It's Us [Jakehoon]

Last Special Chapter 4

The room was heavy with tension as the door clicked shut behind Jungwon and Sunoo. Jake sat on the edge of his bed, his hands resting on his lap, while Sunghoon stood near the door, hesitant and unsure.

Neither of them spoke for a long time. The silence stretched between them, thick with emotions neither knew how to untangle.

Sunghoon finally took a shaky breath and stepped closer. "Jake, please… can we talk?"

Jake lifted his gaze, his eyes red-rimmed from crying. His lips pressed into a thin line as he weighed his emotions, debating whether he had the strength to hear whatever Sunghoon had to say.

"Talk? Now you want to talk?" Jake’s voice was quiet, but the hurt in it was deafening. "You should have talked to me the moment it happened, Sunghoon. Instead, I had to stand there and watch you let someone else touch you."

Sunghoon flinched. "Jake, I swear, I—"

"You let her," Jake cut him off, his voice cracking. "I saw it. I was right there." He clenched his fists. "Do you know what that felt like? Watching you sit there, letting her kiss you, letting her—" His voice broke, and he looked away, biting his lip hard to stop himself from crying again.

Sunghoon ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Jake, I was drunk. I—I didn't even remember her until today. I didn’t know what was happening. If I had been sober—"

"But you weren’t sober," Jake whispered. "And that’s the problem, Sunghoon. Alcohol didn’t force you to sit still. Alcohol didn’t make you freeze while someone else kissed you."

Sunghoon inhaled sharply. "I know. And I hate myself for it." He took another step forward, desperate. "Jake, I swear to you, nothing happened beyond that. I didn’t feel anything for her. I barely even remembered her name until she approached me today. And even then, I didn’t know what she was talking about."

Jake let out a humorless laugh. "Do you even hear yourself? You didn’t know what she was talking about—so what? That just means you were too drunk to remember, not that nothing happened."

Sunghoon shook his head, panic creeping into his voice. "No, Jake, I know nothing happened. Jay was with me all night. If I had done something more, he would have told me. He was drunk too, but he would have said something."

Jake stayed silent, the battle between his heart and mind playing out in his expression.

Seeing his hesitation, Sunghoon stepped closer and reached for his hand. Jake tensed but didn’t pull away.

"Jake, please." Sunghoon’s voice was soft now, almost pleading. "I know I messed up. I know I hurt you, and I can’t take that back. But please believe me when I say that I love you. That I never wanted to hurt you. That the thought of losing you is killing me." His grip on Jake’s hand tightened. "I’ll do whatever it takes to prove to you that you’re the only one for me."

Jake’s breath hitched. "How am I supposed to trust you again?" His voice was small, fragile. "How do I know this won’t happen again?"

Sunghoon crouched in front of him, his gaze unwavering. "Because I’m never letting myself get to that point again. I should have been more responsible. I should have known my limits, but I didn’t. And because of that, I hurt the person I love the most." He swallowed hard. "Jake, you’re everything to me. Losing your trust is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. If you give me a chance, I swear I’ll spend every day making it up to you."

Jake searched Sunghoon’s face, looking for any hint of a lie, any sign that these were just empty words. But all he saw was regret, sincerity, and love.

Tears welled up in Jake’s eyes again, but this time, they weren’t just from pain—they were from the overwhelming emotions crashing down on him.

"I’m scared, Sunghoon," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don’t want to be hurt again."

Sunghoon nodded, his own eyes glassy with emotion. "I know. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you never feel this way again."

For a long moment, Jake just stared at him, his heart pounding in his chest. Then, slowly, hesitantly, he squeezed Sunghoon’s hand.

"I’m not saying everything is okay," Jake said, his voice shaking. "I’m not saying I can just forget it."

"I don’t expect you to," Sunghoon assured him. "I just want the chance to fix what I broke."

Jake exhaled, his grip tightening. "Then we’ll take it one step at a time."

Sunghoon let out a shaky breath, a small, hopeful smile appearing on his lips. "One step at a time," he echoed.

And as they sat there, holding onto each other—broken but willing to heal—Jake realized that maybe, just maybe, love was worth fighting for after all.