Affection | Jenlisa

Mine For The Summer (1) ★

A Time Travel Au what would Jennie do if she's given a chance to revisit the summer that changed everything? to relive her youth, rekindle old friendships and perhaps... resurrect the one that got away?

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The night was still and quiet, save for the occasional revving engine of the cars driving by. My desk was dimly lit by a single table lamp and documents lay strewn messily all over the place. Crumpled balls of paper littered the floor of my home office as I reclined in my seat, rubbing warily at my temple.

Poring over the work documents in my hand, I took a quick sip of what must be my second cup of coffee for the night. The words were starting to gradually blur together the longer I looked and I slapped the papers down onto my desk in frustration, causing it to shake. I rubbed my eyes as I laid back.

I sat in silence in the dim room, I vaguely heard the sound of the door opening.

"Yuta must be home," I thought, sitting up with a start.

I looked at the clock. 2:03am. I'm so engrossed in my work that I didn't even notice the time and now I wished I had never checked for it in the first place. If he's home this late, it could only mean one thing. I felt a bitter taste in my mouth and a lump formed in the back of my throat, making it almost painful to breathe. Tears pricked at my eyes but I bit my lips, refusing to let my tears fall. Taking a deep breath, I plastered on a fake smile as I walked out to greet him.

"How's work?" I asked, trying my best to look as nonchalant as possible. Yuta looked up from his phone, an alarmed look on his face which he quickly masked over with an overly bright grin. Clearly, he didn't expect me to be awake at this time.

"It was alright, just a lot of bullshit with all those corporate people. You know what I mean," he laughed but there was no mirth or genuine laughter in his voice.

"Do you want anything to drink or eat?" I asked, trying to keep my wobbling tone steady. "There's some leftover pasta in the fridge."

"No, I've eaten. I think I'm just going to wash up and go to bed. Good night," Yuta replied cordially, talking to me as he would to a colleague rather than his own wife.

As he hurried off to our room with his eyes still glued onto the phone, he barely even looked in my direction. There was an expression of affection on his face that I've never seen him look at me with and I expected to feel hurt but nothing came. It was like I was numb. I watched him go, a heavy feeling in my chest which only grew stronger when I heard him coo into his phone.

"Nayeon-ah..."

When I heard the doors close, I let go of my breath which I wasn't even aware I was holding in in the first place. A single tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away hastily.

I ought to be used to this by now. It was not as though I was kept in the dark. I knew Yuta was cheating on me. I have known for quite some time now but every time when I had the chance to confront him, I never did. Maybe I'm too scared to do it, or maybe I just didn't want to ruin the seemingly perfect life I had somehow managed to fool myself into believing I led.

Wordlessly, I tried to indulge myself deeper in my work. Work was always a safe haven for me. Whenever I needed a break from reality or from life in general, I turned to my career. I grew to love how it would keep me busy and prevent my mind from wandering on to anything else, especially my unhappy marriage. However on this particular night, I found myself to be rather restless. For some reasons, my mind was just not cooperating with me.

Angry and irritated, I shoved the contents of my desk down to the floor with a loud clatter. Burying my face in my hands, I brooded silently, trapped in an internal emotional turmoil. This won't do. I have to make this stop. Slipping into my sneakers, I left the apartment.