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Jake sat down at the lunch table reluctantly, dreading what would happen. As soon as Hyunjin saw him his signature smirk crept onto his face. "Hello, gorgeous," Hyunjin greeted the younger who gave him a shy smile. "No need to be shy, honey. Because from now on you're my boyfriend," Hyunjin said resulting in Jake looking at him like he was crazy. "Just know what I can do to you if you say no," Hyunjin said with a threatening smile.
Jake gulped out of fear as Hyunjin calmed down. "I also forbid you from talking to Sunghoon. He's a bad influence. I heard you hated him back in the day. Just act as if nothing changed," Hyunjin added. "Y-you can't do that," Jake said not wanting to give up being able to talk to the younger.
"I'm doing it right now. I dare you to go behind my back and speak to him and his little minions over there," Hyunjin threatened the boy. Jake just nodded, too scared of what the older would do if he said no.
✦
Jake and Hyunjin talked the whole period- well, Hyunjin talked. Jake stayed quiet for the most part, only giving the older short answers. It annoyed Hyunjin but he'd confront the younger later. Right now all he cared about was making sure Sunghoon stayed away from Jake.
As bad as Jake wanted to get away from Hyunjin and go back to his friends, he knew that'd be impossible. He knew Hyunjin would be clung onto him for the rest of the day, even week. He also knew Hyunjin had eyes around the school. Since everyone was head over heels for him he knew all the taller had to do was ask and he'd be in trouble.
He was scared at the fact that he didn't know what would happen if he went behind his back. Could he possibly hurt him and his friends? It sucked seeing the people at the table he normally sat at looking at him every once in a while. He noticed someone looking at him consistently though, Sunghoon. He and the latter had just gotten even closer than before and now he had to stay away from him. He wished so badly Hyunjin would go back to his old school and leave them alone. Why'd he even choose Jake in the first place? What had he done to deserve this? As soon as his life started to take a turn for good, Hyunjin had to come here and ruin it.
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Jake was in the only class he had with Sunghoon and as he tried to focus on the lesson he kept getting disturbed. Sunghoon kept calling out to him and tapping his shoulder trying to get his attention. But Jake remembered what Hyunjin said and ignored him. He also ignored the other students who tried to talk to him and the notes that landed on his desk.
...
The school bell rang signaling the end of the day and Jake packed up his things quickly, not wanting to have to interact with the younger. He hurriedly put his backpack on his back and rushed out of the classroom right before Sunghoon could get to him, and headed towards Choi's Chai, cursing at himself for leaving Sunghoon back there with his now... boyfriend?
✦
As he neared his destination he felt his phone vibrate. He took his phone out of his pants pocket and saw Sunghoon had texted him. He didn't even read the messages, putting his phone on silent. It hurt but he knew he had to do it.
To keep everyone safe.
...
He entered his best friend's café and sighed as he sat down. Soobin noticed his friend's bad mood instantly and went up to him after placing an order at the customer's table.
"What's wrong?" He asked sitting down in front of him. "School is just stressful, that's all," Jake answered with a fake smile. "I've known you for ten years now. Do you really think I don't know when you're lying?" Soobin said with a raised eyebrow. Jake sighed, contemplating whether he should tell the truth or a lie.
"There's this guy bothering me at school," Jake said not going into more depth. Soobin's face went from a worried one to an angered one. "Do I need to go up there and kick somebody's ass?" Soobin asked trying not to blow up in front of all the other people. Jake shook his head. "It's ok, Hyung. I'll get rid of him soon," Jake told the older, coming up with an idea.
...
Instead of going straight home, taking the long way like normal, Jake decided to stop by a convenience store. He walked into the building, hearing a bell ring that told the workers someone had just entered the shop.
The worker greeted him with a smile. She looked awfully familiar but he shook it off and greeted her back politely before walking past the rows of shelves. He looked around at all the different things the store had for sale. He ended up picking up two bars of chocolate before heading back to the front of the store.
There was a rack full of cards near the entrance of the building. He spun the object around a bit looking at what was written on some of the cards as he moved them. He didn't stop until he saw a card that said: Have An Eggcellent Birthday! With a drawing of a cute egg on it. Sure, it was cheesy but the boy found it cute. It was better than some of the other cards he saw.
He quickly picked it up along with an envelope and headed towards the front counter. The cashier gave Jake a sweet smile. He had definitely seen that smile before. He rang up the items before putting them in a small bag. But before Jake could leave she stopped him.
"Sim Jaeyun, right?" She asked, confusing the boy as to how she knew his name. "I'm Hwang Yeji. We have the same first period," The girl introduced herself. Jake felt a wave of relief run through his body knowing that she wasn't some random stranger. "Do you have a moment?" She asked. Jake nodded in response. "You should stay away from Hyunjin," She advised the boy before continuing; "He told me you two were dating when we got home and I know it might sound crazy but you need to break up with him as soon as possible," Yeji added.
Jake knew Hyunjin wasn't a good person, but was he that bad? "I-I don't understand," Jake said trying to figure out why she seemed so worried. "He's my brother, I know what he's doing. He's using you. He wants to mess with your head. He wants to make you feel useless and hate yourself. It's best you break up with him now," Yeji informed the younger. Jake knew Yeji's twin's intentions weren't the best but he didn't know they were this bad.
