THIN WHITE LIES | Jake Sim

021 | photobooth

↪J I H Y E
Jake and I ended up spending more time in the snow globe store than we expected. The both of us found the store very calmning and comfortable to be in, plus we forgot about the time as well.

But fortunately is time the last thing to worry about since we have the whole day to spend. After the snow globe store, me and Jake took a walk to next street where a market was going on.

It was a market with everything, hand-made things, food, furnitures, jewelries, cool technology stuff, kid's toys and more. And since it is a market, it's not a a surprise it's a lot of people there.

When we entered the crowd, I began hesitating and debating whether I should place my hand on Jake's arm or not. The crowd grows the further we walk in and I want to make sure I don't lose Jake among the crowd. I moved my body closer to him as I placed my hand on his arm.

Jake looked down at me, surprised at first but it didn't take many seconds until a smile grew out on his face. We walked for another minute until we decided to eat at one of the food stalls. The food stall was decorated with fairy lights hanging across the seats and lit candles on the table.

I couldn't stop looking around. Even though it technically was a very basic decoration, they still managed to make it so beautiful and magical.

"I used to go here with my parents every year when I was younger, but then I grew older.. " Jake suddenly said after we had sat down at one of the tables.

"School and soccer began taking up more of my time and so did my parent's company" Jake replied.

"This place must feel very special to you" I said.

"It does. That's why I wanted to take you here too, so this place becomes even more special to me" Jake replied while he flashed a smile.

I used one hand to support my chin, while the other was just lying down on the table. Jake noticed it and decided to place his hand on mine. Now it was my turn to flash a smile.

"I'm curious.. When did you start to like me?" I asked.

"Oh, I don't think I had a specific moment, it just naturally happened. But I do remember when it started which was after the incident in the canteen when you said that something about a conspiracy theory of us two in an arranged marriage or something" Jake answeed and chuckled in the end.

"It was after that my spark of interest for you started to grow. And then I sort of got it comrfied that I like you after Heeseung's party" Jake added.

"I don't think I had a specific moment either. Since this is my first love experience, I didn't even realize I liked you until Sena confirmed it for me" I said while letting out a small laugh.

"And after her confirmation I started to think back at moments like Heeseung's party, your soccer match, the basketball court and our study night.. And generally just the way I feel when you are around me or when I think of you.." I added.

I tried to cover my face with both of my hands but Jake held tight in the other one. He suddenly pulled down on my other hand, almost forcing me to have eye contact with him. I calmed myself down on the inside and let out a small laugh.

Jake and I continued to stare at each other with hearts in our eyes until the waitress came with our food. We slowly let go of each other as we started to eat our food, but we still kept looking at each other with hearts in our eyes.

🌥️

The night sky started to appear above us which means our date is coming towards the end, unfortunately. Even though we have spent a couple of hours together, I still wish we had more time. Before leaving the market, we decided to buy ourselves a little key-ring. I bought one with a seal on it and Jake bought one with a dog.

After our purchase, we began walking back to Jake's car. However, our walk ended up not being that long since we noticed a photobooth. We decided to take a few pictures before leaving.

The space inside was very minimal, we almost squeezed ourselves inside to fit. The seat was very small as well. Me and Jake quickly decided which four poses we wanted to use before we started the timer.

I started the timer and a 5 seconds count-down started. We did our first pose, a classic peace sign. After 5 seconds had passed and the first picture were taken, I was on my way to switch to our next pose when Jake suddenly wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

Our eyes met and we both smiled widely as Jake pulled me closer. He then suddenly moved closer to me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. My whole body got goosebumps in the same second Jake's lips touched my forehead.

Our eyes met again but this time were our smiles filled with blushes and shyness. The photo booth began making noises which made us break our eye contact. Two photo strips slided down and we took one each.

The photos looked like they were straight out of a movie or something, it captured every single moment perfectly. Even the forehead kiss ended up as the 3rd photo.

Now it was officially time for us to leave. When we stepped out of the photobooth, I slowly slid my hand into Jake's as we walked. We arrived at Jake's car after a couple of minutes of walking. Jake held up the car door for me and helped me inside before he walked over to the driver's seat.

And just like on our way here, Jake placed his hand on my thigh as he drove. Today have I experienced a lot for the first time in a short amount of time. My first date, first time holding hands, first time being kissed.. Maybe that's not that much but for me it feels like a lot.

The drive towards my house was faster than I expected. Jake and I exited the car and walked up together to my front door. We were standing across each other, only a few inches separating us.

"Thank you for today Jihye, I really do enjoy spending time with you and today was no exception. I had such a great time with you today" Jake said.

"And thank you for taking me out. I can't remember the last time I was this happy to be honest. But I'm sure it's all because of you" I replied and smiled at the end.

Jake's lips formed a wide smile as well. He slowly took a step forward even though we were already standing close to each other.

"I'm sorry for not asking you the first time but.. Can I kiss you on the forehead again?" Jake asked.

I nodded. Jake placed his hands on my head, slowly moving my head closer to him. He placed a soft kiss on my forehead and then threw his arms around my shoulders to pull me closer. I wrapped my arms around his waist as I buried my face in his chest.

He makes me feel the way books do.. Safe and loved.