Chapter Text
Dark. All Jake saw was dark.
It was pitch black when he first gained consciousness and his ears were ringing loudly. In a moment, the ringing fades out, muffled voices overtaking his ears. He can barely make out what he hears.
It was like the sound of the surface if you were to sink yourself underwater. It was like an ocean plugging your ears, everything else sounding echoey and dense. Jake was a swimmer at the bottom of that pool, swimming as fast as he could to get to the top, to finally hear things clearly.
"Hyung..."
Crying? Someone's crying?
"Jungwon, come on, stop crying now."
Jungwon's crying? Why is he crying?
And most of all, where is he? Where is Jake? Why is he drowning but not even hesitating or panicking to breathe? Why are things like this?
"Don't worry. Nothing too concerning happened to him. He's just unconscious."
Him? Unconscious? This prompted Jake to swim faster, racing himself to escape the waters that he found himself in. The surface was so bright, so clear, and when he touched the sun and rose up to take a breather from the exits of the water, he found himself sitting right up in a white bed, the people surrounding him in surprised.
"HYUNG!" Jungwon was the first to react, latching himself onto Jake in a tight embrace, more tears streaming down than he ever did when he was waiting in pure anxiety, "HYUNG I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN. HYUNG, ARE YOU OKAY?"
"J-Jungwon.... you're..." coughs, "You're choking me!"
"Let him go, boy," the nurse ordered, said person complying in a little while.
"Hyung," Jungwon repeated, this time softly and calmer, finally coming to an end in his sobbing fit, "H-How are you? How's your head?"
Jake just rubbed the back of his head to soothe the lingering pain that must have stayed throughout his little coma. Although the hit is still definitely there and he knows it's gonna stay for a little while more, overall, Jake doesn't feel like anything's wrong with him. In fact, weirdly enough, he feels fine! As if nothing happened at all!
"I'm good, Won. You can stop worrying now," Jake assured, rubbing the other's back.
"Are you sure? That was a heavy hit you took from the sign," Beomgyu commented, lunging forward to get closer to Jake's bed.
"I'm fine! Really!"
"Let me take over for a bit," the four boys moved aside to give way for the nurse to do his job. He takes out a small flashlight, inspecting Jake's eyes for any signs of abnormality that may be concerning. He even gives a small test, seeing if Jake truly is good and to their relief, he seems pretty normal. Just someone who took a large hit to the head and got knocked out! Impressive, the nurse thinks, "Okay, seems like there's nothing to worry about. I'll give you some medicine in case your head hurts but you're good to go."
Jungwon, for the first time in hours, smiles again and sticks beside Jake as the nurse lays out the good news, in pure relief and gratefulness that nothing bad has occured because of his stupidness. He holds Jake close, scared that if he would let go, his best friend would pass out on him, making him more worried than he has previously felt.
"Won, you can let go,"
Jungwon doesn't want to. He needs to make it up to him somehow.
"Won, I can hear you overthinking. I told you, I'm okay. The nurse said so as well."
"No," Jungwon sharply responds, fixing his embrace on his best friend, "I've done so much wrong towards you, hyung. I can't drop this. Especially this!"
"Aish," Jake takes ahold of Jungwon's arms, untangling him from his hold on him to face him properly, "It was an accident. I know you didn't mean it. But it's finished. Nothing bad happened to me except being unconscious for a while. It's alright! I'm okay."
"It's not just about that, hyung," Jungwon looks back at Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai, the three of them seeming to get the message he wanted to say and scrammed out of the nurse's office, closing the door behind him as the nurse leaves as well to give the two their own privacy. Jake raises a brow at Jungwon, wondering why he had to make everybody else leave the premises but his silent question was shortly answered afterwards when his best friend returned his attention on him, "Heeseung hyung... he.... you like him..."
That again.
"Won, how many times do I have to tell you. I don't like Heeseung hyung that way anymore."
