off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ forty four

Jiyeon's favorite part of the day was being able to eat lunch with Hyunjin and Hiroto, on the rooftop of their university. It was the perfect time to talk about all sorts of things, share recipes, catch up on everyone's lives. Today though, she wasn’t quite focused. As her two friends discussed what they were going to do this summer, Jiyeon looked over her shoulder.

Not too far away, Jiwoong was also enjoying his lunch, but he wasn’t alone. A young woman was sitting next to him, talking in an animated way, a big smile on her lips. Jiyeon couldn’t know for sure, but she had a feeling this was Yoon Minah. And judging from the way she looked at him, the way her hand sometimes came to rest on his shoulder, her suspicions were correct. This girl liked him. Her stomach hardening, Jiyeon kept her eyes firmly on them.

"Jiyeon? Jiyeon!" Hyunjin called after her, and she quickly snapped her head in her direction. "Are you listening?"

"Ah, um, sorry, what were you saying?"

Hiroto's eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward. "Why are you staring at Jiwoong?"

He was far too observant sometimes. Jiyeon swallowed the lump in her throat, and attempted to force an innocent smile. She already knew Hiroto would give her a lecture if he were to catch her looking at Jiwoong again.

"I'm not staring," she said, slowly. "I was just wondering who the girl he's talking to was."

Hyunjin took a quick glance towards them, before turning back to Jiyeon. "Oh, that's Yoon Minah. She's in my linguistics class. She's super sweet and funny!"

Ah, of course. It was no surprise. That explained why Jiwoong was happy to spend his lunch break with her. Back when they were dating, he would always come find her, so they could eat together before parting ways again. A bitter taste in her mouth, Jiyeon pursed her lips, and tried to focus back on her meal. Jiwoong could be friends with whoever he wanted.

"Why are you so interested?" Hiroto blurted out, and that managed to get her attention.

"Uh? No, I was just curious."

At her words, Hyunjin chuckled. "Curious? I think that's the wrong word. You're jealous."

That simple word made Jiyeon's blood turn cold. Her eyes wide, she turned to her friend, completely puzzled. Was that the impression she was giving? Of course she wasn’t jealous! Was it so wrong now, to ask questions about people? Jiwoong had probably dated other people after their break up, and that... That didn’t bother her. They were friends now. Nothing more, nothing less. She just wanted to know who he was talking to.

"That's ridiculous," she finally said, shaking her head. "I don’t know why you're saying that. I have no reason to even be jealous."

"Mmh hmm..."

Feeling like her friends weren’t convinced, Jiyeon felt her heartbeat quicken, and the words spilled out of her mouth. "It's just that, yesterday at the pastry shop, he received a call from a woman. I was just wondering if it was the same one, that's all."

But even her explanations hadn’t managed to quell her two friends' doubt. They both looked at her with narrowed eyes, as if trying to read through her expression. Jiyeon furrowed her eyebrows. Seriously, why didn’t they just believe her? She knew how she felt, and she could say without a doubt, she wasn't jealous.

Was the idea that Jiwoong could love someone else upsetting? Yes, a little bit. But not because she wanted him to love her. It was more so because she'd never quite been able to come to terms with the nature of their past relationship. It had all felt so real, then had been revealed to be all fake, only for him to end up saying that he had loved her back then. It was just... Painfully confusing. If he'd never loved her, him dating someone else would mean she was never enough. But if he indeed had had feelings for her... Why didn’t he anymore? What had made his feelings disappear? Jiyeon wanted to know, or else she would end up alone for the rest of her life.