away from their home, ignoring that it was early morning and that no businesses were open.
“Yah, Minhwan!” Hongki shook the younger eagerly. He smiled as he opened his eyes, staring up at him. “I have something to tell you!” His loud voice woke up Seunghyun and Jonghun, both of them sitting up and yawning.
“What is it, hyung? I want to go back-”
“I like you,” Hongki interrupted.
“What? Y-you like me? But how did you know I…?”
“Jaejin told me.”
“Jaejin hyung told you about my feelings?” Minhwan felt a little angry at Jaejin, something that never happened. He looked up to and respected him, but he felt that Jaejin had betrayed him.
“He asked me if I could help him with something and then he told me that you like me. He asked how I thought of you and it’s the same.” Hongki smiled before placing a kiss against the corner of Minhwan’s lips. He laughed at seeing the younger’s face turn red.
“Speaking of hyung, where is he?” Seunghyun asked.
"Oh, he’s-” Hongki turned, looking back down an empty hallway. “That’s odd. He was just here a minute ago…”
“Maybe he’s in the kitchen,” Jonghun suggested. He threw his comforter off and climbed out of bed, heading to the door. He peered out and inhaled a large breath. “Yah, Jaejin, come here!” No response. He looked over his shoulder before walking through the house to the kitchen. “Jaejin, we-”
“He’s not here?” Seunghyun looked around. “Maybe he’s in the bathroom?”
As they searched the house, they concluded that Jaejin was nowhere to be found. They slumped down onto the couch and chairs in the living room, saddened by the thought of not being able to find their friend.
“Yah, call his phone!” Minhwan blurted. He scrambled to his feet and raced to the bedroom, grabbing his phone and racing back to the others. He hit speed dial and placed the phone to his ear. “Come on, hyung, pick up. Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick-” A phone buzzed. Their eyes zeroed in on the counter, seeing Jaejin’s phone move slightly as it buzzed.
Seunghyun looked over at the window as rain pelted it. He flinched into Jonghun’s side as thunder boomed overhead. “What if Jaejin hyung went outside?”
“He hates thunderstorms, so he wouldn’t go-” Hongki dropped his sentence as his eyes locked on the empty space where Jaejin’s shoes should be. “He went outside…”
Jaejin flinched every time lightning struck or thunder boomed. He didn’t want to stop running, though. He was grateful to the rain for masking his tears since people were starting to come out from their homes. He hurried down the street, finally seeing the building he was heading for. It was a store that was open twenty-four hours. As he ran toward it, a lightning bolt flashed in the sky before him, making him wince and stop to cover his ears. The thunder roared a second later, making him cower. He felt someone’s arm wrap around him.
“Come on, let’s get you inside,” the person said. Jaejin couldn’t decipher the voice, although he knew it was familiar. He allowed the familiar stranger to lead him toward an apartment building, inside, and up to the third floor. As he unlocked his door, he pulled Jaejin inside. “Take off your shoes and go into the bathroom.”
Jaejin looked up, startled to see the man before him. “Wonbin hyung? I thought you left?”
“I did.” He frowned at Jaejin, pointing toward a doorway. “Bathroom is that way. I’ll get you some dry clothes.”
“Thanks, hyung.”
Jaejin watched Wonbin walk down a small hall and disappear into a room. He turned and started down the hallway the elder told him to go down, searching for the bathroom. He spotted it a minute later and stepped inside as lightning crackled, the thunder soon following. He cowered against the wall, crouched in a ball, and covering his ears. He heard Wonbin enter the bathroom, sighing when he saw the younger.
“Shhh, Jaejin. You’re okay.” Wonbin sat down next to the younger, pulling him closer, and wrapping his arms protectively around him. “Some things never change, huh?”
Jaejin shook his head. “I miss you, hyung. You’d always make sure you were right next to me whenever it was about to storm.”
“And whenever lightning flashed, I’d cover your ears to help block out the thunder.” He smiled. “That was one thing I always thought of when it stormed. I couldn’t help but think about who’d be covering your ears in my place…” He laughed. “It makes me a little jealous just thinking about someone else doing that for you. It was my thing, you know?”
Jaejin smiled, closing his eyes. “Yeah, it is your thing. Nobody else had ever done it.” Lightning flashed again, making him wince. He felt hands cover his ears, making the thunder seem less loud. After the thunder stopped, Wonbin removed his hands.
“Do they even know how much you hate storms?”
“Hongki knows.” Jaejin suddenly remembered what happened that made him leave without telling anyone. “Wonbin, Minhwan likes him, too…”
Wonbin looked down at the younger. He noticed Jaejin’s crestfallen expression, his pain overflowing. “Minhwan told him first, didn’t he?”
“I told him that Minhwan liked him. I was hoping that he didn’t like Minhwan back, but he does. I left when he said he was going to tell Minhwan his feelings.”
“You left knowing that it was going to storm?”
