Stray Kids POVs (collection)

Honesty - Jeongin (2)

You feel unexpectedly nervous when you rang the doorbell from your previous home. Your brother still lives with your parents together. You would too if you weren't married. Your parents are not home much and sometimes it felt like you two lived together instead of the whole family.

The strange accusation from a few days ago still confuses you. You wish he could have finished his sentence. It seems to be the biggest problem he has with you. And you really want to solve this and get your brother back like before.

You flinch a little bit when he suddenly opens the door. He blinks surprised before he shakes his head.

"What do you want?"

"An explanation." You cross your arms in front of your chest. "You haven't finish it last time."

"I'm too tired for your acting, really." He sighs and you huff annoyed.

"Maybe you won't believe me, but I'm not acting." You explain and can't quite suppress the sarcastic tone. He eyes you for minutes and you are ready to push him aside and just walk in. But then he steps away and makes way for you.

"Fine." He says dramatically. "I believe you for the moment."

You enter the house before he can change his mind. You follow him to the dining room, sitting down towards him.

"So, what were you talking about?" You ask as soon as you meet his gaze, still nervously about what will happen now.

"You really don't know?" He asks, keeping his eyes on you to notice if you would lie, but you shake your head.

"Please, explain it to me. You haven't talked to me for months and I thought it was because I had to marry your best friend."

"Well, this is a part of the reason." He answers and lean back, still suspicious about your innocence.

"And what is the full reason?" You shrug your shoulders to demonstrate that you don't understand it. "I mean, how am I supposed to know it? You are my little brother, but I can't read your mind."

He smiles a little. "Sometimes I thought you could do this."

"Well, obviously not. At least not this time."

He sighs again. "Fine. Before I explain it, you need to answer my question."

"Yeah, of course."

"How long have you known about the forced marriage between you and Jeongin?"

You know it instantly and don't need to think back. "It was a few hours before they have told it during dinner."

"Why haven't you told us before? I mean, a little warning would have been nice for both of us. Especially for Jeongin."

You feel attacked by his words and lean back in your chair, frowning. "I have tried it. I have called both of you after they have told me, and I have sent you a bunch of messages to call me back, because none of you has answered their phone. I wanted to speak with you before dinner, but you both came late. How were I supposed to inform you about their plans? Should I have sent everything as a message?"

"Instead of letting us fall into the trap? That might have been better."

He sighs and lean closer again, resting his elbows on the table. "You haven't argued with them like we do, we thought you have known it for a longer time."

"I have fight with them since they have told me about it. But it hasn't changed anything, so I have given in."

"You have just given in?" He tilts his head, curious and questioning. "Usually you argue with our parents until one of you storm out of the house."

"Well, I have known since my childhood that they wanted to marry me advantageously. And at some point, I thought, Jeongin wouldn't be a bad choice. I mean, we know each other, we were friends before. It was a much better view than another man." You try to explain without revealing that you have liked Jeongin a lot more than you probably should before. More than you should like the best friend of your little brother.

"After this dinner, we thought you have known it for quite a while. You were awkward since a few weeks, especially when you were alone with Jeongin." He shrugs his shoulders, searching for the right words to explain it. "As if you were avoiding him. So we thought you knew it, but you refused to tell us. We were both pretty mad at you for that."

"I've noticed that." You meet his gaze and see the regret in his face.

"I shouldn't have ignored you like that." He leans over the table to grab your hand. "I'm sorry, Noona."

"It's fine." You squeeze his hand and smile reassuring at him. "I probably would have thought the same."

He smiles back at you. "We should talk with Jeongin too and clarify this whole situation. I think I have made him even more mad while refusing to speak with you."

"Now that I know what's the matter, it shouldn't be a problem." You assume, knowing from previous arguments in the last years that Jeongin is usually the one to rather give in and solve problems than your brother.

"I don't know." Your brother makes a dubious face. "Maybe not as easy as with me."

"What do you mean?" You let go of his hand, leaning back and eye him curious. "It will be much more comfortable to live as a married couple than now, if you ask me."

"Well, yes, usually I would think the same. But he has a really rough time too. It is hard to marry someone, when you don't know what the other part feels towards you, while you like them pretty much."

You freeze for a moment, not sure what he is alluding to. "What do you mean?"

He flinches as if he has just realized what he has said. "Ahh, forget about it. You should just talk with Jeongin about everything."

"No." You lean forward and look at him demanding. "Explain what you meant by that."

"Really, Noona, you should talk with him." He sighs deeply and avoids your gaze. "You should both finally confess your feelings."

"What feelings?" You immediately feel a little nervous that he has long known how you felt about Jeongin even before this wedding. And the know-it-all grin on his face, together with his challenging look, makes you even more nervous.

"Really, Noona? You think I've been blind all these years?"