afterglow ‣ s.jy

020

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JAKE

Weeks later, Siyeon barely exerted the effort to talk to him.

Even as they returned to school where they both sat together, she could barely talk or even glance at him. And if Jake was going to be honest, he didn't even try talking to her because the moment their gazes met and she tore it away almost immediately, a part of him just knew, she wasn't prepared to talk yet. The days began to look dark, nearly empty as he lost every motivation to be competitive.

At particular instances, he could be seen staring somewhere, unbeknownst to those who can't read his mind that he was composing himself, trying to exercise as much patience as he could for Siyeon. But even so, only someone with no feelings could last for so long without feeling upset, without feeling the gradual growth of desperation building up on his chest, ever so slowly pushing him into doing something he'll regret soon. Still, how could she kiss him back and have strength to not even spare him a word?

Was she only caught up at the moment?

Was he thinking too deeply about an action that was never meant to go as deep as he made it seem?

His stroll came to a halt when he was suddenly face to face with Hyejin, who although was clearly surprise by the sudden meeting, quickly subsides it to replace with a smile which he was crazily familiar with. The former reciprocated with a smile only half as wide as hers, and upon seeing the look on his face, her expression changes, shifting into a concerned one.

"What are you doing here? You live far away from here." Hyejin wondered how he ended up so close to her home, especially if she considers the distance between their houses. Truth be told, Jake didn't even know where he was initially walking to. All he knew was that he needed to clear his mind, and apparently, strolling with no particular destination in mind helped just by a teeny bit.

"I don't know. I just ended up here." He admitted and much to his relief, she believed in an instant that he was telling the truth. "How about you? Since when did you go out and stroll?"

By then the two had resumed walking, only this time they were heading to a similar direction and the other was now standing beside him and not in front like earlier. Briefly glancing at his childhood friend, the very noticeable thing about her was the black winter coat hugging her own body which he remembered buying her two Christmas ago. Her hair, although brushed and tucked behind her red ear, was marginally messed by the soft wind that blew opposite to them. Not that it made her look bad, Jake just found the sight of Hyejin's negligence on keeping herself neat like she was usually instructed to, a rare one, and quite frankly, it made him sort of proud as she was often— if not, always— a stickler to the rules.

"My sister wanted me to buy her some ice cream. She's craving apparently, might laugh a little if she ends up pregnant." Hyejin grins in mischief, shoving both her hands on the pocket of the coat, possibly an attempt to warm herself as the coldness was unbearable at this hour.

Jake laughed. "If she does end up pregnant, now you'll be off your mother's gaze for nine months."

"Don't say that. You're now making me wish for her to be actually pregnant." She says, chuckling a little. A sound he hasn't heard in a while, especially after their conversation on her recital. Their past encounters before this current one had been casual with little residues of awkwardness, excessive joking had begun to seem inappropriate and they both were meticulous about their sentences.