#jake sim timestamp

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Jake Sim.

The name sticks in your head for the rest of the day and follows you around, haunting you like a ghost.

It follows you when you leave your classroom to go to lunch. It follows you when school ends and you stay in the library to finish homework with Sunghoon. It follows you when Sunghoon says his goodbye and gives you a hug before heading home. It follows you when, while placing your notebooks in your backpack, you hear the faint sound of a guitar and a voice you swear was handcrafted by Apollo and placed in your hands by Pandora. It follows you when you follow the sounds to the music room. Peeking in. Hands that were once writing on a chalkboard strumming the strings of the guitar ever so effortlessly. 

He looks up at the sound of your footsteps outside the door. His hand clamps down over the strings, mouth shut, eyes afraid.

“You scared me, holy shit,” He chuckles nervously, and you spill apologies from your lips. He laughs at that, and you can’t tell if you find that or his musical talent more beautiful.

He motions for you to step in, inviting you to sit on the floor in front of him and listen to him play.

He strums a few random strings on his guitar before picking up conversation with you once more.

“I thought you were a teacher,” He laughs. “When I toured the school, they told me that no one really comes by the music room.”

“Yeah, no one really uses the room. That’s why I was curious as to who was in here.”

He shook his head, beginning to play a tune on the strings. “It’s a shame. You guys have a really good set of instruments.”

You shrugged. “They’re old. Haven’t been replaced in a few years now.”

He continues playing on the guitar as you watch him, and you genuinely believe that you could sit there for hours on end just admiring the way his hair falls in front of his face as he glances between the guitar’s neck and body, the way his fingers dance across the strings, the way his eyebrows furrow when he tries to remember which chords to play next and-

“So what were you doing here so late?”

“Ah, I was just studying in the library with my friend, his name is Sunghoon.”

Surprises have never been your cup of tea. However, the moment Jake’s eyes lit up at the name that left your mouth, you decide that maybe you could appreciate them sometimes.

“Sunghoon! Like, Park Sunghoon? You know him too?”

Your eyes widen and you can feel your stomach do a flip, although you can’t pinpoint exactly why. Well, you can, because you know exactly what a mutual friend entails, but you wouldn’t dare admit it out loud.

“Wait, are you Yn?”

Your stomach does another flip as you nod.

“Yeah, Sunghoon tells me all about you all the time! We were best friends when we were kids, but then I moved away to Australia for a bit. I’m back here now, though, for my last semester of highschool, but then I think I’m going back to Brisbane for college. But wow, I didn’t think I’d meet you like this!”

Jake Sim. Best friends with your best friend.

At first, you can’t exactly decide whether or not you like the idea. However, the thought of Jake Sim joining your daily hangouts with Sunghoon makes your heart skip a beat. He’d sit next to you during your library study sessions. He’d go with you and Sunghoon to the ice rink on Saturdays to hang out and then get dinner after. He’d go with you to help pick out a gift for Sunghoon’s birthday that year and-

“Yn?”

You’re pulled out of your thoughts with a call of your name and you hadn’t even realized how much you were thinking about him. Wait, thinking about him? You’d only just met him and-

“Yn? You’re spacing out.” He waves his hand in front of your face and you snap out of your thoughts completely.

“Huh? Oh- sorry. I was just… surprised that you knew who I was and that you’re friends with Hoon.” You stutter out some sorry excuse and hope that he can’t tell how bad at making things up you are.

Jake smiles at you before standing up and moving to place the guitar back in its case before putting it back where he got it from. You follow suit, standing up as well and slinging your backpack over your shoulder.

“Do you usually walk home? Bus? Car?” He asks while not even looking in your direction.

You shrug although he can’t see it. “I just walk, my house is fairly close to the school.”

“Oh, perfect!” He throws his backpack on and turns to face you. “The sun is almost setting so come on, I’ll walk you home.”

Jake Sim walks you home on the first day of meeting him.

The thought just about makes your brain spontaneously combust.

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Sunghoon looks at you with a semi-disgusted, mostly confused look on his face as he watches you hum to yourself happily while shoving forkfuls of noodles into your mouth at lunch the next day. He doesn’t think he’s seen you this happy since your sophomore year crush asked you out to homecoming those years ago, which was promptly followed by him ghosting you the night of the dance and Sunghoon having to pick up the pieces as usual.

