✓ BETS & BROKEN HEARTS | JAY

1 - Heartless Experiment

It was the first day of school. The start of a new school year, full of memories.

Students were chatting with each other as they walked to school. Some were running and some laughing out loud, and then there was her, Lee Y/N. She walked down the streets, enjoying the music that played in her headphones. She had always been a big introvert, finding joy in solitude and the world of her imagination. The music was like a soundtrack to her thoughts, enhancing the colors of the world around her and painting her day with a unique rhythm.

She was beautiful, not the kind of beautiful that demanded immediate attention, but the kind that whispered secrets and invited you to explore deeper. She had these long brown locks of hair that had cascaded down to the middle of her back, her light brown eyes glimmering, like when you shine the sun on honey.

Y/N loved staring at the sky, day and night. She would gaze upon the stars that were shining above her house's rooftop for hours at a time. The sensational feeling of relaxation and relief would wash over her whenever she would stare at the sky. The stress and worry that would be on her shoulders, the feeling as if weights were pushing down onto her, would lift up and make her feel as if she could breathe, where the air wasn't thick and harsh to inhale. 

It would feel as if she had just chewed mint gum and then drank ice-cold water, the silky smooth feeling of the cold air traveling through her lungs.

As she walked through the school hallway, she looked left and right, trying to find her class. Looking down at her schedule once more, she scanned the sheet for the room number. Oblivious to the guy in front of her, she suddenly bumped into him, causing her to stumble slightly. Flustered, she looked up and found herself locking eyes with a boy who seemed just as surprised by the encounter as she was.

Her eyes glided down the features of who the brown eyes belonged to. She recognized the pale skin, it looked like a porcelain doll. The sharp jawline of when he would clench his jaw in irritation. Y/N easily recognized who this person was.

Park Jong Seong. Jay. The school's very own bad boy.

He was known as the only heir to his family but also was familiar with being one of the bullies at their high school. He would always beat up students that got in his way and had a reputation that spread like wildfire. Taking the joy away from others was something Jay found himself doing often, he felt no remorse for doing so. He was empty, not a care in the world. The memory of him shoving a younger student into a locker for a minor offense was etched into her mind.

Being the only child in the family, as well as being the Park Heir; he was always looked upon, making sure he said and did the right things, never really having a choice of what he wanted to pursue or what path he wanted to follow in the future. The pressure of being trapped in a gilded cage of expectations, his family name, and upholding a certain image made him take it out on others in the most destructive of ways.

He wasn't one to be in a relationship, claiming it was too much work and that girls would be a stress reliever, them being for his own pleasure. He only used them and discarded them once he grew bored.

A small part of him always felt like no one would genuinely love him, so he would always resort to manipulation and control to feel a semblance of power and affection. It was a toxic cycle he couldn't escape from, a cycle that fed into his self-fulfilling prophecy of unworthiness.

He was definitely known to be a jerk and Y/N knew very well not to cross paths with him.

Quickly muttering a quiet sorry, she glanced at him only to catch a smirk playing on his lips. It was a familiar scene, one she had encountered countless times before. She had seen the way he manipulated and controlled others, leaving a trail of broken hearts and shattered self-esteem behind him. She had witnessed his charm and knew how effortlessly he could wrap people around his finger.

Without sparing him a second glance, Y/N continued walking to her class while he stood there, his eyebrow clocked. 

"Did you see her? She's hot." Jake, one of Jay's friends, said as he walked to him. He was part of the same social circle, sharing a similar mindset when it came to relationships and power dynamics.

"Oh yeah, I did," Jay's smirk widened at Jake's comment, his eyes still fixed on Y/N's retreating figure. "But you know the drill. A little charm, a little manipulation, and she'll be wrapped around my finger just like the rest."

"Is that a bet?" He tilted his head, his tongue lightly pressing against his cheek as he smirked. They exchanged knowing looks, the bet already set in motion with just that glance.

Sunghoon looked at his friends while shaking his head in disbelief, he wasn't one to toy around with girls. "I don't like where this is going, guys," the dark-haired boy spoke to the rest of them. 

"Dude, you gotta admit she's hot." Jake leaned against the wall with a casual shrug.

"Yeah, she's pretty and all, but is it really okay to play with them?"

"You, my dude, just need to get laid then you'll see what we mean." Jake chuckled, nudging Jay's shoulder.

He shrugged, his expression smug. "It's just a game, man. People want to be controlled, to be told what to do. It makes them feel wanted. I bet you she'll fall for me before the end of the semester. If she doesn't, I owe you a fancy dinner at the new Italian place downtown."

"And if she does? If she falls for you? It's not like you're actually planning to take it any further."

"Exactly," Jay chuckled, his confidence unshaken. "When she falls for me, she'll get her heart broken. That's just how these things go."