Not for Me [2/3]
Title: Not for Me
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Humor, slight Angst
Summary: Whether unfortunately or fortunately, some realizations just come later than others and lead us to things we didn’t know we wanted.
“Your brother is busy, and it honestly sickens me.”
Jihye looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”
Jaejoong put his bag down casually and occupied the seat across from her. He ran a hand through his hair and huffed, “Like can you imagine, apparently he and your dad have some kind of thing to do, then he has some volunteer shit -“
“He’s probably just padding his applications…”
“Yes, I know, and it disturbs me thoroughly,” Jaejoong responded. He held out his chopsticks and pointed them at himself, “Doing all that work - it’s definitely not for me. I don’t even know if I really want to go to some fancy university or not.”
“…you know that Yunho’s probably going to get a heart attack after hearing that, right?” Jihye asked as she twirled her noodles with her own chopsticks, “He’s been grade obsessed since birth because of our parents.”
“And you…?”
“Rebellious younger child,” Jihye said with a shrug. “I care, but not as much as he does for the most part.”
Jaejoong laughed, “So, I guess you don’t share Yunho’s dream of a beautiful, well mannered spouse, twenty five kids, and a beautiful white picket house?”
“I’m not going to concern myself thinking that far into the future. I’m more of a live in the day kind of person. Anyway…as much as I personally don’t mind your company, is there something going on? My friend’s coming over in a bit to have lunch with me -“
“Oh, right,” Jaejoong laughed awkwardly. “Uh, well, I was just wondering…”
“Yeah?”
“What is your brother like when he’s interested in someone? I mean, I doubt he’s an unfeeling robo-student all the time, and I’m just really curious.”
“…uh, I’m not sure what to look for?” Jihye said with a helpless shrug. “He never tells me about people he likes, so…I don’t know what kind of qualities he’s supposed to show me or well anyone for that matter.”
“Oh.”
Jaejoong looked thoughtful for a few seconds, and Jihye studied the other boy carefully as he contemplated her words. He was still as handsome as ever and still exuded a certain reckless charm, but things were different now. Just as easily as she’d realized feelings for him, most of those feelings had gone with the minutes that fell prey to the passage of time. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t special to her anymore, her heart still soared at a certain height whenever he interacted with her, but things were just different now.
He was still Kim Jaejoong after all, and boys like him were never meant to be ignored or easily forgotten.
“I wish I could give you answers,” Jihye said slowly, her eyes still carefully assessing the boy across from her. “But unfortunately, I don’t have any. Yunho’s response to love is just as much a mystery to me as it is to you. It’s one of the few things he just doesn’t seem to understand.”
“It’s alright.” Jaejoong let out a small sigh and smiled at her as he rested his chin against the palm of his hand. “I’m just curious. Your brother…he takes up a lot of my time lately, you know?”
“I know, I can tell you like him -“
“What?”
Jihye noticed the panicked expression on Jaejoong’s face, and just as she was about to clarify her words, the other boy quickly turned his eyes away from her.
“Of course I like your brother,” he said with an awkward laugh, “He’s my friend after all, and…I like him. I like him because he’s Yunho…and I like him even though he’s stupid about certain things.”
“That’s okay,” Jihye said softly, making sure to be careful with her words. “We can’t choose who…we don’t often get the chance to choose stuff like that. I like my brother even though he’s stupid too.”
Jaejoong slowly raised his eyes once again, and the smile he rewarded Jihye was unlike any other she’d seen from him before. She couldn’t help but smile back, and after Jaejoong had said his goodbyes and had packed his things, she couldn’t help but think of the way he’d smiled at her long after he’d gone.
It was a smile of relief, but most of all, she couldn’t help but feel like it was his gift to her for her simple understanding of his situation.
After all, Yunho was clueless in matters of love - but she was not.
She’d known what it was like to harbor awkward, bothersome feelings, and most of all, she knew what it was like to be in that stage of waiting. It was the stage that came between the terrible realization of one’s feelings and the inevitable revelation of them, and it was an agonizing push and pull of common sense and delusion.
Would it be a yes, or would it be a no?
Unfortunately, no one would truly know the answer to that until feelings were voiced out and one’s heart was laid bare to a possibly unwilling recipient. Or perhaps a painful or joyous revelation would occur in a less direct form, but no matter what, everyone would find clarity in one way or another.
It was the waiting - the uncertainty - that was one of the hardest parts of being in love.
