Who are you?

Pt10

As planned, Jinyoung and Jackson made their way to Bek's 24 Hour Coffee shop - arriving exactly 30 minutes in advance of 11:30pm so that they were there before Mia would show up. Not only to make sure they could see the faces of everyone coming in to gauge their surroundings, but also to rehearse and go over what they had previously planned to say to her as the nerves were now really starting to kick in- how to approach her and not freak her out; and how to ask the difficult questions they so desperately needed the answers to. Jinyoung could very clearly see the level of anxiety building inside Jackson - that much was apparent from his excessive fidgeting.
"So, how are you going to do this? Are you going to be upfront about it? Take a more aloof approach?" Jinyoung asked as he stirred his cafe latte, slowly and methodically.
"Well...I guess maybe the best idea would be to first tell her why we're here and not Jaebum. To be honest, I was just going to wing it. I've been wrecking my head trying to think of all the right things I should do - but I'm afraid that setting a plan like that would do more harm than good. It's best to just make a starting point and go from there." Jackson rested his chin on top of his hand as he looked around him, being thankful that the coffee shop was all but empty at this time of the night.
"...what if she gets angry? What if she says something that...you don't really want to hear?" Jinyoung - always knowing the most important questions to ask, turned his head towards Jackson to observe him deep in thought.
"I don't even really want to see her at all. Because you know - it takes two to tango. Yeah, JB is an asshole but, what does that make Mia? They're both in the wrong. But I gotta keep an open mind to gather my evidence. What about you? What're you gonna' ask her?" Jackson caught his gaze as one of the two other remaining customers existed through the cafe's only entrance.
"I'm not going to be asking her anything. I may add on to something you say - but I'm mostly just here to support you, remember?" Jinyoung smiled at Jackson faintly as Jackson let out a heavy, frustrated sigh, all while he started to really think that this was all a huge mistake. He wanted to just get up and leave, go back to the dorm and confront Jaebum directly; but so many parts of him wanted to get Mia's side of the story to compare and contrast it with the version that he was hell-bent on getting from Jaebum. For Jackson knew in his heart that there was no way that Jaebum would ever tell him the truth - unless he could confront him from a different angle.
The agonizing 30 minutes ticked their way down to 0, with the time now being exactly 11:30pm. While Jinyoung nervously fiddled with his fingers, Jackson felt like his dinner from earlier on was about to make a reappearance all over the table in front of them; before both of their heads shot up from the back of the cafe when they heard the entrance bell ring - as a woman, in a red dress entered the shop.
Jackson held his breath as he intently watched her from the safety of his distance, immediately comparing her looks to that of you - trying to note any similarities or differences.
"How did I know she'd be blonde?" Jinyoung muttered from the corner of his mouth as Jackson studied her every move. There was no doubt of course that she was beautiful; legs for days, blonde hair that bounced around her shoulders in flirtatious curls with obvious full lips that she certainly wasn't born with. Her makeup was simple - topped off with a bold red-lipstick to compliment her Givenchy red dress as she took a seat at one of the tables, looking around the room, obviously in search of Jaebum. There was no doubt that Mia exuded an air of elegance and style from the top of her head, right down to her chic, black Louboutin heels that would catch anyone's eye with their classic red soles underneath as she crossed her legs after sitting down.
"We ready?" Jackson whispered as he gathered his bag by his feet, his breathing erratic and his heart in his throat as he felt adrenaline course through his veins - terrified yet curious to approach her.
"It's now or never." Jinyoung replied as he stood up slowly from the table as to not draw too much attention to himself, before they both began walking over to Mia - who was now on her phone, obviously just about to text Jaebum and ask him where he was.
"Hello - excuse me, are you Mia?" Jackson asked - watching her raise her head and look between both him and Jinyoung, a look of slight confusion donning her entire face as she knitted her eyebrows together.
"Y-yes...aren't you two...where's Jaebum?" her voice took on a slightly worried tone. Jackson and Jinyoung had expected that she would know who they were as soon as she saw their faces - seeing as she knew Jaebum was obviously in GOT7 from her texts expressing her worry over what was plastered all over the media about his 'family member'.
"Do you mind if we take a seat? We..we have something important to discuss with you. Don't be afraid - it's okay" Jinyoung leaned down slightly as he bowed his head to her - seeing her nod in return as she started to begin to think that something dreadful had ended up happening to Jaebum. Jackson and Jinyoung looked to each other, passing knowing glances between their eyes as they sat in the two seats opposite Mia.
