before & after ‣ 엔하이픈

002 ; present

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AERI

Meet me at the parking lot.

The text was written clear as day and Aeri fought every urge in her to let out a smile as she stared at it. She looked around her, trying to see if anyone was looking at her but surprisingly the only eyes she caught was Bora's eyes, staring at her blankly. Like the last time she caught Bora staring at her, she gave her a thin smile before focusing elsewhere, and elsewhere had been her phone which showed his text to her.

"Aeri! Are you going home now?" Haesu asks as the three of them leave the premise of the classroom.

Aeri nods. "Yeah. I can't wait to lay down in my bed and sleep to be honest." The lie came out naturally, as though lying was the only language she's ever known.

"Agree! It's the first day and I already don't want to do anything." Seeun whines like a little child. "Thank goodness someone as handsome as Jake and Sunghoon studies in our school, otherwise I would never attend classes."

She scoffs, which the two of them heard clearly. "Oh come on, Aeri. Stop picking fights with handsome boys! Especially since out of every girl in this school, you're the only one who can pull them without exerting any effort." Seeun exaggerates.

"Stop exaggerating my appearance." Aeri says, rolling her eyes. "I'll be on my way. See you guys tomorrow." She waves a hand at them as she swings her bag to her shoulder and heads to the exit of the room, with the sound of her friend's goodbye ringing in her background.

Aeri purposefully slowed down her pace in hopes that the hallway would empty on its own and the chances of her getting caught with Jake lessens.  Her devious plan somehow worked because as soon as she got to the parking lot, almost no one could be seen in the surroundings. She finds Jake's car parked in a corner a little further from the school entrance. Jake was nowhere to be seen which gave her the idea that he was already in the car, so she gives the tinted window two knocks before she hears a click which signifies the lock unlocking.

Finally, she opens the door in order to be greeted by Jake who sat at the driver's seat while looking at her with a smile. "Hey." Softly, he says.

"Hey." She gleams before getting comfortable at the passenger's seat. "What's up with the sudden invitation?" She asked as he starts the car and drives them away from the eye of everyone who knew them.

"I heard you haven't ate at all and while I know you said you're in a diet, I can't let the day go by without making sure you ate." Jake says, giving her a swift glance before focusing back on the road.

Aeri smiled because his concerned tone was everything to her. She loved hearing and seeing him show how he cared so much. After all, it took so little to melt the heart of a girl who lacked affection her whole life. After getting some drive thru which he gladly paid for, Jake had parked into an empty parking space where the two of them ate the food he bought for them. The hunger that hid itself hours back began to return after one whiff of the warm food now sitting by her two hands. Removing the wrapper that protected the burger, she began to eat to fill the stomach that has remained empty since the night before.

For the remaining minutes that came after, Aeri and Jake sat in silence as they both finish all the food he bought. She had remained seated there, her once down mood now lifted a little because of this act of affection only to have it ruined a few seconds later when he broke the quietness she basked in since opening the wrapper.

"I heard Bora transferred to your class." Whenever Jake mentions Bora's name, there was always this subtle chest pain the she tries to subdue every single time his ex girlfriend is brought up in one of their dates. Even months later since they started going out, Bora's name escaping his mouth always has the same effect on her.