plot twist: us ➵ sim jaeyun

chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Silence Between Us

Sarang lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, her heart heavy with the absence of Jake. It had been a week since their heated argument, a week since she’d last felt the warmth of his presence or the comfort of his laughter. Each day felt longer than the last, the silence between them stretching like an unbridgeable chasm.

Her phone buzzed incessantly beside her, but she ignored it. Messages from her friends, checking in, trying to cheer her up. “Just hang out with Jay!” one text suggested. “You’ll feel better! You can’t wallow forever!” But all Sarang wanted was to feel like herself again, and she couldn’t do that without Jake.

The memory of his last words haunted her. “I won't get in the way.” His voice had been so resigned, so defeated. It echoed in her mind, mixing with the laughter they’d shared, the stolen glances, the moments where everything felt right. She turned on her side, pulling the blankets around her like a shield.

In the days that followed their fight, Sarang had thrown herself into her studies, burying her feelings in endless assignments. But no matter how hard she tried, every class, every book felt empty without Jake’s sarcastic comments or the way he always knew when to lighten the mood.

She glanced at her phone again, biting her lip as she contemplated texting him. What would she even say? “Hey, miss you!”? It felt too vulnerable, too raw. Instead, she found herself scrolling through her photos, each picture a bittersweet reminder of the moments they shared—their spontaneous trips to the diner, the late-night study sessions where they’d fallen into comfortable silence, their ridiculous banter that always ended in laughter.

Meanwhile, across town, Jake sat in his room, staring blankly at his laptop screen. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t dwell on Sarang, that he’d focus on his classes and hang out with his friends. But every time he tried to distract himself, his mind wandered back to her—her laugh, the way she rolled her eyes at his jokes, the spark in her eyes when she talked about her favorite things.

He scrolled through his contacts, hovering over Sarang's name, but he couldn’t bring himself to call. He replayed their last conversation over and over, the frustration and sadness etched in his mind.

As the day dragged on, Jake found himself in a familiar diner booth, the spot where they’d spent countless hours together. The waitress approached, her eyes sparkling with recognition. “The usual?” she asked, a hint of a smile on her face.

“Yeah,” he replied absently, his eyes scanning the room as if expecting to see Sarang walk through the door. But she didn’t, and the weight of that absence felt like a punch to the gut.

He stared out the window, watching couples walk by, hand in hand, laughing and chatting, and it made him feel even more alone. The lively atmosphere of the diner faded into the background as he let himself wallow in the emptiness that had become his life without her.

Back in her room, Sarang decided to go out for a change of scenery. She forced herself to meet up with friends, to keep up appearances, but she felt like a ghost. No amount of laughter or conversation could distract her from the gnawing ache in her chest.

“Hey, you okay?” one of her friends asked, a concerned frown on her face.

“Yeah, just tired,” she replied, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

As the night wore on, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, and her heart skipped a beat. But it was only a notification for a social media app, and the disappointment washed over her like cold water.

Later, back home, she plopped onto her bed, staring at her phone again. She opened her text messages, hovering over Jake’s name, fighting against the urge to reach out. “I miss you,” she whispered to the screen, knowing she couldn’t send it.

In the dim light of his room, Jake lay on his bed, the silence deafening. He had tried to distract himself with video games and music, but it all felt meaningless. He stared at the ceiling, feeling the weight of his choices pressing down on him.

In that moment, both of them felt the void the other had left—a gaping hole that echoed with unspoken words and unresolved feelings. They were two stars in a vast sky, once connected by the gravity of their friendship, now drifting farther apart, each feeling the loss in their own way.

Sarang hugged her pillow tight, tears spilling onto the fabric as she finally allowed herself to feel the pain of their separation. “What have we done?” she whispered into the darkness, wishing she could turn back time, wishing she could fix everything.

Across town, Jake’s phone buzzed again, and he glanced at it, but it was just another notification. He sighed, the ache in his chest intensifying. “What have we done?” he echoed, feeling the absence of Sarang like a phantom limb, something that was once there but now felt painfully lost.

In their silence, both Jake and Sarang realized that sometimes, the hardest battles were fought in solitude, and the deepest wounds were the ones left unaddressed. The distance between them felt insurmountable, and as the night turned into torture, they couldn’t shake the feeling that they were both suffering without the other—lost in a world that suddenly felt unbearably empty.