GOLDEN STRINGS | Heejake

Chapter 18: He will only be a distraction

The morning sunlight pouring through the wide windows of the classroom was almost cruel. It lit up everything in golden streaks, bouncing off tabletops and washing over students’ faces like it belonged in a peaceful movie. But Jake felt none of that warmth. Only the slow, nauseating churn in his stomach and the dry ache behind his eyes from another sleepless night.

His head was buzzing — not with thoughts anymore, but with static.

Like his brain had just… given up trying to make sense of anything.

He stared blankly at the teacher’s scribbles on the whiteboard, pen in hand, but the ink never touched paper. His notebook was still open to yesterday’s page, where messy half-sentences and incoherent loops crowded the lines. Jake blinked down at it as if seeing it for the first time.

He heard Jungwon’s voice once — soft, cautious.

“Hey. You okay?”

Jake didn’t turn to him. Just gave a small nod.

It wasn’t true. But he couldn’t even fake a smile today.

So Jungwon stayed quiet, tapping his own pen rhythmically against his notebook and occasionally sneaking glances at Jake’s face with a bite of concern at his lip.

When the bell rang, it was like the classroom had been unplugged from its stillness. Voices erupted. Chairs scraped. Students grabbed their bags and rushed for the door, already chatting about lunch or drama or whatever else was going on in their teenage universes.

Jake stood slowly. His limbs felt heavy. Not the sleepy kind of heavy — but the sick kind. Like everything was wrong under his skin and he was too scared to peel it back to find out.

He slung his bag over one shoulder and followed Jungwon wordlessly into the hall.

They had the next class together too. Normally they’d talk between classes, crack jokes, rant about the boring teacher, maybe get a snack. But now it was different. The air between them had shifted. Not hostile — but awkward. Tense.

Jungwon didn’t ask anything else. He just stuck by Jake’s side like a quiet puppy, his hand occasionally brushing Jake’s arm, as if to remind him he was still here.

Jake wanted to thank him. But he couldn’t find the energy to speak.

They were halfway down the corridor when a voice sliced through the background chatter.

It wasn’t loud.

Just a simple: “Hey Jake—!”

But Jake stopped in his tracks like a bullet had grazed his spine.

He didn’t know why he panicked when someone other than Jungwon calls out his name.

Like something in it was tugging on an invisible string in his chest.

He turned around.

So did Jungwon, frowning.

A tall figure in the crowd stepped forward casually, hands in his blazer pockets, eyes fixed on Jake with a grin that looked straight out of a teen drama.

Park Sunghoon.

Even with dozens of other students around, he somehow stood out — glowing with that effortless aura that only a handful of people were born with. His pale skin was practically translucent under the hallway lights, and his dark hair framed his face perfectly, not a strand out of place. He wore his uniform a little looser than regulation, tie slightly undone, sleeves rolled up just enough to show his wrists.

Jake didn’t move.

Sunghoon’s eyes sparkled as he stopped a few steps away, a sheepish grin blooming on his lips. “Uh. Hi.”

Jake blinked. “...Hi?”

Jungwon was already squinting at him like he smelled a juicy plot twist coming.

Sunghoon looked down briefly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry. This is kind of random. But I was wondering…” He hesitated, cheeks turning a little pink. “If maybe you wanted to get to know each other?”

Jake blinked harder.

“What?”

Sunghoon shifted his weight, clearly nervous now. “Like—not in a creepy way. I mean, just… you seemed cool. Yesterday. When we bumped in to each other and… I dunno. Something about you just felt interesting.”

Jake’s mouth opened slightly.

Jungwon made a small gasp noise beside him.

“…I never told you my name before,” Jake muttered.

Sunghoon smiled apologetically. “Ah—right. Sorry, yeah, I looked it up. On the classroom roster list. The bulletin board outside the first-year hallway. I just wanted to be sure.”

Jungwon’s jaw dropped a little. “He memorized your name off the board? Jake! That’s a whole damn confession.”

Jake wasn’t sure what stunned him more — the request itself, or the way Sunghoon looked nervous about it. Like he genuinely thought Jake might reject him.

Which Jake almost did. On instinct.

He had enough problems. His life was already a twisted spiral of obsession, guilt, and barely-contained panic. The last thing he needed was some handsome, polite, popular guy getting caught in it.

But then… he thought about Heeseung.

The threat. The kiss. The possessive hands. That sick smile.

The way Heeseung knew where he lived now.

Jake’s pulse spiked. His vision blurred slightly at the edges.

And maybe… maybe this was a way out.

Maybe, if he gave Sunghoon just a little attention — just enough to make it seem like he wasn’t alone — maybe Heeseung would back off.

Jake forced his lips into a small, practiced smile.

“…Sure.”

Sunghoon blinked, startled. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Jake said softly, nodding. “Why not?”

Sunghoon’s face lit up like a puppy being adopted. “Cool! Uh—here, let me give you my number.”

He pulled out his phone, tapping quickly, and handed it over. Jake accepted it, thumbed in his own contact, and handed it back. The whole thing felt surreal.

Sunghoon smiled again, wider this time. “I’ll text you later then?”

“Yeah,” Jake nodded, tucking his phone into his blazer pocket.

Jungwon was already vibrating. “Oh my god. Jake. I didn’t know you were a heartbreaker. The Park Sunghoon? Really?”

Jake just stared ahead, heartbeat pounding. He felt like he was sinking into something again — something sweet, something dangerous.

Sunghoon walked off, clearly still smiling in joy.

Jungwon turned to Jake, grinning like a child. “Tell me you saw that blush on his face. You two were lowkey flirting, I swear—”

Jake rubbed his face, trying to act like it was no big deal. “He probably does this with everyone.”

Jungwon raised an eyebrow. “No way. Sunghoon barely talks to anyone outside his little circle. I think he really likes you.”

Jake exhaled slowly. “I don’t even know him.”

“But now you will.”

Jake didn’t reply.

Because deep down… he knew this wasn’t about Sunghoon.

This wasn’t about getting to know someone new.

This was about distracting a monster.

And maybe, just maybe — convincing himself that he still had a way to fight back.