"But..." Jungwon puts his hands on Jake's shoulder, grip strong from the overwhelming feeling of guilt, "...I just... I didn't know he..."
Jake sighs and removes Jungwon's hands from him, holding both the younger's hands in his own as he looks at him straight in the eyes, unintentionally sending a chill down Jungwon's spine. He rubs the other's hands and looks at him with a calmer look, faintly smiling to really reassure his friend.
"I didn't know either. No one knew," Jake starts, "But I'm glad he likes you. At least I'm assured it's someone as great as you, Won. He deserves someone like you."
"H-Hyung..."
Jake pulls the younger in a much needed embrace, finally letting Jungwon to stop feeling so down after all that has transpired in the past couple hours. Although he didn't cry like he did throughout Jake's unconsciousness, the pits in his heart continue to stir in pure guilt, feeling like he betrayed his own best friend. Even if Jake tells him that it's alright- that he has long gotten over his crush on Heeseung- there is still that feeling that makes him think: "what if Jake is just saying that to not make me feel bad?"
Still, regardless of doubts and worries, he's grateful Jake is still by his side and still treats him well.
He's thankful.
-----
"Did you take your medicine already, hyung?"
"Yes, Won. I have," Jake is finally at home, washed up and clean and ready to hit the hay after the hectic day. Of course, like the worry wart that Jungwon is, the moment he had closed the front door after returning to his own home, his friend blasts his phone with messages, asking him if he was able to return safely, if he had washed up, or if he felt any pain in the areas of his head. Eventually, in the half hour that was to come, Jungwon called him like crazy while he was showering in the bathroom! By the time Jake got ahold of his phone, he came back to see seven missed calls from the younger, immediately being greeted by the eighth one after a few moments later.
"Does your head hurt? You can always tell your mom about it. I can message her for you, if you want."
"Nope. Don't do that. She doesn't have to know."
"But she deserves to! Something might happen to you and she wouldn't know the reason why!"
"Go to sleep. Seriously. I'm fine, Won. Stop worrying."
Don't get Jake wrong, he's more than grateful for Jungwon's concern but sometimes he needs to stop worrying too much. If Jake says he's fine, he is. Plus isn't he supposed to be the older one between the two of them? Why does it sound like Jungwon is the worrisome older brother now?
"But..."
"Sleep."
It was silent on the other end for a bit but Jungwon sighed in defeat, "Okay."
"Good night, Jungwon."
"Night, hyung."
Jungwon doesn't have to worry about him too much. It's not like something happened to him because of the accident. Really, Jake feels the same. Weirdly, all the same.
But he doesn't bother entertaining the unknown feeling that was stirring up in his chest. Hm.. he'll sleep on it.
-----
"Hyung, you rascal," Jay teased, ruffling Heeseung's hair as he said so, "Was your intention really to perform for your sake or to confess to someone in the crowd?"
"Hey.. what are you talking about? I just wanted to do it for myself," Heeseung defends, "No regrets, you know."
"No regrets, my ass!" Sunoo joins in on the attack, Jay plastering an entertained grin knowing he wasn't alone on ganging up on Heeseung, "Hyung, you gave out this weird aura. You seemed to be in a whole other world where the audience doesn't exist!"
"Is that supposed to mean something?"
"Hyung, who is it? You like someone, right?"
"Sunoo.. aha... calm down now...."
"OOOOOH so Jungwon was right when he said it! You like someone!"
"J-Jungwon?"
"Okay that's enough," Sunghoon intercepts, moving the others away from Heeseung who is very much flustered and overwhelmed, by the others' interrogation, "Calm down you two."
"You know something about this, don't you, hyung?" Sunoo then shifts his attention to him, a questioning brow and a pointing finger threatening him to spill, "Usually you'd be on board but you're defending hyung for god knows what reason. You know something, don't you."
