Jake Sim Fluff - Tumblr Posts

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synopsis- Australia 2017; summer, the glistening sea and an uneventful breakup. you wouldn't think the dream of becoming an idol would come true, yet here you are standing in a ginormous practice room ready to meet your members boyfriend. you would be happy for her, if only the boy she loved wasn't your high-school sweetheart- Jake Sim.

taglist [TAGLIST 2 OPEN!] - @bubblytaetae @qghosty @viagumi @artstaeh @bigtoewinwin @nyfwyeonjun @strwberrydinosaur @ohmy-fandoms @igotkpoops @ckline35 @msxflower @enhacolor @enhasengene @carayat @rendezrei @lunaflvms @simjakeissohot @nvertheless @kazuhugs @hobistigma @enhasolace @shinsou-rii @m1kotsu @kyahmeai @hyukafilms @beans-and-jeanes @luvmaei @wtfhyuck @wonieleles @hiqhkey @lhsng @agisajinn @iloveoceaneyes @inlovewsimjaeyun @notrosemary @cherryunie @astrid-potato @calumsfringe @y4wnzki @yoonabeo @cyuuupid @yunki4evr @junnniiieee07 @arizejkt19 @theskzvibe @i-yeseo @ineedaherosavemeenow @jaeyunnsworld @pluviophilefangirl @firstjake

authors note ! all type of feedback is GREATLYYY appreciated please know😇👍

PREVIOUS < MASTERLIST > NEXT

OBVIOUSLY.

𝓢.ㅤ he can't tell if you're joking or not.

SJYㅤ୨୧ ⠀ femreader⠀ . . .ㅤ fluff jake's pov reader's flirty ig you could say college au jake's a hashtag overthinker AND oblivious not proofread as usual sawryㅤ715 words

"you're, like, kind of gorgeous,"

"woah, what?" jake gapes at you from over his laptop screen. you're sitting across from him, supposed to be helping with the research for your project. your laptop isn't even out on the table, though, but he swears he saw you typing away five minutes ago.

you hum, "you are gorgeous, actually. not kind of,"

"is this— what are you talking about? this is so random," he lets out an amused breath, running his hand through his hair. he could feel his heart racing, "i don't usually get called gorgeous,"

"i was just making an observation," you reach forward, pushing his screen down a little, "do you wanna be called handsome instead? or pretty?"

he blinks, "well, no. i mean, i don't care,"

you nod, "okay,"

he expects you to say something else, but you don't, smiling at him instead as you pull out your phone, seemingly scrolling through instagram or maybe twitter. he can't really tell.

he doesn't understand you. you're honest— to an insane level. catching him off guard on more than one occasion, an instance from last year coming to the forefront of his mind.

you had told him how you would give up everything to be his girlfriend, and then you moved on like it was nothing.

it was confusing to him. he swears it's just your personality; you're honest and flirty, and you make jokes that sometimes don't feel like jokes (the girlfriend thing, for example). he knows they're jokes, though.

or at least he thinks he does.

sunghoon told him that you only act that way with him. you haven't ever told sunghoon you wished you were his girlfriend or that he was gorgeous.

"do you like me?"

you look up from your phone, your eyes wide and eyebrows raised in surprise at his sudden question. hell, even he was surprised at what he said— it was egotistical, thinking that someone likes you just because they complimented you, but he blames sunghoon and jay. they both put the idea in his head, and after your comment, he couldn't not ask.

if you said yes, he could ask you out. he'd ask you on a date and eventually ask you to be his girlfriend, and if you said no then . . . well, he doesn't know what he'd do.

he'd probably have to avoid you for a while, out of embarrassment. hopefully, you'll be able to move past that and be friends with him again.

you laugh— a small, shy laugh, like you're nervous— and you bring your hand up to wipe away an imaginary speck of dust on your skin. "obviously. i mean, i think it's obvious. is it not?"

"seriously?"

"yeah," you say, placing your phone down and leaning forward, "was it really not obvious?"

"i thought you were just playing around,"

you stare at him in disbelief. "jake, i kiss you all the time,"

his face heats up at your reminder. you do kiss him all the time, among other things. now that he's thinking about it, the two of you have a pretty physical relationship.

"on the cheek! i figured you were a touchy person. do you really like me?"

"oh my god, jake. yes, i like you. a lot. i don't do anything i do with you with anyone else,"

"oh, okay, cool cool," he taps his finger against the table, looking everywhere but you. he has no idea how to handle this information— how on earth did he not know you like him? he's going through your friendship, and you were, in fact, obvious about it.

"jake."

he blinks, "what?"

"do you like me?" you're staring at him, a little amused and annoyed at the same time.

"oh, sorry— yeah. yeah, i do. i do like you. do you wanna . . . fuck, can i be your boyfriend?"

you laugh once again, less shy and more teasing. his nervousness is making your nervousness go away, it looks like. he's glad that his lameness can bring you some joy, whereas he wants to go cry to sunghoon about how stupid he's being.

"sure. i did say i'd give up everything to be your girlfriend,"

then you give him the prettiest smile, and he thinks that he's simultaneously the luckiest and stupidest man in the universe.

note. i feel like this is bad and makes no sense but idc i just like oblivious jake and wanted to write smt for him :/

due 11:59 pm

— alternatively, enhypen hyungs as your typical high school crush!

PAIR. high school! enhypen hyungs x gn!reader (rest under cut) GENRE. fluff, high school au, bullet points WORD COUNT. 1.8k total MAKNAE LINE VER.

이희승 — lee heeseung

varsity jackets, notes in lockers, late night calls, secret pining, basketball games

secretly (not so secretly) an attention seeker

he's on the varsity basketball team, so by law you're hyping him up (disguised as hyping up the whole team) before the game and now he has to win!!! (plus he made a bet with jay about the team's winning streak)

i'd think that you two are closer than acquaintances but don't know each other well enough to be close friends

you guys probably met through mutual friends groups that kind of merged????

it was junior year when he signed up for every ap class you took just to look at your face more often.

horrible move for his gpa, amazing move for his mental well-being

... that was, until his mental well-being was compromised again because his ap calc grades were... not sexy

"help like actually i don't think my coach will let me stay on the team if i fail another quiz like that 0.05% grade decrease might be the end of my career"

you start tutoring him not because you're super confident about your calc skills, but because 1) you're better than him at least 😂and 2) it's a free excuse to hang out with him after school

you guys have your first tutoring sessions over discord vc btw like LOSERS

"can you hear me okay"

"..."

"dude you're muted"

IT WAS BAD

he's got the popular guy on the outside, an absolute loser on the inside persona

like he's lowkey a romantically awkward dude

but once he got to know you a bit more from your 1 on 1 time (still on discord.) you guys got really close!

would talk shit together right before basketball matches too

"[name] make sure to start booing when the other team shows up because unfortunately i think they're actually really good"

you're really passionate about how the other schools have horrible players (regardless of stats) and love to narrate a play-by-play with heeseung after the match is over

he finally confessed to you after a whole business year (jake and riki were about to dox their private dms by then)

you guys are like those stereotypical high school movie it couples, where it seems like two gorgeous popular people fell in love

they don't need to know he's just a hopeless romantic!!

박종성 — park jongseong

blue ink, keyboard clicks, shared laughs, handwritten notes, guitar strings

you thought he was pretty intimidating at first ngl

first day of school and he has a whole pre-established friend group, somehow found a table to sit at, has an effortless air going for him

you were paired up with him for a group project in history and

god help this man is SO straightforward and to the point

"ok so i'll do this part and you can do those parts. let me know if you have questions."

insert working in SILENCE for the next hour and a half

at least you two got your work done though!

but then, as an icebreaker in the last ten minutes of class you asked:

"oh... so, uh, do you ever wonder how liquid soap was invented?"

girl wtf!

your internal thought processing was like ??? damn who said that??? before you realized it was YOU

fortunately for you, jay was not completely weirded out!

he even looked a bit interested!

VERY interested, actually!

and that's how he began google searching like crazy, pulling up a million wikipedia articles and scouring the internet to answer your question

because how did you know he was curious about that too!

he really went from 0 to 100 and wdym you thought this man was cold and stoic

he became a d1 yapper for a solid ten minutes, up until the second the bell rang

he was even subconsciously walking with you to your lunch spot, STILL talking about william sheppard and that day in 1865

when he stops and finally realizes where he is, he actually blinks a bit before asking if you had joined any lunchtime clubs

and you were like oh yeah!! i'm in guitar club

he looked at you with the biggest heart eyes at that tbh

HE WAS IN LOVE

wdym your interests were perfectly aligned???? was he in a soulmates au

fast forward three months, and he seriously thinks he's found The One

confesses to you after playing guitar!! and he wrote a handwritten letter too with a cheeky reference to that one liquid soap conversation that started it all

you never feel like you're being "too weird" when you're with him and you two can always be your candid goofy selves with each other :))

심재윤 — sim jaeyun

muji pens, fond eye rolls, sharing books, lunch dates, lattes, TI-84s

you already saw this one coming

physics lover jake, but you've deemed physics your number one opp

HOW can this man go "i love this subject so much omg" after you've just gotten your third 72% in a row?!

it's not like you weren't smart (the class average was a 55)

and it's not like you hated the subject itself

okay maybe you did

but you just thought there were so many other alternatives other than physics to fawn over as a favorite subject. like. ANY other subject

one day, you're seated next to jake in calc and he just turns to you and starts talking out of NOWHERE

he’s like wow isn’t this so interesting? calc is like a hobby of mine!!

and you’re like boy stfu??? i’m literally struggling how is this your pastime 

poor guy just wanted to make small talk and impress you with stuff he thought you were interested in… which is academics 

fast forward to that afternoon in history though, and tests are passed back

you're a certified humanities girl, so you got an 100!!! academic weapon

jake, however..... is kind of an academic shield in this case

on the midterm, he had written that the victorian era ended in 1592, and filled in everything else he didn't know with "mansa musa" because it was the only thing he retained from ap world

maybe you genuinely felt really bad for hating on him when he had struggles of his own, or maybe you felt really nice that day, or maybe you were secretly hoping to get to know him more....

either way, you don't know what came over you when you tapped on his shoulder

you missed how his eyes widened a bit when he turned around, and how he looked genuinely shocked that you were talking to him in an initiated conversation! maybe his rizz was working! (maybe it was)

"there's a method that i use to memorize terms that i could teach you, if you want"

IF HE WANTS??? he would've literally jumped with joy if the paper in front of him wasn't such a nuclear bomb to his gradebook

so that's how you suddenly started spending all your lunches sitting with jake at an empty table together

he tutors you back for physics and math too, so it's fair

and DAMN it works

suddenly you two are all-rounder academic weapons???? he has your back for STEM, you have his back for humanities

like that's literally a power couple right there.

only one problem.

you aren't a couple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you confess to him after one of your study sessions, by plotting a heart on the desmos graphing calculator using the equations that he taught you

it was super cute!!

he was literally the proudest and happiest man alive he teared up a bit (he would never admit it though)

and NOW you guys are the campus power couple

“babe look at this!” and he's waving at you with his 100 on the history final

he actually started jumping and hugging you (embarrassingly) when you found out you got a 94% average in physics at the end of the semester, giving you an A in the class

you were so shocked when you opened your report card that you didn't even register it until you heard jake go "YOOO OH MY GOD BABE THAT'S INSANE I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT YESSS I'M SO PROUD OF YOU"

well maybe thanks to jake the subject isn't so bad now!

박성훈 — park sunghoon

big school, comfortable silence, convenience stores, headphones, lingering gazes

the "everything kinda sucks here, except you" type of plot

sunghoon tries to stay out of the spotlight, keeping to himself with his head down, hood up, and headphones on

you're not really sure when you met him first actually, but you're both the same type of people where you're just going through the motions

you intrigued him though-- maybe it was the slightly melancholic look in your eyes? or maybe it was the way you purse your lips when you find a particularly hard question on the worksheets in class

either way, he finds himself wanting to get to know you more

funnily enough, he sees you at the convenience store after school as he walks home, and his feet start walking him in your direction

you see him first, and give him a smile and a little wave-- and sunghoon waves back without even thinking about it

that was the entire interaction that day, but sunghoon keeps replaying that part when you smiled and waved at him

why can't he stop thinking about it?

some things definitely changed too-- you start saying hi to him in the hallways at school, you turn to sunghoon to ask questions in class, and you seem to brighten up whenever you see him

you guys start to have conversations, starting with simple small talk, then moving to longer, more random dialogue where you both just say whatever comes to mind

the two of you become so close that you decide to walk to and from school together, since you found out that you only live a couple blocks away

sunghoon likes to place his headphones over your ears to show you new songs every morning, and you like to share earbuds in the afternoon to walk home together

he also starts to slip little notes about his day in your backpack before you go your separate ways in the neighborhood, signing off with a little p.s. to meet him at the park before sunset

it takes him SO long to muster up the courage to confess to you because he keeps thinking you'd say no

but when he finally does, all his fears melt away because you looked at him in such a soft way

he's actually reminded of why he fell for you in the first place

because with you, there’s no judgment from the outside world in the little bubble that you’ve created with him

it's just the two of you against the world <3

TAGLIST : @star-sim @boyfiejay @jlheon @jwsdoll @dimplewonie @suneng @en-gelic

₊˚⊹ ᰔ 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: bf!jake x gn!reader 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fluff, smau 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: pet names

jungwon, heeseung, jay, jake, sunghoon, sunoo, ni-ki

luvj4key on tumblr

the matchmatic 3000 | jake sim

✰ summary: simp, i mean, sim jaeyun is a hopeless romantic. a cursed hopeless romantic, he would say, doomed to exist as just your friend, nothing more. but when his genius (read: nerdy) best friend creates a highly accurate matchmaking app for the university, jake is ready to bribe, beg, and possibly sell his soul to make sure he gets paired with you. plan a? hack the system. plan b? there is no plan b. to jake, being delulu is the solulu, and he's all in.

✰ pairing: jake sim x y/n [ft. bestfriends!jay & heeseung]

✰ genre: fluff, comedy | college!au, matchmaking!au, friendstolovers!au, pining, pining, pining heh

✰ contains: honestly, just crack. i had too much fun with the humor in this one i think, whoops! lots of awkward tension, slow burn, pining, more pining, cute kithes (~￣³￣)~, reader is oblivious beyond saving, but no actual warnings other than maybe one or two cuss words i think!

✰ wc: ...19k (i swear this wasn't intentional...once again, i had too much fun) 

✰ a/n: it's finally done! i'm nervvy because i haven't posted a fic in almost three years now,,,but i randomly got inspo one day after seeing a tiktok about a matchmaking questionnare and now here we are! i loved writing these characters, it was so much fun,,,but i also don't know how to feel abt the whole thing so i hope people enjoy this !! :’)) ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・

Simply put, Jake Sim is a simp. His name should honestly be legally changed from Sim Jae-yun to Simp Jae-yun at this point. 

Jake doesn’t fall often, but when he does, he hits the ground with the force of a malfunctioning rocket ship. Once in the third grade, a girl gave him a Hello Kitty bandage after he face-planted off the playground swings. Cute, right? Well, Jake was so smitten, he spent the next week sliding his prized dino chicken nuggets across the lunch table like they were some ancient currency to win her over.  

Did it work? Sort of. Did she eat all his nuggets without ever looking back? Absolutely.  

But this? With you? This is different.  

Jake would give up more than just his room-temp mystery-meat pterodactyls for you. He thinks he’d willingly cat-sit twelve cats—despite his strong dislike for cats. He thinks he’d voluntarily train for the national triathlon—despite always getting winded walking up the two flights of stairs to get to his apartment. He’d probably let you have the last Supreme pizza slice, which for Jake, is basically like offering you his soul on a silver platter. 

Forget falling—Jake didn’t just trip, no. He plummeted into a cartoon-style pit, the kind covered with leaves spread over the top like some dollar-store disguise. He’s still down there, metaphorically flailing around like a maniac while you’re chilling up above, completely unaware that you Tom & Jerry-ed his heart. 

In hindsight, Jake hopelessly pining for you was about as inevitable as a rom-com misunderstanding. The second his childhood best friend Grace—aka your college best friend and roommate—introduced you guys during freshman year orientation, Jake was hit with the biggest, dumbest case of whiplash known to mankind. 

You were so confident, so outgoing, so unapologetically you. You were like sunshine, and Jake was just there, squinting and hoping he wouldn't spontaneously combust into a thousand ashes from simply staring at you. 

But, as with all classic tropes (and pining fanfics), Jake knows that mixing friend groups and love interests is a recipe for disaster. And not just any disaster—a culinary trainwreck. Worse than whatever recipe the dining hall uses to make their sad excuse for tacos. Like, is it beef? Is it tofu? Who knows, and honestly, I don't think anyone wants to know.  

Anyways, that brings us to today: a couple years later, with Jake still mooning over his friend. His feelings remain the best-kept secret in the history of best-kept secrets—well, if secrets were meant to be as obvious as a neon sign in a blackout. 

In fact, Jake’s attempts at subtlety are about as smooth as a drunk giraffe on roller skates. Whenever you walk into the room, it’s like someone hits the ‘shutdown’ button on his brain. One second, he’s cracking jokes and holding conversations just fine, the next? Boom. Total system failure. You can almost hear the Windows XP error sound the moment you catch him off guard with a smile.

It’s not that Jake can’t talk to you—he’s your friend, after all. But the second he catches your sweet laugh or smile and his feelings come rolling in and the butterflies come out? Well, that’s when words start slipping through his fingers like sand, and his once confident banter turns into a cautious game of verbal Jenga. 

His brilliant solution?

Simple: stick to safe topics and keep it light. Foolproof, right? Well, if your idea of foolproof includes missed opportunities and enough internal cringe to fuel a thousand regret-filled 3am thoughts.

Luckily for him, you’ve gone all these years mistaking his massive, raging, hormonal crush on you as part of his ‘friendly, sweet, soft-spoken boy’ personality. And Jake? He’ll take that over an awkward-confession-which-may-lead-to-a-crash-and-burn-outcome any day. 

Honestly, who wouldn’t? Jake thinks as he glances at you from across the lunch table, currently laughing at one of Jay’s terrible puns. Yep, being friends with you is totally fine… totally fine… totally fine.

Jake’s totally fine.

Jake is totally not one more bad-Jay-pun away from writing tragic love haikus in his Notes app and forming a backstory about his unrequited feelings.

As if right on cue, Jay cracks a banana-physics joke (because, obviously, Jay is an expert in theoretical physics despite never having taken a class), and while everyone else is laughing, Jake’s over here, contemplating the meaning of life:

Her laugh echoes bright, I’m lost, no GPS found, Help, I’m still simping.

Jake stares down at his phone, horrified. Did he seriously just… haiku his feelings? Help. Is this what rock-bottom looks like?

"Alright listen up you peasants," Heeseung clears his throat dramatically as he suddenly approaches the group's lunch table located outside on campus grounds, interrupting Jake's poetic inner melodrama. "Your savior has arrived."  

“This better be good, Hee. The last time you said that, you tried to convince us that you could drink five Red Bulls, pull an all-nighter, and still pass that chem exam,” you smirk questionably. 

Heeseung points at you. “And I did pass.” 

“You got a 61%,” Grace says, not even looking up from her phone. 

“That’s still passing!” Heeseung declares, full of confidence. “Anyway, this time is different. I’ve been working on something life-changing.” 

Jake shoots a glance in your direction before quickly looking away. He wants to say something witty, something that could make you laugh, but his brain is like, nah bro, not today. Instead, he nervously fidgets with the sleeve of his hoodie. Since when was there a hole there?

“Life-changing?” Jay leans back in his chair, arms crossed, wearing his usual smirk. “What, are you finally going to start that YouTube channel where you rank ramen brands?” 

Heeseung rolls his eyes as he takes a seat, “First of all, that channel is coming. But no, this is better. Way better. I’ve created…” 

He pauses for dramatic effect, looking at everyone and drumming his fingers against the table,“…a matchmaking algorithm.” 

You burst out laughing, breaking the silence of the table, “What? Like a dating app?” 

“Is this about to be Tinder, but, like, nerdy?” Grace raises an eyebrow, intrigued but skeptical. 

“Not quite. It’s a scientific, algorithm-based matching system, designed to pair people based on compatibility and mutual interests. And, lucky for you all, I’m testing it out on campus,” Heeseung grins, completely unbothered. 

Jake’s heart skips a beat. Matchmaking? His mind first immediately goes to you. And then, downright panic. What if this robot thing pairs you with someone else? Oh god, what if it pairs you with, like, Jay, and he has to watch you guys flirt non-stop while he sits in the corner like a sad, dying houseplant? (mental note: water your houseplants when you get back to your dorm, jake!)

“Didn’t you also say it was ‘scientific’ when you ate an entire pack of Mentos and then drank Coke?” Grace’s brows furrow at the boy.

Heeseung scoffs at her dramatically. “That was for science. This is for love.” 

You lean forward into the table, clearly interested.

“So you’re saying this app will scientifically find me a soulmate?” Your eyes light up and Jake’s heart skips a second beat as they happen to make eye contact with him as you say that. Please let that soulmate be me. Please. “What’s the catch? You’re not the type to just… help people find 'love' for free.” 

Heeseung shrugs, pretending to be modest, “Not true! I’m doing this purely out of the goodness of my heart.” 

Jay coughs, "Cap.” 

“Okay, fine,” Heeseung admits, “it’s for a coding competition. The winner gets a year’s worth of free ramen from that noodle place near the dorms.” 

Grace’s jaw drops. “You mean Noodle Nirvana? The one with the spicy miso?” 

“Precisely, the one with the spicy miso," Heeseung nods proudly. 

You let out a giggle, “So you’re telling me, you’ve created a love machine just so you can hoard ramen?” 

“Correction,” Heeseung says, raising a finger, “I’ve created a highly advanced matchmaking algorithm to bring people together and also hoard ramen.” 

“Good enough” you shrug, raising your iced coffee in a mock toast to your nerdy friend. “Sign me up.” 

Oh no. Jake's heart skips a third beat (someone get him an ambulance please). Oh god, you're most definitely going to get matched up with someone else. And if that happens, bye-bye to the 12 black cats he’s already mentally prepared to care for. Bye-bye triathlon training.  

But on the other hand...this could be Jake's golden opportunity—that is if somehow the universe decides to play nice and matches you with him. This could be his chance, his moment, his... immediate descent into chaos. 

"Can your app match me with that cute barista that works at the campus boba shop every Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12pm to 5pm?" Jay's eyes sparkle with curiosity and excitement.  

Heeseung gives Jay a look that says he’s one step away from calling campus security. "First of all, that’s borderline stalker territory. Second, no. It doesn’t work that way."

"So..there's no way you can influence the results at all? It's purely the robot’s doing?" you cock your head at Heeseung. 

"Again, it's an algorithm! Not a robot," he then shrugs, "and I’m above bribery. Unless, of course, you’ve got a worthy offer."

"ooOoOh, corruption? Me likey," Jay’s eyebrows shoot up in mischief, "I'm in. Where do I sign up?" 

“Already done, my friends. Check your emails," Heeseung pulls out his phone and points at it.  

Jake’s phone buzzes at that moment, and when he opens it, the email is sitting at the top of his inbox. He’s never been more nervous to open an email in his life. Well, except maybe his college acceptance letter. Or his professor’s recent feedback on his History of Modern Warfare essay. 

You tap your screen and start reading the email out loud:

Subject: [IMPORTANT SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT]  Hello there awesome students & fellow single-tons, Have you ever looked around campus and thought, ‘Wow, everyone here is either taken, weird, or impossible to talk to?’ Well, I’m here to save you from the trenches of singleness with...*drumroll please*  THE MATCHMATIC 3000  — the university's very own matchmaking algorithm!  How does it work you ask? Simple.  1. Download the app from the link in this email (no, it's not a scam or a virus, I promise).   2. Enter your name and student ID (for verification purposes only – no catfishing allowed!)   3. Answer a bunch of super fun questions that might make you question your life choices but will definitely help MatchMatic 3000 find your perfect match!  Once you’re done, the app will work its algorithmic magic to pair you with someone who’s probably just as confused about life as you are but is at least willing to share similar pizza toppings with you. The results will be sent out after a few days of algorithmic wizardry! Why am I doing this, you ask? Because who doesn’t love a good matchmaking fiasco? It’s like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks, except instead of pasta, it’s your love life. And hey, if it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll have some hilarious stories to tell your future therapist!  (Please don't bill me for your therapy bill. I'm broke.) It’s scientifically programmed, which means it’s flawless. Trust me, I’m very smart. Sign up now, and may your love life finally flourish. If it doesn’t, well, you can’t say I didn’t try. Questions will be released tomorrow, so sign up today before you catch a serious case of FOMO when all the cool kids start using the app ;) Sincerely, your friendly Campus Cupid,   Lee Heeseung <3  *Disclaimer: The university, nor I, takes no responsibility for any romantic entanglements, awkward encounters, or sudden realizations that you might be better off single. Please use the MatchMatic 3000 responsibly.* 

You look up, trying to hold in your laughter, “Heeseung, what the hell is this?” 

Everyone around the table bursts into muffled giggles as they take in the sight of a 240fps gif of Heeseung’s head superimposed onto a sparkly cupid’s body, dramatically shooting an arrow into the abyss of their screens.

"It's called marketing, Y/N. You wouldn't understand,” Heeseung says unbothered. 

“You really called yourself campus cupid,” Grace manages to get out, laughing so hard she’s practically wheezing.

“I said what I said,” Heeseung replies, puffing out his chest like a self-proclaimed genius. “And it’s true. I am your cupid. My algorithm is perfect. You guys are just haters. Just wait until I go viral and become rich and famous. Jake, you support me, right?"

Jake, who hasn’t uttered a peep in maybe a century, suddenly finds himself put on the spot. Oh no, I’ve been radio silent. They probably think I’m plotting my grand escape or something.

You turn towards Jake, waiting for his response and with a smile on your face, which is enough to send him into a decade long coma he thinks. 

“Uh... yeah, for sure. Whatever it takes for that ramen, right?” he blurts out, awkwardly throwing in a finger gun for good measure.

Nailed it.

"Jakey here is too sweet to disagree with you, Hee, “ you look up at him, flashing him a soft, teasing smile. 

And that’s it. Jake’s soul exits stage left. 

He nearly chokes on his own saliva at the casual way you let the pet name roll off your tongue. It’s as if you’ve just handed him a ticket to a new dimension where 'Jakey' is a thing and he’s suddenly the happiest (and only) person on the planet.

Jakey, you called him Jakey. His mind takes an ad-break as he tries to recover. Is this…flirting? Is this how normal people flirt? Or are you just trying to send him into cardiac arrest for fun?

Either way, Jake’s officially malfunctioning. He deduces you’re just being your typical, outgoing self—completely oblivious to the heart palpitations your simple actions send to Jake’s heart. How can someone be so effortlessly charming yet unaware of the chaotic consequences? 

“Y-Yeah, totally, sorry man,” he croaks out, praying to all higher powers above that this brief interaction is over. Heeseung's love machine may be flawless, but Jake? He’s barely functional.

Jake stares at the floor, trying to process this entire ordeal, as the rest of the table returns to their everyday conversation. This is happening. This is real. He needs to find a way to get matched with you, or else he can kiss Salt and Pepper (two of the twelve cats he’s already mentally named and is now emotionally invested in) goodbye. He glances over at you, who’s already—bless your curiosity—downloading the app. 

Jake gulps. He’s doomed. 

Today's the day. Jake’s internal doomsday. 

Also known as, MatchMatic-3000-launches-it's-questions-day. 

To the group's surprise, Heeseung’s love machine has gone viral across campus—it’s been the buzz of the school since his mass email blast 24 hours ago. 

“Alright gang, let’s see if this app is as magical as Heeseung’s ego claims!” you declare, your eyes sparkling with excitement as you join everyone at the usual lunch table outside.

Jake, sitting beside you, is staring at his phone like it holds the secrets of the universe. 

“I’m just hoping it matches me with someone who understands the sacred bond between a man and his video game console,” he mutters, sneakily glancing at your screen to see if you’re answering questions about your favorite video games. Because obviously, that’s the secret to his heart. 

You’re too engrossed in the questions on your phone to notice his subtle mission.

“Even better,” you say without looking up, “I hope it matches me with someone who’ll actually play video games with me.”

Then, you look up and throw him a quick wink. Casual. Effortless. But to Jake? It’s like being a victim of a hit and run to the heart. 

He’s definitely as red as his Asian Flush after two shots of soju. Maybe three.

Jay suddenly chimes in, “What if the app pairs us with people who have weird hobbies? Like, what if I get matched with someone who collects miniature spoons or lives in a house made entirely of cheese?” 

Grace snickers at the overly dramatic boy. “Jay, I think you’d thrive in a cheese house. You’ve already mastered the art of cheesy puns.”

Jake, still staring at his phone, suddenly gets an epiphany, “Wait, do you think it can match you with someone who’s just as obsessed with obscure internet memes as I am?”

You let out a giggle towards his direction, amused by his question, which makes Jake realize that he said that out loud. Well, if he made you laugh, that's a win in his book.

Heeseung, noticing Jake’s moment of glory, nods. 

“Oh, definitely. You might end up with someone who can appreciate a well-timed ‘Doge’ meme or has a shrine dedicated to Rickrolling."

“These questions are so random! A black cat or a golden retriever? What does that even mean?” you exclaim suddenly, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. 

“Excuse me, it’s all about the science of psychology, Y/N—” Heeseung stabs his fork into his pasta with an almost theatrical flair, “—the algorithm needs to understand your deepest preferences. It’s not about cats or dogs; it’s about what your choices say about your soul.”

Jay, munching on his questionable-looking dining hall taco, grins. “So, basically, the app’s trying to figure out if we’re more ‘moody cat person’ or ‘happy-go-lucky dog lover.’ Got it.”

Jake’s thumb hovers nervously over his screen as he reaches the same question himself. His eyes dart back to your screen but can’t seem to make out what you’ve selected. You’re biting your lip in concentration, and Jake’s brain glitches for a second because, wow, how can someone look so cute answering stupid personality questions?

Heeseung notices Jake’s expression from across the table and leans back in his chair with a knowing smirk. “Jake, you look like you’re solving world hunger over there. What’s the deal? Just pick whatever, man.” 

“I’m—I’m just being thorough, okay? This app’s gonna decide my entire love life. No pressure or anything,” Jake shifts uncomfortably, his face heating up.  

Jay snorts, stuffing yet another taco in his mouth, "Jake’s acting like the app’s about to determine the rest of his life. Just chill, man. You’ll get paired with someone. Even if it’s someone who only eats purple foods or, I don’t know, makes miniatures of their exes.” 

"Y/N's definitely getting paired with someone awesome," Grace teases, nudging you playfully from your other side. "Someone tall, athletic, probably knows how to cook gourmet meals."  

Jake internally winces at the description. Tall? He's definitely 6 feet...on a good day...with the right shoes. Athletic? Jake plays soccer! Well..played. In, like, middle school. Gourmet meals? He considers dino nuggets a gourmet meal so...he's practically a Michelin-star chef.  

You laugh at Grace's comment, shaking your head, "Honestly, I'm just hoping for someone who doesn't ghost me after three texts. Low bar, I know."  

Jake swallows besides you. Three texts. Got it. Don't ghost her, even if you do forget what words are in her presence.  

Suddenly, you look up from your phone and turn to lock eyes with Jake. "What did you put Jake? Black cat or golden retriever?"  

Jake freezes. Oh no, is this a test? This is definitely a test. He panics for a split second while his brain scrambles for the lobe that contains actual, cohesive, vocabulary.

"Uh, golden retriever. Definitely," he blurts out, voice higher than usual. "Golden retrievers are...loyal. And fun. Kinda like...you?" The last part slips out before he can stop himself.  

The table goes silent. Jay chokes on his suspicious taco. Grace's eyebrows shoot up in amusement. Heeseung stares at Jake like he's watching the most entertaining drama unfold right in front of him. 

You blink at Jake, then follow it with a soft giggle. "You're comparing me to a dog now?"  

Jake goes bright red, stammering as he's viciously shaking his head, "No—I mean—not like that! I just meant—"  

But you're still laughing next to him, he can feel your shoulders happily shaking against his, and while he's completely mortified, he can't help but feel the tiniest flicker of hope. At least you're laughing with him, not at him. Right? Right?  

"Did anyone consider the fact that we might get matched up with one another?" Jay changes the topic as he wipes the remaining taco shell crumbs off his mouth.

Jake notices the look of pure horror plastered on both you and Grace's faces.  

"Ew," you pretend to gag, while Grace laughs next to you. "Hard pass. You've got the same level of commitment as a first grader has with finishing their homework, and Heeseung’s definitely gonna end up marrying a computer. Plankton and Karen style. I think I'd rather date a Roomba. And you know I hate Roombas."  

Jake can't help the smile tugging at his lips. He knows you're joking, but hearing you rule out the other two makes him feel just a little better. But then...wait.  

You didn't say anything about Jake. What if you’ve already ruled Jake out, too? Not even a contender against Jay and Heeseung? The panic sets in as he thinks oh god, maybe she sees me like an actual Roomba—just following her around, waiting for crumbs of affection. 

Heeseung feigns hurt by dramatically clutching his heart. "Oh no. I'm so heartbroken," he deadpans.  

"I'd date you, Hee, don't worry," Jay winks, and without missing a beat, Heeseung blows him an exaggerated air kiss. "Thanks, babe." 

Jake, still lost in his thoughts, wonders if he’s been friend-zoned so hard he’s transcended into actual appliance territory, right next to the Roombas.

Everyone's laughing over Heeseung and Jay's antics, while Jake here is spiraling into a full-on existential crisis over accepting his fate as the Roomba of your heart. 

Is this my life now? I'm a...self-cleaning vacuum?

Jake comes to a realization the next morning: he can’t just settle for being the human equivalent of a non-sentient vacuum in your life. He needs to take action—and he needs to do it fast. Especially before the algorithm matches you with some 6-foot-tall, athletic, five-star chef who probably wakes up with flawless skin and has a perfectly curated Spotify playlist.  

Jake’s brain scrambles for ideas, as he stares hopelessly at the blank essay document on his laptop titled: "History of Modern Warfare (with revisions)" His essay can wait. World War II may have been a big deal, but this? This is you. Only the most important thing to walk this earth (in Jake's eyes, at least).  

What would a normal human being do? Grow a pair, march right up to you, and say something charming (probably, Jake wouldn't know). But Jake? Jake knows there’s a higher chance of him learning to speak fluent French in the next 24 hours than actually telling you how he feels.

Because that would require practice—in front of a mirror, at least five times a day, for three days straight. And by then, the matches will already be out, and you'll be swept off your feet by some handsome demigod in human form.  

Jake sighs as he tries to type at least one sentence of his essay, hoping it will distract him from his lingering thoughts of you. Your smile, your laughter, your wink, your voice saying ‘Jakey’... 

“The Battle of Normandy marked a significant turning point…” 

Jake frowns. Turning point. Oh, great. That’s exactly what Jake’s waiting for—a turning point with you. Except his 'battle plan' is to let Heeseung’s love algorithm do the work for him. Yeah, sure. Because nothing says romantic courage like leaving your fate up to a glorified love machine. 

Jake groans at the screen. He tries to type more, but his brain is already spiraling into worst-case scenarios. What if you get matched with someone who can bench-press a refrigerator? Or worse—someone who actually knows how to emotionally open up to you?

Frustrated, Jake slams his laptop shut, earning dirty glares from the students studying quietly around him in the library. His essay is long forgotten at this point. Who cares about The Battle of Normandy when his entire (nonexistent) love life is crumbling right in front of him?  

He pulls at his hair in sheer desperation, searching for answers, any answers, to this disaster. Think, Jake, think! 

Wait. 

That's it.  

Answers. He needs answers! Not the kind that would magically fix his social dysfunction around you. No, not those—that’s way beyond saving.

But your answers. The ones you put into The Matchmatic 3000. If Jake could somehow get a hold of those, he could match his responses to yours perfectly. Then BAM! Instant match. One foot in the door. Then maybe, just maybe, you'd stop seeing him as some automated dust-sucker. 

A smile forms across Jake's face. Pure genius (self-proclaimed, of course).  

Yes, this is the solution to all his problems. Well, except for the crippling anxiety and social awkwardness part. But one thing at a time, right? 

Now he just needs your answers.  

And possibly a therapist.  

“Jake! What's wrong?" Grace appears at Jake's table tucked away in the back of the library, her hair frazzled and disheveled from her sprint across campus as a result of Jake's ‘SOS’ text.

Jake is sitting at the table, hands folded, looking perfectly intact, totally not at all in an ‘SOS’ situation, and has a small smile on his face as he looks up at his best friend. 

“I figured it out!”

"You better tell me you just figured out time travel or the cure for world hunger, because I just full-on sprinted across campus thinking you got your laptop stolen or, heaven forbid, you got your hand trapped in the printer again,” Grace's eyes narrow as she takes a seat across from him. 

"I told you not to mention that again! It was an honest mistake," Jake's eyes widen, afraid people around them heard about Jake's embarrassingly tragic battle with the library’s printer. "But no, it's even better than that. It's kinda...off the books though."

Grace blinks back at him. "How off the books? Like...'help me hide the body' off the books, or 'expose the secret recipe to the dining hall's mysterious tacos' off the books?”

Jake glances around to make sure no one's eavesdropping, then lowers his voice, "More like...'help me get Y/N's answers to the Matchmatic 3000' off the books?"

There's a beat of silence as Grace struggles to process the absurdity of what she just heard.  

“Wait, hold up. You want me to help you cheat the dating app?”

Jake nods fervently, if not a little desperately. 

"It's not cheating! Call it...strategic alignment. I need to make sure I match with her. That's the only way I could ever get a chance, and you're the only one who can help me!"

Grace leans in from across the table, clearly in disbelief, yet amused, "So let me get this straight...you want me to somehow get her answers, so you can change yours to match hers, in hopes that Hee's magical AI or whatever pairs you two together?"

Jake attempts to give her his best 'please help me' puppy eyes, but it's clear he's more of a lost kitten right now.

"And you're asking me to get my hands dirty...why exactly?" She smirks at the fidgety Jake, finding his over-the-top desperation for you both amusing and oddly endearing.

"Uh..because you're my best friend, duh. And also, you're the closest to her—if Jay and Hee found out, they'd never let me live it down! And Jay would probably make a TikTok about it just to watch me die from embarrassment," Jake rambles, hoping he can convince the seemingly unimpressed girl in front of him.

“Uh-huh," Grace raises an eyebrow. "And what’s in it for me? Sure, I'm your best friend, but I'm also her friend and ever-so-loyal roommate. You're asking for a lot here, bud."

Jake looks flustered for a moment, as if he hadn’t really thought about that part. 

“Uh, well, I could—um—maybe buy you coffee for a week? Or, I don’t know, do your physics thesis project you've been avoiding."

Grace pretends to consider his offer for a second, but the second he mentions the ‘physics thesis project’, her decision is instantly made.

"Fine," she sighs, leaning back in her chair. "But just so you know, if this goes sideways, I was never here."

Jake smiles like he just won the lottery. Salt & Pepper, here I come!

"But also…," Grace begins, looking right at Jake, making him squirm. Not in a cute Y/N-noticed-me type of squirm, but the oh-no-I'm-about-to-get-lectured kind. "Take my advice, Jake. Stop being a wuss."

Jake's grin falters at his friend's sudden, but painfully true, words.

Grace leans in, her voice serious, "I mean, you can't just hide behind an app and hope for the best. If you really want a shot with Y/N, you need to actually, I don’t know, tell her your feelings? She's not some untouchable goddess who's going to smite you for shooting their shot." 

Jake winces. "But what if she's not interested? What if I make it weird? What if—"

"Jake," Grace's voice cuts through his spiraling thoughts. "You won't know unless you try! And you're a great guy, but how would Y/N know that if you don't open yourself up more? Seriously, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Uh. Spontaneous combustion? If I look her in the eyes for longer than 5 seconds, I just might implode. Or, you know, cease to exist," Jake deadpans, his hands gesturing wildly to emphasize his impending doom.

Grace snorts at her poor, poor friend, clearly amused by his romantic spiral. "Okay, first, no one's ever died from eye contact, buddy. Second, I'm not saying you should storm out there and go ask for her hand in marriage or anything—please, don't do that. I'm just saying, just at least try talking to her more maybe.” Baby steps, Grace thinks, baby steps. 

Jake blinks. She's right. Of course she's right. He can’t let some algorithm control his entire love life, no matter how advanced or magical Heeseung claims it is.

Grace, seeing Jake's gears slowly turning, throws him a lifeline: “Alright, fine. If it makes you feel better, she may or may not have called you cute once. Better?"

Jake freezes. His eyes widen like a deer caught in headlights. Cute? You called him cute? All the oxygen leaves his lungs, and he’s pretty sure he’s about to pass out right here in the library. 

"Wait, what?"

"Don’t get too excited," Grace smirks, clearly enjoying watching Jake short-circuit. "She said it in passing. Once."

Jake, now on the verge of a mental breakdown, blurts out, "Like, ‘aw-that-puppy-is-cute’ cute? Or like, ‘he’s-so-cute-I-wanna-kiss-him’ cute? I need specifics, Grace!"

Grace’s grin widens, watching her friend spiral into oblivion. "Jake, you’re overthinking it again. Relax. Just take the win."

"Grace, please, I'm begging you. On a scale from 'puppy' to 'kiss', where do I stand?!" Jake's eyes are practically bugging out of his head at this point. 

Grace rolls her eyes, but her teasing smile doesn't falter. "If you keep freaking out like this, you’re gonna drop down to 'awkward goldfish' cute real quick." 

"I’m doomed,” Jake groans, burying his face in his hands. 

Grace pats his back with mock sympathy. "Yep. But at least she'll think you're cute while doing it."

Jake peeks at her through his fingers. “You think she meant 'kiss' cute?”

"Finish your plan first, lover boy. Then we’ll talk."

Jake can’t help the ridiculous smile growing on his face.

Kiss cute, he decides. It has to be. 

You think if you have to read one more sentence about human anatomy, you might actually cry. You sigh as you close your textbook and push it aside to reside with the unnecessary amount of highlighters scattered on the café table between you and Grace.

"I hate this. I hate the circulatory system. Why do I even need to know what the ‘superior vena cava’ is," you groan as you take a sip of what's left of your watered down iced matcha.

Grace hums in front of you as her eyes continually scan the textbook, desperate to absorb just enough information to survive tomorrow's anatomy quiz.

"Because it keeps you alive, Y/N. Duh," Grace jokes as her eyes stay peeled to her textbook.

"Screw that," you scoff. "I don't need the circulatory system to keep me alive. I just need caffeine and BTS's entire discography pumped through my veins to live."

Grace finally glances up, giving you an amused side-eye at your usual dramatic flair, before she remembers she has an important mission at hand: 

Operation Jake & Y/N. 

Grace slams her textbook closed with a dramatic thud to show she's finished studying (she's not). 

"Sooo...speaking of circulatory systems and...hearts and...stuff—did you ever finish filling out the questions for Hee's love app thingy?"

You, oblivious to the sudden change in topic, shrug as you fish your straw around your plastic cup, hoping to find more drops of watery matcha to savor. 

"Yeah, I finished it the other day. It took me forever though. Like, why does it need to know if I'd rather have a personal trainer who can only teach me interpretive dance versus a personal chef who can only cook cereal? I swear Hee was on some drugs or something while creating those questions."

"Not drugs, probably an unhealthy amount of caffeine and ramen though," Grace snorts, still trying to play it cool.

"Caffeine is a drug, doofus," you say pointedly, right before you get a smack in the forehead by Grace's crumbled up straw wrapper.

"Whatever," Grace laughs. "Hey I'm curious—what did you put for your answers? Wanna compare? See how similar we are?" Grace's leg is bouncing under the table, trying to keep up the ‘smooth’ façade, hoping you won't find her sudden interest weird.

"Sure, why not?" you nonchalantly agree, not thinking twice about the random request.

Grace blinks in surprise. That was...way easier than expected. She was ready to prepare some elaborate excuse, like ‘I need your answers to match you up with my desperate best friend who's head over heels for you!’

Oh wait. That part is real. You get the gist.

"Unless...," you pause suddenly. Uh oh. "Unless you're going to sell my answers to some mad scientist and they try to make an evil clone of me to take over the world and end up framing me and I'll have to clear my name in a dramatic world-televised court trial."

Grace blinks, before rolling her eyes, as her nervous heartbeat returns to a normal rate. 

“You're so goddamn weird sometimes.” 

You beam at your friend, clearly amused at yourself, as you scroll through your answers and send screenshots to Grace without a second thought. "Sent! Oh, and send me yours—I wanna know what you put for 'Stuck in a room with Shrek for 24 hours' versus 'Fight 100 duck-sized horses.'"

“Oh, vibe with Shrek, 100%,” Grace answers without skipping a beat, earning an agreeing high five from you.

Grace is ecstatic. This was so much easier than she thought. Not only does this mean her desperate best friend will finally get his shot with you (which also means she won’t have to hear his dramatic overthinking questions about whether you sharing a sandwich with him was a cosmic sign or just a sandwich), but it also guarantees her a week of free coffee and an A+ in physics for this semester.

She quickly types out a quick message to Jake as you're still distracted by your now near empty matcha cup:

Grace [1:26PM]: "mission accomplished. prepare for epic matchmaking success and a lifetime supply of guilt-free caffeine. for me, ofc"

Grace leans back in satisfaction, practically tasting the sweet (and caffeinated) taste of victory. She's done her end of Mission Impossible, and now it's up to Jake to do...well, whatever Jake does in these situations.

Her phone buzzes with a reply from Jake:

Jake [1:28PM]: THANK YOU!!! also...not a lifetime supply...just a week. don't get it twisted"

"Look, all I'm saying is," you declare, leaning back on the couch, "if all five of us pitch in, we could most definitely rob a bank." 

What had started as a group study session two hours ago in your and Grace's apartment has, as usual, turned into your friend group's typical day of hanging out: wildly imagining scenarios so far removed from reality that there’s absolutely no chance you’d end up in them—but entertaining the idea anyway, because what else are you going to do when you're supposed to be studying?

Grace snickers from beside you, "Yeah, and with your stealth skills, we'd get caught in about three business seconds. You literally screamed when I dropped that piece of paper yesterday."

"It startled me! Gravity's such a scary concept, okay?" You huff, arms crossed. Jake, sitting on your other side, fights back the slight grin growing on his face as he watches you scrunch your face in that way he secretly finds unfairly cute, even if it is over your fear of inanimate objects. So weirdly adorable.

Heeseung, sitting cross-legged on the floor from across the couch, raises an eyebrow, “Y/N, do you even know how banks work?”

“She’s got the spirit. I’d give her a solid 7/10 for enthusiasm. Execution, though? Negative two,” Jay says as crosses his arms with a grin from beside Heeseung. 

You grab and throw a couch pillow at him, which he dodges with ease, sticking out his tongue. Jake instinctively shifts closer to you, to your oblivion, like he’s ready to shield you from any incoming retaliation missiles.