---
“Get up,” Yunho said as opened the door to Jihye’s room and fiddled with the keys of his car.
Jihye raised her head up a little to look at her brother and raised her eyebrow.
“Why?”
“I’m hungry, and I don’t want to eat anything here.”
“Ugh, you -“
“Are you in, or are you out?”
Jihye rolled around on her bed, her face landing directly onto her pillow. She held it close to her chest and sighed, “Where are going to go? I’m sick of McDonald’s, and I don’t -“
“I’ll treat you to that diner with the great cheese fries.”
“…fine, I’m coming, hold on.”
Yes, she was girl raised in a home environment that had taught both her and her brother, a great amount of self-control, but there were a few things she could not resist in life and one of those things was cheese fries.
---
“…so why are we going to Jaejoong’s house again?” Jihye questioned as she ran through the songs on Yunho’s iPhone.
She pursed her lips as she waited for Yunho to reply, and as she continued to go through the list of songs. Most of the songs are likely from ridiculously hipster bands and incredibly obscure labels because she can hardly recognize a lot of them, so she’s ninety nine percent sure that Jaejoong’s been the one updating the thing.
“He might want to come along too or something,” Yunho replied as he kept his eyes on the road in front of them. “It’s usually him who plans these kinds of stuff…I just thought I’d do something for a change I guess.”
“How kind of you,” Jihye commented as she leaned in further into her seat and resisted the urge to bring her legs up onto the seat. “Do you want me to sit in the back?”
“No - just…stay there.”
“…okay then.”
They pulled up in front of Jaejoong’s house, and before Yunho could even give the other boy a call, the front door opened and Jaejoong waved at them from his porch. He was wearing a ridiculously bright red sweater, and Jihye vaguely recognized it as something an aunt had given Yunho as a Christmas present sometime ago. She rolled down the window and waved.
“Get in loser!”
Jaejoong laughed and quickened his pace, easily sliding into the backseat. He reached out to squeeze Yunho’s shoulder and then leaned forward so that he could talk to the siblings more easily.
“Nice sweater,” Jihye commented.
The other boy grinned, “Your brother gave it to me.”
“Gave it?” Yunho scoffed as he began to start driving again, “I think it’s more like you stole it from my closet.”
“Well, you didn’t ask for it back, so I don’t think there’s a problem here,” Jaejoong replied softly. “Besides, I don’t I look good in it?”
Yunho didn’t reply and kept his eyes on the road, and once it was clear that he wasn’t going to say anything, Jihye chimed into reply. “I think you look great.” She punched her brother’s arm, “You’re such a douchebag.”
“I’m busy driving.”
“Idiot.”
“You can walk to the diner if you want -“
“Oh Jihye,” Jaejoong muttered as he reclined and leaned back into his seat. He tilted his head and smirked, “I always look great.”
“Such modesty,” Jihye picked up Yunho’s iPhone again. “By the way, are you the one responsible for the hipster mess that is on here?”
“Excuse me? I’m simply giving your brother a musical education, please don’t interfere.”
“Your taste is tragic.”
“Just like your taste in men is?” Jihye teased as she glanced at her brother. “I mean seriously, you spend way too much time with my brother.”
“It’s your brother who’s begging to spend attention with me,” Jaejoong said with a scoff as he kicked the back of Yunho’s seat. “Don’t you think of me as a special snowflake you want to spend your life with forever?”
“I’m just dying to adopt African babies with you.”
“See Jihye,” Jaejoong said with a bright smile, “What did I tell you? I’m betting that he’s totally in love with me and is just too afraid to tell everyone about it.”
---
She’d thought that things would be awkward once they got into the diner, but surprisingly, nothing seemed different from how they were in the car. She sat beside her brother, and Jaejoong carried most of the conversation as they waited for someone to go over to them.
“So, are you pregnant or something Yunho?” Jaejoong asked teasingly as he toyed with his menu and winked at Yunho over the plastic rectangle. “Is there any reason why you wanted to bring us out this fine evening?”
“I thought…I just thought it’d be fun,” Yunho said, and Jihye could feel him relax against her as he sank deeper into the booth. “We probably won’t get to do things like this once we go to college and whatever.”
Jihye leaned her head against her brother’s shoulder and looked up at him, “I’ll make sure you eat more than just ramen though, so don’t worry.”
“And if ever you’re lonely at night…” Jaejoong started, earning him a curious look from Jihye, “I can buy you a Teddy bear.”
