hopekissed

You noticed her before Jaehyun did.

The way she kept smoothing her hair. The way she laughed a little too hard. The way she angled her body toward him. And most importantly—

The way she kept touching his arm.

You narrowed your eyes.

"Oh my God."

Jaehyun glanced up from his book.

"What?"

"Nothing."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You only say 'nothing' when it's something."

"Read your book."

He looked unconvinced but returned to whatever behavioral science text had captured his attention.

The woman smiled.

"You're studying behavioral science?"

"Mm."

Jaehyun nodded.

"Something like that."

"Wow."

She laughed. You immediately disliked the laugh.

"It must be nice being so smart."

Jaehyun blinked.

"Sometimes."

You stared. Sometimes? That was his response?

The woman laughed again.

"I could never date someone smarter than me. I'd be intimidated."

You nearly dropped the book in your hands.

That wasn't subtle. That wasn't flirting. That was a billboard. Jaehyun, however, simply nodded thoughtfully.

"That's interesting."

Interesting?

Interesting?

The woman smiled brighter.

"Do people tell you you're handsome a lot?"

You closed your eyes. There it was. The most obvious line imaginable. A direct hit. A neon sign. A flashing emergency alert.

Jaehyun considered the question.

"Not particularly."

You physically turned away before you could commit a crime.

By the time you left the bookstore, you were walking three steps ahead of him.

Jaehyun noticed immediately. Of course he did. He noticed everything.

Except apparently women flirting with him.

"Are you upset?"

"No."

"You are."

"No."

"You've answered every question with one word for the last seven minutes."

"Okay."

"See?"

You kept walking. His footsteps quickened beside yours.

"What happened?"

You scoffed, "What happened?"

"Yes."

"You really don't know?"

"No."

His confusion looked genuine. Which somehow made it worse.

By the time you reached his apartment, you were still irritated. You kicked your shoes off. Jaehyun closed the door behind you. Then immediately crossed his arms.

"Explain."

You walked straight past him. "No."

"You're angry."

"No."

"You are."

"No."

"You keep saying no."

You dropped onto his couch dramatically. Jaehyun followed.

"Did I do something?"

"You always do this."

His eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know what that means."

"Exactly."

"What does that mean?"

You groaned loudly and buried your face in a cushion.

A moment later the cushion disappeared. Jaehyun had stolen it.

You glared at him.

He stared back. Patient. Annoyingly patient.

Eventually you snapped.

"The girl."

"What girl?"

"The girl at the bookstore."

His face remained blank.

You nearly screamed.

"The one flirting with you."

Silence. Then—

"Oh."

You waited. And waited. And waited.

Nothing happened. No realization. No understanding. Just confusion.

"You thought she was flirting with me?"

Your jaw dropped.

"Thought?"

Jaehyun blinked.

"She was asking questions."

You stared at him.

"You study human behavior."

"Yes."

"You literally analyze social interactions."

"Yes."

"You can tell when someone is lying."

"Usually."

"You once correctly predicted that Woonhak was about to fail an exam based on his posture."

"That was obvious."

"And yet somehow you missed that?"

Jaehyun looked genuinely puzzled.

"She was being friendly."

You laughed. A dangerous laugh.

"Aha."

His eyes widened slightly. That was usually a warning sign.

A few minutes later you were sitting as far away from him as physically possible on the couch. Which wasn't very far. His couch wasn't that big.

Still.

The principle mattered.

You crossed your arms.

Jaehyun looked at you. Then looked at the empty space between you. Then looked back at you.

"You know I wasn't flirting back."

"That's not the point."

"I didn't even know it was happening."

"That's also not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

You opened your mouth. Then closed it. Because honestly? The point wasn't entirely rational.

You just didn't like it.

You didn't like another woman looking at him like that. And you especially didn't like that he seemed completely unaffected.

Jaehyun studied your expression carefully.

Then—

Very slowly—

A smile appeared.

You narrowed your eyes.

"Why are you smiling?"

His smile widened.

"You're jealous."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm literally not."

His smile became unbearable.

"You were jealous."

You grabbed the nearest throw pillow and hit him with it.

He laughed. Actually laughed.

The traitor.

"You know what's funny?"

"Nothing you're about to say."

"She wasn't my type."

You rolled your eyes. "Congratulations."

"No, listen."

"I'm actively trying not to."

He shifted closer. You shifted away. He shifted closer again.

"You know why?"

"No."

"Because she wasn't you."

Your face immediately heated. You hated when he did that. The sudden sincerity. The way he delivered sweet things like simple facts. No buildup. No warning. Just emotional damage.

"You don't get points for that."

"I wasn't trying to."

"You should've noticed."

"Maybe."

"You definitely should've."

"Probably."

You crossed your arms tighter.

Jaehyun watched you for a second.

Then another.

Then suddenly moved.

Before you could react, he wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you across the couch.

You yelped.

"Jaehyun!"

"There," he settled back comfortably.

You were now trapped against his side.

"Much better."

"I was mad at you."

"I know."

"So why are you cuddling me?"

"Because you're cute when you're jealous."

You gasped. Actually gasped.

The audacity.

His shoulders started shaking. He was trying not to laugh.

Trying and failing.

You smacked his chest.

He finally gave up and laughed properly. The sound echoed through the apartment.

Warm.

Bright.

Impossible to stay angry at.

Which was unfair. Because he was supposed to be the one apologizing.

Instead you somehow ended up tucked against him while he kissed the top of your head.

"You know," he murmured.

"What."

"If another guy flirted with you, I'd probably be jealous too."

That made you pause.

"Really?"

"Mm."

"You?"

"Yes."

"The human lie detector?"

He sighed dramatically.

"I'm your boyfriend, not a monk."

A laugh escaped you before you could stop it.

Immediately, Jaehyun looked pleased with himself. Like he'd accomplished a difficult task.

"You smiled."

"Don't ruin it."

"You aren't mad anymore."

"I might be."

"No."

"No?"

"No."

His arms tightened slightly around your waist. "You were worried someone else wanted me."

You buried your face in his shoulder.

"Stop talking."

His chest vibrated with quiet laughter. Then he pressed another kiss into your hair. Gentler this time.

"You're still my favorite person."

The words were simple. Matter-of-fact. Completely sincere. And somehow that was what finally killed the rest of your irritation.

Unfortunately.

Because now you couldn't even pretend to be angry anymore. And judging by the smug look on Jaehyun's face, he knew it too.

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