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Jaebeom hears a sniffle from somewhere beside him, and feels a pair of arms tightening around his waist.
He then hears a sob.
Then he hears full blown crying — the volume of the crying matching the volume of the television. It muffles only when he feels Jinyoung’s head burying in his chest, but the wailing continues.
Alarmed, he looks down at Jinyoung, completely abandoning what’s happening on the screen as he quickly pulls a few tissues from the tissue box settled in Jinyoung’s lap and tilts Jinyoung’s chin up with his fingers, using the tissues to wipe at Jinyoung’s tear-stained face, heart clenching slightly. “Hey, hey, it’s alright — What’s wrong, why are you crying?” he questions, eyebrows furrowed as he stares at the younger.
“H-Hopper,” Jinyoung sputters through his endless tears, and he pauses for a second, seeming like he’s about to recompose himself, only to burst into more heart-wrenching sobs.
Jaebeom has to take a few seconds to realise what he’s talking about, and a wave of relief washes over him. It’s nothing that’s particularly worrisome he’s crying over about, which is great. More than great. The knot in his stomach slowly loosens as he stops wiping Jinyoung’s face, worried he will dry out the younger’s skin if he continues to wipe. An accidental chuckle escapes his lips and he know’s he’s screwed something up by letting that chuckle escape when Jinyoung, his sobs finally dying down, whips his head up to look at Jaebeom with a questioning frown on his face.
“Did you just laugh?” he questions, staring at the older in disbelief, tone accusing. “Did you just laugh at Hopper’s death?”
Jaebeom quickly shakes his head. “No, of course not! I was just — I just find it amusing how you’re so invested in the storyline and the characters themselves that you ended up crying yourself silly because of his death, that’s all,” he says, though that seems to be the wrong thing to say because Jinyoung pulls away from the hug and glares at him, arms folding over his chest.
He stares at Jaebeom with his red rimmed eyes, contemplatively, before he slowly shakes his head like he’s had enough of this lost case of a person and turns away from Jaebeom. The former catches the disappointment in his eyes before he could turn away fully and pouts, scooting over to Jinyoung and wrapping his arms around his waist. “Baby, I’m sorry — I shouldn’t have said that, I know, but I just didn’t find it that sad? I mean, it was sad, and I understood why you cried but it didn’t really make me feel like bawling my eyes out.” He sighs when Jinyoung continues to ignore him. “Honestly, I’ve never understood why people cry during movies or dramas when it’s literally all fake,” he says. “I understand the laughter but other than that, it’s a waste of your own tears and energy if you end up raging over one of the characters, or if you end up crying because of one of their deaths.”
“Oh, just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have, you great oaf,” Jinyoung snaps, clearly irritated by Jaebeom’s lack of compassion to “the characters.”
Jaebeom has to take a second, blinking in confusion and pausing for a moment at the familiar remark. Something clicks in his mind as he connects the pieces. “Did you just… Use a quote from Harry Potter on me?” he questions narrowing his eyes up at Jinyoung.
“Hermione Granger, to be precise. And so what if I did? It’s not like I’m wrong,” Jinyoung murmurs, and it’s quite clear that he’s sulking, though there’s a distinct proud edge to his voice, most likely due to the fact that his boyfriend knows some stuff about one of his most loved series yet.
Jaebeom laughs, softly, arms tightening around Jinyoung’s waist. “Alright, alright, I guess I have an emotional range of a teaspoon when it concerns made-up people and all,” he says with a teasing grin. “I will try to be more understanding next time, alright? I’m sorry,” he apologises, kissing the underside of Jinyoung’s chin. He feels the younger relax and he smiles, lightly, readjusting his position and snuggling up to Jinyoung’s side, fingers playing mindlessly with Jinyoung’s hair as they finish the rest of the episode.
Jaebeom doesn’t make the same mistake as he did earlier during the episode when the ending of the episode causes the younger even more grief and tears, opting to console him with kisses and hugs instead of saying something stupid and having yet another quoted insult thrown at him.