“How boring,” Yunho said softly as he played with his menu and looked through it casually, “For a second there, I thought you were going to hit on me like you usually do.”
Jihye’s eyes widened, and she looked up at her brother. His eyes were still focused on the menu, and as usual, his face didn’t betray much emotion.
“I was worried you might not drive me home if I made a lewd joke,” Jaejoong replied with a slight frown on his face. “You know that I don’t like taking the bus on account of perverts and creepy passengers.”
“Well, even if you don’t make any lewd jokes, you’re still walking home -“
“Hey!”
Jihye laughed, and she poked her brother’s side before she edged away from him and picked up her own menu. “Yunho’s just in a bad mood because he’s hungry. He’s like a child.”
Jaejoong stretched his arms across the table and pouted. His eyes were fixed upon Yunho, but the other boy still wasn’t looking at him.
“You’re such an asshole.”
“Shut up or he’s really going to let you walk. I swear Jaejoong, you talk too much and that always gets you in trouble with people -“
Jihye paused when she caught something in the corner of her eye. Yunho had placed his hands on top of Jaejoong’s and was casually playing with the other’s hands. They still weren’t looking at one another - Jaejoong’s eyes still focused on Yunho’s face, while Yunho’s attention was on Jaejoong’s hands, but things seemed…fine between them at the least.
She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could voice out even a syllable, the waitress spoke first.
“What will you three order?”
Jihye looked at the woman briefly before turning her attention back to her brother and Jaejoong, but Yunho’s hands were now clasping the plastic menu. Jaejoong’s however, remained on the table in their original position, lingering in the moment that had passed so quickly between them.
---
“…is he seriously snoring?”
Yunho glanced at the backseat and nodded. They were waiting at a stoplight - and although there was no one on the road anymore, Yunho still insisted on waiting for the light to go green. Jihye lowered the volume of the music, making Jaejoong’s snores only more audible than they already were.
“I didn’t expect him to eat so much,” Jihye said slowly as she fought her own urges to go to sleep after eating. “He barely even gave you anything even though both of you were supposed to share that cheeseburger.”
“It’s okay,” Yunho replied as he rubbed his eyes. “I wasn’t that hungry by that point anyway, and you shared your fries with me too.”
Jihye glanced at Jaejoong through the rearview mirror, and the boy was now completely sprawled over the backseat. She chuckled softly, but then glanced at her brother in confusion as he took a left turn instead of a right.
“We’re not bringing Jaejoong home first?” she asked.
“Nobody’s home at his house,” Yunho answered. He didn’t speak for a few seconds after that, but before Jihye could press further, he spoke up once again to fill the silence. “His parents are on a cruise, and his sisters are out either because of work or because of some academic competition.”
“Oh.”
“He can just borrow my clothes anyway, and we can stop by his house before we go to school tomorrow to get his uniform. We should just leave home early.”
“Alright.” Jihye sank in deeper into her seat and smiled at her brother. He didn’t seem bothered by his own words - a bored expression was still on his face, but Jihye couldn’t help but be touched by her brother’s actions. “Did you plan this?”
“Plan what?”
“Did you plan all this just to get Jaejoong to sleep over?” Jihye asked, making sure to lower her voice in case Jaejoong could overhear.
“He’s not used to being alone,” Yunho answered slowly, the expression on his face making it clear that he was choosing his words carefully. “I know that you and I are used to mom and dad not being around…but he’s not.”
“You could’ve just asked him directly to sleepover though…why didn’t you?”
Yunho was silent and didn’t bother to respond further. Rather than pressing him, Jihye knew better and kept silent. She changed the song that was playing and looked out her window instead. After years of living with him, she knew her brother well, and he would sooner close up than be forced to speak about something he didn’t want to discuss.
The rest of the drive was mostly silent, and Yunho pulled up in front of their house and parked the car in the garage with his usual ease, but before Jihye could unbuckle her seatbelt, Yunho reached out and held her wrist.
She met his gaze, and he squeezed her wrist a little tighter.
“I don’t know…I just couldn’t bring myself to ask him flat out.” Yunho said softly, “I know he acts differently around me lately, and…I just didn’t know what the right thing to do was in this situation, but I knew I couldn’t just let him be alone.”
“It’s okay Yunho,” Jihye said softly, her gaze kind. “You don’t need to explain anything to me.”