“What, and you’d be the brains of the operation? Mr. ‘I forgot my own phone password for two days?’” You fire back.

Jay shrugs, unfazed, “Hey, no need to bring up the past. We all make mistakes.”

“Yeah,” Jake finally chimes in, hoping you will notice how smooth he sounds, “but not all of us text our own phone ‘Why won’t you let me in?’ while the password is literally ‘1234.’”

Everyone laughs, except Jay, who gasps and points dramatically at Jake, “Betrayal. How dare you?”

“It’s public knowledge, bro. You told everyone,” Jake raises his hands in defense, but his eyes keep flickering back to you, wondering if your sweet laughter is because of him this time. And call him delusional, but he really thinks it is. You throw your head back from laughing so hard, at some point your hand graces Jake’s knee next to yours to stabilize yourself. 

It’s no secret—well, at least not to Grace—that Jake’s newfound confidence around you is all thanks to that one tiny lifeline Grace threw him: you called him cute once. Just once. And now, Jake’s running with it, holding on for dear life, and convincing himself that maybe, just maybe, you think about him the same way he thinks about you. Maybe. 

“I told you all in confidence! That was a moment of weakness!” Jay crosses his arms, looking like a child who just got scolded at. “I trusted you people.”

Grace, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the coffee table, pouts at Jay, “And that, my friend, was your first mistake.” 

“Et tu, Grace?” Jay gasps, clutching his chest like he’s been personally victimized by the betrayal of his closest friends. Well…he was. 

Heeseung, shaking his head, cuts in, “Okay, but if we’re robbing a bank, I’m in charge. I’m the only one here with any common sense.” 

You frown, “What do you mean? I have common sense! I brushed my teeth today and everything!”

Jake watches you with a soft smile, finding even your exaggerated outrage so weirdly adorable.

Grace bursts out laughing, “Y/N, sweetie, that’s basic hygiene, not common sense. But good job. We’re all proud of you.”

Jake, clearly riding his boost of confidence from earning that one (1) laugh from you, decides to add in and nods, looking completely serious, “Honestly, I think we should celebrate that. Maybe get you a gold sticker or something.” 

“You guys are bullies,” you mutter, sinking into the couch, but you're laughing too. Jake tries to hide how melted he feels when you laugh like that—all bright and simply, you.

“It's nothing personal, Y/N,” Heeseung adds, smirking, "but you can't easily get startled by inanimate objects and claim you have common sense."

Jay snickers, pointing at you, “Remember that time you thought the vacuum was attacking you?”

You shoot him a glare, debating on throwing yet another couch pillow at him, “It moved on its own, okay? That’s suspicious.”

"The Roomba was doing its job. You nearly declared war on the thing," Grace, mouth full of popcorn, can't defend you on this one.

Jake, on the other hand, feels compelled to defend you, even if he knows it’s ridiculous. You know, since he could relate to the whole impending-mental-doom-by-a-Roomba thing, "The Roomba was being weird that day.”

Jay side-eyes Jake, “Oh, so now you’re on Team Roomba Conspiracy? That’s rich.”

That is rich, considering Jake nearly signed up for therapy just days ago after having an existential crisis about being recruited to join your arch-nemesis—Roombas. Now here he was, ready to go to battle for your anti-automated-dust-sucker stance.

Jake shrugs, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, suddenly hyper-aware of your attention on him, “I just think we shouldn’t dismiss Y/N’s concerns so quickly.”

You turn to him with the softest smile he's seen in the history of smiles—one that fully knocks the breath right out of him. 

“Aw thank you, Jake! Someone around here finally gets it,” you momentarily rest your head on his shoulder for two fleeting seconds—short enough to show your appreciation but long enough to utterly dismantle the boy’s composure. 

He’s frozen. Brain empty, no thoughts…except for the scent of your shampoo rushing his senses. He’s not sure if he’s about to pass out or propose.

“Simp,” Jay mutters under his breath, just loud enough for Jake to hear. Jake shoots him a warning look, making Jay’s smirk grow wider. 

Grace, still giggling at the memory of you running away from a Roomba, then turns to Heeseung with a curious grin, "Speaking of concerns, how's the app going? When are we gonna find out who's paired with who?"

Heeseung immediately groans, frustratingly running a hand through his hair, "It's...going, alright. Some people are weird, man. I don't even know how to process some of these answers."

"Really? How so?" You perk up at this, interested. 

Heeseung sighs as he pulls his phone out of his pocket, "Okay, look at this—someone put 'ramen' as an answer for what they're looking for in a partner."

Jay snorts, "Sounds like something you’d put, honestly. You should match yourself up with them!"

"And this person," Heeseung continues, scrolling and displaying his phone to the rest of the group, "just answered 'vibes' to every single question. Every. One. What does that even mean?!"

Everyone shrugs around the coffee table in confusion as the exasperated boy dramatically tosses his phone to the side like it personally offended him.

"Anyways. I should be done tonight, so hopefully the matches get released tomorrow," he reveals, to everyone's excitement.

"Ohmygosh, tomorrow?" Grace claps her hands lightly. "I can't wait, I hope I get paired with someone who, like, is secretly Spiderman or something. You know, someone with substance."

"I'm nervous, what if I get a total weirdo?" You mutter, eyes widening at the thought.

Jake thinks to himself: as long as he gets paired with you, he doesn't mind being a total weirdo. He'll be your total weirdo. He'll dye his hair neon rainbow, start collecting Russian nesting dolls, and live in a treehouse if that's what it takes.

"Y/N," Jay speaks up, cocking his head out from the bag of potato chips he's currently annihilating, "if anything, you're gonna be the weird one in whatever relationship you end up in."

You instinctively reach for another pillow to throw at him, but Jake is faster, shielding his arms around you, "Okay, okay, let's be nice. I'm sure Y/N will end up with someone perfectly normal, and anyone who ends up with Y/N will not find her weird at all." 

That's because Jake better be the one that ends up with you. And he definitely doesn't think you're weird. Well maybe a little. In an endearing way.

And hopefully, in your eyes, he's normal. Or not—it's all the same to him, as long as he's the one by your side. 

All the steps are set in stone. Now, he just needs the algorithm to do its thing and simply match you two together—which is bound to happen, given Jake is practically a Y/N 2.0 after copying all your answers. If this doesn't work, then the universe is officially out to get him. 

Yes. Everything will happen according to plan.

It has to.  

Nothing goes according to plan.  

Jake's eyes dart in panic between Grace's look of confusion and your phone screen, currently displaying to the rest of the lunch table your so-called soulmate's name, which, surprise surprise—it's not Jake.

Instead, it reads:  

Match: Park Sunghoon 

You shrug as you glance up from your phone, completely unaware of the Tom and Jerry hole Jake is crawling back down right now, "I think he's that new transfer student. I've seen him around in my psychology class, he's kinda cute!"  

Jake's heart sinks deeper than he thought was humanly possible. Cute? Like 'puppy' cute or 'kiss' cute? Oh god, his worst nightmare is coming true. He's about to be banished back to the sad category of 'automated vacuums' in your heart, left to raise 12 kittens on his own.  

Jay frowns, crossing his arm, "No fair, I haven't gotten my match yet, and Y/N gets the cute new kid? This is rigged."  

Heeseung smirks, leaning back in his chair like some algorithm god, "Patience, child. The results are rolling out throughout the entire day. I added that feature for the 'element of surprise.'" 

Grace, meanwhile, subtly leans towards Jake while everyone else rambles over your match, "Looks like the universe hates you."  

"I can't believe it didn't work. It doesn't make any sense, it has to be broken or something,” Jake says, visibly upset, trying his very best to not dig himself a grave right then and there in the middle of the university's quad.  

Grace shrugs, feeling confusion on behalf of her best friend as well, "At least you can say you tried. Maybe the universe is trying to hint at you to actually talk to her and get into a relationship the normal, organic way."  

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbles. But Jake is too perplexed to listen to Grace's—very, very, valid—logic right now. 

Jake's thoughts spiral faster than a malfunctioning Roomba trapped in a corner, repeatedly slamming into the same wall with no hope of escape. Honestly, Jake wishes there was a wall around him right now to repeatedly slam his head into. Maybe that way the delulu in him—the one that convinced him he could hack his way into your heart—can finally escape his brain.  

His brain is short-circuiting in panic, bouncing between the reality of his failure and the absolute tragedy that Sunghoon—the cute transfer student (you probably think he's kiss-cute too) is about to waltz in and steal his entire future. Jake can already picture Sunghoon effortlessly holding all twelve hypothetical kittens, while Jake is left alone with nothing but his shattered dreams. 

Before Jake can imagine another over dramatic scenario in his head of you and Sunghoon that would make him physically rip out his own heart and stomp all over it, Grace's phone suddenly pings.

"You've got to be kidding me."  

Everyone turns to look at her, as Grace glances up from her phone, the look of pure horror on her face.  

Grace slowly turns her phone around for everyone to see, and there, in bold letters, sits:

Match: Park Jongseong  

A beat of silence (or as Grace would call it, moment of silence for the fallen. The fallen being Grace), then... 

“HA!” Jay cackles, pointing at her. “Sucks to be you.” 

"Oh, you think this is funny, Park?" Grace glares at him, and at everyone else for giggling at the absurd match. "I would literally rather match with my chemistry TA who wears socks with sandals."  

Heeseung perks up, clearly overly amused at the match drama ensuing around the table, "Wait, that chem TA's not that bad lowkey..."  

Grace throws him a look, "Hee, this isn't about Steve the TA! This is about my life being ruined in real time!"  

Jake tunes in and scoffs, so shocked at his friend's statement, he forgot the setting they're all in, "Your life being ruined? What about mine?"  

Jake quickly silences himself after he realizes what he just said..and in front of you. 

"What about your life getting ruined, Jake? Did you get your match yet?" You look up at him from across the table, curious who could possibly have Jake in such shambles (Ironic, isn't it?). 

"Err—no, not yet. What I mean is..uhh," Jake stammers, his remaining brain cells (which isn't many at this point) trying to muster up the best lie they could to cover himself. "My life would totally be ruined if Grace and Jay end up together because...uhh..because I'd totally have to third-wheel them all the time!"  

Yes, that's good Jake. Good job, good job.  

You seem to be convinced enough by the excuse, your eyes suddenly widening in fear.

"Oh god, you're so right! This means Jay's gonna be over at our apartment all the time now. He'll probably never leave,” you visibly shudder.

Grace gestures wildly at the entire table in disbelief, "You guys! What in the world makes you think Jay and I are going to end up together just because some love algorithm thinks we're good for each other? No offense, Hee."  

Jay, on the other hand, reclines back in his chair, looking entirely too smug for someone who just got called out as a last-choice match, "Hey, the algorithm knows what's up. Maybe this is fate, Grace. This could be fun." He points between the two of them, as if sealing a deal.  

"Fun?! Wrestling a bear made entirely of thorns sounds more fun," Grace physically recoils, like she just touched something soggy in the sink's drain, her expression sending the whole table into laughter. 

"Honestly, I see it. Can't fight the science," you speak up, throwing a knowing look at Grace before Jay gives you an appreciative high-five from across the table.  

Grace snaps her head towards you and gasps, "Traitor! How dare you—you better sleep with your door locked tonight or I swear—"  

"ALL I'm saying is—" you raise your hands in defense, interjecting before Grace can vow to eliminate you and your future lineage from the face of this planet, "—I think it’s kind of sweet you matched with someone you actually know, you know? I mean, I wish I got paired with a close friend. I’ve always believed in the friend-to-significant-other pipeline." 

Friend to significant other? Jake's internal monologue screeches to a halt. Y/N, I'm right here! I could be the one, not Sunghoon! That could be us!

Then, as if you could read his thoughts, your gaze meets Jake’s for just a beat too long, lingering in that space where words usually get lost. Jake swears your expression softens for half a second before you casually shift your focus back on Grace. His brain is officially overheating. Was that a hint? Was it? 

Oh my god. She’s totally hinting at me.

Or—no, wait. Maybe he's reading into it again. Maybe he's so deep into this 'delulu' life that now every sentence feels like it's tailor-made just for him. 

Yeah, that has to be it. Definitely the latter, right? Right. 

Heeseung perks up from his seat, pointing at Grace, "See? She's right. Trust the science. And the friendship! But mostly the science. Science doesn’t mess up, man. It must've sensed some... undercurrents between you and Jay." 

Grace looks like she’s about to leap across the table and strangle Heeseung with his own hoodie strings, but Jay interrupts with a wide grin. 

"Yeah, undercurrents, Gracey-poo. We’re destined." 

You lose it, breaking into uncontrollable laughter as Grace pretends to dry heave at the sound of the pet name. 

"And just like that," she says, dramatically standing up from her seat, "I think that’s my cue to leave. If I hear Jay call me ‘Gracey-poo’ again, I’m going to bleach my ears." 

The entire table is still laughing while Grace makes her swift escape to her next class. You finally manage to catch your breath, turning to Jake with a small smile (which also casually happens to send his brain into overdrive. No big deal, really). 

"I'm excited to see who you get paired with, Jake! I bet she's amazing."  

Jake feels his heart sink a little, but he forces a casual smile. No one is as amazing as you though (cheesy, but painfully true).

Trying to cover his disappointment, Jake shrugs, "I don’t know... I’m not really that into this whole matchmaking thing anyway." He leans back, feigning nonchalance. "I don’t think I’ll actually do anything with whoever I get matched with." 

Jake can’t tell if the small breath you let out is in relief or if, once again, he’s feeding his delusional part of his brain that’s been working overtime. 

But before he can overthink it, you raise an eyebrow, teasing him, "What? You’re not even curious? What if it’s someone perfect for you?" 

Jake laughs awkwardly, desperately trying to keep his cool. It would be perfect if it was you. But instead, he blurts out, "Yeah, maybe they’ll match me with my future laundry partner. Who knows?" Laundry? Really, Jake? 

"That would be a miracle," Heeseung looks up from his phone, gesturing towards Jake, "this guy never does his laundry."  

Jake shoots him a sharp look, "Not true! I just need...some motivation.." 

"Motivation from your future girlfriend?" Jay chimes in, raising an eyebrow. "That's gotta be a new low, dude."  

You nudge Jake's arm from across the table, grinning, "Hey, maybe the algorithm’s just that good. It knows you need a laundry-loving girlfriend in your life." 

Jake snorts, playing along, but his thoughts are a mess. Laundry-loving girlfriend? Nah, Jake needs you as his girlfriend—no question about it.

As you turn your attention back to your phone, the smile fades from Jake’s face, just for a second. His eyes linger on you longer than he means to, before he leans his head on his hand, pretending to care about whatever random TikTok Heeseung is showing him right now.  

But the video’s a blur. All Jake can focus on is how wrong everything feels. This isn’t how it was supposed to go. You were supposed to be his match. You are his match. He knows it.  

Forget laundry-doing-girlfriends or algorithm-approved pairings. If the app really knew what Jake needed, it would’ve led him straight to you. 

And honestly, Jake’s pretty sure he’s smarter than the sleep-deprived, ramen-fueled algorithm Heeseung cooked up. So yeah, screw the love machine. 

If the app won’t do it for him, then it’s time he takes matters into his own hands. 

(About time.)

“Please please please pleeeeease!” Jake’s trailing behind Heeseung throughout their shared living room like a toddler whose candy got snatched, but way more desperate.

Yeah, uh, this is Jake's idea of taking matters into his own hands.  

This is officially the billionth time Heeseung’s heard this in the past 24 hours. At least this time Jake managed to wait until Heeseung was out of the shower and fully clothed before launching into his regularly programmed meltdown. Progress, right? 

“Jake! You do realize what you’re asking me, right? You sound insane.” Heeseung's patience is thinner than the cup ramen noodles he’s survived on for the past week. He takes a seat on their couch, before pointedly looking at his desperate roommate. “You’re being ridiculously dramatic.” 

Jake scoffs, like the mature adult he is. “YOUR FACE is being ridiculously dramatic.” Yup. Like the mature adult he is.  

Heeseung came out to the living room in hopes of being able to catch up on the latest episode of The Bachelor, but to no avail, as the younger boy was waiting to catch him all day (not that Heeseung was actively avoiding Jake or anything, no definitely not). But instead of screaming at the TV in frustration at the bachelor's terrible decisions, here he was, staring at Jake, silently contemplating how many years in prison throwing him off their apartment's balcony would cost him. 

Three? Maybe four? Would it be worth it? Possibly. 

“All you gotta do,” Jake begins to launch his TED Talk, “is send out a mass email to all your participants and be like, ‘Oh noooo, the AI or robot or magical unicorn or whatever messed up!’ Then you just re-release the answers, but this time, pair me with Y/N, bada-bing bada-boom. Easy peasy.” 

Heeseung stares blankly. Honestly, prison doesn’t sound that bad. 

“First off, it’s not a robot. It’s an algorithm,” Heeseung says for the seventy-millionth time, contemplating launching his side career as a 'broken record'. “Second, if people found out it ‘messed up,’ my reputation would be in shambles. Can you imagine all the couples who met their match, only to find out it was a giant, steaming load of—” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Jake waves him off, deploying his best attempt (key word: attempt) at puppy-dog eyes. “But what about my soulmate?” 

Heeseung groans and rubs his temples, “Jake, if she’s really your soulmate, maybe try telling her how you feel like a normal human being instead of begging me to rewrite reality?” 

Jake pauses, then, in true Jake fashion, says: “Yeah, but like...nah.” 

Heeseung looks at Jake, who is now staring at him with the intensity of someone waiting for a miracle, “You really don’t see how unhinged this sounds, do you?” 

Jake blinks. 

“I mean, yeah, but, like, what if it works? I’m just saying, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Wayne Gretzky said that.” 

Heeseung rolls his eyes so hard he’s pretty sure he saw his past life flash by, “Did Wayne Gretzky also say, ‘Be a total weirdo and bother your friend to break all ethical codes and rig an algorithm because you’re too chicken to tell a girl you like her?’” 

Jake shrugs. “He might’ve. We don’t know his whole catalog of wisdom.” 

“I’m begging you—just talk to her. Or, I dunno, send her a meme on Instagram or something. Do anything other than harass me. Please.” 

Jake's face scrunches up like Heeseung just suggested he swim with sharks. “A meme? Really? Do I look like some kind of loser who communicates through memes? I’ll have you know I’m a very mature adu—” 

SMACK! 

A flying sock lands squarely on Jake’s head. He blinks, confused, as Jay strolls in from his room and plops next to Heeseung, looking way too pleased with himself, “Dude, you’re begging like a guy who just got ghosted by an ATM. Have some dignity.” 

“You’re not helping,” Jake glares, throwing the sock back at Jay. 

Jay, with the wisdom only a seasoned disaster like him can possess, shrugs, “Honestly, Heeseung, just rerun the thing. I’m pretty sure the universe would implode if this dude doesn’t get matched with Y/N. And frankly, I don’t want to deal with that level of cosmic drama.” 

“Jay, not you too,” Heeseung pinches the bridge of his nose as he realizes he needs to find a new spot to watch his show from now on. 

Jay raises his hands in mock surrender, “Hey, man, I’m just looking out for you. If Jake doesn’t get his way, he’ll never shut up. You’re one day away from him showing up at your room's door with a PowerPoint presentation. Think of your sanity. Plus, we all live together which means I have to see the presentation too. Think of my sanity.” 

“PowerPoint, huh? I could probably whip something up. Maybe add some pie charts and bar graphs,” Jake, clearly inspired, mutters to himself.  

Heeseung stares at the ceiling, wondering if this is his villain origin story (it most definitely is). “There’s absolutely no way I’m risking the integrity of my algorithm just because you can’t grow a backbone.”

Jake’s face falls, but Jay’s wheels are already turning on behalf of his friend, Mr. Simp, “Hold up, hold up. Hee, think about it. There’s gotta be something you want. I mean, everyone’s got a price, right?” 

Heeseung raises an eyebrow, still annoyed, yet intrigued. What? A good deal is a good deal.

“And what exactly do you think I want, Jay?” 

Jay flashes a grin that screams mischief. 

“We know you’ve been grinding on this algorithm for weeks, man. Barely sleeping. Barely eating,” Jay narrows his eyes in dramatic fashion, as though he’s about to uncover a deep secret. “You’re like two ramen packets away from full-on malnutrition. Sad really.” 

“Yeah, bro. We care about you. You need... balance. Maybe a reward for all your hard work?” Jake suddenly adds, nodding vigorously, picking up on Jay's scheming. 

Heeseung stares at them blankly, “Are you bribing me with...food?” 

“Not just any food,” Jake adds, gesturing dramatically. “Free food. Unlimited food from anywhere, for a month. On me. You’ll never have to eat those mystery meat tacos from the dining hall ever again.” 

Jay interjects, pointing at Jake, "Hey, I'll have you know, those tacos are actually quite good! You just have to deal with the initial frequent toilet trips when you first try them..." 

Heeseung’s resolve flickers for a moment. His stomach growls at the mere thought of having actual, edible food (for free!) that isn’t microwavable...or whatever they put in those tacos. 

Jake, sensing weakness, presses on, “AND… AND! I’ll do all your laundry. One month. No questions asked. I’ll even iron your shirts.” 

Jay, impressed by Jake's bargaining methods, nods his head along as if to convince the skeptical Heeseung, hoping to save himself from also having to hear Jake's consistent whining around the apartment any longer.  

Heeseung narrows his eyes. “I don’t iron my shirts.” 

“I’ll iron them anyway. Luxury service.” 

A pause. Heeseung’s brain is doing some serious mental gymnastics. On one hand, his precious algorithm. On the other… food that didn’t come from a vending machine and clean clothes that weren’t dug out of his laundry basket which is somewhere in the abyss that is his closet right now. 

Jay nudges him, whispering like he's the devil on Heeseung's left shoulder, “Think about it, man. What’s more important? Some random algorithm, or free pizza from that one place around the corner every day?” 

“I swear, if this comes back to bite me..,” Heeseung sighs, rubbing his temples but already thinking about the mouth-watering cheesy goodness he could be having every day.

“So, you’ll do it?!” Jake’s eyes suddenly light up with hope, reflecting the picture-perfect image of a golden retriever right now. 

“Fine,” Heeseung glares at him, feeling the last of his integrity slip away. “But if anyone asks, you never heard this from me. And I expect my meals hot and my laundry folded.”

Jake gleams and practically starts bouncing off their living room's walls. “Yes! Yes! You won’t regret this! I mean, you probably will, but thank you!” 

Heeseung shakes his head, regretting every life choice that led to this moment. Jay claps him on the back. “See? Was that so hard? Now you can live like a king for a whole month. I’d call that a win.” 

“A king with a crumbling empire,” Heeseung sighs.  

“Y/N, here I come!” Jake’s already halfway out their apartment's front door, with no destination in sight—just overjoyed with excitement that he feels he could run ten laps around campus right now (plot twist: he doesn't—he ends up running down the stairs just to get winded and comes right back up to the apartment). 

As Jake sprints off, Heeseung groans, “I’ve made a terrible mistake, haven’t I?” 

"Nah," Jay shrugs, already opening his phone. "Probably.” 

Heeseung realizes he, indeed, made a terrible mistake when he looks up from his phone at lunch the next day and sees a particular you, storming up to the table.

Once you reach the table, you thrust your phone into his face, the ‘rematch’ email, that Heeseung had sent out only a few minutes ago, on display:  

Subject [SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT] : MatchMatic 3000 Oopsie Alert  Hello there, awesome students & fellow singletons,  Sooo...this is awkward. Despite weeks of blood, sweat, and ramen going into the creation of the Matchmatic 3000, it appears that a tiny part of the code had a full-on meltdown 🤖💔  As a result, some of the matches you received earlier this week were... well... not exactly what the love gods (or the code) intended. But hey, don’t panic! Not everyone’s match was wrong, just a small handful (I swear, please don’t come for me!).   I truly apologize for the mix-up, and I’m already back at my desk (and caffeine-mixed-with-ramen-fueled) fixing it.  The correct matches will be sent out ASAP—right after I double, triple, and quadruple check that this algorithm doesn’t throw another tantrum.  Thanks for your patience, and please don’t hunt me down! 🙏 I promise I’ll do better next time... or, at the very least, make sure the matches don’t require emergency therapy sessions.  Your (struggling) Campus Cupid,   Lee Heeseung,   Creator of the Slightly Dysfunctional Love Algorithm™ 💘 

”What happened to ‘Oh, the science is never wrong! I’m very smart, trust me, I’m King Romantic Algorithm!’” You mock in your best Heeseung impression, earning amused looks from everyone around the table—well, everyone except Heeseung. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Heeseung groans, holding up his hands defensively. Heeseung still can’t believe he’s apologizing for absolutely no reason, except for the looming fact that his hopelessly-in-love-with-you roommate is making him. “I swear, it must’ve been all the sleep deprivation. Maybe the algorithm glitched somewhere between my tenth cup of ramen and a power nap.” 

Heeseung shoots a knowing side glance towards Jake without anyone noticing, and Jake looks anywhere but at the older boy, avoiding eye contact at all costs.  

Jay raises an eyebrow as he chews on his sandwich, “Honestly, I’m not mad about it. I was still holding out hope for that cute boba barista.” 

“Excuse me?” Grace smacks Jay’s arm without hesitation from beside him. “What’s wrong with being matched with me?” 

Jay blinks at her in disbelief. 

“You literally said you’d rather wrestle a bear made of thorns than go out with me.” 

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t want to go out with me,” Grace mutters, crossing her arms as Jay chuckles and nudges her back. 

“I don’t have time for your boba barista fantasies, Jay,” you grumble, feeling clearly annoyed over the rematch debacle.

Jake, sitting across from you, has been…well characteristically quiet, probably because he’s still trying to figure out how to comfort you without feeling a pang of guilt for being the reason you’re frustrated. But he gives it a shot anyway, turning to you with a cautious, almost-too-casual smile.  

“Are you really that upset over the rematch, Y/N?” His voice gentle, almost laced with concern, you would think. 

You glance up at him, instantly feeling less annoyed…for some reason. Jake’s always had this weird ability to calm you down without even trying. Maybe it was just his soft and steady demeanor that made you feel the need to match his. You take a deep breath, smoothing out the sharp edges of your mood before you speak.  

“It’s not that I was desperate to be with Sunghoon,” you start, your voice softer now. “I don’t know…I guess it was just kinda exciting and meeting someone new is always fun, you know? I think I’ve just been wanting something new or different in my life.”  

You trail off, and when you meet Jake's eyes again, you catch the way he's nodding along, completely absorbed in what you're saying. His attentiveness is cute, it makes something flutter in your chest—an unfamiliar warmth. You, a little curious, let the feeling linger, before quickly brushing it aside. 

But Jake? He feels that warmth too, though for him, it’s coupled with a twinge of jealousy. He's bothered. The thought of you seeking something ‘new’ with someone else twists in his chest, but he hides it with a smile, determined not to let you see how much it bothers him. 

“Well,” Jake begins, voice light but with a subtle undertone of something more you pick up on and you wonder what it is. “Maybe it’s a good thing. The rematch, I mean. It’s like a second chance. Everything happens for a reason, right? Maybe Sunghoon’s secretly a serial heartbreaker…or into collecting voodoo dolls or something.” 

You laugh, his humor breaking through any of your remaining frustration, and you raise an eyebrow at him. 

“You sound awfully optimistic about this,” you tease, trying to figure out if there’s something more to his words. Was there? Probably not, you deduce. Definitely not.  

Jake’s heart stutters, wondering if he's been caught red-handed. He fights the urge to panic and instead flashes you a cheesy grin and that somehow makes your stomach flip, though you can't exactly figure out why. 

“Just saying, it could be a blessing in disguise,” he shrugs, his tone playful but sincere. “Maybe this time, it’ll match you with someone who’s right in front of you.” 

Your breath catches as you take in his words quite literally. He’s just speaking metaphorically, right? But when your eyes meet again, there’s something in the way he looks at you—something that makes your heart skip a beat.  

For a moment, you don't know why, but you feel vulnerable in front of Jake. Jake, of all people. He’s always been sweet, always been there, but right now, the way he’s looking at you feels different. Maybe it's the way he's talking to you like you two are the only people at the table, like everything you're saying is heard and understood, and you feel seen amidst all the chaos. Like he’s seeing you in a way you’ve never quite noticed before. And it sends warmth radiating through you, mixing with the confusion already swirling in your chest. 

You blink and shake your head, you're overthinking. Jake is just being Jake—kind, supportive, and always ready to listen. That's just who he is. That's all.  

So why can you still feel his lingering gaze on you even as the conversation moves on? And why does it make you feel...something? Shy? Nervous? Excited? Maybe all of the above.  

Grace suddenly claps her hands together, breaking you out of your confusion, “Well, I think this whole rematch thing is the universe giving me a shot at a real love story,” she announces dramatically.  

“Right, because nothing says ‘romance’ like a computer’s ruling,” Jay rolls his eyes.  

Grace glares at him, “Maybe it’ll match me with someone who’s not emotionally unavailable for once.” 

You laugh at your friends' banter, but your thoughts are still stuck on Jake's words, and all you can think about is the possibility of getting paired with Jake. You feel a fluttering sensation at that thought, and as if you were afraid he could read your mind, you try to sneak a glance at him, only to catch him looking at you at the exact same moment. His eyes quickly dart away, making the interaction short enough to avoid any awkwardness but still long enough for you to catch the same gentle, almost longing expression, on his soft features.  

Your heart skips. 

Feeling exposed, you clear your throat, trying to break the silent tension you’re sure only you’re feeling. 

“Anyway,” you say, forcing a smile, “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end.” 

Your friends all nod and murmur in agreement at your statement, but your heart lingers on Jake. You can't help but glance back at him, your mind refusing to shake this unfamiliar feeling of...something—maybe the slightest flicker of hope—that you match with him. 

And maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't mind that at all.  

And for Jake, well, there’s only one version of ‘everything working out at the end,’ and it's simple, really—it's you. And for him, that’s the only ending that matters. 

Maybe Jake bit off a little more than he could chew this time. 

Sure, we’ve established that Jake’s inner simp—Jake Simp—is willing to do just about anything to end up with you. Training for a triathlon? Done. Cat-sitting twelve cats? He’d do it, no questions asked. So, naturally, promising Grace a week’s worth of iced coffee deliveries, finishing her physics poster, funding Heeseung’s meals and doing all his laundry for a month didn’t seem that bad in comparison. 

That was, until now—when he's speed-walking across campus, juggling an iced matcha latte (with two pumps of chai, because of course), a dry-cleaning bag with freshly ironed clothes, and a trifold poster board tucked precariously under his armpit, praying the drink doesn’t melt before he gets it to Grace.

Jake hastily rounds the corner by the library, barely keeping his balance when— 

Smack. 

Jake runs straight into someone, thankfully only sacrificing a few drops of the matcha as he stumbles, trying to keep everything from falling out of his grasp.

"Woah! Easy," an oddly familiar voice says, and when Jake looks up, he's met with your adorably amused expression. Of course it's you.

“Y/N!” Jake nearly chokes on his words, trying to steady himself. “I—uh, didn’t see you there.”

You laugh softly, your eyes flicking over everything in Jake's hold. 

"Is that a...physics project? I thought you took that class last year." 

Jake stalls, trying to recollect himself and somehow explain why he's running around campus with a trifold poster, (at this point, half-melted) iced matcha, and someone's else's dry cleaning, all over trying to end up with you. Because, yeah, there's really no way to explain that. But then...wait.

"I did take it last year," he says, eyebrows raised. "You remember that?"

Now you're the one seemingly flustered, as if you're the one that just ran into their crush, sweating beads over running a million of chores. 

You think your face is as red as a beet right now, well, at least it feels like it. 

"Uh—yeah, I guess I did," you give a sheepish smile, nervously tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear, and Jake thinks he's about to faint from lightheadedness right then and there.

"Plus, you were always talking about how the professor went on tangents about wormholes...but you would secretly enjoy them because you always swore you could survive getting sucked through one, remember?" 

Jake’s heart skips at the way you're ever so casually recalling these details that even he didn't remember. He doesn't know which one takes the leaderboard, you calling him ‘Jakey’, or this.

"Wow," he breathes, unable to hide the smile spreading across his face. "I didn't think you’d notice all that. I thought I was just rambling half the time and the group would nod along to just be nice."

You shrug, looking up at the boy in front of you while trying to play it off casually, even though your heart feels like it's about to break free from your ribcage. 

"Well, I guess I’ve just always remembered the stuff you talked about. It’s...kind of hard not to when you go on about it with that excited look on your face,” you quickly clamp your mouth and your eyes widen as you realize what you just said out loud. Yup, there goes your heart—broken out of your ribcage, running wild and free.

Jake blinks, mentally putting this interaction at the top of the leaderboard, for sure. 

"Wait, seriously?" Jake's eyes widen as he asks with his voice softer now, as if he's not entirely sure he heard you right. He shifts the matcha latte in his hand, trying to ignore the way his heart just did a little flip at your words.

You're mentally kicking yourself for blurting that out loud, what is going on with you? You swallow hard, feeling trapped in the moment. 

"I mean...yeah," you admit, your voice even quieter now, feeling the gaze of his eyes on you, as you fiddle with the strap of your bag. 

"You get really into the stuff you care about, and it's kind of cute. In, like, a wholesome way," you quickly add, feeling even more heat suddenly rush to your face, "it's just...you know...cute." 

You trail off as you realize you said cute twice but Jake's smile just widens even more at that, and suddenly the mountain of things he's carrying feels a teensy bit lighter. 

"So you think it's cute, huh?" 

Jake feels a newfound confidence, noticing how you're not your typical outspoken self, in fact, you almost look nervous around him. This is his delusion speaking right? Have you always been paying attention to him this way and he's been too blindsided to see it? Regardless, for whatever reason—delusion or not—in this moment, Jake feels a little more out of his comfort zone in front of you. 

"I didn't say that! I said wholesome!" Your eyes dart up to meet his as you protest, but the flustered look on your face betrays you and Jake thinks he could definitely soar to the moon right now.

Jake, still smiling, shifts his weight, and without thinking, takes a small step closer. 

"You totally did," his eyes peer teasingly at you and he doesn't know how he's still breathing, let alone talking, with you looking up at him, like that. "Guess I’ll have to keep talking about stuff I care about, then."

You try to muster something witty back, but the way he’s looking at you—and the way he’s talking to you—is making it so incredibly hard to focus on anything but the fluttering in your chest. 

"Yeah I guess you do," you smile back at him, noticing the lack of space between you two all of the sudden. You've never seen this side of Jake, and you can't help but enjoy it...the banter, the flirty glances, the way he makes you feel—

You clear your throat, snapping yourself back into reality, "So..what is with the project poster and…dry-cleaning?" Your eyes go back to everything he's juggling to avoid further eye contact, grateful for the distraction to give you a chance to catch your breath and regain your composure.

"Oh, this? You know, just doing my daily round of favors for Grace, Heeseung, and the rest of the world apparently," Jake chuckles, more so to himself, at how ridiculous of a situation he really did get himself in. 

You smile, your heart warming at the thought. Jake's always been this way—kind, thoughtful, always helping the people he cares about. Well…in reality, he technically is doing this for someone he cares about…you. 

"Damn, guess I should ask for the same treatment then, huh?" You tilt your head, lips quirking into a grin, eyes lit up.

Typically, that look on your face would have Jake in absolute shambles and he'd probably want to curl up into a turtle shell for life. But whatever cosmic forces that orchestrated this recent shift between you two had given him a much-needed confidence boost.

"I mean, I'd totally do that for you, if that's what you're asking," he leans in with another playful smirk on his face, "anytime."  

Your breath catches, the butterflies in your stomach fighting to escape. 

"Oh? Even if it means running across campus with an iced latte in one hand and my dirty laundry in the other?"  

“For you? Yeah. No problem.” 

For a second, you don’t respond, just watching him with a curious, unreadable expression that always drives him crazy. Now, Jake feels like he might actually pass out from how intensely you’re looking at him. 

Finally, you smile. “I'll hold you to that, Jakey.” 

Jake freezes. It's like you know exactly what that name does to him. 

You giggle, clearly amused at the way he stumbles over a reaction and quickly add, "Anyway, I'll leave you to it! Grace is gonna kill you for bringing over a watered-down matcha. But I'll see you later tonight for movie night, right?"  

Jake suddenly remembers the long-awaited (it was planned one day ago) movie night the group set for tonight, and he gets excited at the idea of seeing you again in just a few hours. 

"Definitely, I'll save you a seat?" 

"Mmm," you nod as you start walking away slowly, still facing him, basking in the way he's watching you. "See you later, Jakey!" 

You finally turn and stroll away, thankful your back is to him now so he can't see how your smile is growing wider than you thought was possible.  

On the other hand, Jake blinks, eyes on you as you walk away, still trying to process what just happened. Confidence or not, you always have the last word. But that doesn’t matter. 

One thing is for sure—Jake Simp is in full throttle, and he’d happily run across campus a hundred times, coffee and laundry in hand, if it means hearing you say his name like that again. 

Not that Jake’s been counting down the hours until movie night or anything—no, definitely not—but it’s been approximately five hours since he ran into you, and—if he’s being honest—about four and a half of those hours were spent thinking about how he’ll be seeing you again. The other 30 minutes? Well, they were spent explaining to Grace why her matcha was delivered watered down, which was a scolding he’d rather forget about. 

Needless to say, he's even more excited than usual to see you tonight, for no particular reason. But after your last interaction, Jake feels closer to you than ever before. There’s a tiny flicker of hope, but he keeps reminding himself not to get ahead of himself. After all, he’s only recently mastered the art of saying more than one sentence to you without hyperventilating. Baby steps. 

Jake’s eyes scan the coffee table of the living room, mentally checking off all the important snacks (important as in your favorite ones, of course).  

"What vibe are we going for tonight?" Heeseung calls out from the couch, as he flips through the Netflix homepage on their TV. "Horror or coming-of-age rom-com?" 

Jake grimaces, "Please, no horror. I’m still having nightmares from the last movie night." He shudders at the memory. 

"Dude," Jay strolls into the room, chuckling, "Coraline is a kids movie!" 

"A scary kids movie! That thing should be rated at least PG-13!" Jake protests, while still scanning the room to ensure everything’s perfectly set up. Snacks, check. Drinks, check. Your favorite blanket neatly folded on the seat he’s reserved for you? Check. 

As if right on cue, a knock sounds at the door, and Jay casually starts, "I got it!"—but because Jake's Spidey senses (aka Y/N-senses) are sure it's you at the door, he's already sprinting and launches to the door, parkour style, slightly nudging Jay out the way and making it to the door before him—all in a second's time. 

"It’s okay! I got it!" Jake blurts, a bit too breathlessly, leaving Jay with a mixed look of disbelief that quickly morphs into amused pity. 

"Oookayyy," Jay drawls, turning to Heeseung with a knowing look, clearly entertained by their roommate. "He’s officially lost it." 

Jake takes a breath and quickly runs a hand through his hair in an attempt to not look disheveled, before pulling open the door. 

"Y/N. Hi." 

"Jake. Hi," you smile up at him, dressed in what you would call your "comfy movie night outfit"—but what Jake would call Met Gala worthy. He's pretty sure you could wear a paper bag and it'd be Met Gala worthy. 

For a split second, Jake’s brain malfunctions as he stalls at the door. The moment he’s been daydreaming about in his head for the last five hours is happening, but now that it’s here, he has zero idea what to do. Think, Jake, think! 

"Congrats, you’re the first one here!" he blurts, mentally face-palming as soon as the words leave his mouth. 

You giggle as you step inside, "Well, that would make sense, since you guys live here, and Grace is always late to everything. But thanks, Jakey, I’ll take it." 

You turn to grin at the boy once more, and he's officially a goner. RIP.  

"Oh—right," Jake stifles a sheepish grin as he rubs the back of his neck, shooting Jay and Heeseung a death glare as they're both silently roasting him with their eyes.  

"Hi boys," you greet the others as you step into the living room, eyes immediately going to the table lined with snacks. "Wow, you guys really went all out!" 

"Hiii Y/N," Heeseung and Jay say in perfect unison. You give them a raised brow, but shrug it off, too used to their weird behavior to question it. 

"Sooo, which seat is mine?" You excitedly turn back to Jake, scanning the available spots.  

"That one! Best seat in the house, guaranteed,” Jake practically beams, heart pitter-pattering as he's pointing to the cushion right next to his favorite spot. 

"Oh really? What makes it the best?" you ask, plopping down and curling up instantly into the cushion, which makes Jake wonder how much more his heart can truly take before it spontaneously implodes on itself. 

“It comes with your favorite blanket and easy access to the snacks. All your favorites, by the way," Jake slides into the seat beside you, keeping his voice cool.  

He’s very proud of himself for that one. After all, he did scour three different stores near campus for watermelon Sour Patch and strawberry Pocky. 

Jay butts in, grinning like the devil himself, "And the fact that you’re sitting next to Jake makes it extra special, right, Jakey?"

"Oh? Is that so?" You tilt your head, feigning innocence, although you've always known that the middle seat cushion has always been Jake's sacred seat on movie nights. 

"He’s...joking. I can sit anywhere! I just, uh... think this seat happens to have the best angle of the TV." Jake’s heart is definitely about to combust. 

Smooth, Jake. Real smooth. 

You smile and place a hand on Jake’s knee, patting it lightly, "I trust you, Jake. I’m already enjoying this seat more than you know." 

Jake swallows thickly, his body going rigid under your warm hand briefly against his skin. He thinks if he tries to say anything else, it'll come out sounding like a goose giving birth to fifty eggs. 

From Jake’s other side, Heeseung chimes in, obliviously saving his hopeless roommate, "So, Y/N—horror or rom-com tonight?"

"Horror!" you gasp excitedly, eyes widening immediately, "I need those jump scares to make me feel something, you know?" 

Jay breaks out in a coughing fit, nearly choking on his sudden laughter, while Jake shoots him yet another death glare.  

“Y/N, I completely agree with you! Any objections anyone?” Jay announces almost animatedly, leaving you slightly confused but, once again, unfazed by your friend’s weirdness. 

"Nope, none from me. Jake?" Heeseung raises a brow, also trying not to laugh himself. 

Jake looks at you, seeing how excited you are, and yep—he’s screwed. More nightmares for him, it seems. 

"Nope! I’m...totally down for horror." 

You lightly clap your hands in excitement, making Jake realize that, yeah, the nightmares are probably worth it if it means seeing you this happy. 

