his true self

16- calls and notes

As you and Jaemin reached your room without any further incidents, you found yourself at a loss for words. Fortunately, Jaemin broke the silence.

"Thanks for opening up, Y/n. I know some messed-up stuff went down, and I feel partly responsible for it, so I appreciate that you trusted me enough to spill everything. Just remember, if anything else comes up, you can always count on me."

He turned to leave, but you stopped him.

"Jaemin," you called out as he turned back, "thanks for listening."

He nodded with a smile, but then his expression turned serious once more.

"Let's keep this between us, okay? If Hyunjin finds out, we're both in deep trouble."

He had a point, a very valid one at that. Hyunjin's reaction to all this could be unpredictable, to say the least- especially considering that he told you to not to talk to Jaemin. Yet hear you were- not listening to him twice.

Jaemin seemed to sense your unease and smiled before nodding towards your room.

"Nervous about facing him?"

You scoffed, also glancing towards the door nervously.

"You have no idea."

His response elicited a chuckle as he turned to leave. "Well, since I can't help you with that, I'll leave you to it. Good luck."

You watched him disappear around the corner, leaving you alone with your thoughts once more. The weight of everything you had shared with Jaemin settled back onto your shoulders, overwhelming you.

Entering the room felt daunting, but lingering outside was not an option. The risk of encountering Mikyeong or Seungmin again was too high. You had to face Hyunjin, as much as you dreaded it.

Summoning your courage, you pushed open the door, expecting the worst. However, the room was empty.

With a sigh of relief, you collapsed onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Before long, exhaustion washed over you, pulling you into a deep sleep.

Your reprieve was short-lived, though, as the ringing of a phone jarred you awake.

Completely confused, you got up to find where the hell that mysterious phone was. Turned out you didn't have to search that long since it was right on the nightstand to your left.

Leaning over to grab it, you immediately recognized it.

It was your phone.

And it was Felix calling you.

At... 1:34 am?! You thought as you looked at the time, why would he call me at such a time?!

Should I pick it up? And why the hell is my phone even here? I don't remember taking it with me. What the fuck?

As Felix's call pierced through the room, you hesitated before answering. His voice carried an unfamiliar undertone, stirring an uneasy feeling within you.

"Um... hello? Felix?" you greeted cautiously.

"Y/n," his voice came through, tinged with an odd urgency you couldn't quite place.

"Is everything alright?" you inquired, sensing something was amiss.

"Well, um... yes and no. It's not particularly crucial for you, but I need to know where you've been. It's important."

Ah, the dreaded question. You braced yourself to concoct a believable story, but a sudden inner conflict halted you.

Should you really deceive Felix, your trusted confidant? He had always been there for you, listening to your rants about Hyunjin without judgment. Perhaps it was time to confide in him, to share the truth.

Yet, there were other considerations. You had promised Jaemin secrecy, and revealing too much to Felix could risk exposing both of you to Hyunjin's wrath.

Why the fuck would that be so important to him? You weren't even sure if he had been in the meeting earlier, so how would he know?!

But he waited for an answer. And you had to gave him one. Quickly.

So you lied to him.

Knowing the consequences if he'd find out about it.

But not daring to imagine the consequences if you wouldn't have lied.

"I was out for a walk in the gardens since I had zero motivation to wait for that rude ass Seungmin." Well actually that wasn't really a lie -especially not the last part- but at least you kept Jaemin out of it.

There was silence on Felix' side for a few seconds, which made you nervous as heck, but then he spoke up.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, heightening your nerves. Finally, Felix spoke again.

"Alone?" he queried, his tone unreadable.

"Alone," you confirmed, masking the uncertainty in your voice.

"Alright, thanks," Felix responded.

Before you could even ask why or anything else regarding the phone, he hung up the call.

Rude, you thought to yourself.

As you pocketed your phone, a note on the nightstand caught your eye. It bore familiar handwriting, instantly sending a jolt of recognition through you.

Heart pounding, you picked up the note and read its contents.

Meet me at the lake at 2 am

It's in the garden, just walk straight ahead, there should be a little path. Just follow it until you reach the lake.

-Hyunjin