“…I just, I just feel like I had to say something to you,” Yunho took in a deep breath, and he smiled at his sister. “Thanks by the way, for everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
He gave her wrist another thankful squeeze before letting go so that he could wake up Jaejoong properly. Jihye got out of the car, and she watched from a slight distance as Yunho gave up on waking the older boy up and eventually just carried him out of the car and into their house.
---
Jihye yawned and leaned her head against the cool glass window. She’d been forced to wake up a little earlier than usual so that they could stop by Jaejoong’s house for his uniform. She glanced out her window to see if either Yunho or Jaejoong would be coming out soon and was surprised to see Jaejoong come out with his bag slung over his shoulder.
He slid into the backseat and tilted his head at her.
“What?”
“Where’s my brother?”
“He had to use the bathroom.”
“Oh.”
She yawned again as she reached forward to change the song that was playing, and just as the new song had started to play, Jaejoong spoke.
“I’m going to tell Yunho about my feelings soon.”
Jihye turned around in shock, not expecting those words at that moment - or in fact, even at all, but before she could say anything, the driver’s door opened and Yunho came inside the car.
“Did you lock the doors?” Jaejoong asked, a smile on his face.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Thanks.”
Still shocked, Jihye was frozen in place, and Yunho had to poke her in order to capture her attention when his words failed him. She glanced at him, and he raised an eyebrow at her.
“What are you doing? Put your seatbelt back on.”
Slowly, Jihye sat back down properly and put her seatbelt on. She looked up at the rearview mirror and met Jaejoong’s gaze.
He smiled at her and put a finger up to his lips, gesturing for her to keep quiet, and then started speaking about his and Yunho’s Calculus teacher as if nothing had happened. Jihye meanwhile, sat quietly in her seat for the entire duration of the car trip to school, her eyes constantly drifting over to her brother as she wondered what his answer for Jaejoong would be.
Yes, or no?
They’d all be finding out soon.
Author’s Note: So, so, so busy lately - but in the midst of all my school work, I was just slapped in the face with inspiration…and thus this chapter has come about. I actually scrapped the original version of this chapter, and I’m a lot happier with this version. It’s unedited, so I’m sorry for any mistakes. I really do promise that the last chapter will come around a lot faster than this one, haha. Thank you all so much for sticking through with me. It means a lot. ♥
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Humor, slight Angst
Summary: Whether unfortunately or fortunately, some realizations just come later than others and lead us to things we didn’t know we wanted.
“Your brother is busy, and it honestly sickens me.”
Jihye looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”
Jaejoong put his bag down casually and occupied the seat across from her. He ran a hand through his hair and huffed, “Like can you imagine, apparently he and your dad have some kind of thing to do, then he has some volunteer shit -“
“He’s probably just padding his applications…”
“Yes, I know, and it disturbs me thoroughly,” Jaejoong responded. He held out his chopsticks and pointed them at himself, “Doing all that work - it’s definitely not for me. I don’t even know if I really want to go to some fancy university or not.”
“…you know that Yunho’s probably going to get a heart attack after hearing that, right?” Jihye asked as she twirled her noodles with her own chopsticks, “He’s been grade obsessed since birth because of our parents.”
“And you…?”
“Rebellious younger child,” Jihye said with a shrug. “I care, but not as much as he does for the most part.”
Jaejoong laughed, “So, I guess you don’t share Yunho’s dream of a beautiful, well mannered spouse, twenty five kids, and a beautiful white picket house?”
“I’m not going to concern myself thinking that far into the future. I’m more of a live in the day kind of person. Anyway…as much as I personally don’t mind your company, is there something going on? My friend’s coming over in a bit to have lunch with me -“
“Oh, right,” Jaejoong laughed awkwardly. “Uh, well, I was just wondering…”
“Yeah?”
“What is your brother like when he’s interested in someone? I mean, I doubt he’s an unfeeling robo-student all the time, and I’m just really curious.”
“…uh, I’m not sure what to look for?” Jihye said with a helpless shrug. “He never tells me about people he likes, so…I don’t know what kind of qualities he’s supposed to show me or well anyone for that matter.”
“Oh.”
Jaejoong looked thoughtful for a few seconds, and Jihye studied the other boy carefully as he contemplated her words. He was still as handsome as ever and still exuded a certain reckless charm, but things were different now. Just as easily as she’d realized feelings for him, most of those feelings had gone with the minutes that fell prey to the passage of time. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t special to her anymore, her heart still soared at a certain height whenever he interacted with her, but things were just different now.
