His Little Butterfly

19 - Naïve

The call from Jin came while Yuna was still at Aliya's place.  The minute she answered his call, he could tell that something is off with her tone of voice. She asked him to call her back in thirty minutes since she was about to leave her friend's house. 

Aliya gives her a tight hug before she left. 

"Like what I always remind you, be confident. I know you two will be able to sort things out, don't worry." Were her parting words to her. Yuna nods her head but deep inside, there were so many things bothering her. Her confidence has sunk somewhere in the abyss inside herself. 

"How did your meeting go?" Yuna asks Jin when he video calls her later on that night. She was already in her pajamas and was all set for bed, and so was Jin. In fact, he was already in bed. She tried her best to make her voice sound cheerful to mask how she was really feeling.  

"It turned out good. The client will be signing the contract tomorrow." Jin paused. "Anyway, I saw Irene at the restaurant and I told her about us. She was so excited that she wanted to meet us for lunch tomorrow."

"I know. She called me." Yuna replies trying her best not to sound sarcastic. She then decides to tell him what she was feeling. It's best to let him know right away, as her friend, Aliya has said. She didn't want to go to bed with this negative emotion.  "She also told me about lunch tomorrow. Can I be honest with you about something?"

Jin immediately makes his own conclusion about what she was about to say.

"You don't want to go and you don't like the fact that I said yes we'll meet her without asking you first?" 

Yuna could see his frown as he asked her that. He looks different from his regular charming, and good-humored self. They are bound to see each other's personality and moods as their relationship goes along, Yuna thought, so she continues speaking.

"It's not that I don't want to go. The thing is, I didn't like the fact that I had to learn it from her. You said it yourself, you decided without asking me. Next time, please ask me first. It makes me feel like my opinion doesn't matter to you at all. What if I can't make it because I'm busy? What would she think if I suddenly do not show up? That I am trying to avoid her because she was your ex?" 

"She won't think of anything like that at all, Irene is different." 

Jin answers almost immediately. He sounded so confident with his answer which struck Yuna in a wrong way. She takes a deep breath and tried to hold it in. But no, she shouldn't, she told herself. He needs to know what she's feeling. They're in a relationship and it's not good to keep what she's feeling to herself. Her mouth is already muzzled from voicing her opinion and feelings with her own family, she didn't want that to be the case with her relationship with Jin.

"You sound so sure that she isn't, huh? Of course, there is the fact that you've known her for a long time and you were in a relationship too." 

That wasn't what Yuna was planning to say but it was what came out of her mouth. She couldn't take her words back so she decided to stick with it even if the frown that Jin had grew deeper.  

"Yuna, I don't like how that sounded. Yes, I know her well and we used to be in a relationship, everyone knows that especially you. What's with your tone? Look, if you won't want to meet Irene tomorrow, then we won't. I can call her right now and cancel it." 

"Don't do that, no need, because we are meeting her tomorrow. I am just annoyed over the fact that you didn't tell me right away and I had to hear it from her. That's all. I am sorry if I am being too sensitive about this topic. I should've considered that you're still busy or could've been with your family. The way she sounded when she spoke with me is that you two had a long conversation so that means you actually had  spare time and you spent it all with her. You forgot to text me in between that." Now that is what she wanted to say earlier. Yuna has a lot of insecurities which she thought she had overcome. They resurfaced when she entered this relationship with Jin. 

"Are you jealous of Irene? You don't have any reason to be. You know the reason why we broke up, you were once close to her." Jin explains to her.

Yuna shakes her head.

"I'm not jealous at all. Ok, maybe just a little. The two of you hit it off really well. You knew each other since you were kids. Maybe I know too much about your relationship which is why I am acting this way. Never mind, just forget about everything that I said. I am sorry for being too sensitive."

"Yuna wait, I didn't say anything about you being too sensitive.  Aren't you even going to listen to what I have to say?" Jin asks her. He never thought that she'd be feeling this way. It never occurred to him that she will be upset over this but then again, she has the right to feel that way too. He got carried away with his happiness from closing the deal before he saw Irene who he haven't seen in a long time. When he told her that he was dating Yuna, their conversation got longer. Then he found his brother had waited for him because he needed a ride after drinking more than he should so he had to drive him home. Texting or calling Yuna slipped out of his mind. He tends to get too focused when it comes to work.

"I am sorry Yuna, I am at fault too. I should've asked you first. So many things happened after that meeting with the client. I am not even going to justify my actions." Jin tells Yuna.

"You know what, let's just call it a night. Maybe we're just both tired and we need to rest. We'll both make sense out of this tomorrow." Yuna replies. 

"Are you sure that's what you want? Are you ok now? You're not mad at me?" His questions fire non-stop. He wanted to know what she was feeling because looking at her at his screen, it's hard to tell.

"Go to bed Jin. Goodnight." Yuna replies. He seems hesitant as he said goodnight back before they hang up. The truth was she felt ashamed because she felt she overreacted. She never wanted to be the oversensitive girlfriend but what she demonstrated earlier felt like she is exactly that. She and Jin are both adults and are professionals in their careers. She should expect him to be busy with his job at times so he won't have time for her. What was she thinking? 

Yuna hated herself for acting the way she did earlier. She's been tossing and turning in her bed but sleep wouldn't come yet. It's been barely a week since their relationship started and they're having this problem now. She admits she is causing the problem. She's starting to think too little of herself. Having grown up alone at most times under the care of different nannies, attending camps on summer breaks, and having no permanent friends until she got to high school, made her naïve about dealing with emotions. 

Being a team player in sports and in academics is way different from dealing with people she cares for. If Aliya wasn't very patient with her, she could've lost her one and only friend back then. She may have improved her social skills now but being in a relationship is a different turf for her she still needs to have a grasp on. She will apologize to Jin tomorrow, she promised herself. She wanted to call Aliya and ask for her opinion, but it was late. She didn't want to bother her even if she was off from work. 

Her phone rings and she immediately gets up. She felt her heart freeze when she sees Jin calling her.

"Hello?" She answers, her voice sounding a bit raspy she had to clear it.

"I'm sorry if I woke you, but can you open your door?" Jin tells her before she hears her doorbell ring.