As you reach over for a snack, Jay mouths the word "SIMP" at Jake. Jake responds with an eye roll, but yeah, Jay’s not wrong. 

~~~ 

The movie is only 20 minutes in when you frown looking at the coffee table, “How is it possible we’re out of snacks already?”  

“I blame Grace for showing up late. I got hungry, okay?” Jay says, pointing at her. Grace responds by smacking the back of his head. “Ouch.” 

Heeseung pauses the movie. “Vending machine run, anyone?” 

“Jake and Y/N, go! Perfect candidates,” Jay suggests without skipping a beat, rubbing the back of his head from the provoked attack.  

You raise an eyebrow at Jake, feeling your heart race a little faster. You're trying to play it cool but the thought of having a moment alone with him sends a buzz through you. It's the kind of opportunity you didn't realize you were hoping for—wait, were you? You have no idea. But what you do know is that being around Jake has felt different lately, in a good way. There's something about his presence that makes you want to be near him more and more. It's confusing, whatever this is, but all you can admit to yourself right now is, feelings or not, you want this time with him.  

Jake opens his mouth to respond, but doesn’t manage to get anything out before you quickly grab his hand and pull him toward the door. 

“Okay! Be back in a few!” you call back to the group, trying to sound casual. 

Inside, you’re freaking out just a little. Or a lot. Definitely a lot. The feeling of his hand in yours is warm, almost comforting, but there’s...something that you swear is there. It just feels right.  

Jake follows behind you down the hall, and you can feel the warmth of his hand lingering even as you let go. You sneak a glance at him, and for some reason, he just seems... different. You've always found Jake cute. That's not news. But this—this is different, this isn't your typical ‘oh he's cute’ feeling...but you can't pinpoint what it is either. You shake the thought off.  

"Soo…" you start, looking up at him from the corner of your eye. Your heart pounds a little louder, and you hope he can’t hear it over the sound of your sneakers hitting the hallway tiles. He’s just so cute standing there, slightly awkward, but making it work. How can someone look this adorable just existing? 

“Sorry for dragging you out like that. I hope you don't mind,” you finally say as you both step into the elevator. You try to sound casual, but the slight bubble in your throat betrays you.  

“Oh—no, not at all. I totally wanted to...go with you...” Jake says, and then he quickly adds, “I mean, you're practically saving me from all the jump scares.” 

You laugh softly after a beat of silence, raising an eyebrow as the elevator doors open. “I thought you said you didn’t mind horror movies?” 

“Well,” Jake hesitates, but then says quietly, “how could I say no when you were that excited to watch one?” 

You blink, feeling your breath catch for a second. Did he just—? You look up at him, searching his expression, but all you see is that sweet smile of his, and your mind goes a little fuzzy, trying to piece together what that meant. 

You roll the thought around for a second before giving him a playful nudge. 

“Wow, who knew Jake Sim was such a people pleaser?” You’re teasing, but there’s an unfamiliar giddiness in your chest when he simply grins at you in response.  

As you step into the vending machine room, a soft hum fills the space. You glance at Jake again—he's studying the snack options with a small, focused frown, and you can’t help but smile. Why is everything he does so...frustratedly cute? 

Eventually, he sighs, giving up on his snack mission, and leans casually against the machine. Meanwhile, you're slightly bent down, continuing to mentally analyze the shelves, but you're hyper-aware of the fact that his eyes are definitely on you. And because you can feel the heat from his gaze, you swear you're turning ten shades redder by the second.  

“Are you gonna help me pick out snacks, or are you just gonna keep staring at me like that?” you ask, trying to sound casual, even though your brain's in overdrive. Your eyes stay glued to the snack shelves, anything to avoid the tension of locking eyes with him right now. 

“Hmmm,” you can hear the teasing smirk in his voice, and it sends a spark through you. “Nah, you can handle the snacks. I’m perfectly okay where I am.” 

You roll your eyes playfully, but your pulse quickens. Punching in the numbers for a random snack, you slide a dollar into the machine, stalling a little before you finally stand up and look up at him. “Oh, are you?” 

You don’t expect him to be this close when you're fully standing up. The space between you shrinks, and suddenly, you can almost feel his breath on your skin. Your pulse thumps loudly in your ears as you try your best to swallow the lump in your throat.  

“Still perfectly okay?” The words come out softer than you intended, almost a whisper. You’re holding his gaze now, neither of you wanting to break it. You swear you could probably hear a pin drop if it wasn't for your loud heartbeat right now.  

Jake swallows, and for a split second, you see him hesitate. His eyes flicker down to your lips, and that simple, unintentional move makes your breath hitch. You could lean in right now—close the gap between you—and you wonder if he’s thinking the same thing. Maybe you're hoping he's thinking the same thing. 

But then Jake chuckles, breaking the silence with his soft laugh that makes your stomach flip for maybe the hundredth time tonight. 

“I, uh… yeah, I’m still okay,” he says, though his voice exposes just how not okay he actually is. You see the faintest blush creeping up his neck, and it’s endearing—so much so that you almost forget you were nervous too.  

You swear you can sense him shuffle just a little bit closer and you're subconsciously wanting to lean into the feeling... 

Plop! 

The sound of the bag of chips landing at the bottom of the machine breaks whatever moment you thought was forming between you two.  

You blink. Jake blinks. 

For a split second, the two of you just stare at each other, wide-eyed, before Jake is the first to snap out of it. His hand quickly goes to rake through his hair, his eyes darting anywhere but yours, and the flush on his cheeks is unmistakable. It almost matches the heat you feel creeping up your own face. 

You can’t tell if you’re more relieved or disappointed that the moment broke so abruptly. You can't tell anything at this point, if you're being honest.  

“Uh—um,” you clear your throat, reaching for the snack like it’s the most important thing in the world. “I hope you like sour cream and onion chips!” 

You hold up the bag with a nervous laugh, trying to shake off the tension in the air. Jake just gives you this soft, searching smile, like he's trying to figure out what just happened—or maybe he's wondering if you felt it too. 

The way his eyes are so gentle, so open, makes your stomach flutter, and because you think you might actually crumble if he keeps looking at you like that for a second longer, you break eye contact to immediately turn back to the vending machine, hoping the heat in your face isn’t as obvious as it feels. 

“What other snacks do you think they’d like?” you hum, trying to sound casual, but inside you’re mentally screaming at yourself for not just going for it earlier. Great going, Y/N. 

From the corner of your eye, you catch Jake letting out a small exhale before he chuckles softly. 

“Honestly, as long as it has sugar, I think everyone will be happy,” he says, and you instantly feel yourself relax, his lightheartedness simmering the tension a bit.

"Hmmm... sour cream and onion and sugar. Got it," you punch in a few more random numbers into the machine, feeding it your remaining cash. "Looks like we’ve hit all the major food groups for today. Nutritionists everywhere will be so proud." 

The air between you both feels a lot lighter now, but there’s still a lingering warmth under your skin—a little too flustered to fully shake it off. You wonder if Jake is feeling the same, but if he is, he seems to be handling it way better than you are. Of course he would be. Cool, calm, collected Jake. (Also ironic, isn't it?)  

"Honestly, we should just unplug the machine and rob the whole thing," Jake playfully adds as you grab the last snack from the bottom slot. "You already know Jay’s gonna inhale all of these the second we walk back in." 

"You’re so right. I say next time, Operation 'Y/N and Jake versus the vending machine' needs to happen,” you laugh, feeling a little more like yourself again. 

"Oh, so what I'm hearing is there’s gonna be a next time?" Jake raises an eyebrow as the two of you start heading back to the elevator. "Count me in." 

You instinctively roll your eyes at how annoyingly smooth he was being, but you can't help the giddy smile growing on your face as a result of his words. As you two stand side by side to each other in the elevator, there's a new quiet that's settled and it's...nice. It's not awkward, just...heavier than before. As if there's a shared secret between you—something you both know but aren't ready to speak aloud just yet. But it's there—just for the two of you to mutually share in comfortable silence.  

Before you reach the apartment, you feel a light tug on your sleeve, and you stop. Looking up, you see Jake holding onto the corner of your sleeve, his expression...soft. Like, too soft. And for a moment, you swear time just stops. If he was on a mission to officially kill you, he can officially say mission accomplished.  

"Y/N, I—" he hesitates, his voice quieter again, like he's about to say something serious, and your heart picks up speed again. But then he stops himself, his grip loosening.  

You blink up at him, wanting him to continue so bad, but also unsure if you're ready of what might come next. 

"Mmm?" you hum, almost afraid to say anything louder. 

Jake bites the inside of his cheek, looking like he’s at war with himself. He finally lets go of your sleeve and gives you a small smile. 

"Sorry, it’s...nothing. Just... you look really nice tonight." 

The sudden, sincere comment catches you off guard, and you feel that familiar warmth rush to your face once again.  

"Oh," you manage to squeak out, because apparently, that's all you're capable of in the moment as your heart is spiraling. "Thanks, Jakey."  

You smile and look down at where his hand just was on your sleeve, and you almost want to reach out and grab his hand again, just to see if it'll feel as warm as it did earlier. Why do you want to reach out so bad?  

Jake's eyes flicker to yours, and for a split second, you swear there's a flicker of something in his eyes—something vulnerable—but then, just as quickly, his gaze shifts to the apartment door behind you, and he clears his throat.  

"Yeah," he says almost breathlessly. "Sorry, we should...probably go in. They probably think we got lost or something at this point."  

You finally let out a breath and snap yourself back in reality from staring at him. 

"Right, yeah. Wouldn’t want them sending a search party," you joke, though your brain’s still fuzzy from the million thoughts and feelings swirling around. 

As Jake unlocks the door, you can’t help but wonder if whatever just happened between you two was all in your head. But it can’t be, right? That feeling had to be real... Right? 

You step inside, and your friends’ commentary barely registers. It’s all background noise compared to the whirlpool of emotions screaming inside you. You sit back down on the couch, and so does Jake, in his seat next to yours.  

And while the movie plays for the rest of the night, you can't seem to focus on anything but the memory of everything that's happened tonight. That and the feeling of Jake’s arm resting right up against yours.  

You’re doomed. 

Jake has never been more confused in his entire life, like, ever. The past few days for him have been more confusing than that one semester he took Postmodern Interpretations of the Emoji Language and actually had to write a ten-page paper on the laughing emoji (don't judge, he had to fulfill his last two elective credits somehow).  

Life has been an absolute whirlwind for Jake—mainly due to the fact that his emotions have been spinning out of control. And to top it off, today’s the long-awaited rematch day.  

Normally, Jake would be a complete wreck by now, bouncing his leg under the table or fidgeting with his phone, but today? Today, he's nervous in a completely different way. The kind of nerves you get when you already know what's about to happen… but after everything that’s gone down lately, he thinks there’s something more between the two of you. And it has nothing to do with Heeseung’s so-called love algorithm. 

At least, he hopes there’s something between you two. Unless—oh god—he’s been totally delusional this whole time, and you’ve just been nice, and Jake’s fully lost it. Perfect, that’s exactly what he needs right now, on top of everything else. But the scariest part? In just a few moments, when the app refreshes and pairs you two together, Jake's going to have to face whatever's been simmering between you both—whether he's ready for it or not.  

And as if Heeseung could read his trembling thoughts, he breaks the silence at the lunch table, "Are you guys ready?"  

Grace and Jay's heads are nodding so fast for Heeseung to just push the 'send' button already, Jake thinks they look like bobbleheads. But when he glances over at you, you don't seem nearly as eager. Which is...weird. Considering how only a couple days ago, you were fired up about the rematch. But now? You look almost...conflicted?  

Jake's eyes linger on you for a second longer, taking in the way you're biting your lip, clearly deep in your thoughts. He can't help but find the sight of you zoned out like that so ridiculously adorable.  

"Y/N?" He nudges you gently. "You good?"  

"Huh?" You blink, snapping out of your daydream. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, Just...thinking, I guess."  

"You'll be fine, Y/N!" Grace chimes in, ever the optimist. "I bet you're gonna love whoever your match is!"  

Well, gee, Jake really, really, hopes so. If not, the last few days will have been a very confusing rollercoaster of emotional whiplash. 

"Right," Jake agrees, trying to act normal, though his voice sounds a little too tight. "Everything's going to be fine." Please, please let everything be fine.  

Jake can tell you're hesitant about something—you open your mouth like you want to say something, but then just as quickly, you press your lips closed again. If Jake didn't think you were the most precious being in the world, you could say you look like a fish out of water right now.

"Hypothetically speaking," you slowly speak up, eyes flicking up to your friends. "What would you do if...let's say you started catching feelings for someone...but then the app might pair you with someone else?" You pause, swallowing hard. 

"Hypothetically…of course.”

Grace raises an eyebrow. Heeseung freezes mid-bite. And Jake? Well, let's just say his heart is already running a mile into the marathon. Hypothetical? Feelings? That has to be about him, right? What were the chances?  

Jay lets out a snort. "Lucky for you, in a hypothetical situation, you do absolutely nothing. Cause it's...you know, hypothetical."  

"Yeah, you're right. Forget I said anything." You wave your hand, brushing it off, but Jake notices a blush growing across your face. "Okay, Hee! Let's get this over with."  

Jake's mind is spinning. What could you have possibly meant by that? That had to be about him...right? Because that is all he's ever wanted, all he's been pining for. But at the same time...it's too good to be true, so Jake refuses to believe it. He can't get his hopes up—not yet.

"Okayyyy," Heeseung's still lifting an eyebrow at your odd behavior before he clears his throat, “everyone ready?”  

Jay and Grace drum the table in anticipation, and Jake? Jake's pretty sure he's going to throw up. 

Heeseung taps his screen, and the table collectively holds its breath. Then, all at once, everyone’s phones light up. 

Grace and Jay scramble to grab their phones first and Jake thinks he's actually developing an incurable case of heart failure.  

“WHAT?” Grace shrieks before she whips around to Jay with wide eyes. “I got you, AGAIN!”  

Jay, unbothered, raises his hands defensively, “What can I say? It’s science, Gracey-poo.”  

"Sure. Science," Grace rolls her eyes so hard it's a wonder they don't get stuck. "Like how you scientifically forgot how to text me back after last night's study sesh?"  

Before Grace can verbally throttle Jay, Jake's entire focus narrows in on you, and how your phone is still face down on the table. You haven't even touched it.

The suspense is killing him, especially knowing his name is going to be on your screen. And if it's not? Well, then the end. End of fanfic. Cue the end credits.  

You, on the other hand, are staring intently at the Grace v. Jay debacle, as if focusing hard enough on other people's life issues will prevent the existential crisis you're about to have. Honestly, your phone could've exploded into a million pieces next to you and you'd still be pretending to care more about anything else.  

Because honestly? You couldn't care less about whoever Heeseung's magical powers paired you with—you're more focused on whatever's been going on between you and Jake. Or at least, you hope, there’s something happening between you and Jake. Unless, oh god, he's just being nice, and you've fully lost it. Please, please don't tell me I've lost it.  

"Y/N! Jake! Who did you guys get?" Grace turns towards the two of you, breaking the both of you out of your respective spirals. 

"Right, yeah. Um—okay. Let's see,” you let out a shaky laugh as your hands fidget in your lap before they finally reach for your phone, as Jake does the same next to you.  

You take a breath, click on the daunting email notification on your screen, and finally look down.  

You blink down at your phone. You squeeze your eyes to make sure they’re not deceiving you.  

Match: Sim Jae-yun  

Your brain is absolutely jumbled beyond saving, you seem to have forgotten how to breathe, and your stomach feels like it was just turned inside out. You don’t know what’s happening, is this what dying feels like?

You blink once. Twice. And maybe a third time just to make extra, extra sure.  

Suddenly, the whole room seems to slow down, like you're watching a replay of your life recently at 0.5 speed. All the moments between you and Jake flash by: the vending machine run, the shared glances, the oddly adorable way he got flustered over you calling him 'Jakey.' But you don't have time to fully process everything because the fact is:  

You’ve just been matched with Jake. Jake.  

You finally look up, heart racing, and try to see if Jake's opened his notification yet, but his face is still too normal at whatever he's looking at on his phone. Or, more accurately, he's pretending to be normal, because the tips of his ears are a little too red for someone who's ‘chill’ (he's most definitely not chill, right now).  

"So, uh..." Jake's voice finally comes out quiet, his gaze slowly meeting yours, and it makes you feel like you two are the only ones at this table. Scratch that, in this world. "Did you open yours?"

"Yeah,” you nod, trying to act nonchalant, “I did.”

Jake lets out a soft chuckle, the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 

"Same here."

The way he says it—soft, like he’s addressing the shared secret between the two of you—makes the air feel warmer. Or maybe it’s just you overheating. Get it together, Y/N.

Grace, across the table, catches the tension happening in front of her, her eyes darting back and forth like she's watching a slow motion scene of a k-drama unfold in real time. Then—

“Oh my god,” she gasps loudly, before violently clapping a hand over her mouth. 

Her eyes fill with excitement and just as quickly, she jumps up, grabbing both Jay and Heeseung by the back of their shirts and yanking them to their feet. 

“We’re getting boba! Be right back!”  

Heeseung’s brows scrunch. “Wait, what? I don’t even wan—“  

“Too bad! We’re going.”  

And just like that, you’re left alone with Jake next to you—and his flaming red ears that could probably power a small country. 

“So…” Jake clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he finally turns to look at you.  

“So..,” you softly say, your fingers tapping nervously on the edge of the table, hoping he'll say something, anything. 

"So," Jake repeats for the third time, followed by an awkward chuckle. “Uh...what do we...do now?”  

You blink.

“Do now?”  

Jake’s eyes dart to yours, and for a second, you think he’s about to up and bolt from the table. 

“I mean, like, uh...we’re…well, I don’t know, is there something to do now..? Or not do? That’s okay too! I have no idea. I’m just—wow. Sorry.”  

You smile endearingly at him before breaking out into laughter as your heart does a little Olympics routine. How were you this oblivious before?  

“Jake,” you say between laughs, catching your breath as you instantly feel eased by him. "It's okay. I've been thinking...I—" 

You mentally high-five yourself and give yourself a pep talk for what you're about to say. Please, for the love of all things holy, don't let me be wrong about this.

"I can't stop thinking about you," you say, voice quiet, but steady. "It's like you've taken over my brain, Jake, and it's driving me crazy. And I don't know—I don't know if it's just me or if everything I've been sensing between us is real, but I think my brain might explode if I didn't tell you. Plus, I was terrified the Matchmatic would pair you with someone else and I had lost my chance."  

You finally feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off your shoulders, but when you look at Jake? He's gone. Eyes wide, looking like a malfunctioning robot. His mouth opens and closes, and you're 110% sure he's about to glitch out of existence right in front of you.  

"Wow."  

You blink. Wow? That's it? Is this a good wow or a wow-she's-crazy wow? Naturally, you think it’s the latter, so you mentally prepare yourself to fake your death and move to Norway.  

But before you're about to flee the scene and start your new life as a mountain goat herder, Jake's eyes lock on yours, filled with the softest, most fond expression you've ever seen.  

"Y/N, I like you. A lot. And I have for, like...forever, I think." His voice is quiet, but his shoulders are more relaxed the more he looks at you. "I didn't think you'd feel the same way. You know, because we're friends and all." 

Your smile grows impossibly wide as you nudge his shoulder playfully with yours. 

"Well, surprise surprise, you're wrong."  

Jake chuckles, now fully facing you, his face flushed from wearing his heart on his sleeve. But for you? He thinks he’s about to stand on this lunch table and scream his feelings into a megaphone. 

"So...maybe we could try out this 'more-than-friends' thing?" you suggest, finding it hard to form a coherent sentence without sounding like a fifth grader. But Jake? Jake thinks seeing you stumbling your words over talking to him, for once, is the cutest sight ever. "I mean, unless you don't want—"  

"Oh, I definitely want to!" Jake practically launches himself forward, his smile so big you wish you could keep a mental image of it forever.

You laugh, suddenly feeling lighter. "Okay, then. Let's do it."  

"Here's to doing it!" Jake echoes, his voice warm and soft as he moves closer to you, finding it hard to resist just simply being in your close presence. Then, his eyes widen and he clears his throat, "I mean, not like do it, do it—wait, but not saying that I wouldn't—oh god—"  

Your giggles are uncontrollable once again as you watch Jake's face turn into the deepest shade of red you've ever seen. Without even thinking, you reach for his hand, seeking stability, as if he's a magnet drawing you in and you can't resist the pull of his warmth.

You finally take a breath, calming yourself down as Jake's eyes flicker down to your intertwined fingers, and his smile softens into something that makes your heart so full.  

For a moment, neither of you say anything, just letting the weight of everything finally settle, your hand resting under his in between you two. Then, Jake's thumb brushes softly over your knuckles, and he looks up at you with that newfound confidence that somehow makes him even more irresistible.  

“So…now what?” Jake's corners of his mouth twitch into a smile as he subconsciously leans in closer than before, and this time, you know there's no way you're backing out. 

A playful smile tugs at your lips as your eyes flicker between his soft brown eyes and his mouth. 

“Well, I mean…you still owe me from the vending machine.”  

Jake freezes. He blinks in confusion, and you're pretty sure you can hear the whirrr of his brain rebooting right in front of you.  

“Oh, you mean for the snacks? How much do I owe you? I can Venmo you, or, uh, buy you more snacks?” he stammers, completely caught off guard by your random comment, especially when he thought this was the moment. But, you know...priorities, I guess?  

Now you freeze, blinking at him before you let out a giggle that surprises even you. Seriously? You reach out and gently cup his adorably confused face.  

"Jake, you lovable dork," you say, shaking your head, unable to stop the giggles bubbling up. "Not what I meant."  

Jake doesn't even get the chance to respond (and honestly, he doesn't know if he could even form words right now, not with you so close, holding his face so gently). Before either of you even know it, you lean up and close the gap, your lips softly pressing against his.  

Jake freezes for a heartbeat. Or maybe two. He's unsure if he's even still breathing (is oxygen even necessary at a time like this?). But then, instinctively, his hands find their way to your waist, and he's gently pulling you closer on the table bench, as if he's afraid to let you slip away. He's pretty sure the world hit pause, and all that existed was the softness of your touch, the sweet warmth of your lips, and the faint vanilla scent of your shampoo that's doing a great job at scrambling his brain right now.  

He tries to stay cool—he really does—but his lips curve into a smile against yours, and he can't help but think, well, this is it. This is peak life. I've peaked. This? This just knocked anything else right off the leaderboard of his best life moments. 

It’s short. It’s sweet. It’s everything you didn’t know you needed and everything Jake’s been dreaming about.

He's savoring every little moment, every little movement guided by you, feeling like he's on cloud infinity, before you pull away, a soft pink blush growing on your entire face.

You lean your head back slightly to look at him, the warmth of the moment still lingering between you. Jake’s eyes are wide, his cheeks flushed, but there’s a soft, almost dazed smile playing on his lips, like he’s still processing.

"W-wow," he stammers, his voice barely above a whisper as he's trying to process if he's actually alive or in a sugar-induced dream. 

"Yeah," you breathe out, smiling as you gently run your thumb across his cheek, enjoying the way his face heats up even more under your touch. 

"So...," you say playfully after a beat of silence, leaning in so close that you're sure you’d be kissing him all over again if it wasn’t for your self-control, "do I still get my snacks?"

Jake laughs, officially breaking the heavy tension. He drops his head on your shoulder, completely and utterly overwhelmed by the pure sensation of you, but in the best way possible.  

"You can have all the snacks you want," he mumbles into your shoulder, his voice muffled but filled with so much affection that you think you might actually burst with joy. "Take my whole bank account while you're at it. Take whatever you want."  

You can't help but laugh as you wrap your arms around his neck, tugging him even closer to you. 

"You're ridiculous, Sim Jae-yun." 

"I know," he admits, voice still muffled into your shoulder. "But I'm your ridiculous, algorithm-proven match, right?"  

Jake feels your laughter from under him. "Mmmhmm, Jakey. 100% mine. Algorithm or not."  

You feel his smile grow against your shoulder as your arms squeeze him tighter. The perfect moment settles and you think you could die happy right now. For the first time in days, everything feels right.

But then, Jake pulls back just slightly, still under your hold, his eyebrows furrowing like he's about to say something very important.  

"Wait—" he raises his eyebrows at you.

 "—does this mean you never saw me as a Roomba?"  

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・

epilogue: 

“If your next words are that you’re Spider-Man,” you say, your head nestled in Jake’s lap as you absentmindedly watch the TV, “then congratulations, you’re officially the world’s coolest boyfriend ever.”

Jake lets out a soft laugh, his fingers gently playing with the ends of your hair. It’s movie night—a rare, private one this time, much to your friends' annoyance. No horror films tonight (thank god, because Jake still hasn’t fully recovered from the last one), but honestly, the movie has long been forgotten. The moment Jake blurted out that he had something ‘dire’ to tell you, all plotlines flew out the window. 

You told him, unless it's about a sudden worldwide ramen shortage or that he's secretly a bug-themed superhero, then it could definitely wait until after the movie. 

But Jake had shook his head, claiming no, it’s like…life-changing important. 

Which is why you’re here now, his lap a perfect pillow, waiting for him to speak. He looks down at you, and you finally catch the serious gleam in his eyes. Oh wait, he’s actually being serious. 

“No, unfortunately, I don’t have Spidey senses,” he laughs nervously, gently nudging you up until you’re sitting face to face on the couch. “I do think I’ve developed Y/N senses, though.” 

“Oh? What are your Y/N senses telling you now?” you raise an eyebrow, smirking. 

“Um… that you hopefully won’t be mad at me?” Jake’s voice wavers slightly, hands fiddling with yours, and your playful smile fades just a little, confusion and worry taking over your face. 

“Oh. Okay. What’s up?” You straighten up, fully turning toward him, sitting crisscrossed.

Jake hesitates, looking down at your intertwined fingers, and takes a deep breath.

“Well, remember the Matchmatic thingy from a few months ago?” 

“Mmhm,” you hum, studying his expression. 

“So… um…I may or may not have done something…to make sure you got matched with me,” Jake’s eyes immediately squeeze shut, bracing for impact, like he’s expecting an explosion, or worse, your wrath. 

There’s a beat of silence. And then— 

You burst into laughter. Full-on, head-thrown-back, shoulders-shaking laughter. You drop your head back into Jake’s lap, your cackles muffled by his hoodie, while Jake sits frozen, staring at you like you’ve grown two heads. 

“I—uh… I’m confused?” He stares down at you, unsure if you’re about to pull a full-on Joker moment. 

“Jakey,” you coo, your laughter softening into giggles as you sit back up and cradle his cheeks. “You are so adorable. You really thought I didn’t know?” 

Jake blinks. 

“Wait, what?” 

“I knew.” You grin, watching as his brain seems to stall for a second. 

“…You knew?” 

You nod, leaning back on your hands. 

“Yeah, I knew. I mean, I kind of just put two and two together after we started dating. And Hee? He's a genius, no way he messed up the first way around,” you roll your eyes playfully. 

“But the thing is, Jake… the algorithm didn’t make me like you. I already did.” You reach forward and tap his forehead lightly, preciously smiling at how utterly stunned he looks. 

“You—wait, what?” Jake’s mind is catching up at the speed of 3G internet. 

“Yeah,” you laugh again, softer this time.  

He’s still staring at you, wide-eyed, like you just casually told him you're moving to the moon tomorrow. Honestly, he looks like his entire world just got flipped upside down, but in the best way possible, of course.  

“So…you’re not mad?” 

"Nope."  

"And you still wanna be with me?"  

"Yup."  

"And you're not just saying that because I buy you all the snacks you want?"  

"Nope."  

"Oh thank god," Jake exhales dramatically, hand flying to his chest like he barely survived a life-threatening situation. He looks at you with the softest, dopiest smile that makes you feel like you're staring at a puppy in a rom-com. "Because you are, hands down, the most perfect person for me. Like, ever."  

"You are so cute, Jakey," you scrunch your nose at him before leaning up to plant a quick kiss on his blushing cheek, which only makes his ears turn an even deeper shade of red.  

But before you can pull away, he's already frowning playfully.  

"Wait, wait—one more question." 

"Mhm?" 

"Cute as in 'kiss' cute or 'puppy' cute?"

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・

the end! i hope you guys liked it ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

m.list here!

tagged: @climbingmandevillas @byeoltual @junhuiste-ficrec

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100 LIKES!!!!

im genuinely so thankful 🫶🫶 tysm for the support ily all sm☹️☹️☹️

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⋆ ✩₊˚ ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊✩⋆

two childhood best friends, separated by a painful argument and years apart, reunite at university and navigate their past wounds to rekindle their friendship and bond and explore newfound feelings developed.

⊹ ࣪ ˖ jake sim x fem reader ⊹ ࣪ ˖

warnings | argument, angst (not rlly im so bad☹️) second chance friendship (romance) kissing<3

4.1k

(a/n) guys I genuinely worked so hard on this!! I hope u guys like it or else I’ll acc cry <3 also credits to @anitalenia for the separater things, they’re so cute!!!!! anyways enjoy🫶

The golden sun dipped low over Bondi Beach, casting long shadows on the sand and tinting the waves with a fiery aqua glow. The air was warm, the kind of warmth that enveloped you like a comforting embrace.

But the atmosphere between you and Jake Sim was anything but comforting.

You and Jake had been inseparable since you were basically in diapers. Growing up in Sydney, the two of you had shared everything—from ice cream cones on intense hot summer days to whispered secrets under the stars.

You were best friends, confidants, each other's anchors. But that evening, standing on the beach where you'd shared so many memories through out your whole life, everything changed.

"I can't believe you did this, Jake!" you shouted, your voice breaking with emotion. The argument had been building for days, fueled by misunderstandings and unspoken feelings.

Jake's eyes, usually so bright and full of life, were clouded with hurt, anger, and frustration. "And I can't believe you won't even try to see my side of things!"

The cause of the argument was trivial in hindsight, a misunderstanding about your future plans after high school. Jake had been accepted into a prestigious university in Seoul, South Korea, and he'd decided to go without discussing it with you. It felt like a betrayal, like he was abandoning everything you had built together.

"I thought we were in this together," you said, your voice trembling. "You didn't even tell me you were applying Jake, I could’ve-“

Jake ran a hand through his hair, a gesture of exasperation you'd seen countless times. "I didn't think it mattered. I didn't want to hold you back, and I thought you'd be happy for me, and I know for a fact you don’t wanna go to Seoul.”

"Happy?" you echoed, the word tasting bitter in your mouth. "How can I be happy when you're leaving me behind?"

“And how do you know I wouldn’t go for you?” you say to yourself in the back of your mind.

The argument ended with harsh words and tears. Jake walked away, leaving you standing on the beach, your heart shattered. The next day, he was gone. Without a proper goodbye, Jake had moved to Korea, and you were left to pick up the pieces of your broken heart.

The years that followed were a blur of university life, part-time jobs, and attempts to move on. You threw yourself into your studies at the University of Sydney, trying to forget the boy who had once meant everything to you, and than had thrown you away like trash. You didn't follow Jake's life in Korea, it was too painful to see his success and wonder if he ever thought about you, while you thought about him endlessly. It was quite embarrassing, really.

Occasionally, you heard whispers of his achievements from other classmates who kept in touch with him. “Jake Sim had become a top student!” “Jake Sim is the heart throb of Seoul university!” He was living a life that seemed worlds away from yours.

But no amount of distance could erase the memories of your friendship. Late at night, when the world was quiet, and you left alone with your thoughts, you found yourself thinking about him—his laugh, his smile, the way he used to look at you like you were everything to him, The pain was a dull ache that never fully went away.

It was your third year at university, and life had settled into a comfortable routine. You had a close group of great friends, a part-time job at a local café, and a busy-busy course load that kept you busy. You had learned to live with the void Jake had left behind, even if it still hurt tremendously sometimes.

One crisp Summer morning, you walked into your first lecture of the semester, juggling a coffee cup and a stack of textbooks. The lecture hall was buzzing with chatter, but one voice stood out among the rest— your face falling at a voice you hadn't heard in years.

You froze, your heart pounding in your chest. Slowly, you turned to see him. Jake Sim. He was standing at the front of the lecture hall, talking to the professor. He looked older, more mature, but there was no mistaking those familiar features you had adored so much.

Jake's eyes met yours across the room, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. You could see the shock and recognition in his eyes, mirroring your own. The memories came flooding back, overwhelming you with a rush of emotions.

Before you could process what was happening, the professor began the lecture, and you had no choice but to settle down and find a seat. Your mind was racing with thoughts, unable to focus on the words being spoken. Jake was back. After all these years, he was here, back in the blazing Sydney sun at your university.

After the lecture, you hurried out of the hall, your thoughts in turmoil. You needed to clear your head, to understand what this meant, why he was back. But as you stepped outside, you felt a familiar warm touch on your arm.

"Wait," Jake's voice was soft, hesitant.

You turned to face him, your heart in your throat. Struggling to find words. "Jake..."

"I didn't know you'd be here," he said, his eyes searching yours. "I transferred here for a semester abroad. I didn't know you were still in Sydney."

There were so many things you wanted to say, so many questions you had. “You hadn’t asked”But the words caught in your throat, and all you could manage was a nod.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "For everything."

You felt a pang in your heart, he had broken you completely, and left the next day. What were you supposed to say? He was all you had known your entire life, and suddenly you had to learn how to breathe without him.

"I was so hurt, Jake," you finally said, your voice shaking. "You left without even saying goodbye, without even asking me what I wanted.”

He looked down, guilt, shame, and regret written all over his face. "I know. I was scared, stupid and young. I didn't know how to face you after what happened."

There was a long silence as you both stood there, the weight of the past pressing down on you. Finally, you took a deep breath. "Maybe we can talk? Later? There's a lot we need to say, and I’m kinda busy right now…”

Jake nodded, a flicker of hope in his eyes. "I'd like that so much. Can we meet at the café you used to work at? Tomorrow afternoon? If your free of course-“

You quickly cut Jake’s rambling off, knowing it was a habit of his when he was extremely anxious and nervous, and anxiety clouding over him.”

"Okay," you agreed, your heart pounding with an unfamiliar feeling, the feeling you felt all too many years ago when you were with Jake.

"Tomorrow."

The next day, you arrived at the café early, your nerves getting the best of you. You found a quiet corner and sat down, your thoughts a mix of anticipation and anxiety. When Jake walked in, your heart skipped a beat.

He spotted you and made his way over, a gentle smile on his lips. "Hey."

"Hi,” you replied, trying to steady your breathing.

Jake sat down across from you, and for a moment, neither of you spoke. The silence was heavy with the weight of unspoken words and unresolved feelings.

"I'm sorry," he said again, breaking the silence. "I know I hurt you, and I regret how I handled everything."

You looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me you were applying to universities in Korea?"

Jake sighed, running a hand through his hair and biting his lip, you found yourself with a soft smile seeing he still had his familiar habits.

“I didn't want to put any pressure on you. I thought it would be easier if I just made the decision on my own. But I was wrong. I should have talked to you about it."

The anger and hurt that had been simmering inside you for years bubbled to the surface. "You were my best friend, Jake. I thought we shared everything. But you just left without a word, and it felt like I didn't matter to you."

"You did matter," he said urgently. "You still do. I was scared, and I made a mistake. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I see now that I hurt you more than I ever imagined, and I never wanted that, I never ever wanted to cause you pain.”

The raw honesty in his voice cut through your anger, leaving you feeling exposed and vulnerable. "I missed you," you admitted, your voice barely above a soft whisper.

Jake reached across the table, taking your hand in his. The touch was gentle, familiar, and it sent a shiver down your spine. "I missed you too. Every day."

And you found yourselves smiling at each other, with that familiar look you had all those years in your eyes.

The conversation that followed was filled with tears and laughter, apologies and forgiveness. You talked about the past you had shared, about the dreams and the paths your lives had taken. The pain of the separation was still there, but so was the bond and understanding that had once made you inseparable.

Over the next few weeks, you and Jake spent more time together, slowly rebuilding the friendship you had lost. There were awkward moments and difficult moments and conversations, but there were also moments of genuine connection and understanding.

One evening, as you walked along the beach, the sky painted in hues of orange and pink, Jake stopped and turned to you. "Can we start over? As friends, and maybe... something more?"

You looked into his eyes, seeing the hope and vulnerability there. The years of hurt and distance had left their mark, but you knew that you still cared for him deeply. "I'd like that," you said, a small smile tugging at your lips. "But we need to take it slow. There's still a lot to work through."

Jake nodded, a look of determination in his eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes. I just want to be in your life again."

The months that followed were a journey of healing and rediscovery. You and Jake spent countless hours talking, laughing, and reminiscing about the past. The more time you spent together, the more you realized how much you had missed having him in your life.

Your friends noticed the change in you, the way your eyes lit up when you talked about Jake, the way you smiled more often. They were happy to see you reconnecting with someone who had once been such an important part of your life.

One evening, as you sat on the beach watching the waves crash against each other, Jake turned to you with a serious expression. "There's something I need to tell you."

Your heart skipped a beat, worried about what he might say. "What is it?"

"I've been offered a permanent position in Sydney," he said, his voice steady. "It means I can stay here, with you."

The relief that washed over you was overwhelming. You threw your arms around Jake, laughing with tears brimming in your eyes, burying your face in his shoulder. The tears came unbidden, a mixture of happiness and the release of long-held fears. Jake's arms tightened around you, holding you close.

"Hey, it's okay," he murmured, his voice soothing you as he mumbled onto your bare skin. "I'm not going anywhere this time, not without you."

You pulled back slightly, looking up into his eyes. "I was so scared you'd leave me again."

Jake brushed a strand of hair from your face, his touch gentle. "I promise, I'm here to stay. Not leaving you ever again love."

As you gazed into his eyes, you felt a sense of peace that had been missing for so long. The beach, the stars, the gentle sound of the waves—it all felt like the perfect backdrop for this new chapter in your lives, together.

Over the next few months, you and Jake focused on rebuilding your relationship, strengthening it and laying the foundation for something stronger and more resilient than before. You spent time together, sharing stories of the years you had spent apart, learning about each other's lives all over again.

There were still moments of pain and doubt, shadows of the past that occasionally surfaced. But each time, you faced them together, talking through your fears and doubts. It was a process of healing, of learning to trust each other fully once more.

Jake's presence in your life brought a renewed sense of joy and purpose. You found yourself looking forward to the future with him by your side. You found yourself happier, youthful again.

It was a warm summer evening when you and Jake decided to have a picnic on the beach. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow over the sand and sea. You spread out a blanket, laughing as you struggled to keep it from blowing away in the gentle flowing breeze.

As you sat down, Jake handed you a sandwich he'd made. "I hope you like it," he said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

You took a bite, savoring the familiar taste. "It's perfect," you said, smiling at him. "Just like old times."

Jake smiled back, a look of relief and admiration on his face. "I'm glad."

After you finished eating, you lay back on the blanket, gazing up at the twinkling stars. Jake lay beside you, his hand brushing against yours. The touch sent a shiver down your spine, a reminder of the unspoken feelings that had been building between you, the feelings all those years ago resurfacing.

"Do you remember when we used to stargaze here?" Jake mumbled softly.

"Of course," you replied, turning to look at him. "We'd make up stories about the constellations and dream about the future."

Jake's eyes were filled with a mix of nostalgia and longing. "I missed those moments, more than you could ever imagine.”

You reached out, taking his hand in yours. "Me too, Jakey.”

For a moment, there was only the sound of the waves and the distant hum of the city. Then, Jake leaned in, his gaze locked on yours. Your heart raced as he drew closer, his breath warm against your skin.

When his lips finally met yours, it felt so right, like all those years apart were worth it as it bought you to this very moment.

The kiss was gentle at first, a tentative exploration of emotions long held back. But as you responded, the intensity grew, a shared hunger for the connection you'd both been craving.

The world around you seemed to disappear, leaving only the two of you, wrapped in each other's arms. When you finally pulled away, breathless and smiling at eachother, with love in both your eyes, you knew that this was just the beginning.

With your relationship now onto the next step, and official, you and Jake faced new challenges. Balancing your studies, part-time jobs, and spending time together required constant planning and communication. There were moments of frustration and exhaustion, from being overworked and extreme tired, but you both pulled through together, because at the end of the day being in each other’s warm embrace was all worth it.

One evening, as you sat in your apartment studying for exams, Jake surprised you with a visit. He brought takeout from your favorite restaurant, knowing you'd been too busy to cook.

"Thought you could use a break," he said, setting the bags on the table.

You smiled, feeling a surge of affection for him. "You're a lifesaver."

As you ate together, you talked about your hopes and dreams, about the future you wanted to build together. The conversations were filled with laughter and occasional serious words, but through it all, there was a sense of partnership and mutual support.

Life was not without its storms, and one particularly dark evening, an old wound reopened. You had been out with friends, and when you returned to your apartment, you found Jake waiting for you, a troubled look on his face.

"What's wrong?" you asked, concerned.

Jake hesitated, then handed you his phone. "I got a message from someone in Korea. They want me to come back for a research project. It’s a great opportunity, but..."

Your heart sank. The fear of losing him again resurfaced, the old scars aching. "But you'd have to leave Sydney," you finished for him, your voice barely above a whisper.

Jake nodded, looking torn. "I don't want to go if it means losing you again. But it's a chance to work on something I'm passionate about."

You felt a mix of emotions—pride for his achievements, fear of being abandoned again, and a deep love that made you want the best for him. "Jake, I can't ask you to give up your dreams. But I also can't go through losing you again." You said the last part as you felt your heart breaking.

Jake took your hands, his eyes pleading. "We'll find a way, We can make it work long distance. I won't make the same mistakes. I promise, please baby.” He says with eyes brimming with shiny tears.

Tears filled your eyes as you considered his words. "I just don't want to be hurt again, I can’t be hurt again Jake..”

Jake pulled you into his arms, holding you tightly. "Neither can I, We'll figure it out together, mm?”

The weeks that followed were a test of your determination to each other. You discussed every detail of how to maintain your relationship while he was in Korea. The planning was meticulous—scheduling video calls, visits, and ways to stay connected despite the distance.

The night before Jake was set to leave, you both stood on the beach, the moon casting a silvery glow on the waves. The familiar setting brought back memories of your first kiss, and the promises you had made to each other.

"Are you sure about this?" Jake asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.

You nodded, taking his hand. "Yes. We'll make it work. I believe in us, believe in you.” You say caressing the back of his neck as he wrapped his arms around you.

Jake's eyes were filled with emotion as he leaned in to kiss you. The kiss was filled with both longing and desperation, a promise to hold on to each other no matter what.

The months apart were challenging, but you and Jake found ways to keep the spark alive. Daily messages, video calls, and surprise care packages became your lifelines. You shared your successes and struggles, celebrated milestones, and comforted each other through the hard times.

There were moments of doubt, nights when the distance felt unbearable. But each time, you reminded yourselves of the love you shared and the future you were building together, the future that was so close in reach.

One evening, as you sat on your balcony, Jake called you with exciting news. "I got a grant for my research! It's going to make a big difference."

You smiled, proud of him. "That's amazing, Jake. I'm so happy for you, so proud baby.”

Jake's voice was filled with hope. "It also means I can come back to Sydney sooner than planned. Just a few more months, and I'll be home."

The news filled you with a renewed sense of determination, and happiness. "I can't wait."

The day Jake returned to Sydney was one of the happiest of your life. You stood at the airport, your heart racing as you scanned the crowd for his familiar face. When you finally saw him, it felt like the world had shifted back into place.

You ran to him, tears of joy streaming down your face. Jake dropped his bags and caught you in his arms, lifting you off the ground as he kissed you deeply.

"I'm home!” he shouted against your lips, as people gave him looks as if he was a crazy man- and in this situation.. he kinda was.

"Welcome home, Jakey.” you replied, your heart overflowing with love and happiness.

With Jake back in Sydney, you both focused on building your future together. You found a small apartment, filled it with memories and dreams, signs of your love and started planning the next steps of your lives.

Your relationship was stronger than ever, forged through the trials and triumphs you had faced. You supported each other's ambitions, celebrated each other's successes, and provided comfort during the tough times.

One evening, as you sat on the beach watching the sunset, Jake turned to you with a serious expression. "There's something I want to ask you."

You looked at him, curious. "What is it?"

Jake took a deep breath, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Shock flooding through your body as tears filled your eyes as you realized what he was asking. "Yes," you said, your voice trembling with emotion. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Jake slipped the ring onto your finger, and you kissed jake gently with love and softness, the sunset casting a golden glow on your new beginning.

The years that followed were filled with love and adventure. You and Jake faced life's challenges together, always supporting each other and never forgetting the journey that had brought you to this point.

“Daddy, please tell me another bedtime story!” Your six year-old daughter pleaded as Jake looked at you with permission.

You giggled at his desperate gaze, “go ahead, honey.” You say kissing his forehead, sitting on the other side of your daughter’s bed as Jake cradled you both into his arms.

“Once upon a time…”

As Jake had told the same story he tells your daughter every single night, your story, you know there is nowhere else you’d rather be right now, but here with Jake.

@luv-sims

⋆ ｡⋆୨୧˚— YOU BELONG WITH ME !

𝜗𝜚 ༘⋆ ⋆˙pairing. best friend! jake sim x fem! reader synopsis all these years of jake being your best friend had you giving up, couldn’t jake see what was right in front him? couldn’t he see that he belonged with you? genre. fluff ,, wc. 2000. 𝐥u𝐧a notes ⋆.˚ inspired by this song!! 🫧 — 𝓵𝗂𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗋𝔂

if you enjoyed reading, please reblog & like !! (⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)

LONELINESS.

loneliness was all you had been feeling this entire year, completely and utterly alone.

you had been best friends with jake sim since the sandbox days, when scraped knees and shared secrets were the pillars of your young friendship. you both grew up in the same neighborhood, your houses separated only by a white picket fence that you could easily jump over.

your families had a close bond and holiday dinners together, and hot summers over the years were spent chasing fireflies and staying up late talking about everything and nothing, just the two of you.

by the time high school rolled around, you were basically inseparable. well- until jake got a girlfriend, sooya. she was a social butterfly, pretty, and popular. basically everything a guy would want. at first, you were happy for him. you genuinely wanted jake to be happy. but as the months went by, you felt the distance growing between you two.

jake spent less and less time with you, and your once frequent heart-to-heart conversations and movie night combined sleepovers dwindled to mere, dry texts about homework and school projects.

sooya was everything the school admired: a star cheerleader, rich background, and effortlessly charming. she and jake were the golden couple, and for a while, they seemed absolutely perfect together. they went on cute pinterest-worthy dates, shared lunches at school, and were practically attached by the hip.

you tried to be supportive, putting on a big smile whenever jake gushed about her with hearts in his eyes but deep down, a knot of jealousy tightened in your stomach. you felt replaced, and it stung.

as time went by, you noticed the drastic changes in jake. he was still the same boy who knew all your secrets and could make you laugh until you were in genuine physical pain, but now he was often distracted and distant, focused on sooya.

the texts became shorter and shorter as the weeks passed, the calls barely coming by. when you hung out, it was always in a group with sooya and her friends. the one-on-one time you cherished was a thing of the past, long gone now.

but soon after their honeymoon phase, six months into jake and sooya's relationship- the cracks began to show. their arguments were no longer whispered, and their public arguments became the talk of the school. it started with small disagreements – a missed call, a canceled date. but soon, the arguments escalated. you often found jake sitting alone at lunch, a stormy look on his face. he confided in you that sooya had become controlling, demanding more of his time and attention, and he felt suffocated.

one particularly stormy afternoon, jake showed up at your doorstep, drenched and disheveled. you took him into your embrace without a word, handed him a towel, and listened to him as he poured out his frustrations even though he barely had a care for yours the past year. sooya had accused him of flirting with another girl, a baseless claim that spiraled into a massive fight. he spent hours at your house, venting to you and seeking solace and comfort.