Every time you get like this, he’s afraid that the only way everything can go is downhill.

Not that he minds having to be there for you, after all that’s what friends are for. He just hates seeing you have a kicked-puppy look in the first place when he swears you looked like you won the lottery just a few days prior. He contemplates how he’s supposed to approach you this time. Maybe just straight up ask what’s got you so happy? But how would he do it without sounding condescending? Maybe he could just wait for you to be the one to tell him what was happening. 

However, he didn’t need to think much longer. All his questions were answered when he saw a familiar figure walking toward the table out of the corner of his eye and take a seat right next to him.

The way your eyes lit up were unmissable. Well, to him at least. And he knew exactly what had gotten you so charged up.

Jake puts an arm around Sunghoon, greeting him with a sarcastic “Aww, saved a seat just for me!” Even though it was only you and him sitting at the table with every other space around empty. He situates himself on the bench and places his lunch on the table before turning to greet you with his signature smile. You smile back at him, a little too sweetly for Sunghoon’s liking, and return his greetings in a tone Sunghoon doesn’t think he’s ever heard from you before.

Sunghoon looks at you, who’s too busy looking at Jake. Then he looks at Jake. Then back at you.

“You two know each other?”

You pipe up while Jake is taking a bite of his sandwich,”Oh- we met yesterday after our study session! I found him in the music room and we just started talking!”

Jake chimes in. “Yeah, I didn’t realize at first that it was Yn until she brought up that she had just gotten done hanging out with you, and then I put two and two together.” He snickers a bit. “Because, you know, you literally don’t hang out with anyone else.”

You laugh at that and Sunghoon lets a small grin spread on his lips as he lightly punches Jake’s shoulder at his comment. For a moment, he thinks to himself that maybe the three of you hanging out won’t be as bad as he thinks it will be.

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While Sunghoon is almost never on his phone during class, he texts you. He texts you a lot, and it’s almost too much to keep up with. You think he’s typed more words in that one sitting to you than you’ve ever heard him speak for the entire time you’ve known him.

hoonie ^-^: you look in l-word

hoonie ^-^: are you in l-word

hoonie ^-^: why are my best friends in l-word with each other

hoonie ^-^: yn that’s so weird please don’t tell me you’re in l-word with jake

hoonie ^-^: did you actually meet him for the first time yesterday

hoonie ^-^: like yeah i know he transferred in yesterday but you seem too infatuated already

hoonie ^-^: yn answer ur phone

me: I AM NOT IN L-WORD WITH JAKE

hoonie ^-^: are you sure?

hoonie ^-^: you look like it

hoonie ^-^: it’s not worth it yn

hoonie ^-^: he’s going back to brisbane after we graduate

me: yeah, he told me

hoonie ^-^: so why even bother?

me: why can’t you just let me form a new friendship with him?

me: he’s seems like a super cool person, and don’t you think it’s tiring that we only hang out with each other? 

me: should get to know him too, he’ll be my friend as much as he is yours!

hoonie ^-^: YOU ARE IN L-WORD

me: I AM NOT IN L-WORD

hoonie ^-^: YN’S IN L-WORD

me: I AM GOING TO THROW MY TEXTBOOK AT YOUR HEAD.

Your giggle in the fairly quiet classroom catches Jake’s attention, and eyes trail toward you. He watches as you try to hold in your laughter, stealing glances at Sunghoon, then turning back to your phone. He feels something bloom in his chest. A feeling that he despises deeply, and one that he understands as soon as he experiences it.

He knows he shouldn’t feel whatever this is. He’d just met you yesterday, all he knows about you is your name and that you’re best friends with his best friend. And yet, he wants to know what you and Sunghoon are talking about. What could his best friend be saying to you that’s making you giggle in the middle of class. What could be so much more important than your teacher’s lecture that you’re paying absolutely zero attention to him, but instead texting Sunghoon under everyone’s noses.

Jake is jealous.

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The end of school feels like it couldn’t come any faster as you spent most of the rest of class stealing glances at Jake, sending winks whenever the two of you made eye contact. Sunghoon watches you, just wondering which one of you will break first.

