Unconditional Feelings (Heesun)

28

Heeseung was sure the faint noise was none other than Jake. He has known the younger since childhood, of course he could recognize him wherever he would go.

“J-jake…?” Heeseung muttered, forgetting about all his riled up emotions. There was silence. The soft muffling was gone. The restroom was eeringly silent. He walked up to the stall the noise was present and saw a pair of Nike’s still on the chekered-marble floor. He heaved a sigh of relief when he heard another low gruntle from inside the stall. ‘It’s Jake.’

“Jake, I know you’re in there…I heard you, please, what happened?” Heeseung walked in front of the stall.

“Hyung…”

Heeseung’s lips formed into a thin smile upon hearing the melodic words. A few seconds later, Jake unlocked the door and faced the older cheeks bloated, eyes dark and dried, tears painted all over his face. “What happened?” Heeseung asked worriedly as he backed away.

“M-my dad….he cheated…” Jake’s eyes were watery again. Heeseung understood everything. Jake had been very close with his father ever since he was toddler; they’d do everything together. While Jake’s mom was busy working and making money to keep the family together, Jake’s father made sure to stick together with his son no matter what happened. It stayed like that for years until Jake’s mom suddenly became ill. It wasn’t just a cold or anything. It was something that could possibly lead to death. His mom was diagnosed with breast cancer; she only had a few more years — maybe a few months left to live. His father stopped doing everything he could to look after his sick wife, who seemed exhausted.

Jake promised his dad that he would study hard and become someone worthy enough to take care of him when his father grows old. He made a promising oath that he would never forget.

Heeseung pulled the latter into a hug, like he had learned from Sunoo. He remembered how Sunoo used his free hand to smoothly pat the younger’s back, rubbing soft circles. Jake englufled himself inside Heeseung's scent, the scent he loved the most.

__________

Sunoo grew anxious because Heeseung hadn’t returned to class yet. He wanted to check on the older to make sure everything was alright, but his head stopped him from following his heart. He knew it was none of his business and that they weren’t even friends like Heeseung had stated so, so why was he worrying about the older when it was completely pointless.

He only had five minutes of class left, and he anticipated whether or not he should run to the restroom right after the bell rang. He nervously tapped his right foot, continuously glancing at the clock at the front.

The bell rang, and Sunoo was the first student to jolt up from his seat—along with the other students who eyed him up and down and stood up along with him. He paced out of the classroom after collecting his thoughts and headed straight for the men’s bathroom by the cafeteria—only to find it empty.

Boys were walking through the main entrance of the bathroom, not minding the lost boy standing by the door, confusedly staring into the unknown.

‘H-he’s not here…’ Sunoo’s shoulder seemed to have relaxed as he sighed and walked out of the bathroom, perplexed upon his own actions.

__________

Jake walked beside the older, fidgeting with his fingers after the mental breakdown. They left school after the talk and headed to their most memorable park that they used to play in as little kids.

Heeseung situated himself on one of the wooden benches,a nd genstured the younger to follow along.

“How did you know?” Heeseung asked after the wind had seemed to flow gently. “I…it was—I wasn’t expecting him to be doing something so…” He mumbled, voice trailing off as he felt his throat itch again. “Mom was in the bedroom, and I was planning to bring her something to eat—and I—I thought that dad wasn’t home, he was at work, but when I heard a car engine nearby, I glanced outside the living room window… and saw him…with another woman. Kissing.” Jake looked back at Heeseung, who was staring at him, wide-eyed. “I know, it was something completely out of the blue, and I never—like never expected him to cheat…I mean, I trusted him with everything. Everything. But, he made me feel so stupid and useless…” He sighed and looked at the tres swaying due to the warm breeze.

“Hyung, we shouldn’t have skipped school today—not because of this no..”

“I..It’s fine, I had a lot on my mind anyways….” Heeseung answered, leaning back on bench and manspreading. “You know the girl my dad wanted me to marry, well she’s in a relationship, and my dad told me to go change her mind.”

“Shouldn’t you be happy—I mean, you got rid of her….” Jake felt comfortable that the older had opened up to him and told him about the smallest problems that he was facing. “Yeah, I am! And I think you should talk to your dad about everything. End it before things take turn for the worse…your mom is sick, and she needs someone by her side, so…I want to help..” Heeseung’s lip formed into a thik smile as he stared at the older.

Jake’s heart beat fastened as he felt something punching his stomach from the inside. He knew he had feelings for the older, but he was scared the older would notice the sudden shift in Jake’s posture. Fortunately, the blush on his cheeks went unnoticed by the older ones because of the wind.

“How are you gonna help?” Jake weakly smiled, hoping to sound formal enough. “I have some maids that can look out for her. I can pay them, so don’t worry about anything and continue studying so you don’t have to repeat your senior year again, like me.” He chuckled under his breath and stared at blue sky.

“Are you sure, hyung…? I don’t think your dad would allow something like that?”

“I’ll deal with that. You just make sure that you stay beside me, okay…”

Jake smiled genuinely and didn’t hesitate to inch closer the older and wrap his arm around his shoulder.

‘I don’t never wanna ruin this. That’s right, we’re just friends, and we will always be friends.’

— Hey everyone, this is just a filler chapter for the other upcoming ones. I actually don’t have an ending in mind, except for the fact that Sunoo and Heeseung are going to be the endgame, along with Riki losing his feelings for Sunoo because of someone else.

That’s all I can confirm so far. But anyway, I have been terrible at writing these days, and I feel like my English is just not Englishing. But, I have kinda gotten over my writer’s block (I hate those sm), and I hope to continue writing.

Also, after this story ends, I might write another Sunki—I have an inspiration trapped inside my head and I really want to write it, it’s probably going to be an enemies to lovers—because I am sucker for those, and it is one of my favorite genre in romance.