✓ READY TO LOVE | JAKE

23 - Truth Hurts

Just like that, their trip was ruined. Jake stayed in his room, deciding to take the first plane the morning after. He couldn't stay there anymore, not when Soo Yun only had good memories of that place.

Because he loved her so much, he wanted to distance himself in order not to hurt her. He knew he turned into an asshole whenever his feelings were involved. Especially his love and trust.

A week or two had already passed since their miserable trip. Nabi had never seen Jake again nor talked to him, the two of them were done for good. But Soo Yun hadn't seen him too, and it broke her heart.

She spent her days feeling empty, going from her shop to her apartment as if she was only a corpse. Jake, on the other hand, didn't even feel like leaving his house. Wasting his days just like that, he stayed in his safe place and kept reading Soo Yun's letters over and over.

The words that meant the world to him suddenly lost all meaning. It felt like he was reading random, empty words. They felt like a lie too.

No one could tell him anything, not even Sunghoon because he knew that his sister was wrong. He hated how he couldn't do anything but wait and see what would happen between the two.

And with his wedding coming soon, he lost focus on them.

On a Thursday afternoon, Soo Yun made her way to Jake's building. He wasn't answering his phone, and he wasn't home when she visited him. So, the only person who could help her was Heeseung.

As she stepped inside the office, Heeseung waved at her and she walked toward him. "Hey." He greeted and she gave him a bitter smile.

"Hey, thank you for letting me come here."

"Of course, you're always welcome." He muttered and rested a hand on the back of his neck. "How have you been?"

"Okay, I guess." She shrugged while looking down and he cleared his throat.

"How are you feeling... really?" His question seemed hesitant.

"Sad... but I'm okay." At her words, he just nodded and decided not to question her anymore. "How's Jake?"

"Like usual. Whenever I call him, he says he's okay and hangs up on me." He sighed. "That dumb asshol- sorry."

"It's all my fault..." As she sat in front of him, she blank-stared at her hands. "I wrote him letters but told him that Nabi was the one who did... I lied to him when I knew that he hates liars the most."

"I..." Heeseung started, honestly not knowing what to say. It was as if it was her fault, yet it wasn't. "Do you want to see the back room?"

Although he just blurted it out, Soo Yun wanted to go there. Jake spent most of his time inside that room and she wanted to be part of it somehow.

"He must have been busy." She muttered as she stared at the unfinished works on the working table.

"Jake had always been so hardworking and talented, he rarely took days off before what happened with Nabi. He hasn't been feeling himself for such a long time, now." He said, sighing heavily after. "He's a strong man, I envy his hard work and ambition. However, the moment his heart is scarred, his whole body seems to shut off and he just gives up on everything."

Soo Yun was listening to him when her gaze landed on the familiar box that she instantly recognized. Then, carefully, she grabbed it before opening it. The ring with the ruby was still there, looking beautiful as ever.

"How do you know about this ring?" Heeseung frowned as he approached her.

"Jake showed it to me the last time I came here." She muttered and he nodded. "It's so beautiful... almost out of this world."

"I know, right? We spent days choosing the right stone and the right metal for it. If only Nabi knew how much effort he put into making it." His words made her frown.

"Nabi? Why...?"

"Didn't Jake tell you that the ring was for Yu Nabi?" He asked and she froze, eyes widening as she looked back at the ring. She needed a minute to take in what Heeseung had just told her, but then she realized that she screwed up.

"I need to go." She said as she put down the box and walked out of the room and the office. And taking a taxi at the entrance of the building, she felt the tears fall down her cheeks. 

She realized that she screwed up more than she thought she did because Jake didn't just hate liars, he despised them. All the happiness and excitement he felt while dating Nabi and when he thought he couldn't be any happier, she took him to the highest place and pushed him off the cliff in the cruelest way possible.

Once in front of his place, she quickly got out of the taxi and let out a sigh of relief when she spotted his car there. And taking a deep breath, she knocked on his door.

"Jake... it's me." Soo Yun knew that he was listening, he was just refusing to open his door. But the moment she thought he wouldn't open it, he did.

Both of them were staring into the eyes of each other, wanting to wrap their arms and hold each other close, yet the only thing they did was stand there. 

"Soo Yun." He muttered and that's when she really looked at him. At how his hair was messy and how his eyes looked tired. Jake had given up on himself, once again.

"I'm sorry..." She said, her voice cracking. "Jake, I-"

"I was trying to run away from that pain, yet I keep ending up in the same spot. It's like... it feels as if I'm standing in a maze." He said, trying his best to calm down. "I tried hard not to notice my wounds, but they didn't go away even though I did. They remained in the corners of my heart and kept hurting me... just like now."

"I never meant to lie to you-"

"But you did!" He slightly raised his voice before he sighed heavily. "But... I let you lie to me. That's what the past does for you, the more you try to run away from it, the more it traps you in so that you make the same mistakes again."

"Jake." Her eyes were brimming with tears.

"And I made the same mistake again by blindly trusting you." He muttered, and he hoped he didn't. But he couldn't turn back the time.

"You had never tried to move on, Jake. You always kept the letters and even the ring you made for her. You never allowed yourself to move on and heal and instead you bottled it up all inside and decided to fall in love when you weren't even ready-"

"Right! I'm sorry for falling in love with you, Soo Yun." He said, eyes staring into hers. "Now that you mention it, I'm not even ready and I regret loving you. Because look at us, we're just-"

Soo Yun's sob made him stop his rant as he turned to her, only realizing what he had said right then.

"Soo Yun-"

"Regret? You r-regret it?" She let out, staring at him in disbelief. "How could you..."

Sighing heavily, Jake ran his fingers through his hair and then turned to her. But Soo Yun wiped her tears and took a deep breath as she looked away. 

"I didn't mean-"

However, she just turned around and left him standing there, alone, devastated, and helpless.