It’s the first time Jake joins you and Sunghoon for an after-school-library-study-session and you couldn’t be any more excited. The thought of Jake joining your usually mundane study sessions sent your brain haywire. You could just imagine how pretty he’d look just sitting across from you, you wondered what his thinking face looked like, if he would run his hands through his hair every time he was stuck on a problem, or chew on the inside of his cheek while he was writing down a physics equation. You were definitely more excited than you should’ve been.

Sunghoon is the first to toss his bag on the table you two usually take. It was always empty whenever you went there, as if the table was made just for you and everyone knew it too. Or maybe because it was tucked away in the back corner, secluded from just about everyone else, and no one even knew it existed.

Nonetheless, you liked your table. Loved it even. It was you and Sunghoon’s own little world. The only difference, now, was that Jake was officially being welcomed into this world.

Now, as you were situating yourself at the table, the more you thought about it, the more terrifying the idea was. You’d said it yourself, that for the longest time, it was only you and Sunghoon. Though, that was the thing. It was only you and Sunghoon.

That's all Sunghoon thought he needed, too. After Jake moved away as they were kids, he'd always been alone, only becoming your friend by chance when, on one fateful day freshman year, you went to your usual library table tucked away in a remote back corner to do some studying alone, only to find the boy already sitting there. However, there was no way you'd just give up your table to some random classmate, so across from him you sat. It'd been just you and him ever since, and you didn't think you'd have any intentions of it being any other way.

The thought of ever letting another person into your friend group was exhausting. It was a hassle to be vulnerable with new people. It was tiring to have to introduce new parts of yourself to any outsiders, whereas Sunghoon already knew what you needed, what you liked, when you were uncomfortable, when you were happy even though your face wouldn't show it. 

However, now years later at that same table, you found Jake standing over you, leaning forward to look at your physics textbook as he helped you through that night's homework problems. 

And you accepted it with open arms.

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The first time Jake asks you to hang out outside of school is a month after you meet him. 

It was a casual ask. Just if you wanted to get food with him after school on the Friday of that week. You agree, of course, because how could you have not? However, you also were extremely confused as to whether or not it was to be just the two of you, or if your third counterpart was coming along with you. So, cautiously, you had to ask,”Did you already ask if Sunghoon is free?”

Jake lies straight through his teeth. “Yeah, and he’s not, he has something to do with his sister that night.”

Sunghoon didn’t have anything to do with his sister that night. In fact, he didn’t have anything to do that night. However, he did have a text from Jake in his notifications that read “I think I’m gonna ask Yn if she can hang out on Friday. Just the two of us.”

To which he replied, "Why won’t you just tell her you like her already?”

To which Jake replied, ”I don’t like her, wdym?”

And Jake could feel Sunghoon’s eye roll all the way from his house.

If there was anything Sunghoon knew better than how to do a triple axel, it was understanding his best friends. Sunghoon never talked much in the first place, however he was extremely observant, and you and Jake both constantly agreed that it was one of his most annoyingly impressive traits. And, of course, with his extremely impressive observation skills came the ability to read the both of you like an open book.

He knew exactly how you felt about each other.

Now it was just a game of getting you two together before it was too late.

You fake sadness about Sunghoon not being able to join you two, but it was all a farce. You’re beyond excited to finally hang out with Jake outside of school, with it being just the two of you.

However, you wouldn’t dare ask if he was considering it a date or not. No, that would be too far. He was definitely only thinking of it as a hangout. The only reason it’s only you two is because Sunghoon’s busy and definitely not because Jake deliberately told Sunghoon that he wanted to hang out with you and you alone.

Yeah, that was it.

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Friday comes as a slap in the face that morning while you rush to plan what to wear when you hang out with Jake after school. Would jeans be too casual? A skirt would probably be a bit too much, though. Or maybe a loud tone from your phone signaling you had to leave the house in five minutes if you didn’t want to be late to class would be the best option to tend to at the moment. You sigh and throw something in your bag before putting your shoes on and stepping out of the house.

You learn quickly that Jake doesn't care about what you're wearing. He thinks you look cute in whatever you wear, whether it be your pajamas during movie nights at Sunghoon's house or your everyday school uniform.