Sunghoon sighs and puts Sunoo's hand aside shaking his head while he rolled his eyes subtly. He walks on over to Heeseung's side, grabbing the eldest by the shoulder, and guiding him to the nearest bathroom, much to the other two's suspicion. Sunoo tried following but Sunghoon looked back in a serious gaze making Jay grab ahold of his wrist, preventing him from doing what he intended to do.
Once inside, Sunghoon leans by the sinks, Heeseung leaning by the stall walls and hitting his head lightly due to the situation.
"How long have you known?" Heeseung asks, not looking at his friend as he keeps his eyes glued to the ceiling in frustration.
Sunghoon sighs and crosses him arms.
"Since we bumped into him and Jake at the mall."
"Oh god," Heeseung lets out, hands covering his face as he slides down the wall, feeling immensely embarrassed by Sunghoon's knowledge of the truth, "Am I obvious?"
"No," Sunghoon reassures, squatting down to get to Heeseung's level, comforting the older by the back and giving him light pats on the shoulder, "I was just observant."
"Then that means it was obvious."
"No, hyung, I promise," Sughoon then sits down next to his hyung, "You liking someone is already a clear tell now but you liking Jungwon-"
"DON'T-" Heeseung rushes to cover the other's mouth, catching the other off guard, "Please.... don't say his name out loud."
"Why?" Sunghoon replied, muffled.
"I just...." Heeseung returns to his timid position letting go of him, this time hugging his own legs close to him, "I like him, yeah, you're right but...."
"But...?"
"But I'm not ready to tell him directly and just hearing his name makes me nervous because I don't think I can handle being close to him after last night. I broke down last night when I got home. It felt so surreal. I want him to know but I'm shaking at the thought for when he does. I just..."
"Hyung," Sunghoon calls, causing Heeseung to look at him, "I don't want to give you any pieces of false hope but I don't think there's anything to worry about."
"What do you mean?"
Remembering how Jungwon looked back at Heeseung as he was performing flashed in Sunghoon's memory. He knew his hyung was doing this for the cute boy in the next class, knowing damn well that all his efforts was to reach out to Jungwon even if he doesn't explicitly mention it. Jungwon seemed to get the message, seeing as to how he keeps his gaze on his hyung. But when he looked right next to him, seeing Jake have the same idea as him, he couldn't help but speak that time.
Nevertheless, he knows Jungwon isn't appalled by Heeseung's feelings. So, to him, that can give him some sort of assurance to relay on Heeseung about this.
"I just know."
Heeseung shook his head and pushed Sunghoon until the guy lost balance in his squatting position, landing on his butt as he fell.
"That's some comfort, yeah?"
Sunghoon laughed.
"I'm trying, hyung."
-----
"Hyung!" they both heard from Sunoo, who was still by the area they were previously at but yelled loud enough that his voice could ring all the way to the other end of the hallway.
Heeseung and Sunghoon walked on over to the other two, the younger patting his hyung's shoulder as he walks next to Jay. Sunoo had his brows raised with a solemn look on his face, reaching out to grab both of Heeseung's hands and pouting in front of him.
"Hyung, I'm so sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You don't have to tell us anything!" Sunoo pleads, letting go of the older's hands to now wrap his arms around him in a hug, "I may have snooped a bit when you two went to the bathroom but I promise I didn't hear anything too significant."
"Sunoo!" Jay and Sunghoon called him out in unison, who was still very much clinging onto his Heeseung hyung like it was a life or death situation yet didn't bother to look back on the other two.
"Ooh hyung, if there's anything bothering you, be it about us or something else, please don't hesitate to tell us. We'll be here for you!"
"Okay, that's enough, Sunoo," Sunghoon reiterates like he did previously and detaches Sunoo's grasp from Heeseung.
"No! Jungwon seemed so shaken when I mentioned hyung so something must be wrong!"
"S-Sunoo, I think whatever it was that Jungwon was worried about is fine now. Don't worry too much, okay?"
