𝓛𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓲𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓮𝔂𝓮𝓼 | • 𝓙𝓪𝔂 𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓴 • |

꧁ ✻ chapter 6 ✻ ꧂

Y/N POV

Its been months and Jungwon is like a brother to me now. We hang out each time we can. And about Jay.. We still haven't talked since what happend then.. If we saw each other coincidentally we just ignored each other and didn't even look in the eyes. I mean im over it already but... It just feels weird.

It was in the afternoon of friday. There were worse things than being stranded in the middle of nowhere during a rainstorm.
But just because things could get worse didn't mean they didn't suck. Stop. Think positive... A car should show up... now. I stared at my phone, biting back my frustration when the app reassured me it was "finding my ride" the wat it had been for the past half hour.

Normally i'd be less stressed about the situation because hey, at least I had a working phone and a bus shelter to keep me mostly dry from the pounding rain. But Jungwons birthday party was starting in an hour, I had yet to pick up his surprise cake from the bakery, and it would be dark soon.

I mentally scrolled trough my limited options. The bus that stopped at this location didn't run on the weekends and most of my friends didn't own a car. Yeah i made some friends a while ago. Great isn't it? Anyways my rideshare app wasn't working, and I hasn't seen a singe car pass by since the rain started. Not that I would hitchhike anyways- I've watched horror movies, thank you very much.

I only had one option left. One I really didn't want to take- but beggars couldn't be choosers. I pulled up the contact in my phone, said a silent prayer, and pressed the call button. Come on, pick up. Or not. I wasn't sure which would be worse- getting murdered or dealing with jungwon. Of course, There was always the chance said jungwon would murder me himself for putting myself in such a situation, but i'd deal with that later.

"Whats wrong?" I scrunched my nose at his greeting. "Hello to you too, Jungwon dearest. What makes you think somethings wrong?" Jungwon snorted. "Uh, you called me. You never call unless you're in trouble." True. "I wouldn't say im in trouble" I hedged. "More like... stranded. Im not near the public transport, and I cant find a rideshare" I softly said. "God, Y/N. Where are you?"
I told him.

"What the hell are you doing there? Thats and hour from here!" I chuckled. "Don't be dramatic. I had an appointment, and its a thirty-minute drive. Forty-five if there's traffic." Thunder boomed, shaking the branches of nearby trees. I winced and shrank farther back into the shelter, not that it did me much good.

The rain slanged sideways, splattering me with water droplets so heavy and hard they stung when they hit my skin. "Jungwonnn" "One of the guys took my car to buy more ice," Jungwon said, his voice clear again. "But don't worry, I got you. Drop a pin of your exact location, and keep your phone close. Do you still have the pepperspray i bought for your birthday last year?" "Yea thanks for that, by the way."

Id wanted a new painting set, but jungwon had bought me an eight-pack of pepper spray instead. I'd never used any of it, which meant all eight bottles. Minus the one tucked in my purse. "You're welcome. Stay put, and he'll be there soon. We'll talk about your complete lack of self-preservation later." "Im self-preserved" I protested. "Its not ny fault there are no- wait, what do you mean 'he'? Jungwon!" Too late. He'd already hung up.

I sat sideways on the bench and hugged my bag to my side, letting the cracked leather warm my skin while I waited for the mysterious "he" to show up. It could be anyone. Jungwon had no shortage of friends. He'd always been Mr.Popular- Basketball player, student body president in school from enhypen.

I wasn't sure how long I had huddled in the tiny bus shelter. Well, here I was. It was getting dark. Muted gray mingled with the cool blues twilight, and a port of me worried the mysterious "he" wouldn't show up. But jungwon had never let me down.

The bright beam of headlights slashed trough the rain. I squinted, my heart tripping in both anticipation and wariness as I weighed the odds of whether the car belonged to my ride or. potential psycho.

When my eyes adjusted to the light, I slumped with relief, only to stuffen again two seconds later. Good news? I recognized the sleek, pulling up toward me. It belonged to one of the guys, which meant I wouldn't end up a local news item tonight.

Bad news? The person driving was the last person I wanted, or expecting to pick me up. He was look at me wrong and i'll destroy you and everyone you care about kinda guy, and he'd do it looking so calm and gorgeous you wouldn't notice your world burning down until you were already a heap of ashes at his Tom Ford-clad feet.

I swiped the tip of my tongue over my dry lips as the car stopped in front if me and the passenger window rolled down. "Get in." He didn't raise his voice. He bever raised his voice, but I still heard him loud and clear over the rain. Jay Park. Of course. After all these times. "I hope you're not waiting for me to open the door for you," He said when I didn't move. He sounded as happy as I was about the situation. What a gentleman.

I pressed my lips together and bit back a sarcastic reply as I roused myself from the bench and ducked into the car. It smelled cool and expensive, like spicy cologne and fine Italian leather. I didn't have a towel or anything to place on the seat beneath me, so all I could do was pray I didn't damage the expensive interior.

"Thanks for picking me up. I appreciate it," I said in an attempt to break the icy silence.
I failed. Miserably.
Jay didn't respond or even look at me as he navigated the twists and curves of the slick roads leading back to campus. He drove the same way he walked, talked and breathed, steady and controlled, with and undercurrent of danger warning those foolish enough to contemplate crossing him that doing so wiykd be their death sentence.

He was exact opposite of Jungwon, and I still marveled at the fact that they were best friends. "Are you going to Jungwons party?" I tried again to make a small talk. The silence was killing me. Since what happend months ago... Jay and I didn't talk unless it had to do either Jungwon or passing the potatoes at dinner or something. "Yes." Okay then. Guess small talk was out.

Crap! I'd forgotten all about Jungwons cake. I'd ordered it two weeks ago because that was the max lead time for something from the bakery. It was Jungwons favorite dessert, a three-layer chocolate frosted with fudge and filled with chocolate pudding.

"so.." I pasted the biggest, brightest smile on my face. "Don't kill me, but we need to make a detour to a bakery." "No. We're already late" Jay stopped at a red light. My smile did to budge. "its a small detour. it'll take fifteen minutes, max. I just need to run in and pick up jungwons cake. You know, The death by chocolate he likes so much?"

"Stop" Jays fingers curled around the steering sheel, and my wild mind latched on to how beautiful his fingers were? Physically, everything about him was beautiful. The jade brown eyes that glared out from beneath dark brows like chips hewn from a glacier. The sharp jawline and elegant, sculpted cheekbones. The lean frame and thick, light brown hair that somehow looked both straight and perfectly coiffed.

The urge to ruffle his hair like I would a kids gripped me, just so he'd stop looking so perfect. Which was quite irritating to the rest of us mere mortals. But I didn't have a death wish, so I kept my hands planted in my lap.

"If I take you to the bakery, will you stop talking?" No doubt he regretted picking me up. My smile grew. "If you want." His lips thinned. "Fine." Yes!

When we arrived at the bakery, I unbuckled my seat belt and was halfway out the door when Jay grabbed my arm and pulled me back into my seat. Contrary to what i'd expected, his touch wasn't cold. It was scorching, and it burned trough my skin and muscles untill i felt his warmth in the pit of my stomach. I swallowed hard.

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~to be continued...~