the birthday project

still caught in your fish tank

a/n: suggested by  a lovely friend on twitter, but here is the endgame for our favorite high school bad boy and his not-so innocent girlfriend.  in case you are unaware, caught in your fish tank is a story started here on wattpad and the continued in a socmed on twitter. essentially, jaebeom is the school 'bad boy' trying to enjoy life with his girlfriend, when they graduated high school, they took a break as he backpacked asia with his friends because the distance caused some tension in their relationship. they get back together when he returns, and continue their relationship in college... which leads us to now. what happens during and after college?

the idea of high school sweethearts is a very sweet concept. jaebeom gives kudos to those who can stay with their high school love up into adulthood... because it wasn't that easy for him and seulgi. once out of the high school environment, experiencing new things, new sights, meeting new people... you quickly begin to realize that you're not the same person you were in high school.

after graduating high school, jaebeom briefly broke up with his high school sweetheart thanks to long distance, and returning from his summer vacation, they reconciled and got back together. they attend berkeley together, just like her sister sunmi, but jaebeom wasn't happy. he missed his friends... who were back home in los angeles, going to ucla. their second year, he decided to transfer, staying in los angeles while seulgi returned to school upstate. they vowed to give long distance another chance, but this time to take it seriously... but it didn't work. they're not the type of couple that thrive in distance. seulgi needs a very attentive boyfriend, she needs a lack of distance... the complete opposite she was getting from jaebeom, but she endured it because she was in love and she knew who she wanted to be with. but it wasn't fair.

jaebeom was the one who called off the relationship, and seulgi took it hard, and understandably so. jaebeom was so many of her firsts, and unfortunately he was her first heartbreak too. they tried to remain friends, but it was hard for seulgi because the memories of jaebeom as her boyfriend were stronger than jaebeom as a friend. sure, they were friends in high school before dating, but when they started dating, they were a strong couple... and soon she didn't know him as anything other than her boyfriend and love. it was hard to take that image and store it away.

jaebeom hated that... because despite everything, of course he still loved seulgi, but he's more independent and he could put his romantic feelings aside and see her as a friend. he gave her space, it was the only thing he really could do anyway. it worked at first... after all, she went to college upstate so the few times he did see her around town was when she was visiting during semester breaks. but then summer after their graduating college happened...

their friend jackson was throwing a party for his daughter's first birthday. it was wild that they were only 21, and one of them now had a kid. it wasn't planned, but jackson loves children, and he was a great father despite his young age. jaebeom was excited to see seulgi... but that excitement died when she bought along her new boyfriend. it was weird... one because their friendship circle had only knew jaebeom and seulgi together as a couple, so to see one of them with another person... it brought reality to the surface. jaebeom had prided himself on being able to separate his feelings from his friendship, so he was surprised how much it hurt seeing her with someone else. he didn't stay long at the party, he supported jackson, and made sure baby jia received her gift from him before leaving.

he knows its silly for him to be bothered by seulgi dating other people. he dated other girls too... they just didn't compare to what he had with seulgi, which made him afraid to commit. it made him wonder if he ever really separated his romantic feelings for her... and was it selfish of him to pretend like he could still be her friend when he always secretly wanted nothing more than to be hers again? long distance was just so hard. he couldn't sneak over to seulgi's after a long day of work anymore. he couldn't invite her over when his mother and step-father had to work doubles at the hospital, leaving him lonely at home. he didn't have seulgi there to impulsively dye his hair, or to kiss or hug or make love to. he couldn't claim her anymore, and he hated it.