Always You

1

Jaehyun 

"Jae," I hear someone call my name as I walk into school, my book clutched tightly against my chest.

"Jae," the voice calls again, and I let out an annoyed growl, knowing exactly who it is. I try to ignore him, pulling my hoodie over my head as a feeble disguise. But, of course, I end up colliding with the very person I wanted to avoid. I sigh and look up.

"Didn't you hear me calling you, idiot?" he says with a straight face. I mutter to myself, "Why do you do this to me, Jongin?" Holding my books close, I silently plead for my heart to stop racing.

"What's up with you? You've been acting so weird lately," he says softly, but I remain silent, staring at the ground.

"You ignored me all summer," he adds. I raise my gaze to meet his eyes.

"I had to study and work all summer. Why does it matter, Jongin?" I huff in frustration.

"Because I'm your best friend, and you should be hanging out with me. That's why," he says sternly, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Best friend," I murmur to myself. Jongin, aka Kai, has been my best friend since forever. We practically grew up together, and everything would have been amazing if it weren't for last summer. That's when I realized how much I had grown and how much I had been in denial about being in love with him. My heart has always been uncontrollable when it comes to Kai, but I never truly acknowledged it. Until he went on a date...

"Baby!" I hear a loud screech from behind me, bringing me back to reality. Kai looks behind me, and a smile forms on his face.

"Hey," he says, heading toward her. My heart sinks slowly to the pit of my stomach. During the summer, he went on a date with a girl who's extremely popular at school. He told me on the first day of summer, filled with excitement about his date with Rose, and just like that, they fell in love.

"JAEJAE!" I feel someone hug me from behind.

"I had so much fun studying and working together during the summer," I hear excitement in his voice, and I know exactly who it is.

"You spent your summer with him?" Jongin says, annoyed, but Rose pulls him back toward her.

"Why would it matter if she did or didn't?" The figure smirks at Jongin.

"Why are you even hanging out with Jimin?" Jongin fixes his eyes on me, but Jimin pulls me toward him.

"Because she's mine," Jimin says, his voice dripping with seduction as he looks into my eyes. I feel my cheeks turn red. This can't be happening.

"What?" Kai hisses. "She wouldn't," he adds. I glance at Rose, who looks annoyed. I tug on Jimin's shirt, indicating that we should leave before things get out of hand.

"Let me take you to class. See you around," Jimin waves before leading us away from the situation. I exhale slowly. That was a close call.

"I don't see what he sees in her," Jimin mumbles to himself as we reach my locker. I put my bag inside and take out my books. I let out a sigh.

"Why does he hate you so much?" I ask Jimin, looking at him while he focuses on the people passing by. I never understood why Kai disliked him so intensely. I also didn't realize we worked at the same place during the summer. He made it bearable to work there.

"Because I'm in love with his best friend, and you know, he gets protective at times. Can't blame him," he says with a smile, and I stare at him, shocked. He just laughs.

"What?" I stammer.

"JIMIN! Let's go, dude."

"I'll see you after school at work. I can't wait," he says. I'm left dumbfounded, wondering what just happened.

"Ooo, someone is getting cozy with Jimin," I snap back to reality to see Kyungsoo wiggling his eyebrows at me. I shake my head.

"I wonder what happened between you two?" he says mischievously.

"Nothing has," I whine. He chuckles.

"Yeah, well, whatever it is, Jongin is not too pleased," he mentions, looking toward Jongin. I can tell he's frustrated.

"Ya, Kyungsoo, why does he hate Jimin so much?" I ask him, and he stops in his tracks.

"Ah, you've got much to learn, little Jae," he smiles, patting my head. What is that supposed to mean? I follow Kyungsoo into class, where I spot Jongin with Rose right next to him. His gaze falls on me, and I smile before taking a seat next to Kyungsoo. Why am I feeling so nervous right now?

"Ya, you're usually next to Jongin. Why are you next to me?" Kyungsoo teases, and I beg him to let me sit next to him.

Kai/Jongin

You know what is utter BS? When you come to school wanting to talk to your best friend about the best summer you could ever have, and she's been ignoring you not only the whole summer but also on the first day of school. What is this? I watch her walk into class, straight past me, and head toward Kyungsoo. I honestly don't know what to do. I stare at her, but she shrugs me off.

"Babe, are you alright?" Rose asks as we head to the cafe for lunch. She completely ignored me. She didn't want anything to do with me. I even tried to join her group for the project, but all the spots were taken.

"I'm fine," I sigh. She grabs my face with her hands and looks directly into my eyes, and everything feels a little lighter.

"You're so beautiful," I murmur, and she smiles shyly. I give her a peck.

"Gosh, get a room! My eyes are burning from this shit," I snap back to reality as I see my friends standing behind us, looking disgusted.

"You're just jealous that my girlfriend is hot," I reply.

"Yeah, if you don't have standards," Kyungsoo retorts, and I shake my head at his comment.

"Jae, sit next to me," he says, patting the spare chair beside him.

"There's no room for her. She's going to have to eat alone unless, of course, she's either dating one of the members or is an EXO member," Rose states.

"It's always been like that. Everyone knows that, or if you have 'The Rose,'" she continues, emphasizing the words.

'The Rose' is something we made when we were younger, but as we got into high school, we took it more seriously. It's given to your true love; someone you see your future with. Only one person has given their rose away, and that was Lay. He's practically getting married next year after we graduate.

"Otherwise, scoot," she speaks sternly. I look around the table and see everyone annoyed

"She's a member of EXO," Xiumin speaks up. "And she's also my cousin, so it's an automatic thing. Kai hasn't given you the rose," Rose stands there shocked.

"I am his Rose, duh. So based on the rules, I'm ahead of your cousin, aka Jaehyung," Rose replies with a smile.

"Well, I'm eating with you regardless," Xiumin stands up with Jae. "Let's go."

"Wait for me," Kyungsoo says before following them, and one by one, they all follow Jaehyung.

"What's with her? She's not even anything," I hear Rose say. "At least we have the booth to ourselves, my love," she kisses me. How is someone this beautiful? I smile to myself. The day seems to drag on forever. Jae didn't speak to me the entire day, and I'm annoyed with her. She spent her summer with Jimin, too.

"Thanks, baby," I say, stopping my train of thought. I look at Rose and give her a smile before she gets out of my car.

"Same time tomorrow?" I ask, and she nods. I honk the horn before leaving her driveway. My thoughts drift back to Jae. Why does it bother me so much that she's hanging out with another guy? She's always spending time together with Kyungsoo and others, but why Jimin? Are Jae and I drifting apart? Is she replacing me? That can't be true. After I arrive at my house, I notice Jaehyun.

"JAE!" I shout, and she looks at me before turning away. How dare she do that? What the hell did I do?