Dear "J" | Sim Jake

Chapter 2

Jake walked in with Jay, their eyes scanning the room for a place to sit. As they neared Jiwon's desk, Jay hesitated for a moment before deciding to take a seat a few rows behind her. Jake followed suit, settling into the desk right next to Jay, directly behind Jiwon.

She could feel their presence just a few feet away, and her pulse quickened again. Knowing that Jake was so close, yet out of sight, made it hard for her to concentrate. She resisted the urge to glance back, instead trying to focus on the teacher's voice, but the awareness of them behind her kept tugging at the edges of her thoughts.

As the lesson continued, Jiwon couldn't help but overhear a few murmurs around the classroom. It seemed that Jake's appearance hadn't gone unnoticed by their classmates. His hair was longer now, falling just over his eyes in a way that gave him a more mature, effortless look. The subtle change made him even more striking, and it was clear that the girls were paying attention, just as they had last year.

Jiwon heard whispered comments about how good he looked, and she noticed a few girls glancing back at him, giggling softly to each other. The atmosphere in the room shifted slightly, with Jake once again becoming a focal point, just as he always seemed to do. Despite the attention, Jake appeared unfazed, focused on the class in front of him, while Jiwon tried to keep her own thoughts from wandering too far.

The lesson seemed to pass in a blur for Jiwon. Before she even had time to process anything, the teacher was wrapping up the unit, and students were starting to gather their things. Jiwon glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Jake and Jay already standing up, their chairs scraping lightly against the floor.

Jake was the first to head toward the door, Jay following closely behind. They moved quickly, slipping out of the classroom before Jiwon could even think about catching up or saying something. She watched them disappear into the hallway, a slight pang of disappointment settling in as she realized she'd missed her chance to say anything more. With a quiet sigh, she gathered her own belongings, feeling the emptiness in the room where they had just been.

I gathered my things and slowly made my way out of the classroom, my thoughts swirling as I walked back to my locker. The hallway buzzed with students heading to their next classes, but I barely noticed them, too, lost in my own worries.

"How will I ever approach Jake?" I wondered, feeling a tight knot of anxiety forming in my stomach." So many other girls like him... it's not like he'd have any reason to want to talk to me."

The memory of the brief exchange we'd had earlier replayed in my mind, but it felt so insignificant compared to the attention he seemed to draw from everyone else. I tried to push the doubts away, but they lingered, making me question if I would ever have the courage to get closer to him or if he'd even notice if I tried.

The rest of my day passed in a daze. Despite the initial excitement of being in the same class as Jake, reality quickly set in. Because of our seating arrangements, he was always just out of sight-sitting behind me with Jay, where I couldn't even steal a glance at him without making it obvious.

I tried to focus on the lessons, but my mind kept drifting back to Jake. The fact that we were so close, yet it felt like he was miles away, gnawed at me. Every time I thought about turning around to catch his eye or say something, the moment slipped away, leaving me frustrated and disappointed.