Star-Crossed Lovers

Chapter XI - I Wish

Jaemin was a tough guy. He was always able to suppress his emotions and put on his poker face whenever he felt like it. You could count the times when he ever cried with your fingers and still had more fingers left uncounted.

But meeting Jeno had made him fragile. Since the day he learned about the two unfortunate lovers story, he had been crying more than he ever did before in his 18 years of life. His heart was breaking over and over again whenever he got carried away with his thoughts of Jeno. It made him thinking that his heart might stop beating anytime soon due to the pain.

When Jaemin reached his granny's home, he stormed to his room without greeting her in the living room. His granny almost dropped her tea cup, for the second time that day, the moment she saw what a crying mess he was when he passed her by.

Jaemin slammed his door shut unintentionally before slumping himself on the bed. His eyes were like a broken dam that kept on pouring out tears, wetting the bedsheets. He could not stop crying no matter how hard he tried. He hated how he was so fragile at the moment.

Then, he heard a knock on his door, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching his bed. His granny sat on the bedside beside him and he felt a hand caressing his hair gently.

"Jaemin my dear, why are you crying?"

Her voice was soothing. Jaemin got up slowly and sat facing his granny, trying to calm himself down and suppress his sobs. He looked at his granny with his puffy eyes and reddened nose, worse than the previous night.

"They were so in love. Why can't they be together, granny? Why can't the universe give them a chance? How can fate be so cruel?"

Jaemin broke in tears again, but this time he was calmer than earlier. His granny pulled him into an embrace and let him cried on her shoulder. She patted his back and rocked him gently.

"Jaemin, you can't really blame the fate. Sometimes, God has better plans for you. Everything happens for a reason, Jaemin. And sometimes, you need to wait a little longer and watch a little closer before you can finally see what it means to you and what it had caused you along the journey of your life."

Jaemin did not reply but his sobs had quieted down a little. He was still leaning his head on his granny's shoulder as she continued to speak.

"Sometimes, you can't have everything that you want in your life. Sometimes, you have to let them go if things were getting harder for you to hold on. It's always fine to be easy on yourself. It's fine to make mistakes. It's also fine to fall in love even when you never saw it coming or never knew where it's going."

Jaemin looked up at his granny, tears still streaming down his cheek. His granny wiped them away lovingly with her handkerchief.

"Granny, why is it that you never asked what I was talking about? Did you already know?"

Jaemin asked with a cracked voice. She smiled fondly at her distant grandson before answering.

"If you wanted me to know, you would've told me. But since you never told me anything, it must have been hard for you to explain. So, I don't want to force you on it if it's going to pain you even more."

"I'm sorry I didn't have the heart to tell you, granny. And I don't think I could ever tell you because I want to forget everything."

Jaemin hugged his granny tightly for a while. She caressed the back of his head gently until she felt the male's tensed muscles loosened up in her arms.

"It's going to be alright, my dear. If you love someone, you let them go. If they're meant for you, they'll come back, no matter what. If not in this life, maybe in another."

The words stuck in Jaemin's head. He looked up at his granny and cracked a smile.

"Thank you, granny. I think I'm going to take a nap for a while. My head is pounding like crazy."

"I'll leave you then. Come down if you're feeling hungry later, okay?"

Jaemin nodded weakly and watched his granny left the room. He lied down crouching sideways on the bed, pillowless. His fingers played with the necklace he was wearing.

Thoughts of Jeno suddenly flooded his mind and his eyes were brimming with tears again. He clutched the locket in his fist and pressed it on his throbbing chest.

'I wish I was there to save him.'

He closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.