"Since you know Jaebum, I'm sure you already know who we are?" Jackson asked straight away.
"Yeah...you're Jackson and you're Jinyoung" she looked at both of them individually as she said their names. "Has something happened to Jaebum? Did he send you here because something awful happened to him? Did...did something happen to his family member?" she widened her eyes as Jinyoung observed and took in her entire body language - being able to pick up on, not only was she nervous around them, but she seemed genuinely concerned about Jaebum, and his family.
"No, Jaebum and his family are fine so don't worry about that at all" Jackson forced a friendly smile at her as he quickly licked his lips, feeling a lump forming in his throat. "Actually, Jaebum doesn't know we're here...look, I'm just going to be honest with you." Jackson laid his hands on the table as Mia looked frantically between them both - putting two and two together and realising that the person she had thought she was texting was not Jaebum.
"We...we know that you had some sort of relationship with Jaebum. We found texts on his phone between you both and...I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'd just like to know more about the details of your relationship with him, if that's okay with you?" Jackson spoke slowly and deliberately - while Mia felt like her world had just come crashing around her, feeling embarrassed at the fact someone else had read her words to Jaebum and was now asking her to explain them.
"I...I don't really know what to say to be honest. Isn't this a bit much? Couldn't you have just asked Jaebum yourself?" her voice took a defensive tone as she folded her arms, more confused and taken aback than ever. Jinyoung picked up on her tone much quicker than Jackson did, as he leaned his elbows on the table to look Mia straight in her eyes.
"We have tried to ask Jaebum about you. But unfortunately...he doesn't seem to be fond of telling the truth to anyone these days."
Mia sat staring at Jinyoung, wondering just what in the hell was going on, and what he truly meant by his words while finding it even more difficult to formulate her own. "We promise we'll explain everything to you, okay? So...can you just tell us what type of relationship you guys had? Please.." Jackson switched to turning on his puppy-dog charm as he gave her begging eyes. "It's really important to us."
Mia let out a long sigh, gently chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to locate the words to truly explain the extent of her relationship with Jaebum. She didn't exactly feel comfortable speaking about her past relationships with anyone, but there was something about the way Jackson was looking at her, that told her there was a genuinely desperate need for him to know the truth - for what reason, she didn't know. "Well, we weren't 'dating' if that's what you mean. It was more of a 'friends with benefits' type of relationship in the beginning."
"In the beginning? When did it start?" Jackson asked.
"We met around 10 months ago at a venue I was doing a shoot for - I'm a fashion model for Vogue Korea and we just happened to start talking whilst waiting for the elevator. I believe he was also scheduled for a photo shoot that day too but I think it was cancelled or something, I honestly can't remember. He seemed pretty down in the dumps, so I invited him for a coffee at the cafe we're in now, and a few days later...well...you know." She trailed off, feeling mortified at the thought of having to openly discuss her sex life with two strangers.
Jinyoung tilted his head apologetically at her, sensing her extreme diffidence about the topic. "So, that's when your relationship escalated?"
"Right.." she chuckled slightly in a form of thanking Jinyoung for his tact. "And then from there on, we met several times a week at a few different hotels when both of us were free. That was it, really. I don't see why it's of any importance though. It was just...sex. There was no strings attached, there were never any feelings of romance between us - at all" she lowered her voice on the last word.
Jackson nodded slowly, but he could sense that this woman had possibly developed feelings for Jaebum - due to the amount of heartfelt texts she had sent during his hiatus; however, he didn't want to pressure her any further on the matter - as she was not the one on trial. Deciding that it was best to be upfront with her to get the answers he needed, Jackson continued on - finally getting to the point. "Did Jaebum ever tell you he had a girlfriend?"
Mia chuckled in the form of a scoff as she looked at Jackson like he had completely lost all of his marbles - and then some. "Jaebum doesn't have a girlfriend, well - at least not when we were sleeping together. He did tell me that he occasionally slept with another girl too but it was nothing more than casual, like our relationship. He said he wasn't ready to fully commit himself to someone, and neither was I; so that's why it worked so well. Look, I really don't know why you can't just -"
"But see, I'm afraid you're wrong. Because Jaebum does have a girlfriend. One that he has been with for the past two years." Jackson cut her off, not being able to listen to her speak of you as nothing more than a 'casual' relationship, implying that you were nothing more than just sex to Jaebum when he wanted it, which he knew was not the case at all - even now.
