HEAT • Chanrosé

ninteen

He didn't look upset. He didn't look angry. He didn't look frustrated.

Chanyeol looked hurt.

"Chanyeol, wait."

Chaeyoung gripped his forearm, stopping him from leaving the now annoyingly white kitchen. Her mind was spinning and the contrast wasn't helping. This morning would have been the perfect time to tell Jungkook but she had been so wrapped up in rekindling and getting back to the arms she belonged in that she didn't stop and think. Her mind subconsciously pushed it to another time but was that so bad?

He turned back toward her, jaw hard as he looked down at her hand. Chanyeol didn't pull away, just looked. "What did he say to you this morning?"

"Just...just that he was sorry, and that he was over his thing with me. He's been hanging out with Tyuzu, he says he likes her." She recalled as she shook her head.

"Fucking pussy." Chanyeol scoffed.

She dropped her hand, "Chanyeol, what—"

"He fucking lying to you, Chaeyoung. He's in love with you."

Her stomach twisted as her brows creased. "No. He looked me in the eyes and told me.. Jungkook knows I take that seriously.."

Chanyeol shook his head in disbelief, letting out a dry chuckle. His nostrils flared, "It wasn't my place to say anything, or tell you. I wanted him to step up and tell you himself, but that conversation you walked in on? Jungkook was telling Junhoe and Sehun about how he planned on telling you. That he couldn't keep his feelings to himself anymore."

It all made sense now, why the boys hushed when she walked in and why Chanyeol seemed so angry that night. He wanted to say something, but didn't. For her and Jungkook's friendship. Chanyeol didn't need to tell her that, she knew him enough.

"You should have told me." Chaeyoung expresses lowly. "I would have told him about us this morning if—"

Chanyeol cupped a hand over his mouth, rubbing at his lips and chin before dropping it with a slap at his side. His hurt was morphing into frustration. "Why would that matter? It doesn't change anything. You said you were going to handle it, I took that as you were going to tell him. I didn't want to tell you, because that's something he should man up and do himself. I figured that if he did, you would tell him about us. Honestly, I figured you would have told him regardless."

She had never heard him talk so much. It was like this had been on his mind for a while. Chaeyoung wondered if this is what he was thinking about the whole time when he hid away in his office, or when he was inside the apartment while her and Jungkook talked. These words and thoughts were not just spur of the moment frustrations.

Tears stung her eyes, she was hurt. Hurt that Jungkook had lied to her face, looking her straight in the eyes, and that she had been naive to believe him. It hurt even more to know that she had hurt Chanyeol, when she had been the one so worried about being the one at end of the blade.

"I," Chaeyoung parted her lips, trying to formulate what to even say. She didn't know why she hadn't told Jungkook. "Chanyeol, I didn't purposely not tell him. I can call him now."

His eyes softened, seeing the tears dripping down before she quickly wiped them away as she moved to grab her phone. But his ground was being held. "That's not the point," Chanyeol trailed off, taking a breath. Everything had been so good, but the nausea in her gut didn't give her hope.