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͙⁺˚*･༓☾
CALLING 'JAKE' . . .
CALL DECLINED.
CALLING 'JAKE'. . .
CALL DECLINED.
͙⁺˚*･༓☾
heeseung's mind buzzes with a torrent of thoughts as he stands near the buzzing bowling alley restaurant, the cluttering of dishes and distant laughter of customers serving as an odd contrast to his growing concern. two declined calls? the usually composed (although definitely not as of lately) heeseung can't shake the uneasy feeling that something is amiss with jake. the memory of the those three long and quiet days where jake went silent due to his ex-boyfriend's unexpected return haunt him.
worry etches lines on his face, and he can't resist the urge to investigate, hence how he's now found himself in front of the restaurant he's hardly ever even stepped foot in. upon slight scan, he instantly spots an employee wearing an apron covered in various spills and splatters.
without a second thought, he intercepts the worker. with an urgency in his voice, heeseung asks, "hey, excuse me? is..uhm–is jake working today?"
the employee's kind smile fades upon hearing jake's name. "sorry, he called out sick today," she responds.
heeseung masks his disappointment with a polite "thanks" before dragging his feet back to the front desk, the weight of uncertainty lingering.
as he steps inside, he confides in riki, recounting the unusual sequence of declined calls and jake's unexpected absence.
"dude, did you ever consider that maybe jake is actually just sick?"
heeseung stays fixated on the deliberate call of rejection, a subtle but poignant detail he feels riki wouldn't understand. "it's just...it's really unlike him. something feels off."
despite the situation, riki (who clearly can't read the room to save his life) allows a smirk to paint his face. "or maybe you're growing attached to him already," he devilishly suggests.
heeseung shoots him daggers, his eyes clearly telling him "not the time", in which riki finally gets the hint of.
impatiently, heeseung runs his fingers through his hair. the hair he dyed back to its original raven color the night before. great. now he's worried about jake and he has no way of getting ahold of him.
or does he?
MESSAGES ' Jake '
Me Hey, Jake, it's Heeseung. Me I know we've never texted before, but I saw you declined my calls and I just wanted to make sure everything is okay. Me Sorry if this is crossing a boundary. Me Call me when you can.
heeseung sets down his phone with a sigh. hopefully that's enough.
͙⁺˚*･༓☾
"hello?"
"your sleepy voice is really cute."
"mmh...wait, jake? what the fuck? it's, like, two in the morning."
"shoot, did i wake you? i'm so sorry, heeseung. i didn't expect you to answer to be honest, but i just saw your text and wanted to call."
"it's okay, just, what happened today? is everything okay?"
"...my ex showed back up at my door. he was drunk again. he tried to break in, but jungwon called the cops and he ran before they could arrive."
"oh my god. jake, i'm so sorry."
"yeah, it sucks. but i shouldn't have declined your calls like that. i feel really bad."
"don't feel bad, are you kidding? you had every right to do that."
"thanks, seungie."
"phew...i was getting even more worried when you didn't use that nickname earlier."
"heh...really? didn't think you'd notice. so what, is this you saying it's grown on you?"
"maybe."
"hm..good to know."
"but for real, is everything okay now? that sounds truly scary. thank god for jungwon."
"i'm okay now. yeah, he's quick on his feet. thanks for worrying, seungie. i appreciate it."
"i got worried especially when you weren't at work."
"wait, how'd you know?"
"uh–"
"did you really head all the way to my work to check on me? god, now i'm blushing."
"...well, you did tell me where you work, so..."
"what's it gonna take to see your purple-headed self in person? you're making it a lot harder to wait."
"it's actually not purple anymore as of last night."
"no way, you actually did it? well, i'm sure you'll look handsome in any hair color."
