#jaeheexmc

Oh, have I ever told you that I love to see Jaehee without her glasses, haven't I? Well, now you know jeje

She's so beautiful 💕

Jaehee sighed as she swept her coffee brown hair behind her ear. Since leaving Jumin’s employ she had begun to grow it out again. “It doesn’t mean anything.” she leaned into wiping the counter with her sponge even harder, not meeting MC’s eyes.

“I think it means something. Go ahead, say it.” MC put fists on her hips and the look on her face suddenly broke Jaehee.

“OK, fine.” she stopped scrubbing, throwing the sponge into the pristine sink and placed her own fists on her hips, mirroring the shorter woman. “You text and talk to Zen a lot. Even when we’re supposed to be doing something together. Last week when we went to the street fair your phone pinged continuously. You even kept taking your hand out of mine so you could text him back. Look, I like Zen, I always have, but I think you two are too close. Am I jealous? I don’t know, should I be?” she finished, her voice rising steadily.

“You are unbelievable!” MC stormed towards the door, kicking off her slippers and shoving her feet into her shoes aggressively.

“Am I? You came over today to spend some time with me, we were supposed to watch a movie and maybe just cuddle on the sofa, but all you’ve done the whole evening is stay glued to that phone! Talking to him. Him! Not me!”

“You’ve crossed a line Jaehee, and I can’t believe you don’t see that.” MC’s words were muffled by tears that began to fall.

“Go on then! Go! I’m sure Zen will have a ready shoulder for you to cry on!” Jaehee could barely hold her own tears back. She had never raised her voice this way. There was so much anger in her at the moment and it frightened her. Perhaps it was better that MC was not around her now.

“I am!” MC screamed as she yanked the front door and slammed it behind her with a loud ring of finality.

As the door closed Jaehee’s body trembled and she fell to her knees, body wracked with sobs. She was terrified that she would never see MC again, that she had just ruined her relationship. It was still so new and maybe she was overreacting? But no, maybe she could have brought up the subject a little more delicately, but the constant texting and calling with Zen had begun to interfere with their time together.

^^*^^

MC strode down the sidewalk, jaw clenched, brown eyes glaring so hard people jumped out of her way. Her long hair flew behind her as she ran through the first argument she and Jaehee had ever had. How dare she! Was Zen only supposed to be friends with Jaehee? How many nights had they stayed up together and watched Zen, giggling like schoolgirls at his amazing acting ability? Shaking their heads at all the fangirls who threw themselves at him on social media?

Did she really think that’s what she was doing? Fangirling over Zen? Or worse? Actually believing they could have a relationship? How hard had MC fought to convince Jaehee of her feelings for her? And she was jealous of Zen?

Her muddled thoughts went round and round. Recounting each and every communication she’d had with Zen. Jaehee talked to him too! But did she talk to him as much as MC? As she thought about it, she realized that while Jaehee was a religious cheerleader for Zen and his career, she never took it to the extreme. Her conversations with Zen were about his career and his plans. They were friends, but first and foremost she was a fan who held Zen at arm’s length. Something, someone, to be admired.

MC choked up as the realization hit her. She had been spending too much time talking to Zen. Calling, texting, hanging out. Even tonight. Jaehee had cooked for them and all she could think of was listening to Zen’s drama about his current acting partner. About her not-so-subtle attempts at seducing the man. As soon as dinner was over, she took herself to the sofa and plopped down to get the low down on the day’s events from him. She hadn’t even thanked Jaehee for the meal, the candles, the romantic lighting and music. Jaehee had fled from her thoughts.

This led her to other times in which she had ignored her girlfriend in preference of Zen’s company. Of course Jaehee saw it as a threat. Although MC had no romantic feelings for the man, she hadn’t been acting like a loving and caring girlfriend. She sighed as she realized what a giant ass she had been and an even greater one with her defensiveness tonight. She should turn around and go apologize immediately. But first, she would go to the flower shop and buy a bouquet. Maybe some wine. And she would spend the rest of the night, no, the rest of the week making it up to her gorgeous girlfriend.

She pulled out the phone from her back pocket and muted it. No more Zen, or anyone else, for a while. She had some amending to do. Screeching tires reached her ears and a cacophony of screams. Startled she looked up, but too late. She was in the middle of the street, her feet taking her towards the flower shop without actively thinking about it. The car tried to stop, the driver wrenching his wheel to the right but it was too late. Its front end slammed into MC, sending her flying up and over the hood, smashing into the windshield. When the car came to a stop her body was flung forward, tumbling onto the road, she was narrowly missed by oncoming traffic. The sounds of striking metal rang through the air, the smell of burnt rubber and gas mingled together, the atmosphere becoming hazy with thickening smoke. MC lay, broken and battered on the ground as a crowd gathered around her.

^^*^^

Jaehee heard something that sounded like a crash, but she couldn't’ be bothered to care. She lay on the sofa and wept. How could a simple fight hurt this much? Had she just lost her lover? Over what? Zen? Of course MC didn’t care for him like she cared for her, but it was still difficult to share her girlfriend with someone that much. Was she wrong to feel this way? She had hoped they could have a romantic evening and was going to ask MC to stay the night. She berated herself but was conflicted. One second she wanted to take it all back, beg Mc to come back and forget everything she had said, the next she felt self-righteous and justified in bringing up the wall that seemed to come up between them lately.

