say don't go | heejake

2.08

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"i couldn't go out today..." heeseung declared on his phone call with sunoo and riki.

"it's okay heeseung. it was an intense reunion after all, you and him have grown too distant. the misunderstandings that have lingered from his part have made it harder for him to trust you as well. it's understandable you feel disheartened," sunoo reasoned.

"jake's been playing the victim for too long. he needs to listen to you, and you need to be clear," riki stated.

heeseung agreed, but how could he do that? how could he get through to jake and fix things he didn't even know were fractured? and then there was this sunghoon guy...

"i don't know how i can do that. everything feels feeble," added heeseung.

and he was discouraged, but still, riki and sunoo cheered him up enough to shower, get changed and go out to eat, even if it was by himself.

there was this restaurant jungwon told heeseung jake had recommended once. it was possible to meet jake there but heeseung found it too far fetched. either way, he was hungry and by the time he entered the place, the smell of the food erased his worries.

he sat down in a secluded table surrounded by large ones with families. he liked to feel like he didn't know anyone and therefore could eat in peace. the menu was a bit of a challenge for him but he could manage just fine and ordered right away.

just as he was starting to eat, thankful that the food didn't take long to arrive, he looked up towards the door and saw jake walking in. he wasn't alone, though; a tall, korean-looking guy with thick eyebrows was beside him. heeseung connected the dots: that must be sunghoon jake mentioned the day before.

as soon as he lost sight of them, heeseung tried really hard to focus on his meal, taking bite after bite but feeling suddenly not as hungry as he was. curiosity took over him and he looked around, successfully finding the two men he was searching for with his gaze and seeing them interact at a far away table.

sunghoon said some things and jake laughed heartily. their interactions seemed so effortless and nice that it showed how much of each other sunghoon and jake were familiar with.

and it just engraved into heeseung's mind and heart how much of a stranger jake was to him, and he was to jake.

it hurt.

heeseung spent the remaining of his meal wondering just how much of an effect sunghoon had on jake. how much sunghoon knew about jake that heeseung didn't. how much heeseung was starting to envy sunghoon even without knowing anything about him.

it pained his aching heart.

heeseung finished eating and payed quickly just to leave in the blink of an eye.

what he didn't notice was that jake's eyes didn't blink and now were following him with his gaze through the restaurant's windows.

"sunghoon, will you wait for me here? i need to leave for a bit," jake quickly stated.

"but what do i order for you?" sunghoon asked panicked that jake was already walking away.

"my usual!" jake yelled back, running out of the place.

sunghoon sighed. "dumb jake, you always ask for a different dish when we come here..."

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"heeseung! slow down!"

heeseung came to an abrupt stop. that voice was one he could recognize anywhere, any day. unexpectedly, jake had been running to catch up to him, and when he suddenly stopped walking altogether, jake crashed into heeseung's back.

"ack!" jake yelped as he stepped back. "sorry, you sprint quite fast."

heeseung turned around. "i wasn't. i was just walking."

jake chuckled, "well it's because of your long legs, goliath!" and the second those words fell from jake's mouth he felt an enormous wave of nostalgia flow through him.

heeseung choked in his own saliva, coughing repeatedly before regaining his composure. once he did, he noticed jake's flushed cheeks.

"why'd you call after me?" heeseung inquired.

jake scratched the back of his neck anxiously. "just, i realized yesterday after i left that you might not know your way around town and it was careless of me. which also made me realize that i have... no way of contacting you..."

heeseung didn't know how to feel. he didn't want to feel hopeful just because jake was asking for his number, so he buried the butterflies deep down into his being.

"you're asking for my phone number?"

jake nodded slowly, visibly unsure and embarrassed.

"okay..." heeseung extended his hand, "mind borrowing me your phone for a bit?"

"oh, right," jake fumbled inside his pants' pockets before coming to the terrible realization that he had forgotten his phone at the table back in the restaurant. "great. i left it with sunghoon..."

heeseung tensed at the mention of the name.

"or you can just give me your number," heeseung suggested.

but jake shook his head a little too quickly.

"let me just go quick and get it. i won't be long!" jake said turning around but stopping halfway through the spin and turning right back. "or you can come with! it's faster that way."

heeseung was visibly uncomfortable. he didn't want to go with jake because he knew he would be introduced to sunghoon, whoever he was to jake, which was the scariest part. but on the other hand, jake was asking him to, so how could he decline?

after all, everything heeseung wanted was to be with jake.

so he hesitated one last time before accepting.
"...alright."

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Hi 🤭

-nova<3