"How can I not worry when-"
And Sunoo's words were cut short, with a ringing "JAKE HYUNG, WAIT, I CAN EXPLAIN!" echoing throughout the hallway, catching the attention of the four who were too busy scrambling about Heeseung's problem. Without notice, Jake looked at Sunghoon in the eye, Sunghoon preparing himself for the routine that was to come. But what the former did completely caught Sunghoon off-guard.
Sunghoon, to say the least, was astonished and dumbfounded.
There he was, frozen in his place, as he tries to recollect and make sense of the current situation.
He didn't do anything out of the ordinary, rather, it was the person whose arms were wrapped around his neck while their face is snuggled at the crook of it who did.
Sunghoon is frozen in his place, shocked and flustered from what has happened.
He was not expecting this at all and by the looks of Jake's own friends and the reaction of his own clique, they're just as surprised with it and had no idea that he'd pull this type of stunt.
All he could think of in his head was a solid "What the actual fuck?". When he saw Jake walk in by the entrance, he thought he'd receive the usual dirty look, maybe even something lighter because of what he said during the variety show, but this? Jake hugging him and being all over him? Never in his wildest dreams he would have guessed a scenario like this!
"How are you, love? I was wondering why I felt so lost this morning. Turns out it was because I just haven't seen you yet!"
Did Sunghoon really hear that right? Did the everybody hear that as well? No way Sunghoon really registered those words correctly because Jake being affectionate with him, let alone call him something sweet like 'love' as if he was talking to the love of his life, is literally next to impossible. There's no way this is really happening!
Sunghoon just might slap himself to check if he's asleep and having a weird dream conjured up by his head.
"Hm? Love? Are you spacing out again?" Jake puts a hand on the guy's forehead, checking for signs of fever since Sunghoon was not responding at all, "Are you sick?"
If you were to look at their friends' reaction, all you would see are mortified bystanders who felt like they just witnessed the unexpected second coming of Jesus in the form of a Korean high schooler who's feeling up the man he swore he dislikes the most. Jungwon was on the verge of tears, Heeseung and Jay just seemed wide eyed, Riki was definitely shocked and confused, and Sunoo looked like he was about to check his own sanity to see if he was the one that's crazy.
"Love, you're worrying me. Why aren't you saying anything?"
"O-Okay, you're freaking me out," Sunghoon says in a genuinely frightened tone as he attempts to peel Jake off from him, "Get off me!"
"Hoon, don't act like that! Don't you miss me at all?" Jake said, offended, not an ounce of sarcasm or joking in his voice.
"H-Hoon...? What are you getting at, Sim?"
"Why are you acting like this!?"
"I should be the one asking you that! What's gotten into you!?" Sunghoon retorts, giving Jake a weird look, "Why are you calling me 'love'? The hell."
Jake gasped so hard that it sounded like the air cut his throat in half with how speechless he was for the next half minute. He looked so offended, so insulted. Without saying anything, he walked on over to Riki to get his bag (who was apparently carrying it) and went back to face Sunghoon, face turning sour, as he pushes him by the chest.
"If you want to break up, you could just say it to my face!" he yells, storming away.
"Hyung is this a side effect?" Sunghoon hears Riki whisper to Jungwon, who immediately slapped his wrist for bringing it up.
"Side effect?" Sunghoon takes into notice, walking towards the two who groaned in frustration, "What side effect? Side effect of what?"
Jungwon was close to strangling Riki right then and there for bringing it up but he figured he's not gonna get another opportunity to explain things, let alone come up with a lie convincing enough to sway the other four witnesses. The other three, Heeseung, Sunoo, and Jay, moved closer to their friend who was standing in front of Jungwon, wanting an explanation as well. With a frustrated look, and a heavy sigh, he asks them to back up a bit.
