betwixt - enhypen

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧: 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

"do you know where jay is?"

the unknown man didn't introduce himself, and joori pointed to his bedroom, where jay had left for a few hours prior, telling joori to stay as long as she wanted to.

hearing the commotion, jay stepped outside of his room to investigate, being just as shocked as joori to see someone he didn't know would be in his kitchen.

"dad." joori could feel jay's demeanour change, and the cool guy image slip. she wished she could do something to help because she imagined jay was currently being put in a horrible situation.

"son." his dad's voice was commanding, and joori tried to get back to studying wherever she had left off, not knowing what was about to happen and not wanting to be a part of the conversation.

"why are you here? shouldn't you be off somewhere else like you always are?" the bitterness in jay's voice allowed the already tense atmosphere to solidify; if the calmness could be seen it would be but a dangling thread wobbling with every exhale.

"my business is none of yours. trust is an important part of any relationship, which brings me to why i'm here.."

mr park stood at the kitchen counter with his hands shaped in fists pounding against the top, watching jay who stood in front of the sofa across the room. mr park didn't need to shout for jay to hear him, but he did so anyway.

"..you should know why i'm here jay. you gave me a reason for concern. i trusted you to do well at school, and look at you. you know.." he paused for a second, asking himself how vague he should be "..the deal". he nodded in jay's direction, who had his head down. 

what deal? joori asked herself. what was jay hiding from her?

"of course," the words dripped from jay's lips like butter, smooth and easy, as if he had said it a hundred times before.

"so," mr park settled down on the couch. "are you going to tell me why you've got a random girl in your front room? or is that something else you've been hiding from me?"

after making a warm cup of coffee for his dad, and sitting down next to joori (helping her pack her things to make room), jay introduced her.

"dad, this is joori, my friend."

joori felt something warm and fuzzy when jay said that word; it had been a while since she had been introduced to someone, and it meant something that jay would acknowledge her as more than just a classmate.

"and joori, this is my dad, as i'm guessing you've already figured out."

she nodded. if not for their outburst, the striking similarity between the two would clearly display their similar genes. joori wasn't sure how to greet the man that was now sitting on the other side of jay, settling on a loose two-handed handshake coupled with the lowest bow she could perform without getting up.

no one wanted to break the ice, joori was considering going home but she didn't want to bow down to this man who had created such a stir, plus, she didn't want to go home, and even more so, she didn't want to leave jay alone.

if their argument was an abridged version of the relationship between jay and his dad, joori wanted to step in and stop it altogether. however, as much as she resented the person she was sitting near, it wasn't her place. 

jay put on a film, and cuddled into joori, whispering in her ear that he was sorry over and over again. she didn't reply, instead she just rested her head on his shoulder. joori would have felt sorry for anyone in that situation, much less jay.

not even a half hour into the film, jay's dad excused himself and left, and jay paused the tv.

"are you okay jay?"