Golden ◂ NCT Jaemin

24 ◂ Seriously

◂ 24 ▸

"I'm really curious to see what she will say."

"What does that even have to do with you?" Seonghwa questioned further.

"I'm just looking out for a friend," Jaemin said which made Seonghwa laugh.

He looked away, exhaled in disbelief. "Friends? Since when? The first time I saw you, you--"

"I told you that it was a misunderstanding," Jie interrupted him as she made a small step into the living room.

Once again, she was dressed in clothes that were too big for her. Her wet hair tinted the light blue of her top a darker shade where its tips touched it. 

"I'll give you your sweater back after I washed it," she told Seonghwa before she walked over to Jaemin and sat down on the sofa next to him. She looked at the younger boy. "Did you two argue?"

Jaemin shook his head. "No."

Which she accepted right away. She leaned back and let her eyes wander over the scene. 

Both boys seemed a little tense, although for different reasons. Seonghwa kept glimpsing at Jaemin and then back at Jie, wondering just how much she heard.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked eventually, looking at Jaemin.

"Actually, it's Seonghwa who has something to say to you," he said. 

After throwing the responsibility over to the other boy, Jaemin leaned back calmly. 

Noticing the tense, awkward atmosphere, Jie attempted to relax the oldest with a smile. It didn't really work though.

"It's about work," he said, then corrected himself, "Or, rather why I work there."

Once she understood, Jie quickly nodded. "Ah, you mean because you've been watching me?" she asked, looked at Jaemin. "That's what you wanted to talk about?" 

The younger of the boys watched her in confusion while she already looked back at Seonghwa who couldn't hide his surprise. 

He glimpsed from her to him and back to her. "You knew?" 

"You weren't exactly subtle," Jie noted with an awkward grimace. 

Which made Jaemin laugh. Jie carefully hit his side with her arm, making him cover his mouth with his hand as he quickly calmed down.

"Be quiet," she whispered warningly. 

"Sorry, my bad-" Jaemin replied hurriedly. He cleared his throat, went back to an unbothered expression.

Meanwhile, Seonghwa couldn't help but stare at her in shock. "What do you mean?"

"Well," she mumbled. Her eyes wandered up to the ceiling, gaze getting lost in its empty white as she tried to remember what made her suspicious. "You followed me around a lot, you stared at me. You secretly called someone whenever you thought you were out of my sight. You asked a lot of personal stuff too." 

"Maybe he was just trying to flirt," Jaemin noted. 

Jie frowned. "That would be even worse." 

Jaemin chuckled but quickly stopped when Jie carefully elbowed him again after Seonghwa threw a glare at him. 

"Sorry," Jaemin said through a cough. 

"Then... you know who I am?" he asked. 

Jie nodded. "Seonghwa from ATEEZ. Hongjoong's right hand. You nearly got injured alongside him too but ended up unharmed."