You also learn quickly how aware you are of Jake. Of the fact that he doesn't eat with his elbows on the table. Of the fact that he covers his mouth when he chews. Of the fact that he's a lot sweeter when it's just you two alone than he is when Sunghoon's around too. 

There's something about him that just feels different today. You don't know if he's giddy about how good the sushi is, or if it's just because he's eating with you, but you decide that it's just because of the food. Nonetheless, the way he looks at you now is noticeably different than the way he looks at Sunghoon. He looks at you like you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen in his life.

And you like it this way. You like him- Wait. 

You like him.

You like him.

You've been aware of these feelings all this time, though, haven't you?

No, there’s no way you can like him, you only met him a month ago. And vice versa, there’s no way he could like you only after hanging out with you for a month, right? 

That’s all this is supposed to be.

That’s right, this isn’t a date or anything.

It’s just you two hanging out as friends.

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It rains next week.

And of course, you were completely unaware of the forecast until you had finished your weekend college app session at your favorite local cafe. It was a fair amount of distance to walk home, one that you usually wouldn’t mind running through the rain during, but you had your laptop and notebooks with you. No way were you going to risk getting them wet. Instead, you opted to call-

Jake.

No, Sunghoon. Calling Jake at a time like this would most likely inconvenience him.

What if he wasn’t even available to bring you an umbrella? That would be embarrassing then that you had even asked.

You opted to call Sunghoon and ask him if he could come to you with an umbrella so you could walk home without getting your belongings wet. He begrudgingly obliged, obviously, because how could he say no to his favorite person in the whole world? 

You thanked him profusely before hanging up, and waited patiently inside the cafe.

Sunghoon calls Jake.

Sunghoon calls Jake and tells him which cafe you’re at, and that you need him to bring an umbrella because you forgot one. He tells Jake to use some excuse that he ended up having to do something for his mom so he asked Jake to bring you the umbrella instead.

Of course Jake wants to do it. He accepts the request almost instantly and almost a bit too excitedly.

He grabs his umbrella from its spot near his front door and rushes out of his house. The pace of his speed walking could probably be considered running at that point, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t mind the looks from others on the sidewalk wondering why he’s in such a hurry.

He arrives at the cafe, smooths down his shirt, and sends you a single text.

I’m outside :)

When you receive the text, your head shoots up toward the front of the cafe and you can see him beyond the glass door. You throw your tote bag on your shoulder and walk over to him, Jake moving out of the way as you open the door.

“I could’ve sworn I called Sunghoon.”

“You did. But he ended up having to do something for his mom I’m pretty sure, so he called me instead.”

You smile sweetly at him, although you feel like you could melt on the spot. “Jake, you really didn't have to-”

“No, it’s okay, trust me.” He interrupts. “I wanted to.”

You lock your arm with his as you walk home and try to convince yourself it’s to stay as close as possible so the umbrella covers you both completely. However, if that was the only reason, then your heart shouldn’t have been threatening to burst out of your chest the entire walk home. 

You shouldn’t have been wishing that he would wrap his jacket around you even though you weren’t even that cold. You shouldn’t have been wishing that he would kiss you under the umbrella before he left you at your house and continued the rest of his walk home. You shouldn’t have been wishing that you could relive the moment with him all over again.

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It’s always seemed like Jake’s favorite activities included asking thought-provoking questions about the secrets of the universe. You were always learning new things from him, and although most of it was never about practical skills like how to properly clean paint stains off carpet or how to pump gas in a car, it was interesting nonetheless.

His questions were never ones that you could give answers to, of course, because he not only already knew the answer to the question, but was also going to explain it . He just wanted to know if you were interested in his explanation in the first place.

The first time he asked you a question was when he was already done with his homework for the day and resorted to watching you work on your own assignments.

“Do you ever think how crazy it is that we’ve only discovered 1% of our oceans? There’s gotta be some batshit crazy creatures at the bottom of the ocean that can withstand those water pressures, and I hope I’m alive by the time they discover them.”

You stopped writing altogether, your head slowly tilting up to look at Jake with a slightly concerned look on your face.

“Think about it, Yn!” He leaned forward and pulled his chair closer toward the table. “We’ve already discovered crazy things like the giant spider crab and pistol shrimp. Who’s to say SCP-3000 isn’t real? Something of that size could definitely withstand deep sea pressures, and since we can’t explore that deep in the ocean, how would we know if it exists or not?”

