~Min jae~
I barely had time to blink before Jae-hyun's eyes landed on the binder, and I swear you could hear the universe pause for a second. His mouth went tight, his eyes went wide, and he literally froze mid-step, like he had just walked into a tiger exhibit at the zoo without realizing the glass was broken. Then he assumed the absolute worst because apparently he's a disaster magnet.
"You…were assaulted?" he said, voice dropping lower than it had any business dropping, and his hands were already reaching for me like he was about to drag me to a hospital right that second. "And you've been hiding it?"
I nearly choked. "WHAT??? NO??? I JUST.."
I didn't get the chance to finish because he was suddenly in full-on bodyguard mode, coat off, wrapping it around me like I had caught some rare disease that could kill an entire city if not contained. He tried to lift me off the ground like I weighed five pounds and was made of pure glass, and I nearly screamed from the panic of almost being manhandled again.
"I AM NOT INJURED I AM JUST A Mannnn…..ING!!" I yelled, kicking my heels, waving my arms, basically flailing like I had somehow become an untrained marionette.
He ignored me. Totally ignored me. Eyes blazing, moving me toward the door like my protest was nothing but static noise. I grabbed the coat edges, trying to stop him, and it didn't help. The binder was sticking out from my chest like a neon sign screaming, HE'S LYING.
"Min-jae," he said again, that voice, the one that makes it feel like you're on trial and your soul is the only evidence, is it really necessary to make me sweat this much before 10 a.m.?
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you," I said, because at this point honesty seemed like the least dangerous weapon, except it wasn't. My throat was dry. My brain short-circuited. "I'm…pregnant."
Silence fell like a bomb. Like an entire freakin' bomb exploded in slow motion. His jaw dropped, his eyes bugged, and I swear I saw the wedding staff outside freeze mid-step, like someone had just yelled fire in the middle of a fireworks factory.
"I ONLY FRICKING…TOUCHED…YOUR WAIST…ONCE…AND YOU GOT PREGNANT?" he whispered, no it was actually loud and it sounded like someone had cut his oxygen supply in half.
I panicked harder than I had since my heels had nearly killed me yesterday. "YES???" I screeched, flapping my hands like a crazed pigeon. "YES!!! I AM PREGNANT!!!"
From the hallway came a scream. Soo-ah. Full-volume, cinematic, voice-shattering scream. "HEY GIRLLLLL!" she yelled. "I'M NOT PREGNANT, MIN-JAE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
I whirled around like she had personally set off a bomb in my brain. "I…I'm not talking about you! Wait ugh, I mean, yeah, I'm..girl what the hell are you even doing here?!"
"Who the hell is she?!" Jae-hyun's eyes narrowed, looking at me like I had grown a second head. "What is she even doing here ? And you, YOU'RE…A VIRGIN? OR NOT?!"
I froze. My brain short-circuited completely. "EXCUSE ME?!" I bellowed.
I'M A BOY! I'VE NEVER…TOUCHED…A…GIRL, OK?! I AM LITERALLY MAN-WOMANING, AND YOU'RE ASKING ME THIS?! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIM
Soo-ah grabbed my arm before I could even respond, dragging me toward the corner like I had officially gone insane. "Min-jae. Breathe. Tell me you're not completely nuts right now."
"I…may be," I admitted, because honesty was optional at this point. My face was red. My hair was crooked. My brain had detached and run away to join my feet, which were still plotting murder in my heels. "But I am absolutely not…like, never touched a girl…not today, not ever stop he's accusing me of…"
"You bloody fool get to your senses, he doesn't even know you're a boy, and I swear I'm going to kill you if you try to ruin this again you dumb arrogant stupid half minded….why are we even best friends again? Do you know how much I and Jae had to sacrifice for you. You think all these makeup and clothes are free? You better work had to pay me back for that shit. Now go!!"
Jae-hyun walked forward, and I ground under me started tilting because suddenly my panic was a physical force. His eyes were blazing. His jaw tight. Hands on his hips. And the worst part? He looked like he had officially hit his limit.
"I…can't…take this anymore," he said slowly, like every word was a blade. "I…have to do this."
And that's where it ended.
Me. Cornered. Sweat dripping. Wig crooked. Binder clutched to chest like life itself. Soo-ah muttering in my ear about sanity. And Jae-hyun. Calm, terrifyingly decisive, declaring he couldn't handle my chaos anymore.
I didn't even know what this meant. But I knew…something was about to happen.