Apple (Jay is in Love, by Park Sunghoon)

04.2

"- Jake! HE'S THE LOVE OF MY LIFE."

Jake's head snaps to the side, and his eyes swap fervently the surroundings. Other patrons turn their heads equally, and Jake shrinks in his seat, holding a hand up to cover the side of his face.

"- Shush! Jay, man, shut it." He grits out.

The whole scene was unnecessary. Jay did not have to get up so briskly, and shout that oh, Yang Jungwon is the love of his life.

Sunghoon twirls the little spoon in his coffee and hums. He, contrary to Jake, seems a lot used to Jay's in-love-with-Yang-Jungwon side, and his unfazed reactions, the way he sips so idly on his hot drink, only reminds Jake of the sour fact that he is the only one who did not know and never noticed.

"- What happened this time?" Sunghoon asks after licking off the remnants of his coffee from his lips and setting the small cup on the table.

"- I met up with him." Jay says as he plops down again on his seat with his hands holding his head. Jake stares at the way their respective drinks stir with the abrupt motion.

"- What? For what?" Sunghoon asks, and for once, Jake likes the feeling of him not knowing, so he smirks when Sunghoon looks at him for some answer.

"- Oh, nothing." Jake shrugs. "- I just arranged a meeting between the two." He grabs his cappuccino and takes a loud sip.

"- You, treacherous... Wingless moth!" Jake giggles when Sunghoon gasps, stands up and points his forefinger at him, though he frowns at the choice of insult. "- Why didn't you tell me!" He yells.

Again, Jake looks around, and he sadly sees that Sunghoon attracted attention as much, if not more than, as Jay. He understands that Jay can be loud sometimes, but can Sunghoon be a normal, quiet introvert? They are embarrassing.

"- You didn't tell me about Jay either." Jake accuses back with a cough.

Sunghoon groans and does not sit down.

"- You're still salty about that?"

"- No." Jake denies.

"- Does it MATTER now that you know?" Sunghoon prods. Jake quietly gestures to him to sit back, and without breaking eye-contact, he sits stiffly on the chair. "- Plus, we have a bigger issue at hand." He beckons Jay's eerily silent and oddly still figure with both hands.

"- Uh... Jay, man, what happened?" Jake queries before leaning in to shake Jay's by his forearm. "- Did he say yes to the date?"

Jake asks about the date assuming that Jungwon, who was totally oblivious of the inner motifs of the 'rendezvous', took it well. He was evidently being delusional, yet he also assumed Jay did not understand that Jake had avoided telling Yang Jungwon about the date.

"- Hah." Jay laughs. "- No. He rejected me."

"- Didn't think you were into this type of things! O, my, Lord. Jay, do you have a rejection kink!" Sunghoon squeaks, drawing back in his chair and clasping a palm over his lips.

"- He rejected me with so much grace." Jay elaborates fondly. "- He told me." Jay clears his throat and straightens his back. Then, he sports his most neutral expression and adds. "- 'I expected it to be something serious and important.'" He pauses, then glares at Sunghoon. Sunghoon stares at him with slightly parted lips. "- 'I was wrong'." He finishes. "- I got the chills! Goddammit! He's so badass!" Jay huffs as he slumps in his seat. He starts biting his lower lip, eyes unfocused on some mundane point.

"- President told you THAT?" Sunghoon whispers, though his voice starts growing louder through the sentence, until the last word is more yelled than whispered loudly.