Dear "J" | Sim Jake

Chapter 26

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Jiwon turned to him again, her heart racing a little for reasons she couldn’t quite explain. “Would you build it if I painted it?”

Jake met her gaze, his eyes soft and steady. “If you paint it, I’ll build it.”

Jiwon chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “If you ever run out of ideas, would you tell me to paint a beautiful house so you can build it? I can’t be doing that forever, you know,” she said teasingly, her eyes reflecting the faint shimmer of the distant waves.

Jake didn’t smile right away. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze steady on her as he replied, “Why not?”

His serious tone caught her off guard. The playful smile lingering on her lips faded as she turned her head to look at him fully, her laughter dying in her throat. The breeze played with a few strands of her hair, and for a moment, all she could hear was the rhythmic crash of the waves against the shore.

Jiwon blinked, trying to read his expression, but there was something in his eyes—an earnestness that made her heart skip a beat. “What do you mean, ‘why not’?” she asked, her voice softer now, unsure if the warmth rising in her chest was from his words or the way he was looking at her.

Jake shrugged slightly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “If your paintings are that beautiful, why wouldn’t I want to build them? Besides,” he added, his lips curving into a small smile, “I’d probably run out of ideas pretty quickly without you.”

Jiwon stared at him, the teasing reply she had ready disappearing from her mind. Her heart was doing that annoying thing again—fluttering uncontrollably, like it had a mind of its own. She quickly looked away, focusing on the dark stretch of ocean ahead, hoping the night would hide the warmth spreading across her cheeks.

“You say things so easily,” she murmured, almost to herself.

Jake leaned back on his hands, letting out a soft chuckle. “I only say them when I mean them.”

Jiwon glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her heart pounding a little harder than before. The sky seemed a little brighter, the waves a little louder, or maybe it was just her own thoughts filling the silence between them.

After a long pause, she whispered, “Then I’ll paint you the most beautiful houses… ones you’d never run out of ideas from.”

Jake’s smile deepened, but he didn’t say anything else. He didn’t need to. The quiet between them wasn’t empty—it was filled with something unspoken, fragile, and real, like the colors of a sunrise just before it breaks over the horizon.

Jake extended his hand toward her, his palm open and steady under the faint glow of the moonlight. His eyes, calm yet serious, met hers.

Jiwon blinked, then let out a soft chuckle, tilting her head slightly. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice light, though her heart betrayed her with its quickening pace.

Jake didn’t pull his hand back. Instead, he smiled faintly, the corners of his lips curving up just enough to soften the intensity in his gaze. “Making a promise,” he replied simply, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.