Seojin could remember Heran's words very well. They echoed in his mind as he lay on the bed inside the room he was taking and he was unable to sleep. When the two of them were looking for Y/N and Jake, she kept talking and talking about Jake but what she said last was what kept haunting him.
Jake's father is evil. He used to drink all the time and ended up hurting Jake. When we were in high school, his back used to be bloody all the time. He told me his father wiped him on every single night and even in the midst of all that horror, he never once cried. He was always smiling, pretending to be the good student he had always been and maybe that's why our parents never knew. Or maybe they just didn't want to know.
He made me promise to never tell my parents and I didn't, but I heard them talk about how his father burned someone's house when he was drunk. He was quite influential so no one ever dared to go against him. Jake doesn't know where his father is now, and I think it's better that way. Maybe he died, maybe he's hiding from the law. I don't know, but I've always been scared that one day he might come back and ruin everything. We need to find Jake.
The words played over and over in his mind like a broken record. When he looked up the case and read more about the fire where Y/N's biological parents died, he discovered that the circumstances were suspicious. There had been no clear evidence pointing to arson, but there were lingering questions about the origins of the fire.
The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, and it was becoming increasingly clear that Jake's father might indeed have had a hand in that tragedy. And when he read that Jake's father disappeared shortly after that incident, it all began to make horrifying sense. It was a secret that had been buried for years, hidden from Jake and Y/N, and Seojin was torn between protecting his sister from the painful truth and letting her find out the reality that could shatter her world.
He couldn't let her find out about this. Not now. She had already been through so much. He only hoped that Heran wouldn't run her mouth just like she did and keep on stirring up trouble.
The next morning, he was driving along with Areum and Y/N to the airport, not wanting to stay a second more in Jeju, where Jake and Heran were. She was still hurt and confused about Seojin's harsh words to Jake the previous night and he just couldn't bring himself to say anything. It felt like the moment he'd part his lips, all the secrets he'd been keeping, the ones that could potentially shatter Y/N's world, would spill out, and he wasn't prepared for that.
Y/N was oblivious to everything. She looked out of the window, watching the island scape pass by in a blur, but her thoughts were miles away. Another summer passed without her meeting her childhood love and even though she spent some time with Jake, it all came to an end in the most dramatic and painful way possible.
She was a writer and she knew that sometimes stories were filled with unexpected twists, heart-wrenching revelations, and the kind of pain that could make or break a character. But this was her own story, and it was a story she never anticipated living.
The airport came into view and Y/N helped Areum out of the car and inside the airport where they got her a special wheelchair since her ankle still throbbed with pain. Once they boarded the plane, Y/N settled into her seat next to Areum who was confused and sad for Y/N. The flight back to Seoul was a silent one. She was lost in her thoughts, her gaze fixed on the passing clouds, while Areum occasionally glanced at Seojin with concern. She knew that something was bothering him apart from what happened the night before but she decided not to pry.
When they arrived in Seoul, Y/N had to say goodbye to Areum, knowing very well that she was going back to Seoul soon. The writing club was going to hold meetings and start projects the next month, so in two weeks, she was scheduled to return. Y/N gave Areum a warm hug, promising to bring her favorite food from her hometown.
The train ride back to their hometown was a quiet one. Y/N and Seojin sat in silence and she couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled in her stomach. Seojin looked out the window, trying to manage his feelings and the secrets he was carrying. Neither of them spoke much and she wondered if she had lost her voice. But when they reached home and her mother greeted them with a comforting smile, Y/N found herself opening up about some of her thoughts and feelings.
Seojin, on the other hand, greeted them with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He quietly slipped away to his room, needing some time alone to process everything he happened to know. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, taking a deep breath to steady his racing thoughts.
The laptop on his desk was filled with pages, information, and articles about the incident of a few years back. He stared at Y/N's picture when she was a kid, along with her parents, their smiles frozen in time. Words after words, article after article, he came to realize that one of their neighbors indeed saw someone suspicious near their house on the night of the fire.
So he wanted to never tell Y/N. She just had to be away from Jake, Heran and everyone that could potentially drag her deeper into this dark web of secrets and pain.
"Seojin?" His mother knocked on the door and he quickly closed his laptop before turning to face her. His mother's eyes were filled with concern as she studied his troubled expression. "Is everything alright? You seem distressed."
Yet he just managed a weak smile and said, "I'm just tired, Mom... how's Y/N?"
"She's okay. But Seojin, she said you had a disagreement about one of her friends. What is going on between the two of you?"
He sighed. "I... It's complicated, Mom," Seojin replied, choosing his words carefully. "I just worry about her. That's all." That's all she needed to know. The truth was only going to complicate things further, and his family had been through enough already. The cracks in the mirror could wait a little longer to be revealed.
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✓ SOUR SWEETHEARTS | JAKE
Fanfiction❝I never thought 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' meant having you in my bed.❞