"Okay, okay. I'll tell you,"
And so Jungwon did, telling the story of how Jake hit his head all the way to the lack of abnormalities being seen prior to what happened. The group found it odd, kind of impossible even with how Jake seemed to have perfectly in-tact memories except his regards to Sunghoon. Sunghoon would have been more relieved if the change wasn't this drastic because now he had to hear from Jungwon that it seems like Jake has ridden on the idea that they're dating. Boyfriends, even.
It would have been hilarious on paper or in shows but having to experience this sort of thing in real life? He would have never imagined.
Also amnesiac Jake is more fussy than he thought, even in the five minutes that he has gotten a taste of their so-called "relationship". Apparently Jake is the needy type, in a way.
"Is that the right term?" Sunghoon asks himself, but shakes that question out of him.
"I'll talk to him about this. I'm sorry for getting you tangled up like this, hyung," Jungwon apologizes, taking ahold of Sunghoon's hand who subtly looks at Heeseung from his peripheral vision, "I'll clear things up with him about this. Again, I'm really sorry."
"D-Don't sweat it, Jungwon," Sunghoon assures, withdrawing his hands from the other, "I get it. It's fine. I just hope he's okay."
"I gotta go," Jungwon says apologetically, "I'll head on first. Riki, go to your class. I need to talk to him."
Riki nodded, waving the older goodbye as he ran off.
The other third years seemed to have checked their time and decided to head on in to their floor but one of them remained where they were, looking at the him directly in wide yet anticipating eyes.
"Riki?" he calls out, catching his attention.
He looks on over to the owner of the voice and is met by Sunoo, becoming somewhat flustered when he saw the older.
"Um... you're that guy, right? The one that helped me with the fox plushie?"
He remembers.
Riki feels his chest lighten and flutter at the thought and nods his head shyly, not looking up at Sunoo for he was too shy to face him.
When he was strolling around after their intro performance for the show, he stumbled upon a little blond haired upperclassman who sounded like was on his fourth attempt at the dart throwing booth. Hearing one of the stall hosts say, "Sunoo you're gonna run out of money" and him replying with a "No! I'm gonna win the fox plushie!" in such a cute voice, Riki couldn't help but move a little closer.
He doesn't stand beside Sunoo but, rather, a little bit behind him while still keeping his distance. He sees him struggling, really trying hard to get those golden balloons but he always misses them by an inch or so. Overall, not hitting them where they're supposed to be.
Riki felt bad after seeing him hit the table in defeat.
"NO!" Sunoo shouted, looking very dejected as he places his head on the table to mope for a little longer. He was rummaging in his pocket, checking to see if he had any more spare change that wouldn't affect his commute money but another person walked up to the stall beside him, that person being Riki.
"I'll have a go at it," he tells Kai, paying for the game attempt.
In front of him was five darts and the other person, Taehyun, gave him a run down of the rules and the expected outcomes. He looks on over to Sunoo, still not minding him and just wallowing in his repeated defeat but just smiles and throws the darts one by one.
The first three darts hit the usual balloons, earning him three points in the bag. According to Taehyun, if he popped a gold balloon, it would be counted as two and five points was all he needed to win something. So on his last two darts, he aimed for golden balloons, which gifted him a guaranteed plushie around 50cm.
Sunoo was jealous and oh so defeated. This guy just waltzed in and won what he wanted on the first try! Literally rubbed it in his of how much of a loser he was! He wanted to give a mean look but that's not gonna earn him anything.
He was about to fish out another payment, eager to win this thing once and for all but his heart constricted and broke when Riki decided on his winning prize.
"The fox plushie please." He says, words ringing and echoing in Sunoo's ears as if they were the last words he would hear before he officially passes away. Kai looked at Sunoo as if trying to apologize to him and frankly, the look on his face really showed how upset he was that he had lost the prize he was longing for to someone else!
Sunoo was about to leave, maybe run back to his Heeseung hyung or look for Sunghoon for comfort but Riki tapped him on the shoulder before he could get away.
