KAIZEN | Sim Jake FF

006

It had been a few minutes since Giselle had gone to the bathroom, but hadn't returned yet. Jake and Areum sat in silence and sipped on their drinks until it became unbearable. The girl was about to say something, but the boy had beaten her to it.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I said what I said earlier today?" Jake questioned.

"I know it's because you're interested in me", Areum repeated her best friend's words.

"What?" he scoffed, "Who told you that?"

"Giselle", she shrugged.

"Well then I'm afraid she's not wrong."

Areum's expression turned serious while she looked at him as if he'd gone nuts, until he finally burst out laughing.

"You actually thought I was serious, huh?" he snickered.

"Get over yourself", she sighed, rolling her eyes at him.

"No, but actually", his voice turned serious, "I said that because I just thought you didn't wanna seem pathetic in front of the guy you like."

"Why would you care?" she asked, her voice low, but high enough for Jake to hear her properly.

"I don't know, either", he said with an expression Areum couldn't read.

The two kept looking at each other, not even trying to look away. It was as if their eyes were communicating instead of their mouths. Areum scanned the features of the boy in front of her - the way his round chocolate brown eyes stared into her darker ones, how his hair fell perfectly over his eyebrows, his straight nose and his lips. Maybe it was the liquor inside her that wouldn't let her look away, but she kept on admiring his face.

She could sense him leaning in closer but, surprisingly, she didn't back away. She was certain it was the large amount of alcohol she'd consumed. Their faces were only inches apart now and Jake began to close the distance.

He himself didn't know why he was acting like this all of a sudden. He was just simply captivated by her beauty, caught in a daze. He felt a weird tingling sensation in his stomach from the way she looked at him with her brown almond-shaped eyes and unconsciously batted her long eyelashes. Maybe, he thought, it was just because of the drinks he had tonight.

"Hey, Jake! There you are!" Someone screamed from a distance, ruining their little moment.

Areum, once the sudden realization had hit, slapped Jake's face and pushed him away quickly, getting off her chair. She couldn't believe that she was just about to lose her first kiss to someone she barely knew.

Poor Jake didn't even get the time to recover from the impact when his friends came rushing up to the two of them and asking questions.

"Woah~ new girl?" the taller among them asked Jake while looking at Areum who still couldn't believe what was just about to go down.

"Can't be", the intimidating one shook his head, answering instead of Jake, "I've seen him mess around with at least ten girls tonight."

"Shut up, you two!" Jake shushed his two friends.

Just then, Giselle finally returned from the bathroom after what felt like an eternity. Areum sighed a sigh of relief thinking that they could finally go home now. She quickly grabbed her friend's wrist who looked at her confusedly at the act, and pulled her out of the venue without giving her much explanation.

"I don't feel so good", was what she had said.

-

The next morning, Areum woke up with some prominent dark circles around her eyes as she was unable to get even a singular hour of peaceful slumber; all because she had been thinking about the events of last night.

She hadn't the energy to get up and get dressed for the day, but didn't have much of a choice, either.

She lazily got out of bed and got dressed for the day. After having some light breakfast, she made her way to her car and drove away.

On her way to the university, she had gotten a call from her mom.

"Hello, sweetheart," her mom greeted, "How've you been?"

"I've been good, mom", she greeted her back, "How are you and dad?"

"We're doing great, honey. I actually wanted to ask you if you're free today."

A sigh escaped her mouth when her mother said that. She knew what this 'meeting' was about. Her mom had probably found a new guy for Areum and would encourage her to date him, even though she would have no romantic feelings towards him at all.

"Not this again, mom," the girl argued, "I told you that I'd find myself a boyfriend eventually. I'm still young, so what's the rush?"

"Sweety, you know we only want what's best for you."

"I'm busy today. I'll call you later."

And she hung up.

Arriving at the university, she parked her car and grabbed her stuff before making her way inside the building. She thought she might have a peaceful day but boy, was she wrong.

The first thing she saw was Jake, leaning against the wall, next to the door of the lecture room. She wasn't really that bothered by last night but she still didn't want to see his face. It was just plain awkward.

She sighed and walked towards the door when Jake grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a quieter corner. She was flabbergasted, of course, but what could a frail girl do when a strong man was dragging her along with himself? She unwillingly followed his footsteps.

"Don't you think you owe me an apology?" he asserted, arms crossed over his chest.

"What for?" she returned the attitude along with a similar stance.

"You slapped my beautiful face yesterday!"

"I don't see anything broken so I'm assuming you're alright", she shrugged.

All he could let out was a scoff. He'd been worked up all day because of his father who'd been scolding him for calling off his marriage with Yuna. He thought that letting his frustration out on someone else (namely Areum) would make him feel better. However, her responses only got him even more frustrated; but he seemed to like it for some reason.

Class was about to start in a minute or two so Areum just left Jake there and headed towards her seat. But, on her seat next to Jisung, there sat a girl who Areum didn't know. Her and Jisung laughed together and they were being so touchy with each other that Areum couldn't help but feel disgusted - and a little hurt.

She just looked down at her feet when she felt a heavy arm snake around her shoulder. She didn't even get the chance to look at who it was yet, but knew from the cologne he was wearing - it was the same as the one she smelt on Jake last night. The close proximity, once again, made her heart skip a tiny beat but she couldn't bother to think much of it and let the guy guide her to the back of the class.

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A/N: i'm literally so lost idk what to write 🙏🏻

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- inyeonn