✓ SOUR SWEETHEARTS | JAKE

10 - Garden of Thorns

Y/N walked to Areum and Sunghoon who were talking, making them stop and look in her direction. Areum smiled, her eyes lighting up with genuine warmth, while Sunghoon raised an eyebrow playfully.

"Are you having fun?" Y/N asked, her lips curving into a mischievous grin as she tilted her head slightly.

"We're getting to know each other. Your friend is very nice." Sunghoon whispered and Areum smiled, looking down at her feet while they sat in the sun. "We seem to be off to a pretty good start."

"I'm glad to hear that my friend is making a good impression." She smiled, nudging Areum's arm. "And if you think she's nice now, just wait until you get to know her better." They watched as he ran his fingers through his hair and smiled. Areum's cheeks were flushed as she stole glances at him, impressed by his easygoing charm.

"Would you like to join the others?" He stood up, pointing at Heran and Jake swimming nearby. Y/N mentally rolled her eyes, watching them splash each other. "Looks like you don't want to be near them." He laughed and she shrugged, hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way. 

"Y/N and I are more of sunbathers. You should go and have fun with them." Areum suggested and he nodded, giving her a smile that made her heart skip a beat. Then he walked away and Y/N grabbed her book before she lay back on the beach towel. "Deep into that book already?"

Y/N glanced up, a playful grin tugging at her lips. "You know me. This is my kind of relaxation." The sound of waves provided a soothing backdrop as she opened her book and lost herself in its pages.

"I saw you talking to Jake last night. Sorry I slept early, I couldn't stay awake any longer." Areum said, adjusting her sunglasses. "How did it go?"

Y/N sighed, putting down her book before she sat up and leaned back on her elbows. "He's annoying. You know what happened? I'm the one he chose to spend a one-on-one outing with and now we're playing the game of whoever falls in love first loses. As if I'll ever fall for someone like him. He's really pushing all the wrong buttons."

Areum leaned back on her own beach towel, staring at Jake as he swam with Sunghoon and Heran in the clear blue water. "Sometimes the people who annoy us the most have a way of getting under our skin for a reason."

Y/N arched an eyebrow, giving Areum a skeptical look. "Areum, don't even start. This isn't some kind of romantic movie plot."

Areum laughed. "Who said anything about romance? I'm just saying-" Y/N's phone started ringing and she grabbed her phone, staring at Seojin's name on the screen. She couldn't even remember the last time her brother had called her. "Answer it."

Y/N shot her a quick, puzzled look before swiping her finger to accept the call. "Hello?" She hesitantly asked, wondering what might have made him call.

"Hey," His voice on the other line sounded distant and slightly strained. "Uhm, I'm in Jeju. Turn around." Y/N's eyes widened and her heart dropped before she managed to piece together his words. She turned around in her spot on the beach and saw Seojin standing there, looking away the moment her gaze was on him. 

Her voice caught in her throat as she stood up and walked to him, confusion flooding her. "What are you doing here?" She frowned, trying not to snap at him. 

Seojin cleared his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Mom said I should come and spend some time with you. She thought it would be good for both of us." Y/N sighed and reached for her phone to call her mother when he took it from her hand. "Can't you just let me do something genuine for once?"

"So now you want to play the good brother role? Now you want to be genuine?" he threw her hands in the air out of frustration while he ran his fingers through his hair. "Give me back my phone-"

"Stop making me look like the bad guy! Can't I just come to my parent's guest house and spend some time with you without it turning into a fight?" Seojin raised his voice and she froze, the tears glistening in her eyes. The waves lapped at the shore as she tightened her fists and took a deep breath, her lips quivering. 

"Right. It's your parent's guest house. I get it, Seojin. You're the golden child, and I'm just here to ruin your picture-perfect moments." Her voice cracked with both sadness and frustration, her words filled with hurt that had lingered beneath the surface for far too long.

Seojin's expression shifted from anger to shock as her words hit him like a punch to the gut. "That's not what I said-"

"You don't need to say it for me to feel it!" Her tears spilled over, and she turned away from him, her shoulders trembling. "Remember when we came here and you pushed me down the hill, saying that you'd never treat me seriously because I was just a 'fake sister'?" She choked on her words, the memories bringing back a rush of pain. 

Seojin's heart sank as he listened to her recounting that painful memory. He knew he was an asshole, but he hadn't realized the impact his words and actions had left on her. He never thought she'd still carry that pain with her, that it would still be haunting their present. "I'm... sorry, Y/N. I was just a kid and I didn't know-"

"I was a kid too." She cut in, turning to face him with her eyes searching his while a lump formed in her throat. "I was only a kid but I had to see our house burn and my parents die in that fire. I had to live in an orphanage and wait for someone to adopt me, to give me a new family. And when that finally happened, when I thought I could belong somewhere, you made me feel like I wasn't even worthy of that."

His eyes glistened with unshed tears as her words pierced his heart. The realization hit him hard, a heavy weight settling in his chest. "I... I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't. I made sure you didn't know because even after all of this, I felt like I'd be ungrateful to complain." She smiled bitterly, shaking her head. "I thought it didn't matter because, after all, I should just be grateful for whatever I had." 

She looked away, and only then did she realize that Jake, Heran, Sunghoon, and Areum were standing a little distance away, giving them space but clearly having overheard the conversation. Seojin's voice called out behind her, filled with concern, "Y/N, wait!" But she was already running away and the sand was cool beneath her feet as she sprinted away from the shore. 

Y/N couldn't face him or her friends right now. The emotions - pain, anger, confusion – crashed over her like the waves hitting the shore. 

Seojin stood there on the beach, his voice fading into the distance as she ran further away. That day, he learned that words stick. They stick like thorns, and they fester over time.