Love

Twenty Two || Lee Jung-Mo

"What are you doing here?" 

You can't blame him for being confused. Honestly, you are, too. 

"Lee Jung-mo," you say. "I need someone to talk to." 

He leans against the frame of his apartment door and looks you up and down suspiciously. "About?" 

"Everything." 

The man's blond head drops, showing you the dark roots growing naturally through his bleached locks. 

"I just need a friend," you say helplessly. 

After leaving Chan-woo's, you had gone back home to shower. Solely to shower. You scrubbed your skin harshly, trying to wash away the dirty feeling that was crawling between your skin and your bones. You hide your red, raw arms under the sleeves of your coat and shirt now. 

"You do realize what time it is, right?" he asks. 

You do, actually. It's almost eleven o'clock at night on New Year's Day. You both have work in the morning. You slept with your ex boyfriend just hours earlier, wanted to see Jimin in this same day. 

"Please?" you beg in a pathetic whisper. 

Jung-mo sighs, but opens his door enough for you to slip in. 

"Thank you," you say. 

"Yeah, don't mention it." 

You look around the small apartment. It's messy disorganized, it's hard to really make out one specific object in the room. 

"It's a little messy in here," he says. "I've been hungover all day, I wasn't really...able to clean anything." 

You shake your head. "It's fine don't worry about it." 

It's so awkward and quiet. Jung-mo is usually the kind person to open up conversation, to get rid of the awkwardness in the air. But he doesn't seem willing to try right now. Maybe he's still hungover. 

"What are you doing here, Y/n? Shouldn't you be out celebrating?" 

"I could ask the same of you." 

He scoffs. "I've got nobody to celebrate with. They're all with family or..." his nose scrunches in distaste, "significant others." 

"I take it you aren't a fan of Kang Ada?" 

"No, no, I love the girl," he corrects. "She's great, perfect for Jimin. She's really what he needs right now. But it's hard to accept when your friend takes their attention away from you and puts it on someone else." 

"Yeah, I get that." You understand probably better than anyone else would. 

"It's not her fault," he says softly. "Or his, really. They're just caught up in each other right now. It's new love, I don't expect anything less." 

You flinch at the word 'love' and he notices. 

"You think they're in love?" you ask. 

"I have no doubt about that." He looks you up and down, noticing now the change in your posture. "Why? Is that a problem for you?" 

You shrug. "I just want to know what it means for the rest of us." 

His brows furrow at that. 

"I want to know where it puts me,"  you specify. 

"That's pretty selfish, don't you think?" 

"Maybe, but I'd like to think it's not. I've just been selfish all day. I want a moment to feel okay about it all."