"W-what? What do you mean? No - I specifically asked him before I suggested meeting at the hotel if he had a girlfriend...there must be some sort of mistake." she trailed off once again, remembering back to the time she was referring to; how Jaebum had laughed in an attempt to stall his answer. "Was he lying to me?" she asked herself over and over.
"Mia...what Jackson is telling you is the truth. There's no mistake. Jaebum...Jaebum has been in a relationship with a girl who both Jackson and I consider to be one of our closest friends. We have no reason to lie to you." Jinyoung spoke seriously but softly, both he and Jackson now fully realising that Mia had absolutely no idea of your existence.
Mia sat with her mouth wide open, in a state of complete shock and confusion as she blinked over and over before looking back at Jackson. "Are you fucking serious? He...he has a girlfriend?" Jackson nodded at her slowly before Mia leaned back in her chair, her breath blowing out of her mouth like a steam train. "What a fucking ass-hat" she cursed him over and over, unable to believe that she had fallen victim to yet another man in her life's lies.
"I suppose his girlfriend found out then? Was the whole media thing a cover up?" she asked, addressing them both.
Jinyoung looked to Jackson, before Jackson decided that it was best not to tell the whole truth of your situation. "Yes and no. We think that she knew about him cheating...but, she was in a road traffic accident on the 28th of April earlier this year and...well, she was really ill and it caused her to lose some of her memories - so we couldn't ask her because she wouldn't have known"
"Oh my god, is she okay? Was it serious?" Mia immediately asked, her eyes widening to their full capacity as Jackson assured her that you were fine now. "This girl is completely innocent - she doesn't even know (Y/N) and she's worried about her. He has played them both..." Jinyoung made mental notes about her character the entire time as he continued to listen to their conversation.
"Wait - you said her accident was the 28th of April?" Mia snapped her fingers as she sat up straight in her chair. "That...that day was the last day I ever had contact with Jaebum...it all makes sense now. We were at a bar on Grosvenor Lane before we went to the hotel above and -"
"Wait, what did you just say?" Jinyoung piped up suddenly, both him and Jackson replaying the name of the street in their heads.
"...The last time I ever spoke to Jaebum was when I met him at a bar on Grosvenor Lane...We arrived at the bar around 8pm - and after we had a meal and a few drinks, we went up to the hotel. Jaebum left like he usually did sometime between 1am and 2am."
Jackson felt like this heart was about to burst right out of his chest in a fit of rage as he knew Jinyoung was thinking the same thing. "That's the street that (Y/N) ran out into the middle of the road on. She knew, she fucking knew the entire time what was happening..." The scene was ripping through both of the boy's heads like hurricane. "They met at 8pm, (Y/N)'s accident was at around 8:30pm - the nurse rang me around 9:30pm, 30 minutes after her hospitalisation; and for four hours I was calling Jaebum like crazy...so that's where you were...you bastard." Jackson seethed inside himself. Jinyoung recalled having seen the bar in question when he went to pick up your car from the parking lot as it had outstayed its welcome in the form of a fine being sent to your address to get it unclamped; 2 days after your accident. He remembered thinking that the bar was slightly gaudy and grubby looking - needing a severe exterior facelift.
"Ah...I see. And, you say you haven't talked to him since?" Jackson tried his best to hide his emotions, wanting to get as much information out of Mia as possible to use as ammo for when he would confront Jaebum.
"Yup. He never replied to any of my texts, never answered any of my calls - and eventually, he ended up turning his phone off. At the time, I assumed it was because of his family member...but now that I know the truth...oh my god, I actually feel sick right now." Mia shook her head in disgust at the thought of herself sleeping with a man who was already spoken for.
"Look - I know what you guys probably think of me. You probably think I'm just some cheap whore who sleeps with any guy...but I really didn't know that Jaebum was in a very serious committed relationship. I'll be honest with you boys - I've been cheated on. I know what it feels like, the hurt, the pain, the betrayal..." she paused, her eyes glistening over from her apparent painful memories, "...I would never knowingly put another woman through what I suffered. Never in a million years. I would rather die than have someone feel the way I felt."
Jinyoung and Jackson watched Mia intently, as she continued to tell them the story about how she was in a long term relationship with a man who cheated on her countless times. "My friends knew the entire time - but did they tell me?" she laughed sarcastically, "Apparently, they thought it would 'hurt me less' if I didn't know. But, do you know what the biggest hurt was? My friends couldn't be honest with me. That hurt me as much as his infidelity." Her voice wavered slightly as she successfully managed to hold back her tears. Both Jinyoung and Jackson's eyes widened in surprise at her distressing words - almost finding themselves feeling incredibly sorry for her.
