Jake's existence is twisted in complexity. On the surface he appears like any other person, but beneath the mask of his so called normal life, lies ugliness. He dreams to escape this harsh reality, he wants to experience the joy of living like a tru...
The muffled sound of chirping mixed with honking passed through the curtains of Jake's room. It didn't bother Jake as much as his alarm did. He remembered turning it off a few minutes ago, but there it was, ringing again.
"Ugh..." he groaned in frustration and slammed both hands on the blanket. It seemed like no one wanted him to have a proper sleep.
Jake opened his eyes, seeing no way out of this annoying situation. He made sure to turn off all the alarms before pushing himself up to sit straight.
He had only slept two hours last night, and it was not surprising that the person who had caused him to lose sleeping hours was gone. He removed the covers, and stains from last night's activity were seen all over the sheets; one more task was now added to his never-ending list.
He tiredly got up and dragged his feet toward his bathroom, not wanting to cause any more inconvenience to his lower back.
After stuffing the dirty sheets in the washing machine, he took a quick shower, got ready, and made breakfast, only to realize that he didn't have time to eat it. He was running late, so he stuffed his mouth with two spoons of breakfast before rushing out for work.
As he speed-walked, a bike almost crashed into him. Jake grabbed his chest to check if his heart was still in there.
"Yahhh...Sunoo-ah!! Do you want to kill me?" he asked, breathing heavily.
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"Oh, come on, Jake. I won't kill you, even if I'm paid for it. After all, you are my last resort," the guy with his helmet on and arms crossed on the handles smiled. He meant to scare Jake.
"Now hop on, we are going back to your house."
"I can't, I am getting late for work. Jay will kill me."
"Who cares about that ranting idiot... it will only take five minutes, I promise," he flashed his puppy eyes, which Jake couldn't resist.
"Okay, fine." Jake climbed on his bike and went where he came from.
Sunoo has always been like this; he crashes into Jake's house every time he gets in trouble. Sunoo is allowed in his house anytime but only with Jake's permission. Knowing that Sunoo is always surrounded by cops, Jake never tells him his passcode.
Their friendship started on weird terms. A very strange and long story happened before Jake adopted him as his younger brother, or we can say Sunoo blackmailed Jake to take care of him.
Once they got close, Jake introduced Sunoo to his friend's group. They welcomed him happily since he provided the group with alcohol and every sort of drinks you ask for; all free of cost.
It's been a year, and Sunoo is his weekly guest now. "Wow, you prepared breakfast," Sunoo's eyes sparkled. "Did you predict my coming?" he asked.
"Nah, I just didn't have enough time to finish it," Jake said as he watched the younger eat a spoonful. Sunoo let out a blissful noise as he enjoyed the unfinished meal.
"I'll do it for you," Sunoo said while smiling cheekily.
"Are you not going to drop me?" Jake asked, hoping the younger will start his bike right away.
"Nah, I am good," Sunoo replied.
"Selfish," Jake pouted with crossed arms. Disappointed, Jake picked up his things and started walking out alone.
"Don't sulk, I was just kidding," Sunoo said, walking out ahead with his helmet.
Jake smiled and ran after him. The 15-minute walk was over in a flash. Jake got off the bike and patted Sunoo goodbye.
"Oh, thank God you are here," Jay exclaimed upon seeing the Aussie. Jay explained how an international client suddenly appeared without prior notice, and now they are having difficulty making a conversation.
Jake was raised in Australia until middle school. Even though it's been years since he and his mother moved back to Korea, he is still quite fluent in English.
Every time their company needs to deal with foreign clients, they call Jake. This is also a reason why he's mostly provided with presentation work.
After a long, exhausting three hours of the meeting, Jay's team finally had time to loosen up.
"So-bin, I've sent the reference photos that today's clients provided," Jake informed his fellow employee. "And also, Jay asked to finalize Ms. Lin's project before Saturday, so please work on that before starting this one." The employee's smile turned upside down; her sudden change in expression made Jake chuckle.
He then proceeded toward his assigned workspace. "You worked hard; you should take a rest," Niki said from his seat, which was next to Jake ever since he joined.
"I really do want to, but..." Jake said and flashed the mountain of documents in his hand before sighing. Jay had given him extra responsibility which he can't fail.
The rest of the day went as it was, nothing special, nothing new, just work and more work. This is the cons of working in a private company. As a middle-class man, you have to do at least this much to earn a proper meal.
The evening arrived, and not surprisingly, Jake wasn't feeling well. I mean, who would if they hadn't had a proper meal and sleep for three days straight?
His head felt heavy and was mildly aching. "I'll be leaving now; I don't think I can work any longer," Jake informed Niki while arranging things back in their place.
"Hmm," Niki hummed and nodded; he looked at Jake with worry in his eyes. Jake was wobbling a little. He wasn't sure if the latter realized that his state was getting worse.
Suddenly, Jake stopped and put his head in his hand. "Are you okay?" asked Niki. Jake didn't respond, which gave Niki his answer: no.
Niki was about to help Jake when Jake's body fell to the ground, unconscious. Niki and a few other employees who were there panicked. Immediately, an ambulance was called. Jay and Niki were the only ones to leave with him for the hospital.
