when the stars align | sim jaeyun

13.

-

It had been almost a week since Jake had asked for my help with the assignment. He'd barely said anything since, acting like nothing had happened, like we hadn't just spent time together in a way we hadn't in years. 

I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much, but it did. 

I had half-expected him to acknowledge the effort, maybe even say something about how weird it was to be working together again. But he didn't. He acted like it was just another school assignment, like I was just another person in his class. 

I hated how easily he could do that. 

---

I was walking through the school corridors with Yuna and Yunjin when I saw Jake down the hall, laughing with his friends. The laughter was loud, boisterous, but when I caught his eye for just a second, something flickered across his face—something that made my heart skip a beat. 

I quickly looked away, but Yuna had already noticed. 

"Are you sure you don't like him?" she asked, voice full of mischief. 

I nearly choked on my spit. "What?" I hissed, glaring at her. 

"You keep looking over at him," she teased, nudging my side. "It's not that subtle, you know." 

I glared at her, trying to hide the heat creeping up my neck. "I don't know what you're talking about." 

Yunjin smirked. "Yeah, okay, sure. Whatever you say." 

---

The rest of the day passed in a blur of classrooms and halfhearted conversations. It wasn't until after school, when I was walking toward the gates, that I saw him again. 

Jake was sitting on the steps, his backpack tossed carelessly beside him. He looked up when I passed, his eyes locking with mine. 

I should have kept walking, should have ignored him like I always did. But something in his gaze stopped me. 

"Jisun," he called, his voice low. 

I paused, turning to face him. "What do you want now?" 

He didn't answer immediately, his eyes narrowing as if he was trying to read me. I could feel my heart start to race, but I refused to let him see it. 

"You got any plans for the weekend?" Jake asked, his tone neutral but with a hint of something else I couldn't place. 

I raised an eyebrow. "Why would you ask me that?" 

He shrugged. "Just wondering." 

I tried not to let the confusion show on my face. "I'm busy, actually," I said, turning to walk away. 

"Busy doing what?" 

I didn't turn around. "That's none of your business." 

"Alright, fine," Jake called after me, but I could hear the amusement in his voice. "See you around." 

It wasn't the teasing tone I was used to, and it threw me off. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to keep walking, even though a part of me wanted to turn back and demand to know what the hell he meant by that. 

---

That night, I sat in my room, staring at my homework with no focus. Every time I tried to concentrate, my mind wandered to Jake—his face, his words, that stupid smile of his. 

I shook my head, trying to shake the thoughts away. He was still Jake. The same guy who had ignored me for years, the same guy who had treated me like I didn't exist. 

Why was I letting it get to me? 

---

yuna's pov.

When I saw Jisun the next morning, her face was a little too guarded, like she was trying too hard not to let her thoughts show. 

We walked together to our first class, but there was a strange silence between us. I'd seen the way she looked at Jake the day before, and I wasn't buying her act. 

"I can tell you like him, Jisun," I said casually, as if it were no big deal. 

Jisun rolled her eyes, but I could see the slight pink tint on her cheeks. "Shut up," she muttered. 

I nudged her with my shoulder. "It's obvious. You've been staring at him non-stop lately. What's the deal? You two still enemies or what?" 

Jisun's eyes flickered. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped, looking away. "I don't know. I don't even know what's going on with him." 

"You should talk to him, then," I said, my voice serious now. 

She shook her head. "I'm not doing that. He's still Jake. I'm not giving him the satisfaction." 

"I'm just saying," I teased, "you've got some serious tension going on there." 

---

jake's pov.

I wasn't sure why I'd called out to Jisun the other day. I'd been thinking about it all night, turning it over in my mind. 

I didn't need to talk to her. But the words just came out. 

I kept convincing myself I was doing it to get something from her, to get back to the way we were before. But deep down, I knew it wasn't just that. 

I watched her as she passed me in the hall again today, and I couldn't ignore the way her eyes briefly flickered toward me. For just a second, I felt something stir inside me. 

It was stupid. 

I was still angry at her for everything that happened. But there was a part of me that missed the way things used to be. When I didn't have to keep my distance. When we were friends. 

I shoved those thoughts aside. I didn't have time to think about it. 

---