He was still Kim Jaejoong after all, and boys like him were never meant to be ignored or easily forgotten.
“I wish I could give you answers,” Jihye said slowly, her eyes still carefully assessing the boy across from her. “But unfortunately, I don’t have any. Yunho’s response to love is just as much a mystery to me as it is to you. It’s one of the few things he just doesn’t seem to understand.”
“It’s alright.” Jaejoong let out a small sigh and smiled at her as he rested his chin against the palm of his hand. “I’m just curious. Your brother…he takes up a lot of my time lately, you know?”
“I know, I can tell you like him -“
“What?”
Jihye noticed the panicked expression on Jaejoong’s face, and just as she was about to clarify her words, the other boy quickly turned his eyes away from her.
“Of course I like your brother,” he said with an awkward laugh, “He’s my friend after all, and…I like him. I like him because he’s Yunho…and I like him even though he’s stupid about certain things.”
“That’s okay,” Jihye said softly, making sure to be careful with her words. “We can’t choose who…we don’t often get the chance to choose stuff like that. I like my brother even though he’s stupid too.”
Jaejoong slowly raised his eyes once again, and the smile he rewarded Jihye was unlike any other she’d seen from him before. She couldn’t help but smile back, and after Jaejoong had said his goodbyes and had packed his things, she couldn’t help but think of the way he’d smiled at her long after he’d gone.
It was a smile of relief, but most of all, she couldn’t help but feel like it was his gift to her for her simple understanding of his situation.
After all, Yunho was clueless in matters of love - but she was not.
She’d known what it was like to harbor awkward, bothersome feelings, and most of all, she knew what it was like to be in that stage of waiting. It was the stage that came between the terrible realization of one’s feelings and the inevitable revelation of them, and it was an agonizing push and pull of common sense and delusion.
Would it be a yes, or would it be a no?
Unfortunately, no one would truly know the answer to that until feelings were voiced out and one’s heart was laid bare to a possibly unwilling recipient. Or perhaps a painful or joyous revelation would occur in a less direct form, but no matter what, everyone would find clarity in one way or another.
It was the waiting - the uncertainty - that was one of the hardest parts of being in love.
---
“Get up,” Yunho said as opened the door to Jihye’s room and fiddled with the keys of his car.
Jihye raised her head up a little to look at her brother and raised her eyebrow.
“Why?”
“I’m hungry, and I don’t want to eat anything here.”
“Ugh, you -“
“Are you in, or are you out?”
Jihye rolled around on her bed, her face landing directly onto her pillow. She held it close to her chest and sighed, “Where are going to go? I’m sick of McDonald’s, and I don’t -“
“I’ll treat you to that diner with the great cheese fries.”
“…fine, I’m coming, hold on.”
Yes, she was girl raised in a home environment that had taught both her and her brother, a great amount of self-control, but there were a few things she could not resist in life and one of those things was cheese fries.
---
“…so why are we going to Jaejoong’s house again?” Jihye questioned as she ran through the songs on Yunho’s iPhone.
She pursed her lips as she waited for Yunho to reply, and as she continued to go through the list of songs. Most of the songs are likely from ridiculously hipster bands and incredibly obscure labels because she can hardly recognize a lot of them, so she’s ninety nine percent sure that Jaejoong’s been the one updating the thing.
“He might want to come along too or something,” Yunho replied as he kept his eyes on the road in front of them. “It’s usually him who plans these kinds of stuff…I just thought I’d do something for a change I guess.”
“How kind of you,” Jihye commented as she leaned in further into her seat and resisted the urge to bring her legs up onto the seat. “Do you want me to sit in the back?”
“No - just…stay there.”
“…okay then.”
They pulled up in front of Jaejoong’s house, and before Yunho could even give the other boy a call, the front door opened and Jaejoong waved at them from his porch. He was wearing a ridiculously bright red sweater, and Jihye vaguely recognized it as something an aunt had given Yunho as a Christmas present sometime ago. She rolled down the window and waved.
“Get in loser!”
Jaejoong laughed and quickened his pace, easily sliding into the backseat. He reached out to squeeze Yunho’s shoulder and then leaned forward so that he could talk to the siblings more easily.
“Nice sweater,” Jihye commented.
The other boy grinned, “Your brother gave it to me.”
“Gave it?” Yunho scoffed as he began to start driving again, “I think it’s more like you stole it from my closet.”
