you again | nct doyoung & jaehyun

7

you were standing with your back pressed against the wall beside the door, your things clutched to your chest.

on the other side of the door was your ex lover. you're not used to calling him by his name. you've always called him "babe" or "love" or whatever names you called each other.

act normal. you tell yourself.

you take a deep breath, put your hand on the door handle, and hope he couldn't hear your heart beating so loud.

"hi! didn't expect you to be so early, sorry i was just finishing up with something." you say, trying so hard to maintain eye contact so he'd think you're acting like how you usually are.

jaehyun wonders how you're acting so normal now compared to when you last saw each other.

ah, probably cause she doesn't give a shit about me now. he thought.

"i was expecting traffic so i left a little earlier." jaehyun says.

damn that doyoung guy, took the pastries i was supposed to give her.

you notice doyoung's stuff at the table.
"oh doyoung was here already?" you speak casually.

"y-yeah. just got drinks i think." jaehyun's ears were starting to get red.

you wish you didn't see it. you wished you never knew what his red ears meant. you used to love that so much about him.

when you two first started dating you noticed his ears turning red after your kisses. it was the most adorable thing you'd ever seen. such a big guy with such a cute trait, you couldn't help but fall deeper in love.

eventually that went away. his ears didn't convey his true feelings anymore. no, it was more like they conveyed his true feelings best. that he'd fallen out of love with you.

so how come your ears are turning red this time? i hate it.

"hello~" doyoung comes in. two drinks in hand while he used his back to push the door open.

"here." he gives you your drink first. as expected of doyoung. he knows your drink, and will always make sure to get you one.

he gives jaehyun his drink with a smile.

god that's some bitter ass coffee. jaehyun thought after taking a sip.

"are we not waiting for anyone else?" you ask jaehyun as you were opening your laptop.

"no, just me this time around. taeyong's sick so he didn't come in." he answers.

"oh i hope he recovers soon." doyoung says.

ass. why are you being nice in front of y/n. i didn't know she likes nerds.
"yeah i'll check on him after this." jaehyun says with a smile.

"well i'll get started then." you say.

damn it. i can't believe this guy actually made really good designs. jaehyun thought as y/n was presenting their pitch.

"so waddaya think?" y/n asks jaehyun.

you cheerfully look at doyoung. happy that he did such a good job.

jaehyun wanted to say something about it but it was good. he started rubbing his temples in frustration.

"it's good. really great." jaehyun says.

"you okay?" doyoung asks.

"no...i mean yes!" jaehyun switches his mood.

you and doyoung give him a confused look.
"it was great." jaehyun says again. "we'll have to look for a printing studio for the collaterals."

"done." you say.

"huh?"

"oh i'm already in contact with one. you just have to approve the individual designs so doyoung can prepare the final artwork then send over write-ups." you say.

"oh, seems like you got this all figured out already." jaehyun smiles at you, and your heart skipped a beat.

stupid heart. you like doyoung remember!

"well...that's our job." you say.

the meeting ends and doyoung offers to accompany jaehyun to the lobby. you were supposed to do it as courtesy, but doyoung beat you to it.

"the account executive is the one who usually does this. you're a very proactive graphic designer huh?" jaehyun jokes to doyoung.

"yeah, i like to go above and beyond." doyoung responds.

jaehyun lets out a fake laugh.

"you're very professional. i hope we can keep it that way." doyoung says with a friendly smile on his face.

"ofcourse." jaehyun says. the atmosphere is heavy.

for someone who looks so meek he's surprisingly straight forward.

the elevator reaches the ground floor.

"we'll see each other soon." jaehyun takes out his hand first and doyoung grabs it in response.

the two gentlemen shake hands. doyoung tightens his grip but jaehyun retaliates.

both of them displaying a fake smile. neither of them are letting go.

"jaehyun!" you call out to them. you see them gripping each other's hands.

they both look at you in shock and let go at the same time.

"uhm, you forgot this." you hand him his wallet.

"oh shit, must've fallen out of my pocket." you see his ears turn red again. you know why but you kept denying it to yourself.

"did you look inside?" he asks you.

"n-no it was just in your seat." you lie. it was near the  door of the conference room where you had your meeting.

because you did open it to find out who it belonged to and you saw a picture of yourself from over 2 years ago. smiling from ear to ear.

god jaehyun. why is this here?