you wanted to tell him how much you missed him, how your feelings for him had evolved over the years, how you could love him better, treat him better, but you knew you couldn't. instead, you were the “supportive best friend”, hoping he'd see how much you truly cared.

the days turned into weeks, and your interactions and time spending with jake became more frequent again. he'd text you at odd hours, needing someone to talk to. sometimes, he'd sneak over to your house late at night, just to escape the chaos at home. you'd sit on your porch, wrapped in blankets, talking about your childhood, moments shared between the both of you, just like old times. it was during these moments that you saw glimpses of the jake that you once knew and loved.

yet, your heart ached with passing moment

you spent with him, knowing that despite his unhappiness, he hadn't realized what was right in front of him. you were torn between wanting to help him through his troubles and reconciling with sooya and the desperate desire for him to see you as more than just a friend- and you felt

immense guilt.

but that wasn’t you, it would never be you- so you knew what had to be done- you decided to move on after loving jake sim your whole entire life. jay park, a charming and kind classmate, had been showing interest in you for a while. he was the opposite of jake in many ways – confident, direct, and uncomplicated. he made you laugh and feel appreciated, and for the first time in months, you felt warm, you felt hope. maybe it was time to let go of your unrequited love for jake and embrace the possibility of something new and fresh.

you had agreed to go on a date with jay, after months of him basically begging you and soon, you found yourself trying to let go of your feelings for jake. jay was sweet and attentive, everything you thought you needed to get over your best friend.

he took you to your favorite cafes, treated you like royalty, remembered the small little details about your day, and always made you feel special.

of course, jake noticed the change. at first, he was confused, then irritated. he didn't understand why you were drifting away from him so fast- seeing you with jay made his chest tighten and his mood sour.

“god jake- you can’t just invite me over then ignore me!” sooya screeched as jake groaned.

“i didn’t invite you sooya, you invited yourself!” jake said as he found his mind drifting to you once again.

“fuck you jake, i’m right here! you could at least pretend you aren’t thinking about y/n right now.” rolling her eyes at the wide eyed boy.

“w-what?”

sooya scoffed at his clueless face as a tear rolled down her cheek as she wiped it angrily.

“are you dumb jake? you’re clearly head over heels in love with her- you always have been, and i can’t do this anymore, i can’t be with a guy who loves somebody else no matter how hard i try..” sooya grumbles grabbing her purse and walking to the front door.

“wait-“

“goodbye, jake.” sooya leaves him with a heartbroken, weak smile.

the realization hit him hard as he stood there, replaying every single memory he had throughout his life with you, of your laughter, your shared inside jokes only the two of you would understand, and the warmth of you yourself. he loved you. he had loved you his whole life and he only realized it now- it had always been you.

jake paced around his room panicking- you had barely even spoken to him anymore, you were slowly replacing him with jay- is this how you felt when he had started dating sooya? he thought, jake knew his entire beating heart belonged to you, and he was going to fight for you.

unironically, the next day was senior prom, the highlight of your entire high school experience. you had reluctantly agreed to go with jay, while jake, had been voted prom king alongside sooya. as the music played and couples filled the dance floor around you, you felt a pang of longing watching jake from afar. he had looked perfect, you quickly looked away focusing on jay. you couldn’t. you wouldn’t, you told yourself.

the announcement for the prom king and queen dance came, as the song started, jake took sooya's hand hesitantly, his eyes searched the crowd for you. he found you dancing with jay, jay’s arms wrapped around your waist as your smiles were forced and your movements completely stiff.

he couldn't take it anymore. that should’ve been him holding you, you should’ve been laughing with him, this was his moment.

as the dance ended, jake grabbed the microphone from the dj, his heart pounding with fear. "can i have everyone's attention, please?" his voice echoed through the gymnasium, silencing the crowd. "there's something i want to say, no- need to say."

everyone watched, and as he looked around the crowd- he locked eyes with sooya, she gave him a knowing grin and nodded, giving him the support he desperately needed. finally, as jake's eyes locked onto yours. "park y/n, we've known each other our whole entire lives. you’ve seen me through my incredibly embarrassing phases- even with my horrendous bowl cut in sophomore year” he said giggling nervously as you let out a bewildered expression.

“you've always been there for me, even when i was too blind to see what was right in front of me, and im so fucking sorry it took me this long- i’m completely in love with you- i love you. i've loved you for a long time. you're the one for me, i know it, y/n. always have been, always will be."

the room was silent, then filled with gasps and murmurs. you felt the weight of everyone's eyes on you, but all you could see was jake, standing there after pouring out his heart to you-vulnerable and hopeful on the stage. without thinking, you broke away from jay without a second thought and ran towards jake.

he met you halfway, and as you reached him, he pulled you into his arms. "i’m so in love with you too, jake. i love you.” you whispered, tears streaming down your face. "i always have, you’re it for me." you say with a lovesick grin, your glistening tears falling down your cheeks sparkling.

and suddenly, his lips found yours, and the world seemed to melt away. it was just you and jake, applause erupted around you, cheering and hoots but all that mattered was that you were finally where you belonged – in jake sim’s arms.

the rest of the night was a blur of congratulations and well-wishes.

as you and jake were dancing, you both let out soft chuckles at the song you and jake had labelled “your song” many years ago playing at the perfect moment, gazing into each other’s eyes with love and adoration, jake leaned his forehead against yours.

after all these years- in love with jake, you couldn’t believe he was finally yours. he always had been and you didn’t even know.

“how in the world do we explain this to our parents?” you whisper.

“i don’t think we need too.” he whispers back, kissing you softly as he thought about the message his father had sent before prom king and queen had been announced.

“go get the girl, son. you belong with her and you know it” it read.

finally, after years of pinning and heartbreak, you were united as more than just best friends. it was a night of new beginnings, and as you swayed to the music, the soft kisses and warm hugs you shared, you knew this was just the start of your forever with jake.

now you know why everyone calls prom night the most magical night of your youth.

@ won4kiss 2024

⋆ ｡⋆୨୧˚— ENOUGH FOR YOU

𝜗𝜚 ༘⋆ ⋆˙pairing. brothers best friend! jake sim x fem! reader synopsis. in which your brothers best friend whom you’d been in love with for years- suddenly ghosts you after kissing you, making a mess in the process. genre. angst ,, fluff wc. 2500. 𝐥u𝐧a notes ⋆.˚ im reformatting my works!! 🤭.. 🫧 — 𝓵𝗂𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗋𝔂

if you enjoyed ,, please reblog & like !! <3

GROWING UP WITH AN OLDER BROTHER MEANT CONSTANTLY BEING IN THE SHADOW OF HIS FRIENDS AND ANTICS. among his friends, jake sim has always stood out in your eyes.

with his rebellious attitude, dark clothes, and the gleam of mischief in his eyes, jake was the boy all the parents had warned their kids about, a bad influence with a not so great family.

you never cared about any of that, you had always been in love with him, ever since you were a kid.

he was kind to you, he wasn’t the jake everybody had talked about, he had a way of making your heart race with just a single glance directed at you.

but your brother, sunghoon, had always been adamant. “jake’s off limits,” he’d say, his tone brooking no argument. “he’ll just hurt you. trust me, he’s not the guy you think he is.”

despite your brother’s warnings, you couldn’t help but be drawn to jake. over the years, your paths crossed more frequently, and each encounter seemed to intensify the tension between you.

the stolen glances, the brief touches, the way his gaze would linger on you just a moment too long—it all built up to a point where the air crackled with unspoken desire.

it was a warm summer night, the warm air invading seoul. you found yourself alone at home. sunghoon was out, and you were enjoying the rare peace and quiet. the doorbell rang,

“that’s probably hoon..” you mumbled to yourself, and to your surprise, you opened it to find jake standing there, looking as effortlessly handsome as ever. he gave you a soft grin, that familiar twinkle in his eye.

“hey, y/n” he said casually, ruffling your hair as he leaned against the doorframe. “sunghoon around?”

you shook your head, flustered with his touch, trying to keep your voice steady. “no, hoon’s out. why?”

jake shrugged, his eyes locking onto yours. “just thought i’d hang out. mind if i come in?”

you knew what that meant, jake had always confided into the comfort of your home after another argument took place in his, you nodded with a smile.

stepping aside, you allowed him to enter. as he walked past you, the subtle scent of his cologne filled your senses, making your pulse quicken. you closed the door and followed him to the living room, where he flopped onto the couch, looking completely at ease.

“so, what are you up to, puppy?” he asked teasingly, his eyes never leaving yours.

“just… relaxing,” you replied,

feeling a bit self-conscious under his intense gaze, internally groaning at your outfit choice, a worn-out shirt you had worn since you were fifteen and pants with golden retrievers on them? of course this would happen to you.

“what about you?”

jake chuckled, the sound low and smooth. “trying to escape my house. too much drama.”

he said with a lingering sadness fleeing his words, making you frown.

you nodded, understanding. jake’s home life wasn’t the best. his parents were always fighting, and he often sought refuge elsewhere—usually with sunghoon. but tonight, it was just the two of you. the tension between you was almost tangible, the air thick with unspoken words and unfulfilled desire.

as you sat down beside him, the proximity made your heart race. you tried to focus on something—anything—else, but jake’s presence was overwhelming. he leaned back, stretching his arms along the back of the couch, one arm brushing lightly against your shoulders.

“why so tense?” he asked, his voice low and teasing. “i don’t bite… much.”

you laughed nervously, the sound awkward even to your own ears. “just… not used to being alone with you, i guess.”

jake’s eyes darkened slightly, a smirk playing on his lips. “is that so, puppy? don’t get shy on me now, let me change that.”

before you could respond, he leaned in, his face inches from yours. your breath hitched as his nose touched yours, and your heart pounded in your chest.

every rational thought screamed at you to move away, to stop this before it went too far. but you couldn’t. you didn’t want to.

jake’s lips brushed against yours, hesitant at first, as if he was testing the waters. when you didn’t pull away, he deepened the kiss, his hand moving to cup your face as his other wrapped around your thighs pulling you on top of him.

the kiss was slow and exploratory, filled with the pent-up tension and desire that had been building for years.

you melted into him, your hands finding their way to his shoulders as you tugged on his hair.

“don’t do that… i really won’t be able to hold back.” he whispered against your lips.

his touch was intoxicating, and you couldn’t get enough. the world outside seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of you in your own little bubble of passion.

but all too soon, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway shattered the moment. you pulled back abruptly, your heart racing for an entirely different reason now.

“hoon’s home,” you whispered, panic evident in your voice as you felt the pang of guilt from your actions kicking in.

jake’s eyes widened, and he quickly stood up, straightening his clothes. “i should go,” he said, his voice hushed and quiet.’

you nodded, unable to find the words to express the number of emotions coursing through you.

jake moved toward the back door, but before he left, he turned to you, his eyes softening as he pats your head, a familiar habit he’s had your whole lives. “we’ll talk later, okay y/n?”

you nodded again, watching as he slipped out of the house just as sunghoon walked in. your brother greeted you with a happy smile, completely unaware of what had just transpired.

you forced a smile in return, trying to act normal, but the guilt was running through your vein’s as your mind was still reeling from the kiss.

that night, as you laid in the comfort of your bed, you replayed the events over and over in your head. the kiss, the look in jake’s eyes, the way your heart had felt like it might burst from your chest—it all felt like a fever dream.

a part of you wondered if jake felt the same way, if he had also been thinking of you, if he was in love with you, or if it had just been a moment of weakness for him.

you were more than confused with his feelings, you sighed as you sat up,

unable to sleep, you picked up your phone and sent jake a message.

“can we talk?” you typed, your fingers trembling with nervousness.

you hesitated for a moment before hitting send, hoping for a quick response.

minutes turned into hours, and as you stared at your phone, there was no reply. your heart sank with each passing moment, doubt and insecurity creeping in. had it meant nothing to him? was he regretting it now? the questions swirled in your mind, making it impossible to find any peace whatsoever.

the next day at school, you kept an eye out for jake, hoping to catch him and talk. but when you finally saw him, your heart shattered. he was standing with eunhee, the most wanted and prettiest girl in school. she was giggling, as her hand playfully lingered on his bare arm, and he was smiling back at her.

it felt like a punch to the gut. the hope you had clung to crumbled in an instant, replaced by a deep sense of betrayal and hurt. you turned away, the tears stinging your eyes, and hurried to find a place to be alone.

you found your best friend, yunjin, in the cafeteria, and she immediately noticed something was wrong.

“hey, what happened?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.

you shook your head, trying to hold back the tears. “it’s nothing. just… jake.”

yunjin’s eyes widened. she was the only other person who knew about your little ‘crush’ on jake other than sunghoon. “what did he do?”

you took a deep breath, deciding to tell her everything. “last night, he came over, and we… we kissed. but now he’s with eunhee, and he never replied to my message. i feel so stupid.”

your voice breaking as you spoke, yunjin’s eyes widened as she saw the figure behind you, you didn’t notice sunghoon approaching from behind.

he had overheard everything, and his expression darkened with anger. “jake did what?” he growled, his fists clenching.

“sunghoon, no—” you began, but it was too late. he was already storming off, determined to beat the shit out of his best friend.

you and yunjin hurried after him, your heart pounding with fear. sunghoon was protective, but you had never seen him this angry, not even when your boyfriend in tenth grade cheated on you..

when you reached the courtyard, you saw him shoving jake against a wall, complete furt and anger clouding his face.

“what the hell, man?” jake exclaimed, trying to push sunghoon off.

“you stay away from my sister!” sunghoon shouted, his voice filled with rage. “you hear me? she’s not some toy you can play with!”

jake’s eyes flashed with a mix of anger and confusion. “it’s not like that, i’d never play with her sunghoon. i care about her.”

“bullshit!” sunghoon retorted. “you were with eunhee this morning!”

jake’s expression softened, realization dawning on him. “that’s what this is about? eunhee’s just a friend. i was only talking to her.”

sunghoon’s grip loosened slightly, but he didn’t let go. “then why didn’t you reply to her message? why are you messing with her head?”

jake glanced at you, his eyes softened at you as they filled with regret. “i’m sorry,” he said softly.

“i was scared. i’ve never felt this way before, and i didn’t know how to handle it. i thought staying away would be better for her, you know me...”

sunghoon finally released him, but his glare didn’t waver. “if you care about her, then prove it. make it right.”

jake nodded, his gaze never leaving yours. “i will.”

he took a step toward you, his expression nervous and vulnerable. “i’m sorry i didn’t reply,” he said, his voice filled with sincerity. “i was an asshole. i thought pushing you away would protect you from me.”

“protect me from what?” you said as you played with your fingers,

“you know my family, y/n. i’m not the golden boy next door, hell- your parents would probably slam the door on my face if i said i was your boyfriend.” he replied looking down.

tears welled up in your eyes as you listened to him, the way he thought about himself absolutely broke your heart.

“jake, i don’t care about any of that. i just want to be with you.”

he looked at you, his eyes searching yours for any hint of doubt. when he found none, he closed the distance between you, cupping your face in his hands.

“i love you, so much.” he whispered, his voice trembling. “i’ve loved you for so long, but i was too afraid to admit it.”

you felt your heart swell with adoration. “i love you too, jake.”

he placed his soft lips onto yours, a kiss filled with all the love and passion you had both been holding back for years. the world seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of you in that moment. his lips moved against yours, soft and insistent, and you kissed him back with equal energy.

when you finally pulled away, jake rested his forehead against yours, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “i don’t deserve you,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “but i’ll spend the rest of my life trying to be even the slightest bit worthy of you, enough for you.”

you smiled through your tears, your heart filled with love. “you’re more than worthy of me, jakey. you’re so much more than enough” you replied caressing his cheek.

sunghoon watched the exchange, his expression softening. he placed a hand on jake’s shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.

“don’t screw this up, man.” he said, his voice stern but supportive.

jake nodded, grinning at his best friend, his eyes meeting yours as he intertwined his fingers with yours.

“i won’t.”

from that day forward, things changed between you and jake. he became a constant in your life, no longer hiding his feelings or running away from them. you faced your fears together, and with your brothers support, you built a relationship based on love and loyalty.

jake opened up to you about his family, his fears, and his dreams. you listened, offering him the comfort and support he had always needed but never had.

in return, he loved you unconditionally, with a passion that took your breath away.

one evening, as you both in each other’s arms, watching the stars twinkle outside your bedroom window, jake turned to you with a smile. “you know, i’ve been thinking.”

“that’s not good..” you joked as jake pouted at you, making you giggle with a sparkle in your eyes.

“about what, jakey?” you hummed, nudging your nose against his.

“about how lucky i am to have you, to be called yours” he said softly playing with your fingers.

“and about how i never want to take you for granted again.”

you smiled, your heart overflowing with love. “i’m lucky to have you too, jake.”

he leaned in, kissing you gently. “let’s make a promise,” he said when he pulled away.

“no matter what happens, no matter how stressed or tired we get, we’ll always come back to each other. we’ll always remember how much we love each other.”

you nodded, a warm feeling spilling over your body, a feeling that could bring you into a fit of tears, “i promise.”

jake grinned as he kissed you again, sealing the promise with a kiss that was filled with all the love and devotion you felt for each other.

as you laid there, wrapped in each other’s arms, you knew that no matter what issues came your way, you would never be facing them alone, your love guiding you through the darkness.

the night air flowing in from the window was cool, and the stars shone brightly in the sky.

listening to the steady rhythm of jake’s heartbeat, you felt a deep sense of peace and contentment. the world outside might be full of darkness and pain, but within the warmth of jake’s embrace, you found a haven of love and safety.

jake’s fingers traced gentle patterns on your back, his touch soothing and reassuring. “i love you,” he murmured, his voice a soft caress in the quiet night as he felt himself falling into a deep slumber.

“i love you too,” you whispered, snuggling closer to him. “always.”

© won4kiss 2024

taglist open <3 @luvlyhee @sjyunnsworld @shawnyle

send an ask or lmk in the comments to be added !! ㅤㅤ(ꈍᵕꈍ)ㅤ

⋆ ｡⋆୨୧˚— SO HIGH SCHOOL !

𝜗𝜚 ༘⋆ ⋆˙pairing. popular quarterback bf! jake sim x fem! reader synopsis. in which you and jake are complete opposites, but you couldn’t be more in love with each other. he knows how to ball, and you know.. aristotle? genre. fluff ,, 1% angst. wc. 2026. 𝐥u𝐧a notes ⋆.˚ omg i actually love this ☹️. 🫧 — 𝓵𝗂𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗋𝔂

if you enjoyed reading, please like & reblog !! ‹𝟹

THE FINAL BELL RANG, signaling the end of another school day. but today wasn’t just any day—it was the championships game day. the entire school buzzed with excitement, and the air was thick with anticipation and tension.

students hurried through the halls, chattering about the big game and what it meant for the school’s reputation.

banners hung from the walls, declaring support for the football team, and especially for jake sim, the golden boy and star quarterback.

jake was everything a high school hero should be; charming, athletic, handsome, and kind. his perfect, heart fluttering smile and easygoing, honest demeanor won him friends and admirers from each and every corner of the school.

but what set him apart was his relationship with you.

you were jake’s girlfriend, and that fact alone made you a huge target. girls envied you, whispering behind your back, spreading rumors, and sometimes outright insulting you to your face.

it was hard, but jake made it all worth it. his love and support overshadowed all the negativity, and with him by your side, you felt like you could conquer anything just to be by his side forever.

as you walked to the bleachers that evening, you felt a mixture of pride, excitement and anxiety. jake had give you his jersey to wear, and of course you wore it to support jake.

but unfortunately that came with the cost of multiple dirty looks thrown your way, as expected.

you sighed as you told yourself it didn’t matter, you were there to support jake.

the stadium was packed with students, parents, and teachers, all eager to see if the team could win the championship.

you found a seat near the front, your eyes scanning the field for any sign of jake. the game hadn’t started yet, but the players were already warming up, their movements precise and practiced.

“look at her,” a girl behind you whispered, her voice dripping with disdain.

“she thinks she’s special because she’s dating jake!”

“i know, right?” another girl replied.

“she’s so plain. jake could do so much better.”

“right, she looks like such a pick me wearing that jersey, she probably stole it from jake!”

the girl said as her friends nodded in agreement sneering at you.

you tried to ignore them, focusing instead on the field where jake was running drills with his teammates. he looked up and caught your eye, giving you a reassuring smile that made your heart flutter. you waved back, feeling a little better. he always had that effect on you.

the game started with a roar of excitement from the crowd. jake took his position as quarterback, his confidence and skill evident in every single move he made.

the first quarter was intense, with both teams fighting hard for every yard. the tension was thick, and you found yourself gripping the edge of your seat, your eyes never leaving jake.

but the girls behind you didn’t let up.

“she’s probably only with him for the attention,” one of them said.

“i bet she doesn’t even really care about him, unlike me, I could treat him better.”

“yeah,” another girl added.

“she’s probably just using him to become popular.”

their words hurt you deeply, but you tried to focus on the game. jake needed your support, and you couldn’t let these girls get to you. still, their voices echoed in your mind, making you feel smaller and smaller, it was hard to concentrate.

the second quarter was even more intense than the first. jake made some incredible plays, his agility and precision leaving the crowd in awe.

you could see the determination in his eyes, the fire that drove him to be the best. it was one of the qualities you loved most about him.

at halftime, the score was tied, and the tension in the stadium was thick. you got up to stretch your legs, feeling the need to clear your head.

as you walked down the steps, you overheard more whispers.

“she’s so pathetic. look at her, trying to act like she belongs here, walking around like she owns the stadium.”

“i don’t know what jake sees in her. she’s so..average.”

you clenched your fists, trying to hold back the tears. it wasn’t fair. you loved jake, and he loved you. why couldn’t they just be happy for you? why couldn’t they treat you as well as they treated jake?

you found a quiet spot near the concession stand and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm yourself and get yourself back together.

“hey, you okay y/n?” a familiar voice asked.

you turned to see one of jake’s teammates, mark, standing there with a concerned look on his face. he was a good friend of jake’s and had always been the kindest to you.

“yeah, i’m fine,” you said, forcing a smile at the sweet boy.

“just needed a break.”

mark nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. “don’t let those girls get to you. they’re just jealous, you know.”

“i know,” you sighed.

“it’s just hard sometimes.”

he patted your shoulder. “jake’s lucky to have you. we all see how happy you make him.”

“thanks, mark,” you said, feeling yourself cheer up at his sweet words.

“that means a lot.”

you headed back to your seat, feeling more reassured and comforted. you were here for jake, and that was all that mattered.

the third quarter began, and the intensity of the game only increased. both teams were giving it their all, and the crowd was on the edge of their seats.

as the clock ticked down to the final moments of the game, the score was still tied. the tension was almost unbearable, and you found yourself holding your breath with every play. jake was in the zone, his focus unshakable. you knew he could do it. you believed in him.

with less than a minute left on the clock, jake made his move. he dodged the defenders with a grace and agility that left everyone in awe. you could see the hunger in his eyes, the fire that was driving him the entire game.

he threw the ball with perfect precision, and it sailed through the air, seemingly in slow motion. the crowd held its breath as the receiver caught the ball and ran into the end zone.

touchdown.

the stadium erupted in cheers, the noise deafening. you jumped to your feet, your heart pounding with excitement and relief. the team had done it. they had won the championship. you watched as jake was lifted onto his teammates’ shoulders, his face beaming with pure joy.

as the team celebrated, jake’s eyes found yours in the crowd. for a moment, everything else faded away. he broke free from his teammates and ran towards you, his face lighting up with glee.

you met him halfway, running down from the bleachers, your heart racing.

the girls’ voices were still in your head, but they were drowned out by the sound of the cheering crowd and your own pounding heart.

when jake reached you, he didn’t hesitate. he lifted you off your feet, spinning you around before setting you down and cupping your face before kissing you deeply.

the world seemed to stand still as his lips met yours, the intensity of the kiss as the noise of the crowd faded into the background.

when you pulled back, breathless and smiling, jake looked at you with a lovesick look that made your knees weak.

“i love you, y/n!” he shouted, his voice carrying across the field. “i love you so much!”

your face flushed with embarrassment as the crowd erupted in cheers and laughter, spotting mark hooting in the back, making you giggle.

the girls who had been talking badly about you moments ago were now screaming in delight.

“they’re so cute together!”

“i knew they were serious, i told you guys!”

“girl what… you said that she was average-“

“when? they’re like a fairytale couple!”

suddenly, the rain started to fall, a light drizzle that quickly turned into a downpour. people began to scatter, running for shelter, but you and jake stayed where you were, oblivious to everything but each other.

the rain soaked through your clothes, but you didn’t care. all that mattered was the feel of jake’s arms around you, the warmth of his body against yours.

he pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against yours.

“you’re amazing,” he whispered, his voice filled with love and admiration. “no one's ever had me like this, not like you.”

tears mixed with the rain on your cheeks as you nodded, overwhelmed by the intensity of your feelings.

“i love you too, jake,” you replied, your voice barely audible over the sound of the rain.

as you stood there, wrapping your arms around his neck kissing in the middle of the field, the rain pouring down around you, you felt invincible.

it didn’t matter what anyone else thought or said. you and jake were so deeply in love, and that was all that mattered.

eventually, the crowd started to return, umbrellas popping up everywhere. but you and jake stayed in your own little world, holding each other close.

the rain was cold, but being near jake felt like sitting in front of a lit fireplace on a snowy winter day.

the championship game would be remembered for years, not just for the victory, but for the love story that played out in the rain.

you and jake were the high school sweethearts everyone envied, the couple that defied the odds and found happiness in each other.

as you walked off the field hand in hand, you knew that this was only the beginning of your story together.

the days following the game were celebrated with school spirit.

everywhere you went, people congratulated you and jake. the story of your kiss in the rain had spread like wildfire, turning you both into the most talked-about couple in school- and even reaching other schools.

despite the newfound attention on you, jake never wavered in his devotion to you. he held your hand proudly in the hallways, kissed you in front of everyone, and made sure you knew how much he loved you.

the girls who had once whispered cruel things behind your back now looked at you with a mix of envy and admiration.

a week after the game, you and jake found yourselves sitting on the bleachers after school. the field was empty, the stands quiet— a noticeable contrast to the noise and excitement of game night.

jake had his arm around you, and you leaned into him, savoring the peaceful moment.

“do you ever think about the future?” jake asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

you looked up at him, his face serious but his eyes filled with warmth. “all the time,” you replied.

“what do you see?” you say with a gentle grin.

he smiled, a soft, almost wistful smile. “i see us, together. graduating, going to college, living our lives... getting married, i can’t imagine any of it without you.”

your heart swelled with the emotion of pure love.

“i see the same thing,” you whispered, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes.

jake leaned down, kissing you gently. “we’re it for each other, you know? no matter what anyone says to you, you’re it for me.”

you nodded before cupping jake’s face and kissing him softly, as the sunset had faded into a dark field illuminated with the stadium lights,

you knew with your whole heart that jake was it for you as well, even though you two were complete opposites.

© won4kiss 2024

taglist open <3 @luvlyhee @sjyunnsworld @shawnyle

send an ask or lmk in the comments if u wanna be added !! <3

⋆ ｡⋆୨୧˚— ANGRY !

ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 boxer bf! ʝake sim x 𝑓! reader 𝒢enre. angst & fluff. 𝓢ynopsis. in which your boyfriend comes home injured after a brawl & lashes out at you. 𝑤ord count 𐙚ㅤㅤ1175. 𝑤arnings ‎⸝⸝ not edited, anger issues, cursing, injuries, kissing. ୭ৎ — 𝓵𝗂𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗋𝔂 ᥫ᭡

୭ৎ 𝑙una note⋆.˚ all credits to @taeghi for boxer! jake idea ! <3 also i’d like to note that i’m not romanticizing anger issues in any way, this is something i’ve struggled with for a while and i wanted to incorporate my own struggles in my writing !

THE APARTMENT WAS EERILY SILENT AND FILLED WITH ANTICIPATION AS YOU WAITED FOR YOUR BOYFRIEND JAKE TO RETURN.

it wasn’t unusual for him to come home late, especially after a long night of training at the underground boxing gym.

you had always admired his dedication, the way he poured his heart into his passion, but lately, his anger issues had been getting worse. — more under cut !

you knew he had struggled with this issue his whole life, but you hadn’t ever seen it this bad.

you see the rage in his eyes, the way his fists would clench and unclench as he tried to keep himself in check. it broke your heart to see him struggle like this.

a normal person would be petrified, but you didn’t care because at the end of the day, it’s your jake. you weren’t going to abandon him.

you glanced at the clock for what felt like the hundredth time that night, biting your lip anxiously.

it was well past midnight, and jake still hadn’t returned. you tried to keep yourself busy with chores around the house, but your mind couldn’t help but drift back to him.

what if something had happened? what if he had gotten into a fight and was lying injured somewhere alone?

just as you were about to call his phone for the fifth time, you heard the familiar sound of the front door creaking open.

you rushed to the hallway, your heart pounding in your chest. there he was, standing in the doorway, looking like he had been through hell and back.

jake was covered in bruises, his lip split open and bloodied, one eye swollen shut.

his clothes were torn, and his knuckles were raw and bloody.

you felt a lump form in your throat at the sight of him.

he looked so different from the strong, confident boyfriend you knew.

“jake!” you gasped, rushing to his side.

“oh my god, what happened to you?”

he didn’t say a word, he simply pushed past you in silence and headed straight for the bathroom.

you followed him, your heart aching at the sight of his battered and bruised body.

he turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face, wincing as the water stung his wounds.

“jakey, please let me help you,” you pleaded, reaching out to touch his arm.

he flinched away from your touch, his eyes dark with anger.

“i don’t want your fucking help,”

he growled, his voice rough and strained.

you recoiled at his tone, knowing that his tolerance was quite low at the moment, tears welling up in your eyes.

“but jake… you’re hurt,” you whispered, your voice trembling.

“i just wanna take care of you.”

“do i have to spell it out for you to understand?just leave me alone!”

he snapped, his anger unleashing at once.

“i don’t need you fussing over me like i’m some kind of child!”

you took a step back, your heart breaking at his harsh words.

you knew he didn’t mean it, that his anger was just a mask for the pain he was feeling, but it still hurt you deeply.

you felt the tears start to spill over, unable to hold them back any longer.

jake’s eyes widened as he saw you fall apart, the realization of what he had just done hitting him like a ton of bricks.

his anger dissolved in an instant, replaced by a look of pure horror and disappointment in himself.

“oh god, i’m so sorry,” he choked out, his voice breaking.

“i didn’t mean to yell at you, baby. i would never... i would never intentionally speak to you that way. please, believe me.”

you could see the tears welling up in his eyes, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs with the frustration of himself.

your heart ached at the sight of him, so broken and vulnerable.

it wasn’t jake’s fault, you knew it.

it wasn’t like he could control his mental issues, so the best thing you could do was be there for him as he worked on himself.

without thinking, you stepped forward and wrapped your arms around him, holding him close as he sobbed into your shoulder.

“i know, jakey,” you whispered, your own tears contrasting with his.

“i know you would never wanna hurt me. it’s okay. it’s gonna be okay.”

he clung to you desperately, his body trembling with the force of his sobs.

you held him tightly, your fingers running through his hair in a soothing gesture.

you could feel the tension slowly leaving his body, replaced by a sense of relief and pure exhaustion.

“i’m so sorry,” he repeated, his voice muffled against your shoulder.

“i didn’t mean to snap at you. i’m just... i’m just so tired of myself.”

“i know,”

you murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

“it’s okay, jake. i’m here for you.”

you gently guided him to the couch, helping him sit down as you went to get the first aid kit.

he watched you with tear-filled eyes, his expression mixed with guilt and gratitude.

you could see how much he hated himself for losing control, for letting his anger get the better of him.

you sat down beside him, carefully cleaning his wounds and applying bandages where they were needed.

he winced occasionally, but didn’t utter a word of complaint.

the silence between you was heavy with unspoken emotions, but you knew that words weren’t necessary right now.

once you were done, you gently cupped his face in your hands, looking into his eyes as you caressed his cheeks softly.

“you’re not alone, jake,” you said softly.

“i’m here for you, no matter what. we’ll get through this together, you’re it for me.”

he nodded, his eyes glistening with tears.

“i don’t deserve you, baby” he whispered, his voice cracking.

“yes, you do,” you replied firmly with reassurance.

“you’re a good person, jake. you just need to let go of your anger and let yourself be vulnerable. it’s okay to ask for help.”

he closed his eyes, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

“i’ll try,” he murmured.

“for you, i’ll try.”

you smiled, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

“that’s all i’ll ever need.”

he pulled you into his arms, holding you close as if he was afraid you’d leave.

you could feel the steady beat of his heart against your chest, a comforting reminder that he was here, with you, in your arms.

the weight of the world seemed to lift off his shoulders as he held you, his breathing slowly evening out.

“i love you,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

“i love you too, jake,” you replied, your heart swelling with adoration and love.

“i always will.”

you stayed wrapped in each other’s arms for the rest of the night, finding comfort in the warmth of your love.

the world outside may have been harsh and unforgiving, but in this moment, you knew that as long as you had each other, you could overcome anything.

© won4kiss 2024

taglist open <3 @luvlyhee @sjyunnsworld @shawnyle @suneng

send an ask or lmk in comments tba ! <3

𖠵 . ׅ ࣪ ⌇ BOYFRIEND TEXTS W/ JAKE

. ݁ ✦ ݁ ୨ৎ 𝓦ARNING(S) jake being cute ⸝⸝ cursing ⸝⸝ kiss mentioned !

⎯ 𝓟AIRINGS 𐙚ㅤㅤ downbad bf! 𝒿ake 𝓈im x 𝑓! reader

˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ LUNA NOTES 𓂃ㅤ୧ my formal written apology for the sunghoon angst recently:( removed the 10 months ending fairy pic bc apparently it makes him uncomfy!! i didn’t know, i’m srry !! T-T . . 𝓁ibrar𝓎

© won4kiss 2024

taglist open ‹𝟹 @pnghoon @suneng @mioons @nshmuras @shawnyle @laylasbunbunny @privareum @briefsaladfun @greentulip @cyjzzl @rikibwn @sol3chu @txtlyn @d-dilemma @deezbin

𖠵 . ׅ ࣪ ⌇𝘐’𝘝𝐸 𝑁𝘌𝑉𝘌𝑅 𝐹𝘌𝐿𝘛 𝘚𝑂 𝐴𝘓𝑂𝘕𝐸

ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 𝑆treamer bf! 𝒿ake 𝓈im x 𝑓! reader 𝒢enre. angst 𝓢ynopsis. in which your boyfriend has been neglecting you for his streams ! 𝑤𝑐 𐙚ㅤㅤ 1152 ‎⸝⸝ not proof read pet names cursing kissing ୭ৎ requested — 𝓁ibrar𝓎 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖

PLEASE LIKE & REBLOG ! 𓂃

THE DIM GLOW FROM THE COMPUTER SCREEN SPILT INTO THE LIVING ROOM, CASTING A SOFT LIGHT ON THE DARK SPACE.

you sat on the edge of the couch, blinking harshly as you felt your eyes fluttering from the exhaustion after a long day at work.

you were watching your boyfriend jake as he had once again streamed to his growing audience.

his laughter filled the room, mixing with the sounds of the newest video game he's been playing.

but lately, it has been starting to feel like jake spends more time with his online community than with you.

the streaming schedule that once seemed manageable has become a time-consuming routine, stealing your boyfriend from you and leaving little time for anything else. — more under cut !

you miss the late-night talks, the movie nights you spent cuddled up together, and the simple joy of just being together.

"jakey," you call softly, hoping not to disturb him too much.

"it's getting late now baby, why don't you come to bed?"

he doesn't even turn around to spare you a glance, making you rub your forehead in irritation.

“hello? jake, i’m talking to you!”

“i can't right now, babe. i have to stream."

"but you’ve been at it for hours," you insist, your voice tinged with frustration.

"can’t you take a break? i need you..”

suddenly, he snapped in annoyance at your nagging.

"you're being clingy! i have to do this. it's my job, i need to provide for us y/n, go sleep."

the harshness of his words stung much more than you expected.

feeling hurt and rejected, you retreat back to the bedroom, where you had been sleeping alone for the past few weeks.

your heart was heavy with disappointment as you laid down into the bed, the distant sound of his voice serving you a painful reminder of how distant he had been recently.

days turn into weeks, and you found yourself avoiding him. you leave for work early, come home late, and spend as much time away from the apartment as possible.

you didn’t want to hear another excuse about why his streams are more important than you.

the emotional distance between you grew wider with each passing day.

one day, after an especially draining day at work, everything falls apart.

a project you had poured your heart into for months had gotten rejected, and a colleague you considered a friend betrayed your trust.

by the time you get home, you’re already on the verge of tears. you open the door to find jake sitting on the couch, a rare sight these days.

"hey baby! you’re finally home." he exclaims, his face lighting up with a smile, running to you with excitement.

"i haven't seen you in forever. how was your day? you don’t look too good.."

the concern in his voice is the final straw, your self control breaks and you burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

jake rushed to your side immediately, his arms wrapping around you in an embrace that feels both foreign and familiar.

"what's wrong?" he asks, his voice filled with genuine worry.

but his touch only makes you cry harder.

"it's not just today," you manage to choke out.

"it's everything. i feel so alone, jake. all you ever do is ignore me, it's like i'm invisible to you."

“you don’t even sleep with me anymore, you sleep when i leave for work, and when i’m back you’re always streaming! did you even notice that i’ve been trying to avoid you?”

jake’s face fell in realization and suddenly, he pulls you closer, his heart breaking at your words.

"i'm so sorry," he whispers, his voice trembling.

"baby, i swear i never meant to make you feel that way."

you were angry, but you needed jake desperately.

you clung to him, your sobs quieting as he holds you, feeling his own tears dampening the nape of your neck.

"i miss you so much, jakey" you say, your voice barely above a whisper.

"i miss us."

jake presses a kiss to your forehead, his tears mixing with yours.

"i've been so stressed lately," he admits looking down.

"my payments have been getting cut, and i was trying to save up to buy you the car you’ve always wanted. i wanted to surprise you, but i ended up pushing you away instead— i’m so fucking sorry."

you pull back slightly with shock etched onto your features, looking into his eyes.

"a car? that’s so sweet of you jake, but i don't need that. i just need you, my boyfriend..”

he nods, his eyes filled with regret.

"i know. i see that now. i was so focused on trying to make things better for us that i didn't realize i was losing you in the process."

“you didn’t lose me, silly boy.” you joked as you left a soft peck on his pouted lips.

jake finally lets out a soft grin as he kisses you again, and it's like a balm to your wounded heart.

"i'm so sorry," he repeats, his voice breaking.

"i love you so much. please, let me make it up to you."

you nod, tears of relief still streaming down your face.

"i love you too. i just... i need you to be here. with me."

jake suddenly scoops you into his arms as you let out a screech— carrying you to the bedroom.

he lays you down gently, then climbs in beside you, pulling you into his embrace.

"i'm here now, baby" he whispers, his lips brushing against your temple.

"i'm not going anywhere."

you snuggle into his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart against your ear.

the warmth of his body, the softness of his touch, and the sincerity in his voice begin to soothe the ache inside you.

"i missed being in your arms so much," you admit, your voice muffled against his shirt.

"me too," jake says softly as he looked down at you with adoration.

"i promise, i'll do better. no more neglecting you for streams. you're the most important thing in my life."

you tilt your head up to meet his gaze, your eyes searching his for any hint of insincerity — but all you see is love and regret.

he leans down, capturing your lips in a gentle kiss that speaks volumes of love and promises.

for the rest of the remaining evening, you stay wrapped in each other's arms, sharing kisses and whispers of love and reassurance.

the hurt of the neglect began to fade, replaced by the rekindled warmth of your love.

as you drift off to sleep in jake’s arms, you feel a sense of peace you haven't felt in a long time.

jake's arms around you are a silent promise that things will be just fine, that he will always be there for you, and that your love is stronger than anything else life throws your way.

© won4kiss 2024

taglist open ‹𝟹 @mioons @nshmuras @suneng @pnghoon @shawnyle @laylasbunbunny @privareum @briefsaladfun @greentulip @cyjzzl @sol3chu @txtlyn @d-dilemma @deezbin

୨୧ 𝒴𝑂𝑈𝑅 𝐿𝐼𝑃𝑆 𝑀𝑌 𝐿𝐼𝑃𝑆, 𝒜𝑃𝑂𝐶𝐴𝐿𝑌𝑃𝑆𝐸

ᯓ 𝜗𝜚 ℰnemy! 𝒿ake 𝓈im x 𝑓! reader 𝒢enre angst & fluff 𝓢ynopsis in which you’re stuck in a zombie apocalypse with your enemy! 𝑤𝑐 𐙚ㅤㅤ 3052 ⸝⸝ not proof read not rlly gore? yns ‘ kinda mean.. ୭ৎ — 𝓁ibrar𝓎 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖

⊹ ࣪ ˖ PLEASE LIKE & REBLOG ! ໒꒰ྀི ≧ ᗜ ≦ ꒱ྀིა

YOU HAD ALWAYS HATED JAKE SIM.

for as long as you could remember, jake had been the sharp thorn in your side, the annoying neighbour who never missed an opportunity to get under your skin.

from petty childhood arguments over whose bike was better to the typical teenage bickering over the loud music he’d blast at all hours of the night, jake had always been there to ruin your day.

and you, of course, made it your life’s mission to return the favor.

the two of you were like fire and rain, constantly clashing, never finding common ground.

so when the world went to hell and the dead started walking, it felt like some cruel joke that you’d end up stuck with jake sim.

the outbreak had come unexpectedly, tearing through your small town and leaving devastation in all its glory.

your family was one of the first to fall, victims of the chaos and the hordes of the undead. — more under cut !

and jake’s family—well, they didn’t have it any better.

in the end, it was just you and jake, the two of you huddled in the basement of your now-empty homes, the animosity between you two simmering beneath the surface.

but as much as you hated jake, you hated the loneliness more. so, despite everything, you stuck together.

you scavenged for supplies, barricaded yourselves in your homes, and did your best to survive.

days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and somewhere along the way, the hatred between you began to fade, replaced by something else.

something you couldn’t quite define into words.

you would never call jake your friend, that would be too much.

but he was the only person left in the world who knew you, who understood what you’d been through.

and in a way, that was enough.

it had been almost a year since the outbreak when you finally stumbled upon a group of survivors.

they were a tough bunch, hardened by the world they’d been thrown into, but they welcomed you and jake with open arms.

for the first time in a long time, you and jake felt a glimmer of hope for the future.

the camp was a small, makeshift community nestled deep in the woods, hidden from the undead and the humans who were just as dangerous.

it wasn’t much, but it was safe, and that was all that mattered.

for the first few weeks, you and jake kept to yourselves, still wary of the people around you.

but slowly, you began to fall into place with the group, forming lifelong bonds with the other survivors.

jake, the social butterfly between the two of you, adapted quickly.

he made friends, joked around, and even found a place within the group’s hierarchy as one of the best fighters.

you, on the other hand, struggled. the loss of your family weighed heavily on you, and you found it hard to trust anyone.

the only person you really spoke to was jake, and even then, it was usually out of necessity.

but then you saw him—laughing, joking, flirting—with one of the girls in the camp.

she was pretty, with long blonde hair and a bright smile, the kind of girl who would have turned jake’s head even before the world had fallen apart.

and seeing them together, the two of them looking so at ease, so...happy, made something in you snap.

you didn’t understand it at first—the pure jealousy that bubbled up inside you.

why should you care who jake talked to? it wasn’t like you had any claim on him.

but the longer you watched them, the more that jealousy had grown into more, turning into something dark and bitter.

and that’s when the old animosity started to rear its ugly head back.

it started with small things—snide, hurtful comments, sarcastic jabs, little sneers that you knew would get under jake’s skin.

but jake wasn’t one to back down from a fight, and soon enough, the two of you were at each other’s throats again, just like old times.

but this time, it wasn’t petty childhood squabbles or teenage drama.

this time, it was real, and it was ugly.

the argument came to a head one evening after dinner. the camp was quiet, the other survivors were settling in for the night, but you and jake were very far from peaceful.

“you’re really enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”

you snapped, your voice dripping with venom as you crossed your arms over your chest.

jake, who had been cleaning his knife by the fire, looked up at you, his expression mixed with both confusion and annoyance.

“what the hell are you talking about now, y/n?”

“you know exactly what i’m talking about,” you spat, glaring at him.

“you and that blonde girl—soojin, or whatever her name is.”

jake’s brow furrowed, and he set his knife down roughly, rising to his feet.

“what’s your problem, y/n? soojin’s just a friend. why do you care anyway?”

the question had caught you off guard, and for a moment, you faltered.

why did you care? but then the anger surged back, drowning out the uncertainty.

“i don’t care,” you lied, your volume rising.

“i just think it’s pathetic and heartless how you’re so quick to move on. it’s like you don’t even care that our families are gone!”

jake’s eyes widened, and for a split second, you saw a flash of hurt in his expression.

but it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a fuming anger.

“don’t you dare bring them into this,” he growled, taking a step closer to you.

“you think i don’t care? you think this is easy for me? you have no idea what i’m going through!”

“oh, please,” you scoffed, rolling your eyes.

“you’re not the only one who’s lost people, jake. we all have. but at least i’m not using it as an excuse to flirt with every guy in camp.”

jake’s fists clenched at his sides, his jaw tightening as he glared at you.

“you’re unbelievable, you know that? you’re so wrapped up in your own misery that you can’t see what’s right in front of you.”

“and what’s that?” you shot back, your heart pounding in your chest.

jake’s voice dropped, and for a moment, there was something raw in his tone.

“that i’ve been trying to protect you this whole time, but you’re too stubborn to let anyone in. i’ve done everything i can to keep you safe, and all you do is push me away.”

his words hit you like a punch to the gut, and you opened your mouth to respond, but the words wouldn’t come.

instead, you just stood there, staring at him, feeling a mix of anger, guilt, and something else you couldn’t name.

but then, just as quickly as the vulnerability had appeared, jake’s walls went back up.

he shook his head, scoffing as he turned away from you.

“you know what? forget it. you’re not worth this. i’m done.”

and with that, he walked away, leaving you standing there, your heart in your throat and your mind flowing with possibilities.

the next morning, after barely getting sleep because of the man who occupied your thoughts— you were assigned to a supply run.

the tension between you and jake was still thick in the air, and you knew you needed to talk to him before you left.

you needed to clear the air, to apologize for the things you’d said, and maybe—just maybe—get some closure.

but when you found jake near the edge of camp, sharpening his knife, he wouldn’t even spare you a single glance.

“jake, can we talk?” you asked, your voice hesitant, the anger from the night before gone, replaced by a hollow sadness within you.

he didn’t respond, his focus on the knife in his hands.

the silence stretched on, each second feeling like an eternity had passed.

“jake, please,” you tried again, your voice trembling.

“i’m sorry, okay? i didn’t mean what i said last night. i was just...i was upset.”

still, he said nothing. he didn’t even glance in your direction. the coldness of his silence cut deeper than any argument ever could.

your heart shattered. you felt the tears welling up in your eyes, but you blinked them back, refusing to let him see you cry.

“fine,” you whispered, your voice breaking.

“if that’s really how you want it.”

and with that, you turned and walked away, your heart heavy with regret.

as you left the camp with the supply run team, you couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that settled in your chest.

the last words you’d spoken to jake had been in anger, and now...now you didn’t know if you’d ever get the chance to fix things.

the supply run was supposed to be simple. in and out, just like the dozens of other runs you’d done before.

but from the moment you set foot in the abandoned city, you knew in your gut that something was off.

the streets were eerily quiet, the usual sounds of the undead suspiciously absent.

the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end, and you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were being watched.

and then it happened.

the ambush.

a horde of zombies, larger than any you’d seen before, descended upon your group, seemingly out of nowhere.

the utter chaos was immediate—people screaming, gunshots ringing out, the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart.

you fought with everything you had, your heart pounding in your chest as you slashed at the biters with your knife, trying to carve a path to safety.

but it was hopeless. the horde was too big, too overwhelming.

you watched in horror as members of your group were taken down one by one, their screams echoing in your ears.

and then, just as you thought you might make it out, one of them grabbed you.

the pain was immediate and excruciating. the sound of your leg snapping as you fell, but still making sure the zombie couldn’t bite you.

you screamed, in fear and for your life, a raw, agonizing sound that ripped from your throat as you fell to the ground, the world around you blurring with pain and fear.

somehow, by some miracle, you managed to pull out your gun and fire a shot into the zombie’s head, relief filling your body as you ended its life.

but the damage was done. your leg was broken, and you were bleeding out.

the last thing you remembered before everything went dark was the sound of someone shouting your name, their voice filled with desperation.

