TICKET || JAKE SIM

XVII

H

It was 12.01am in the morning.

The faint distant chirps of the crickets surrounded the room as I looked out the window and noticed how Jason hadn't messaged me for days after the fansign event.

Is he really busy?

Messaging him at midnight has become my daily routine ever since the day I told him about my deepest thoughts. It was as though I trusted someone whom I barely talked to, a stranger whom I've never really met in real life.

It was rather weird.

It was the very first time I was able to let out my feelings and thoughts to somebody this quickly, despite the fact we hadn't talked.

-

The air was serene, bringing the calmest wind of the midnight that stretched out to the cool surface, fading away the negative thoughts I held in mind.

As I walked down towards the garden near the campus, a familiar tiny figure was rushing towards me with its tail wagging joyously behind.

Layla...?

"Layla~!!" I chuckled happily as soon as it climbed onto my lap and licked my face while asking for a pat on its head.

"You are such a good puppy, Layla~" I patted its head and hugged its body as it sniffed my clothes to remember my scent.

"By the way,... why are you here in the garden, Layla?

It's midnight tho,..." I lowered my head to look at its tiny body lying gently on my lap.

"Haha, are you tired?" I stroked its soft fur and looked up into the sky while noticing how bright the stars were.

The stars,...

They are really shiny today,

Aren't they, Layla?

"Layla!!" A sudden voice called towards us as I looked up and watched the figure approaching us slowly.

Jason...?

Is that him...?

He's the owner of Layla,

It must be him!!

I stood up immediately and held Layla by my side while chuckling merrily, realising it will be my very first time to meet him physically after the moment at the train station.

"Jason!!" I called him as I watched the puppy run towards its owner.

"Jaso-"

Whether it was the second hand embarrassment I held,

Or the puzzlement in my head,

I stopped my words right away as he looked into my eyes and called my name.

"Park Haein," He smiled at me as Layla rushed towards me again.

His voice,...

Why does it give me butterflies every time...?

"J-Jake...?"

J

I chuckled at her cute reaction as she was confused to see me here with Layla at the garden.

"Jake,..."

"Layla seemed to be really excited to see you. She wanted me to bring her here today as she missed you very much, haha," I smiled at her as she immediately looked away and blushed.

"Jake,.. Why are yo-" She shook her head and looked at the ground.

"No, I meant,...

Why did you lie to me..?" She lifted her head to look into my eyes this time, hoping for a valid reason from me.

Why,...

She doesn't seem surprised at all...

"I'm sorry, Haein,..."

As soon as I finished my line, the calm atmosphere turned into a roaring monster as the wind began to howl savagely, accompanied by the rainstorm that started pouring down the streets.

"Let's go to my car," I grabbed her hands at once as we ran across the pathways, avoiding the rainfall to drench our clothes.

"Are you alright?" I asked her as we got into the car and handed her a towel.

"I'm fine,... thank you for bringing me here with you, Jake," She wiped off the rain droplets and continued to avoid my gaze on her.

"Hey,...

I'm sorry for lying to you,..." I tried to look at her, hoping she would accept my apology.

"I couldn't reveal my true identity to anyone I just met, including any workers or waitresses etc,"

"It was the company's policy,"

"Jake,... that's alright. I'm sorry for lying to you too," She let out a sigh and finally lifted her head to look at me.

"Why...? You lied too...?" She nodded her head immediately as strong guiltiness began to appear on her face.

"I'm sorry,...

To be honest,

I wasn't an ENGENE yet when you asked me about ENHYPEN...

I wasn't a Jake biased too,.." She looked into my eyes and looked down again.

Ahahaha,

Is she feeling guilty just because of that?

Tcsk,

How dense...

I couldn't help but giggled at her response as she looked at me in confusion while hitting me on the back to stop me from laughing at her.

"Ahaha, nah, I wasn't really bothered by that, don't worry," I laughed again as she glared at me.

"Really...? But you looked,...

Annoyed when you saw me,..."

"Tcsk,...

That's because you haven't replied to any of my messages,"

"Your messages...?

But you haven't sent me anything for days tho," I looked at her and grabbed my old phone from her immediately.

"Someone,...

Someone has seen my messages before you," I showed her the text messages as she widened her eyes too.

"Minhyuk oppa...?" She grabbed the phone as I let it go once I heard the name from her.

Minhyuk...?

But,...

How did they know each other...?

-

Thank you for reading 'Ticket' Chapter XVII!! 😆

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