red wine supernova | jaehee x you
for (a very late) mystictober day 1 entry: favorite character
summary: what happens right after jaehee's good end, and you coming to terms with how you feel about jaehee... just a little bit more.
word count: 803
It doesn't take a lot for you to realize that you're in love with her. Hell, you'd be damned if you didn't figure it out by now -- with all the fuss and feathers of her departure from C&R, the way your stomach flutters at her late-night calls, or even the way she demands your attention at the party, tearing it away from Jumin. Jaehee Kang is a force to be reckoned with. That much, you're sure. And so she hands the keys to her -- your -- new business. A coffee shop, of all things. She smiles at you with the kind of certainty you almost never see in anyone, tender yet strong. Sure of herself. You wonder if there's ever been a time in her life where she's looked this sure. Or of all the choices she's made, of all the rejections, the things she's had to shrug off and put to the side, if this is the first one she's made that actually means something to her.
And then she asks you to be her partner -- in business, you're assuming, though a part of you starts to hope otherwise -- and you can't stop your eyes from following her across the hall. She acts like she didn't just drop a massive bomb on you right then and there. And somehow, this feels more cataclysmic than the actual bomb that's threatened your life for the past week.
Seven sees you standing there, frozen in shock. He ends his conversation with one of the guests before approaching you, nudging your shoulder.
"That was a lot, huh?" He's grinning now, teasing. "It's not everyday Jumin's ex employee makes a point to call him out during an RFA party. But I'm proud of her."
He eyes you for a moment, studying your expression, before letting out a breath. "Seems you are too. You're going to be a co-owner of a business, huh? Congrats." He shoves you, giggling. As if this is all so hilarious. "I have no idea what just happened," you finally say. "Did she-- did she really do that?" "Yup!" He nods. "I can pinch you if you want to make sure." He nips you on the nose almost immediately, garnering a yelp on your end. "Hey!" "Sorry, sorry. But hey, you know you're awake, right?" Seven laughs at his own joke -- which he always tends to do regardless -- and you resist the urge to roll your eyes. When he realizes it didn't garner that much of a reaction from you, he stops. "You okay, though? I can get you something to eat. Dunno if you're vegetarian, omnivorous, pastafarian..." "I think that's a religion, Seven."
"So?"
You sigh, before shaking your head. "I think I'm just... in shock from what just happened. But I'm not..." You find her in the crowd again, smiling politely at the guests. She's talking, but you can't hear about what.
"But I'm not against it, or anything."
"I know you're not. That means you get more time making goo goo eyes at our dear Assistant-- oop," he holds a hand to his mouth. "I guess she's no longer Assistant Kang."
"No," you shake your head. She's accepted a glass of wine from a passing waiter. It's red, and you watch her slender fingers cup the glass, swiveling the liquid in slow circles. There's a thought that flickers in your head -- but you immediately ash it out.
"No, she's not," you say, eventually. As if hearing you, Jaehee finally notices you staring -- and God, if she already looked pretty with her glasses, her without them is a whole other story. She smiles, raising her glass to you, mouthing something you can't hear, but you know that she's saying "to us." "On the other hand," you tell Seven, pulling at his sleeve. "Maybe I could go for a drink."
"One drink for the slightly dazed and madly in love coordinator," he acknowledges, "Sir, yes sir!"
You figure you need a bit more time to get used to... whatever this is. Jaehee's life is spinning on its axis, but so is yours. You're not quite sure how to run a business, actually, but you decide those are problems for later. What matters now is that you're at a party you planned, with guests you worked so hard to invite, with a girl you may most likely be in love with standing a good distance away from you, promising a life you didn't quite plan for right ahead of you.
Jaehee Kang is a lot of things, you're starting to learn. And full of surprises is now one of them.
Seven comes back with a drink for you. It's red wine, the same Jaehee's pressing to her lips. You take a sip, trying not too think too hard. Everything will come later.
To us, indeed.