[✔] lightbulb » lee taeyong & na jaemin

ch. 41

splendiferous: having great beauty and splendor

» kwan ara's pov // present »

again, taeyong was arguing with me. was it just me, or was i getting braver? i could call it arguing now, instead of him just yelling at me. i internally smirked at the thought.

"you're being unfair!" i shouted.

"i'm grounding you and it's final," he said.

"you're not my mom, for god's sake! taeyong, i fucking took you in, so if anyone has the right to ground anybody in this house, it's me."

his eyes darkened. "don't push my limits just because i haven't hit you yet."

"hah!" i laughed. "you're just scared of what i might tell miyeon. besides, how come i can't hang out with jaemin?" this was the main reason of our fight. he didn't want me around 'other men' anymore.

"you're being selfish, ara. you can't lead the guy on like that. don't just think about yourself." he said everything calmly, but my heart was pounding in my ears.

those words were like cold water in the face right in the morning.

"oh..." i murmured. "lead him on...?" did i lead him on? i admit, he was the only guy i was physically affectionate with, including taeyong. but that was just because we were so close.

only then, did i remember that he had confessed to me once. it was such a short, unmemorable part of my life because i had just gotten with taeyong at the time. but now, i realized that jaemin must've hated me, or taeyong, or both. how could he still be my friend after i rejected him so harshly?

"you know, he still likes you," taeyong said, to add more fuel to the fire. he could tell it was getting to me.

"that's not true...and besides–"

"--you're dating me. have been for a couple years now. so listen to your boyfriend and stop leading him on by hanging out with him and being affectionate. that's for me only. if you do that with him, you're probably cheating on me."

i was speechless. one, i didn't like jaemin. two, i could be affectionate however i want. three, i was too loyal to cheat.

"i'm glad you agree," he said to my silence. "now, goodnight." he went into his room and closed the door.

"i wouldn't lead him on," i protested to the air. "i don't even like him."

——

» na jaemin's pov // present »

i could not–would not–wait for ara anymore. how could i continue to love her if all she did was hurt me, lead me on? if i knew, at the end of the day, she would go home to taeyong?

so i decided to go see cho miyeon, my second love.

i showed up to her house with flowers and a nice outfit on. it was extremely cliché, but the miyeon i knew loved clichés.