The All-Rounder || Karina X Male Reader

9. Playing Each Other? Nah I'd Win

As the door clicked shut behind Jimin, Jaeyoung felt a heaviness settle over him. The echoes of her footsteps faded down the hall, leaving him alone in the quiet, dimly lit room. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, his grip on his guitar loosening as he lowered himself onto one of the chairs.

For a while, he just sat there, running his fingers over the worn fretboard. Jimin’s words replayed in his mind, each sentence like a quiet plea for understanding that left him feeling more conflicted. She cared—that much she’d made clear—but the walls she built around herself left him wondering if she would ever let him in fully.

Moments later, the door creaked open again, and Jihoon stepped back inside, his expression cautious. “Hey… everything okay?” he asked, his voice soft.

Jaeyoung glanced up, offering a tight smile. “Yeah, just… trying to figure some things out.”

Jihoon nodded, pulling up a chair beside him. “Look, I know it’s none of my business, but we could all feel the tension between you two. You and Jimin… you guys seemed close, but now…”

“It’s complicated,” Jaeyoung interrupted, voice strained. “One minute, it feels like we’re finally on the same page, and the next… she’s like a stranger again.”

Jihoon listened silently, nodding with understanding. “Sometimes people don’t even know what they want until it’s too late. Maybe she’s trying to figure things out, too. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about you, though.”

Jaeyoung gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Maybe. But it’s hard to keep putting myself out there when she keeps pulling back.” He ran a hand through his hair, feeling the exhaustion settle into his bones.

Jihoon clapped him on the shoulder. “Give it time. If it’s meant to work out, it will. Besides, you have all of us if you ever need a distraction.” He grinned, hoping to lighten the mood.

Jaeyoung gave him a genuine smile. “Thanks, Jihoon. I needed that.”

Jihoon stood up, extending a hand to pull Jaeyoung to his feet. “Come on, let’s finish packing up. Oh and uh, you know Huh Yunjin right? The Queen? She invited us to play at her birthday tomorrow. She wanted to talk to you first but you know, Jimin.”

Jaeyoung chuckled, nodding. “Right. You have her number? Tell her we'll play.”

As they packed up the remaining equipment, Jaeyoung couldn’t help but wonder what would happen the next time he crossed paths with Jimin. There were so many things left unsaid, and he knew they couldn’t avoid each other forever. But for now, he focused on the present, letting the music and the camaraderie of his bandmates carry him forward, even as the unresolved feelings for Jimin lingered in the back of his mind.

---

Later that night, as he lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, his phone buzzed on the nightstand. Half-expecting it to be Jimin, his heart skipped a beat as he picked it up. But it was only a message from Wonyoung.

Wonyoung: “Hey, just wanted to say I loved the jam session today. You guys sounded amazing.”

A faint smile tugged at his lips as he typed a reply.

Jaeyoung: “Thanks. It was good to have you there, even if it was just for a little while.”

He set his phone down, feeling a strange sense of comfort. Maybe he didn’t have all the answers, and maybe things with Jimin were still a mess, but at least he had friends who understood him, people who would be there to pick him up when things got hard.

As he closed his eyes, he hoped that, in time, he and Jimin could find a way through the tangled mess between them. For now, though, he would take things one day at a time, letting the music and his friendships guide him toward whatever came next.