Guitarist Next Door (Jae Day6)

Chapter 9

The black cursor blinked against a white page. You had another english essay due soon, yet you couldn't think of how to start it. It probably didn't help that for the past half hour Jae was next door loudly playing his electric guitar. The sound reverberated through the walls.

After a particularly loud guitar riff, you shoved your chair backwards as you stood up. You flung the door open to your apartment, slamming it shut behind you.

You pounded your fist against Jae's door. "Jae! Jae! I swear if you don't open this door... Park Jaehyung!"

You tried the doorknob. Surprisingly, it twisted under your grasp and the door opened.

Jae sat on the floor, guitar in his lap. He didn't seem to hear you come in. Instead, he kept strumming the guitar. His fingers danced across the fretboard.

Now that you were in the room, you could hear the melody properly. Even though the song was loud, there was an underlying pain in each note.

He looked up when you unplugged the amp. A frown forming. "Hey what the– Oh, Y/N, you came."

"Were you expecting me?" Your brow furrowed.

Jae shrugged. "Don't you always come over when I play this loud?"

"Well yeah. You're not the only one living in this building. You have to be more considerate of others. How am I supposed to study when –" You faltered.

Jae was only half-listening to you. He was still strumming his guitar, which was much quieter now that you had unplugged the amp. You remembered how palpable the pain was in the song he was playing when you walked in.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He sniffled. You could see now that his eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying before you came in.

"It's okay to not be okay." You sat down on the floor next to him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jae shook his head no, not meeting your eyes. "Not really. Something just... didn't work out the way I had hoped." He set his guitar off to the side and picked at a loose string on his jeans.

You could feel a wall forming between you and Jae. You shifted nervously, not knowing what to say or if he even wanted you there anymore.

"Do you, uh, want me to stay? Because if not, I can totally give you some space. I just didn't know if you needed a friend or not, but if not I can go," you rambled.

A heavy silence filled the air.

You took that as your cue to leave. As you stood up, Jae grabbed your sleeve, pulling you back down.

"Please don't go." His voice was barely above a whisper. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you in a tight hug.

"I won't."

Jae choked back a sob. "I tried so hard, but they didn't accept me. I don't know what to do."

"About what?" He shook his head as if you wouldn't understand.

Is he talking about me? About Saturday night?

"What did I do wrong?" Jae whimpered. "I just don't get it. Was I not sincere enough?" The way he looked at you tore your heart to pieces. Tears welled up in his eyes, making your own eyes start to water.

So he really was being serious. Jae likes me.

He wiped a stray tear away as it rolled down his cheek. He laid his head in your lap. You ran your fingers through his blue hair, trying to calm him down.

"Jae, I li–"

I like you too.

The words got caught in your throat. "I'm sorry. I'm here for you, whatever you need."