Chapter: When Friendship Changed
Jae Rin's POV
A FEW YEARS EARLIER….
The apartment was quiet that night in Seoul.
Jae Rin sat cross-legged on the living room floor, surrounded by lyric sheets, music notebooks, and empty coffee cups.
Sora groaned from the couch.
"You're writing again?"
Jisoo rolled her eyes.
"She's been doing that for five hours."
Yuna stretched lazily.
"She's not writing."
"She's suffering."
Jae Rin threw a pillow at them.
"Can you all be quiet?"
The door suddenly opened.
"Too late."
Min Jae walked in holding a bag of food.
The girls immediately sat up.
"FOOD!" Yuna shouted.
Sora jumped off the couch.
"Min Jae you're my favourite human."
Jae Rin crossed her arms.
"You didn't bring that for them."
Min Jae raised an eyebrow.
"I brought it for everyone."
The girls cheered and ran to the kitchen.
Within seconds they disappeared with the food.
Min Jae shook his head.
"Savages."
Jae Rin laughed.
"They're hungry."
Then he noticed the lyric sheets around her.
"You're stuck again."
She sighed.
"How do you always know?"
"You only make that face when you hate your own lyrics."
She narrowed her eyes.
"I don't make a face."
"You do."
She picked up a paper and threw it at him.
Min Jae caught it easily.
"See? Angry songwriter."
She groaned and leaned back.
"I have three songs due next month."
"You've written like fifty albums already."
"Hundreds of songs," she corrected.
"Exactly."
He sat beside her on the floor.
"You're allowed to rest."
Jae Rin shook her head.
"I can't."
"Why?"
She hesitated.
Then she said quietly,
"Because if I stop… my mind starts thinking."
Min Jae didn't need to ask what she meant.
He knew.
Her past.
Her old life.
The people she left behind.
He gently changed the topic.
"Let's go out."
She blinked.
"What?"
"You've been inside for two days."
"It's midnight."
"Exactly."
She stared at him.
"…You're insane."
"Probably."
He stood up and grabbed her jacket.
"Come on."
THE LATE NIGHT WALK
The streets of Seoul were quiet.
Streetlights reflected softly off the pavement.
Jae Rin wore a hoodie and a mask as usual.
Not her stage mask.
Just a normal one.
They walked side by side without speaking.
Then Min Jae suddenly said,
"You've changed."
She looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
"When I first met you… you were so introverted all the time."
She scoffed.
"I was not."
"You absolutely were."
He continued calmly.
"You trusted almost no one."
Jae Rin stayed quiet.
Then she asked,
"And now?"
He looked at her for a moment.
"Now you laugh more."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"That's because of Sora, Jisoo and Yuna."
Min Jae shook his head.
"Not just them."
He didn't finish the sentence.
But she understood.
THE MOMENT
They eventually sat on a bench overlooking the river.
The city lights reflected across the water.
Jae Rin leaned back and sighed.
"Sometimes I can't believe this is my life."
"What part?"
"Everything."
"The music."
"The concerts."
"The fans."
She looked at him.
"And you guys."
Min Jae tilted his head.
"What about us?"
She shrugged.
"I didn't expect to find people who would stay."
He laughed softly.
"You're stuck with us now."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while.
Then Min Jae spoke again.
"Can I ask you something?"
She nodded.
"Why did you never date anyone?"
Jae Rin froze slightly.
"Random question."
"Not really."
She looked out at the river.
"…Because I already loved someone once."
Min Jae didn't interrupt.
She continued quietly.
"And when that ended… I just focused on music."
He nodded slowly.
"That makes sense."
Then he added softly,
"But people can love more than once."
Her heart skipped.
She turned toward him.
"You sound like you're speaking from experience."
He chuckled.
"Maybe."
She studied his face.
"Min Jae…"
"Hmm?"
"You've been weird tonight."
"Have I?"
"Yes."
He took a deep breath.
Then finally said,
"I think I've liked you for a long time."
Jae Rin blinked.
"What?"
He looked slightly embarrassed.
"I didn't want to say anything before."
"Why?"
"Because you were healing."
"And I didn't want to make things harder for you."
The wind blew softly around them.
Jae Rin's heart was beating faster.
"You like me?"
He nodded.
"Yeah."
Silence filled the space between them.
Finally she spoke.
"You idiot."
Min Jae blinked.
"…What?"
She laughed softly.
"I thought it was obvious."
Now he looked confused.
"What was obvious?"
"That I like you too."
He stared at her in shock.
"Wait— seriously?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
Min Jae ran a hand through his hair.
"You're telling me we both liked each other and just never said it?"
"Looks like it."
He laughed.
"That's ridiculous."
She smiled.
"Yeah."
Then after a moment he asked,
"So… does that mean…?"
Jae Rin tilted her head.
"…It means we try."
He smiled.
"Try?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Boyfriend and girlfriend."
Min Jae laughed in disbelief.
"You're so casual about this."
She shrugged.
"We've been friends for years."
"True."
Then he gently held her hand.
It felt natural.
Easy.
Like it had always been meant to happen.
And that was how their friendship slowly turned into love.
Not suddenly.
Not dramatically.
Just two people who had already been side by side for years… finally realizing they didn't want to be apart.
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since it was asked here it is min jae and jae rins (jays) backstory but don't worry u guys the ending will be jayfer only I hope u guys liked this chapter I will upload another chapter today one question for the time being do u like min jae and jae rin as a couple?? Please do comment 💖💖🫶🏻🫶🏻