off limits | jakehoon

14

Jake and Sunghoon had spent their holiday break in a very blissful manner where every day felt like a little slice of paradise. They had cooked together, they spent their afternoons exploring new cafes, watching movies, and sharing their favorite activities. Sunghoon had even taken Jake ice skating again, this time laughing as Jake confidently attempted (and failed) a spin on the ice.

But as January gave way to February, reality hit them in the form of university restarting, and with it, the comfortable rhythm they’d settled into was thrown out of the window.

The first few weeks were manageable they still managed to grab coffee together in the mornings, and they’d meet up for lunch when their schedules allowed but soon enough, the demands of their different majors started to pull them in separate directions.

Jake, a physics major found himself drowning in assignments and lab work. The coursework was intense, and he often found himself spending long hours in the lab or holed up in the library trying to make sense of complex equations.

Sunghoon, on the other hand was juggling his marketing classes with his modeling gigs. While he loved both the combination left him feeling stretched thin, like he was trying to be in two places at once.

The worst part was how their schedules had stopped aligning. They used to walk to campus together, but now, Jake had early morning labs that required him to leave before Sunghoon was even out of bed. In the evenings, Sunghoon often had late classes or photoshoots, leaving Jake to eat dinner alone, staring at the empty chair across from him. They tried to keep things normal sending each other quick texts during the day, sharing inside jokes in the middle of lectures but the strain was beginning to show.

One Thursday, Jake was particularly stressed. He had a major lab report due the next day, and his group project was a mess. He was supposed to meet Sunghoon for lunch, but when his lab partner bailed on him, Jake had to stay behind to finish the work alone. He shot Sunghoon a quick text

Sunghoonie ❤️ : Sorry, can’t make it to lunh, still stuck in the lab, rain check?

Sunghoon saw the message and sighed, his fingers hovering over his phone as he typed out a reply

Jaeyunie ❤️ :No worries, good luck!

But as he hit send, he felt a wave of frustration it was the third time this week that Jake had to cancel on him, and while Sunghoon understood how busy Jake was, it didn’t make the disappointment sting any less.

Later that night, Sunghoon came home late from a shoot, exhausted and a little moody. He found Jake at the kitchen table, surrounded by textbooks and empty coffee cups, his expression tense as he stared at his laptop screen.

“Hey” Sunghoon greeted him, dropping his bag by the door. He tried to keep his voice light, but the exhaustion seeped through. “Long day?”

Jake barely looked up. “Yeah, you could say that this lab report is killing me”

Sunghoon nodded, heading to the fridge to grab a drink. He could feel the tension in the air, the unspoken words between them building like a wall. He wanted to talk, to tell Jake how much he missed him, but every time he tried, it felt like the words got stuck in his throat.

“Did you eat?” Sunghoon asked, glancing at the clock. It was nearly 9 PM.

Jake shook his head, still focused on his work. “No, not yet. I was planning on grabbing something after I finish this section.”

Sunghoon bit back the urge to say something snarky, like "you’re going to work yourself into the ground" Instead, he nodded and said“I’ll make us something quick you can’t survive on coffee alone.”