The past between us ||Sim Jake✔️

삼십 삼

The coffee shop had been full when Sunghoon and I had arrived. The sun was just starting to set, and it was almost empty now.

"So, all this time. Jake had been protecting you from Seoyun?" Sunghoon's face was tense with concentration.

I nodded slowly.

He sighed. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. I always wondered why he always came to me and asked me to help you whenever you were in trouble, instead of doing it himself. I could see that asking me killed him but he did it anyway."

I gasped, breathing suddenly became really hard.

"You mean all this time-" My eyes were widened in disbelief.

Sunghoon smiled. "He never stopped caring about you Eunji-ah."

His large hand came to rest over mine, and he squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It wasn't my place to tell you, it was Jake's secret, not mine."

I gulped. Trying to swallow the growing lump in my throat.

"He's a good guy Eunji. He's a little lost right now. Sometimes all we need is for someone to find us. Bring him back, you're the only one who can."

I looked into Sunghoon's eyes and I could see his honesty. I could tell that he still cared about his friend.

The sound of the door-bell jingling caught our attention.

Every ounce of breath left my body when I saw who it was.

Jake.

His eyes scanned the shop leisurely until they finally found mine, and widened in shock. This was the first time I was seeing him ever since that incident with Seoyun.

The first time I was seeing him ever since I've found out the truth.

Jake's eyes suddenly focused on something else. It took me a moment to realize that Sunghoon still had his hand over mine and that was where Hake was looking. A pang of guilt pierced through me. Sunghoon seemed to have come to the same conclusion because he hastily retracted his hand.

I held my breath as Jake slowly made his way towards our table, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Hey." He acknowledged Sunghoon with a polite nod before turning to me again.

"Can I talk to you?" He sounded nervous.

I swallowed. Something about this didn't feel right.

My legs were shaking as I followed him to another booth. For a moment none of us spoke.

"How are you?" He asked finally, his voice was soft.

"I'm okay." I tried to smile reassuringly, but I couldn't.

He breathed deeply and trained his gaze on the floor so he wasn't looking at me anymore.

"I came here to apologize."

"You have nothing to apologize for. What happened isn't your fault. All this time you were trying to protect me. I should be the one apologizing." I told him firmly.

His gaze suddenly snapped to mine and I gasped.

There was so much pain in his eyes. So much agony.

All I wanted was to take it all away. I started to move towards him but he shook his head, stopping me.

"Stop it." His voice was soft but firm. "Stop apologizing for things that aren't your fault, you do it all the time. You shouldn't apologize for leaving. If it were up to me I would have made you leave sooner so you wouldn't have to suffer as much as you did. None of this is your fault, you hear me?" The fierceness in his voice startled me.