He wanted to agree so badly to what Yeji told him to do but one part of him felt scared. He had just gotten beaten up by his dad the other day and knowing that he could get beat up at school too made him scared. The school was his safe place other than Soobin's café. It was where some of his best memories happened and knowing that could all be replaced with horrible ones terrified him.
Yeji could sense how Jake was feeling and gave him a reassuring smile. "He won't hurt you nor Sunghoon, well at least for now. I can't promise you he won't pull something stupid in the future. But if you want to lower the chances of him doing that then you should end things between you two," Yeji said somewhat comforting the boy's mind.
There was a small period of silence before Yeji started up again. "I've seen the way you and Sunghoon look at each other. I can tell you two deserve to be together," She said with a smile. Jake blushed at her words. "I d-don't like him," Jake denied the allegations. "Yeah, right," She said with a smirk. Even though she and her brother looked the same their actions didn't. Hyunjin's smirk always scared the boy but Yeji's was really pretty. It made her look mischievous in a good way.
"Well, you can go home now," Yeji said pulling out her phone. "Give me your number in case Hyunjin does anything to you or your friends," Yeji said holding out her phone. Jake took it in his hands and typed his number. He then sent himself a message and looked at his Lock Screen to see if the message went through. When he saw it did the two bid their goodbyes and he left out of the store and headed home.
✦
The next day at school he saw Hyunjin waiting at the entrance for him. He instantly remembered what Yeji told him the night before. He walked up to the boy hesitantly and felt a pair of lips on his forehead. 'Ew, please kill me now." Jake thought trying not to grimace at the contact. It felt so weird having anyone but Sunghoon's lips touch his skin. Even though it was only one peck on the forehead it still managed to make Jake blush like crazy. The thought of Sunghoon doing it again made his face light up a soft red. 'Wait, what am I thinking about? Maybe I'm just going crazy.' Jake said to himself in his head, realizing what he was thinking about.
Hyunjin realized Jake's rose-tinted face and smirked. 'He's falling already.' He thought before bringing him into the building.
Just as the two set foot in the school someone came up to them and Jake already knew who it was without even looking up. He heard Hyunjin ask the younger male a question before he heard the familiar voice speak to him. He could hear the hurt in his voice but Jake kept quiet. He had an idea and he was gonna roll with it until it worked.
He listened closely to Sunghoon's voice as he talked. He could tell the younger had been really upset by Jake and Hyunjin's actions but he didn't fold. "Jake hyung, can you please look at me?" He heard Sunghoon ask. Even though Sunghoon had now called him hyung quite a few times by now it still felt weird. He had never heard him call him that before all of this drama started happening. It made him realize maybe Sunghoon had a soft side for him.
Anyways, Jake did what the younger told him to do and met Sunghoon's warm dark brown eyes. He could get lost in them for days. Everything about the ravenette was so beautiful to Jake. Even all the annoying things he did back in the day and even sometimes now. He admired how persistent Sunghoon was for all these years which also made him feel bad for how he treated him.
Jake was about to go on and on about how much he liked the younger in his head before his train of thought got run over by what he heard next. "Are you and him together?" Sunghoon asked. Jake hated to say what he said next but he had no choice. He glanced at Hyunjin and saw a look in his eyes. They were almost threatening. "Yes," Jake answered simply. His heart ached seeing the expression on Sunghoon's face change and hearing him let out a loud sigh. It was obvious he was affected by that answer.
"Well, can we at least still be friends? I've been trying to talk to you ever since yesterday," He heard Sunghoon ask desperately. Jake thought for a moment. "I-I think it'd be best if we stayed away from each other for a while," He answered, looking down again.
Feeling the absence of the younger Jake looked up. He saw Sunghoon walking away. He wanted to apologize then and there but he knew he couldn't. "Good job, Princess," He heard Hyunjin say causing anger to rise up Jake's body. It had been so long since he heard that nickname and it was being said by the last person he wanted it to. He looked up at Hyunjin with rage in his eyes. "Only Sunghoon can call me that," He said on the verge of tears. "What are you gonna do about it, cry?" He mocked the boy, laughing at him to his face. Jake couldn't stand it anymore. "I hate you!" He shouted before running away to his first class.
Hyunjin laughed knowing his plan was working out perfectly.
✦
Jake tried ignoring Hyunjin all morning but the older boy kept messing with him. When lunch arrived they sat together. Jake decided to laugh at all of Hyunjin's jokes this time and actually try to get to know him. This excited Hyunjin so much that he kissed the younger to see how he reacted and to his surprise, Jake kissed back. They heard the cafeteria go quiet but continued until they couldn't anymore. Jake was the one to break the kiss. He instinctively looked at his friend's table and saw Sunghoon rush out of the room.
Jake shrugged his shoulders before plopping a chip into his mouth. Hyunjin saw this and laughed. But little did he know Jake was just acting. He'd never hurt Sunghoon on purpose without a reason.
✦
Right before the bell rang for the end of the day Jake asked to go to the bathroom. His teacher let him go since he had finished his work. Jake slipped something into his hoodie pocket before walking out of his classroom and into the hallway. He made his way down the halls until he met a locker. He took out a piece of paper that had a locker combination on it. He quickly entered the code and sat the items he had brought with him down beside one of the books.
He then closed the locker shut and went into the bathroom to wash his hands before returning back to the classroom. He smiled to himself. Hopefully, his plan would work.
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a/n note!!: this chapter ended up way longer than i expected. i hope you're enjoying this story so far and have had a good day/night!!
— May 🌷
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