when you woke up, you were in the camp’s infirmary.

the pain in your leg was unbearable, a constant, throbbing ache that made it hard to think.

but even through the haze of pain, you recognized the familiar sounds of the camp—the murmur of voices, the crackling of the fire, the distant buzzing of generators.

and then, you heard something else. something that made your heart skip a beat.

jake.

he was sitting beside your bed, his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking with aggressive but silent sobs.

for a moment, you thought you were dreaming, jake sim didn’t cry. he didn’t show weakness.

but as you blinked away the sleep from your eyes and tried to sit up, you realized that this was very much real.

“jake?” your voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper, but it was enough to make him look up.

his eyes were red and puffy, his face streaked with tears. the sight of him like this—so broken, so vulnerable—made your heart ache.

“you’re awake,” he choked out, his voice thick with emotion.

he reached out, his hand trembling as he brushed a strand of hair from your face.

“god, y/n, i thought i lost you.”

you stared at him, still trying to process everything. the last thing you remembered was the horde, the pain in your leg, the darkness that had swallowed you whole.

but now, here you were, alive, and jake sim was...crying.

“what happened?” you croaked, wincing as a wave of pain shot through your leg.

jake shook his head, his hand still resting on your cheek.

“the run...it went bad. we lost a lot of people. you—” his voice cracked, and he took a shaky breath.

“you got hurt. i thought...i thought i’d never see you again.”

his words hit you like a ton of bricks, the reality of the situation sinking in.

people had died. you had almost died. and through it all, jake had been here, by your side, crying over you.

“i’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice barely more than a breath.

“i’m so sorry, y/n. i shouldn’t have ignored you. i shouldn’t have let you go on that run alone— i should’ve protected you, i was just...i was angry, and i didn’t think, and now...now i almost lost you, and i can’t...i can’t lose you.”

the raw emotion in his voice made your chest tighten, tears welling up in your own eyes.

you had never seen jake like this before—so open, so honest. and it broke your heart.

“i was angry too,” you admitted, your voice trembling.

“i said things i didn’t mean, and i’m sorry, jake. i didn’t want us to end things like that. i never wanted to hurt you.”

jake let out a shaky laugh, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

“you didn’t hurt me, y/n. i’m the one who hurt you. i’ve been hurting you for years, and i didn’t even realize it until now.”

he took a deep breath, his eyes searching yours as if he was trying to find the right words.

“i’ve spent so much time hating you, but i didn’t even know why. i think...i think it was because i was scared. scared of how much you meant to me. scared of losing you.”

the words hung in the air between you, heavy with meaning. you felt your heart pounding in your chest, a mix of fear and disbelief swirling inside you.

“jake, what are you trying to say?” you asked, your voice barely above a whisper, filled with anticipation.

he looked at you, his eyes filled with a vulnerability you had never once seen before in all the years of growing up together.

“i’m saying that i love you, y/n. i’ve loved you for a long time, but i was too stupid to realize it. and now...now i might have lost you for good.”

the confession hit you like a harsh wave, overwhelming you with emotions you had been trying to suppress for so long.

you had always hated jake—or at least, that’s what you told yourself. but deep down, there had always been something more.

something you had been too afraid to admit, even to yourself.

“i love you too,” you whispered, the words slipping out before you could stop them, but yet they felt so right coming out of your mouth.

“i’ve always loved you, but i didn’t know how to tell you. i was scared too.”

jake’s eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, he just stared at you, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

but then, a slow, shaky smile spread across his face, and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“you love me?” he asked, his voice filled with awe.

you nodded with a weak grin, tears streaming down your cheeks.

“yes, you idiot. i love you.”

the relief that washed over his face was immediate, and before you knew it, he was leaning in, pressing his lips to yours in a soft, tender kiss.

it was a kiss that held years of pent-up emotions, a kiss that spoke of all the things you had never said to each other.

when he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against yours, his warm breath mingling with yours.

“you’re never going on a run without me again,” he whispered, his voice filled with a silly undertone but you could hear the seriousness— the determination.

you let out a small laugh, despite the tears still streaming down your face.

“deal.”

and in that moment, you knew that no matter what the future held, you would face with jake sim— your annoying neighbour now turned lover.

because finally in this broken world, you had found something— someone worth fighting for.

you had found love.

© won4kiss 2024

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── ❝ ꒰ 𝒟𝑂 𝐼 𝑊𝐴𝑁𝑁𝐴 𝐾𝑁𝑂𝑊.ᐣ ៸៸﹙ 심재윤 ﹚ ᶻ𐰁

GENRE ៸៸ fluff & angst ៸ oneshot ﹔ SYPNOSIS┆in which your brothers best friend whom you’ve always had feelings for comes back this summer, except somethings’ very different .ᐟㅤ ꒰ WORD COUNT﹕5265 ꒱── 𝓦ARNING(S) not edited ៸ kissing ៸ pet names ៸ misunderstandings ៸ . ݁ ✦ ݁ . ⊱ LIBRARY . . . ﹕LUNA 💭 — i can’t believe this is actually 5k words.. this took forever omg but i loved writing this ily jake ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖

YOU HAD ALWAYS KNOWN JAKE SIM AS YOUR OLDER BROTHER'S QUIET, EXTREMELY SHY AND NERDY BEST FRIEND WHO COULD NOT INTERACT WITH A GIRL FOR THE LIFE OF HIM.

the guy who would fumble with his glasses, constantly blushing whenever someone spoke directly to him.

you remembered how his ears would turn red, especially around you, which always made your stomach twist with a certain warmth.

but those days were long gone in the past, but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t have a tiny crush on him growing up— but hey, no one else saw him when he would get you gifts with the small amount of money he saved up on your birthdays— or the way his ears would turn a bright red as you hugged him in appreciation.

when you returned home for the summer, you expected things to be the exact same.

waking up in your childhood bedroom felt familiar and comforting, the sun gently pouring in through your blinds, kissing your skin as you slowly stirred awake.

the house was quiet— silent as usual, your parents were out for the day, leaving you and your older brother to have the house to yourselves. ─── more under cut !

half-asleep, your feet gently padded down onto the wood as you made your way downstairs, your brain barely registering the soft hum of voices from the kitchen.

you assumed it was heeseung, who else would be at your house 10:00am in the morning?

with a tired yawn, stretching your arms mindlessly, you made your way to the fridge, reaching for a glass of water with your eyes still quite literally closed.

you barely noticed the figure leaning casually against the counter, your eyes half-lidded as you sipped on the beverage.

“not gonna greet me, princess? i’m hurt..”

the voice startled you, causing you to spill a bit of water as you turned sharply in shock.

wait— that was definitely not heeseung’s voice.

you blinked up at the figure standing before you, your eyes widening at the realization of who was standing in your kitchen—jake sim.

but he wasn’t the jake you remembered, he certainly was not the awkward nerdy boy who could barely look you in the eye.

instead, standing before you was someone who radiated confidence, with tousled hair that fell perfectly into place and a smirk playing on his lips instead of the usual shy grin.

“j-jake?” you stammered, feeling a sudden wave of flustered heat creeping up your neck.

“i—i didn’t know you were here.”

he chuckled softly, stepping a little closer, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

“and here i thought you were purposely avoiding me.” he replied with a teasing pout.

your heart raced at his teasing tone, he was nothing like the boy you remembered.

the jake standing before you was taller, his frame broader, with a sense of self-assuredness that made your knees weak— you had to remind yourself to breathe.

“n-no, i wouldn’t do that..” you managed to say, stepping back slightly.

“i was just… tired.”

“hmm,” jake hummed thoughtfully, leaning against the counter again, his eyes never leaving yours.

“you’re just as cute in the morning as i remember.”

you felt your cheeks heat up even more if possible, since when did jake talk like this?

you weren’t used to this version of him—the one who seemed to know exactly how to make you flustered with just a few words.

just as you were about to say something in return, strong arms wrapped around your waist from behind, lifting you slightly off the ground. you squealed in surprise as heeseung’s familiar laughter filled the kitchen.

“morning, my baby sister,” heeseung teased, spinning you around before setting you down.

“forgot how adorable you were in the mornings—i miss when you were five..”

you playfully punched at his chest, smirking at his winces as your face was still burning from the interaction with jake.

“don’t tease me, hee.”

“okay— that’s enough!”

heeseung ruffled your hair affectionately before glancing at jake, who had stepped back with a laugh, clearly enjoying the show.

the tension in the room seemed to ease as your brother’s presence lightened the mood, as always.

the three of you spent the morning catching up, with heeseung filling you in on all the university gossip, jake chiming in with his own stories.

but throughout the day, you couldn’t shake the feeling of jake’s lingering gaze, nor could you ignore the subtle flirtatious comments he would occasionally throw your way when heeseung wasn’t present.

to be completely honest— it was confusing.

you had long since convinced yourself that whatever crush you had on jake was over.

you had moved on, hadn’t you? he was just heeseung’s adorable, cute— now turned hot and flirtatious best friend.

but the way he looked at you now, the way his voice softened when he called you “princess,” had your heart skipping beats you weren’t prepared for.

as the summer days went by, jake seemed to be everywhere— leaving you no space to think straight anymore.

whether it was hanging out with heeseung in the living room or joining your family for dinner, he was always around, always watching you with that same intense gaze that made your heartbeat quicken.

his confidence was undeniable, and as much as you tried to deny it, you found yourself drawn to him in a way that left you feeling both excited and terrified.

it was hard not to notice the way he seemed to gravitate towards you, always finding a way to brush against your arm or throw a sly smile your way.

and every time he did, it felt like your carefully built defenses you had up were crumbling piece by piece.

you tried to tell yourself that it was nothing—that jake was just being playful.

but the way his touch lingered and the way his eyes would darken when they met yours told you otherwise.

something had definitely changed between you two, and despite your best efforts, you couldn’t ignore it.

the soft murmur of the ocean filled the air, the salty breeze kissing your skin as you were sat down on the sandy shore.

heeseung and jake were tossing a frisbee back and forth near the waterline, their laughter carried by the wind.

you watched them from your towel, your knees tucked up to your chest, feeling the warmth of the sun soak into your skin.

heeseung was the first to notice you sitting quietly by yourself.

with a mischievous grin, he called out, “hey! are you going to sit there all day like some weirdo, or are you going to join us?”

you shook your head with a small laugh.

“i’m fine right here, thanks!”

jake ran over, his t-shirt clinging to his body from the water.

his hair was damp, tousled by the wind, and a playful smile tugged at his lips.

you tried not to stare, but the way his muscles moved beneath his shirt caught your attention in ways you weren’t ready for.

“come on,” jake urged, crouching down beside you, his hand reaching out to gently nudge your knee.

“you can’t just sit here and watch. that’s no fun.”

you raised an eyebrow, with a joking smirk.

“and what exactly do you suggest i do, sim?”

he smirked, his eyes gleaming with a spark of mischief.

“i suggest you try and catch this.”

before you could react, heeseung tossed the frisbee towards you.

instinctively, you reached out and caught it, your eyes widening in surprise.

“see?” jake grinned, standing up and offering you his hand.

“you’ve got this— all you needed was a little push.”

reluctantly, you took his hand, and he pulled you up from the sand.

his grip was warm and firm, and for a moment, you found yourself lingering in his touch before you quickly let go, feeling a flutter in your chest that you couldn’t shake away.

as the three of you played together by the water, the mood felt light and carefree.

heeseung would shout playful taunts whenever you or jake missed the frisbee, and jake would respond with sarcastic comments that made you laugh.

at one point, the frisbee flew far, and jake chased after it, his feet splashing in the shallow waves.

he turned back with a winners smile, holding the frisbee up in victory, but his eyes softened when they met yours.

“hey, y/n,” he called out, his tone quieter now, almost hesitant.

you looked up from where you were standing, your heart skipping a beat as his gaze locked with yours.

“yeah?”

for a moment, jake just stood there, the ocean behind him and the sun glooming down a soft glow over his face.

his expression was unreadable, as if he was trying to figure out what to say.

but then he shook his head, his lips curling into a gentle smile.

“nothing,” he said softly, walking back towards you.

“just… you look really happy today.”

you blinked, taken aback by the sincerity in his voice.

there was something in the way he said it—something that made you feel like he wasn’t just talking about your appearance, but about you as a person.

your cheeks warmed, and you smiled shyly, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear.

“thanks, i am.”

jake’s smile widened, and he glanced away, almost as if he was embarrassed by his own words.

but the moment lingered, hanging between you like a thread of something unspoken.

you felt it in the way your stomach fluttered, in the way jake’s eyes softened every time they met yours.

it was the kind of moment that left you wondering—hoping—that maybe he felt the same pull that you did.

after the sun had set and the day at the beach had come to an end, the three of you returned home, completely worn out and exhausted but content.

heeseung headed off to bed early, claiming that the sun had drained all his energy, but you and jake decided to stay up a little longer.

the two of you ended up in the backyard, a blanket spread out beneath the stars.

you laid side by side, staring up at the sky, the air cool and crisp after the heat of the day.

“do you remember when we used to do this as kids?” jake asked softly, his voice cutting through the silence of the night.

you smiled, your eyes fixed on the stars twinkling above.

“yeah, of course i do. we’d sneak out of the house and lie out here for hours, just talking about anything and everything.”

jake chuckled quietly.

“heeseung always fell asleep first. every time.”

you giggled at the memory with a fond smile.

“and then we’d try to wake him up, but he’d just mumble something about video games and roll over.”

“some things just never change, huh..” you whispered with a chuckle.

jake’s laughter faded into a comfortable silence, and after a few moments, you felt him shift beside you.

his hand brushed against yours, sending a spark of electricity through your skin.

you glanced over at him, and in the soft moonlight, you could see the way his eyes were focused on you—not the stars.

“do you ever miss those days?” he asked quietly, his voice tinged with a kind of nostalgia that tugged at your heart.

you nodded slowly in agreement.

“sometimes, things felt simpler back then.”

jake’s fingers curled around yours, his touch gentle but hesitant.

“yeah,” he murmured.

“but i think some things… they’re better now.”

your heart skipped a beat at his words, and you found yourself turning to face him fully.

the look in his eyes was different—deeper, there was no teasing smirk, no playful glint.

instead, there was something raw, something vulnerable and real.

you could feel the weight of it pressing down on your chest, and it made your breath catch in your throat.

“jake…” you whispered, your voice barely audible.

he didn’t say anything, but the way he looked at you—the way his eyes traced the curve of your face, the way his thumb gently brushed against the back of your hand— it spoke volumes.

it was as if the air between you had shifted, instead filled with something that neither of you could name but both of you surely felt.

the moment stretched on, and for a brief second, you thought he— jake sim, might kiss you.

the thought sent a shocking thrill through your veins, but before either of you could move, the sound of a door opening broke the intensity of the moment.

“heeseung’s probably wondering where we are,” jake said softly, pulling his hand away and sitting up.

his voice was calm, but you could see the faint but familiar pink blush on his cheeks, and you wondered in that moment— if he felt the same rush of feelings that you did.

you nodded, sitting up as well, though your heart still raced in your chest.

the connection between you felt fragile and real, and as you both headed inside, you couldn’t help but wonder how much longer you’d be able to keep ignoring it.

a few days later, a heavy summer storm rolled in, trapping you all inside of the house.

heeseung was glued to his video games as per usual, so you found yourself in the living room with jake.

the rain poured outside, creating a repetitive sound against the windows as the two of you sat on the couch, watching a movie.

at first, everything felt normal—comfortable, even.

but as the movie progressed, you found your mind drifting back to that night under the stars, to the way jake had held your hand and looked at you like you were the only person in the world.

the tension in the air was subtle but undeniably there.

you could feel it in the way your shoulders brushed against each other, in the way jake’s arm rested a little too close to yours on the couch.

every small movement felt charged, and you found yourself hyper-aware of his presence beside you.

eventually, the movie ended, and jake turned to you, his expression softer than usual.

“can i.. ask you something?”

you looked at him, your heart fluttering at the seriousness in his tone.

“of course.”

jake hesitated for a moment, as if he was gathering his thoughts.

then, he looked into your eyes, his voice quiet but steady.

“do you ever think about what it would be like… if things were different between us?”

your breath hitched at his words.

“what do you mean?”

jake’s gaze didn’t waver.

“i mean like… if we weren’t just friends.”

the room suddenly felt smaller, the air thicker.

your heart pounded in your chest as his words sank in.

you had been wondering the same thing for weeks now—maybe even longer.

but hearing him say it out loud made it real in a way that terrified you.

“i… i don’t know,” you whispered, though the truth was that you had thought about it more than you cared to admit.

you had imagined what it would be like to kiss him, to hold him, to be more than just heeseung’s little sister in his eyes.

jake’s expression softened, and he reached out, his hand gently cupping your cheek.

his touch was warm, comforting, and it made you lean into him despite the nervous energy bubbling in your chest.

“i think about it,” jake admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

“a lot.”

the honesty in his words made your heart ache in the best way possible.

you wanted to say something—anything—to reassure him that you felt the same way.

but before you could speak, jake's thumb gently traced the curve of your jaw, the slightest touch sending shivers down your spine.

the soft glow of the tv reflected in his eyes, and for a moment, you forgot everything else—forgot the storm outside, forgot heeseung just down the hall, forgot the hesitation that had held you back for so long.

all you could focus on was jake—his face so close to yours, his breath mixing with yours in the small space between you.

the weight of the moment was almost too much to bear, your heart pounding in your chest as you waited for him to say something more, to do something more.

but instead of closing the distance between you, jake let his hand fall from your cheek, his expression shifting to something more uncertain.

he leaned back slightly, his eyes flickering away from yours as if he was suddenly unsure of himself.

“i don’t want to mess things up,” he murmured, almost to himself.

“i don’t want to… hurt you.”

his words hung heavy in the air, and for a moment, you felt a pang of disappointment that he had pulled back.

but then you realized that— he was afraid.

afraid of crossing a line that would change everything between you.

afraid of ruining the friendship that had been so carefully built over the years.

afraid of how his best friend would react to this, he was clueless in everything.

you reached out, placing your hand on top of his.

“jake, you won’t hurt me,” you said softly.

“i trust you.”

his eyes met yours again, and you saw the way his shoulders relaxed slightly at your words.

but still, there was a lingering hesitation in his gaze, as if he was weighing the consequences of what might happen next.

“i just… i’ve always wanted to protect you,” he said quietly.

“even when we were kids, and now… now it feels like there’s so much more at stake.”

you smiled gently, squeezing his hand.

“maybe that’s a good thing.”

jake looked at you for a long moment, the silence between you thick with unspoken feelings.

and then, just as you were about to say something more, the sound of heeseung’s door opening echoed down the hall.

jake pulled back completely, letting out a breath as he ran a hand through his hair.

you quickly shifted in your seat, trying to act as if nothing had happened, even though your heart was still racing in your chest.

heeseung wandered into the living room, oblivious to the tension that had just filled the tiny space.

“what are you guys up to?” he asked, stretching as he approached.

“just finished a movie,” jake said, his voice casual as ever, though you noticed the way he avoided looking directly at you.

heeseung plopped down on the couch between the two of you, completely unaware of the moment he had just interrupted.

“nice. anything good?”

you forced a smile, trying to shake off the lingering feelings from your conversation that had just took place with jake a couple seconds ago.

“yeah, it was pretty good.”

as heeseung started talking about his latest gaming obsession, you couldn’t help but glance over at jake.

he met your gaze briefly, a soft, almost apologetic smile playing on his lips.

it wasn’t much, but it was enough to remind you that the connection between you was still there—still real.

and despite the interruption, you knew that things had shifted.

the unspoken feelings between you had been acknowledged, even if neither of you had said it outright.

it was only a matter of time before everything would come to light.

weeks later, the town’s annual summer festival had finally arrived.

it was a lively event filled with bright lights, carnival rides, and food stalls that stretched along the main street.

heeseung had been excited about it for days, dragging you and jake along with him as soon as the sun began to set.

the three of you walked through the crowded streets together, the sound of laughter and music filling the air.

heeseung led the way, disappearing into a group of friends he spotted near one of the game booths.

you and jake followed behind, your shoulders brushing as you walked.

as you passed a small booth selling cotton candy, jake stopped suddenly, his eyes lighting up with a grin.

“remember when we used to beg our parents to buy this for us every year?”

you laughed, nodding.

“yeah, and they always said no because they didn’t want us to get a sugar crash.”

jake chuckled, then stepped up to the booth and bought a large stick of cotton candy.

he handed it to you with a smile.

“well— we’re adults now, and we can have as much as we want.”

you took the cotton candy from him, your fingers brushing against his.

the simple gesture made your heart race, and you found yourself smiling despite the nerves that still lingered between you.

“thanks,” you said softly, taking a small bite.

jake watched you with a fond expression, and for a moment, it felt like you were the only two people in the world.

the noise of the festival faded into the background, and all you could focus on was the way jake was looking at you—as if you were something precious.

without thinking, you reached up and tore off a small piece of the cotton candy, holding it out to him.

jake hesitated for only a second before leaning in and taking it from your fingers with a soft smile.

the gesture was innocent enough, but there was something intimate about it—something that made your heart flutter in your chest.

you could feel the tension building between you again, that familiar tension that had been growing stronger with each passing day.

as the night wore on, the festival became more crowded, and eventually, you found yourselves separated from heeseung.

jake stayed close by your side, his hand brushing against yours occasionally as you pushed your way through the sea of people.

when you reached a quieter part of the festival, near a small fountain surrounded by twinkling lights, jake stopped and turned to face you fully.

his expression was serious now, his eyes searching yours as if he was trying to find the right words.

“y/n,” he began softly, his voice barely audible over the distant sounds of the festival.

“i’ve been thinking a lot about what we talked about the other night.”

your heart skipped a beat. you knew exactly what he was referring to—the conversation in the living room, the moment when everything had almost changed between you.

jake took a step closer, his hand reaching out to gently cup your cheek.

his touch was warm, electrifying, and it made you lean into him instinctively.

“i need to say something, or im afraid i won’t be able to say it at all—“

before he could continue— the familiar voice made the both of you flinch back.

“where were you guys, i called your phones a million times!”

you blinked in disbelief— your brother had once again interrupted the moment.

“i didn’t notice, sorry hee..” you frantically explained, extremely flustered by the whole situation.

“well— it’s fine, let’s go to the dumpling stand!”

heeseung shouted excitedly as jake, once again had given you a sorry pout, making you giggle at the absurdity of your brothers timing.

a few days later, on one of the hottest summer evenings possible, you found yourself at a party that both jake and heeseung had invited you to.

the music was loud, the air thick with the scent of alcohol and sweat as you walked through the crowd.

you hadn’t seen jake in a while, and a small part of you had been looking for him, though you would never admit it to yourself.

finally, after what felt like hours, you spotted him across the room.

your heart skipped a beat at the sight of him—until you noticed the girl sitting right next to him, her arms draped around his shoulders as she whispered something into his ear.

he was smiling, that same smile he had been giving you all summer, and it felt like a punch to the gut.

all the unspoken tension, the stolen glances, the lingering touches—it all came crashing down as you stood there frozen, watching him with her.

had you misread everything? had he just been playing with you this whole time?

before you could stop yourself, tears welled up in your eyes, and you turned on your heel, pushing through the crowd as fast as you could.

you needed to get out of there— you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t think.

all you knew was that you needed to get away from the sight of jake sim as soon as possible.

just as you made it to the door, you bumped into someone—heeseung.

his eyes immediately filled with concern as he saw the tears streaming down your face.

“hey, hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice soft as he gently grabbed your shoulders, steering you outside where the cool night air hit your face.

“what happened?”

you shook your head, wiping at your tears, refusing to meet his gaze.

“i don’t want to talk about it.”

heeseung’s brow furrowed, his grip on your shoulders tightening slightly as he pulled you into a hug.

“is it because of jake?”

your breath hitched, and you froze in his arms.

how did he know? you hadn’t said anything to him about jake, not once.

heeseung sighed, pulling back slightly to look at you.

“i’ve always known, you know. you’re my baby sister. i could always tell when it comes to you.”

you bit your lip, fighting back more tears as you nodded, unable to find the words.

heeseung’s face softened, and he gently wiped away your tears with his thumb.

“i’ll talk to him,” he said softly.

“you go home and get some rest, okay? i’ll handle this.”

you quickly shook your head in denial.

“heeseung, you don’t have to—”

“i’m your brother,” he interrupted, his tone gentle but firm.

“of course i do.”

you couldn’t argue with that— so instead, you nodded, wrapping your arms around him in a tight hug.

“thank you. i love you, you’re the best older brother i could’ve ever asked for.”

heeseung smiled softly as he felt his own tears brimming in his eyes, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“i love you too, more than you’ll ever know.”

with one last comforting squeeze, he sent you off, and you walked home, the weight of your heartbreak heavy on your shoulders.

you couldn’t stop the tears from falling as you replayed the image of jake with that girl over and over in your mind.

meanwhile, back at the party, heeseung stormed back inside, anger coasting through his veins as his eyes scanned the crowd until he found jake in the corner, staring down at his phone with a smile.

without a second thought, heeseung grabbed jake by the collar, his fist connecting with his jaw before jake even had a chance to react.

“what the hell, man?!” jake exclaimed, stumbling back in shock, clutching his jaw.

“i always knew you had a thing for her,” heeseung growled, his voice low and dangerous.

“but i trusted you— i thought you’d never hurt her.”

“seriously— you think i didn’t notice what the two of you had going on this summer? and now you’re onto the next girl, huh?”

jake’s eyes widened in realization, the only girl he interacted with this evening— his face pale as he shook his head.

“no, god no— heeseung, it’s not what you think. it was a misunderstanding. that girl— it was yeji. you remember her, right? the one who always harassed me in high school?”

heeseung’s expression didn’t soften, but he didn’t say anything, allowing jake to continue.

“she’s been in love with me for years, and i was rejecting her, but i—i smiled because i felt bad. i wasn’t interested in her, i swear.” jake’s voice cracked as he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes filling with tears.

“i love her, heeseung. i love your sister. i’ve been in love with her since we were kids. i wanted to make things official, but now…i don’t know what to do.”

heeseung stared at jake for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh.

he patted jake on the back, his voice softening slightly.

“then fix it you brainless idiot, it’s not too late.”

jake didn’t need to be told twice— without another word, he bolted out of the party, sprinting towards your house as fast as his legs would carry him.

back at home, you were curled up in your bed, buried in the comfort of your blankets— the tears finally starting to slow as exhaustion took over.

you hadn’t expected to hear from jake again after what you saw, so when you heard a soft tapping on your window, your heart leapt in surprise.

you sat up, wiping at your eyes as you cautiously approached the window.

when you saw jake standing outside, his eyes wide and pleading, you hesitated for only a moment before opening it.

“what do you want, jake?” you asked, your voice thick with sadness.

“i need to explain,” he said quickly, climbing inside before you could shut the window again.

“please, just let me explain.”

you crossed your arms over your chest, trying to keep your walls up even though his presence made your heart ache.

“go ahead.”

jake took a deep breath, his voice shaking slightly as he began.

“that girl you saw me with…she’s not who i want. she never has been. she’s just someone from high school who’s had a crush on me for years, and i didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so i tried to let her down gently. but i swear, it was nothing.”

you didn’t say anything, your emotions swirling in a confusing mess as you tried to process his words.

jake stepped closer, his eyes softening as he reached for your hand.

“it’s always been you, princess— since we were kids. i’ve always been in love with you. and this summer…i thought maybe you felt the same way.”

your breath caught in your throat as his words sank in.

all the moments, the stolen glances, the lingering touches—it all made sense now.

but before you could say anything, jake cupped your face gently, his eyes searching yours with desperation.

“i love you,” he whispered.

“i’m so in love with you, it hurts.”

you didn’t let him finish— instead, you pulled him down into a kiss, pouring all of your emotions into it.

it was soft at first, even shy, but as jake’s arms wrapped around you, pulling you closer, it deepened into something more passionate—something that felt like all the pieces finally falling into place.

when you finally pulled away, both of you breathless, jake rested his forehead against yours, a soft smile playing on his lips.

“so…does that mean you feel the same?” he teased gently, though there was still a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

you smiled back, your heart feeling lighter than it had in days.

“yes, jake sim— you bastard, i do.”

© won4kiss 2024

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── ❝ ꒰ 𝑀𝒪𝑅𝑁𝐼𝑁𝒢𝑆 𝑊𝐼𝑇𝐻 𝒥𝒜𝐾𝐸 𝒜𝑆 𝒴𝑂𝑈𝑅 𝐵𝑂𝑌𝐹𝑅𝐼𝐸𝑁𝐷 .ᐟㅤ ៸៸ ﹙ 심재윤 ﹚ ᶻ𐰁

GENRE ៸៸ pure fluff ៸ oneshot ﹔ SYPNOSIS┆how waking up with with your boyfriend jake usually goes .ᐟㅤ ꒰ WORD COUNT﹕1518 ꒱── 𝓦ARNING(S) not edited ៸ kissing ៸ skinship ៸ so cheesy ngl T-T ៸ . ݁ ✦ ݁ . ⊱ LIBRARY . . . ﹕LUNA 💭 — classes start tomorrow pls help me im sobbing!! ݁𖥔 ݁˖

THE MORNING SUNLIGHT SLIPPED ITS’ WAY THROUGH THE CURTAINS, gleaming down rays of a beautiful a golden glow over the room.

you stirred slightly, still wrapped in the warmth of the blankets, half-aware of the world slowly coming its way back to life outside.

the quiet chirps of the morning birds drifted in from outside, a comforting background to the peacefulness of the early hour.

you’re on the verge of drifting back to sleep when you feel it—a warm arm slipping around your waist, pulling you closer.

“mm, don’t move,” jake’s sleepy voice murmurs from behind you, his words soft and slightly muffled as he nuzzled his face into the back of your neck.

his hold on you tightens just a little, as if he’s afraid you might disappear if he lets go.

the warmth of his body against yours is comforting, grounding you in the moment and making you smile even before you’ve fully woken up. ──── 𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘌 𝘜𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘊𝘜𝘛 .ᐟㅤ

you try to shift a little to get more comfortable, but jake lets out a soft sound of protest, his grip on you tightening even more if possible.

“no, stay here,” he whispers, his voice still heavy with sleep.

there’s a clinginess to his tone, a childish insistence that makes your heart flutter with affection.

jake has always had a soft spot for mornings like this, when the world is quiet and it’s just the two of you wrapped up in each other.

“jake,” you murmur, your voice thick with sleep as you try to turn around to face him— but he’s having none of it, keeping you firmly in place, his chest pressed against your back.

his face is buried in your hair, and you can feel his breath, warm and steady, against your neck.

it sends a shiver down your spine, and you can’t help but smile at how adorably clingy he’s being.

“don’t wanna get up,” he mumbles, his voice barely above a whisper.

he sounds so content, so utterly at peace in this moment, that you can’t bring yourself to move either.

there’s something so comforting about the way he holds you, like you’re the most important thing in the world to him, and he’s not ready to let go just yet.

you let yourself relax into his embrace, letting out a content sigh as you feel his fingers begin to trace lazy patterns on your arm.

the touch is light, almost absentminded, but it sends a warmth spreading through you that makes you want to stay in bed forever.

you can feel the steady rise and fall of jake’s chest against your back, the rhythm of his breathing lulling you into a state of drowsiness.

“jake, it’s morning,” you murmur, though there’s no real conviction in your voice.

the idea of getting up and starting the day feels like a distant thought, something that can wait a little longer.

right now, all you want is to stay here, wrapped up in jake’s arms, soaking in the warmth and comfort of his embrace.

“exactly,” he replies, his voice a soft rumble that vibrates through you.

“it’s morning, which means we can stay in bed a little longer.” there’s a teasing lilt to his voice, but it’s undercut by the genuine affection that’s always present when he speaks to you.

he’s always been like this in the mornings—soft, warm, and so full of love that it makes your heart ache in the best way.

you chuckle softly, the sound barely audible in the quiet room.

“you’re so clingy in the mornings,” you tease, though there’s no bite to your words.

if anything, you find it endearing, the way jake always wants to be close to you, especially when the world is still waking up.

“can you blame me?” he asks, his voice playful as he presses a soft kiss to the back of your neck.

the touch is featherlight, but it sends a jolt of warmth through you that makes your breath catch.

“you’re so warm and cozy. why would i ever want to leave?”

you can’t help the smile that spreads across your face at his words.

jake has always had a way of making you feel special, like you’re the only person in the world who matters to him.

it’s in the way he looks at you, the way he holds you, the way he always finds a reason to be close to you, even when there’s no real need.

it’s in these quiet moments, when it’s just the two of you, that you feel the depth of his love the most.

you turn your head slightly, just enough to catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of your eye.

his face is half-hidden in your hair, but you can see the soft smile playing on his lips, the way his eyes are still half-closed in contentment.

there’s something so incredibly peaceful about the way he looks right now, like he’s completely at ease, completely happy just being here with you.

“jake,” you whisper, your voice barely audible, but he hears it—he always does.

he hums softly in response, the sound a low, comforting vibration that you feel more than hear.

you can’t help but reach up to tangle your fingers in his hair, the soft strands slipping through your fingers like silk.

it’s a small, intimate gesture, but it speaks volumes about the affection you share.

“mm, that feels nice,” he murmurs, his voice full of contentment.

he leans into your touch, his eyes fluttering shut as he lets out a soft sigh.

there’s something so incredibly sweet about the way he responds to your touch, like he can’t get enough of you, like he needs your warmth and affection to start his day off right.

you smile, your heart swelling with affection for the boy lying beside you.

“you’re so cute, it’s unfair.” you whisper, unable to keep the words from slipping out.

it’s the truth, after all. jake is the cutest when he’s like this—half-asleep, clingy, and completely wrapped up in you.

he chuckles softly, the sound low and full of warmth.

“i could say the same about you,” he replies, his voice laced with affection.

he shifts slightly, just enough to press a soft kiss to your temple, his lips warm and gentle against your skin.

“you’re the cutest thing in the world to me.”

his words make your heart skip a beat, a warm blush spreading across your cheeks.

jake has always been good with words, always knows just what to say to make you feel like the most special person in the world.

but it’s not just the words—it’s the way he says them, the way he looks at you, the way he holds you like you’re the most precious thing in his life.

you turn in his arms, finally managing to face him fully.

his eyes are still half-lidded with sleep, but they’re full of warmth and love as they meet yours.

there’s a softness in his expression, a tender affection that makes your heart swell with love for him.

“hi,” you whisper, your voice soft and radiating affection for the boy.

“hi,” he replies, a sleepy smile tugging at his lips.

he shifts slightly, his arms still wrapped securely around you as he pulls you even closer.

“did i mention how much i love mornings like this?” he asks, his voice playful but sincere.

you chuckle, the sound full of affection as you reach up to cup his cheek.

“only about a hundred-million times,” you tease, though you can’t keep the smile off your face.

there’s something so incredibly sweet about the way jake treasures these moments with you, the way he always finds a way to make even the simplest mornings feel special.

“then i’ll say it a hundred-million times more,” he replies, his voice full of warmth.

he leans in to press a soft, lingering kiss to your forehead, his lips warm and gentle against your skin.

“because i really do love mornings like this— i honestly feel like i could die right now.”

you smile, your heart swelling with love for the boy in your arms.

“i love them too,” you whisper, your voice full of sincerity. “i love you, jake.”

he beams at your words, his eyes shining with happiness.

“i love you too,” he replies, his voice full of affection.

he leans in to press another soft kiss to your lips, the touch gentle and full of love.

“more than anything.”

you kiss him back, your heart overflowing with love for him. in this moment, everything feels perfect—like the world outside doesn’t exist, and it’s just the two of you, wrapped up in each other’s love.

and as you hold him close, you know that there’s nowhere else you’d rather be than here, in jake’s arms, sharing this perfect, quiet morning with the person you love more than anything.

© won4kiss 2024

𝒯aglist open ‹𝟹 @mioons @nshmuras @suneng @pnghoon @shawnyle @laylasbunbunny @privareum @briefsaladfun @greentulip @cyjzzl @sol3chu @txtlyn @d-dilemma @deezbin @pockyyasii @iluvnikism @wonsprincess @niawonn

1:08 pm. jake sim x reader

a/n: repost from my old blog @lipbeom !

“That one looks like a kiss,” Jake stated pointing to a cloud. The two of you were laying side by side backs pressed against the grass, eyes turned towards the sky.

“A kiss?” You repeated. You tilted your head to get a better look as if by doing so you would understand what he meant. “Like the candy?”

“No silly,” he responded, “a kiss.” He was smiling at you, the slightly goofy type of smile, and part of you knew that he was probably messing with you. Still, maybe it did look like a kiss, maybe you were just confused.

“like a kiss kiss?”

He laughed, “yeah, like a kiss kiss.”

You sat up eyes focused on the cloud in question. “How does that even work?” You titled your head yet again though you were starting to realize no matter what angle you looked at it it still wouldn’t make sense. “What does a kiss even look like?”

Jake smiled, “Want me to show you?”

“I guess that might help,” you turned to face him “are you going to draw it in the air or something—” you started to ask.

But, there were no air diagrams. Instead, you felt two hands cup your face and in a moments notice Jake’s lips were pressed against yours, gentle and sweet, gone before you even realized they were there.

You froze, trying to compose yourself, but the way Jake was looking at you only made you feel more flustered. “I know” you stumbled with your words, “I know what a kiss is.” You pointed to the cloud “but please explain to me how that in any way resembles it.”

Jake only chuckled in response. “Do you need me to show you again?”

“No,” you scoffed plucking at the grass beneath you. You really did believed that somehow the cloud looked like a kiss and you were just missing it; now you couldn’t help but feel a little silly. Still, you supposed it wasn’t all bad. Your voice came as a soft but audible mumble as if you were debating whether you wanted to be heard or not, “...Maybe”

SOOOO GOOD YGH

kiwi and layla - sjy

pairing. jake x fem!reader synopsis. in which you mistake jake’s backpack for your own, making you each go home with the other’s bag. both of you are too curious for your own good, so you quickly find out that you excel in the subject the other is failing - a mutual tutoring agreement ensues, and it turns into much more than what you had expected. genre. high school au, f2l, lots of fluff and some angst too, f2l, shy reader x outgoing jake warnings. food & swearing, mention of parent death and divorce, kms jokes, jake being stupid but also really cute (lmk if i've missed any!) word count. 26.3k a/n. this is part of the unexpected collab !!! go check out the other fics and caelin thank u for hosting <333 hope u guys like this one, it took me a while but i had so so much fun writing it !!! i love my jakey in here he's a little bit confused but he's got the spirit. @zreamy thanks for being the world's awesomest beta reader and a decent friend ig... 2 baddies wouldnt be the same without you... lifeguard wet body sunghoon coming soon guys dont miss it! as always pls remember how important reblogs and feedback is for us writers!!! it's what keeps us going <3 enjoy!!

listen to the playlist!

This was not your backpack. 

In your defense, it looked so similar to yours - scratch that, it was the exact same as yours - that you couldn’t possibly have been able to tell the difference between the two bags until you’d opened one of them. Just a basic black Eastpak that probably a hundred other kids in your school owned with nothing to tell them apart, because you hadn’t had the mind to add a little something to it and make it recognizable. You hadn’t really needed to - your backpack was always on your back, next to your seat or in your locker. There was no way you might lose it or mistake it with another.

Until today, obviously. Instead of having a chill last class before spring break like every other teacher, your psycho math teacher Mr Choi had decided to give you a major test on this otherwise beautiful Friday afternoon. While other students watched a movie or played Kahoot, you were stuck in a cold classroom with algebra questions in front of you. Mr Choi had argued that this would be better than having a test after the holidays and ruining your time off with studying, but a test was a test, and math was math, so you hated the idea anyway. 

To eliminate all cheating possibilities, Mr Choi made his students only take a pencil and eraser with them, leave their bag at the back of the classroom and put their phone in a box he kept on his desk. Plus, with his hawk eyes watching intently, there was no way to sneak answers on a small sheet of paper or even on your palm. 

When the test was over, your brain was so fried and you were so eager to get the hell out of there that you didn’t even notice the two identical black backpacks next to each other, you just grabbed the first one you saw, not even questioning that it might not be yours.

And indeed, yours it was not. From your snooping around, you quickly found out it belonged to one Jake Sim. 

You knew Jake. Although you’d been attending the same school for the past three years, you could probably count the number of times you’d talked on one hand - but you knew him. Or at least, you knew of him. You knew that he was good at STEM subjects and that he was on the soccer team; you knew he was a really sweet guy and was easy to talk to, even for someone shy like you. 

Most importantly, you knew he was friends with Park Sunghoon. This was important because you had liked Park Sunghoon since the moment you’d laid eyes on him - or rather, your whole friend group had. It might’ve sounded extremely odd to others, but you and your friends had a few random people at school you liked to keep tabs on or create backstories for, and Sunghoon, because of his dashing looks that had struck all four of you in your first week of freshman year, was one of your victims. Well, you liked to think of them as characters on a TV show rather than victims, but to each his own. Your other characters included that popular sophomore who already considered herself a celebrity because of her ten thousand followers on TikTok anyway, the French and Spanish teachers you were sure had a thing going on, and that one guy in Yena’s biology class that only showed up every two weeks but always looked stoned (hat guy, Chaewon liked to call him, even you’d never once seen him with a hat on). It was all harmless, really - none of you ever actually went up and talked to them, just discussed them among yourselves.

Perhaps Sunghoon was different, because each of you had had a class with him at some point, so you’d all had at least shared a word with him. You probably hadn’t talked to him more times than you’d talked to Jake, so the information you knew about him was pretty surface-level - he was an ice skater, but everyone knew that, and he was shy like you, which was immediately noticeable. He also had one of the most handsome faces you’d ever seen. But again, everyone who saw him knew that.

You, Yena and Chaewon had debated whether one of you should just go ahead and make a move (Hyewon didn’t participate because she already had a boyfriend, but she was all for approaching the boy). You guessed you could describe what you felt towards Sunghoon as a sort of crush, even if it was one you shared with your friends - you found him cute, and you got nervous when he was around. But you were more the watch-from-afar-and-pine type, so you were satisfied with liking him from a distance. You didn’t think you actually had the guts to strike a conversation with him - that was more Chaewon’s thing.

However, this didn’t mean you weren’t curious about the contents of his best friend’s backpack. Your being shy didn’t mean you weren’t interested in other people’s lives - if anything, you were quite nosy. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but you were just a regular teenage girl, so this was fine, right? After just a few minutes of snooping, you found out Jake Sim wasn’t hiding any big state secrets in his Eastpak, anyway. Just some textbooks, notebooks, and a lot of single sheets of paper. It was pretty messy in there. 

Your idea of him being good at STEM subjects was correct - he kept all of his graded tests in the sleeve pocket of his math notebook, and there was not a single one that had received a note under 95. He even seemed to be doing some extracurricular exercises - there were formulae that were completely unfamiliar to you and that you were sure you hadn’t done in class. You found it slightly insane, but that might have just been because you despised math and wouldn’t understand why someone would want to do more of it than was required of them. 

His English homework was another story. His essays had more red from the teacher’s pen than his own black ink, and from the grades on his reading comprehension tests, you highly doubted he’d actually read any of the assigned books. You weren’t in the same English class but apparently had the same teacher, Ms Park, so you were studying the same thing. You couldn’t help but cringe as you read his answers on a Pride and Prejudice reading test - he seemingly kept mixing the sisters up, assigning actions and character traits to Lydia that clearly belonged to Jane. At least he somewhat got Darcy right, writing that “he’s probably not as bad as he looks,” with no further explanation. 

As you aimlessly flipped through his English notebook, curious about the way he took his notes - or if he even took any - you noticed some scribbles in the margins. Looking closer, some of them were in his handwriting while others were in an unfamiliar one. It looked like some sort of conversation, so you assumed the other writing belonged to his deskmate. You also did this with your friends in classes where the teacher was very strict about no chatting in class.

dude coach said if I fail any of my classes I would be out of the team, you read Jake’s handwriting.

Wait seriously????

yeah and I suck at english so Im scared it might actually happen

You just need to study more bro

bro I DO but this shit is hard

Then find someone to help you

neither of you guys is that good in that subject either tho

Ok ouch but also just find someone else then

bro who

IDK man 

Y/N maybe ? she’s good at English and she’s nice so she might say yes 

there you go about y/n again dude MAYBE you ask HER to teach you some sonnets

Shut up you’re the one who needs help dumbass

whatever isn’t it weird just asking her randomly though like i dont want her to feel like she has to say yes

Lol if she sees your grades she might do it out of pity

fuck u man

You were surprised to see your own name written there - it felt weird knowing that Jake and his friend were talking about you, for some reason. And what if that friend was Sunghoon? You had a hard time believing he not only knew you existed, but thought of you as good at English and nice. You liked to think both of these things were true. 

He was also spot-on about saying you would agree to helping out Jake in those subjects, but what he got wrong was thinking you’d do it out of pity. Clearly, you and Jake were in very similar positions. You didn’t have any sort of club you’d be kicked out of if you failed a class, but it sure as hell wouldn’t look good on your college applications, so you needed to get your math grades up. 

Jake and you both desperately needed something the other person could help with, so you had a feeling he wouldn’t turn down the offer that was brewing in your head.

—

This was not Jake’s backpack.

He noticed it right away - it was much heavier than his own and the straps were tighter around his shoulders than they should be. He looked inside for some clues about who it might belong to, and luckily, the first thing he found was a journal that had Y/N’S DIARY written on the cover page in big, pink letters. 

Unluckily, however, he’d also noticed that you had practically sprinted out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang, and indeed, you were already far gone when he tried looking for you around school. He had to get to soccer practice anyway, so he put the issue to the side for the time being.

When he got home, he had to shower then have dinner, so it wasn’t until 8 p.m. that he remembered he had your backpack. He had meant to text you straightaway about it, and he knew it was wrong to look into someone’s belongings, but he couldn’t help himself, especially when his best friend Sunghoon had liked you for ages. Maybe this was an opportunity to find out more about you.

Your mind-blowing grades in English don’t come as much of a surprise to him, and after reading through your most recent essay, he thought you definitely deserved them. Your essay was on a Shakespeare play he had never heard of - you apparently also had Ms Park for English, and he didn’t know she was doing Shakespeare in class, so he wondered for a second if you were actually crazy enough to read another book and study it. As if 300 pages of Jane Austen weren’t enough as it was. 

What shocked him were your math grades. It was like looking into a fucked-up mirror: while you excelled at English, you sucked at math; while he excelled at math, he sucked at English. You were just as close to failing your math class as he was at failing English.

Now that he thought about it, maybe Sunghoon’s idea hadn’t been so dumb - you could help him out, and he had an actual argument as to why you should, rather than just using pity on you.

As he put your stuff back in your bag, he was reminded of something - your diary. For some reason, the pretty floral pattern on the cover made him feel even worse for opening the journal in the first place, but he did it anyway. Either you’d only just picked up the habit of writing in a diary or you had finished your previous one recently, but this one seemed pretty new, as only about ten pages had been filled with your neat handwriting. Judging from the dates at the top of almost every page, you wrote in there everyday, and Jake only felt even worse that you hadn’t been able to write in it that day.

Still, he flicked to the first page and started reading. And he read and read, unable to take his eyes away from your diary. He thought he wouldn’t have cared much and a page would have satisfied his curiosity, but the way you wrote about the people around you and about yourself fascinated him. Basic high school things like friend drama and annoying teachers actually became interesting through your words. You didn’t use particularly complicated sentences or unheard-of words, on the contrary, you used simple language, and that spoke a lot more to Jake than any of the classics he’d attempted to read for class. 

