It Just Happened That Way || JEONGIN from skz!

14

Yeona's POV

It was day four of not having been in contact with Jeongin. I couldn't believe how terribly I felt. I wasn't really the type of person to allow myself to get hung up on something because of a guy. I preferred to try to be the detached one, the stronger woman who wasn't phased by silly things like this. But I couldn't help but to justify my feelings with the fact that this wasn't a silly thing. Jeongin did mean a lot to me. He was there for me when I was regretting my impulsive move to Korea, he was the one who made it worth it. Was it stupid to put so much power into his hands? Was I putting power into his hands? Why did I think about relationships like this?

I was sitting at the cafeteria eating dinner alone. At work, I hadn't made many friends to eat with, and right now, I didn't mind. I preferred to have my own peace and quiet to think without having to endure the mild social anxiety I felt when eating with coworkers. (On top of that, I felt the phrase, "Coworkers are not your friends" ringing in my head. This was just something I had come to believe in thanks to my dad's weariness toward coworkers, and their potential to destroy or stifle your career growth.)

Katalk!

My hand jolted to my phone. I didn't kakao many people — only my family, Jeongin, and Jessi.

New message from Jeongin.

My eyes widened slightly.

Yeona...can we talk?

I responded immediately, abandoning any sense of dignity.

Y: Yes. I'm at work right now. What about you?

J: Me too. I'm at the office. Google's on the way home — wanna meet there and get ice cream somewhere around there?

My heart melted a little bit. I had missed our ice-cream-and-catch-up nightly routine. It's only been four days but I already felt like something was missing in my life.

Y: Sounds good. Let me know when you're here

J: Ok, eta 15 min.

I quickly got up and went to put my dishes onto the dishwashing conveyer belt. I rushed back to my desk to pack up my things, and then went to the bathroom to fix my appearance. Yikes... My hair was flat, my eye bags were on display, my clothes were shabby. Whatever, I thought. Jeongin has seen me without any make up on, post workout sweaty, at my worst. It's fine! It's FINE! Not like I'm trying to impress him or something hah...

I check my watch — he should be here in a minute. I go downstairs and wait outside, before seeing his slim figure approaching. He has a mask and a deep bucket hat on. I only recognized him by his gait.

He walks up and awkwardly says, "Hey."

I give him half of a smile, and I suddenly have a frog in my throat as I feel myself melt back into the comfort of our friendship.

"Hi. Do you wanna go to BR?" I didn't really understand the popularity of Baskin Robbins in Korea having come from the US, where a lot fo the BR locations were shabby at best.

"Yes, that sounds good to me."

We start walking and it's quiet for a couple minutes. I occasionally sneak a sideways glance at him to try to figure out how he was feeling. Is he still mad at me?

We arrive at Baskin Robbins, only a couple blocks away, without having exchanged much conversation at all. I order 2 single scoop cups of mint chocolate chip, knowing that we both had the same favorite flavor. Finally, we sit on a ledge outside, facing each other, his legs crossed, mine folded up to my chest.

I eat a couple scoops of ice cream, and he finally opens his mouth to talk.

"Yeona, I'm really sorry for the way I reacted."

I'm a little surprised, and immediately respond, "No, Jeongin, I'm sorry for not being honest!"

"Yeona, no really, there was no reason for me to react like that. It's just. This was the first time that I made a friend outside of JYP and SOPA in a really long time, and I was really on edge about it because it was going so well, I was just waiting for it to crash and burn, I swear. I was just so sensitive."

I listen to him, and my heart swells a little bit after getting affirmation from him that he also thought our friendship was something worth having.

"Also, I think I was pretty stupid and ignorant and naive to think that you would've never heard of Stray Kids. It's time for me to stop acting like our group is just a little famous. It sounds so self-centered and arrogant and pretentious, but that's just the reality, and I would be living in my own world if I thought otherwise."

I laugh at him and say, "Yeah, that was pretty dumb, how could I not know about you guys."

He pouts and laughs with me. "Do you forgive me?"

I can't even believe he's asking that. "Only if you forgive me. It was also stupid of me to be living in my own world, thinking that I would never be caught, thinking I could go so long acting ignorant. It was selfish of me to think it wouldn't affect you."

He reaches out his hand and pats my head lovingly, and I beam at him like a puppy. Passerbys would think we were dating — in reality, this was just some aegyo we did with each other jokingly. It was so nice to do it again after so long though.

"Back to normal?" I ask him, smiling.

"Back to normal," he reassures me. "So...what have you been up to?"

I roll my eyes, "Let me tell you about how damn boring life was."