a song of ice and fire // jakehoon

nege en dertig ;

Jake's hospital appointment drew closer, and he grew more nervous with each passing moment. He knew nothing was wrong, but he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of anxiety as he thought about it. But even with this pressing anxiety, Sunghoon stayed by Jake's side. The last thing he wanted in that point in time was for Jake to feel helpless and alone. Sunghoon always tried his best to fully support Jake.

This particular day, it was raining. It was the day before Jake's hospital appointment with their new family doctor in Daejin-ri. Mr and Mrs Sim were both unavailable for the day, so Hyuna had to accompany her brother as the responsible adult, while Sunghoon accompanied for emotional support. Jake and Sunghoon decided to stay at Sunghoon's home for the past few days just to be together with no interruptions.

"So what will they be testing tomorrow?" Sunghoon asked, bringing in the tray of coffee. Jake thanked him, putting his iPad's screen off. Sunghoon sat beside him, lifting the blanket that had fallen behind Jake onto the brunette's shoulders.

"Last time I went to the doctor, they checked my blood pressure, salt and glucose levels in the blood, and thyroxin levels too," Jake replied. "They'll ask about my diet, exercise — stuff like that. You and Hyuna noona will just have to confirm things with a nod or 'yes', so don't worry."

"Everything will be fine, right?" Sunghoon asked, taking Jake's hand in his own for a moment. "I mean, there's nothing to worry about, right?"

"Not definitely, but yes," Jake nodded. "For the most part, I'm okay. I'd probably just get more medication as a precaution, but other than that, I'll be fine. I might have to visit the dietician as well."

Sunghoon hummed, running a hand through Jake's hair. "I know you'll be fine. Something tells me that everything will turn out just right."

Jake gave a hopeful smile. "You think so?"

"Well… we can only hope."

It was truly all they could do.

"Well, the universe might just hate us enough to they and pull us apart," Sunghoon joked. "I mean, it tried with my parents and we got over that, right? We can get through anything together at this point."

Jake reached up, ruffling Sunghoon's dark hair as well. Sunghoon laughed as his hair was now a complete mess. Jake leaned forward, gently kissing Sunghoon's forehead. "I would honestly cry if anything happened to us."

Sunghoon put their foreheads together, a comfortable silence enveloping them for a moment before Sunghoon spoke up. "I'd hate anyone and anything that ever tried to hurt my baby — especially the universe."

Sometimes, happiness was a pipe dream. Sometimes it was a reality. Happiness including love was difficult to achieve. Too many things worked themselves in between lovers, and they often split up due to those difficulties. Those differences, if worked through together, could be overcome.

Jake and Sunghoon were one of the universe's many successes, and they refused to be pulled apart. They worked through difficulties and overcame hardships together, while still learning about one another. Their love was far too strong for the universe's threatening grip on their reality. No matter how hard it tried to pull them apart, their hearts always found one another.

Maybe the universe had to do more tests to see if they could truly love one another, or if it was too easy to give up.

Maybe its grip on their reality wasn't strong enough, and one final tug would eventually pull them apart.

Maybe the universe's goal wasn't to bring soulmates together, but to pull them apart.

•

The pelting rain refused to let up, even as Sunoo scurried through the harsh rainfall. As he had started walking, it had begun raining. He wondered if he should have turned around, but Niki was expecting him and he'd make sure he was able to see Niki in person. The last time they spoke in person was at Sunghoon's party three days beforhand, and it was far too long in their opinion.

Sunoo arrived at the farm and ran to the front door, knocking his hand against the door. He shivered slightly, quickly stuffing his hands into his pockets. He waited a bit before knocking again, and the door got answered a few seconds after the second knock. Jay stood at the door, his eyes wide.

"Sunoo, are you crazy? This weather is terrible, why are you here?" Jay asked hurriedly as he let the black-haired boy in. He helped Sunoo take his jacket off and hang it against the wall.

"Niki expected me to visit today, so I had to come. Besides, it wasn't raining when I began walking," Sunoo replied, ruffling his slightly damp hair before he took his shoes off

"Niki's up in his room, but greet Grandpa in the kitchen first," Jay said as he gently kicked Sunoo's shoes to the side. Sunoo finally bowed to Jay before scurrying to the kitchen, bowing politely and announcing his presence. Jay chuckled, shaking his head. "Maybe I should walk through the rain to meet Hyuna as well… maybe it'd make me seem more romantic, but she'd probably laugh at me."

Sunoo ran up the stairs, looking between the rooms carefully. Jay's room was opened slightly, while Niki's door was closed. Sunoo knocked on the door, holding the handle and gently turning it to open it. Niki lied on his bed, watching a video on his phone.

"Niki." Sunoo smiled when Niki turned around, nearly falling off the bed in surprise. "Are you okay?"

"I thought you wouldn't come," Niki stuttered, standing from the bed. He bowed slightly in greeting and looked away, his cheeks burning slightly. "Why'd you come, the weather was bad…" He suddenly looked at Sunoo. "Hyung, your hair is wet! You'll catch a cold — let's dry it quickly."

Sunoo didn't really complain, he wanted to dry his hair anyways. "Where will we dry it?"

"I'll get Jay hyung's dryer," Niki said quickly, walking out the room. But Sunoo stopped him quickly, pulling him into a tight hug. Niki felt his cheeks burn and he hesitantly hugged the shorter boy back.

"Stop worrying too much," Sunoo giggled, putting his hands on Niki's cheeks. "I came to see you because you wanted me to visit. I wasn't going to let you become sad like you usually do."

"But making me worry like this is worse — you should've stayed home," Niki said, a slight pout on his lips. "Hyung, I'm younger than you, I shouldn't be worried like this."

"I'd love for you to be worried like this more often because you're only ever cute on text," Sunoo complained. "Be more cute in real life, okay? Then I'll be more careful to not make you worried."

Niki smiled, laughing slightly as he nodded. "Fine — as long as you take better care of yourself."

The universe would have to try harder with these two — their love, albeit still too early and rather childish, was difficult to break as they weren't yet at their closest. But as soulmates grow closer, so does the possibility of them being pulled apart.

But true love would prevent that, right?