"Um..." he started out shyly, "Here."
Riki held the fox plushie in front of him and watched as Sunoo's eyes melt from pain to pure confusion. But along the questions in Sunoo's head, there was also happiness that started to light up in his eyes, Riki feeling mesmerized at how the upperclassman's eyes shined with the light of the stall's sign.
He hasn't seen Sunoo this close before.
"Thanks..." Sunoo shyly accepts, taking ahold of the offered toy, taking note how the person in front of him doesn't feel familiar as a batchmate yet was taller than any other person he knew at the school. His features seemed foreign too. He doesn't look Korean but when he speaks the language, he spoke it perfectly. But there are things he picked up on such as a little hint of an accent. He must be a foreign student.
"What's your name?" Sunoo asks.
"Riki. Nishimura Riki."
Foreign indeed.
In the present, now that they have seen each other again but under the weird circumstance of what has happened between Sunghoon and Jake, they couldn't help but scratch their heads at the fact they were closer than they both thought. Riki was really flustered.
He didn't think Sunoo was this close at all!
In the two years he had studied in Korea and has enrolled in the school that he's in, Sunoo was the first and only person that had caught his eye. A cheery, sweet sunbae that helped him on the first day.
-----
"Won, I can't believe this! Can you believe him? He really played indifferent with me like that!"
Jake was pissed yet "pissed", at the same time, was also a huge understatement. He was seething, raging, and if he was to keep at it a little longer, Jungwon would start seeing steam come out of his ears with how red he looks from anger. This, for sure, became a clear tell that Jake wasn't fucking around when he wrapped himself around Sunghoon and calling him dearly. His mind really made him think that he's dating Park Sunghoon. That sign really hit him harder than expected and made the unbelievable happen!
Jungwon held onto Jake's fisted hand that were almost embedded on the surface of his desk, attempting to calm down his friend from the rage he was currently feeling. But Jake looked like he had no plans of calming down nor did he look like he was about to let this go oh too easily.
Jungwon knows that he should address the situation and tell Jake that he never had an actual relationship with Sunghoon, but just by feeling the tenseness of the older's fist and the mood that he's currently in, he figures that a punch to the face is very possible and most likely the only outcome that would happen if he were to fuel the rage his best friend was in.
"Throughout these first few months, I didn't think he'd ever be like that! Why did it seem like he's pushing me away!"
"H-Hyung, are you sure that you're okay? I think we need to get you to the nurse's office now," Jungwon trembles, "Maybe even to a hospital.."
"Now's not the time for that, Won," Jake barks back, "I'm too upset for doctor meetings."
"Hyung, I think it's really crucial right now. I-I just think you weren't in the right headspace a while ago which is how you got too heated with Sunghoon hyung. Why not rethink of the incident? Aha. Maybe you're missing something. Maybe you were just not in the right mi-"
"Jungwon..."
Now he's really scared. That hit on the head was really something else. More than ever, Jake is acting as Jake would, minus the entire Sunghoon boyfriend delusion of course, which is what's confusing Jungwon even more. He looks at the boy in front of him, too busy swimming in his own rage, and wonders how in the hell did that idea get inside his head. It's all too weird and made absolutely no sense.
"Hyung, I'm saying this for your own good," Jungwon moves his hand on top of Jake's balled fist, the older seeming to calm down with the action, "Maybe you weren't thinking right."
"Jungwon," the other calls softly, not by anger or spite, "I appreciate the thought, really I do. But I'm okay, please."
"Hyung," Jungwon repeats but in a more stern voice, showing the other that he, too, is not messing around with his words, "Please. Let's think this through, alright? You and Sunghoon hyung-"
"What? What about us?"
Jungwon takes a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
"Hyung, you aren't dating Sunghoon hyung."
