[✔] lightbulb » lee taeyong & na jaemin

ch. 29

balter: to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill but usually with enjoyment

» author's pov »

ara's eyes showed up first, then her head, from behind the door. she had seen miyeon storming out, not even saying goodbye to her mom or her. shocked, she stood gaping. she quickly shook it off and thought about how jaemin must've been doing—or, rather, what he did to her. she had snuck up the stairs, tip-toeing to make sure jaemin wouldn't hear her enter.

she peeked in to see jaemin with his face in his hands, shaking. she sucked in a sharp breath. she fully came out from behind the door.

"nana...?" she whispered, trying to get his attention. he didn't respond, not even showing that he heard her in any way. she walked in, sitting beside him. "jaemin, i'm here." she began to wrap her arms around him, but he flinched and pulled out of her embrace. it was the first response she got from him.

"you- i..." he murmured weakly, staring down at his hands as if frightened of himself. ara was confused.

"jaemin, i'll always be there for you, no matter what you do or did." she wrapped her arms stubbornly against him and put her head on his shoulder.

he let out a bitter laugh and shook her off. "not if you knew all the things i did."

"i would, despite everything." she cupped his face with a hand, and he stared at her, his eyes shiny. she stared back, not even blinking, but she quickly looked away towards the window.

"hmm..." a smile crept onto her face. "let's go outside."

"it's- it's raining?" jaemin said, confused and surprised that she ignored the ominous atmosphere.

"exactly."

ara stood up and grabbed jaemin's hands with the both of hers, dragging him outside her room.

"but i don't want to," jaemin said, sounding petulant while pouting. despite how he was acting, his eyes betrayed his sadness.

"jaemin, you need it." look at yourself, right now, she wanted to add. jaemin sighed but followed along obediently.

her mom was already inside her room, watching sappy k-dramas at full volume. she could hear the cheesy lines: "but i thought you liked her!" and "no! i loved you, this whole time!" and all while it was raining softly. by the sounds of it, she could tell a kiss scene was coming. "bye, mom, we're going outside!" ara shouted to make sure her mom heard her.

"get back her, young lady, it's raining!" her mom shouted right back. just like in the drama!, she wanted to tease.

"please?" ara begged while shouting.

"i love...you," she could hear the actors whispering with soft, piano music playing. she cringed and shared a look with jaemin, who was giggling silently.

her mom, distracted by the kiss scene happening, waved her on, forgetting everything she just said. "yeah, yeah, be back quickly."

ara and jaemin grinned, rushing to the door. she grabbed two raincoats out of the closet beside the door, and threw one at jaemin. they both wore their boots and raincoats quickly and went outside. they stood under the patio, watching the rain. it was raining a bit more than just sprinkling.

"did you really time it so that it would be during the kiss scene?" jaemin pulled up the hoodie of the raincoat.

"uh—yes!" ara let out a laugh. "she's watched this k-drama so many times and she still gets all brain-numb at the kiss scene! and that's the best time to ask for things!"

jaemin laughed. "you evil girl. what would people say, knowing that you're taking advantage of your mom like that?"

"nothing, because i'm so cute." ara poked her cheeks and pouted. jaemin rolled his eyes, but blushed, looking away. "anyways, the reason i brought you out here was so that you could have some fun!"

confidently, she grabbed one of his hands and dragged him out to the driveway, where they were hit by rain from everywhere.

she threw off her hoodie and looked up, throwing the both of her hands up. "rain, rain, rain!" her hair got wet, and she could just hear her mom scolding her, saying, you're going to get a cold!

jaemin just stood there awkwardly, fidgeting and watching ara.

"c'mon, prince! may i have this dance with you, kind sir?" she curtsied and offered a hand. she looked up at him, smirking.

jaemin raised his eyebrows. "so now i'm the prince from your story?"

"of course, you are! now let's enjoy this night!" the rain was gentle enough to be soothing, but not too weak either. it had a nice, repetitive sound, which made it easy to sleep to.

"alright, princess," jaemin said with a flirting tone. ara blushed, but grabbed his hands nonetheless. he spun her around and she feel against him, with his arms supporting her weight. she laughed.

"jaemin! i didn't know you were so good at this!"

he continued to lead the dance. "well, you seem to be having fun."

she frowned. "of course, i am. aren't you?"

he smiled. "of course, i am, princess."

they continued to spin and twirl and dance, splashing into puddles and laughing. jaemin relaxed as he saw ara's grin and cheerful dances.

dancing in the rain, they did, until midnight.

drip, drop.

ara just had to ignore the guilt still persisting in his eyes.