𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 - 𝘚. 𝘑𝘢𝘦𝘺𝘶𝘯

Avoidance

Jake couldn't help it.

He was just walking past the cafeteria with Sunoo, on their way to join the guys at their usual table, when his ears latched onto a snippet of conversation.

"Oh, he's visiting from college."

Jake's steps came to a dead halt. His brain short-circuited, and his grip on Sunoo's shoulder tightened so suddenly, it made the other boy yelp.

"Dude—what—"

"U turn," Jake hissed, already dragging Sunoo with him.

"But the guys are over there."

Jake glanced back and saw Yeri and Ningning's table in the opposite direction, his heart doing a weird, frantic dance in his chest. Sunoo followed his gaze and rolled his eyes with the sort of fond exasperation he reserved exclusively for Jake's Yeri-related shenanigans.

They headed over, but by the time they reached the table, Jake had nothing to say. And Ningning's suspicious glance didn't help.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ningning asked, arching an eyebrow.

Sunoo shrugged, still looking very unimpressed. "Ask him."

Jake cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck like he hadn't just practically dragged Sunoo across the cafeteria. "Uh, hey, Yeri."

Yeri looked up from her lunch and gave him a polite, but very short, nod. "Hey."

Well, that wasn't encouraging. Jake tried to strike up a conversation, but the awkwardness between them was so thick he could have cut it with a knife. Ningning just stared at him like he'd grown a second head.

Eventually, Jake gave up, shuffling away with Sunoo, feeling like he'd just made the biggest idiot of himself in history.

Sunoo let out a dramatic sigh. "You have it bad, dude."

Jake still couldn't let it go. By lunch, his mood was soured, and even a friendly soccer match with the guys couldn't pull him out of his misery. They'd made it to the field, but Jake was too busy grumbling to himself to actually kick the ball.

"I didn't think she'd be into guys that much older than her!" Jake complained, running his hand through his hair for what had to be the fifth time in ten minutes. "Why wasn't I born earlier?"

Heeseung let out a laugh. "What, like ten years earlier? Dude, chill. Maybe she just likes mature guys."

"Or maybe you're just jealous." Sunghoon said with a smirk.

"Am not." Jake scoffed, though he sounded anything but convincing.

Niki looked like he was genuinely pondering something. "Maybe you should just confess." well no shit.

"Or hire a detective." Sunoo offered dryly. "Though, knowing you, you'd somehow hire someone who's friends with Ningning, and the whole thing would explode in your face."

Jake groaned, collapsing on the grass like his legs couldn't support his misery anymore. "I just... ugh."

He didn't want to admit it, but it was driving him crazy. The mystery guy. The idea of him visiting from college snd staying wuth Yeri. The way Yeri had practically ignored him this morning. It was all gnawing at him like a particularly hungry raccoon digging through the trash, and he was the trash.

___

Jake kept seeing those stupid posters everywhere. Taped to lockers, plastered on walls, shoved into his hands by some overly enthusiastic committee members during morning assembly. The words School Festival were practically screaming at him from every direction. And of course, Soojin had to make it worse.

She found him by the vending machines, where he was just trying to buy a soda in peace. Instead, he got her looping her arm through his like they were starring in some rom-com he didn't sign up for.

"Jake!" Soojin's voice was sugary sweet, almost cloying. "Are you going to the festival?"

Jake looked down at her, lips already curving into a frown. She was practically clinging to his arm, eyes wide with expectation. Before he could even think of an excuse, she was already pushing on.

"You should go with me!" She grinned like it was the most obvious suggestion in the world. "It'll be so much fun."

Jake stared at her, blinking slowly. He could already feel the headache building, like tiny fireworks popping off inside his skull. His patience was as thin as paper, but he forced himself to hold it together. He counted to five, then five more, until the irritation simmered into something manageable.

"Uh, sure. Whatever." He shrugged, giving her the most noncommittal answer he could muster.

Soojin didn't seem to notice his lack of enthusiasm. She just giggled, already rattling off a list of things they could do at the festival. Jake barely paid attention, his eyes scanning the crowd instead.

And then he saw her.

Yeri, weaving her way through the hallway with Ningning at her side. She was clutching a stack of notebooks against her chest, eyes fixed on the floor as though determined not to meet anyone's gaze. Or maybe she was just determined not to meet his gaze.

Jake's stomach twisted.

It had been like this all week. Awkward exchanges, brief eye contact, Yeri acting like he was some sort of unpleasant memory she couldn't quite shake off. It was killing him.

He hadn't even realized he was staring until Yeri turned her head slightly, her gaze flicking his way for less than a second. And then she looked away, her shoulders hunching like she wanted to shrink into herself.

She kept walking, her steps brisk, her expression carefully blank. Like he was nothing but a speck of dust she was desperate to sweep away.

Jake's chest tightened, a bitter taste pooling at the back of his throat. This just kept getting worse.

He tried to focus on what Soojin was saying—something about festival food stalls and horror houses—but all he could think about was the way Yeri had walked away. Again. And how, no matter what he tried, he just couldn't seem to fix whatever had gone wrong.

"Jake? Hello?" Soojin waved a hand in front of his face, her pout growing more exaggerated by the second. "Are you even listening?"

"Huh? Yeah. Totally."

He wasn't. And he didn't even care enough to pretend otherwise.