And then, he saw an all too familiar name in an entry dated from just a few days ago. 

I sat next to Sunghoon today. It was during physics and both of our desk partners were absent, so Mrs Kim made me change seats. She always does this, and I used to wonder whether she hated to see an empty seat or to see a student sitting on their own, but whatever the reason, today, I was just happy about it. This isn’t our first time sitting next to each other in class, but I was still nervous, since I wasn’t expecting it. I hope he couldn’t feel the awkwardness practically oozing off of me or the way I very obviously struggled with the exercises (obviously, anything to do with math is not my forte). We shared my textbook because he’d forgotten his, and he showed me his notes when he saw I couldn’t keep up with Mrs Kim as she told us what to write down. We only exchanged a few words but I was satisfied when class was over. It’s odd, because you’d think someone would want to talk to the person they like and get to know them more, but I don’t feel that with Sunghoon. Maybe it’s because we’re both so introverted, and he seems to have just as hard a time as I do starting conversations, so I’ve sort of accepted our silent fate. I’m fine just continuing to steal glances at him from across the cafeteria. 

After that, there were a few more pages of writing up until yesterday's entry, but it was the only mention of Sunghoon. Jake had apparently been wrong to think that a girl’s diary would be full of rantings about her crush and things along the lines of “omg, he looked at me today”. 

But you had very clearly referred to Sunghoon as the person you liked, and Jake wasn’t going to let that go so easily. This was precious information that he held in his hands now, so he had to figure out how to deal with it properly for your sake as well as his friend’s.

Turns out there was more he could help you with than just algebra.

—

Seeing Jake Sim in a setting other than school was slightly odd, if you were being completely honest. 

You had just been about to text him about the backpack mix-up when you’d received a message from the man himself, asking if you could meet up the next day to exchange them. In response, you’d asked where you should meet, thinking he’d offer either his house or yours, or some halfway point between them, but he surprised you by proposing some café in the center of town. They have good hot chocolate there, he’d said, and that had been enough to convince you. 

And also I have something I want to talk to you about. 

Your stomach had turned at this message - what on Earth could Jake Sim need to discuss with you had been your first thought, and then you realized you also had plans you wanted to share with him. So his idea of going to a café was actually good for you, too.

You’d only been waiting for about five minutes when he appeared at the café, red and panting from seemingly sprinting to his destination. 

“Y/N, I’m sooo sorry,” he immediately said when he saw you waiting. “I was planning to be early, but when I got on the bus I realized I literally forgot your bag, so I had to go back but the next bus wasn’t for another twenty minutes so I just ran the whole way here, and now I’m all sweaty, and I’m late, and I’m really sorry.”

He’d rushed through his sentence and was breathing heavily as he looked at you expectantly, waiting for your answer. He seemed so genuinely sorry for such a small thing that after your surprise faded, you started laughing. It was his turn to be surprised, and he immediately stopped talking at the sound of your soft giggles.

“It’s okay, Jake. I haven’t even been waiting five minutes,” you explained, smiling. “Let’s just go in, yeah?”

Jake’s heart did something weird just then, and the feeling was so unfamiliar and confusing that he decided to promptly ignore it. As if in a daze, he stood still for a couple of seconds until the sound of a bell ringing, the one the café had on its doors to signify the entrance or exit of a customer, snapped him out of it. He followed you into the shop, let you order and pay for you both (“I’m the one who took the wrong bag, it’s the least I can do,” you’d said) and sat across from you at a booth in the back.

You gave each other your respective bags back, then started chatting as you sipped on your hot chocolates (Jake had been right - they really were delicious). He was surprisingly easy to talk to, and whether he sensed you were a reserved person or was just naturally talkative, you liked that he both managed to do most of the talking and ask you loads of questions at once. Usually, you wouldn’t have really cared to listen to someone go on and on about their passion for soccer and the recent game that their team had won, but for some reason, you were hooked on Jake’s every word. The way his eyes widened in excitement as he recounted the winning goal he scored, the way the volume of his voice decreased as he filled you in on the team gossip even though no one was listening to your conversation, the way his grin turned into a proud smirk as he mentioned his coach congratulating him - every single one of his actions had you mesmerized. You’d never seen anyone so expressive in their speech, never seen anyone punctuate every sentence with a movement or a facial expression. It was just fun, listening to him.

Even when he didn’t talk, he stayed expressive. He asked you whether you did anything outside of school, and he listened intently as you told him about the theater group you’re in, humming and nodding and laughing at all the right moments. Usually, you wouldn’t have talked about it for more than thirty seconds, afraid to bore others with unnecessary details, but Jake’s reactions and the questions he asked made you actually feel listened to and like what you were talking about was interesting. So you grew more confident and told him what you loved about acting and about theater, about your own gossip (the arrogant actress who got the lead role and thought she was better than everyone else, that one guy who was clearly flirting with three girls at the same time), and you almost couldn’t believe Jake seemed so entertained by your stories. 

“So, you said your group focused on more classic plays, right? Does that mean you’re good at English Lit?”

With his spoon, Jake scooped some whipped cream into his mouth, hoping he was appearing as nonchalant as he was trying to be. He had to make you think he’d deduced that just now and not because he had been snooping through your backpack just the night prior. 

You, however, could not have cared less how he’d figured it out - you were just grateful he had segued into this topic of school and grades, because you’d been wanting to bring it up yourself but had no idea how.

“Um, yeah, actually, it’s my best subject. Math, on the other hand…”

You chuckled as his eyes widened and he leaned in across the table, pointing his spoon at you as he spoke. “See, that’s interesting, because math is my best subject, but I suck at English Lit.”

“Oh, really?” you asked, trying to sound genuinely surprised even though this piece of information was not at all new to you.

“Yeah,” he said, looking back down at his almost-finished drink with a small smile on his face.

“You know-”

“You know-”

You and Jake had spoken at the same time, and your eyes locked for a second before you started laughing. You gestured at him to go on first.

“I actually need pretty urgent help in English. Coach said he’ll put us out of the team if we fail even just one of our courses, and I’m very close to failing that class.” He took a moment to let out a sigh. “So, if you want, we could help each other out. Me with math, and you with English.” 

His eyebrows were slightly furrowed and he bit his lip as he looked at you expectantly. You thought he looked far too nervous for such a simple request, expression more like a boy who’d just asked his crush to the prom rather than offering mutual help you both desperately needed. You couldn’t help the smile that grew on your lips - you had never known Jake Sim to be so… cute. But he was waiting for an answer, so you pushed the thought out of your head.

“That’s a great idea, actually,” you replied, as if you hadn’t had the exact same idea. You were just relieved you hadn’t even had to bring it up yourself. “I also really can’t afford to fail math. It would look terrible on college applications.”

Jake let out a long, loud exhale. “God, yeah, college, I hadn’t even thought of that. Even more motivation to get better grades now,” he said with a chuckle.

You chuckled along, then cleared your throat and sat up straighter. You watched with amusement as Jake mirrored your actions and even the fake serious frown in your brows. You presented your hand for him to shake, which he did without hesitation.

“So it’s a deal then. We’ll tutor each other until we’ve gotten our grades up.”

“Deal,” he replied. As you both withdrew your hands, he dropped his serious facade and burst into giggles, a sound you hadn’t expected from the boy but somehow fit him well. You watched his face closely for a second, noticing the curl of his lips and the crinkle at the corner of his eyes, before breaking into laughter yourself.

You stayed in the café for another half hour, going over details of where and when you’d meet, of what exactly you needed help with (“Everything,” you’d said, to which Jake had replied “Same”), and just talked some more.

“I’m taking the 53 that way,” Jake said when you exited the café, pointing towards the bus stop.

“Oh, so am I!” you exclaimed.

“Seriously?! What’s your stop?”

And that’s how you and Jake figured out you only lived two bus stops away from each other. 

“That’s so cool! It’ll make it easy to meet up then,” he said, and you hummed in agreement. After a pause, he added: “But if we live so close to each other, how come we didn’t go to the same schools earlier? Aren’t you usually supposed to go to the one in your district?”

“I used to live in another part of town,” you explained. “Then my parents divorced when I was in middle school, and I stayed with my dad because he lived closer to the school I was at, but I moved to my mom’s place for high school.”

“‘Cause she lives closer?”

“Yeah, basically.” There was more to it, but you didn’t think Jake would be particularly interested in your parental issues - although you surprised yourself for even considering telling him. If Jake sensed that you weren’t saying everything, he didn’t push, just swiftly changed the topic as you waited for the bus to come.

When you got home some time later, the first thing you did was open your diary and start writing. It had felt wrong not to write in it even just for a day, so it was a relief to feel the pages between your fingers and the familiar scent of the paper and your perfumed pen. You wrote without thinking too much, simply letting all of your musings out into your diary and freely brushing the tip of your pen across the pages. 

You didn’t ever reread your entries right after writing them, but if you had that day, you might have noticed all you could write about was the boy you’d drank a hot chocolate with.

—

Spring break week passed by far too quickly, and it was on the first Monday back at school that you and Jake met again. He had soccer practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, while you had theater rehearsals on Thursdays and Saturdays, so you’d agreed to meet up every Monday and Wednesday after school. Since his mother worked as the school nurse, she drove him to and from school everyday - so on Monday, you met Jake in front of the nurse’s station, waiting for his mom to wrap things up before she drove you both to their home.

You had been surprised to learn that the kind nurse that never asked too many questions and always let students take a nap if they didn’t feel well was Jake’s mom, but upon reflection, it made sense. Once you knew, it was almost obvious that she had raised him - they shared the same friendliness, the same comforting smile and the same ability to make conversation. The whole ride home, she asked you about yourself and thanked you for agreeing to tutor “our little Jakey,” because “God knows he needs the help.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh when a blush crept on Jake’s face and he looked out the passenger seat window with an embarrassed frown, muttering something like “Thanks a lot, Mom.”

She noticed his reaction and laughed along with you. “I’m just saying, Jakey-poo. It’s good to know to ask for help when you need it,” she cooed, reaching a hand out to ruffle his hair. This only made Jake groan loudly and hide his face in his hands. You didn’t know Jake very well, but this flustered, red-faced side of him was definitely one you liked seeing.

The first thing that greeted you when you reached Jake’s house was a happy welcome home bark.

“You have a dog?!” you exclaimed, unable to reel your excitement in.

“Yeah! This is Layla,” Jake said, giving energetic rubs to the Border Collie that made her whole body shake side-to-side but that she seemed to thoroughly enjoy. 

“Hi, Layla,” you cooed, crouching down to her level to let her sniff you. She decided you were a person worthy of petting her. “She’s so cute!”

“I think she likes you,” Jake said, a grin on his face, as he watched Layla presenting her belly to you and asking for scratches there. “Do you have a dog?”

“We have a Corgi at home. And a cat, too.”

“That must be fun,” Jake chuckled. “Do they get along?”

“Depends. They have a bit of a love-hate relationship.” You looked up at Jake, and it was uncharacteristically quiet as you locked eyes for a couple of seconds. You both looked away at the same time, surprised by the sudden eye contact.

You gave Layla one last rub and lifted yourself up. “Um, should we get started?” 

Jake paused for a second as if he’d forgotten what you were here for in the first place, then started nodding his head quickly. “Right, yeah. Let’s go to my room. Downstairs is just one big room and my mom will probably watch TV or make dinner or something, so it might be distracting…” he explained, lightly scratching the back of his neck. It seemed like he was embarrassed to be bringing you to his room, which you couldn’t help but find endearing.

“Okay, sounds good,” you said with a smile, hoping it’ll reassure him.

You followed him up to his room, ignoring his complaints as you lingered on the framed photos on the wall next to the stairs and giggled at his baby pictures. 

“Do not look at those,” he said with a warning tone that didn’t scare you in the slightest. When you didn’t listen, he grabbed your hand that had been pointing at a photo of baby Jake in the bathtub and forced you to keep walking.

“Why?” you asked, a slight whine to your voice.

“‘Cause it’s embarrassing! I was an ugly baby.”

“What?! You were so cute!”

“Whatever. I’d rather study English than talk about this, and that’s saying something.”

When you looked at Jake, you were surprised to find that he actually seemed upset about this. You weren’t sure what was so wrong with looking at his baby pictures, but the last thing you wanted to do was make him mad, so you stayed quiet and continued your way to his room. Once there, although you were infinitely curious about all the posters, pictures, figurines, trophies, and other small tokens of Jake’s life, you didn’t ask him about any of them, just sat next to him at his desk and opened The Picture of Dorian Grey, the book you had both been studying in Ms Park’s class.

You’d agreed on spending forty-five minutes on English, have a small break, then spend forty-five minutes on Math. It wasn’t a lot, but you both had other homework and things outside of school you needed to do, so you’d decided to start out that way and see if it worked out.

You were glad to see how seriously Jake was taking this - he listened intently to what you said and asked questions when he didn’t understand something. You quickly figured out that what he didn’t like about English Literature was that the answers weren’t as straightforward or as logical as they were in math, and even worse, that multiple answers were possible depending on the reader’s interpretation. 

“It just all feels like a guessing game,” he said, resting the side of his head on one of his palms. “How am I supposed to know what this dude meant? And if it can be analyzed in different ways, how can Ms Park tell me the way I understand it is wrong?”

“It’s all about the way you justify it,” you explained. “You can’t just say whatever. Ms Park will look out for how you use the text to support your answers.” You then went on to pick out a specific part of the book, asking Jake to analyze Dorian’s mindset in that scene. 

“He sounds like he’s going insane,” Jake said flatly when he was done reading, getting a chuckle out of you.

“Exactly. How do you know that?”

“I don’t know, just the words he uses,” Jake replies, shrugging.

“Okay, underline those words,” you instructed gently. Jake sighed, but he complied.

“There.” 

“Good. What can you say about those words?” When Jake just looked at you like a lost puppy, you reformulated your question. “What do they have in common? What type of words are they? Are they common nouns, verbs…”

Jake looked back at the words he’d underlined on the page. “They’re… adjectives?” he said, tone unsure.

“Exactly!”

Jake paused. “So?”

“So now you can say that the author uses many adjectives to convey the gradual loss of sanity of the main character.”

“Oh.”

When you looked at Jake, he wore an expression like the words on the page were finally starting to make sense to him. “That’s the content. You can also look at the structure. See how many punctuation marks there are? Commas, semi-colons, question marks… It’s like he keeps cutting himself off. His thoughts are all over the place.”

Jake nodded slowly. “So, I just need to look out for things like that?”

“Basically, yeah. And the more you practice, the more these things will stand out to you. It actually becomes somewhat repetitive sometimes.”

Jake let out a shaky breath. “That’s actually relieving to hear,” he said with a chuckle.

Thirty minutes passed by like this as you showed Jake ways to make sense of a literary text. When the timer rang, he leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out wide with a sigh. He put his hands behind his head and let it hang back, and the way your stomach flipped at the sight of his exposed neck and Adam’s apple made you look away immediately. You could barely meet his eyes as he turned his head to look at you, still in that same position, and, with a smirk, asked if you were ready for some snacks. 

You gulped, trying to look as normal as possible. “Uh, yeah, sure!”

Downstairs, Jake presented you with all sorts of snacks - there were so many, you felt like you were in a convenience store. This was worlds away from your ingredient-only household. You opted for some biscuits and a banana while Jake made himself a bowl of cereal. A very distracting ten-minute long argument then ensued about the order of milk and cereal - horrifyingly, Jake poured his milk before his cereal. You thought it was a myth that some people actually did it that way, but Jake very proudly defended his choice. 

“I bet you eat pizza with pineapple on it, too,” you said half-jokingly, only for your joke to punch you right back in the face.

“Duh,” Jake answered.

You could only shake your head in defeat. “Let’s just get back to studying before I murder you.”

“Damn, Y/N,” Jake said, laughing. “That’s harsh.”

“And you’re a freak,” you retorted, a grin blooming on your lips.

“You know, you remind me of my friend Jay,” Jake mused as you walked back up the stairs. “He has so many of these small battles that he just won’t let go of. He got super worked up over an argument about mint chocolate chip ice cream once.”

“Let me guess, you like that ice cream?”

Jake shrugged. “It’s not my favorite, but I’ll have it once in a while.”

“God, Sim, you just get worse and worse.”

You sat back down at his desk and started eating. “I bet you think I’m weird for liking math too, right?”

“That’s the worst offense of them all.” 

Jake’s sudden quietness caught you off guard. When you turned your head to look at him, he was already gazing at you with a smile and a sort of thoughtful glint to his eyes, resting his chin on his palm. It sounded like he was thinking out loud when he spoke next. “Guess we’re perfect opposites of each other. Like two peas in a pod!”

The realization of what he’d said dawned upon him as soon as the words left his mouth. He slowly lifted his head as his eyes widened. “I don’t mean- just, you know, since you’re good at English and I’m good at math, and- you know… I didn’t mean it in a weird way, or anything…”

His eyes kept glancing back and forth between you and his bowl of cereal, as if he was scared of looking directly at you but wanted to check your reaction. 

As a smile grew on your face, you kept your eyes trained on your biscuits so he wouldn’t see your flustered expression. But when you looked at him again, he held your gaze, mouth slightly agape. You didn’t have it in you that he had gotten the idiom completely wrong. “I know, don’t worry.” You chuckled. “We are opposites of each other. You just better be as good at teaching math as I am at teaching English,” you teased.

You watched as a smirk tugged one corner of Jake’s lips up and he raised an eyebrow. “Who said you were good at teaching English?”

You gasped. “You said you understood better now!”

Jake’s smile softened as he giggled. “I’m just teasing. You are a good teacher.”

You sat up straighter at the compliment, a proud smile on your face. “Your turn, Mr Sim. I’m all ears.”

“Right,” he said, mirroring your posture. “Shall we start by going over Mr Choi’s test from last week?” 

Your smile dropped instantly at this. Reluctantly, you fished your graded paper out of your bag. You already knew Mr Choi was a psychopath, but you still didn’t understand where he found the will to grade thirty papers over the weekend. You avoided Jake’s gaze as you handed him your test with a big, red, circled D- at the top.

You cringed as Jake sighed. “At least it’s not an F, right?” he said in what you could tell was an attempt at reassurance but somehow only made you feel worse. He looked over your answers quickly, trying to find what in particular you struggled with. “All right. Let’s start from the beginning, yeah?”

For the next forty-five minutes, Jake went over each test question with you, breaking them down and explaining how to solve them in a way you understood. The words he used were so much clearer than the half-assed explanations you were used to from Mr Choi, and for once, math actually made some sort of sense. Your brain still felt broken after almost an hour of numbers and greek letters, but at least, you felt smarter rather than dumber at the end of it. You had never been more grateful for the sound of a phone alarm than the one signaling tutoring was over. 

“That wasn’t half-bad, right?” Jake asked with a wide grin.

You felt so tired, you could probably pass out right then and there, but Jake looked so proud of himself after you had been able to complete an exercise correctly on your own that you didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth. “Right,” you replied, mirroring his grin. “You’re an okay teacher, I guess.”

He jokingly glared and tutted at you, but you both laughed right after. “I need to walk Layla, so I can walk you home, if you want?” he offered as you started packing your things. His words had an uncertain tone to them, as if he wasn’t sure you’d still want to spend time with him after this - but it only took you a second of thinking to realize you’d rather continue hanging out with him than going home on your own.

“Sure! I need to walk Kiwi too, actually.”

“Your dog’s name is Kiwi?!”

“Yes,” you said, chuckling at his fascinated tone.

“That’s an adorable name.”

“Thanks, I chose it.”

“Oh, then I take it back. Worst name I’ve ever heard for a dog.”

“Hey!” you exclaimed, lightly hitting him on the head with your math notebook, making him raise a hand in self-defense as he laughed.

“Sorry, sorry. Does your cat also have a fruit name?” 

A pause. “Mango,” you mumbled, and he immediately burst into laughter again. You side-eyed him as you zipped up your bag.

“Wow, you have amazing taste in pet names, Y/N.”

“Shut up,” you said, laughing along. Then you realized something, and you suddenly stopped laughing, looking up at Jake with wide eyes that made him slightly start to panic. “Oh my God, Jake, are our dogs going to meet?”

“Our dogs are going to meet,” he echoed in a sort of fascinated whisper. You both understood the other - dogs becoming friends was the cutest thing ever.

“Let’s go,” you whispered back excitedly.

When you reached the living room downstairs, you bid Mrs Sim goodbye, then went to the entrance to put your shoes back on. “You two sure get along well,” you heard her say to her son with a suggestive tone. Even though she had dropped the volume of her voice, the door was wide open and there were only a few meters between you, so you’d heard her loud and clear. 

“Geez, Mom,” Jake groaned, seemingly irked by his mom’s insinuation.

“It’s just you’ve never brought a girl home, Jakey-”

“Okay, we’re leaving now! Layla, come!”

You hadn’t even realized how wide you were grinning until Jake saw you tying your shoelaces and grumbled “What are you smiling so hard for.”

“Nothing,” you giggled, and your smile grew as you watched a grin break through his pretend-upset expression.

You sighed contentedly as you stepped outside, letting the crisp early April air hit your face. You tightened your scarf around your neck and buried your hands in your pocket and you and Jake started walking side by side, Layla happily leading the way. The streets were fairly quiet at this time of day, save for the yells of children still playing in their backyards before dinner and a few cars of people coming home late from work.

Only the first five seconds of the walk were silent, until you couldn’t contain yourself anymore. “So, never brought a girl home, huh?” you asked with a teasing smirk.

Jake let out an offended scoff and looked up to the sky as if God could help him out of this one. Sadly, He didn’t, so Jake had to find an answer himself. “I’m not talking about this with you.”

“Why not?”

Pouting, Jake spared you a sideway glance. “Because you’re a girl,” he replied, voice lowered to a mumble.

You chuckled at this. “Very astute observation, Jake.”

“No, I- Ugh,” he groaned before laughing along with you. “I don’t need a girl to know how bad I am with- well, with girls.”

“I can help with that,” you said before you really thought about it. “I mean, I’m not a love expert by any means, but I can maybe give, I don’t know, pointers or something if there’s someone you like-”

“There’s no one I like,” Jake quickly cut in. “Um, not right now, at least.”

“O-okay,” you replied, nodding. “That’s fine.” 

“What about you? Do you like anyone?”

As Jake asked the question, he realized he already knew the answer - you liked Sunghoon. How could he forget?! Half of his plan had been to make you get closer to his friend, but he hadn’t even started thinking about that yet. In his defense, he’d come up with that plan three days ago.

Your answer surprised him. “Um, no, me neither. Not right now, at least,” you said, repeating his words with a smile on your face. You locked eyes for a second before looking away at the same time, chuckling.

“Right,” he said. He knew what he had read in your diary, so maybe you were just too shy to admit you had a crush on his friend of all people.

An unexpected awkwardness settled between the two of you, and you more than anything wanted it to go away. Even though it’d only been a few days since you and Jake had started getting to know each other, you already felt comfortable enough to be yourself around him, and it usually took you weeks before reaching that level with anyone. This hadn’t happened since you met Yena and Hyewon at the beginning of high school - they had been friends since middle school, and so had you and Chaewon, and when the four of you met, you had instant chemistry. But maybe it was slightly too early to start talking about crushes with Jake.

For once, you were the one to break the silence - you asked him whether he knew what he wanted to do after school. Basic question, but you were genuinely curious. 

Looking a little bashful, he confessed his dream had always been to be a math teacher and soccer coach at a middle or high school. You told him he already had the talent for it, and when he blushed at your words, you made sure to tease him for it.  

“I’m not sure yet,” you said when he returned the question. “I know I wanna go to college and continue doing English Lit and theater there, but that’s about it.”

“That’s already good enough,” Jake said with a smile. “Still got time to figure out what comes after, right?”

You naturally mirrored his smile - there was something contagious about Jake’s puppyish grin that made it hard not to smile yourself. “Right.”

The three of you reached your house quickly after that. Your mom still hadn’t come home from work, so Kiwi was even more excited than usual for your arrival home. You and Jake watched fondly as your dogs sniffed each other for a few seconds before starting to run around together. The fact that they got along made you really happy, perhaps unreasonably so, and you started bouncing up and down on the balls of your feet as you watched them play. “Our dogs are friends!” you exclaimed excitedly. 

When you turned to look at Jake, he wasn’t watching the dogs like you had been - he was gazing straight at you, eyes soft with something that made your heart skip a beat. You couldn’t look away, and it was only after a few seconds that he seemed to snap out of the sort of daze he was in. He cleared his throat and you finally tore your eyes away from him.

“Let me just- Kiwi! I need to put his leash around him,” you said, speaking quickly to dissipate the weird atmosphere as best as you could. You led Jake down the path you usually took with Kiwi that led to a park in your neighborhood, and you were relieved when normal conversation started again.

Jake insisted on walking you back to your house even though he had left his earlier. He made a whole show of not going until you’d walked inside and closed the door, so you’d rushed to your window to shout his name and wave goodbye at him, which made him laugh.

You turned back to Kiwi when Jake and Layla had turned a corner and you couldn’t watch them anymore. “Are you happy you made a new friend, Kiwi?”

The Corgi barked happily at you in response - probably more at hearing his name than because he understood your question, but still, you liked to think you could communicate with your dog on such a level. You chuckled and took him in your arms. “Me too.”

—

Apparently, you couldn’t even wave to someone in the hallway without being interrogated about it anymore.

“Y/N, did you just say hi to Jake Sim?” Chaewon asked like you’d just insulted her whole family.

It was 10 a.m. on a simple Tuesday morning, the day after Jake and you had studied together for the first time, and you’d just walked past the boy - so of course, you said hi to him. Maybe, your heart started beating slightly faster when you’d noticed him approaching. Maybe, it was nice to be on the receiving end of his friendly grin.

“Yes?” you replied, sentence coming out more like a question.

“Since when do you say hi to Jake Sim?!” 

“Since today, I guess.”

“But why?!” She’d raised her voice so much, you’d gotten strange looks from other students in the hallway. 

“I told you!”

She shook her head slowly at you as if to say, No you didn’t!

You rolled your eyes and sighed. Chaewon and her early onset short-term memory loss. “The backpack thing? And agreeing to tutoring each other? I wrote to the group chat about this!”

“Oh, that! Of course I remember that,” she said, even though you knew she had forgotten about it and remembered it just now. “So, has that started already?”

You reached the classroom for your next class and sat down in your usual seats next to each other, waiting for the teacher to arrive. Busy hallways like these were the perfect place for gossip, because they were loud and nobody paid attention to others’ conversations. “Yeah, yesterday afternoon.”

Chaewon gasped. “And you didn’t tell us?!”

“Will you quiet down? I was going to see and tell you guys today anyway.”

“Okay, so, tell me about it.”

“But-”

“Tell. Me.”

You wouldn’t see Yena and Hyewon until lunch in two hours, and you knew Chaewon didn’t have the patience to wait until then. So you sighed again and obliged, telling her about your afternoon with Jake in every detail you could remember, because she would ask about insignificant things anyway. 

To your surprise, the first thing she said when you were done talking was this: “Y/N, do you like Jake?”

Your mouth opened slightly in shock at the question, but before you could even retort, you started giggling. “No, I don’t,” you said in a way that sounded like you very much did.

“Oh my God! You so do!” Chaewon said, giggling along with you. “You whore, you’ve only talked to him, like, twice,” she joked.

You gasped fake-dramatically and slapped her arm. “Oh please, look at Hyewon and Jaemin, they started dating after a week of talking.”

“Yes, and they’ve been going one year strong, so clearly, you need to ask Jake out and get this over with. You’ll get a boyfriend and a math tutor all-in-one, it’s a perfect deal!”

“Don’t get too carried away, okay? Jake and I are friends. Like you said, we barely know each other right now.”

You meant this - sure, you had had a really good time with Jake both times you saw him, and you were looking forward to your next tutoring session, but you chalked it up to the excitement of making a new friend. Plus, barely last week you felt some sort of way towards his best friend - wouldn’t it be weird to practically transfer your feelings from Sunghoon to Jake?

“Whatever. Yena and Hyewon are gonna freak when I tell them,” Chaewon said excitedly.

You shook your head at your friend but couldn’t keep down the amused grin on your face. “You guys are insane.”

“Oh please, like you’re not the president of our Park Sunghoon fanclub. I can’t believe you’re leaving us for his best friend!”

“Hey, if anything, less competition for you, right?”

Chaewon opened her mouth to say something, but the teacher arrived, starting the lesson before having even put her bag down - Mrs Lee always arrived late but never wasted a second of class when she was in the room. Your friend resorted to sticking her tongue out at you instead, and you chuckled at her childishness as you opened your History notebook. 

—

Jake was a complete, total, utter idiot. His plan had consisted of two things only, and he’d somehow managed to forget one of them, even after talking about it with you, albeit vaguely. It had taken him two weeks and one Park Sunghoon to even remember it.

Between Jake’s soccer practice, Sunghoon’s ice skating practice and Jay’s being away at boarding school, the three friends only had one night every week on which they were all free - Friday night. So, every Friday, they planned some sort of hang out at one of their houses and gamed or watched movies all night.

Kinda like date night, but for bros.

This was one of those bro nights; namely, the one in the second week of you and Jake tutoring each other. The boys had decided to go to the burger joint they like that night and were in the middle of a french fry fight when Sunghoon mentioned your and Jake’s new friendship.

“So, Jake… what’s up with you and Y/N?”

Jake halted in his motions, redirecting to his mouth the fry he was about to throw at Jay. “Nothing’s up with me and Y/N. What makes you say that?”

“Just, you know, you seem like you’ve become actual friends. Talking in the hallways and walking your dogs together and whatnot.”

“Y/N as in Y/N? Sunghoon’s Y/N?” Jay said, halfway through a bite of his cheeseburger.

“She’s not my Y/N-”

“Yes, Y/N as in Y/N, you idiot,” Jake cut in. “And like you said, we’re friends.”

“Is she the girl you posted some BeReals with?” Jay asked, and Jake nodded. “She’s pretty! No wonder Sunghoon likes her so much.”

Sunghoon sighed as he let his head hang low. “God forbid I find a girl cute, because I’ll mention it once, two years ago and you guys make me out to be in love with her.”

“Sunghoon, you act like girls don’t exist, so of course when you not only mention a girl, but describe her as cute, that means you’re in love with her!”

“But I’m not! We were literally having a whole conversation about girls, I happened to see Y/N and her friends from far away, I said she was cute, and now you guys won’t let me live it down. Jay, you weren’t even there!”

“Yeah, but the way Jake told me about the whole thing, it really sounded like you liked her.”

“Why would you trust Jake to relay something like this correctly?!”

Jay paused and tilted his head. “You have a point there.”

“Hey!”

“So you don’t, like… like her, or something?” Sunghoon asked, looking at his friend as he sipped on his Pepsi.

This made Jake stop. Did he like you? Wasn’t the fact that he was considering it sign enough? Surely, if there was nothing there, he would have answered no right away.

But there was no use thinking about it. You liked Sunghoon. And as much as he liked to deny it, Jake knew Sunghoon liked you, too. After two years, there was finally an opportunity for the two of you to get closer - Jake wasn’t about to get in the middle of that. If anything, he should help his friends out. Then, when you and Sunghoon eventually got married, Jake would have the honor of saying it was all thanks to him in his best man’s speech. 

“No, I don’t. Don’t worry, Hoon, I’m not gonna steal your girl away from you.”

“Again, she’s not my girl-”

“Whatever you say. I’ll introduce you guys.”

Even if Sunghoon didn’t think he liked you yet, Jake knew it was just a matter of time - his friend just needed to spend a few hours with you to realize he did. You were pretty, smart, funny, nice, had the sweetest laugh he’d ever heard, got along with dogs, and even though you sometimes had weird opinions, it was always fun, talking to you. It was easy and comfortable. Anyone with taste would fall for you.

Anyone, except for Jake, of course.

—

For the past three weeks, you and Jake had gotten along perfectly, but today, on this bright Tuesday afternoon, you really wanted to strangle him. 

When he’d invited you to come and watch him at soccer practice, you’d been surprised, but happy - usually, you invited people to watch an actual game, not just practice. But you were just glad for the opportunity to spend more time with him. 

Without realizing it, you were giddy with excitement the whole day, counting down the minutes until classes were over and Jake’s practice started. Jake had told you to just head to the bleachers while the players got ready in the locker room, but when you reached said bleachers, someone was already sitting there, looking at something on their phone. You recognized him immediately as Sunghoon. He didn’t notice you right away, so you had time to wipe the surprise off of your face - you hadn’t thought anyone came to watch practice, but Sunghoon was probably here for Jake, just like you. 

“Hey,” you said quietly as you sat down next to him. Even though you were technically still on school property, this was the first time you saw Sunghoon outside of somewhere like a classroom, a hallway or the cafeteria. You weren’t as nervous as you thought you’d be, seeing him unexpectedly like this. 

You chuckled when Sunghoon started at your sudden arrival. “Oh, hey, Y/N,” he said, chuckling too, albeit somewhat awkwardly. “Sorry, didn’t hear you coming.”

“It’s fine,” you said with a smile as you sat down next to him on the bleachers. You didn’t know what sort of distance was appropriate between you two, if you should sit close or far, but you stopped yourself before you could overthink something as trivial as that. Neither of you said anything for a few seconds and you wished practice had started before you got here, so that you’d have something to look at other than an empty field.

You broke the silence before it became too uncomfortable. “So, do you come watch Jake often?”

You’d been fiddling with your hands as you spoke, only turning your head to look at Sunghoon as you awaited his answer. Your eyes didn’t even meet for a fraction of a second before he whipped his head to look at the field, as if unable to look at you and talk at the same time. At least he had a nice side profile for you to look at.

“Um, just on Tuesdays. I have ice skating practice after this, so I come here first, then he comes with me to the rink,” he replied. He glanced at you, lips pressed into a thin line that somewhat resembled a smile and that pushed dimples into his cheeks. You simply hummed in response. 

“What about you, how come you’re here?”

“Jake asked me,” you replied. Sunghoon let out a long “oh” as he nodded, turning his head back towards the field again. You didn’t think you’d ever had such a slow conversation. It was like you and Sunghoon both repeated your words ten times over in your heads before saying them out loud.

“Are you coming to my practice, too?” he asked after another pause.

The question took you aback slightly as you hadn’t even considered it, but it could be fun, seeing Sunghoon practice ice skating. It’d also be fun to hang out with Jake. “If it’s fine with you, then yeah, why not,” you replied, smiling at Sunghoon. He glanced at you again before looking away with a smile, an actual one this time that showed his teeth and made his eyes crinkle.

“Yeah, sure. People usually only come to actual shows, so I like it when someone’s there to watch practice.” Before you could find something to say, the players arrived jogging onto the field, immediately starting their warm-up laps. Some were serious about it and stayed focused as they ran, while others goofed around, running backwards and slapping other players on their butts before sprinting away. Jake, of course, was part of the latter group.

Now that something was actually happening on the field, you and Sunghoon had an excuse not to make conversation anymore. You tried to ignore it, but it was so awkward you wanted to die. You realized now why you were so attracted to people like Jake and Chaewon - without even being aware of it, they brought you out of your shell and made you feel at ease. You wished you could do that on your own, but you were always too scared, so you needed that person who was confident enough showing themselves to you first to make you feel comfortable doing the same. You and Sunghoon, unfortunately, were too similar in that sense to do that for each other. So you just sat there in silence, observing Jake and waving back at him when he caught your gazes.

The ninety minutes of practice didn’t go by in total silence - you asked Sunghoon about some soccer rules you didn’t get, and he shared some anecdotes from his and Jake’s earlier teenage years, including a very entertaining story about a tantrum 9-year-old Jake had thrown when he hadn’t agreed with the red card the referee had given him. You weren’t sure how the topic came up, but at some point, you even shared pictures of your pets. Sunghoon had one of those small crusty white dogs, but you kept your laughter in and cooed over how cute she was. 

But still, most of the time, you were watching Jake. You had never been interested in soccer or any sort of sport that involved balls until now. Somehow, he managed to make flushed cheeks, a heaving chest and hairline beaded with sweat look glorious. In total honesty, you were paying more attention to the player himself than to the sport, to the point that you barely noticed when he scored a goal during their practice match. It was only when Jake started cheering and high-fiving his teammates that you realized what had happened, and you gave him two thumbs up and a wide grin when he looked your and Sunghoon’s way, proudly shouting “Did you see that?!”

The realization hit you like a ton of bricks right there and then. The way your heart swelled as you watched his excited, puppyish grin take over his features was undeniable - you liked Jake. You like liked him. Your gaze continued to follow him as he finished his celebratory lap. If you could’ve seen yourself right then, you’d probably have been embarrassed by your awestruck expression and slightly agape mouth, but you couldn’t help yourself.

Much to your dismay, you realized that Chaewon had seen right through you. You hadn’t wanted to read too much into your feelings, but they had become too obvious to ignore. You hadn’t experienced them yourself since middle school (Choi Soobin had really been a heartbreaker back then), but you’d heard about the telltale signs of a crush too many times not to know about them. It was now clear that the way you felt about Jake and the way you had felt about Sunghoon were worlds apart. Feeling nervous around him and your heart skipping a beat when you made eye contact; wanting to see him smile; laughing at all his jokes, even the bad ones; missing him even though it’d been seconds since you said goodbye, and counting down the days until you saw him again. And, yes, looking at his pictures on social media over and over again. You did all those things, so you knew there was no point in lying to yourself anymore - you liked Jake Sim. 

It didn’t help that he was always kind to you, never making you feel stupid for not understanding something in your tutoring sessions and being patient enough to explain the same thing over and over again. He always paid attention to small things, which never failed to make your heart race, like asking after your aging cat’s condition after you’d told him he had a health check-up over the weekend or stocking up on your favorite snack the week after you’d told him about it. He’d also immediately picked up on your habit of teasing the people you felt comfortable with and you loved how he returned it tenfold. It was as much fun debating with him over nothing and making him shut up with your senseless arguments as it was being rendered speechless when he came up with the perfect retort. 

And of course, there was no denying that Jake was ridiculously attractive. There were times you got so caught up in the way his lips moved as he spoke or the way his fingers looked as he pointed at numbers on the page that your mind completely blanked out and you stopped listening to his words for a few seconds. You didn’t know what to make of his small chuckle and smirk when he noticed your gaze fixated on him, but you knew it wasn’t good for your heart. And let’s not even get started on the fact that sitting so close to him meant you could smell the lingering scent of his cologne every single time.

Even now, with flushed cheeks and hair slicked back with sweat, you want to run onto the field and give him a big smooch on his cheek, telling him you were proud of him for scoring that goal.

But even though you were getting closer and he had offered for you to come watch his practice, you squashed down as best as you could any hope that he might feel the same way about you. Even if he insisted he was bad with girls, Jake was popular at school, and you were sure there were many other girls who had a crush on him - so why would he like you of all people?

Sunghoon’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts. “Every time he scores, he acts like it’s the first time he’s ever done it,” he said, chuckling and shaking his head at his friend’s over-dramatic antics. The coach was trying to get Jake to calm down so that the game could resume.

“He’s so cute,” you said, voice quiet, before you could stop yourself. But as soon as the words were out, you realized what you’d done, and your eyes doubled in size as you turned to look at Sunghoon. He had whipped his head to look at you, too, and his eyes were just as big as yours. Then, he burst into laughter, and you hoped the Earth would suddenly open beneath your feet and swallow you whole. 

When his surprise had subsided, Sunghoon turned to you again, an incredulous but amused glint in his eyes. “Did you just call Jake cute?”

You crossed your arms over your chest, slightly frowning as you avoided Sunghoon’s gaze. “I just meant, you know, it’s cute how excited he got. I didn’t say he was cute,” you mumbled, knowing you were doing a poor job of defending yourself.

“That’s exactly what you said, though. You said, and I quote, He’s so cute.” You glared at Sunghoon. Who knew he would only become talkative once it came to teasing you about Jake? 

His expression softened slightly when he realized you might actually be upset about this, and he turned his attention back towards the field, smile growing when he found his friend. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

“There’s nothing to be said anyway.”

“Oh? So you don’t mind if I tell Jake that you have the biggest, fattest crush on- hmph!”

You’d cut Sunghoon off by pressing your palm to his mouth, mustering the most menacing look you could to scare him off. “I do not,” you said firmly as you moved your hand away from him.

“Sure, you don’t,” he replied, chuckling. Clearly, your most menacing look wasn’t so menacing.

“I get why Jake’s so annoying now, it’s because he’s friends with you.”

Sunghoon raised an amused eyebrow at this. “He might be annoying, but he’s also cute, right?”

“Shut up!” you shrieked immediately, but you couldn’t stop the grin forcing its way onto your lips.

“Just saying,” Sunghoon said, and you laughed together. Maybe you should’ve been more worried about Jake’s literal best friend finding out you had a crush on him, but you somehow trusted Sunghoon not to blabber about it. Whether because he was nice or because he wanted to watch you struggle with your feelings, you weren’t sure, but at least you felt your secret was safe with him.

You looked back at the field, and just as your eyes found Jake, you saw him turn his head away. Had you seen him just seconds prior, you might have noticed the crease in his eyebrows as he watched you and Sunghoon laugh together. Sunghoon isn’t that funny, he thought, what could you be laughing so hard about?

He didn’t understand the sudden weight in his heart at the sight of you and his friend getting along so well. This was his whole plan after all - force some proximity between you and Sunghoon so that you could talk and hopefully make your feelings clear to each other after some time. Clearly, it was working. So why was it bothering him so much? 

He had to turn his attention back to the game, so he could only ruminate over it for five seconds, but for the remaining thirty minutes, he could barely focus on anything. Whenever he glanced back at you and Sunghoon, you were both looking at him and not talking to each other, and that somehow bothered him even more. 

He used his time in the lockers to get out of the weird mood he was in - whatever was going on between you and Sunghoon, he didn’t want to ruin it by being grumpy. So when he came back out and found the two of you waiting for him at the bus stop, he put on his best smile. 

Having you around made his usual Tuesday afternoon with Sunghoon more fun - after years of friendship, Sunghoon ignored most of his jokes and could tune the sound of his voice out, but you still laughed at everything he said, and his heart swelled with pride every time he made you laugh.

It was only a ten-minute bus ride from the school to the ice rink so you still had twenty minutes to spare before Sunghoon’s lesson started. As always after soccer practice, Jake was famished, so you stopped by a convenience store and got more snacks than you really needed.

You sat next to Sunghoon and across from Jake at a picnic table in front of the ice rink, watching the boy in front of you with fascination as he gorged himself on banana milk and chocolate snacks.

“God, how long has it been since you last ate?” you asked with genuine concern in your voice. Sunghoon followed your gaze towards Jake, only then noticing his friend’s feral behavior as if this was a normal occurrence for them.

“Like three hours,” Jake answered. “I’m starving. So hungry I could eat Sunghoon.”

When he looked up, you were both peering at him with furrowed eyebrows and bewildered expressions on your faces. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Do you mean that Sunghoon is a horse?” you asked.

Jake mirrored your confused expressions. “What? No, why would I say that?”

“The saying goes, so hungry I could eat a horse, dumbass,” Sunghoon chimed in.

“Why would I eat a horse?” Jake replied, shaking his head and chuckling at you and Sunghoon like you were the ones who had gotten a basic idiom wrong.

“Why would you eat me?” Sunghoon bit back, sounding almost offended.

“It’s just a saying, dude.”

Half-an-hour and two whole packets of biscuits later, you and Jake sat side-by-side on the benches, watching Sunghoon as he did his warm-ups on the ice. This was your first time seeing a professional ice skater and you were transfixed, to say the least. He was just skating across the rink and rolling his arms and neck to get the muscles moving, but it all seemed so effortless and elegant that you couldn’t help but watch with your mouth slightly open, eyes eager to keep up with Sunghoon’s figure.

You were so mesmerized that you had no idea Jake was practically burning holes into the side of your face. Eyes narrowed and nose scrunched in disgust, he couldn’t believe you were enjoying the show in front of you that much. “He’s not even doing anything special right now, you know,” he said, but it only made him realize that when Sunghoon did start doing cool stuff, you’d like it even more.

Your head barely budged in Jake’s direction as you answered him, and your eyes certainly didn’t leave Sunghoon. “Really? It already looks so cool, though.” Jake scoffed, but that still didn’t get your attention, which made him scoff again. He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned like a child whose parent wasn’t paying attention to their drawing. 

“Cooler than me?”

Finally, you look at me, Jake thought, and his frown immediately dissipated into a grin when your eyes met. But judging by the teasing way your lips curled up, he already knew he wasn’t going to like your answer.

“Cooler than you,” you replied before turning your attention back to the rink.

Jake leans back with a pout, opting to glare at his friend instead of you. He tried to put himself in your shoes and figure out what it was about Sunghoon you liked so much that Jake didn’t also have. Devastatingly good looks? Check. Charming smile? Check. Cute dog? Check - Jake more so than Sunghoon. Brains? Okay, both of them lacked this. Good personality? Check - however, you needed months before Sunghoon revealed himself to you, whereas Jake was outgoing and was comfortable even with people he’d just met. 

So why was the bearer of your affection Sunghoon and not Jake?

And why did Jake even care that you liked his friend over him in the first place?

It wasn’t like Jake liked you - he couldn’t like a girl that his best friend liked - so why did this at all matter to him? If anything, the fact that you liked Sunghoon back should’ve been something to rejoice over. It had been, up until now, and Jake couldn’t figure out why. He couldn’t figure out this weird sensation that had plagued him in the soccer field and followed him to the ice rink as he watched you watch Sunghoon with amazement.

Jake was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice when you detached your eyes from Sunghoon, who was talking to his coach, and tilted your head at him. “Jake?” 

The boy only let out a low hum, still too upset to look at you.

An amused grin made your lips quirk up. “Are you pouting because I said Sunghoon was cooler than you?”

Jake scoffed, turning his head away from you. “No.”

A pause. “So you don’t mind if I go on and on about how elegant and beautiful ice skating is, while running after a ball and kicking it is the basis of the stupidest sport in the world?”

Jake glared at you, but it only made you smile more. “It’s not stupid.”

Despite himself, his pretend angry facade broke apart at the sound of your airy giggles. Jake didn’t think his ears had ever been graced with such a pretty sound before - he slapped himself mentally as soon as that thought crossed his mind. 

His heart did jumps and spins more impressive than Sunghoon’s when you reached a hand out to ruffle his hair, shaking your head at his behavior. For once, he was glad that you turned back to Sunghoon so that you wouldn’t see the bright blush spreading all over his face.

For the next hour, Jake put his weird feelings to the side and watched his friend practice his routine for his upcoming competition. Even he had to admit that Sunghoon looked pretty cool doing what he loved.

You told him you found it all the more impressive because you’d never skated before, so it looked unachievable to you, and an idea immediately formed in Jake’s mind. As soon as Sunghoon’s practice was over, he rushed over to his friend and asked if the two of you could join him on the ice. Sunghoon turned to his coach, who simply shrugged.

“I trust you to look after them,” she said. “Just make sure to be out when the hockey team gets here.”

Before you knew it, Jake was helping you tie up your ice skates (the sight of which made you faint-hearted) and both boys helped you onto the ice rink, each holding onto one of your hands as you tried not to freak out at the feeling of your knees being so wobbly. Sunghoon demonstrated how to move around the ice, and soon enough, you’d gotten the hang of it - but you still made sure to keep Jake at an arm’s length so you could grab onto him every time you lost your balance. Jake stayed by your side, smiling fondly at how excited you looked and cheering you on every time you took a step of your own. Sunghoon, on the other hand, seemed to find it funny to watch from afar and point and laugh every time you stumbled.

