two hours.

jake sat patiently inside the ramen place, waiting for his best friend to come. for two hours, he stayed sitting in the corner- eyeing every person that walks inside the restaurant.

he's not coming.

jake checked his phone. he didn't reply to any of my messages. he didn't answer my calls.

he sighed and finally decided to leave. he hasn't eaten anything for dinner yet, but somehow he's not hungry. i don't have the appetite.

jay's not the type to ditch something, especially when it involves jake. he's usually the one who waits for jake every time they go out together. so... why did he not show up today? did something happen?

jake can't help but overthink. where is he? where can i find my best friend at this hour? should i go to his apartment?

he stops walking when he sees a familiar figure right outside of a pub just near the university. good timing, i should ask him. maybe he knows where jay is.

"sunghoon!"

at first, sunghoon didn't look back. the guy continued to walk towards his car that is parked in front of the establishment. did he not hear me?

"park sunghoon!"

sunghoon finally halted, and then glanced at jake's direction. he's wearing the usual blank expression on his face.

"jay's bestie," sunghoon took a sip of his drink before speaking again. "you need something?"

"yes... uhm, have you seen jay? or do you know where he is right now?" jake asked.

he was hoping that sunghoon could give him an answer- a valid one, because he doesn't want to believe that jay could ditch him without any reason at all.

on the other hand, sunghoon is thinking. now what should i tell this guy?

"what do you mean? aren't you his best friend? you should know where he is." he smiled at jake, enjoying the look on his face. wow, he looks desperate.

"no, he's not answering his phone... is he at his apartment?" jake asked again, still hoping that sunghoon would be able to help him.

yikes, jay what have you done? sunghoon scratched the back of his neck. he's sure that if he tells jake that his best friend is busy taking care of heeseung, he'll be more devastated.

still... do i care? he chuckled at the thought. it'll be fun to see how things would turn out for them.

"well... the last time i checked, he's not at his apartment."

jake frowned a bit. "he's not? where is he, then?"

"he's with heeseung." sunghoon took his keys out and opened the door of his car. "heeseung got sick, so jay had no choice but to nurse him. what a kind-hearted soul, right? he just loves his friends too much."

sunghoon even dramatically put his hand over his chest, as if he's touched by the fact that jay is taking care of heeseung. i'm enjoying this too much. jay will probably hate me for this.

jake momentarily froze for a minute. oh. so he's with heeseung.

"o-okay, thanks..." he almost tripped when he stepped back. "i'll go ahead."

"have a good night, sim!" sunghoon says, knowing damn well that the guy won't probably enjoy his sleep tonight. he lets out a smirk while looking at jake walking away.

heeseung's sick... and jay took care of him.

jake continued to walk across the streets mindlessly.

but we had plans. how could he just forget about it?

he could almost feel his throat tightening up, his chest getting heavy. he breathes in sharply- then he feels his tears flowing down his face.

jay... he forgot about me...?

---------

jay woke up to the nonstop vibrating sound coming from his phone. he rubs his left eye, still feeling a bit drowsy.

he stares at the unfamiliar ceiling above him. did i fell asleep? he looks beside him, and heeseung is sleeping soundly while lying his head on jay's arm.

jay reached for his phone on the bedside table, then his eyes widened when he sees the missed calls and texts from jake.

shit.

he felt his heart drop, seeing the time on his phone. 9:28 pm. fuck. i was asleep for two hours?

jake's waiting for me. why the fuck did i fall asleep?!

he slowly removed his arm from heeseung and placed a pillow under his head instead. he touched the older's forehead to check his temperature. thank godness he's not burning up anymore.

i should leave now. i'll just write a note-

"...you're leaving?" heeseung's groggy voice stopped him from wearing his shoes.

jay glanced at him. "yeah, i... i have to go. sunoo's going to be here later so just wait for him here. don't walk around too much or you'll get dizzy."

