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Everything bad starts with Jay.
It's true. He's not exaggerating in the slightest.
Sunghoon was roped into a pyramid scam because of Jay. Sunghoon almost got arrested because of Jay. Sunghoon nearly got run over by a semi-truck because of Jay.
Sunghoon got into his first fist fight because someone decided to provoke Jay. Common knowledge to all, Jay had the temper of a Spanish fighting bull, and he instantly demanded a fight in one of the back alleys. And as Jay's best friend, Sunghoon had no choice but to act as his second.
Sunghoon was scolded by Jungwon's mother and had a slipper thrown at him because he was mistaken as Jungwon's suitor. In truth, Sunghoon was really just there to make sure Jay didn't fall down and break his back when he tried to leave Jungwon's room through the window (Jay also had his car taken away that time, so Sunghoon was Jay's post-hookup getaway driver.)
Sunghoon's perfect record was tainted because of Jay's failed plans to cheat on exams. Sunghoon almost came into contact with a rabies-infected dog because of Jay. Sunghoon climbed and promptly fell off a tree because of Jay. Sunghoon went on a date at a red light district with a forty-two year old prostitute because of Jay. Sunghoon had to get a tetanus shot because of Jay. Don't ask.
Sunghoon thought that Jay's reign of terror over his life had finally mellowed out, that there would be no more instances of Sunghoon getting blamed for Jay's stupid decisions, that Sunghoon would no longer suffer the repercussions of being Jay Park's friend. Thought, as in foolishly thought, because it was the calm before the storm.
The colossal idiot went and decided he would take it upon himself to introduce Jake, his Jake, to Lee Heeseung. Something about a run-in at the library, a mixup of schedules, and eureka! Jake was now fifteen million times more infatuated with him than he already was.
Now, don't get him wrong—Sunghoon likes it when Jake is happy. He's happy whenever Jake makes a new friend for that exact reason. But Jake's newest friend also happened to be the guy he's been gushing about at least thrice a week.
Okay. Maybe he's a little jealous. Just a little. After all, out of everyone else, Jake was the person he prized the most.
It's been him and Jake since the dawn of time, since dinosaurs walked, since humans were still fire-worshiping Neanderthals, and since people used carriages. His earliest memories included Jake (never mind that Jake's earliest memories were chock-full of Layla) and roughed-up knees, tipped-over bikes, bandaids on elbows, and comic books scattered across Jake's bedroom floor.
Sunghoon whistled and Jake came running while Sunghoon was at Jake's beck and call. That was how they worked.
If Jake was under the weather, Sunghoon would drive to Jake's house with a vanilla shake and medium-sized cheese fries from Shake Shack, followed by an Adam Sandler movie. If he had a bad day, Sunghoon would bring Jake to the ice skating rink (Sunghoon's great at skating, amazing at it, actually, and yet sacrificing his dignity by falling on his ass was oddly rewarding if it meant replacing Jake's little frown with a beaming smile.) If Jake got a bad grade—which were grades most of the school population would kill for—Sunghoon would enumerate his shitty test scores to make Jake feel better.
