eclipsed | sim jaeyun

03.

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The beach at sunset had a magic of its own. The soft glow of the horizon reflected off the water, casting everything in warm, golden light. Our group had spread out, some building sandcastles while others chased each other along the shore. The air was filled with laughter, but my mind lingered on my earlier conversation with Jake.

"You're zoning out again," Yunjin teased as she flopped onto the sand beside me, interrupting my thoughts.

"Am not," I shot back, nudging her with my elbow.

She raised a skeptical brow. "Right. And I suppose you weren't just staring at a certain someone either?"

"Yunjin."

"What? I'm just pointing out the obvious." She grinned, brushing sand off her hands. "You know, this whole 'pretend I don't care' thing isn't fooling anyone."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not pretending anything. He's just... Jungwon's friend."

"Uh-huh." Her voice dripped with disbelief.

Before I could respond, a loud cheer erupted from the shoreline where Jake and Jungwon were wrestling over a volleyball. Jake's laughter carried through the air as he effortlessly dodged Jungwon's attempts to tackle him.

Yunjin smirked. "Yeah, just your brother's friend. Totally not a distraction."

---

As the evening wore on, we gathered around a makeshift bonfire, the glow of the flames warming our faces. Sunoo passed around marshmallows while Giselle tried to organize some kind of karaoke session using her phone and a portable speaker.

"Alright, who's up first?" she asked, scrolling through the playlist.

"I'll go!" Niki volunteered, earning groans from the group.

"No offense, but you have the worst taste in songs," Sunghoon said, dodging a playful shove from Niki.

While the others argued over song choices, I found myself glancing at Jake again. He was sitting a few feet away, his knees drawn up as he poked at the fire with a stick. His face was illuminated by the flames, and for a moment, I wondered what he was thinking about.

"Hey."

I snapped back to reality as Jungwon dropped into the sand beside me.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

I nodded quickly. "Yeah, just tired."

"You've been saying that all day."

"It's true." I tried to smile, but his frown told me he wasn't buying it.

"Haeri," he said, his tone soft but firm. "If something's wrong, you can tell me."

The sincerity in his voice made my chest tighten. Jungwon had always been protective, sometimes annoyingly so, but I knew it came from a place of love.

"I'm fine, really," I assured him. "Just... a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

"Nothing serious. Just school stuff."

He didn't look convinced, but before he could press further, Jake's voice cut through the air.

"Hey, Jungwon! You up for a rematch?"

Jungwon turned, his expression shifting to one of amusement. "You're still not over losing earlier?"

Jake grinned. "You call that a loss? I let you win."

"Sure you did."

As the two of them began bantering, I slipped away from the group, needing a moment to myself. The sound of the waves was soothing as I wandered down the beach, my thoughts swirling like the tide.

---

I didn't realize how far I'd walked until the voices and laughter from the bonfire faded into the distance. The beach was quiet now, the only sound the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore.

"Running away again?"

I turned to find Jake standing a few feet behind me, his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not running away," I said, crossing my arms.

"Sure looks like it," he teased, stepping closer. "You've been avoiding everyone all day."

"Maybe I just wanted some peace and quiet."

"Or maybe you just wanted to avoid me."

His words caught me off guard, and I stared at him, unsure how to respond.

"Relax, I'm kidding," he said, though there was something unreadable in his expression.

I sighed, dropping my arms. "I'm not avoiding you, Jake."

"Good." He smiled, his usual playful demeanor returning. "Because I was starting to think I did something wrong."

We stood there for a moment, the silence stretching between us. There was an ease to being around Jake that I couldn't explain—like he saw through all the walls I tried to put up.

"You know," he said, breaking the silence, "it's okay to let people in sometimes."

His words were simple, but they hit harder than I expected.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said softly.

Jake's gaze lingered on me for a moment longer before he nodded, turning back toward the bonfire.

I watched him go, my heart heavier than before. Jake had always been the kind of person who could say a thousand things without saying much at all. And I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear what he wasn't saying.

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