umbrella ¦ na jaemin

ch : 17

.・。.・゜✭・17 .・✫・゜・。.

A Heart Torn Between

Three weeks had passed, and with school just a week away, Dahee felt the weight of summer slipping through her fingers. The past weeks had been a mix of lazy days, room cleaning, and endless chores.

She also managed to spend time with her friends Minseo and Yeji, and her sister Gayoung during the day, while nights were filled with facetiming and calling Jaemin.

They hung out often, sometimes with his friends tagging along, but today it was just the two of them.

"I can't believe we're close to graduating," Dahee mused, kicking a pebble along the pathway in the park, an ice cream in her hand.

"We haven't even started school yet, and here you are already talking about graduation," Jaemin joked, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

"Of course! Sometimes you gotta be ahead of yourself."

"Eh, I want to live in the present."

Their conversation flowed effortlessly as they strolled through the park. They eventually found an empty swing set, where they sat down after the children had gone home.

Jaemin's expression turned a bit serious. "I forgot to tell you. Your sister, Gayoung? She messaged me last night."

"Oh," Dahee responded, trying to keep her tone neutral. "Really?"

"Yeah, we kind of talked. You two are quite different, personality-wise."

"Yeah, we are. What did you two talk about?" Dahee mused, rolling her eyes playfully.

"School. She also know how to skate, she said? Well, you know me I barely know how to skate."

"I can tell," Dahee replied with a playful grin as she shot Jaemin a knowing look. "Very."

Jaemin laughed, Dahee had to look away to stop looking. "She offered to teach me sometime."

Dahee's heart ached, though she tried to ignore the reason why. Gayoung was always so straightforward and brave. Good for her, Dahee thought, pushing down her feelings.

"When?"

"I'm not sure, maybe soon? She sounds fun."

Curiosity gnawed at Dahee. She turned to look at Jaemin, who was smiling like a damn fool. Her heart churned, feeling suffocated inside.

She wasn't supposed to fall for him. She wasn't supposed to like him. She wasn't supposed to meet him in the first place.

"It's getting dark. I should go home," Dahee said abruptly, standing up from the swing and dusting off her clothes.

"Dark? Where? Wait, did I say something wrong?" Jaemin looked up at her, concern etched on his face.

"No!" She paused, realizing she had shouted. "No. I just..." she whispered, trailing off.