✓ READY TO LOVE | JAKE

4 - Unexpected Reunion

Park Soo Yun stood there, staring at Jake as he put the bouquet of carnations on the grave he was standing next to. He stared at it for a while before he closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Hello..." Soo Yun heard him speak as she silently and slowly walked toward him, still keeping a distance between the two of them. "Mom."

The word made her stop in her tracks as her heart ached for him. He must be still mourning and in pain because of his loss.

"How have you been?" He asked as he sat in front of his mother's grave. "I've been great." It's funny how he felt the need to lie to his late mother so that she wouldn't worry about him even and so that she would rest in peace.

Soo Yun stared at him with teary eyes. She didn't even know why she followed him there, nor why she was about to cry. 

"Father is doing well too." He smiled bitterly. "We're not living together though... for the past two years, it had been awkward to live by ourselves... you were always there with us."

He was talking to his mother as if she was there, listening to his every word. And perhaps, she indeed was, making sure her only son was doing okay. But then, a butterfly flew nearby his mother's grave and he just stared at it.

How ironic.

"Nabi is... we're no longer together." He said and Soo Yun raised his head to look at him as he wiped the tears that found their way down his cheeks. "I guess she found someone better... because, apparently... I loved her too much and that was wrong of me."

Jake scoffed, shaking his head before he sighed. And when he turned around, he froze when he spotted Soo Yun standing not so far from him, her eyes brimming with tears and wide open as she stared at him.

Quickly standing up, he looked back at his mother's grave then back at her, confused. What was she doing there? And when did she even come?

"I..." She muttered as she slowly approached him hesitantly. "I'm sorry... I just-" She stopped talking as Jake just stared at her, dumbfounded and dazed. "I was just curious... you asked for carnations so..."

"Oh..." He muttered, looking away. "They are for my mother..."

"Yeah." She said and looked away awkwardly. "You must miss her a lot."

"Yes... I do." He smiled bitterly.

"I miss my parents too..." Her words made Jake look back at her with a frown, and before he got to ask his question, she answered it. "They died in a fire when I was twelve."

He blinked in confusion and in awkwardness. "I'm s-sorry for your loss."

"It's okay... thank you." She muttered and looked down at her feet as Jake kept staring at her. "I'm sorry for bothering you... I'll go now. Have a good day."

With that, she turned around and was about to walk away when Jake stopped her. "Excuse me..." He called, making her turn around and stare at him in confusion. "Would you like... a drink?"

Park Soo Yun smiled warmly and nodded, and later, they were sitting in a nearby restaurant as they both drank Soju. They stole glances at each other every time the other looked away, and smiled at each other between sips.

"Your flower shop is very beautiful," Jake said out of the blue. "It's so comforting... somehow."

"That makes me really happy. Thank you." Soo Yun smiled before she looked down at her drink. "My mother used to love flowers a lot. Whenever we went to my grandparents' house in the countryside, we always went to the fields and had picnics or made crowns of flowers."

Jake stared at her as she talked about her childhood, with the biggest smile on his lips. Because she was smiling too. 

"So I decided to open my own flower shop." She smiled and took a sip of her drink. "Seeing flowers always made me happy and comforted me, and I wanted others to feel it too. So, when you said that it comforted you... I felt that my hard work didn't go in vain."

"It indeed didn't." He said and she laughed. And somehow, it was beautiful to hear. Jake noticed the way her eyes close whenever she laughs, and he liked it. She was so kind and sweet.

"By the way, you're Sunghoon's friend?" She asked and he nodded. "He surely has a lot of friends."

Jake laughed at her remark. "That's true, he had always been popular and he easily made friends. I'm glad that he found someone to love and spend the rest of his life with."

His words made Soo Yun stare at him for a while, recalling his words when he was sitting in front of his mother's grave. 

Did his girlfriend cheat on him? Why did she leave him? Her questions were left unanswered as she softly smiled at him and drank her Soju. 

"You'll meet the love of your life one day too." She said, still looking at her drink. And he just stared at her. He realized that she heard him, and that was her way to comfort him.

"I'm scared of loving someone... again." He said. "I want to fall in love... but-"

"You know that you can't live with fear if you want to fall in love... right?"

Soo Yun's question was sudden, making Jake stare at her in surprise. And it was another question of hers that was left unanswered.

"I think I'm getting drunk... I should stop drinking." She said after a silence, and then she stood up and bowed at him. "Thank you for the drinks, it was very nice to talk to you. Have a good day."

With that, she walked to the door before she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "May I ask what's your name?"

"Jake." He said as he gave her a soft smile, and she smiled back. 

"Let's meet again, Jake." 

Staring at the door, he found himself smiling at the thought of her. It scared him, but she was so nice to him and he hoped he could meet her again and maybe be her friend. 

Sometime later, Jake was driving his car to Sunghoon's house. He needed to get the jacket that he forgot at his place. So, parking his car in front of his friend's house, he walked out and knocked on his door.

"Jake?" Sunghoon muttered when he opened the door and saw Jake standing there. "What are you doing here? Did you miss me?"

"No. I forgot my jacket." He smiled at him before he slightly pushed him out of the way and made his way inside. "Where did you put i-"

"Sunghoon, who is i-"

Jake stopped talking as he froze in his place. The same eyes that made him smile stared back at him in surprise. And he just stared at her, confused and shocked.

"Jake?" Soo Yun muttered as she frowned. "Why are you here?"

"What?" He furrowed his eyebrows and looked between her and Sunghoon. "Why are you here?"

"I just dropped by to see Sunghoon." She shrugged.

"Why would you-"

"What's wrong with my sister coming to see me?" Sunghoon asked and Jake's jaw dropped.

"Sister!?"