Framed | JOHNNY

Chapter 20

"Yeah, me too." Jaehwa said, taking a deep breath before taking a sip of her wine.

Jaehwa didn't really open up to anyone other than Jaehyun and maybe Ten. She always wanted to prove that she was as strong and tough as her brother, and showing her emotions definitely wasn't something that would contribute to that. But for some reason, that night, she decided to open up to Johnny.

"Have you ever spent time away from Jaehyun?" Johnny suddenly asked.

Jaehwa didn't even need to think to answer his question. "Never. We stuck together like glue. This is my first time living without him by my side."

Johnny nodded his head, tapping the wine glass with his index finger. "Is that why you always want to spend time with me?"

"Huh?"

Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. From the cases I've dealt with, I've seen that if people spend their lives with one person, they become dependent on them. When they start living without them, they might feel lonely and try replace them with someone else."

"Isn't that an insult to you?" Jaehwa pointed out. "You're basically saying I'm only spending time with you to replace Jaehyun."

"Are you?" Johnny asked, meeting her eyes.

Jaehwa couldn't help but wonder how the mood had changed so much. They went from smiling and laughing to staring at each other with tension in the room.

"No, Johnny. I'm not." Jaehwa said, finishing up the wine in her glass. "I spend time with you because I genuinely like spending time with you."

Johnny didn't say anything, sitting there with both his plate and glass empty. Is he not convinced?

"Don't get me wrong, I do miss Jaehyun, I miss him like crazy. But if I wanted someone to fill that hole, I would have went to Ten or Sooyoung, not some random stranger I met not too long ago." Jaehwa blabbered out.

"Stay tonight."

Jaehwa froze in her spot. Did I hear that right?

"If you really like spending time with me, stay over. Spend more time with me." Johnny said, gathering their plates. "You don't have to answer now. Think about it and then make your decision."

Jaehwa could only sit there, staring at the male as he blew out the candle sitting in the middle of the table before entering the kitchen, both his hands full with the dishes from their meal.

...

It's the wine, Johnny thought as he quietly washed the dishes.

He had given Jaehwa a cloth to clean the table and told he that he would handle the dishes.

Lucky for him, Jaehwa had recieved a phone call and was currently in his room, talking to who Johnny believed to be Ten, judging from the few seconds that he had heard.

His offer to Jaehwa was a bold one, one that he himself had not expected him to make. The reasoning behind it was simple though.

At this point, as much as he wanted deny it, he couldn't. He was certain that he had feelings for Jaehwa, and they were strong.

His constant attraction to her, to see her, to hear her voice, to feel her skin on his, it was enough for him to be convinced. And he needed to know whether she felt the same way or not.

A part of Johnny felt like he already knew the answer just from the way the girl acted around him but he just needed confirmation to be 100% positive. And tonight would be the night he found out.