"Does this girl know that Jaebum was cheating on her?" Mia asked after taking a few deep breaths to compose herself.
"No." Jackson replied almost immediately, Jinyoung looking between Jackson and Mia as she leaned in closely to them both - her eyes darting from one to the other.
"Well, let me tell you something" she took a breath, Jinyoung and Jackson both holding theirs in anticipation, "If you think anything of this girl - which I know you obviously do...you will make sure she finds out about this. You have to tell her. Because, while the truth will hurt her...you not telling her is even more of an insult than Jaebum cheating on her. Trust me - I've been exactly where she is." Small tears filled Mia's eyes as she leaned back slowly - both boys now having formed lumps in their throats from her words as they looked at each other from the corners of their eyes, knowing that every single word Mia had just said was gospel.
"Mia...we didn't mean to cause you so much distress. All we wanted to do was find out the truth" Jinyoung spoke softly in an attempt to console her, as she pulled out a tissue to blotch her cheeks clean of her fresh tears.
"I'm so sorry for upsetting you Mia, that really wasn't our intention at all." Jackson looked to her with such pity in his eyes as she sniffled and let out a dry chuckle, smiling at him and clearing her throat.
"It's not you who has upset me. I just...feel so stupid and used by Jaebum. But, I guess that now - I can move on, and so can your friend."
A few moments of silence sat in the space between all three of them, before Mia glanced down at her dainty watch clasped around her slender wrist. "Look, is there anything else you guys would like to ask me? Because..if there's nothing else, then I think I'll be on my way home to burn this dress in my back garden" she let out a genuine laugh, eliciting similar sounds from Jinyoung and Jackson's lips as the three of them smiled at each other in agreement.
"So...I take it you won't be contacting Jaebum in the future?" Jinyoung asked, just as a bill of insurance.
"Contact him?" she breathily chuckled whilst raising one eyebrow. "Jinyoung, I wouldn't piss on Jaebum if he was on fire." Jackson wanted to burst into a roaring fit of laughter at her statement, but thought it would be slightly inappropriate and insensitive to her emotions - alas, a slight chuckle did escape both Jinyoung and Jackson's lips while Mia let out a hearty laugh in turn.
"I'm sorry if that sounds crass, but that's honestly just how I feel at the moment." She continued to chuckle as she placed her phone back in her clutch bag, readjusting her black shawl over her shoulders as she took to her feet to signify her time to leave.
"Thank you so much for being so honest with us. You've no idea how much we appreciate this. Really..." Jackson stood up to face her, holding his hand out to shake hers from across the table. "And, we're sorry for being so deceptive with our texts to...lure you here" Jackson hung his head in shame a little as Mia threw her head back in laughter.
"You guys...I swear, if idol life ever gets too much, you should both go into detective work. You boys have the detection skills of a suspicious woman - and that's a compliment by the way" all three of them laughed in turn as Jinyoung shook her hand after Jackson.
"I really hope you friend's health improves. Look after her, because when she finds out - she will fall, hard. And you guys need to be there to pick her up and carry her forward. I wish I could have had someone like you both to look out for me when it happened to me. Your friend is a very lucky girl. I almost envy her." She smiled sweetly at them.
"Oh I will. She's...she's very precious to me." Jackson mumbled softly as Jinyoung noted his curious choice of the words 'I' and 'me' instead of 'we' and 'us'.
"Let's...let's not meet again" Mia smiled at them while bowing her head politely, before turning on her heel and walking out of the coffee shop for what would be the very last time.
Jinyoung and Jackson let out a sigh mixed with relief and satisfaction as they slumped back down into the chairs, feeling like they had just won what felt like World War III, but they both knew that the battle wasn't over yet.
"You know, she's actually a nice person. Did you get that vibe from her?" Jackson turned to face Jinyoung as he noted the time on the clock was now 3am, not believing that they had sat in the coffee shop for over 4 hours talking with Mia.
Jinyoung licked his lips tentatively as he nodded back at Jackson, "Yeah, she really did seem very genuine. I believe she's telling us the truth." Jackson agreed with him wholeheartedly as Jinyoung collected his thoughts carefully. "So...what do we do now?"
Jackson looked him straight in the eye, before taking out his phone from his pocket to show him that all this time when his phone had been on do not disturb mode; Jaebum had been ringing him like an absolute lunatic over and over. "Now, we turn full circle. Let's take our sweet time walking back to the dorm. Because as soon as we get in, I'm going to get Jaebum's version of the story - whether he likes it or not."