Jake could see in Ni-ki's eyes how much he liked Jungwon. Seemed like poor boy couldn't just hide it or lie. The way Ni-ki looked at Jungwon reminded him of the way he looks at the younger and that made him relieved relieved, but his heart, it ached for an unknown reason.
Suddenly Jungwon choked on the drink that he was sipping on, surprising both Ni-ki and Jake.
"Oh shit- I'll get some wipes Jungwon hyung wait for me." Ni-ki said as he ran towards the wash area.
"Yes I'm okay hyung...but...why is Jay hyung looking our way like that-" Jungwon said that made Jake look behind him, seeing Jay looking at them, more like staring at them.
For a reason, Jake really felt enraged. Reason? He didn't know. Why was Jay looking at Jungwon? Didn't he hurt him? Didn't he reject him? When Jungwon was finally trying move on, he's staring at him like he's in love or something. Jake didn't want that. He didn't want anyone to hurt Jungwon, the younger was too precious.
"Won, I'll be back. I need to talk to Jay about something. " He told younger and went towards Jay as he saw Ni-ki coming with tissues in his hand.
"Oh Jake, hi-"
"Hello Nicholas, can I borrow Jay for a while?" Jake asked as he hurrily asked Nicholas and without waiting for an answer he grabbed the older's hand and dragged him.
"Jake what are you-" Jay stopped speaking as he finally looked up and saw anger in Jake's eyes, for the first time.
When the boys reached in the balcony, Jake finally left his hand. He sighed deeply as he looked into Jay's eyes.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" Jay asked, in confusion.
"Don't think stupid of me Jay. Why are you all smiling and giggling at Jungwon? Why are you staring at him after rejecting him?"
"Jake-"
"Is it fun Jay? You literally rejected him and now you're acting all sweet to him?! Jungwon is really precious and he means a lot to me, I won't tolerate him being hurt again-"
"SIM FREAKING JAEYUN LISTEN TO ME I WAS STARING AT YOU BECAUSE I LIKE YOU!" Jay finally replied as he got frustrated.
Jake's anger suddenly turned into confusion. His heart dropped and face went pale.
"W-What?"
"Did you not notice? It's you all along Jake. I rejected Jungwon because I liked someone else, I liked you. I couldn't fake my love for Wonnie just because I like you! Was it that hard to notice Jake?!" Now it was Jay who was speaking non stop, and Jake was still frozen, trying to process everything.
"Jay w-" Jake finally spoke but stopped as he looked around and saw a surprised Jungwon standing there, with hurt evident in his eyes. He was tearing up.
"Won....WON WAIT!" Jake nearly yelled as he saw younger running away, with Ni-ki following him. He was about to follow Jungwon but Jay grabbed his wrist, to stop him.
He looked behind. Jay's eyes were softened. He looked vulnerable. He looked surprised. He looked...hurt.
"Jake.. We need to talk. We really do need to."
Jake was in a dilemma. Should he go after Jungwon? But he didn't want to ruin his chances with Ni-ki. Jake didn't want to be the hurdle in Jungwon's love life, even though his heart hurt. Did he have to be the bad one? But why was Jungwon hurt? Because Jay rejected him because of him? He snapped out of thoughts as he felt Jay dragging him to somewhere.
"Jake..." Jay muttered as he saw the younger tearing up. He hugged the younger as he patted his back.
Jake always thought of Jay as a good friend. He appreciated the fact that Jay didn't want to fake his love to Jungwon, that would've hurt him more. So in his embrace, Jake just gave in and cried hard. All the confusion, all the sadness, all the thoughts he had all along got out in the form of his tears.
Jay, his chest tightened. He knew Jake didn't like him back. He clearly knew the way Jake looked at Jungwon, because that exactly was the way how he looked at Jake. That was probably the reason he wasn't planning to confess to Jake.
"Are you feeling better?" He pulled off and saw a sight of a sniffling Jake. His eyes were red and puffy. He offered a tissue to the younger, he needed it.
"Y-Yeah... I'm sorry I ruined your coat-" Out of nowhere Jake realized what happened and he started panicking. He thought Jay would be really mad.
"It's okay, Jake. Calm down first, hmm?" The younger nodded as Jay chuckled.
"Thankyou Jay."
"No worries. Now tell me what's on your mind?"
"It's Won. He's always on my mind. I feel happy and complete whenever I'm with him. I feel like he completes me. But-"
"But?"
"But I know that he is heartbroken AND HE IS MY BEST FRIEND. I really don't know what to think. I'm so confused. I feel butterflies in my stomach. I feel like the world has stopped around us. I feel like I need to protect him forever, Jay. Why is this happening, it shouldn't happen." Jake said panicking as he held his head.
"I can very well see that you're trying to deny your feelings for you bestfriend, Jaeyun. You like Jungwon, don't you?"
"No-"
"Let me tell you a story. When I was in high school, I got a crush... on Nicholas. But I was confused and didn't realize it. I kept explaining myself that he's my best friend and he shouldn't be with me, that he deserves someone better. But when I got to know that he started dating EJ, I felt my whole world shattering apart. Tell me Jake, did your heart broke when Jungwon was with other guys? Did you felt an unexplainable sadness when he smiled because of someone else? Did you feel your heart drop?" Jay asked, looking straight at Jake's eyes.
"Yes." Unconsciously Jake answered and then realized what he said and closed his mouth.
"Jake, you're the right one for him. You were always the right one for him." Jay sighed as he looked down.
"But what about those who like him? WHAT ABOUT HIM? I don't think he feels the same. I'm not that loveable. I'm clumsy and I make a lot of mistakes. I want Won to be with someone who's perfect because that's what he deserves." Jake replied as he looked towards the ground.