Jungwon doesn't know what he was expecting after he let out those words. Maybe a slap or a punch to the face in front of his classmates was one that he guessed. Or maybe the sound of Jake yelling that can be heard across all four classrooms throughout the hallway. But no, neither of those transpired, instead, he sees Jake with a hurt look, one that's incomprehensible as if a major revelation was dropped onto him. Soon, he stands up, walking out of the classroom without another word.
Jungwon just sighs.
What's happened with his best friend now?
-----
"Hyung, I don't see why I should be helping you on this. Notebooks aren't that heavy to carry all the way back to class."
"Yeah but I figured a little walk wouldn't hurt, you know? I thought my situation was insane but then," Heeseung pauses to laugh a little, recalling at the events that happened earlier that morning, "Never would I thought something this crazy would happen on our last year of high school."
Sunghoon cringes at the memory, a chill going through his entire body at the thought of what happened earlier. Truth be told, he doesn't hate nor dislike Jake whatsoever. He thinks he's annoying at most but would never label his regards towards the other as something completely negative. Yes, he's petty. Yes, he's still mad at Jake for tainting his school record on that fateful day, but that grudge never went as far as to what Jake felt towards him.
That morning, when Jake hugged him for dear life, calling him his boyfriend and all that, it definitely went beyond his comfort zone and what he was bargaining for, causing Sunghoon to push Jake back understandably. The entire situation was crazy. Amnesia? Yet every other memory is in tact except what he thinks of him? Impossible.
But he can't deny it. Jake would never do this. He would never willingly throw himself onto Sunghoon even if it were a prank or a joke. That in itself was solid proof.
"Hyung, please don't remind me. It's still difficult to process." Sunghoon groaned, continuing to aimlessly walk down the hallway to their classroom.
"Yeah, I get that," Heeseung replies, "It's not everyday you get entangled in a relationship you never thought you had."
"Hyung!" Sunghoon proceeds to swing a kick at the other's way, Heeseung laughing and dodging the hits as he proceeds to run away from the attacker.
Sunghoon chases after him, still not letting him slide, until he hears silent weeps by the staircase. Heeseung stops and looks back after realizing that Sunghoon was no longer chasing after him and approached the younger, hearing the audible yet timid cries as well as he got closer.
At first, he doesn't look towards the source right away, but by the looks of Sunghoon's own facial reaction, he too reflects the same once he sees who was the person in question.
"Jake?" Sunghoon calls softly, a little wary and cautious but still concerned.
Said man stops from his cries, looking back with eyes wide as he sees Sunghoon, scrambling up the steps to hug him. However, Heeseung's reflexes acted immediately, extending his arm to refrain Jake from holding onto his friend.
"H-Hoon...." Jake sniffs, tears trying to stop themselves in order for him to talk cohesively, "Is it true?"
Sunghoon only raised a brow, confused.
"Please don't tell me it's true," Seeing as Heeseung's arm slowly falters, Jake took this as an opportunity to hold Sunghoon's hand from the notebooks at the very least, causing the other to look at him, frozen, "Please don't tell me that we're not actually together. Please."
"J-Jake... that's...." Sunghoon tries to clear the air, tell the other that that is indeed the case of their reality. But Jake pulls him in a hug, his face on the crook of Sunghoon's neck, tears staining them as his cry resumes.
Suddenly Sunghoon's words die in his mouth. His heart feeling heavy. And the only thing he could manage to do was pat Jake's back to help him calm down. He looks on over to Heeseung who was astonished, notebooks almost falling from his hold at the sight in front of him.
Sunghoon doesn't believe himself either. He feels bad for Jake. The guy just experienced a hard hit on the head. And as far as he knows, Jake may not be in the right head or state to process reality. For now, he lets Jake cry till his heart's content.
Although this is gonna cost him, make things more complicated, he sighs at the thought and just let Jake have his way for now.
"I need to talk with Jungwon later." He thinks to himself, continuing to pat Jake's back who is now calming down and just enjoying Sunghoon's embrace.