A smile grew on your face the longer he went on his tangent. He was cute when he talked about things that really interested him.

Now, months later, he was still asking those same questions. Ones that were interesting, and frankly usually a little bit crazy and unrealistic. Their general topic, though, was about the universe, the ocean, space and time.

However, absolutely nothing could’ve prepared you for today’s question.

“Do you think it’s better to risk a friendship for a relationship or push romantic feelings aside for someone and not risk the friendship?”

You almost choke on your coffee bun, the suddenness of the question surprising you. He doesn't look phased by his own question, nor your reaction to it. You try to swallow your snack as fast as you can so you can produce a proper answer to his question.

“I’m not sure. On one hand, most relationships start out as a friendship anyways, don’t they? And I think if you have feelings for someone and they reciprocate then sure, date them. But there’s the other side of ‘what if we break up?’ The friendship will probably never go back to how it was before. I guess it’s just all a big conflict of whether the friendship is too important to risk or not.”

Although you’re not looking at him, you can feel his eyes on you as he asks his next question.

“What about you? Personally? Would you risk a friendship for a relationship?”

“Honestly, Jake, I’m not completely sure.”

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College acceptances come in a flash. 

Letter after letter arrives to let you know whether or not you are welcome into your school of choice.

You and Sunghoon are overjoyed that you, of course, were accepted into the same university together. It wasn’t a surprise, really, as you both were more than qualified to attend, but it was still a moment to be celebrated.

When Jake opens his acceptance letters, it almost feels like he resents them. He really didn’t. He was grateful that he was accepted into those schools, yet-

“I wish I could just go to university with you guys.”

You give Jake a sympathetic look, you’d never seen him look so devastated until this moment.

“I wish you could come with us, too.”

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Sunghoon almost never gets frustrated with you. Aside from his annoyingly impressive talent of being able to read you like an open book, his less annoying but still equally impressive gift of his patience with you was one that you were grateful for. You’d almost never seen him get upset before, let alone angry. It just wasn’t who he was.

Today, however, he looks like he wants to hit you over the head with his chemistry textbook.

And that’s a big textbook.

“Why can’t you just admit that you like him?”

“Because I don’t, Hoon, and I don’t know why you’re being so pushy about it.”

“Because it’s so obvious!” He raises his voice a bit, and you recoil from the unfamiliar volume. “And it’s frustrating because he literally has feelings for you too.”

You look at Sunghoon, the idea of Jake actually feeling the same way for you that you do for him crossing your mind. Sure, there might’ve been hints of it, but who were you to say that he wasn’t doing things just to be friendly? It just wasn’t a chance you didn’t want to take. A chance that you were sure you shouldn’t even think about taking.

“I really don’t think he does.”

“Yn, I’m going to hit you over the head with this book.” He rolls his eyes at you. “And then you know what’ll happen after? Jake will come running asking if you’re okay and I’m gonna sit here wanting to vomit in my mouth while he coddles you.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Hoon. It’s not like that. And besides, you said it yourself, he’s leaving after this semester so it won’t be worth it, isn’t he?” The thought clouds your mind, and your next words come out sounding a bit more hopeless than you expected them to. “What would be the use in trying to pursue him if he’s just gonna leave in the end?”

Sunghoon stares at you, mouth agape.

“You really are an idiot, aren’t you?”

“I’m just protecting myself, Sunghoon. I don’t want to have this fling with him just for him to leave the whole country and I’ll never get to see him again. Or if I do get to see him again it’s just brief moments during winter or summer at best.”

Sunghoon takes a deep breath before running his hands through his hair and sitting back into his seat. “Fine, I guess so. I just don’t understand why you can’t accept that you both like each other and just enjoy it while it lasts. But it’s your decision after all, not mine.”

He stands up from his seat and goes to sit with Jake, leaving you to your own conflicting thoughts.

 ⊱ ────────── ⊰

Graduation day was the most fulfilling and unfulfilling event of your life all at the same time. You were beyond ecstatic to finally move on to the next chapter of your life with your best friend, but there was just something that told you that you hadn’t done everything you wanted to do in high school. It probably wasn’t anything big though. After all, a lot of people wish they did more in their high school years. 