As the glaring of the sirens in the distance grew closer her muddled mind began to work again. Whatever had happened it was close. She began to worry. It hadn’t been that long since MC left. In fact, the sounds of an apparent accident could very well have happened near her, depending on which direction she’d gone. Worry getting the better of her she reached for her phone and dialed her number. It rang and rang. Nobody answering. Maybe it was just because she was still mad at her. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she had to move.

She leapt to her feet and ran out the door. It wasn’t difficult to determine where the accident had taken place once she hit the street. There was a large cloud of smoke to her left at the closest intersection to her apartment. A large crowd of people were gathered around three vehicles. There were several police cruisers and an ambulance at the sight. She looked around to see if she could spot MC but found nothing. Desperately she ran towards the crowd, needing to make sure that her fear was unfounded.

As she broke through the crowd, she saw paramedics lifting a body from the ground. The brown hair with red highlights shining in the sun looking all too familiar. She shook her head, it couldn’t be, lots of people had that hair. Making it into the center she could no longer deny what she saw. Those were MC’s clothes. That was her hand hanging off the stretcher. She screamed and ran through the barricades. A police officer stopped her, tried to restrain her but she stomped on his foot and reached MC as they were putting her in the ambulance.

“MC!” she cried. She tried to grab a hold of her wrist, but she was once again denied.

“Do you know this woman?” an officer, a different one than the one she had assaulted, asked her.

“YES! Please! Is she...is she...” she couldn’t say it. She didn’t want to know if it was true.

“She’s alive.” One of the paramedics answered right before closing the door.

“Please!” she wanted to go with her, but the ambulance was already gone. Her heart raged at a hundred miles a minute. Blood pulsing so loudly that her ears heard nothing but muffled sound. The policeman was asking her something and she had to try and clear her head before she could hear accurately.

“Ma’am. Can you tell us who she is? Are you alright?”

“No! No I’m not alright I need to go with her!” she tried to yank herself free but there were more officers now.

“Someone will take you to the hospital I promise. Right now I need you to give me some information.”

“What...what happened?” she was delirious, looking around, there was a red car behind her with a broken windshield and two other cars that had been going in the opposite direction. The white truck had hit a light pole and the blue car had hit it from behind. It all made no sense and still she was unable to leave. Every car was empty but there didn’t seem to be any other injured people, only the love of her life.

“Is the woman your friend?” this time it was a female officer who asked her. Jaehee blinked at the shorter woman and shook her head.

“N... no... she...she’s my girlfriend. Please, I... I need to be with her.” she pleaded.

“Alright.” The female officer nodded with understanding. She spoke to a few other officers and led her to one of the cruisers. She opened the door to the back of the vehicle and Jaehee climbed in, numb and terrified.

During the ride she had the presence of mind to call Jumin and let him know what had happened. She'd had to ask the officers which hospital they were going to. Once they arrived, they showed her to a waiting room and informed the staff who she was there for. It didn’t take long for the rest of the RFA to join her. Jumin spoke to the nurses and took control of the situation, giving the officers the information they requested about MC. She was grateful.

The night was long and stressful, Jaehee still felt fuzzy and not all there. She began to cry when she saw Zen and remembered the ridiculous fight they’d had. The man was no threat to her relationship, he wasn’t that kind of man. It had been her own jealousy that was the threat. How would she ever forgive herself if MC didn’t make it? Zen held her and let her cry, telling her that everything was going to be alright. That MC was a fighter and she wouldn’t want Jaehee to give up.

It was early morning when the doctor finally came out to give them an update.

“How is she?” Jumin asked, his grey eyes etched with worry.

“The next few days will be important. She’ll have to remain in ICU so we can keep an eye on her progress. There was extensive internal bleeding, her spleen was ruptured and there are several broken bones. It will be a long recovery but she’s young and strong. We’re hopeful.”

Jaehee breathed a sigh of relief as did everyone in the room. Yoosung’s sobs subsided and Saeran held onto him tightly. Saeyoung took off his glasses and wiped them absently, his eyes still red-rimmed. Jumin put an arm around Jaehee and gave her a gentle and encouraging smile. Zen did the same.

“Can I see her?” she asked through a tear-stained face.

“Of course. Unfortunately only one person is allowed into the ICU room at a time.” They nodded in understanding, knowing Jaehee would be the only one to be with her until she was moved to a regular room. “One of the nurses will take you back.” he nodded to them and left.

A nurse took Jaehee by the arm and led her through the locked double doors. The whoosh startled her and she blinked rapidly, trying to gain her bearings. She’d never felt so out of sorts. She had always been strong. She’d had to be most of her life. She never let anything keep her down no matter what. But this was not something she could power through. It was taking all of her self-control not to run down the sanitized hall screaming for her MC.

They made it to the room, and she felt as if she was going to faint at the sight of the beautiful woman who lay broken and battered on the hospital bed with tubes coming out of her from both arms. She fell back but the nurse was there to steady her and help her to a chair.

The woman pulled the chair as close as she could and reached out to hold MC’s hand. It was warm and that was comforting. She was breathing on her own and that was also comforting. The sheet was pulled up to her chest, her arms above it. She couldn’t see what was underneath but perhaps that was a good thing. There was a cast on her right leg and on her left arm.