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...
Jake was at Heeseung's office, with a cup of iced Americano in one hand and the handle of the opaque glass door in the other. He had been standing there for a while, and all the other employees had watched him bang his head lightly on the door more than twice now.
"Arghh... what are you going to do now, Jake?" he cursed himself and stuck his forehead on the door again. After what he did last night, he was now scared to face his boss. Maybe shutting the door right in Heeseung's face was too far. It was certainly unprofessional.
Suddenly, the door opened, and of course, Jake got startled. "Oh, Jake! I've been waiting for you," Heeseung looked down and took the cup from Jake's hand, who was still lost. "Thank you, now get inside; I gotta tell you something."
Jake silently followed his boss inside. Heeseung looked surprisingly calm; he didn't have even the slightest hint of anger or disappointment on his face.
"Sir, about last-" Jake stuttered, but before he could finish, he was cut off. "Isn't that our personal matter, Jake? Inside the office, let's not talk about things that are irrelevant to work."
Jake nodded; he felt relieved after what Heeseung said.
As Heeseung sipped on his iced Americano, he handed Jake a file. He told him that it's about his side business that he has been working on, and since Jake is his PA, he needs to make arrangements for Heeseung regarding this too.
The business Heeseung is planning is a bar for elites and influential personalities. He won't be the only owner of this project, but there are multiple people involved in this yet-to-be-established business.
Jake quickly went through the first page of the file while Heeseung was still briefly explaining. "Sunghoon?" Jake asked upon coming across a very familiar name.
"Yeah! He is one of the partners along with all the others that you can read there. We are five of us in total. I am glad that he accompanied me in this project; the stress is lesser with his help," Heeseung said. "By the way, I am heading to a meeting with all the co-owners. It will be an informal meeting; do you want to join? Sunghoon will be there, so don't worry about getting bored."
"I don't think I can; I still have to take a proper look at this," Jake raised the file in his hand.
Heeseung
I am currently on my way to my brother's hotel, where the meeting is scheduled. As expected, Jake denied coming with me. I am glad that he did.
After last night, I came to realize that he actually hates me. I guess I really have to start everything all over again.
When Jake first entered, he was the quietest kid in the class yet still charismatic, a soft, nerd-looking boy, extremely handsome with good grades – someone hard to approach. Facts.
For some reason, I wanted to know him better. It intrigued me how a boy this quiet, anxious, who always had his head down even while walking, unable to hold a pen due to trembling hands, was surviving.
Good thing Sunghoon was there with him. As much as I know, Sunghoon's family and Jake's family are friends. Sunghoon is even close to Jake's parents. Whenever Jake's family wanted to know Jake's whereabouts, they would call Sunghoon because Jake never really liked going to his house or contacting his family.
Even in the past, Sunghoon helped me get close to Jake, and I am expecting the same help today. I will surely talk to him after the meeting.
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Sigh. The meeting was exhausting. I don't know why everyone chose me to represent our idea to a huge sponsor from Spain. They gave me the stupidest reason for it too. They said that since France and Spain are adjacent, it might be easy for me to seal our deal with them. I know I studied in France, but Spain is a whole another country.
Well, right now I am hanging out with Sunghoon. It's been long since I spent time with him or, in fact, any of our friends. Usually, he stays as busy as me; gladly, this project is a great reason for us to catch up with each other.
"Why are you suddenly talking so much about Jake?" He asked, annoyed. I've been eating his ears for an hour now with questions all related to Jake.
Like what happened after I left? Why is he being extra quiet lately? What can I do to make him feel better? Or when was the last time he hung out with him?
Sunghoon said that he only gets the chance to see Jake on Sunday get-togethers and that he doesn't feel like his best friend anymore. He told me that he spends more time with me than with him since Jake is always busy with something.
"Hey? You didn't answer my question, what's with Jake today?" Sunghoon woke me up.
"Umm..." You absolutely can't tell anyone about me working with you to any of our friends... Jake's image flashed in front of my eyes. "It's been three months since I came back from France, but he's still not comfortable with me. I feel like he is ignoring me even on Sundays."
"Oh, is that it...." he nodded slowly while understanding the whole situation. "Don't worry too much; he does this with everyone."
"Does what?" I asked.
"Ignores." He simply answered.
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Sunghoon and I parted ways. We didn't forget to stop at Jungwon's arcade shop for a quick massage on his massage chair. After that, I went back to my office, and he went back to his.
When I was nearing my cabin, I saw Jake at his desk, fully immersed in his laptop ahead. "Jake!" I called his name loudly and sternly. He got startled. I chuckled inside... it'll be fun to tease him for the rest of the day.
