afterglow ‣ s.jy

011

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JAKE

"You need a new car, Jake," Hana said, staring back at Jake's car that was causing the cousins both problems.

When Jake had woken up earlier in the morning and made plans with his cousin, the last reason he expected that would ruin his day was his car, who, for most of the time, never even caused him problems. His right hand pinched the bridge of his nose while the other dialed a mechanic to help him figure out what was wrong with his ten-year-old car.

The car was a hand-me-down from his father, who refused to buy his son a brand new vehicle, claiming that it was an excellent starter to have an old one rather than own a new one instantly after getting his license. Reminiscing back to that day made Jake realize that his parents never failed to keep him humble despite the many reminders of the wealth he is set to inherit.

"I'll have it checked first," Jake replies to Hana's suggestion.

She shrugged under the knowledge that she was never going to convince her cousin. "Fine. Should we just ride the bus?"

"I'm sure this won't take long. Why do you want to go to the mall anyway? I thought we were going to play badminton today." He asked to ease the curiosity as to why she appeared in his house two hours earlier than they planned.

"I'm going to buy a book." She answered which alone was enough of a reason for him to burst out laughing, only managing to stop after getting a glimpse of the deathly glare his cousin was wearing on her face. "It's not for me— You know what? Just call the damn mechanic." She rolled her eyes in annoyance and took a seat on the chair she found lying around in the garage.

He let out the remaining remnants of laughter in his chest before pressing dial on his phone. The mechanic answered in an instant, and their conversation went smoothly with Jake discussing the state of his car with the person from the other line. He would glance at Hana, who never bothered to hide the bummed expression on her face, heaving a sigh now and then as if they were stranded in the middle of nowhere and not his house. The mechanic informed him that they'll arrive in half an hour, putting an end to the conversation after.

"Let's go inside. The mechanic will be here in half an hour." Jake informs her, waving his hand up and down to tell her to get up and head inside.

"Get your car fixed first. I'll head to the mall myself then you can pick me up there so we can play badminton as planned." Hana said, removing her headband that kept her side bangs out of her forehead, and after that, she tied her hair into a ponytail.

"You know how to get there by yourself?" He was well aware that she knew how to ride public transportation, especially since he would usually tag her along when he was too lazy to bring a car. Still, that was not enough of a reason to ease his protectiveness over her, whom he treated like a younger sibling despite only being older than her for two months.

She sighed after recognizing the protectiveness in his tone. The side of her lips arose, forming a slight smile that depicted her assurance to him that she was going to be alright. "Don't worry! I may have been raised with drivers and such, but I still know how to ride public transportation. Now please get your car fixed— or heaven forbid, buy a new one so we never have to suffer from this problem again."

Although Jake would have preferred to protest, and instead, convince her to wait for the car to get fixed, the years spent growing up with her were enough to stop him from doing so. Her most prevalent trait was her persistence in getting what she wants, though it's not always a likable attitude, she'd normally only display it when she wants something badly. And judging by how she was willing to ride the bus instead of waiting for the car to get fixed, he just knew with her persistence, the only thing he could've asked her to do was bring an umbrella.