"you're going to jake?"

he nodded. "just go back to sleep. you should rest."

he hears heeseung laugh weakly. "rest... right."

jay looked back at heeseung, only to find him already staring at him. he quickly avoided eye contact and grabbed his things.

"hurry up, jake's probably waiting for you." heeseung speaks again, "and thanks... for staying with me today."

"no problem, don't get sick again. i'll see you when i see you." jay waved his hand goodbye, yet he felt as if his feet is glued to the floor.

he breathes deeply. jake... i need to go to jake now. i made him wait for two hours. i should leave.

----------

[ jakey ⚽ ]

jay:
jake
i'm so sorry
i fell asleep
i'm really sorry pls answer my call
i didn't mean to make you wait
and i wasn't planning on ditching you
it's all my fault
if you're mad at me it's fine
i deserve it
just pls tell me where u are rn
let's talk ok?
jaeyun please

---------

jay almost cursed when he called jake for the twentieth time, but still no answer. he tried to look for him in the ramen place, but he's nowhere to be found. he walked around the streets, checking for his best friend but he can't find him.

jake, where did you go? jay sighed in frustration. this was all his fault. he shouldn't have fallen asleep, or he shouldn't have told jake that he's going to have dinner with him.

it's all my fault. jake's mad at me, and i deserve it.

he tried to think of places where his best friend would go. jay walked to jake's apartment, but the guard said he hadn't come home yet.

jay shivered. fuck, i left my jacket. he's only wearing a thin sweater, and he didn't even realize. he decided to stop by the local park to look for jake.

he doesn't come here, but maybe... he walked towards the empty playground, his hand tucked inside the pockets of his jeans.

then he finally sees him.

inside the small playhouse just meters beside the slide, sitting while hugging his knees- was jake. jay could hear him sniffing, snuggling in the corner of the playhouse.

jay closed his eyes as relief washed over him. he slowly took steps closer, his eyes never leaving jake whose head is still laying low and did not see him.

"...jake?"

jake raised his head slowly. he feels frozen in place when he hears jay's voice. he found me...

"i'm sorry..." jay sits below the slide. "i shouldn't have made you wait, it's my fault."

jake bit his lower lip when he felt the tears coming out again. he didn't say anything and just went out of the playhouse.

jay quickly walked to him, holding his shoulders. "i know it's already late, but we should eat..." he trailed off and stopped talking as he saw his best friend's face.

he cried.

"jake-"

"you know... i shouldn't make this a big deal," jake removes jay's hands from him, stepping back. "i- i'm... fuck, i don't even know why i'm crying."

he wiped his tears, and then stared at jay who now looks confused... and worried.

"it's just one dinner, it's not like i can't eat by myself right?" jake laughed. "but this is the first time... the first time that you stood me up."

"jake please, i'm sorry. it won't happen again." jay tried to apologize, but he just shook his head.

"it should've been fine, honestly. but finding out that you ditched me for heeseung... that hurts a lot."

how... how did he know? "no jake- you got it wrong, okay? he was sick and i just checked on him. then i fell asleep-"

"to hell with that! call me selfish, but i don't want you caring for him and i hate that you seem to forget that fact that he rejected me..."

"what? jake, i didn't forget that. but he's also my friend and he needs someone-"

"but i'm your best friend..." jake managed to utter whilst crying. "why does it have to be you? can't someone else take care of him? i'm fucking jealous!"

jay's head is spinning. he's... what?

"i'm jealous, because it feels like he knows you better than i do. and it feels like he's taking you away from me." jake looked down at his feet.

i didn't know he felt like that. i should've known better.

"i'm really sorry... but jake, i hope you always know that i'm your best friend. that won't change, and no one is going to steal me away from you. not heeseung, not anyone else." jay reached out and pulled him into a hug.

that... won't change?

jake slightly pushed him away. somehow, jay's statement pissed him off more.

"let's just go home. it's getting late." he said with a weak voice then walked away, leaving jay behind.

i don't want to remain as the best friend.

--------

😊😊😊