A New Start || Seventeen

Chapter 77

"Joshua" Jeonghan snapped, pulling Joshua from his daydream.

"Hmm?" Joshua mumbled. He had no idea what Jeonghan had just asked him.

"I asked if you wanted a snack" Jeonghan said.

"Oh. No I'm good" Joshua replied, waving Jeonghan away with his hand.

He sighed and stood up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" Jeonghan asked.

"To unpack" Joshua replied over his shoulder as he walked down the hall in the dorm.

The tour had officially ended and they had arrived back in Korea only a few hours ago.

Joshua opened the door to his room and started to unpack his suitcase.

He got as far as unpacking the items into a pile on his bed before he stopped and sat down.

It had been a month since he had seen Daena after their concert in L.A and he had barely heard from her since.

Barely might even be an exaggeration. In fact she hadn't actually responded to any of his calls or texts at all. He was worried about her, or worried about their friendship really. The more time that passed without any contact between the two of them the more he thought that he really had gone too far by trying to get involved.

She had been visibly upset that night and Joshua had been mad at himself for causing the situation in the first place but had decided to take his anger out on Jeonghan, something he never did.

If she had decided she didn't want to Joshua's friend anymore he could understand why.

In fact he was shocked Jeonghan was still talking to him at all after what had happened.

Jeonghan wasn't just talking to him though, the last month had seemed to bring them closer than ever before, rather than pushing them away as it had seemed to do with Daena.

Joshua still couldn't understand why Jeonghan wasn't furious with him. But Jeonghan did seem to be dealing with the situation better than he had been before.

Just as Joshua was thinking this a knock on his open bedroom door snapped him out of his thoughts.

He lifted his head to find Jeonghan standing in the doorway.

"The others have all gone out, did you want to do something. Watch a movie?" Jeonghan asked.

Joshua stared at him silently. Jeonghan rarely offered to do things with him. But this only reinforced what he had been thinking before, Jeonghan had been extra clingy since that night in L.A.

Joshua finally spoke. "Why aren't you mad at me?" He asked, finally vocalising the question that had been on his mind for the past month.

"What?" Jeonghan replied, his eyebrow raising in confusion. "Why would I be mad at you" he asked.

"Because of what I did. I made things worse with Daena" Joshua groaned.

Jeonghan flinched at the sound of her name. He stood still for a moment before crossing the room and taking a seat on the bed beside Joshua.

"You didn't make things worse. You were trying to help" Jeonghan replied.

"But I didn't help" Joshua argued.

Jeonghan reached over and patted Joshua's knee. "No. You didn't. But it came from a good place. I know you meant well Joshua. You always mean well"

Joshua sighed. "I'm sorry it ended up this way" he mumbled.

"Me too. But listen. What you did didn't make things worse or change anything. She had already made her decision to end things. I guess I just reinforced her decision with my actions that night. I only have myself to blame. I lost the opportunity you tried to give me" Jeonghan replied, his voice cracking with emotion.

Joshua looked up at Jeonghan. He could see how much pain his friend was still in. Most of the time he hid it well but Joshua knew better and could see it hiding in his eyes.

"At least you are still willing to talk to me" Joshua replied with a deep sigh.

"She won't talk to you either?" Jeonghan asked.

Joshua blinked at Jeonghan blankly.

Jeonghan raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort.

"That night after I told you to get out. I really did try to fix things. I called her. But she didn't answer. I guess after what happened she had nothing to say" Jeonghan explained quietly.

"You only tried once?" Joshua asked. He didn't want to call Jeonghan an idiot, but if he had only made one call to Daena after that night that would make him an idiot.

"Well... no. I think I've called her every few days but she never answers" Jeonghan replied with a shrug.

"Me too. I started to worry something had happened but my mom said she is fine" Joshua explained.

Jeonghan stood up. "Looks like she doesn't want to hear from either of us then"

"I guess not" Joshua replied.

Jeonghan leaned down and ruffled Joshua's hair. "Give her time. She will come around. You are her best friend after all"

"Maybe" Joshua shrugged in reply. "The same goes for you. I know she will realise she made a mistake" he said smiling up at Jeonghan.

Jeonghan's face darkened. "No. I think it's safe to say that ship has sailed. It's probably best if I just move on. It's about time" he snapped.

Joshua flinched at Jeonghan's sudden mood change. He stood quickly and reached out, placing a hand on Jeonghan's shoulder.

"I mean it Jeonghan. She still loves you. I know she does. This was all just a mistake, you need to believe me" Joshua pleaded.

Jeonghan shrugged Joshua's hand off his shoulder. "What makes you so sure she made a mistake. If she still loved me she would answer my calls. Just let me move on. Please" Jeonghan begged.

Joshua looked at his friend sadly. "Okay, if that's what you want. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything" he rambled, trying to get his apology out as quickly as possible.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it" Jeonghan said, his face returning to normal.

Joshua watched as Jeonghan returned to the doorway.

"I'll find a movie for us to watch" Jeonghan announced as he closed Joshua's door behind him.

Joshua frowned after him. Jeonghan's sudden mood changes concerned him. He definitely wasn't okay.

Joshua decided he needed to continue to keep a close eye on him.

He reached for his phone, deciding to try Daena again.

When he unlocked his phone he found a message waiting for him. Surprisingly it was from Daena.

'Hi. I need my laptop urgently. I left it in my old apartment. Do you still have my things in storage. Can you ship it to me?'

Joshua cringed. He had forgotten that he told Daena he had cleared out her apartment before he left for tour.

That was a lie. He hadn't. He had actually taken over the lease and had left it exactly the way it was in case she wanted to come back.

He sent a quick response.

'Okay. I'll send it today. Are you okay. I haven't heard from you for a while?'

He waited for a response. Minutes passed. It looked like she was still ignoring him and had only messaged because she needed something.

Joshua sighed and picked up his keys. It looked like he was going to have to head over to her apartment and find the laptop.