After some time, Sunghoon announced he was feeling hungry and decided to go eat some snacks, leaving you and Jake alone in the rink. The wink Sunghoon threw your way when Jake wasn’t looking let you know what his true intentions were, and you couldn’t believe Jake’s best friend had just become your wingman.

“Feeling ready to skate around the rink?” Jake asked. His boyish grin was contagious, and you found yourself matching it even though you were still nervous about moving around too much.

“If you help me,” you answered tentatively, looking at him worriedly as you held out your hand for him to take. The softness of his gaze as he smiled down at you made you want to melt into a puddle on the floor.

“Of course,” he said, taking your hand in his warm one. Your fingers intertwined as if out of second nature and you thought you finally understood why people said their hands were meant to hold someone else’s.

Being friends with an ice skater for such a long time meant Jake had acquired some skill, too, which is why he could so easily show you how to turn or pick up speed. Whenever you lost your balance, he was always quick enough to make sure you didn’t actually fall, picking you up before your backside could touch the ice. He found your frightened expression every time you thought you would fall absolutely adorable, but your pout and slight frown whenever he teased you were somehow even cuter.

He only let go of your hand after some ten minutes (neither of you had even begun to question Sunghoon’s whereabouts by then) when he came to stand in front of you, a serious expression on his face.

“I think you’re ready, Y/N,” he declared solemnly.

“Ready for…?” you asked, scared of whatever he had in mind.

He leaned in slightly and the sudden proximity took you aback, but he didn’t seem to realize. A mischievous smirk broke through his handsome features. “A race,” he whispered, then skated to one edge of the rink and motioned for you to follow him. Reluctantly, you did.

“First to the other edge has to…” he thought for a second, gazing at the ceiling. You wanted to be mad at him for proposing a race when you’d literally just learned how to skate, but how could you when he looked so cute and giddy, searching for the loser’s penalty? “Buy the other ice cream!”

Your eyes were probably the image of tenderness as you looked at him. “Deal,” you said, wanting to sound as playful as him but voice coming out soft. Since when had you fallen so hard for him?

You held each other’s gazes for a couple more seconds before both turning in front of you, getting ready for your race. Jake counted down from three, and your skating wasn’t so bad at first - until you got too cocky for your own good, trying to go at a pace you clearly couldn’t handle. Before you knew it, your knees betrayed you and you found yourself tripping over, your butt making a loud thump sound as it came into contact with the ice.

On your way down, you’d shrieked Jake’s name, and he was at your side in the blink of an eye, holding your shoulder and looking at you worriedly. The pain was immediate, and for a few seconds, you couldn’t answer him and reassure him that you were fine.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked to race, God Y/N I’m so stupid I’m so sorry are you okay I didn’t want you to get hurt-”

“Jake,” you squeaked.

“Yeah?”

“I’m okay, calm down,” you said when the pain subsided, managing a smile. “I’ll just have a sore butt tomorrow.” He chuckled at the word ‘butt,’ but you didn’t have it in you to roll his eyes at his childishness.

“Are you sure you’re okay? There’s an infirmary here-”

“I’m sure, Jakey-poo,” you teased, making him lose the concerned expression as he bore an unimpressed one instead.

“I guess you are fine if you can think to call me that. Come on, up!” he said as he stood up, reaching his hands out for you to take. Just as he helped you up, Sunghoon came sprinting and stood at the entrance to the rink.

“Is everything okay? I heard a yell,” he said, slightly out-of-breath with half a biscuit in his mouth. Guess he really was eating this whole time.

You and Jake laughed and shook your head at him, and you reassured him that everything was fine. 

“Good, ‘cause the hockey team’s here and we have to go anyway.”

There was a bus that took Sunghoon directly from the ice rink to his house, but you and Jake had to go back to the school to catch the one you usually took, which meant you had a forty-minute journey in front of you. And yet, Jake’s company made those forty minutes feel like five, and you found yourself disappointed when the bus neared your stop.

“If you want, we can still go walk Kiwi and Layla,” he offered shyly a few minutes before your stop, as if he’d read your mind. 

“I’d love to.” You watched as his small smile bloomed into a wider one.

“I’m glad,” he chuckled, relieved. “I was scared you’d be tired of me after spending the whole afternoon together,” he admitted, looking down at his lap with a bashful expression on his face. It wasn’t often that Jake looked timid like this, but whenever he did, your heart tripled in size.

“I don’t think I could get tired of you.” You were too shy to look him in the eye while you said this, but in your peripheral, you saw his grin get impossibly wider and his eyebrows raise. He bumped your shoulder with his, making the both of you burst into giggles.

You were still smiling long after you’d come home from your walk.

—

Unfortunately for Jake, forcing you and Sunghoon to sit together for ninety minutes hadn’t resulted in the two of you confessing your undying love for the other and getting together - clearly, his plan hadn’t worked very well. But Jake, instead of coming up with another strategy, decided he should just basically do the same thing again and hope it went better this time. 

Bro night had been a tradition for the past three years that the boys only very rarely broke, in cases of illness, filial obligations or important competitions the following day. This wasn’t any one of those cases, but Jake decided bro night must be slightly sacrificed that night - for your and Sunghoon’s sake. Years down the line, he knew you’d thank him.

This was why he tricked you into thinking you had been invited to bro night (you’d heard a lot about it and considered it an honor to be included) when really, he made Jay promise not to show at the cinema so that you and Sunghoon could be alone. The two of them would make up an excuse about not being able to make it on time and show up later at the diner (“If you want to set them up, shouldn’t we also leave them alone after the movie?” Jay had asked Jake over the phone, and Jake had been unable to explain why he didn’t want you to spend the whole night alone with Sunghoon).

“They ditched us,” Sunghoon had said in lieu of a greeting when you found him at the entrance of the cinema. He turned his phone screen towards you, showing you their group chat - Jay had had some sort of meeting at his school that had run late and Jake had to go to the vet suddenly because Layla kept making weird noises.

“Oh no, I hope she’ll be okay,” you said, voice laced with genuine worry.

Sunghoon just sighed. “I’m sure she will.” He knew what his friends were up to - it almost never happened that one of them was unable to make it to bro night, so two at once? They were clearly lying. He would make sure to tell Jake how worried sick you were about his dog’s fake illness later on just so his friend would feel extra guilty.

You had been looking forward to hanging out with Jake and his friends all day, so you were disappointed to know he wouldn’t make it until later. It wasn’t much comfort that the movie they had picked, some recent Marvel release, was one you were not at all interested in, and you couldn’t even obsess over Jake’s presence next to you instead of the movie because he wasn’t there. You’d have to sit with awkward, quiet Sunghoon for God knows how long - at least the cinema wasn’t much of a talking place. 

You declined his kind offer of sharing a big popcorn tub - you didn’t want to risk a cliché reaching-for-popcorn-at-the-same-time moment with Sunghoon, although you’d daydreamed and giggled about it happening with Jake earlier that day. Instead, you sipped grumpily on your Cherry Coke, watching the trailers for upcoming movies and discussing them with Sunghoon. (“I’m so excited for the Barbie movie,” he’d surprised you by saying. Maybe he wasn’t so bad.)

As the lights dimmed, announcing the imminent start of the movie, Sunghoon whispered something that completely changed your mind about Marvel. “It’s so stupid that Jake isn’t here, seriously. He’s been going on and on about going to see this movie since the trailer came out.” Suddenly, you’d never felt the need to pay attention to something more than this. 

Well, in your humble opinion, the film wasn’t anything to write home about. It was a lot of loud action scenes with some funny one-liners that, okay, you chuckled at. And the actors were hot. You could sort of see why Jake would enjoy Marvel movies, although you yourself liked films with more social commentary, such as Mean Girls or Bee Movie. You’d need to make Jake watch Twilight one of these days - you were sure he’d like the soundtrack, if nothing else.

At least, you and Sunghoon have something to talk about during your short walk to the diner. As you enter the restaurant, a familiar voice calling out your name catches you off-guard.

“Chaewon? I thought you didn’t work on Friday nights!” you exclaimed, letting your friend bring you into a hug. You gave her a once-over - she always looked so pretty in her work uniform, white t-shirt dress draping her body perfectly, apron cinching at her waist, and short pigtails under her 50’s style diner hat. If the blush spreading on Sunghoon’s cheeks at her sudden appearance was anything to go by, his thoughts might not have been too far from yours.

She pouted, taking your hands in hers and swaying them between the two of you. “I usually don’t, but Yunjin asked me to trade shifts and she always says yes when I ask her, so I felt bad saying no.” You nodded and she turned to Sunghoon.

“Hi, Sunghoon!”

“H-hi, Chaewon.”

“Where’s Jay and Jake?” she asked, looking behind the two of you. You’d told the group chat about your evening plans and a lot of freaking out had taken place. 

“Should be here any minute,” you sighed, and when she looked at you questioningly, you told her you’d explain later.

She sat you at a four-person booth by the window and brought you drinks (“On the house,” she’d said with a wink, but you weren’t sure this had been allowed by any of her superiors) for you to sip on while you waited for the others. Every time she was free, she came over to your table and gossiped about the customers. You did not miss the way Sunghoon’s face lit up whenever she approached you.

Jake and Jay see you before you see them. Jay, the only one with a driver’s license out of the three, had picked Jake up, and he was parking his car when Jake gasped loudly, making Jay jump. “I’m trying to park, man, can you be calm?”

“What’s she doing here?” Jake exclaimed, completely ignoring his friend.

Jay followed Jake’s gaze, but he wasn’t sure what his friend was going on about. All he saw was you, whom he recognized from pictures only, Sunghoon, and a waitress that seemed overly-friendly. “Who?” he asked.

“Chaewon,” Jake hissed, like her name was a curse. “She’s ruining our plan!”

Jay sighed. “First of all, this is your plan. Second of all, it was ruined from the beginning. And by that, I mean that your plan sucks, Jake.”

Jake clicked his teeth. “Whatever. Let’s just go,” he said, getting out of the car and heading straight for you. He made sure to give Chaewon a pointed look as he sat next to you in the booth, but she just seemed happy that more people had arrived. 

You bumped your knee into his to get his attention. “Hi,” you said with a smile.

He looked at you dumbly for a few seconds before Jay cleared his throat awkwardly. “Hi. This is Jay,” he said, tilting his head towards the boy but not taking his eyes off of you. You and Jay exchanged hey’s before Chaewon took your order, quickly giving it to the kitchen and scanning the room to make sure every table had what they needed, then headed back to your table. 

“Is Layla okay?” you asked Jake, worry making your brows furrow.

“Huh?” The sudden mention of his dog took him aback. Why wouldn’t she be okay?

“Layla?” you repeated, tilting your head. “Is she okay? You said you had to go to the vet.”

His eyes widened as he remembered his lie from earlier, and he started nodding frantically. “Oh yeah, yeah, she’s fine, we panicked over nothing,” he said with a nervous giggle. Jake was the worst liar Jay and Sunghoon had ever seen, but you were none the wiser.

“What about you, Jay? How was your school thing?” Sunghoon asked, turning to his friend with a glare and making him choke on his Coke.

“Oh, that was fine too, I guess,” Jay mumbled.

As expected, Jake and Chaewon were experts at leading the conversation, and Jay himself was pretty talkative. They all bounced off of each other naturally, and even Sunghoon knew how to throw in witty remarks now and there. You also participated, but you were more than happy just listening to them and laughing along. You tried not to think too much about how your knee would bump into Jake’s once in a while, or how he seemed to look at you every time he made a joke.

At some point, Chaewon had rushed over to your table, looking right at you with wide eyes and beaming. “Oh my God Oh my God Oh my God, Y/N, hat guy is here!” 

You instantly mirrored her expression. “Where where where?” you asked, lifting your body up to scan around the restaurant.

“Over there in the corner, but be discreet!”

You were not at all discreet as your eyes found said hat guy, noting with satisfaction that he was characteristically hatless, and you burst into laughter. “I can’t believe he’s here!”

“Right? Probably has the munchies or something,” Chaewon said, laughing along.

You only noticed then the perplexed looks all three boys were sending your way. “Who the heck is hat guy?” Jake asked, which only made you and Chaewon laugh harder.

“You wouldn’t get it,” she replied airily, waving Jake off as she made her way to a customer who had called for her. 

The boys turned to you and you shrunk in your seat at their attention. “Just a guy the girls and I find funny,” you explained, shrugging and glancing quickly at Sunghoon. If only he knew about all the times you and the girls had gossiped about him, even though he’d done nothing of importance.

When her shift was over, the first thing Chaewon did was take off her apron, then dragged you to the bathroom, where she drilled you for details about your cinema “date” with Sunghoon. 

“It was not a date, it just ended up being the two of us because the others couldn’t make it,” you insisted, but she wasn’t having it. “There’s nothing to say anyway. We got there, talked a bit, watched the movie, walked here, and that’s it.”

Chaewon sighed, shaking her head as she reapplied her lip gloss. A small smile made its way onto your lips. “I think he’s into someone else anyway.” 

You noticed how her hand faltered for a split second. “Oh yeah? Who?” she asked, trying to appear nonchalant, but you knew your friend too well. 

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” 

Unbeknownst to either of you, the discussion between the boys back at the table was not too different from yours.

“Bro, I’m literally going to kill you,” Sunghoon whisper-yelled even though you were way out of earshot already. “Do you know how awkward that was?”

“Just so you know, I had nothing to do with this,” Jay said. “I told him that putting two socially constipated idiots like you wouldn’t end well, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Y/N’s not an idiot!” Jake immediately reacted.

“And I am?!” Sunghoon retorted.

Jay just rolled his eyes.

“You are, because this is the second time you’re alone together with the girl you like and you can barely make conversation with her.”

“For the last time, I don’t like her, I just called her cute once in freshman year-”

“Same thing!”

“Jake, I don’t know how many times I can tell you the same thing before you get it. I’ve been around Y/N enough to know I don’t like her like that, okay? We’ve had two classes where we sat together for a whole semester, and we’ve worked with other people in group projects. Not to mention, you’ve made me sit through one of your practices with her. She’s nice. She sends me the homework when I miss class. She even laughs at my jokes sometimes. And her dog is super cute. I’m sure we’d be better friends if we both didn’t have crippling shyness, but I don’t like her like that. I just don’t.”

“But how?!”

“What do you mean how? This sorta thing doesn’t have any sort of reasonable answer, you just do or you don’t. I don’t. Clearly, you do.”

Jake heard the last part of Sunghoon’s words, and promptly decided to ignore them. He had to understand this first - he’d figure out his feelings later. “This whole time, I thought you were just downplaying your feelings, ‘cause you’re an awkward asshole who doesn’t do emotions,” he said, eyes tightly shut and holding his head, the confusion making his brain hurt.

“Okay, ouch. But no, I wasn’t. I really don’t know what got into your head.”

“I know what got into his head,” Jay said. Both of his friends looked at him questioningly, so he went on. “When Sunghoon mentioned Y/N, you probably thought she was super cute too, Jake. But because of bro code and whatnot, you didn’t wanna show any interest. And then as you saw her around more, you probably liked her more, but you thought Sunghoon liked her, so you sort of gave him your crush on her instead of dealing with it. You lived vicariously through him, basically. Except you’re an idiot because he doesn’t even like her like that, so you could’ve shot your shot a long time ago already. I don’t know why you didn’t just listen to him, to be honest,” Jay finished, shrugging.

“You also thought he liked her!” Jake retorted.

“That’s besides the point. The point is that you’re stupid.”

“But- but, what about all those times you talked about her? I didn’t make those up!” 

Sunghoon rolled his eyes. “The most I ever said about her was something like, Y/N and I both forgot our textbook today, or Y/N brought cookies for the class because it’s her birthday. You were always the one to notice her everywhere and go, There’s your crush, or something.”

Jake sighed, defeated. He could admit Sunghoon was right about something, and he was wrong - but he hated that Jay was also right. Had he really managed to bury his feelings for you all these years just for what he thought was Sunghoon’s sake? Sure, he was a loyal friend, but that felt a little much.

“Whatever,” he mumbled, recoiling from his friends’ expectant gazes and taking a sad bite of his cheeseburger. “It’s not like she likes me back, or anything.” 

He watched in confusion as Sunghoon let out a loud groan, screwing his eyes shut and taking his head in his hands as if it hurt. “This is so frustrating, I’m going to kill myself.”

Jake turned to Jay for some sort of explanation to their friend’s sudden suicidal thoughts, but Jay just looked back at Jake with disgust. “When did you become so dumb? I swear you didn’t use to be like this,” he said, shaking his head in disappointment.

Jake’s eyes flickered between his two friends in utter dismay. “What?”

“Jake,” Jay started. “Do you really, honestly, genuinely think Y/N doesn’t like you?”

The boy leaned back in his seat with a pout. “Yeah,” he mumbled.

Sunghoon’s head whipped up at this. Jake gulped at the intense glare his friend fixed him with - he’d never looked so angry with him, and it made Jake wonder what on Earth he could have said or done that made Sunghoon so upset. “Why?” he asked simply, but the frustration was evident in his voice.

Your diary popped up in Jake’s head. What he had read was clear. Of course, the entry dated from over a month ago now, but why would your feelings have changed since then? Jake sighs deeply, getting ready to reveal to his friends what he’d seen, but then he sees you and Chaewon emerging from the bathroom. “They’re coming back,” he mumbled.

It was Sunghoon and Jay’s turn to sigh. “Just pay attention to her, Jake, okay?” Jay instructed, giving his friend an intent look.

“I already do,” Jake replied, frowning.

“No, really pay attention to her. Then use your pea-sized brain for once in your life, and maybe you’ll realize something.”

A strongly-worded reply was on the tip of Jake’s tongue, but all thoughts of violence and murdering his friend were replaced by images of rainbows and pretty flowers when you smiled at him. He felt like the biggest of idiots for liking you so much and only realizing it now.

“Hi,” he said dumbly as you found your seat next to him again, then stole a french fry from you even though he had many left himself. When you gasped at his audacity, he just giggled.

“Hey!” you exclaimed in protest before stealing a fry back. 

If you hadn’t been so caught up in your little world, you’d have noticed the knowing look your three friends exchanged and their simultaneous eye roll. 

—

The following Monday, you decided to have your tutoring session at your house instead of Jake’s. His mom was away at a convention for the week, so you’d have to take the bus anyway - since your house was two stops earlier, you offered to switch it up for once. Jake had never actually been inside your house and was curious to see what it was like, so he eagerly agreed. 

Kiwi was happy to see him and followed the two of you around the house as you gave Jake a quick tour before going up to your room. When you reached the top landing, you realized that Kiwi was still at the bottom of the stairs and was looking up at you expectantly. “Is she not allowed upstairs?” Jake asked.

“Usually not, but I let her come up when my mom’s not here. Come on Kiwi! It’s okay!”

Kiwi didn’t need to be told twice - she trudged her little body up the stairs, and you couldn’t help but giggle at her adorableness. “She’s so cute,” you cooed, looking at your dog with a huge smile on your face.

“She really is,” Jake agreed, but when you turned your head to face him, he wasn’t looking at Kiwi - he was looking straight at you, a softness in his eyes that made your stomach turn. He snapped out of it when he noticed your round, surprised eyes, and cleared his throat. “So, where’s your room?” he asked, looking around the hallway and avoiding your gaze.

“Over there,” you replied, fighting the smile that tried to make its way to your lips as you headed towards your room, Jake and Kiwi following right behind. 

You told Jake to wait for a second as you went to get a second chair. When you came back, he was standing in front of your shelves, upper body slightly bent forwards to observe all the decorations and framed pictures closer. You placed the chair next to your desk then joined him, answering all the questions he had about the items on your shelves. Who’s this? When was this? Where did you get this? In his defense, you really did have a lot of things - you were trying to get rid of your hoarding habits, but you got attached to every small thing that held some sort of significance. You went to sit at the edge of your bed and just watched him, his eyes glinting with curiosity.

It reminded you of the first time you’d been to his house, how upset he’d seemed when you talked about his baby pictures and how you hadn’t wanted to risk looking at all the stuff in his room. You were also curious about things like that, and you wondered once again what had bothered him so much. The question was burning your tongue - although you were nervous to ask it, not wanting to upset Jake once more, you now knew him well enough to know he wasn’t the type to stay mad for long. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Jake replied, fingers toying with your favorite Littlest Pet Shop figurine you had kept from when you were eight.

“Why didn’t you want me to look at your baby photos that one time?”

Jake paused at your words. He stood up straight and set the figurine back on the shelf. He glanced at you before walking over to your bed and taking a seat next to you, leaning back on his palms while you rested your hands underneath your thighs. 

“You probably noticed I don’t mention my dad, right? Or the fact that he’s never home?” 

You nodded in response. You had noticed it, but you’d never brought the topic up in case it might be sensitive. Jake sighed. “He passed away when I was six.”

You turned your head towards him. To your surprise, his face remained expressionless - you couldn’t detect any sort of sadness or anger in his features, as if he was just reciting a fact. His uncharacteristic numbness upset you even more than any tears could have. 

He met your gaze and gave you a small smile. “I was so young that I only have very vague memories of him, like playing soccer together in the backyard or a trip to the beach with my parents and my brother. I only remember his face and his voice from the photos and videos my mom has shown me.” He sighed again, shifting forwards and resting his hands in his lap, fiddling with his fingers. “So when I see these pictures, they sort of just remind me of what I’ve lost? I really don’t like lingering on them. I sort of just ignore them every time I walk up or down the stairs.”

“I’m sorry, I wouldn’t have mentioned them if I’d known-”

Jake is quick to shake his head. “No, no, don’t be sorry. You couldn’t have guessed.” You want to comfort Jake in some way, thank him for telling you something so personal, but you’re not sure what words to use - so, instead, you take one of his hands in yours and bring it to your lap, then cover it with your other one. Your eyes meet for a second - he looks slightly taken aback at first, but then, his eyes drift down to your joined hands, and a small blush spreads on his cheeks.

“I’m- I’m okay, really. Like I said, it happened so long ago that I’m used to not having a dad now. It almost feels like it’s always been that way, which makes it even weirder to think it wasn’t. It’s just… It feels weird to miss someone I barely remember so much, you know?”

You nodded and let out a low hum. “I do know.” Jake tilted his head at you, silently asking you to go on. “It’s different, but I get that feeling of missing something you barely remember. I have these blurry memories of my parents being happy together and the three of us being a happy family, and then all of a sudden it’s hearing arguments from my room and my dad moving out, and they’re asking me, Do you wanna live with mom or dad?”

You watched as Jake moved his hand slightly, intertwining your fingers together and squeezing your hand. “I was older than you were when they divorced, so I guess I have more memories to hold onto, but they hurt more than anything.” You let out a deep sigh. “My dad cheated, so it’s not like I wished my mom had stayed with him, but I was too young to understand what was happening. I just wanted my parents together again.” 

When you lifted your head to look at him, he met your gaze, and his eyes were so soft yet so intense, like he was seeing right into you. Then he chuckled. “Do you ever get jealous of other people’s parents?” he asks, a shy smile playing on his lips.

“All the time,” you admitted with a chuckle, relieved to find out you weren’t the only one. “Yena has been blessed with these like, practically perfect parents that are still in love after twenty years, never argue and have a healthy relationship with all of their kids. I’m so in awe every time I see them.”

“Sunghoon’s parents are like that. I feel terrible, but every time they come to cheer him on at his competitions, I just get so jealous, wishing I also had three people coming to see my games and not just two. And I always feel so silly for feeling that way.”

“You’re not silly for that, Jake,” you said, and the honesty in your voice seemed to take him aback slightly. A grin spread on your lips. “You may be silly for other things, but not for that,” you teased, making him chuckle. “I can be your third person, if you want,” you said softly, lightly bumping your shoulder against his.

His eyes seemed to light up at your words, and your smile couldn’t help but get wider at his reaction - that was, until he raised an eyebrow, almost defiantly. “Yeah? I thought you found soccer boring,” he said with a playful smirk.

“It’s not boring if you’re the one playing,” you replied. A small noise of surprise escaped his throat before he could help it, not expecting you to be so forward, and you both burst into giggles. 

He cleared his throat when you both calmed down and stood up straighter, trying to put on a cool front. “Of course it isn’t.” He turned his head to look out the window, and the sight of the sunlight perfectly hitting his features and turning his dark brown eyes a hazel color almost took your breath away. “It’s really nice out,” he suddenly said. He turned back to you, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “How about we ditch the tutoring for today and go out?”

His eyes drifted down to your lips, watching as a smile tugged at the corners of your own. “I’m in.”

That was how you found yourselves sitting at a bench in the park close to your house, eating ice cream and watching Kiwi and Layla play together. You tried each other’s ice cream, and you regretted your choice of simple vanilla and strawberry as soon as Jake’s mango ice cream touched your tongue. Your eyes widened at the amazing taste - it felt like you had bit into an actual mango. 

“Good, right?” Jake asked, chuckling at your reaction.

“What the heck, yours is so much better than mine,” you mumbled, pouting at the ice cream in your cup like it had personally hurt you.

Jake thought for a second, looking back and forth between your upset expression and his own cup. “Wanna switch?”

Your heart was screaming yes, but your brain was screaming no. You tried your best to appear genuine when you smiled at him. “No, don’t worry about it. I still like mine.” You looked at him as you scooped another spoonful into your mouth as if to prove to him you were happy with your choice, even going so far as to hum in delight.

Jake just chuckled and shook his head at you, taking your cup and giving you his anyway. You were about to protest until he started eating your ice cream, imitating your previous hum. You quietly accepted the exchange, smiling as you tasted the mango ice cream again and trying to ignore the fact that Jake hadn’t switched the spoons with the cups, so you were using his and he was using yours. 

As you ate in silence, occasionally chuckling at your dogs’ antics, Jake stole some glances at you. He wasn’t sure why you looked so much prettier today than all the times he’d seen you before. Or maybe you were just as pretty as you’d always been, and he was just finally letting himself admit it. 

He may have had many friends, but there weren’t many people Jake was truly himself around. He always felt the need to be this friendly, outgoing guy that made it seem like everything was going well in his life, but with you, he felt like it was okay to stop pretending. He felt like it was okay to ask for help, like it was okay to reveal the darker parts of his life.

Now that Jay and Sunghoon had practically forced him to see the truth, Jake didn’t know what to do about his feelings for you. He finally understood why he always looked forward to your tutoring sessions, why he was so excited whenever he walked past you in the hallways, and why he was so bothered about you and Sunghoon getting along.

Sunghoon. Because even if Jake now knew that he liked you, he also knew that you liked someone else. And what was the point of letting himself fall for you even more when there was no happy ending in sight for him? He’d only get hurt in the end.

Just as the thought hit him, you turned to look at him and meet his gaze, a soft smile on your lips. Every time you smiled at him like that, Jake felt like he was watching a movie. Everything happened in slow-motion, with flowers falling around you and violins playing in the background. Jake almost felt sick, knowing he was only the second lead in your romance movie. He was the stupid werewolf and Sunghoon was the vampire that glistened in the sun and got the girl. (You had convinced him to watch Twilight, saying it was a mandatory watch to understand who you were as a person. Of course, Jake had streamed it that same night. The soundtrack was surprisingly good.)

Your voice snapped him out of his downward-spiraling thoughts. “You know, I almost got scared that Sunghoon would appear out of thin air and start hanging out with us.”

Jake tried not to sneer at the mention of his best-friend-turned-number-one-nemesis. “Why? Wouldn’t you like that?” he mumbled, clearly doing a poor job of seeming unaffected.

You frowned, then lowered your head, focusing your gaze on your almost-finished ice cream. “No, I’d rather if it was just the two of us.” Jake’s eyes widened, unsure if he’d heard that correctly or not. But before he could say anything in response, you spoke again. “It’s just, he was there when I came to watch your practice and when I thought we were all going to see a movie together, it was just him and me. You would’ve liked that movie, by the way,” you said, looking up at Jake with a smile.

Jake’s heart swelled. He wasn’t sure what what you were saying all meant, but unconsciously, his lips mirrored yours and he smiled back at you. Until he remembered you didn’t like him, and his smile fell immediately. Obviously, you had no idea what he was thinking, so his sudden stony expression sent alarms ringing through your head.

“It’s not that I don’t like him, or anything,” you said, panicked, and Jake had to keep himself from scoffing, “it’s just that- you know. It’s nice to hang out with you outside of tutoring sessions,” you finished, mumbling. 

Jake had no idea what you were saying, so he stayed quiet, watching as Kiwi and Layla ran around in circles. You liked Sunghoon, so why would you rather hang out with Jake and not him? You weren’t making any sense. 

You, on the other hand, were not liking Jake’s uncharacteristic silence. In hopes of getting his attention, you crossed one leg over the other, shifting on the bench to face him. “Plus, don’t you think he and Chaewon really hit it off the other night? I think that was the most I’ve ever heard him talk,” you said, trying to lighten the atmosphere. To your dismay, it didn’t work. You didn’t know whether he was sulking or genuinely upset - all you knew was you desperately wanted to see a smile on his pretty face again.

“Jakey?” you called out, and your voice sounded so small it hurt his heart. He hummed in response, only glancing at you for a fraction of a second. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” he replied, scooping the last of the ice cream in his mouth. As he tasted the strawberry and vanilla flavors, he couldn’t believe he had given his precious mango ice cream up all for a girl who didn’t even like him back. What a fool.

“I don’t know, you’re all- weird, all of a sudden, for lack of a better word.” You searched for some sort of an answer in his eyes, but he supplied you with none. 

Jake sighed deeply. He could feel the ugly mix of emotions in his belly turning into anger - anger at what exactly, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to lay it on you. “It’s just the heat, it’s making me tired,” he said. Sure, it was warm for a May afternoon, but it wasn’t that hot. But you didn’t want to push it.

“Should we go home?“ you offered, and the worry in your voice made him feel even worse. He just couldn’t understand why you were being so nice to him. He knew you probably just thought you were looking after a friend, but he'd rather you not care about his well-being and leave him be. He didn’t need one more reason to like you - he already had plenty of those. 

He nodded, mustering as convincing a smile as he could. “Sure.” 

The walk home was much quieter than usual. You could feel that Jake was keeping something to himself, and it was killing you; but whatever it was, you wanted him to tell you when he felt ready and not feel forced to. Your hand was aching, desperate to reach out and grab his as you had done before, but you were afraid that would only push him away even further. So you stayed silent most of the time, only commenting on the things around you or speaking a thought out loud when you thought it might make Jake smile. Every time his lips curled up, even ever so slightly, your heart swelled with relief.

Unbeknownst to you, Jake was making up his mind. He knew he needed time away from you to gather his feelings before he could see you as a friend again. 

When you reached your house, Jake waited outside with the dogs as you grabbed his bag he’d left upstairs. You hugged goodbye as always, but this one was different - it lasted a few seconds longer than usual, and you could swear Jake held you tighter than he normally would. It felt like he was saying goodbye for more than just a couple days.

You didn’t understand why it made your heart ache so much.

—

The next day, when you walked past Jake and Sunghoon in the hallway, Jake barely glanced at you and only tilted his head in your general direction instead of his usual wide grin and wave. You were so shocked by his sudden snubbing that you halted in your steps right away, looking behind you at his retreating figure. You locked eyes with Sunghoon, who seemed just as confused as you felt. He shrugged at you before returning to his friend and nudging his arm.

On Wednesday morning, you got a text from Jake that he couldn’t make it to your tutoring session that afternoon because of an extra soccer practice to prepare for their game that weekend, something he had never mentioned before.

Thursday and Friday weren’t very different, and your heart became heavier with every time you walked past each other and he acted like you weren’t even there. You desperately wanted to know what you’d done wrong, why he’d started to reply in one-word sentences instead of his usual voice messages and tons of emojis, but no matter how much you cogitated, you couldn’t figure it out. Even when you asked him how his game had gone, a dry Good stared back at you from your phone screen.

That Saturday, your girlfriends came over. Yena had brought beads and strings to make accessories out of, and the mere sight of them had brought fond memories back to all four of you - during your first sleepover in freshman year, this was the exact activity that had kept you occupied for hours. 

You got started on them immediately, each finding a comfortable spot in your room as soft music played in the background. You lay on your bed while Chaewon and Yena took over the floor and Hyewon sat at your desk.

“I’m gonna make one of those phone accessories,” Yena said excitedly, reaching for the biggest, most colorful beads.

“I’m gonna make couple bracelets for Jaemin and I,” Hyewon said somewhat shyly but beaming. Yena and Chaewon groaned at her words, but they gave you an idea.

“You guys are vomit-inducing,” Yena replied, and if you didn’t know your friend any better, just going off the tone of her voice, you’d have thought she was being serious. Hyewon just rolled her eyes, used to this daily slander she received simply for being in a relationship.

“I’ll make something for my little sister,” Chaewon butted in, and you and Yena simultaneously ‘aww’ed. 

“So it’s aww when Chaewon does it for her sister, and it’s vomit-inducing when I do it for my boyfriend?” Hyewon exclaimed, appalled.

“Little sisters are cute. Boyfriends are gross,” Yena replied matter-of-factly, making you giggle.

“Whatever. You guys are just jealous that you’re dying alone and I’m not. What are you making, Y/N?” she asked before Yena could retort again. The two exchanged a glare as you thought over your answer.

“I’m not saying,” you replied with a giggle. 

“She’s making one for Jake, that evil wench,” Chaewon immediately said, making your eyes widen. Yena gasped dramatically while Hyewon smiled at you.

“How did you know?” you asked Chaewon.

“Just your face. You’re so obvious,” she snickered. 

“You’re a traitor, Y/N!” Yena exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at you, and you hid your face in your hands, muttering an apology. “Wasting time and energy on a boy.”

“Don’t listen to her, Y/N. Whatever it is you make, he’ll be super happy you thought of him. Then he’ll finally ask you out and you’ll live happily ever after, just like me and Jaemin,” Hyewon said with a serene smile on her face. Chaewon and Yena exchanged a look, then faked a gagging sound. “So bitter,” Hyewon muttered, shaking her head at your friends.

“I’m not sure about that,” you sighed. “I just want to be friends again. He’s been ignoring me all week.”

All three snapped their heads up at you. “He’s been ignoring you?” Yena echoed, and you meekly nodded. “Give me his phone number. No, give me his address. I’m going there right now,” she said, already sitting up.

“Gosh, Yena, it’s fine,” you said, gesturing at her to sit back down, laughing at your friend’s seriousness. “I’ll see him on Monday anyway, I can just see how he behaves then.”

Yena didn’t look convinced, but she yielded anyway. “If he hurts you, I swear I’ll give him a stern talking to. And a broken nose.” You laughed as you thanked your friend. 

Hyewon asked for more details about this Jake situation, so you filled your friends in about his mysterious behavior that week. Chaewon had been the only one to see it firsthand, when you’d walked to a class together and Jake had walked past you without saying anything. You told them about his sparse answers to your texts, his lack of response to the TikToks you sent him. He wasn’t even reacting to your BeReals anymore. It was just such a complete switch-up in attitude that you had no idea what to make of it. They tried to come up with reasons for it, but it really didn’t make much sense. It just felt like he suddenly decided to hate you - or maybe you had been interpreting everything wrong, and the two of you had never been friends in the first place. 

“This is so confusing,” Chaewon suddenly said, seeming lost in thought. “I thought for sure that he liked you.”

“Liked… me?” you echoed.

“Yeah. Just the way he was when we were at the diner. He kept looking at you and was always smiling and blushing whenever you talked to him. Also the way Jay and Sunghoon were behaving. Boys are so obvious when their friend likes someone, it’s like they’re trying to fumble it for him. And I mean, anyone with functioning eyes can see that you like him too, so I don’t know why he’s doing this all of a sudden.”

Yena sighed. “Boys are stupid.”

“That, they are,” you agreed, sighing as well and returning your attention to your craft. Maybe a simple gift like this wouldn’t fix what was going on between you and Jake, but you had to at least try. You couldn’t let go of your friendship so easily.

Even though it seemed as though he could.

Nothing changed the next week. On Monday, you woke up to a text that pulled your heart down into your stomach.

jakey-poo i think we should stop tutoring each other for now

For an hour as you ate breakfast and got ready for school, you ruminated over your answer, only to ask him a simple why? in the end.

jakey-poo i’m to busy w soccer practice and other stuff we can start again when exams are near

you oh okay

You felt pathetic, but you had no idea what to say. You couldn’t force him into this, and you definitely couldn’t show up at his house and demand a better explanation. If you were Yena or Chaewon, maybe you could - but you weren’t. You couldn’t even bring yourself to ask him if the two of you could still hang out outside of that, so scared you were for his inevitable rejection.

During the week, you tried to find a time when you could give him your small handmade gift, but Jake wasn’t even looking you in the eyes anymore. The only time you made eye contact with him over those five days was on Wednesday at lunch - as you walked into the cafeteria, you scanned the whole room, unconsciously searching for him. When you did, he was already looking at you - he was close enough for you to see the slight frown in his eyebrows, the lack of the usual glint in his eyes. But as soon as he’d seen you’d found him, he turned away. You only looked away when Chaewon called out your name.

In the few classes you had together, he always slipped away before you could get to him. Him walking past you like he couldn’t even see you broke your heart a little bit more every time, and by Friday, you had completely given up. Your friendship with Jake was over, and you had no idea why, no idea who or what to blame.

Monday and Wednesday afternoons felt empty now that you had gotten used to spending them with him, and you couldn’t even walk Kiwi without missing him. He seemed to miss Jake and Layla too - he’d sometimes tilt his head at you as if asking where your new friends were, and when you got to the park, he’d gloomily stick to you instead of running around like he usually would, especially when Layla was there.

The worst part was at night, when your thoughts kept you up. You’d reread your and Jake’s text conversations, wondering what went so wrong so quickly, warm tears spilling from your eyes out of sadness and tiredness. On those nights, you’d sneak Kiwi up to your room and let him cuddle up to you in your bed. You’d comfort each other that way.

You had no idea that a couple kilometers away, Jake lay in bed sleepless as well, Layla at the edge of his bed and whining in her sleep. You had no idea that missing you had carved a deep hole in his chest.

—

Enough was enough.

It had been days since Layla had last seen Kiwi, and to a young pup like her, that felt like eternity. Lately, Jake hadn’t seemed happy to go on walks with her like he used to, and he barely had any energy to play with her. She also hadn’t seen you in days, and she wondered if that had anything to do with Jake’s recent despondency. 

But thankfully, Layla was a smart girl, so she knew exactly what to do to fix this dire situation. On Friday, she waited for Jake to come back from soccer practice and take her on a walk. As soon as they reached the sidewalk outside of their house, she pulled on her leash in the opposite direction of their usual route. Jake tried pulling her the other way, but she wouldn’t budge.

“We’re going that way, Layla,” Jake said, amused by his dog’s sudden stubbornness. Layla barked back. “Come on!” 

She was really not moving. “We never go that way,” Jake said, sighing. “That way’s the-”

That’s when he realized. Layla wanted to go to the park you went to with Kiwi. “But what if we ran into them?” Jake asked. 

Layla barked again. She wanted to say, That’s exactly why I want to go there, but of course Jake didn’t understand. He sighed again and obliged, letting Layla lead the way. She had a good feeling that she’d finally see her friends again today. 

Jake’s heart started beating faster with every step he took, knowing that you might be out right now, too. When he’d seen you at school, you’d seemed as sad as he was, and he felt terrible for perhaps being the reason behind it - but he didn’t know what else to do. He could either spare your feelings or his. If this was hurting you, he knew you’d move on quickly enough anyway - and when he came to terms with being just friends with you, he’d come back, and everything would be perfect like it used to be. Foolproof plan.

If there was one thing Jake had learned from the tutoring sessions with you, it was that the weather always reflected the protagonist’s inner thoughts. If they were upset, it would be gray and rainy - if they were happy, it would be warm and sunny. Jake glared at the sun, just another reminder that he wasn’t the main character in this story. If he was, it would be thundering and lightning would be striking.

As if his life was a joke, two minutes after Jake and Layla had walked into the park, he saw you. At least you were facing the other direction, so you couldn’t see him, and he could redirect his route to avoid you. But he let himself indulge in the moment for a few seconds. You had laid out a picnic blanket for you and Kiwi and rested on your stomach with your elbows propping you up, reading a book. Kiwi slept peacefully next to you - this dog was the furthest thing from a guard dog Jake had ever seen. You kicked your feet up in the air, flip flops discarded to the side of the blanket. Jake was happy to see you like this, enjoying the warmth of this sunny May afternoon. 

He was about to walk away, but a sudden movement caught his eye. Two school kids started running to you, and before you could even register their presence, one of them snatched your flip flops and they both sprinted away, shrieking with laughter like two little devils. Where the hell were their parents?!

Without thinking, Jake started running after them, and so did Kiwi and Layla. 

“Hey! Come back here!” Jake yelled, hoping in vain that these kids would listen to someone older than them. Kiwi did his best, but his tiny legs didn’t allow for such a chase - Layla, barking loudly at the thieves, was the first to reach them, and she managed to scare them so much, they tripped over their feet. But unlike them, she was well-behaved, so she sat once her job was done and waited for Jake to arrive. 

“What are you two doing? You can’t just steal other people’s things!” he admonished, holding onto his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

Both kids were already teary-eyed. “We just wanted to play a prank, we’re sorry!” one of them quickly said, voice shaky.

“It’s not to me you should apologize, but to her,” Jake said, turning around to point in your direction. That’s when he noticed you sitting on your knees, hands covering your face as your shoulders trembled. “You made her cry!” Jake exclaimed, tone much angrier than seconds prior. “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing the kids by their shoulders and forcing them to keep up with his quick steps.

You didn’t notice their presence in front of you until Jake prompted them. At the sound of the all too familiar voice, you whipped your head up. Jake swore he heard his heart breaking when he saw your red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks. You barely heard the kids’ apology, so amazed you were at suddenly seeing Jake.

“We’re sorry for stealing your flip-flops and making you cry,” the first one said.

“Sorry,” repeated the other one, handing you your shoes.

“Oh, right. Thanks, just don’t do it again,” you replied, sniffing as you took back your shoes.

“We won’t!” they replied in unison before running away once more.

Jake stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, unsure what to say. He watched you stare at your flip flops like you’d never seen them before in your life. “You’re not going to thank me for catching those delinquents?” he asked after a small while, chuckling slightly.

This made you look up at him. He gulped as your eyes met. Then, you burst into sobs again, and Jake started panicking. He crouched down to your level, first holding you by the shoulders then forcing your head out of your hands so he could wipe away your tears with the pads of his thumbs.

“No no no, why are you crying, Y/N?” he asked softly, pulling you into a hug.

You continued crying into his shoulder, ignoring Kiwi and Layla’s confused stares. “You- you- I haven’t seen you in ages!” you exclaimed.

Jake sighed. He didn’t understand why you were crying like this for him, all he knew was that he’d never felt so awful. “I’m sorry, Y/N,” he whispered into your hair, pulling your shaking body closer to him. “I’m sorry.”

You leaned back to glare at Jake, your bottom lip jutting out in discontent. “Do you even know how much I missed you?”

Jake held your head in his hands like it was the most precious thing in the world. Mouth agape in surprise, he looked at you with sad eyes. “You… you did?”

Your eyebrows creased. “Of course I did!” Another sob rippled through your body, and Jake took you back in his arms, wrapping them around your shoulders and resting his cheek against your hair. 

“I missed you too.”

“Then why did you do this?” you asked, voice breaking.

“Because I didn’t want to get hurt,” Jake whispered back. “But I didn’t think I’d hurt you. I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

You leaned back again, but this time, you looked confused rather than angry. His eyes were soft as they scanned your face and as he brushed strands of your hair back behind your ears. “Why would you get hurt?” you asked again, bringing your voice to the same volume as his.

Jake sighed and squeezed his eyes shut for a second, as if in pain, before opening them again and boring them into yours. “I like you so, so much Y/N. So much so that I don’t know what to do with myself. But I know that you don’t feel the same way, and I was scared that by staying by your side, I’d just fall in love with you even more and get hurt in the end. So I pushed you away because I didn’t know what else to do, but I’m so sorry I- You’re crying again?”

Your fists grabbed at the front of Jake’s t-shirt as sobs raked through your body once more. It was official - Jake was the stupidest person you’d ever met. And you were in love with him.

“Why are you crying?”

“Because I like you too, you idiot!” you yelled back. Your tears were probably staining his t-shirt, but you couldn’t care less. He liked you. Jake liked you.

You were too busy crying to see Jake’s eyes slowly widening in disbelief. “You what?!”

Gently, Jake pushed your shoulders back so he could look at you. Even with puffy eyes and a runny nose, you were the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. Pretty like an angel that had graced the Earth with her presence. “You what?” he repeated, just to hear you say it again.

“I like you, Jake. I’m so in love with you it's actually pathetic,” you said with a chuckle, looking down out of shyness. But when you looked back up, Jake’s eyes were going back and forth between yours, the expression on his face like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard but desperately hoped it was true.

As you locked eyes, both of your faces lit up with grins. You burst into laughter together, finding each other’s hands and intertwining your fingers together. Then Jake brought you back into his arms, holding tightly, as if he was scared you might disappear any second. Kiwi and Layla had long walked away to give the two of you some needed privacy.

In each other’s arms, you rocked side to side gently and laughed for no reason other than the incredible fact your feelings were reciprocated. “You stink, you know,” you suddenly said in-between giggles. “You sweat while you ran after those kids.”

“I sweat? You mean I swote, right?” Jake asked a pause.

You leaned back to look at Jake. “Swote?” you echoed, and he nodded. Your umpteenth smile made your cheeks lift. “You have to be kidding-”

“I am,” Jake cut off, mirroring your smile. “I just wanted to make you laugh.”

You gasped and lightly punched his chest before letting your body fall against his again. “You’re so silly,” you said, sighing in bliss at the sound of his giggles.

Then all of a sudden, Jake pulled away and looked at you, almost frightened. “What about Sunghoon?” 

“What about him?” you asked back, confused by Jake’s question.

“I thought you- Didn’t you- you know…”

You tilted your head at Jake, a small grin spreading on your lips again. “I don’t know.”

“I thought you liked him…” Jake mumbled, looking away with a pout.

Before you could stop it, a noise of confusion left your throat. You looked at Jake like he was insane. “I can barely have a conversation with Sunghoon, what made you think I liked him?”

Jake pursed his lips and let a resigned puff of air out of his nose. “I, um- Remember when we mixed our backpacks up?” he asked and you nodded, smiling at the fun memory. “I may have, um, I may have read… your… diary,” he admitted, voice getting quieter with each word. He dared a glance at you - you looked horrified, eyes wide and mouth agape. “And you wrote that you liked Sunghoon,” he finished with a whisper.

It was silent for a few seconds, and Jake was bracing himself for a slap to the face or your screams, until you did the last thing Jake expected you to do - you laughed. You laughed so hard and for so long that he got scared you had gone insane and this was the first part of your mental breakdown before you murdered him in cold blood for having invaded your privacy. He would’ve deserved it, he thought.

“I don’t- oh my God, Jake, I don’t- I don’t like Sunghoon. I never really have, or not in the way you think, I can’t- oh my God,” you explained in between giggles, trying to catch your breath but starting to laugh again every time you managed to compose yourself. Jake tried to laugh along, but he was too confused to do so properly.

“You’re not mad?” Jake asked, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

“No,” you replied, shaking your head and the last giggles out of your throat. “You read it ages ago, and we didn’t even know each other back then, there’s no point in being mad now. It’s just funny - I know exactly why you think I liked Sunghoon, but I didn’t. Not really. And even if I did, those feelings are nothing compared to the ones I have for you now,” you said, beaming. A blush spread on Jake’s cheeks, and you could tell he was trying (and failing) to contain a proud grin.

You explained to Jake the ‘character’ thing you and your friends had going on and that Sunghoon (and hat guy) just happened to be one of them - you watched as Jake narrowed his eyes and slowly nodded, trying to understand this concept that was so foreign to him. 

“You know, it all makes a lot more sense now,” Jake said when you were explaining. “It would’ve been weird for you to like Sunghoon when I was right there.” He smirked down at you as you playfully rolled your eyes. 

