The Boy From The Bridge - Jakehoon

Chapter 10: Would you like ice with that? 7/9

A pig-like snort came from Gi's mouth in reaction to Jungkook's question. The embarrassing nature of her laugh prompted her to become flustered and to cover her mouth, this lead in turn to an eruption of laughter from Jake, Sunghoon and Jungkook. She was finally able to compose herself, sweeping back a loose brown hair that had fallen in front of her face, "That wasn't fair!" She claimed to Jungkook.

"On the contrary, you were trying to embarrass Sunghoon, I merely returned the favour." Jungkook retorted, turning to Sunghoon, "So, you've just got to ask" he told him, "it's easy enough, see that girl there?" Jungkook gestured at a table where a girl was sitting with some friends at the other side of café, "why don't you try asking for her number?"

"No!" Gi, interjected, "you can't just go up to a stranger, that's creepy"

"Since when?" Jungkook asked her, "No one's ever had a problem when I've asked them"

"That because you..." Gi couldn't find the words to complete her sentence but her hands signalled she was talking about his aesthetics. Jungkook, enjoying the flustered mess in front of him, leaning back on his chair he gave Gi a smug grin before turning to Sunghoon again, "so who is it?"

"Who is what?" Sunghoon asked back.

"The person who's number you want?"

Jake answered for him, "A girl in our class called, Yun".

"NO!" Sunghoon said loudly, before steadying himself, "Don't say that, Gi, please don't..."

"I'm already on it" She quipped, already opening up her phone.

"Don't tell her her surname" Sunghoon pleaded to Jake.

"Sorry 'Hoonie" She said, "I'm just going to text Jay and ask him" - the answer made Sunghoon bury his face in his hands.

____________

That evening, Jake climbed into to bed with greater difficulty than before, Artemis was lying in the middle of it. Having received the desk that day the small double which he slept on was pushed against the wall so it appeared like a large single. Perhaps it would feel like that if he didn't have to share it with Artemis who seemed to enjoy sharing the bed, although she had yet to appreciate that Jake warranted the lion share of it. Jake was setting his alarm on his phone when he thought to message Sunghoon, concerned if he had overstepped the mark by revealing his crush on Yun to Gi:

J: Is it a problem that Gi knows?

S: Ugh, I was half asleep - knows what?

J: Sorry. 

J: Knows, about Yun?

S: ...Um, well it's out of our hands now. No way Jay keeps his mouth shut, not when it comes to embarrassing me.

J: What do you think she'll do?

J: Gi that is

S: Probably just pressure me into asking her out

S: Like

S: She'll keep pestering me until I've done it

J: Isn't that what you want though???

S: I guess, but when I'm ready

J: And when will that be?

S: When I'm confident in myself

J: Why?

J: Surely you just have to be confident that you like her?

J: Are you?

S: I think I am.

Jake laughed to himself at Sunghoon's apprehensive confidence.

J: Night Hoonie, see you tomorrow

S: Hey! You can't call me that

J: Just did!

____________

Sunghoon smiled at the being called the nickname before putting his phone under his pillow and heading to sleep.

"Do you want to stop jumping out of that bush?" Sunghoon asked Jay after he'd been jumped for the forth day running.

"Not really" Jay said, shrugging, "Hey S-Dog?"

"Please never call me S-Dog again?"

"Why does your old babysitter want to know about Yun?"

"What does she want to know?" Jake asked curiously

"I asked first" Jay reasserted.

Sunghoon realised that there was no way to get around the only plausible reason for her inquiry, "She thinks I've got a crush on her?" he answered.

Jay let out a laugh, "Why'd you never say before dude, I didn't really think of her as your type"

"I didn't say that I did have a crush on her, just that Gi thinks I do"

Jake became reticent to the words Sunghoon was using, there was something off about it.

"Well do you?" Jay asking the natural question.

"I might" Sunghoon said assertively.

"Okay he answered, what did she want to know?" Jake asked again.

"More importantly, what did you say?" Sunghoon asked on top of Jake's question.

____________

Jay had told Gi enough for her to find Yun's social media profiles, from that point Gi had seemingly being going through them with a fine tooth comb. Sunghoon's day was harassed by texts and photos; 'oh she's so pretty here', 'she looks too smart for you', 'have you asked her out yet?', 'You need to read this book that she's reading'. He had narrowly avoided being completely embarrassed when he had received a photo of Yun from a summer vacation whilst he had being standing beside her in the lunch queue.

Walking home, Sunghoon had survived the day without Yun finding out about his supposed crush. Jay had informed Heeseung about the situation so now the pair both had something they could employ to blackmail him for spare paper or simply for their own amusement. At lunch, Yun had come to their table to ask if she could borrow its jug of water only to be met with Jay asking her 'would you like ice with that?' A reference to Sunghoon's ice skating - fortunately, Sunghoon hoped, the comment had flown over her head.

Sunghoon liked Yun, she had always being pretty, quiet and studious - caught up in her own world with all her books. He had spent many a dull moment gazing at her in the past but now that he was being pressured to ask her out he was second guessing himself. 

It was Sunghoon's first time walking to and from school this semester without Jaeyun. His new friend had today gone to the soccer tryouts after school. He wanted to get Jaeyun's opinion on the matter, he was less concerned with ridiculing him over his crush than Jay or Heeseung and could potentially offer him a new perspective. He didn't want to ask him about it over text or in the company of others. The only time they had together was between their apartments and Jay's shrub. That being said, Sunghoon thought, there might be tomorrow at swimming. A tingle of either nerves or excitement, he couldn't tell, raced through his body - that was going to be an interesting experience. 

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Jakehoon fanfic 1.7