“Well, you didn’t ask for it back, so I don’t think there’s a problem here,” Jaejoong replied softly. “Besides, I don’t I look good in it?”
Yunho didn’t reply and kept his eyes on the road, and once it was clear that he wasn’t going to say anything, Jihye chimed into reply. “I think you look great.” She punched her brother’s arm, “You’re such a douchebag.”
“I’m busy driving.”
“Idiot.”
“You can walk to the diner if you want -“
“Oh Jihye,” Jaejoong muttered as he reclined and leaned back into his seat. He tilted his head and smirked, “I always look great.”
“Such modesty,” Jihye picked up Yunho’s iPhone again. “By the way, are you the one responsible for the hipster mess that is on here?”
“Excuse me? I’m simply giving your brother a musical education, please don’t interfere.”
“Your taste is tragic.”
“Just like your taste in men is?” Jihye teased as she glanced at her brother. “I mean seriously, you spend way too much time with my brother.”
“It’s your brother who’s begging to spend attention with me,” Jaejoong said with a scoff as he kicked the back of Yunho’s seat. “Don’t you think of me as a special snowflake you want to spend your life with forever?”
“I’m just dying to adopt African babies with you.”
“See Jihye,” Jaejoong said with a bright smile, “What did I tell you? I’m betting that he’s totally in love with me and is just too afraid to tell everyone about it.”
---
She’d thought that things would be awkward once they got into the diner, but surprisingly, nothing seemed different from how they were in the car. She sat beside her brother, and Jaejoong carried most of the conversation as they waited for someone to go over to them.
“So, are you pregnant or something Yunho?” Jaejoong asked teasingly as he toyed with his menu and winked at Yunho over the plastic rectangle. “Is there any reason why you wanted to bring us out this fine evening?”
“I thought…I just thought it’d be fun,” Yunho said, and Jihye could feel him relax against her as he sank deeper into the booth. “We probably won’t get to do things like this once we go to college and whatever.”
Jihye leaned her head against her brother’s shoulder and looked up at him, “I’ll make sure you eat more than just ramen though, so don’t worry.”
“And if ever you’re lonely at night…” Jaejoong started, earning him a curious look from Jihye, “I can buy you a Teddy bear.”
“How boring,” Yunho said softly as he played with his menu and looked through it casually, “For a second there, I thought you were going to hit on me like you usually do.”
Jihye’s eyes widened, and she looked up at her brother. His eyes were still focused on the menu, and as usual, his face didn’t betray much emotion.
“I was worried you might not drive me home if I made a lewd joke,” Jaejoong replied with a slight frown on his face. “You know that I don’t like taking the bus on account of perverts and creepy passengers.”
“Well, even if you don’t make any lewd jokes, you’re still walking home -“
“Hey!”
Jihye laughed, and she poked her brother’s side before she edged away from him and picked up her own menu. “Yunho’s just in a bad mood because he’s hungry. He’s like a child.”
Jaejoong stretched his arms across the table and pouted. His eyes were fixed upon Yunho, but the other boy still wasn’t looking at him.
“You’re such an asshole.”
“Shut up or he’s really going to let you walk. I swear Jaejoong, you talk too much and that always gets you in trouble with people -“
Jihye paused when she caught something in the corner of her eye. Yunho had placed his hands on top of Jaejoong’s and was casually playing with the other’s hands. They still weren’t looking at one another - Jaejoong’s eyes still focused on Yunho’s face, while Yunho’s attention was on Jaejoong’s hands, but things seemed…fine between them at the least.
She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could voice out even a syllable, the waitress spoke first.
“What will you three order?”
Jihye looked at the woman briefly before turning her attention back to her brother and Jaejoong, but Yunho’s hands were now clasping the plastic menu. Jaejoong’s however, remained on the table in their original position, lingering in the moment that had passed so quickly between them.
---
“…is he seriously snoring?”
Yunho glanced at the backseat and nodded. They were waiting at a stoplight - and although there was no one on the road anymore, Yunho still insisted on waiting for the light to go green. Jihye lowered the volume of the music, making Jaejoong’s snores only more audible than they already were.
“I didn’t expect him to eat so much,” Jihye said slowly as she fought her own urges to go to sleep after eating. “He barely even gave you anything even though both of you were supposed to share that cheeseburger.”
“It’s okay,” Yunho replied as he rubbed his eyes. “I wasn’t that hungry by that point anyway, and you shared your fries with me too.”