Jaejin shook his head, pushing himself away from Wonbin. “I wasn’t paying attention to the weather when I ran out. It wasn’t even raining when I left. It came out of nowhere.” He noticed his vision blurring again. “I tried to tell him, but I didn’t have the courage to. And now he’s with Minhwan…”
“Here, change before you catch a cold and then we’ll talk in the living room.” Wonbin stood, placing the dry clothes on the vanity counter. He turned to leave, but noticed Jaejin wasn’t getting up. “Jaejin, if you catch a cold-”
“I don’t care if I do.” Jaejin closed his eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks. He pulled his knees against his chest, wrapping his arms around them. A sob escaped his lips, him finally being able to cry out his pain. “I still like him a lot, Wonbin. So much that I was crying before I left the house. He never noticed it.”
“You always hid them away. Your feelings were a secret between you and me.”
Another sob escaped Jaejin’s lips. “Yeah, my feelings were always a secret. And look where it got me. Hongki and Minhwan like each other. Jonghun has Seunghyun. I don’t have anyone and there’s nothing that’ll make me stop loving Hongki.”
“Change and we’ll talk in the living room.” Wonbin left the younger to the simple task as he went into his kitchen. He roamed through his cupboards and pulled out a box of instant hot cocoa mix. He fetched two mugs from another cupboard and ran the water until it was steaming. He looked over his shoulder when he heard Jaejin enter the room, his own clothes a little too big for the younger.
“Is that-”
“You’re favorite drink in the world? Yes, it is.” Wonbin stirred the mix into the steaming mugs, finally placing the spoon in the sink. “Shall we sit and talk like old times?”
Jaejin smiled as the memories flooded back. “I’d like that, hyung.”
Wonbin led Jaejin into the living room, setting the two drinks on the coffee table. He sat down on the couch, cross-legged. Jaejin shuffled forward, a little embarrassed that they were still like brothers when it concerned relationship troubles. He sat down next to Wonbin, looking away from the elder’s frown.
“Something wrong, Jaejinnie?”
He shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong, hyung. It’s just been a long time since you’ve comforted me, so it’s difficult again…”
Wonbin chuckled, uncrossing his legs and stretching them out. He rested his feet on the coffee table, pulling Jaejin against his side. “So, tell me about what happened earlier that had you so depressed that you didn’t notice storm clouds rolling in.”
“Hongki hyung said that he likes Minhwan. I tried telling him at first that I liked him, but I couldn’t make myself speak loud enough.” Jaejin buried his face against Wonbin’s chest, his tears seeping through the fabric of the elder’s shirt. “I shot myself in the foot, so to speak.”
“Jaejin, are you absolutely certain that you’ll only love Hongki? I mean, there are thousands of people that roam this planet. Are you sure that you’ll only love Hongki?”
“I don’t know. But right now what I feel for him is too strong, Wonbin. I can’t face the two of them, not when they know the other likes them…”
“Then don’t go back.”
“What?” Jaejin pushed himself up to face the elder, seeing the seriousness of his face. “You want me to…just leave?”
“I was referring to leave the dorms, but you could leave them altogether if you wanted. You wouldn’t need to worry about a place to stay since I’m back in town. And you wouldn’t have to suffer by seeing them every day.”
“I don’t know, Wonbin.” He thought for a moment before turning away. “I hate to ask this, but…can I stay here for a few days? If I face them now, I might not be able to keep myself from having a complete breakdown.”
“Of course you can stay for a little while.” Wonbin smiled. “You need to call them, though. They’re probably worried that you left.”
Jaejin frowned. “I left my phone there.”
“Use the landline. I’ll go make us some breakfast. What do you want?”
“The rice and ramen you always used to make for me whenever I was upset.” Wonbin nodded as he walked into the kitchen. Jaejin reached over the arm of the couch, picking up the phone. He dialed Jonghun’s number, placing the receiver to his ear. “Jonghun hyung, it’s me, Jaejin. I wanted to let you guys know that I’m okay. And that I’ll be staying with a friend of mine for a few days. Bye.”
Jonghun slammed his phone onto the kitchen table, startling the other members of FT Island. They stared at him, awaiting an answer. When he frantically answered his phone, he had sighed in relief that it was Jaejin. Now, they weren’t so sure the news was good.
“So, what’d Jaejin say?” Minhwan asked.
“He’s staying at a friend’s for a few days,” Jonghun replied sharply. Seunghyun rubbed his back.
“So, Jaejin’s not coming home for a while?” he repeated. His bottom lip jutted out as he pouted. “But who’s going to help me with my homework?”
“Did he say who he was staying with? Or why?” Hongki questioned.
“No, he didn’t. All he said was that he’s okay and that he won’t be home for a few days.” He sighed, crossing his arms on the table and laying his head on them. “I wonder what made him run out like that. It’s not like him.”
“I wonder if he likes one of us and was upset after knowing that we all like the person that likes us. He seemed fine, though. After we talked, he actually told me I should tell Minhwan that I like him.”
“Then maybe he likes Jonghun hyung or Seunghyun.” Minhwan looked at the both of them. “They are somewhat cute.”
“Guys, I think I know who he likes…” Hongki’s mind drifted back to the first thing Jaejin whispered. He remembered he hadn’t heard it well enough to make out the sentence. “The first thing Jaejin had said to me was something about someone liking me. But then he said Minhwan likes me. There were way too many syllables in the second sentence than in the first.”
“So, what is it you think he said?”
“He said he likes me.” His eyes widened. “Wait a minute. He said the words in love and not like.” He stared at the younger members of FT Island, his eyes wider than before.
“Jaejin’s in love with you…?”