“Oh my God!” you suddenly exclaimed, startling Jake in the process. Dramatic as always, he put a hand over his heart and exhaled loudly. “I have something for you. For us, actually.” You reached into your bag and got out the two accessories you’d made for you and Jake. “These are for us to put on our backpacks, so that we don’t confuse them again. They also match.”

Jake’s eyes were fixated on the string of beads as you placed into his palm. “I tried to give it to you over the week, but…” 

A teardrop fell into Jake’s palms, and when you looked at him, you realized he’d started crying. “Jake?” you cooed softly, and he sniffled, wiping away the tears from his eyes.

As a response, he wrapped his arms around your shoulders and buried his face in your hair. “Thank you. And I’m sorry. I promise you’ll never go a second without my undivided attention from now on,” he said, voice shaking with emotion, and you hummed happily.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

He leaned back, and you were relieved to find the familiar puppyish grin on his lips. You gazed into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, and before he could stop himself, he grabbed your head in his hands and pressed a delicate kiss to your forehead. You raised your eyebrows in surprise, but when his face was back in front of yours, your eyes immediately drifted to his lips. They looked soft and plump and pink, and were utterly inviting. Every time you’d started daydreaming about kissing Jake, you’d stopped yourself, not wanting to over-indulge in your fantasies. But was this finally, really happening?

“Y/N?” Jake said quietly. You could swear his face was getting closer.

“Hm?”

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

Your face broke out into a grin. Without warning, you pressed your lips against Jake’s - initially just for a peck, but as soon as you started pulling away, Jake chased after your lips and trapped them into a kiss, a proper one this time. You’d never done this before, so it was naturally somewhat clumsy, but you and Jake were so giddy with excitement that you couldn’t care less. So what if you were smiling so hard, your teeth clashed against his, or you kept bumping noses? You were kissing Jake Sim. 

The second time around, he let you pull away to catch your breath, and you wished you could photograph the sight in front of you - Jake with flushed cheeks, closed eyes and a serene smile on his face. He was so pretty, and now, he was all yours.

When he opens his eyes and finds you looking at him, his smile widens. “I’ll take that as a yes?”

“Yes,” you echoed, laughing. You pressed your lips to his cheek before burying your face in the crook of his neck.

He hugged you to him and the sweet sound of his giggles filled your ears and your heart. “My girl,” he whispered, before leaning his head back, face to the sky, and screaming it loud enough for the whole park to hear. You tried to shush him, but you couldn’t stop laughing yourself out of sheer excitement. Layla and Kiwi came running back to you, barking happily and trying to lick your faces. 

“I cried so much today, my eyes are gonna be puffy tomorrow morning,” you said between giggles. 

Jake pressed his lips to yours in a chaste kiss. “I’ll make sure you never cry again, Y/N,” he said, and he sounded so genuine, you almost wanted to cry again right then and there.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur - while you and Jake kissed, laughed, talked, and hugged, hours that felt like minutes passed you by. Jake kept on looking at the accessory you made him, poking fun at you for knowing his favorite color even though he’d never mentioned it.

“It was a lucky guess,” you grumbled. “Your room’s walls are that color,” you said, pointing to a particular dark blue bead.

“I love it,” he replied with a kiss to your forehead.

As always, he walks you home - and this time, you can take his hand without any hesitation. Your mom had come home from work while you and Jake were out, and you found her in the kitchen, prepping some veggies for dinner. 

As soon as Jake introduced himself, a flash of revelation struck her and she shot you a knowing smirk. “So you’re Jake,” she said, and the boy glanced at you with amused confusion. “That one over there has been badgering me about you these past few weeks.”

Apparently, you agreeing to be his girlfriend had already gone to his head, because instead of looking surprised at your mom’s words, he slowly turned to you with an arrogant smirk gracing his lips. “Has she?”

Your mom nodded slowly. “Oh, yes.” Then her expression slowly morphed into something else as she remembered your red, puffy eyes from the other evening when you’d told her about what was going on with Jake. She raised her kitchen knife and pointed it straight to him, eyes narrowed. “If you ever hurt my daughter again, I’m putting you in the lasagna, young man.”

Jake gulped, smirk completely wiped off of his face. You just watched in amusement. “I- I won’t,” he stuttered, eyes fixed on the blade of the knife.

A wide grin reappeared on your mom’s face as she went back to cutting the vegetables. “Good!” 

Jake looked at you for some sort of explanation, but you simply shrugged. He’d just have to get used to your mom’s crazy. 

“You know, you’re just as handsome as she described,” your mom told Jake with a wink.

“Mom, please!” you exclaimed, cheeks burning with heat. You liked it better when she was threatening your boyfriend with a knife, but he was relieved by the new turn this conversation had taken.

“What else has she said?”

“Oh, you know, just your typical he’s so smart, he’s so cute, he’s so funny-”

“Okay, that’s it!” you cut in before your mom could spill more on you. You ignored Jake’s noises of complaint as you grabbed him by the shoulders and led him towards the door. “I think it’s time for you to go home, no?” 

“Y/N, come on!” Jake whined, giggling. 

“Why don’t you stay for dinner, Jake?” your mom offered, making you stop in your tracks. You stared wide-eyed at her but she just looked at Jake, wearing an inviting smile.

“Sure!” Jake beamed. “I just need to call my mom.”

“Oh, invite her along! I always make enough to feed an army, anyway.”

“Really?” Jake asked, incredulous. Since his brother had left for university, it had always been just he and his mom at the dinner table. The thought of sharing a meal with you and your mom filled his heart with warmth. 

“Yeah!”

Jake smiled giddily as he got his phone out. “Thanks, she’ll be stoked.”

Although you both wanted to help your mom, she urged you to stay outside with the dogs and enjoy the last rays of sunshine of the day, insisting she didn’t need any help. So you and Jake spent some time throwing sticks for Kiwi and Layla and giggling at their cuteness. Kiwi quickly got exhausted and came to lie down at your feet, but Layla was tireless. “Your dog, your responsibility,” you said as you sat down next to Kiwi, rubbing his tummy and watching Jake throw the stick over and over again for Layla.

Jake was as relentless as Layla, and every time she ran after the stick, he ran to you and pressed a kiss to another part of your face, making you giggle every time. Once on your forehead, once on your nose, once on your cheek, then the other, and once on your lips.

Then his mom rang the bell, and as your mom opened the door for her, the oddest thing happened - they called out each other’s name and hugged as if they were old friends. You and Jake exchanged a confused look before turning your attention back to them.

“What a coincidence!”

“Right! Such a small world, I can’t believe you’re my daughter’s boyfriend’s mom.”

“Boyfriend? Gosh, has he finally asked her out? I was going crazy seeing him moping around in his room!”

“Mom!” Jake yelled, face already reddening as you burst into laughter.

You joined them inside the house and set the table while your mom finished up dinner. Jake’s mom had brought a bottle of red wine as a gift, so she poured two glasses for her and your mom, but you and Jake stuck to Sprite. 

Apparently, they knew each other from some yoga class they both went to every Sunday - you found out this was the woman your mom often went out for lunch or drinks with. They were so excited to meet each other like this that they talked most of the time, leaving you and Jake to eat your food quietly and giggling every time you made eye contact or your feet touched under the table. 

Just as you were about to take your last bite of lasagna, your phone pinged with a message. Curiously, so did Jake’s. Chaewon had sent a message into the group chat, asking to meet her at work when her shift was done because she was craving an Oreo milkshake.

chae bae y/n u better come ik ur not doing anything better tonight anyway

You scoffed. You were doing something better.

“Shit, today’s Friday! The boys are waiting for me at the diner, I completely forgot,” Jake exclaimed as he read the messages on his phone.

“Language, Jake,” his mom scolded.

“At the diner?” you repeated.

“Yeah, that one we went to last time. Why?” Jake asked when he noticed your surprised expression.

“That’s where Chaewon wants to meet.”

You both turned to your respective moms, silently asking for permission to leave the dinner table.

“Just go,” your mother said with a smile.

“I’ll take Layla home later,” Jake’s mom added.

You thanked them before rushing to get a bag and heading to the bus stop, hoping a bus would come by soon. Twenty minutes later, you were opening the doors of the diner and looking around for your friends, who were nowhere to be found. You were fishing your phone out of your pocket to call Chaewon when a familiar voice caught your and Jake’s attention.

“What are they doing together?” you heard Jay say, followed by loud shushes. You turned your head to find all five of your friends (plus Jaemin) crammed in a booth in the corner that was somewhat hidden from the rest of the restaurant. But they were trying so hard to be discreet that it made their presence even more obvious - they hid their faces with their hands as if that would make them disappear from your view. You and Jake shared a look before chuckling, shaking your head at your friends.

“Whatever, they’ve clearly found us,” Jay sighed and exited the booth, walking towards the two of you.

“Were you guys trying to get us to make up or something?” Jake asked with an amused smile.

“Yeah, we grouped up and planned this whole thing. It was a real team effort.”

“It might’ve worked better if you hadn’t all stayed here, you guys were so obvious,” you chided.

“Tell that to your friends over there! They insisted on watching it unfold,” Jay grumbled, and you looked behind him to see your friends frantically waving at you.

You switched to a bigger booth that could accommodate all seven of you, and as soon as you’d placed your orders, Yena practically pounced on you, demanding an explanation as to how the two of you were already made up.

You turned to look at Jake and smiled at him before answering. “It’s all thanks to Kiwi, really,” you told Yena.

“Kiwi? As in your dog Kiwi?” Chaewon asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Mh-hm.” In your peripheral, you noticed Jake tilting his head at you.

“You mean Layla, right?”

You imitated his head movement. “No, I mean Kiwi.”

“But Layla made me go to the park today. I wouldn’t have gone there if it wasn’t for her,” Jake insisted, giving you an are you being serious look that you mirrored.

“I wasn’t going to go outside at all but Kiwi kept bugging me to take him on a walk, that’s why I was in the park in the first place. It’s thanks to Kiwi,” you repeated.

“It’s thanks to Layla,” Jake retorted, playfully narrowing his eyes at you.

“Trouble in paradise,” Jaemin whispered, and Hyewon slapped his arm.

The whole table was silent as you and Jake stared each other down, waiting to see who would cave first. It was like everyone could breathe again when Jake’s face broke out into a grin and he rested his arm behind your shoulders. “Okay, it’s thanks to Kiwi,” he conceded, making you hum in satisfaction. You rested your head on his shoulder and ignored Yena’s groan of disgust at the PDA.

But Jake, as always, wasn’t letting you off the hook so easily. “And Layla.”

—

02.06.202X - 12:18

rodrigo hater y/n i can see you being gross from across the courtyard can u guys not feed each other ur still on school grounds and ur ruining my day have some decency

sweet hyewon you guys are super cute <3  jaemin and i only have the same lunch period once a week i miss him

rodrigo hater ugh wheres chaewon she’d have my back

you hyewon love u yena frigg off you’re not going to like this… i think she’s with sunghoon rodrigo hater WHAT

sweet hyewon omg hahahaha saw it coming cuuuuute

rodrigo hater i hate you all so much you’re all kicked out of my celibacy club

chae bae we weren’t part of it in the first place

rodrigo hater GO AWAY YOU TRAITOR

03.06.202X - 09:15

you jake wake up  wake up wake up please

jake ??? R U okay?

you kiwi keeps whining i think he wants to see layla come over?

jake . did u just wake me up before 10 am on a sunday morning for this

you i made pancakes?

jake i’m going back to sleep

you but i miss you :(

jake running

07.06.202X - 16:39

stink #1 hey

jake no

stink #1 wtf man

jake im busy

stink #1 smooching ur girl?

jake yeah stay mad bro

stink #1 where’s hoon

stink #2 he’s at ice skating practice with me <3 this is chaewon btw

jake AYO????

stink #1 HE GAVE YOU ACCESS TO HIS PHONE???

stink #2 hehehe bye losers

stink #1 oh my god jake this is huge

jake right… our little boy he’s grown so much

stink #1 i’m getting teary eyed anyway i wanted to say i think we should invite the girls to bro night more often it’s always fun with them

jake oh? if u wanna see yena just say so bro

stink #1 fuck u man

jake ur literally so obvious you get 100% more obnoxious when she’s around

stink #1 idc she laughs at my jokes

jake which is proof that there’s something wrong w her anyway i’ll ask my girl about it

stink #1 ew and thx ^^

09.06.202X - 17:03

jakey-poo y/nnnnnn y/n hellloooooo y/n y/n y/n baby :(((( where are u what r u doing i miss you hello y/n my baby darling angel pls answer me layla misses you

you jake sim

jakey-poo HIIIIII

you jay is a genius i’m anime pomodoroing the hell out of this essay it’s working so well i’m almost done with it already

jakey-poo don’t compliment another man ever again i’m going to cry

you but jay’s your friend

jakey-poo i’ll kill him if i have to

you gosh okay jay’s an idiot

jakey-poo hahaha he is ice cream after dinner ???

you duh

31.07.202X - 21:03

jakey-poo i’m waiting for you outside the theater baby we have a lot of talking to do. i can’t believe you kissed someone else in front of me

you jake baby it was just acting <3 you know you’re the only one i really kiss

jakey-poo i know i am so come here and kiss me quick you did so well and you were so pretty on stage and i love you so much  COME QUICK I WANNA KISS YOU

you i’m hurrying i promise but a lot of people are trying to talk to me :(

jakey-poo ofc they are you killed it my baby’s already famous <3

you hehe love you my jakey-poo

jakey-poo STOP IT WITH THAT

permanent taglist: @zreamy @sunghoonmybeloved @lalalalawon @sd211 @w3bqrl @raikea10 @wntrnghts @moonlighthoon @4imhry @rikisly @loves0ft @iamliacamila @theboingsuckerasseater9000 @chaechae-23 (ask to be removed/added!)

© asahicore on Tumblr, 2023. please do not repost, translate, or plagiarize my works. feedback and reblogs always appreciated!

cute !!

doctors orders! - sim jake [complete]

synopsis. jake was a little concerned by how often you were sat in his waiting room, but he couldn't deny how he searched his appointment list each morning hoping to see your name

pairing. jake x female reader

genre. social media au, fluff, comedy, so much angst omg sorry it's painful, smut for sure

characters. enhypen, chaeryeong and yeji of itzy, wonwoo and mingyu of seventeen, seowon and woonggi

warnings. lots of swearing (it's me so...), very suggestive themes involving jake, smut in later chapters, mentions of character family death

start date. 10.05.23

end date. 12.07.23

taglist. CLOSED

profiles.

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epilogue episode one.

watermelon sugar. | JAKE

[ 🎬 ]! ぃ ⸻ 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁?

synopsis. he's the sweetest to you, one might confuse him for your boyfriend, but he's not, he just your fuckboy of a roommate who treats you like a delicate candy, always looking out for you and never at you; or so you think.

pairing. sim jaeyun(jake) x fem!reader

genre. fluff, very slight angst, crack/humor, college!au, roommates!au, fuckboy!jake, computer science & programming major!reader, exercise physiology major!jake, nonidol!au, soccer player!jake

featuring. brief mentions of jay and sunghoon, and a fling!oc

wordcount. 7.1k

warnings. two brief scenes of public harassment, i tried to be as inclusive as possible but there might be scenes where i may have failed to do so and i apologize for it. also the reader's personality has been described at various points which some might not like.

inspired by. from a dream and the reader being a watermelon addict was inspired from my own recent newfound addiction with mangoes. also because i read a roommate fic and suddenly wanted to write one where the member is whipped for the reader but they are oblivious.

[🗒] NOTE. this is for my 500 follower special, the fic that won the poll not proofread & lowercase intended i reread it once and it feels trash honestly wtf have i written, the ending seems rushed too :((

"i don't mind this feeling."

god forbid what you had done in your past life to get a roommate like jake, a complete package; a concoction of all classic kinds of roommate one could possibly expect. you aren't complaining though he takes care of you in every way he could, making you feel like you are his little sister even though you're both in the same year. he makes you breakfast, helps with the cleaning- you both actually have it planned to have a cleaning day every week to polish the apartment, cooks and does the dishes more than often except when he's busy or late from his soccer practice, video games in his room with the door shut so that the sound of him shouting at the screen doesn't disturb you, does the laundry- even your bras and underwear, he's just too used to those clothings to give a care to get embarrassed. calls you his candy well not exactly 'his' but according to him this nickname of yours is only reserved for him, and only gives a fuck about you besides his two best friends; who only know your name and jake has also made sure they're aware you're off-limits.

the only drawback is him being a fuckboy, having to find a new girl in the house almost every other day, ofttimes hearing them even with your door closed and hands pressed on your ears. at first it felt disgusting, then you got used to it, and now very recently you've been feeling weirdly dejected, you feel a certain kind of hatred towards the girls, something you can't pin point exactly why and what it is.

"candy, my laptop broke down again!" you hear jake shout from his room just as you're preparing to get ready for shower, choosing one shower gel out of the four you have and grabbing your towel before tying up your usually let down hair into a messy bun. sighing you walk out your room, keeping what all you held in your hand on the kitchen counter and entering his room through the half open door. he's sitting on his bed, a sheepish smile on his face, you turn to look at his desk to see his laptop closed, "maybe if you used your school laptop to study instead of playing games on it, it would stay healthy. but I assume you tricked me into coming here, it's not gonna work everytime yun," you click your tongue in feigned annoyance making him grin wider,"well it does work everytime though,"

"what is it?", asking in a sing song tone, you plop down on his desk chair, spinning in rounds with your legs slightly extended out swinging them subtly, hands gripping on the arms of the chair while looking up at the phosphorescent glow-in-the-dark stickers you forcefully put up on the ceiling of his room. "actually eunsang, she-" he starts hesitantly but you cut him off, knowing what he's about to say, "I told- no warned you not to get involved with her for a second time, didn't I?"

"yes but it happened and now she's after me all the time, she even showed up to my soccer practice yesterday! please just this one time, please help me get rid of her constant pestering," clamping together his hands he pouts, giving you his puppy eyes for a few seconds and when you don't show a reaction of any sort he resorts to bribery,"I'll buy you tons of watermelon lollipops! from your favorite brand that too!" his eyes sparkle with hope, expecting you to fall for it, like you do every single time but alas patterns break and so did your greed for sweets; or perhaps you suppressed it.

"no, i'm on a diet. I gave up on sweets, what if I get diabetes? will you," you point at him dramatically,"take responsibility?" to which his stance morphs into a stunned one for a moment before he's regaining the part of him which knows how you are like, "yes of course I'll help you take your meds and-" he raps quickly in a hurried note aware that you'll not let him answer if he's not fast enough but you still beat him to it, speaking over his voice, loudly so that his words are drowned out even though you hear them very clearly,"will you? NO you will not! so let me just shower peacefully before I develop the urge to lock you in the bathroom when you're in there later," with that you rush out the room swiftly incase he decides to use his strength against you to get you to accept his beseech; it doesn't help that he's training to become an athlete, a buff center forward in comparison to you who barely puts effort into doing even a little bit of yoga once a month. it's obvious he'll have you give in if he wants but he's too sweet to force you.

its comes as a shock to you when the next day, the first thing you see waking up in the morning and walking into the living room, is eunsang standing by the open kitchen's counter, clad in one of jake's dress shirt that you recognize from doing his laundry occasionally, pouring herself a glass of water. when she notices you, she's gives you a small, friendly smile which you know is fake, she's doing it just so to look good and polite in jake's eyes. but sad to say it's of no use, because she's not even there in his eyes to begin with, the moment the boy comes out of his room, his field of vision doesn't even find her, passing by her very visible figure like she's a microscopic bug to ruffle your hair in a dotting manner, morning voice coming out in an adoring essence,"good morning, candy," he smiles and scrunches up his nose when he notices the baby cat you both adopted last month, curled up in the corner of the couch,"and mei,"

wishing him morning in response you give him a look which silently delivers your question of what is going on, surely you heard them last night, but you didn't know it was her, you weren't even expecting her to be the one, she was like the last person you would have assumed. in return he sends you a flying look that he'll explain everything later.

"yunie~," your ears perk up at her voice, eyes narrowing in a deadly stare at the nickname you call him with leaving her mouth, it's certain now, like jake you have blossomed a definite possession over a nickname.

jake's eyes shift to look at you for a second and then he's running a hand through his hair, dropping his sweet conduct to get back into his usual cold fuckboy self, "you're still here? better if you leave soon, candy doesn't like all this," then walks around her to the other side of the counter, into the kitchen, opening the upper cabinets,"what do you want for breakfast candy? should I make you some toast? or do you want your usual dose of sweet?" he asks resting his palms on the granite surface and leaning against it slightly while turning to fix his gaze on you; completely ignoring the dumbfounded girl beside you, who clenching her jaw, gives you a weird stare before dashing into his room.

"my watermelon slush please," pouting your lips at him, you walk over to sit up on the kitchen counter, your dangling legs giving his lower thighs a light kick every two seconds. watching him prepare your drink first, you whisper in a low voice,"did you like make a friends with benefit kind of arrangement or something?" the thought of it disturbs you for some reason, it's not new for you to see random girls in your apartment, or to hear them while they're at it, but it still sort of gives you an uneasy feeling, something you don't like feeling.

"it was a last time kind of deal actually," he pauses to give you a quilty smile, finishing your slushy just as eunsang hastily steps out, wearing what you assume her clothes from the previous night, holding whatever she brought along. she observes as jake hands you the cup watching you take a sip,"is it good?" he asks in a tone way different than the one she's acquainted to him using with her and it makes her mad and sad, driving her to hurry out of the apartment.

your eyes follow her figure, flinching silently when she bangs the door close harshly,"aggressive," you comment, your hooded orbs as you drink from your favorite mug shifting back to him. "from what I've seen, you're way more aggressive," jake laughs softly, index finger coming to poke at your cheek tenderly.

you're about to talk back on his words when he cuts you off before you've even drank the liquid still cheeks full in your mouth,"we need to get the groceries this week, I have soccer practice tomorrow and the day after, so I think it'll be best to go today," he shuffles around, making himself some toast.

you give a nod of approval as if he's asking for permission but you know if you say no, then he's not gonna drag you with him,"I'm gonna go take a shower first then," hopping down, you place your empty mug in the sink, and skip to your room to take your bath supplies. "let's shower together," he says as you step out the threshold of your bedroom door, a playful mischievousness in his voice and expression. it's clearly a joke but you can't help feeling flustered internally, you've been keeping up with his flirty and touchy antics for the past year yet never found yourself getting used to it, he's too attractive to get used to; at least that's what excuse your brain gives you.

"and if we get locked in there, who's gonna get us out? you know the door lock has problems," you complain in a soft groan making you appear adorable in his eyes.

at that he stands straighter, a fleeting look of flabbergast clouding his face before he's breaking out in a teasing smile and brazenly narrowed eyes,"so does that mean if the lock was fine you'd actually shower together with me," he purposely stops all he's doing to stare at you, moving his eyebrows cheekily, provoking your sarcasm to come to the surface,"I never said that," sticking your tongue out at him, you close the bathroom door.

two hours later you're both strolling through the isles of shelving, bright florescent lighting, end displays of popular products, sale signs, banners with store mottoes, isle signs stating product location, rows and rows of household products. he's pushing the cart as you look around for items to cross out one by one the ones in your checklist. the way you both discuss and bicker over what to keep in the cart and what not to, anyone who sees you both would assume it to be a couple grocery trip, it feels as such too, how he insists on taking what you like while you argue that you're on a diet and need to cut down on the consumption and desires of your sweet tooth, it feels sweet, he feels sweet.

"i'm taking the pop tarts!" he shouts from two isles away and even though it's not a question your brain processes it as one as you answer shouting back,"...okay fine!" capturing the attention of an old couple who glance at you and say something you don't understand but you assume it's probably about how annoying you both are, shouting at the mart.

in the end jake convinces you to continue your diet later over the summer break saying that he'll help you and grabs a bunch of packets of your favorite snacks, your favorite brand's watermelon lollipops and not to forget the fruit itself. after the billing, he carries all the bags except the small one that held your lollipops, which he asked the cashier to pack separately, in case you'll want to eat one instantly.

on your way back, you both take the subway. you have a store near your apartment complex but because of the lack of fruits there jake had you come to the big supermarket miles away. due to the busy hour of a weekday when you board the train there's only one seat left, jake urges you to sit but you feel it to be unfair and demand that whoever wins in a of game rock, paper, scissors will occupy the space. he wins and as a result you stand in front of him, holding onto the metal pole with both of your hands, the bags resting at his foot.

it's just one stop through when jake suddenly pulls you on to his lap, adjusting you comfortably on his thighs and placing his hands on your legs in a possessive kind of manner. you turn your head to look at him, wanting to ask what on earth happened for him to do this out of the blue, and as your lips part, he whispers in your ear,"that creep right there kept staring you up and down," pointing with a discreet move of his eyes that'll only you're capable of understanding while he drills holes through his stern gaze fixed on the said guy. on the other hand when you find the cad, your mind grows hot with irritation, an abrupt and sharp impulse of anger growing in you.

"I'll show him what the fuck he was staring at,"you mutter out, teeth gritted, and hands almost forming into fists while looking calm as ever. jake seems to catch on to what you're about to do and before you can get up from lap, his hold on you gets tighter,"okay, I know you hate this candy, but I don't want you getting hurt in any way, if he does anything I'll make sure to set him right, for now I think he got it that he's not gonna stare at you however he wants," his hand grabs yours and he caresses the expanse of your arm delicately like a soothing rub.

for the rest of the ride he manages to pacify you and when your stop comes he intertwines your fingers as you walk out the compartment, just in case you decide to give the dude a slap before leaving, you do wish to do that but instead just throw an aversive and loathful glare at him.

"I'm gonna roll on you all I want today," you declare like an important announcement as you roll from on top of his body to the the floor then back from the floor to the top of his body and then to the other side like the fur remover roller you have for mei as he lies on the fluffy rug typing away on his laptop an essay deadlined for tomorrow. a lighthearted laugh leaves his lips, feeling the weight of your body on and off,"you do this all the time, why are you behaving like it's the first," reaching behind to hold you still on his back he asks,"why are you sulking?" knowing all too well you do this either when you're over the top bathing in happiness or drowning in sorrow.

"I'm gonna gain weight now because of you, I'll see all the snacks and sweets in the pantry and not be able to desist myself from binge eating them," forming a fist you lightly punch the curve of his shoulders in consistent hits. he turns around in a swift motion and grabs you into a hug,"I love your belly anyhow, whether it's visible or not," giggling near your ear, he gives the plump flesh of your stomach a zephyr-like pinch, having you wince and recoil before you hug him back,"yeah whatever," his words make you feel butterflies, a turmoil of frenzy and fuzzy feelings, cheeks growing warm, and the warmth spreading all over your face.

you both stay like that for a while breathing in relaxation, and taking in the comfort of a hug, the room saturated with a restful and serene silence. you're the first to pull away,"you should finish that essay, I'll go do some studying for my test next week," getting up you leave him in the living room to spend the rest of your evening buried in books and your school laptop.

after all the studying for the following two days till the weekend, the first thing in the morning you do is put on despicable me on the tv, and switching on the ac, wrap yourself in a thin lilac charmeuse blanket to start your stress relieving movie marathon.

"yunie, can you pass me the watermelon in the fridge? the one from yesterday," you spare a quick glance towards the half naked boy wearing only a pair of sweatpants, black hair all dishevelled looking even more messier due to the perm he got last week, walking out of his room, headset resting around his neck, before your eyes return to focus on the movie playing on the tv screen. "yeah sure," he mumbles out softly in his raspy morning voice sounding probably like he stayed up all night again.

taking the half a piece of watermelon out and grabbing a spoon jake scoops out a small little portion, and going up to your slouched figure on the couch, extends out his hand which held the spoon of fruit towards your mouth,"here you go, candy," as a motion of feeding you, something he does quite often. after you've eaten it, he gives you the half cut ball of sweetness and sits beside you to see what you're watching.

not even a minute after, he's fidgeting about, pulling up to sit cross-legged,"do you want to go buy a new sofa at ikea tomorrow? this one's pretty small," he turns to look at you, raising his brows subtly,"well first of all I didn't plan to have a roommate and secon- I swear if it's for your carnal escapades I'm kicking you out!" it comes out in a yell, voice raising with every syllable before you throw a seed at him, which due to your bad aiming skills instead of landing on his face, falls and sticks to the skin of his chest.

keeping away the watermelon, you pick up mei and settle her on your lap, pulling back your blanket which had slipped off,"this is public space have some decency before you have such thoughts!" you laugh.

"stop making me appear like a horndog!" he laughs along, whinning at your fictitious accusations in giggles and a look of faux disbelief.

"well that is exactly what you are but I'll stop if you make me some sweet soy-glazed potatoes," trying to strike a deal as if it's a bid you wiggle your brows at him, like an invitation to a challenge but in reality it's just jake having to prepare today's lunch which he does so often, that it's like you coming into the kitchen to cook is almost similar to a little kid coming to help their parent. "at least cut the potatoes? a little help as such will be appreciated and remembered," he puts his palm against his chest and bows, stifling a small laugh when you return the bow with a 'yes your majesty'

getting up from the couch you're about to head towards the kitchen when the doorbell rings, "yun can you get the potatoes out, I'll see who it is," you regret opening the door the moment you see the figure standing outside. not wanting to reveal the presence to jake, you close the door behind you, and the boy thinks of it as nothing because you've done it lot many times when your friends show up, simply because you don't want them to become his prey.

you look up amd down at eunsang as she stands all tall, hands folded, fully dressed fancy with a cocky expression, "I'm here to see jake," she states tilting her head to point over at the closed door, all the sugary honeyed act she keeps up around him no where to be seen. "and he doesn't want to see you, didn't he tell you it was the last time," as a counterattack you fold your hands as well, raising your head gazing at her tauntingly, the look in your round orbs carrying boredom. "are you jake? I said I want to talk to jake not you," scoffing, she rolls her eyes at you and clicks her heels as a sign of impatience. poking your tongue on the inside of your cheek, you close your eyes for a moment trying to calm the annoyance in you before it turns into anger, "and are you deaf? I said he does not want to talk to you," but what the girl says next makes it impossible for you to just stay still.

jake, the matter of subject on the other hand is busy washing and peeling the potatoes inside when he hears your loud voice, in a second one shout turning into many more followed by screamings which has him falling into a frantic mind. he quickly drops the potatoes and knifes in his hand and rushes out the door to see you and eunsang grabbing and pulling onto each other's hair which you shout way more loudly than eunsang's screams. his hands flail as he contemplates on what to do, how to stop this before he finds himself behind you, gripping eunsang's hands and removing them from your head to which her head snaps to look at him in shock. in another moment his fingers grasp the dip of your waist and he throws you over his shoulder and takes you back inside, your fisting hands hitting the expanse of his back as protest,"fucking let go of me! I'm gonna give her a good piece of my mind!"

putting your body down he holds the side of your arms and forces you to look into his eyes,"stop fighting all the time, stay here I'll talk to her, okay?" he speaks slowly as an attempt to placate you. when you trying escaping his arms, he asks again, this time moving to cup your face,"okay?" you sigh loudly before giving him a nod and with that he walks out to confront eunsang about why she suddenly decided to show up.

truth to be told, this was how he first met you, or maybe saw you. it was the day he was supposed to move in, he had packed all that was necessary for the rest of the week in his suitcase while keeping in mind to get all his other stuff later. the apartment being on the seventh floor, jake was waiting for the elevator to reach the ground floor and when it did, never in a million years did he ever expect to witness such a first encounter with his college roommate, that too a girl he supposedly thought of setting up a friends with benefit type of arrangement. the doors of the elevator had slid open to see you cornering a middle aged man, jake watched with his mouth hanging open, eyes bulging out, face still like stone and heart beat on pause from the shock of the scene- it's probably an exaggeration but this is how he remembers he felt when he saw you slap the man hard mumbling out in a fake laugh,"fun?", a smirk visible from your side profile as you futher kicked the man in the crotch,"this' fun?" asking with an expression of feigned innocence like you did not just do what you just did.

he was fascinated and at the same time horrified knowing you were going to be his roommate, he thought you were someone who beat up people just because they felt like it but turned out the man had apparently tried to or maybe actually did touch you inappropriately behind the closed doors. he had never before seen you in the campus, neither did he know your name until then and never was it his intention to treat you so good, like a little sister, calling you candy, it just somehow happened after he found your love for sweets and how you're so very different than what he had beheld the first time, contrastingly a kind of babiness that came out when he treated you almost like one.

but for the note of it, it's safe to say he got attracted to you since the very first rencounter. he liked the aggressiveness that you held, not looking like it but having it very staunchly.

it takes him a few minutes to return, a small smile on his face as he closes the door behind him, like he just confessed or something, it grows even wider when his eyes find you,"stop cutting the potatoes so aggressively, they're gonna get smashed," he chuckles walking over to the kitchen and getting other things out. "she called me a slut for living with a guy like you and I was in the midst of giving her a lecture on actually how good of a person you are-" you place the knife on the counter with a thud and turn around to face him,"and you dragged me in!" whinning you pout your lips at him, brows furrowing.

watching you with amused eyes, he stops to give you a regaling smile, pursed lips stretching across his cheeks,"my darling candy, I'm only good to you," you glare at him wanting to supress the bubbles of jitteriness in your stomach rising through your chest but anyhow you still break into a smile which fortunate for you he doesn't see because you turn back as soon as you feel your lips twitching.

a month passes by in the blink of an eye, your routines and relationship staying the same as always, classes, his soccer practice and your weekly cleaning day; what's changed is his routine of bringing over girls, the number seeming to get less day by day, and what you haven't noticed- his display of affection towards you growing more and more. yet you think nothing special of it, assuming that perhaps now he got a grip, and has decided to better his ways, no longer wanting to be branded as a fuckboy. unknown to you it's not that but you.

after an all nighter the previous day, coming back from your classes you go straight to bed, changing you clothes and getting tucked under the blanket at around eight in the evening. jake returning from his soccer practice has plans to have a night out at the bar with his friends, unaware that you're already asleep he opens you room door, speaking in a voice way too loud for you to not wake up.

"candy, I'm gonna go out with jay and sunghoon! make sure to have your dinne- oh you were sleeping? I didn't know I'm so sorry candy," he mumbles out in a soft whisper towards the end, supressing a smile watching your sleepy form under the covers trying to rub out the drowsiness from your eyes followed by heavy blinking and a small pout,"it's okay no need to get up, go back to sleep, I'll be back in the morning," approaching the bed as you lay back down, he pats your head in a 'sleep well' before leaving; you hear the front door close just as you drift back into the blank canvas.

you don't know what time it is, but surely it's past midnight judging from dead silence you wake up to, that is except the constant ringing of calls, fumbling around for your phone you check to see a dozen calls from an unknown number and a bunch of messages from the same. opening the chat you find it to be jake's friend jay, whose apparently asking you to come get jake from the car downstairs, stating that the said boy being drunk is refusing to go back home with anyone but you, chanting your name, or asking where you are more specifically as jay has sent you quoted 'where is my candy?', whining for your presence and making it hard for his two friends.

sighing you put on a random jacket from your closet over your pajamas and go out to get jake, leaving the main door open because for sure there's no way you'll be able to open it while continuing to support his body weight, helping him stand stable. it takes you about twenty minutes to get him to the elevator and then through the door, all the while keeping him from falling all over you, as he giggles in joy hugging you from the side. you've seen him drunk a ton of times, more than you can remember but everytime it looks like he's not drunk even when he is, therefore it comes to you as surprise seeing this behavior of his. for all you know he's drank a lot today, more than he usually does as his friends told you after confirming that you're his roommate never having seen you before.

dragging him into his room you have him sit on his bed, going to his closet and getting him a pair of sweatpants from the many he has and the first shirt you find which happens to be the oversized one he bought very recently, you hand him the clothes. wetting a towel, you sit beside him to first wipe the sweat from his face and neck before asking him to change and sleep, wanting to leave to go back your room and sleep the leftover hours of the night. just as you turn away, his hand grabs your wrist and he stops you with his puppy eyes.

in the morning around noon jake is the first one to wake up and having no memory of the previous night besides the fact that he was drunk, he sits on his desk chair, hands in his hair, watching you sleep on the other side of his bed in his shirt. it's like he feels everything to be done from here, he did what he swore never to do, this was the very first thing he pinned on his mind as an important note: not using you even if he has very obvious feelings for you. he tugs on his hair in frustration, angry at himself for not staying in his lane when drunk and the moment he sees you stirring, waking up in seconds, looking around for a while before settling on his figure hunched in anguish. "yun? are you okay? is the hangover severe? should I make you something for it?" you ask in worry making him feel even more guiltier than he already has been.

"you don't even know any hangover recipes," he mumbles in an almost inaudible voice,"I can just search on the internet and try my best, it's not like I'll give you anything inedible," you joke trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere you feel in the air.

you sit up and are fixing your messed up hair when he speaks again, once more sounding as miserable as he has never before,"candy I'm," he pauses gulping to control the lump in his throat,"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to, I don't why I," he stops again making you confused as to what he is wanting to say,"what are you saying? what apology?" it is when his eyes shift to stare at what you're clad in and staying there for a hard minute when you understand what he means, your cheeks grow hot at the realization but then his words dawn over you. even if it didn't happen the fact that he wouldn't mean it, want it, regret it has something in you twisting in pain, are you so bad? or that he actually really thinks of you as his little sister? that you read his affections wrong, assumed his feelings differently?

"why? because I'm not like the others you have been with? because I'm not like eunsang? or because I'm not her? the one you were smiling so hard after talking to? are you dating he-" eversince you've known him, it's the first time you hear him shout, never having heard him raise his voice at you, it has you flinch and listen attentively,"that's the problem! you're not like her! you're not like any of the others! you're special and I'm afraid I'll lose you, things will change and just I'll have to get over you without even getting a chance,"

you sit in silence for a while processing everything, and by that: jake likes you. when the fact settles in your consciousness, you supress the urge to laugh, understanding the situation in a bigger picture now. you slowly get up from your place and walk over to sit on his lap and taking in a breath of courage, cup his cheeks to give him a long peck, then mumble against his lips brushing yours against the softness of his,"nothing happened, but if you want I can give you a chance to date me, it's going to be hard though tolerating me, think wisely," it has him wide-eyed and mum in a trance, you can even feel the rapid beating of his heart through where you are pressed together.

"your lips taste like watermelon," he mutters out lowly, eyes locking with yours in an intense pull. this is definitely out of the box of outcomes of the situation he had made up in his mind.

"I had some in the morning before you woke up, anyhow yours taste like alcohol and your breath is horrible, go and freshen up," giving his shoulder a light push, you get up and leave the room to make something, probably as you said a recipe searched up on the web.

when he comes out later, he's back to the jake you know, the one who has his hair slightly messy and almost never in a shirt. "why were- are you wearing my shirt then?" he questions in genuine curiosity,"you practically begged me to last night while sobbing for I don't know what reason," you shrug, laughing as you see him make a flustered, surprised pikachu face.

a week later, around four in the afternoon an hour before he has to leave for his soccer practice, you approach his figure on the couch re-watching an episode of vincenzo. over the last few days you've sat down to talk things out, and put a label on your newfound relationship, and on his insistence made it official between you two that you're dating, which he soon reveals to his friends, and as a matter of fact they don't have a fuck to give, they barely knew you, he never even let you all meet and now that he's dating you, they could do nothing but be 'okay dude, we get it you changed'

"do you wanna play that pocky game?" sitting beside him you show him a banana flavored pocky stick, before you are able to have a taste of it, he snatches it out of your fingers and passing a comment,"if you wanted a kiss, you could have just said so," attaches his lips to yours, moving to hold the back of your neck. at first it starts out slow but then you end up making out for a good fifteen minutes.

he has you on his lap, back facing his chest as you rest you weight on him, while the both of absent-mindedly watch the scenes playing on the tv. his fingers play the strands of your hair, occasionally moving to trace random letters on the back of your shoulder. "my parents want to meet you," now his fingers come to poke at your cheeks, treating it like jelly,"as my roommate, they don't know we are dating, haven't told them yet. maybe we can when you meet them?"

"so suddenly though?" you think back to all whatever you have ever done to him for them to want to see you. perhaps they think of you as a snobby girl whose exacerbating their son's already unpleasant habits. when you find innumerous such happenings, you resort to look at mei laying on the rug in a peaceful sleep, mind wandering off to remind yourself to water the plants in the balcony and the few on the shelves inside to distract from the discouragement you feel creeping in.

"they've actually been wanting to meet you for the past three months, I was putting it off but now summer break is starting next week and I have no more excuses to give," hugging you, he rests his head on the curve of your neck, breathing in the smell of watermelon that surrounds you after you had basically half of a whole at lunch. "if you don't want to then you don't have to, I'll talk to them," he assures, not wanting you to feel obligated to agree, or force yourself despite being uncomfortable.

"no it's okay, we can go on tuesday. how long will the drive be?" you shift to face him sideways sliding to sit on the comfort of the couch with your legs hanging over his. "probably two hours or so? we can go and return on the same day," nodding, you start playing with his fingers, touch like knuckles and wondering why they look kinds red.

"I'll go prepare for my soccer practice now?" he doesn't mean to but it comes out like a question, not wanting to just brush you off. "we're never together in the campus, it makes me sad," you complain, moving away to let him leave to pack his duffle bag and change his clothes. "that's because we have completely different majors, it's not possible. besides you're not in any club either to stay after classes," it makes you ponder on whether you should try out for any club, after all these years doing something else besides studying but you have no idea what you should consider, having no knowledge on which clubs you could be eligible to join.

the entirety of jake's practice, you sit idle writing down options and cutting off ones you deem are not for you, but then you wish to come out of the shell of nerd you've created. all of it has you exasperated leaving you with the thought that you'll think of it later, no doubt discuss it with jake, yet by the time he comes back it has already slipped your mind and you've forgotten it much to your convenience until your visit to his family house.

it feels weird and exhilarating how his parents and his older brother welcome you, treating you so well even though they recognize you as nothing more than just his college apartment roommate who helps fix his laptop and tolerates the boy knowing the kind of womanizer he is; kind of feels like a successful meeting of in-laws when it's far from it.

they try their best to make you feel at home, during the lunch as jake had told them beforehand, his mother had a few sweet dishes prepared for you, and when you are done with the food in your plate they urge you to eat more, asking if you don't like it when you refuse politely. they talk to you about casual things such as your likes and dislikes, what major you are, whether jake treats you well, if you have any complaints regarding his behavior. it doesn't feel like you're meeting them for the first time, they make you feel so comfortable that you forget you're supposed to act poised, something you decided on the previous night.

in the beginning of your roommate journey, his accent, his voice was the first thing to attract you but slowly as you explored his personality you came to like him for more than just what attracted you to him. now you as you spend time with people closest to him, you understand where he got that from, the sweet person he is which you never expected a fuckboy to be, you didn't even have an ounce of hope that he'll acknowledge your presence in the apartment when you got to know about his playing around conduct, yet he turned out to be the sweetest boy you've ever come around in your life.

when you are sitting alone with his brother, while jake is away downstairs to bring you something sugary to eat, his brother takes it as a chance to disclose his thoughts,"you know until I heard him call you candy a while ago, I was under the impression that 'candy'," he quotes it specially with a movement of his index and middle finger,"is supposedly a cheerleader fling of his after I saw the contact name when he got a call the last time he was here," making an amused face, he smirks subtly watching jake walk up the stairs behind you, a plate of fruits in his hand and whispers so that it doesn't reach his younger brother's ears,"turns out it's you, I never knew he is the type to give such sweet, unique petnames,"

before you leave in the evening jake makes sure to tell them you're dating and that he's not playing around, it's an actual relationship that he's willing to give effort into and change his usual ways of living, to be better for himself and as well as for you. on your way here you had thought of a lot things, had a lot of assumptions and expectations even prepared yourself to hear things that'll stick to your mind but what stays in your mind now is completely unexpected and opposite of what the inner you had you composed for. it's all you can think of in the car and after you're back in the comfort of your familiar apartment.

cheerleader... not a bad idea-

taglist. @love13tter @shiningstarsarah @shawkneecaps @megdoienalds @boobooble @ferxanda @highkeygolden @baekhyunstruly @enhaphile @ppyongjin @mystrbl @jaeeyunsimp @jjikyuu @ilovejaketoomuch @mykalon @babiiey @sunshine-skz @choerriesmotion @peach-custard-pie @abdiitcryy @gtfovi

hehehehe cute cuteee 🤭💜💜

RED + BLUE = ...?

SYNOPSIS: jake wants to make the best out of 7/11 and what better way than to spend it with you?

GENRE: fluff, crack, suggestive, best friends to lovers?

STARRING: bff!jake x fem!reader

WC: 511 words

WARNINGS: suggestive aka making out, duh! how else would you make purple KJNSDKNSDF and swearing

NOTE: happy 7/11 and this totally not self indulgent LMAOAO & super short heh

reblogs & feedback are welcome c:

"so, what flavor did you get?"

today's the hottest day of the summer and what a coincidence that it's 7/11 today.

you give jake a glare, "dude, you know i only get blue raspberry. why are you asking?"

"well, i thought you were going to try something new. it never hurts to ask." he replies before taking a long sip of his drink.

"and i'm assuming you got cherry?"

you scrunch your nose when jake sticks his tongue out at you, seeing the brightly colored red tongue.

"i don't know how you drink it, shit takes like cough medicine." you scoff before taking a sip of yours.

"and i don't know how you drink yours- shit takes like plastic." he fights back, mimicking your actions.

"hey! i don't sound like that!" you half-shout, shoving jake's shoulder who then dramatically falls to his side, his drink almost spilling onto you.

"jake! you almost got your drink all over me." you whine, staring at the puddle of red slurpee on the ground.

"y/n! you made me spill my drink." he pouts, mimicking pearl from finding nemo.

you rolled your eyes and shook your head at the boy, making sure to move your drink out of the way. jake takes a look at your cup then make at you, grinning widely as an idea pops into his head.

"now that you made me spill my drink, we're going to have to share, by the way."

"i thought it tasted like plastic?" you asked, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"yeah, but if i drink it like this, it'll taste less plastic-y."

"how so?"

"like this."

jake swoops in to give a quick peck to your lips and chuckles at your cute reaction, seeing you touch your lips with a small gasp escaping them.

a few beats of silence pass by before he speaks up again, "shouldn't have crossed that line, sorry-"

"i think you need a better taste." you say, giggling as jake leans over once again and pulls you into his embrace.

he leans his forehead against yours and searches your eyes for any hesitation. you lean in and kiss him, showing that you clearly enjoyed the first kiss from him.

jake cups his hands to your face and kisses you with much fervor all while pulling you closer than ever. he slips his tongue into your mouth the moment you gasped and let him take the lead, following his guide.

your breaths were heavy by the time you pull away and you noticed the inner part of jake's lips purple, blush spreading across your cheeks to see that the red and blue mixed together to make purple.

"is mine purple too?" he whispers, a smirking rising as he sees the small purple stain on your lips and tongue.

speechless, you nod and hide your face into his neck, not wanting to face him. jake lets out a boisterous laugh and hugs you tightly.

"we should do this more often. wanna try blue raspberry and lemon? see if it'll make green?"

"jake!"