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...
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Finally, Sunday had arrived. Usually, Jake would sleep in until noon on Sundays, but today was an exception. Jake hadn't slept at all the previous night, tossing and turning in bed due to apprehension. He had made the bold decision to meet his father on his birthday, but what now, what if Myung comes to know about his rebellious step.
Early in the morning, Sunoo called to inform him that the planned get-together for the day was canceled. Heeseung had a dinner with work partners, Jungwon visited his parents, Sunghoon was busy with work, and he had no idea why Jay was pissed. As a result, Sunoo decided that he, Jake, and Niki would go on an outing, leaving the others behind.
Since Jake wasn't feeling well either, he readily agreed to the plan. "Oh, you're here. I honestly didn't think you'd come," Niki said.
They were all at the amusement park. "Of course he's here. How could he not come when I called him?" Sunoo said, locking his arm with Jake's as they walked ahead, Niki followed.
After wandering around for a while and buying a lot of things for Sunoo and Niki, Jake took a seat on one of the benches while the other two were enjoying a horror house.
Jake took out his wallet and sighed, there was hardly any money left. His day couldn't get any worse. Earlier, he was dying with anxiety and now he is out of money too.
Right he was anxious, about Myung.
Jake opened his phone, but there wasn't a single reply or callback from him. While waiting for the others, he tried calling Myung two or three times, but he didn't receive an answer even once. This only raised his nervousness.
"Ah, my ear hurts," Niki complained as they walked out of the horror house. Jake quickly hid his phone inside and laughed upon seeing them.
"Well... I'm never going to a horror house with him again," Niki added while poking his ear. Sunoo, not giving two fucks, went to Jake, excitedly asking, "What are we doing next?"
"Maybe we should head home now; you guys have already enjoyed a lot," Jake suggested.
"What? That doesn't sound like a good idea," Sunoo pouted.
"Yes, it is," Niki said, slumping down next to Jake. "I don't know about you guys, but this is the longest my social battery can last. We've been here since morning, and it's already past noon."
"We can't go home like this. We should at least have lunch together. Come on, get up, get up; we need to find a good restaurant," Sunoo urged, pulling both of them up, even though they had no intention of moving. They had to give in to Sunoo's wishes.
Before going for lunch, they decided to take a restroom break. Niki went to freshen up, which provided an opportunity for Sunoo and Jake to talk.
"Let's go to a regular restaurant, not a fancy one. I'm out of money," Jake told Sunoo.
Sunoo smirked, saying, "You're out of money? What a joke. People with a black card don't run out of money, Jake hyung."
Jake felt a little offended and annoyed by how Sunoo never missed a chance to take advantage of things that most people didn't know.
"Anyway, I want you to keep Niki busy. I have some business to take care of," Sunoo said, starting to walk away. Jake grabbed his arm.
"Wait... when are you going to stop your illegal business?"
"Never," Sunoo scoffed, as if the things he did were completely normal. "It's my only source of income." Sunoo pulled his arm away, clearly hating it when people nags him about his line of work, which was drug dealing.
Yes, Sunoo had been involved in this for years, and he had no intention of stopping anytime soon. It paid him well, and it was a secret only Jake knew about. Jake had tried to stop Sunoo several times but always ended up falling into his traps.
Niki walked out of the restroom. "Where is Sunoo?" he asked.
"He found a friend in the crowd. He'll be back soon," Jake said, and Niki nodded.
Suddenly the air surrounding them became still, there was a certain awkwardness lingering in the environment. Both the guys started walking side by side taking a little walk while waiting for Sunoo.
"Umm..." Niki hesitated, searching for the right words to ask Jake something. Jake, who also had something on his mind, didn't notice Niki being weird.
"Jake, about that night, I'm sorry again," Niki blurted.
"Hmm?" Jake snapped back to reality and listened to Niki.
"I see you haven't forgiven me yet, so I'll apologize again. That night, I was more drunk than usual, and my feelings had been bottled up for too long. It came out that way, and I'm sorry," he said.
"Why are you apologizing again? I already forgave you, Niki," Jake said with an assuring smile. Niki scratched his head in confusion. "But you've been ignoring me since that night."
"I'm not ignoring you; I was just making sure something like that doesn't happen again....... And you don't have to stress yourself too much. It was just a kiss, after all," Jake said, gazing into the distance.
"It's about consent, Jake..... I didn't ask for your permission, and that's why I keep feeling guilty," Niki said. Jake raised his head to meet the taller figure's eyes, which displayed genuine emotion.
Without thinking twice, Jake hugged him. "You're such a good guy, Niki. You deserve someone who is livelier than me. You deserve the world, so don't settle for less," Jake said.
Niki was taken aback, first by the hug, then by the words. He hugged Jake back, reassuring him and telling him not to worry about him.
After they separated, Niki asked, "So, are we good now?" causing Jake to chuckle in relief.
So now we know why Jake blamed Niki for his condition in the second chapter.
Here's a little backstory: During the last Sunday get-together (as referenced in the prologue), Niki was dared to kiss Jake, and they did. After the games were over, Niki followed Jake to the kitchen. Due to liquid courage, he managed to confess his feelings, enjoying the brief moment of his fantasy coming true.
However, Jake rejected his confession, which was entirely understandable given the circumstances. Since Niki was little too drunk, he forced a kiss on Jake. Jake pulled away, and Niki immediately apologized and left the place in deep regret.
There was a bystander who witnessed the entire scene unfold, who latter on punished Jake, even though it wasn't his fault.
