identity: renjun, jeno & jaemin [on hold]

fourteen; drama

  "What?" Jeno blurts, feigning obliviousness at the accusation.

  "I'm not saying that you shouldn't have protected Jia, but what I'm wondering is why you lied about it. You even said that the library was empty but Yejun was there too. Why did you lie??
  "If it wasn't because something bad happened then, why? And is it a coincidence that Yejun's dead now? Or did you have something to do with it?" Nari suspects and Jeno's heartbeat races more and more with every second passing.

  He furrows with an amused chuckle, in disbelief over the ludicrousness of her actions. "So, you're saying I murdered Yejun?"

  "No. But if you really didn't do anything, why was the library door locked?" Nari assumes once again.

  The other frowns. "It was locked?"

  "Yes. That's why the security couldn't go in and check who were fighting. He had to leave to get the library key from the staffroom since the librarian was absent. Makes things even more suspicious, doesn't it?"

  Jaemin's grip tightens around his lover. "Narㅡ"

  "It was me!" Jia bursts and stands in front of Jeno, arms stretched out her sides as if shielding him.
"It was my fault! I was the one who told him to lie! I was the one who hurt Yejun!"

  Jeno looks down at her, frantic and bewildered. "Jia, whaㅡ"

  "I should've told the truth from the start," Jia mumbles enough for them to hear and looks at them with brimming eyes.
"You were right. He came to library, found me and decided to stay. He confessed his feelings to me but because I didn't like him back, I rejected him. He wasn't very understanding of it.
  "He was stubborn, persistent and tried to force his feelings on me. He said that if I didn't accept him, there was no other reason for him to live and that he was better off dead.
  "I thought he was joking but he began to grab me by the arm and that was when Jeno woke up and fought him off me. He was just defending me. It was never Jeno's fault- it was all on me. If only I was strong enough to fend Yejun off myself, things wouldn't have escalated and Yejun wouldn't have gotten hurt.
  "But Jeno did nothing that could've lead to his death. It was my own fault- I rejected Yejun even though, he already warned me of what might happen."

  The room turns silent at her confession.

  She backs away, gently bumping onto Jeno's chest and he instinctively wraps his arms around her- whether like a warm, protective embrace or cold, restraining chains, it's uncertain.

  She lied...for me? Jeno wonders, overwhelmingly touched by her actions made to defend him.

  "Oh, Jia... It wasn't your fault at all," Aria supports her. "His decision was his alone. You only did what was right."

  Renjun nods. "Definitely. If you were to accept and had to act as if you did like him, it would've been cruel."

  Jaemin turns to Nari, his previous clenching grip now softened to a gentle caress on her shoulder. "Nari? You have something to say, don't you?"

  The said girl sighs and looks at Jia's forlorn look before at Jeno who's clearly forgotten about the accusations against him as he's too busy being obsequious towards Jia. 

  You can almost see his tail wagging behind him.

  "Sorry, Jeno. I just, the news was just devastating and I couldn't handle the thought that one of us could be involved in it," Nari apologizes and Jeno smiles, shaking his head with a wave of his hand.

  "Don't worry about it. It's only normal for you to feel that way," he brushes the issue off.

  "Sorry to you too, Jia," Nari then, adds. But just like Jeno, Jia shrugs it off with a small smile.

  And just like that, the tension in the air diminishes. They're back to eating their snacks and watching the TV with a different channel.

  Jaemin turns to Nari who's leisurely eating her chips with eyes fixed on the screen and he leans to press his lips against the side of her head.

  His hot breath fanning her ear and causing a tickle down her spine before he whispers a praise for her obedience.

  "Good girl."