The Boy From The Bridge - Jakehoon

Chapter 120: Run 1/5

The pungent smell of petroleum seeped into his nose as Sunghoon felt his heart slow to a stop in time with the car. His eyes couldn't look away when the passenger door opened:

Jake followed by Artemis and then Jungwon hopped out of the single door. Jake then tried to go back inside but Jungwon shut and the car sped off in the direction of their apartment building. 

Neither Jake nor Jungwon had seen them as the got to the sidewalk to allow Artemis to start sniffing. This she did and quickly noticed Sunghoon. He couldn't help but feel a fond affection for the dog, even as she pulled Jungwon towards him and Jay. 

In doing this she alerted both Jake and Jungwon to their presence. 

"Shiii..." Jay began to say before getting the palm of Sunghoon's hand over his mouth. 

"You came back?" Sunghoon asked. 

"Well for the weather - naturally" Jake joked at the near endless quantities of rain falling from the sky. The joke loosened the tension Sunghoon suddenly realised he was holding. "Are you okay?" Jake asked. 

"Pfffff" Sunghoon sighed, taking a momentary glance at the sky to allow raindrops to fall on his face, "Guess I'm pretty wet - you?"

Jake flapped his arms like a penguin, "The same. We're just taking Artemis for a walk before heading back"

"I can see that." Sunghoon remarked, something felt odd. It wasn't just about the way they had left things in Busan it was that Jake was stood upright - as if he was standing in front of something, as if he was hiding something. Sunghoon could sense it, or at least his heart could. It was sounding alarms that something was very, very wrong.

The sound of rain drops hitting the pavement punctured the awkward silence that followed as they watched each other. Sunghoon couldn't help but watch a droplet of water run along Jake's nose and be reminded of their moment together in the shower. For just a second he was transported away to that place of perfect harmony and connection before having that illusion smashed by a reconnection with reality a moment later. 

"Hoon?" Jake spoke, perhaps he was seeing his mind drift in and out of the present. 

"Um, yeah?" He replied, taking a step forward to steady him. Part of him was still unsure how to conduct this conversation with Jungwon, let alone Jay as a witness.

His quiet insecurity was smothered by the news Jake brought. "We're then um... we're going to go to the airport."

Sunghoon listened and blinked, before exhaling a long and painful breath. 

________

Jake watched Sunghoon's face and body react to the news. It took milliseconds for him to comprehend what he had just being told and the implications it inferred. 

It was an odd sight Sunghoon's face, a face which Jake had seen in just about every emotion it could make stiffened. It was as if it became dry. That, in spite of the rainfall and the water levels in the human body, all the moisture and colour departed from it. 

The suddenly gaunt Sunghoon blinked twice. Both his eyes rested on Jake. This had the effect of making Jake feel like he ought immediately reconsider his plan. It wasn't until Sunghoon spoke that the necessity for the plan was made all the more clear. 

"When..." Sunghoon had to catch his breath, "When are you going?"

"Now. We just came to let Artemis have a pee before..."

"You really weren't going to say goodbye? - Again?" Sunghoon's eyes looked bleak. They did little to conceal the shattering that Jake imagined was taking place in the soul they did the looking for.