Sometimes Sweetly, Sometimes Achingly

Chapter 4

October 29th

“Sorry for being late. Traffic,” Jaehyun flashed an apologetic grimace as he sat down.

The redness in his eyes had left, but the gaunt shadows on his face were still present. He peeled off his windbreaker to reveal his usual office attire, except his tie was loose and unfitted.

“That’s okay,” Taeyong replied softly. He pushed a cup of black coffee across the table and said, “Here, I ordered for you.”

Jaehyun nodded in gratitude. He took the cup and drank it all in one motion, letting out a breath and rubbing his palms against his face once he’d finished.

The table went silent for several seconds. Jaehyun looked too worn out and exhausted to say anything even though he’d initiated the meeting, and Taeyong was unsure of what to do. His hands, hidden under the table, nervously squeezed the lighter.

Finally, Jaehyun sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “Yesterday was a bit…well, I was being weird. I’m sorry you had to see that,” he smiled ruefully.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Taeyong shook his head. “We all have our off days.”

Jaehyun’s stare bored straight into Taeyong’s eyes. He didn’t say anything; he just stared until Taeyong started squirming.

“I haven’t been very nice to you,” Jaehyun remarked. He didn’t sound particularly guilty or apologetic, just matter-of-fact.

Taeyong shook his head again. “It’s not like you’re being mean. You’re just…reserved, I guess. That’s not a bad thing.”

“Still,” Jaehyun murmured. “You don’t deserve that kind of treatment, hyung.”

Speechless, Taeyong could only squeeze the lighter harder. When he’d gotten home yesterday, he’d tried flicking the lighter on only to discover that it was used up. He wondered if Jaehyun had smoked more after he left, because it wasn’t like he could only ever use one lighter. Why had he even given it to Taeyong in the first place?

“Jaehyun,” Taeyong said at last. He still wasn’t quite able to look Jaehyun in the eye. “I’m not going to pry anymore. If you ever want to talk about something then you can come to me, but I won’t push you. I’m sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable.”

The two fell silent again. Jaehyun appeared as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders—he sat up straighter and relief rippled across his face. Taeyong smiled to himself, happy with the small victory.

After some time, Jaehyun checked his watch and grimaced. “I have to get back to work. But thanks for coming, hyung. I appreciate that.”

He’d only taken a few steps away from the table when he suddenly paused and spun around. “Actually, Taeyong-hyung,” Taeyong startled at the mention of his name and glanced at Jaehyun with wide eyes. Jaehyun seemed to have some mental battle going on in his head before he made up his mind and finally spoke again. “Do you want a ride back to the studio?”

Taeyong’s grip on the lighter loosened. “That’d be really nice, Jaehyun.”

November 6th

“He was so high he started making out with the lampshade. Sooyeon tried to drag him off, but then hyung just threw a book at her. Eventually, she got fed up and punched him in the face, and that was the only way we could stop him,” Jaehyun shook his head in bewilderment. “And that’s why the four of us decided that it wasn’t a good idea to get high together anymore. Soojung and I were scarred for life, and hyung has never been the same after getting punched by Sooyeon.”