Blessings, Curses, & Confusion | HeeJake |

18

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Enhypen sat silently around the table, unsure of what to do.

Ni-ki re-entered the kitchen after retrieving his charger, neck still turned towards the hallway where he had bumped into Jake as the older was going to his room. 

"Is Jake-hyung ok...?" the maknae said before turning to look at his hyungs with concerned eyes.

Jay shook his head. "He always says that he's ok, but deep down he's hurting. He just doesn't want to inconvenience anyone with his problems. I should know, he never opens up to me and we're roommates."

"Maybe we should give him some space?" Sunghoon suggested.

"I don't know.. if everyone else was leaving to go home and be with family while I had to stay back, I'd be hurting too..." Sunoo said with a frown.

Heeseung's neck was still turned from trailing his eyes after Jake. He saw the pain in Jake's eyes. Despite the younger's attempts to cover it up, the older knew how easy it was for Jake to get homesick and lonely. The thought of the younger enduring these emotions all by himself stabbed at Heeseung's heart.

The oldest sighed and crossed his arms, trying to come up with a solution.

"What should we do?" Jungwon asked quietly.

Heeseung thought for a moment. Everyone wanted to go home and visit family, but if they did Jake would be all alone. At least one person had to stay back to keep him company. The problem was who. Heeseung didn't want any of the other members to miss out on family time during the holiday, but at the same time he didn't want to miss out on seeing his family either.

"Jake-hyung has always been there for us when we needed him, it's too bad we can't do the same for him" Sunoo said, looking down sadly.

The members all nodded glumly, looking down defeatedly as if there was nothing they could do. But Sunoo's words made Heeseung recall all the times Jake had stuck by his side.

Jake was there for Heeseung when his self-esteem had dropped after their Chamber 5 performance during I-Land, comforting the older despite himself having done well and receiving compliments from the producers.

Jake was there for Heeseung when nobody would play with him, creating a League account at 3am despite running on little sleep and having no experience with the game just so the older could have some company.

Jake was there for Heeseung when the older was too exhausted to remove his makeup after a long day of work, gently cleansing the older's face as to not disturb his sleep without realizing that the older was actually still awake and extremely grateful. 

Sunoo was right—Jake had always been there for Heeseung. Now it was Heeseung's turn to be there for Jake.

The oldest made a decision. He stood up, causing all eyes to turn to him in question.

"Hyung?" Jungwon asked, but Heeseung was already walking towards Jake's room.

Upon entering the room, the oldest saw Jake with his back half turned to the door. The younger had a small framed picture in his hand, and as Heeseung got closer, he realized it was the Sim family portrait. 

Hearing Heeseung's footsteps, Jake's eyes immediately snapped up and became aware of the older's presence. He fumbled for a nearby drawer and quickly shoved the picture away. He didn't want to show the older that he was having a hard time. 

"Oh, h-hyung, what's up?" the younger smiled awkwardly, but Heeseung had already seen it.

A mix of sympathy, pain, and sadness overtook the older's face. It hurt to see the younger in pain and trying to hide it, and Heeseung felt bad that he hadn't reached his decision earlier. He grabbed one of Jake's arms and pulled him in for a hug, causing the younger to gasp slightly in surprise.

"H-hyung?" Jake called out softly as the older rested his head on the younger's shoulder.

"I'm staying with you, Jaeyun-ah." Heeseung said firmly, to which the younger's eyes widened.

Jake pulled away from the older to make eye contact, furrowing his brows. "What? No. Hyung, it's Chuseok. You have to go spend time with your family."

"No. There's no way I'm leaving you here all alone." the older replied, pulling the younger back in as if he had already made up his mind.

Jake wriggled his way out to make eye contact again. "Hyung, I'm grateful that you're worried about me, but you don't get to see your family very often. You see me everyday. I want you to be happy with them during this holiday."

Heeseung held the younger's gaze. "And I want you to be happy during the holiday too. My family's in Korea. Yours isn't. I can always find time to visit my family, but you can't. I don't want you to be all alone during Chuseok."

The younger opened his mouth to say something, but the older continued before he had the chance.

"You've always been there for me, Jaeyun-ah. This time I wanna be here for you. Let me stay with you for Chuseok, ok?" he said, taking Jake's hand gently in his on that last note.

Jake looked back and forth between the older's eyes for a couple seconds before letting out a sigh. Heeseung is a very stubborn man. He knew he wouldn't be able to convince the older.

"Ok, hyung."

Heeseung smiled.

Timeskip: 11:17pm

Night fell after the other members finished packing for their trips. Tomorrow, they would all be leaving for home after having a mini Chuseok celebration and dinner with each other. All the members went to sleep early to prepare for the event-filled day that lay ahead.

Jake called his family to break the news that he wouldn't be coming home before heading off to sleep as well. On his way back to his room, he passed Heeseung in the hall.

"Good night, Jaeyun-ah, I'll see you tomorrow" Heeseung smiled at the younger.

"Good night, hyung" Jake gave a small smile back, but deep down he still felt guilty inside. 

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a/n:

this chapter is so sad, it makes me think of all the hardships the boys go through, especially at such a young age ㅠㅠ

to make up for it tho, double post this week!! make sure to check out the next chapter ^^ 

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