You’d gotten the best grades you could, did all the extracurriculars you wanted to, had time to hang out with your best friends after school, and were accepted into your dream university.

So why did graduation day feel so bittersweet?

Oh, right.

When they called his name to walk the stage, it hit you. It didn’t even hit you, it beat you up. Terribly. And it left a stirring feeling in your stomach. It wasn’t butterflies, but it definitely made you want to hurl. Or cry. Whichever came first.

It seemed as if crying would come first, your eyes welling up a bit as you watched him receive his diploma, his academic awards for everything he’d accomplished in such a short period of time of being at the school. But you also found yourself cheering for him. Louder than everyone else.

 ⊱ ────────── ⊰

You spent your first week of summer and last week with Jake with a collection of bittersweet moments. Every sweet memory made was constantly overrun with the thoughts of him leaving soon.

It was already the night before he was supposed to leave; you and him sitting under the moon and stars on the bank of the Han River.

His questions to you, still, were never ending, although this time there was no talk about the depths of the ocean or the vastness of space. That would be too boring, he supposes.

“Are you gonna miss me while I’m gone?”

You scoff. His question shouldn’t even be a question. But you suppose he has always already known the answers to his questions after all.

“Of course I am. It’s gonna be weird not having you around every day.”

“You’ll still be able to call and text me, though.”

“You know it’s not the same.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I know.”

A silence falls between the two of you before he poses his next question.

“Why did you never tell me you loved me?”

There’s a lump in your throat that you can’t quite get rid of in order to speak properly. And when he notices your silence, he continues.

“You knew I liked you. Hoon told you multiple times, didn’t he? And frankly, I thought I was making it pretty obvious.” 

“And why did you never tell me you loved me?”

Jake pauses. “I was scared.”

You let out a breathy laugh. “So was I.”

You were going to leave it at that. Just accept that you hadn’t told each other you loved each other just because you were scared. However, if this was the last day you were going to have with him, you decided that it would be best to just leave it all on the table.

“I was scared that you didn’t feel the same way about me at the time. And by the time I knew that you did feel the same way about me, I thought it’d be better to just not say anything about it because the time we’d spend together would be so short before you’d have to leave. And I was right. It still feels like I only met you yesterday and now, here we are. You’re already leaving tomorrow and I get to go back to my daily life of being stuck with Hoon every day.”

You giggle a bit at that. “I just... I don’t know if I made the right call or not. Maybe if we’d told each other earlier then those few months we spent together would’ve been happier, more exciting. But then leaving each other would’ve been more heartbreaking, wouldn’t it?”

You turn your head toward him and smile. “But we’ll never know now, will we?”

He smiles back at you. You recognize the look in his eyes. It’s the look he gives you when it’s just you and him. When Sunghoon isn’t around to bother the both of you. When the rest of the world feels like it doesn’t exist. When the moment is yours and yours alone. He looks at you with nothing but love and adoration in his eyes. Like this is the last time he’ll ever see you.

“Yn?”

“Hm?”

He decides that he has one last question to ask you, one that you were expecting the least, even after everything he’s already asked you.

“Can I kiss you?”

You nod.

You swear your heart stops when he uses a hand to cup your face as he leans in. His lips mold perfectly against yours, he tastes like rain and sunsets, he holds onto you like if he pulls away, he’ll lose everything he’s ever loved, and for a moment, you wish you had said no just so that you wouldn’t have to want this again as bad as you know you will.

Nonetheless, you allow him to kiss you. You decide that if this is your last night with him, that you’d leave everything on the table. Months of harboring feelings and constant fear melted down into a single moment. 

You allow yourself to be consumed by the force that is Jake Sim.

 ⊱ ────────── ⊰

The sun just barely peeks over the horizon, the leaves on the trees just starting to turn brown as you made your way to your 9 am lecture. It was your first day of university, to which just an hour earlier you were complaining to Sunghoon that you didn’t have your first lecture together. Jake was long gone, although he was sure to text you that morning making sure you had a good first day of classes.

His name still haunted you, honestly, but this time with more lingering feelings than you’d like to admit.