Jihye glanced at Jaejoong through the rearview mirror, and the boy was now completely sprawled over the backseat. She chuckled softly, but then glanced at her brother in confusion as he took a left turn instead of a right.
“We’re not bringing Jaejoong home first?” she asked.
“Nobody’s home at his house,” Yunho answered. He didn’t speak for a few seconds after that, but before Jihye could press further, he spoke up once again to fill the silence. “His parents are on a cruise, and his sisters are out either because of work or because of some academic competition.”
“Oh.”
“He can just borrow my clothes anyway, and we can stop by his house before we go to school tomorrow to get his uniform. We should just leave home early.”
“Alright.” Jihye sank in deeper into her seat and smiled at her brother. He didn’t seem bothered by his own words - a bored expression was still on his face, but Jihye couldn’t help but be touched by her brother’s actions. “Did you plan this?”
“Plan what?”
“Did you plan all this just to get Jaejoong to sleep over?” Jihye asked, making sure to lower her voice in case Jaejoong could overhear.
“He’s not used to being alone,” Yunho answered slowly, the expression on his face making it clear that he was choosing his words carefully. “I know that you and I are used to mom and dad not being around…but he’s not.”
“You could’ve just asked him directly to sleepover though…why didn’t you?”
Yunho was silent and didn’t bother to respond further. Rather than pressing him, Jihye knew better and kept silent. She changed the song that was playing and looked out her window instead. After years of living with him, she knew her brother well, and he would sooner close up than be forced to speak about something he didn’t want to discuss.
The rest of the drive was mostly silent, and Yunho pulled up in front of their house and parked the car in the garage with his usual ease, but before Jihye could unbuckle her seatbelt, Yunho reached out and held her wrist.
She met his gaze, and he squeezed her wrist a little tighter.
“I don’t know…I just couldn’t bring myself to ask him flat out.” Yunho said softly, “I know he acts differently around me lately, and…I just didn’t know what the right thing to do was in this situation, but I knew I couldn’t just let him be alone.”
“It’s okay Yunho,” Jihye said softly, her gaze kind. “You don’t need to explain anything to me.”
“…I just, I just feel like I had to say something to you,” Yunho took in a deep breath, and he smiled at his sister. “Thanks by the way, for everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
He gave her wrist another thankful squeeze before letting go so that he could wake up Jaejoong properly. Jihye got out of the car, and she watched from a slight distance as Yunho gave up on waking the older boy up and eventually just carried him out of the car and into their house.
---
Jihye yawned and leaned her head against the cool glass window. She’d been forced to wake up a little earlier than usual so that they could stop by Jaejoong’s house for his uniform. She glanced out her window to see if either Yunho or Jaejoong would be coming out soon and was surprised to see Jaejoong come out with his bag slung over his shoulder.
He slid into the backseat and tilted his head at her.
“What?”
“Where’s my brother?”
“He had to use the bathroom.”
“Oh.”
She yawned again as she reached forward to change the song that was playing, and just as the new song had started to play, Jaejoong spoke.
“I’m going to tell Yunho about my feelings soon.”
Jihye turned around in shock, not expecting those words at that moment - or in fact, even at all, but before she could say anything, the driver’s door opened and Yunho came inside the car.
“Did you lock the doors?” Jaejoong asked, a smile on his face.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Thanks.”
Still shocked, Jihye was frozen in place, and Yunho had to poke her in order to capture her attention when his words failed him. She glanced at him, and he raised an eyebrow at her.
“What are you doing? Put your seatbelt back on.”
Slowly, Jihye sat back down properly and put her seatbelt on. She looked up at the rearview mirror and met Jaejoong’s gaze.
He smiled at her and put a finger up to his lips, gesturing for her to keep quiet, and then started speaking about his and Yunho’s Calculus teacher as if nothing had happened. Jihye meanwhile, sat quietly in her seat for the entire duration of the car trip to school, her eyes constantly drifting over to her brother as she wondered what his answer for Jaejoong would be.
Yes, or no?
They’d all be finding out soon.
Author’s Note: So, so, so busy lately - but in the midst of all my school work, I was just slapped in the face with inspiration…and thus this chapter has come about. I actually scrapped the original version of this chapter, and I’m a lot happier with this version. It’s unedited, so I’m sorry for any mistakes. I really do promise that the last chapter will come around a lot faster than this one, haha. Thank you all so much for sticking through with me. It means a lot. ♥