The only one │ Enhypen x reader

Going out was supposed to clear my head, that was what Sunghoon said when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the door, ignoring my weak protests. "You need to get out of this dorm before you explode," he had said, flashing that infuriating smirk of his.

Jake agreed, backing him up with a simple, "Fresh air will help."

I wasn't convinced, but the weight in my chest from this morning's awkward encounter with Jay made me go along with it anyway. I needed the distraction.

Ni-ki and Sunoo decided to join, which made the outing feel a little more casual. We ended up at a shopping district, wandering into random stores, stopping for snacks, and getting dragged into a nearby arcade when Ni-ki insisted we play a few games.

It worked, for a while.

For a few hours, I almost forgot about the tension waiting for me back at the dorm. I laughed as Sunghoon got way too competitive at the basketball hoop game, nearly knocking over Ni-ki in the process. I cheered when Sunoo miraculously beat a claw machine on his first try. I lost track of time when Jake and I played against each other in a racing game, our shoulders bumping as we fought for first place.

But even as I smiled, I could feel something off.

Jay's absence weighed on me more than I wanted to admit.

He had barely looked at me before I left, barely spoken, and I knew, deep down, I was avoiding the inevitable.

At some point, Jake and I ended up alone together.

The others were still inside the arcade, but Jake had stepped out for air, and I had followed without really thinking about it. Now, we stood outside a small café, the buzz of the city filling the silence between us.

Jake leaned against a railing, glancing at me. "You're quiet."

I shrugged, kicking at a crack in the sidewalk. "Just tired."

He gave me a look, unconvinced. "Liar."

I sighed, crossing my arms. "I don't know, Jake. I feel like everything is getting... complicated."

He didn't answer right away, just studied my face before exhaling softly. "You mean Jay."

The way he said it, so certain, so direct, made my heart twist.

I hesitated, but there was no point in denying it. "Yeah."

Jake ran a hand through his hair, nodding as if he had already known. "I figured."

I looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Jake smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Jay's always been like this. He doesn't know how to handle what he's feeling, so he shuts down." He glanced away for a second before looking back at me. "But I need to know... where do you stand, Y/N?"

My breath caught in my throat.

"Jake-"

"I know you're struggling with this," he interrupted, his voice steady. "But you don't have to figure it out alone. You know I'm always here, right?"

There it was again, that warmth, that stability, the way Jake always knew how to say the right thing, make me feel like I wasn't drowning.

But before I could answer, Ni-ki stuck his head out of the arcade. "Are you two having a moment, or can we go home now?"

I rolled my eyes, grateful for the interruption.

Jake chuckled but didn't press further. "Come on, let's get back before Sunghoon and Ni-ki start a war over the last game token."

By the time we returned to the dorm, it was late.

The moment I stepped inside, I felt it, the shift in the air.

Jay was sitting on the couch, his arms crossed, jaw tight. He looked up when we walked in, his gaze immediately locking onto me.

Sunghoon whistled, oblivious to the tension. "Man, I'm exhausted. But I still beat Ni-ki, so it was worth it."

"You cheated," Ni-ki argued.

"Skill isn't cheating," Sunghoon shot back.

I barely heard them. My focus was on Jay.

He didn't say anything at first, just stared at me before his eyes flicked to Jake, then back to me. Something unreadable passed through his expression.

"You guys looked like you had fun," he said finally, voice neutral but cold.

I frowned. "We did. You should've come with us."

Jay let out a sharp breath, almost a laugh, but there was no humor in it. "Yeah, well, didn't seem like I was needed."

The tension in the room thickened.

Jake stepped forward slightly. "Jay-"

"Don't!" Jay snapped, standing up abruptly. "Just don't."

The whole room went silent. Even Sunghoon and Ni-ki had stopped bickering, watching with wide eyes.

Jay ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated, angry, something I hadn't seen from him in a long time. "You know what? Forget it. I'm not doing this right now."

He turned to walk away.

Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist. "Jay.. wait.."

He froze.

For a second, I thought he might pull away, but instead, he turned back to me, eyes flashing with something raw and unguarded. "Do you even care, Y/N?"

The question hit me like a punch to the stomach.

"Of course I care.." I whispered.

Jay scoffed, shaking his head. "Really? Because it sure doesn't seem like it."

Jake stepped forward again, his voice tense. "Jay stop."

Jay let out a bitter laugh. "Why? Because you don't like hearing the truth?" He turned back to me, his voice quieter now but just as intense. "I see the way he looks at you. I see the way you let him."

I swallowed hard, my grip on his wrist loosening. "Jay, it's not-"

"Forget it." he muttered, pulling away completely this time.

Before I could say anything else, he was gone, disappearing into his room and slamming the door behind him.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Ni-ki exhaled. "Wow.. That was... something."

Sunghoon leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "Told you it was going to happen eventually."

Jake let out a sharp breath, his hands on his hips. "Great. That went well."

I stood there, heart pounding, my mind racing with a hundred different things I could've said but didn't.

No turning back now.