Dear "J" | Sim Jake

Chapter 33

Jiwon clutched her blanket, her fingers gripping the soft fabric as if holding on to something tangible—something that could ground her in reality. But reality itself felt like a blur.

"I like you."

Jake’s voice echoed in her mind, not once, not twice, but over and over again, like a melody she couldn’t turn off. The weight of his words pressed against her chest, making it hard to breathe. Her heart was racing—no, it was trembling, uncertain, hesitant, but undeniably alive.

She turned onto her side, staring at the dim glow of the streetlights outside her window. The city was quiet, yet inside her, everything was too loud.

"Tell me it was a dream…" she whispered, her voice barely audible. She pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around herself, as if the warmth of her own embrace could comfort her. "Was it… was it real?"

She sat up suddenly, pressing a hand to her chest, as if that could steady the storm raging inside her. Wasn't this what she had always wished for? The very thing she had daydreamed about—Jake looking at her differently, as more than just a friend. Saying those words, "I like you."

Then why… why did it feel so overwhelming?

Her thoughts were tangled, overlapping and crashing into each other like waves during a storm. She wanted to smile, but her lips wouldn’t move. She wanted to be excited, but the moment felt too surreal.

Maybe because it was Jake.

Jake, who had always felt unreachable, untouchable in a way that made her admiration for him feel safe. He was someone she had watched from afar, cherished in silence, believing that was enough. But now…

He had stepped closer. He had closed the distance between them with words she never expected to hear.

Jiwon exhaled shakily, covering her face with both hands. The heat rushed to her cheeks, her pulse erratic.

"What do I even do now?" she muttered, falling back against her pillows.

She had spent so much time thinking about what it felt like to like someone, to admire them. But she never once thought about what came next—what to do when that person liked her back.

Months had passed. The new session had started, routines had settled in, and time moved forward, unbothered by the lingering emotions she carried.

Now, it was almost time.

In just two months, their senior year would come to an end. High school, the place that held so many memories, would become nothing but a chapter in their lives. And then… college. A new beginning. Adulthood. A world where everything would change.

Jiwon sat by her window, her diary open on her lap, pen hovering over the page.

She had spent so long thinking about this—wondering, waiting. But how much longer could she afford to wait?

Would there ever be a perfect time?

She traced the edges of the paper, staring at the words she had written so many times before but never said out loud.