Dear Ace | HeeJake

Jake Sim.

The sun bled through the hotel curtains like a spotlight, casting the light right in Jake's eyes. He let out a deep, groggy groan and pulled the thick comforter over his head in an attempt to fall back asleep.

Jake thinks it was actually Mrs. Hwang's mission to make this trip as miserable as she possibly could. After lunch yesterday she took the students to the beach- not to relax, of course not. She took them there to do a bunch of team exercises. Doing an obstacle course blindfolded while your partner talks you through it, solving riddles where everyone has different clues. It was torture.

Especially when all Jake could think about was how often he would catch Heeseung staring. He tried not to make eye contact. He really did try. It would have been so much easier if he didn't...miss Heeseung so fucking much. He missed their good moments. He missed when he didn't have to pretend he didn't catch him staring, when he didn't have to turn his back on him just to make it easier not to look.

Having his friends around made it bearable, but it just wasn't enough.

Jake sighed, rubbing his face in his hands. He kicked off the comforter and sat up. Beomgyu was still currently dead to the world, buried so deep under the covers you could only see his brown hair peeking out. Jake padded over to the windows and pulled open the curtains. They got lucky with a gorgeous view of the ocean. The sun peeked out from the horizon like it was tucked safely into the water. He grabbed a towel from the linen closet and headed to the bathroom for a shower. He let the water run hot enough to sting. Lately, it was the only thing that still made him feel something.

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The four of them stood in the center of the convention hall, patiently waiting for further instructions. Mrs. Hwang gathered all the students at about 11am, yelling through the halls like a drill sergeant for everyone to be in the lobby by 12.

Jake had his hands shoved in his hoodie pocket, eyes still heavy with sleep. Beomgyu was talking to Sunghoon to the side, and Sunoo was leaning his forehead on Sunghoon's shoulder trying not to fall back asleep. Mrs. Hwang finally walked into the hall, microphone in hand.

"Alright everyone, today is going to be a bit different. The reason we're here today is because we're going to do something called 'Truth Day." Oh god. "We'll be doing a series of activities involving truth, what it means, and what it does. First up, we will be providing invisible ink markers. You will all write something you want to say on a blank paper banner. You don't have to sign your name, just speak the truth. If everyone will please come to the front and pick up a marker." She said, gesturing to the table with four bins of markers. On the far left wall there was a big blank paper banner, and several black lights neatly lined up.

"She picked the wrong class for this activity." Beomgyu snickered.

"I'll bet you five dollars for each dick that gets drawn." Sunghoon muttered, picking up four markers for all of them.

"Loser buys lunch when we get back to campus." Beomgyu replied.

They found a good spot to scribble on, and they got to work. Jake stared at the space for a long while before he finally uncapped his pen. Whatever he wrote, he knew everyone would probably know it was him. He had so much he wanted to say. So much he wanted to scream. With a shaky hand, he reached up and started writing.

It took about twenty minutes for everyone to finish writing. Mrs. Hwang announced time, and the lights went out. One by one, the teachers went by turning on the black lights, and the paper lit up with every in covered in writing.