✓ READY TO LOVE | JAKE

5 - Takes One To Know One

"Park Soo Yun..." Jake muttered as he thought about the whole situation. "Park... how didn't I notice that?"

"How do you know my name?" Soo Yun asked as she frowned.

"Your name tag." He said as he stole a glance at her. 

"Ah... I see." She chuckled awkwardly. "I thought you knew that Sunghoon is my brother."

"I didn't know! And he didn't bother to tell me either." Jake said as he glared at Sunghoon, who only shrugged.

"You never asked." 

"How would I know! Hm?" He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "I also never met her before and you never talked about having a sister."

"We don't meet that much." Soo Yun said as she smiled bitterly. "He has his girlfriend, soon-to-be fiancée, so we don't live together anymore. It's been a while since I rented an apartment, anyways."

"Are you lonely?" Sunghoon asked and she just scoffed. "No, I'm being serious."

"I have my flower shop, I'm too busy to even feel lonely."

Jake stared at her, wondering if she already had someone in her life. He didn't know why he felt that way, but he hoped that wasn't the case.

"When will you have a boyfriend?" Sunghoon asked as if to answer Jake's uncertainty. "You can't live alone for the rest of your life, you know?"

"What's wrong with it?" She raised an eyebrow as she turned to him. "I'd rather stay alone than date someone who would dump me later and make me feel like a pathetic idiot. I don't want to live like that just for the sake of having someone in my life. I'm okay!"

"Soo Yun-"

"No, let's talk about it. I want to love properly, not just because I have to be with someone. So, for now, I'm fine being by myself. I'll love when I meet the right person, but now, I'm happy with my life. So please, stop pestering me every time you see me."

"It's not-"

"I wanted to see if you're okay and you indeed are. I'm leaving now." With that Soo Yun excused herself before she walked out of Sunghoon's house, leaving the two guys alone.

"Jake, it's not what you-"

But before Sunghoon could speak further, Jake got up from his seat and walked out of the place, quickly making his way to her. "Soo Yun!" He called and she turned around, confused.

"Jake?" She kept staring at him as he walked to her until he stood right in front of her.

"Getting dumped doesn't mean you're a pathetic idiot." He said and she frowned, clearly not understanding why he seemed quite angry. "It's not your fault that you loved the wrong person. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked and he looked away.

"Because you were wrong when you said that, and your words might hurt people without you realizing it." He said and sighed. "I'm sorry. If you'll excuse me, then."

Soo Yun stared at his back as he walked past her, leaving her standing there, alone and guilty. What he said made her feel weird. 

Why was he so angry? And why did she care so much about how he felt?

For the rest of the day, Soo Yun and Jake kept thinking about what happened. They both lay on their beds as they stared at their ceilings.

"Why did I say that?" She muttered.

"Why did I say that?" He whispered as he sighed and sat up. "She didn't know, why did I talk to her like that?" It bothered him so much that he might have hurt her with the way he talked to her.