As soon as you sat down in your lecture hall, a text popped up on your phone, one that you immediately went to check.

hoonie ^-^: hey!

hoonie ^-^: after your first lecture come meet me in the rec center

hoonie ^-^: i wanna get food here

me: sure!

You tucked it away in your pocket afterward, the lecture feeling like it couldn’t go by any slower. Though, as soon as the lecture was over, you made your way to the rec center, excited to get some food after such a long class.

You pulled the handle of the tall glass door to step in, examining the large hall for a moment before finally seeing  Sunghoon sitting at a table near the back motioning for you to join him.

And the boy sitting next to him didn’t go unnoticed either.

It felt like the world stopped at the very moment you locked eyes with him. His dark brown hair had grown out a bit more since the last few months you’d seen him, but he had the same smile that dragged you in all those months ago.

You ran.

You didn’t care about all the eyes that laid on you as you ran at full speed toward the table, Jake standing up and opening his arms to embrace you.

And embrace you, he did. Loud giggles left both of your lips. There’s nowhere in the world that felt more like home than in his arms, and you didn’t think you could feel anymore grateful for the familiarity.

After a few moments of holding each other, you finally pulled away, looking up at him with eyes that asked “What are you doing here?”

He read you, and explained,”I convinced my parents to let me stay for university. I didn’t wanna tell you I was applying here in case I didn’t make it or they wanted me to come home, but luckily Sunghoon helped convince them that I would be better off here than anywhere else.”

“I missed you so much.” You whispered as you buried your face back into his chest.

“I missed you too, Yn.” He kissed the top of your head and held you even tighter if that was possible. Feelings of warmth bloomed in your chest, butterflies filling your stomach and threatening to spill.

You had Jake in your arms once again.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his eyes staring into yours, hoping to get an answer. You pursed your lips, contemplating whether or not you wanted to be honest.

When you came into a conclusion, you merely sighed, looking away from his gaze to avoid the embarrassment you felt. "It's really nothing. It's just a nightmare. A pretty childish one, if you ask me."

Jake cupped your face in his hands, softly forcing you to look at him. "There's nothing childish about a nightmare, (Y/n). We all have them from time to time."

"Yeah, but mine's pretty childish and unrealistic." Your eyes gazed into his, allowing Jake to see what you truly felt. When he saw how scared you were, he wrapped his arms around you once more, your head buried into his chest as you hugged him back.

"No matter how childish it might be, I'll always listen to your worries." He whispered, stroking your hair to calm you down. There were a few moments of silence before hearing you sigh in defeat, feeling your hands clutch his shirt tightly.

"You left me." You started, your voice meek, as if afraid to be scolded. "I dreamt that you left me for someone else."

"Oh, Love..." Carefully, He placed his hands on your shoulder, forcing you to look directly into his eyes. He placed his hand on your face once more, cupping them as his thumb caressed your cheeks. "That's not childish. That's actually really scary but..." He gazed at you with the love he felt for you, his forehead touching yours as he whispered, "I'd never leave you, (Y/n). The thought never even crossed my mind. Why would I when you're already perfect for me?"

"Promise?"

He extended his pinky finger, a reassuring smile laced on his lips. "I promise. I'll even cut off this finger if I break the promise." He proclaimed, causing you to giggle before hitting him softly. "Stop it."

He let out a grin, "You finally smiled." He whispered before interlacing his hand with yours, "Let's go back to sleep?"

You nodded, allowing yourself to be dragged back into your shared bedroom. When you reached your bed, he tucked you on your side, "Comfy?"

"Yes but..." You patted the empty spot beside you, "I'll be comfier if you were beside me."

Jake chuckled at this, slowly going to his side to obey your wish. Once he laid down, he placed his arms on your waist, effectively pulling you closer to him. He played with your hair a bit before speaking, "I'll wait until you fall asleep."

"You don't have to!"

"I know but I want to." He said firmly, smiling as he gave you a quick peck on your lips.

Your eyes widened as your cheeks heated up from his sudden action. You buried your head into his chest, hoping that he wouldn't be able to see the face you were making.

You heard the chuckle that he let out as you did your best to calm down, closing your eyes while you took deep breaths. As you were doing this, you didn't notice that you had fallen asleep in his embrace.