To Thaw Ice | Kim Jonghyun (Nu'est)

Chapter 17

As soon as he saw Gayoung walking away, he stepped out from behind the corner, revealing his presence to Jonghyun.

"Is it true?"

Jonghyun turned around, seeing Dongho's face screwed up as it did whenever he got mad. Never before had his expression been directed at Jonghyun.

"Finding out you kissed her less than a week ago was already bad enough but the fact you tried to set us up today because of my money..." Dongho felt betrayed, Jonghyun was the only person he thought wanted nothing from him. "I lost the girl and now I've lost my friend."

"It wasn't like that." Jonghyun pleaded, reaching out for his friend only to be swatted away.

"Tell me, were you ever genuine or were you after my money too?" his comment came off snarky in contrast to his regular tone. "You knew I liked her yet you kissed her. I can get over that, you're my best friend. But making it about using my money. People only like me for my money and you know that..."

"No, you know I don't care about that kind of thing." Jonghyun was overwhelmed. Usually, he avoided conflict and it was for reasons like this, he couldn't stand hurting the people close to him with his thoughtless words. He had no idea how to make things right. "I was wrong. I made a mistake. I never meant to hurt anyone. Not you or Gayoung. I'm really sorry."

"We've been friends for years," Dongho began, he seemed to be calming down. One thing about him is that he was quite levelheaded a majority of the time and it was moments like this that it paid off. Jonghyun wanted to make sure Dongho knew how sincerely sorry he was. "I don't want to throw all that away but I need some time."

"I get that," Jonghyun accepted with a nod, casting his eyes down to the ground. "I'll leave you alone and give you the space you need."

"Can I ask one thing?" Dongho added, his curiosity peeking through. "Why did you kiss her?"

"Huh?"

"She said you kissed, so, why?" Dongho dreaded the answer, fearing that he might hear the one thing he never wanted to. 

Jonghyun had been closed off for a few years now. For someone who avoided women that had an interest in him, hearing that he had kissed one was shocking. If he liked her enough to kiss her and admitted that he liked her, Dongho knew he'd have to take responsibility. Jonghyun was his friend, he knew everything about him, including his reason for staying away from women. If Gayoung had healed a part of Jonghyun's past, making him feel something, Dongho knew what he'd have to do. Stepping down would hurt but it was for good reasons. Especially since he now knew about Gayoung's interest in Jonghyun. He couldn't force her to feel things for him. All he could do was be a good friend to both of them.

"What do you mean-"

"You know what I'm asking. You can tell me the truth. I just need to hear it." Dongho urged.

"I don't like her in that way," Jonghyun felt a pang in his heart as he uttered those words. He didn't want to lie but he didn't believe it either. How could he accept the fact he had feelings for Gayoung? "You know, I liked Genevieve."

"You're talking in the past tense," Dongho pressed, earning a scoff from Jonghyun.

"Genevieve doesn't like me. I still like her but I'm letting go because she has no interest." Jonghyun decided to tell Dongho truthfully what had happened that day with Gayoung. "I didn't want to make you upset. I was alone with Gayoung on break between lessons. She wasn't feeling too good so I sat with her and we talked. I must've given her the wrong signals and she kissed me first. She pulled away after and apologised then left. It was all a big incident."

"She pulled away..." Though he didn't notice that minor detail in his retelling, Dongho had. Jonghyun wasn't the one who pulled away. Regardless of whether or not he initiated it, he didn't attempt to pull away. Now he knew, Jonghyun was repressing his feelings for her. He was sure of it. How could he not notice?

Minor details all began to add up. He was the first one to follow after her when she was ill, sat with her when she felt sick and who knows what else. How many more times had he done things for her that Dongho didn't know about? He never stood a chance when they were closer than he'd even thought.

"Look, I'm not going to argue anymore. I'm just gonna head home, you can find you way back alone, right?" Dongho sighed, feeling fed up. He had a massive headache coming on. All he wanted to do was sleep.

"Yeah," Jonghyun didn't dare to say anything else because he didn't want to overstep his boundaries. Dongho was a close friend who he didn't want to let go of. Years of friendship, it couldn't all be thrown away just like that.

"Alright, I'll see you around. Tell Nayeon I said bye." Dongho added before passing by, shoulders briefly hitting as he barged past Jonghyun.

There was nothing he could do to stop either of them from walking away because he knew he was in the wrong. No matter how pure his intentions may have seemed to him, after hearing their opinions, it was no wonder they were mad. Acknowledging his wrongdoings didn't make him feel any better though, in fact, he felt ten times worse. 

He found it hard to make friends. They always pushed him to do things he didn't want to do or felt uncomfortable with. Finally, he had found people he could surround himself with, no worries just good vibes. Had he lost it all?

Sauntering over, Nayeon put on a worried expression and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale?" Nayeon observed, glancing around to check for the rest of the group. "Where are the others?"

"Yeah, I-" Jonghyun didn't have the energy in him to lie but he couldn't simply ignore it either. "They had to go home. I'm feeling a little queasy, I don't think I'll be any fun today. I think I'm gonna go home if that's okay with you?" 

"Yeah, of course. Is it okay if we share a taxi? I left my T-money card at home." Nayeon knew he was too nice to reject the offer, making it the perfect time to take advantage of the situation.

"Sure," he nodded in agreement, pulling his cap down lower.

Walking silently along, Jonghyun pulled out his phone to avoid making conversation even as they walked out to grab a taxi.

KJH: I'm afraid. If I'm alone, I get lost in my thoughts. I know you won't reply and I'm hoping I'm blocked if that's the case because I want to vent freely to someone just this once but I don't want you to think I'm a creep.

Unexpectedly, he got a reply from her. As if it were a dream, his mysterious woman in red had replied for the first time. Seeing how she had replied in his time of need was comforting to him.

RED DRESS: Okay

KJH: Can we meet?

RED DRESS: Okay

Jonghyun felt ecstatic. Not because he was meeting her but because she had even responded to his request. Was it wrong to ask to meet up? He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, after all, he was going to vent to her. How could he vent to someone he liked but had only met once? It felt all weird but at the same time, the adrenaline of it all gave him energy.

"Actually-" He spoke up, stopping Nayeon in her tracks just as they were about to get into the taxi. "I've got to meet someone, you go ahead without me, I'll pay for your taxi."

"Wai-"

Before Nayeon could even ask anything, Jonghyun spoke to the driver through the window and passed him some money and told them to take Nayeon home. Rushing off, he got into the taxi behind, leaving her standing there flabbergasted and more than anything, annoyed. Incredibly annoyed.

KJH: Where should we meet?

RED DRESS: Where it all started...