a song of ice and fire // jakehoon

vier ;

"Where were you, by the way?"

Jake stopped eating, resting his chopsticks against his bowl as he chewed the remaining food in his mouth. "I explored the neighbourhood a bit."

His father hummed, raising an eyebrow of confusion. "For 3 hours? How far out did you go? It was really cold out."

Jake was quiet for a bit before smiling softly. "I found someone of ice."

His brother widened his eyes almost dropping his chopsticks in shock. "Oh my God, you found your soulmate. I can't believe you found your soulmate!"

"Jakey, that's wonderful!" his mother exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "How was she? Is she nice? I'm sure we'd like her!"

"It's… a boy."

She stopped, her smile faltering almost immediately. Jake's father also stared in some type of disbelief he couldn't express properly. Jake looked down, his heart rate increasing tremendously. Would this be the moment he finds out his family is homophobic? They were in shocked silence because he mentioned his soulmate was male.

"Well, is he nice?"

Jake looked at his father, who had slowly begun to smile. "Dad…"

"We're still busy moving in, so the place is still a mess, but you should invite him for dinner," his mother suggested excitedly. It was Jake's turn to be shocked — he couldn't believe it.

"Did you think we'd have something to say?" his brother asked, tilting his head. "Jake, we're your family, and we'd love you no matter what. So what if it's a guy? It's destined, and that's okay — okay?"

"Tell us about him," Mrs Sim said excitedly. "Is he tall? Oh, he must be tall! Is he handsome? Korean boys are more attractive than the Australian kids that side—"

"He is tall," Jake spoke excitedly as well, joining his mother. "His name is Park Sunghoon, and he's my age. He lives a few streets away, and I think he lives alone. He used to be an ice skater, and his visual is just crazy. He's really attractive."

"Did he react to your warmth?" Hyunseong asked, his eyes big with curiousity. Jake blushed lightly as he nodded, earning collective teasing noises from his family. "Of course! You should really bring him over, Jaeyoon-ah."

"Changmin-ah, we should tidy up as quickly as possible tomorrow to impress this Sunghoon boy," Mrs Sim said, putting a hand on her husband's arm. "In fact, we should do some cleaning tonight! This is the boy that Jaeyoon might marry—"

"Woah, hold on!" Jake exclaimed, his cheeks burning a bright red. "We can't say that yet! I'm only 18! He's only 18! It's way too soon to say stuff like that."

"You're so lucky to meet him," Hyunseong smiled longingly at his brother. "I have no idea when I'll meet my soulmate. Apparently, you just feel something when you see them. How did that feel, by the way?"

Jake looked down, a reminiscent smile on his lips. "It felt… weird at first. It felt strange. But then we met eyes, and… it just happened. We both knew. We didn't even know each other's names yet, but we knew there was something between us. I don't know if I can say it yet, but I'm glad I ended up with him. Despite being of ice, he's sweet and gentle. I didn't expect it of him, but that's how he is."

His mother raised an eyebrow. "So I take it that he's the man?"

"Mom! I'm the man too!"

•

Sunghoon lied awake that night, a smile decorating his expression handsomely. It had been far too long since he genuinely felt happiness. His life was falling apart much quicker than he wanted it to. He had left school half-way through his final grade, due to a disinterest in his school life, and momentarily continued ice skating, but the accident prevented him from furthering his career.

His life was empty since he quit skating. His quiet life in the countryside in the family home was made worse with his growing depression. He quite considered ending his life that day, but if Jake hadn't seen him on the rocks, he would've been gone.

But he's alive. He managed to meet Jake, his soulmate — the person to add meaning to his life.

"Sim Jaeyoon… Sim Jake…"

Sunghoon smiled brightly to himself, his heart thumping harshly in his chest. Jake made him feel wild emotions that he had never felt before. He was set on making Jake his. He was sure he and Jake would fall in love and be happy together — sure, he was only 18 years old, but he knew when he was in love.

He sighed, turning onto his side in heavy thought. Jake was one of the most attractive people Sunghoon had seen in a long time. He never really bothered with looks, but Jake seemed just that extra bit special. In addition to making Sunghoon feel warm, Jake had certain charms that made him that much more attractive.

He was inherently happy, and he was grateful that he found Jake. Rather, Jake had found him, but he was still okay with it either way. Their meeting was bound to happen, and it made Sunghoon happy.

But would everyone else be happy? Would his parents be happy? Would Jake's family be happy? Would Jake be happy? Sunghoon wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep Jake happy forever. He was broken, and he had no idea if he'd be able to satisfy Jake as a partner in the future. He found himself losing his smile, and Jake's warmth slowly dissipated. He sighed as he turned onto his side, looking away from the moonlight shining through the window.

He wondered if Jake was thinking of him as well.