Fate | Jakehoon

chapter 15: on thin ice

2022
New York, NY, USA
17th of October

Welcome to New York by Taylor Swift is playing on the speakers when the seven members step into the store. Funnily enough, Jake thinks it's the perfect song to describe the city they're currently in.
He's never seen a city as lively and energetic as New York before. The crowded streets with bustling vibes, the skyscrapers that stand tall as they witness the unending motion below and the unmissable flashing billboards, all make New York one of a kind.

Having successfully concluded the U.S. portion of their tour, with the last concert here, two days ago, they had to stay a little longer for scheduled interviews. They also celebrated Heeseung's birthday that night, with a surprise cake the members bought after eating out while he went back to the hotel alone since he was tired, and wanted to do a live anyways.
Although the two and a half weeks spent in the U.S. went by in a flash, Jake's made happy memories that he'll cherish forever.

"Shopping is so hard," Sunoo complains with a pout as Jake looks through the clothing racks.

They've all come to do some shopping at the Rockefeller Center after finishing an interview in the morning and eating lunch. Unlike the others though, this isn't an activity that Sunoo takes much delight in as he gets easily tired and bored by it. The main reason he joined was because he didn't want to return to the hotel by himself and wait until later when they'll be going for a walk in Central Park.

"It won't take us too long," Jake assures him, speaking in the name of the other members too, but Sunoo glances at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Really? Cause I can see Sunghoon hyung already carrying a pile of clothes that'll take forever to try on," Sunoo points at the older boy, and Jake scratches the back of his head.

Out of all of them, Sunghoon loves shopping the most and he spends a lot of time on it, due to his indecisiveness about what to buy. However, ninety - nine percent of the time, it ends with him purchasing everything that he likes and fits him.

"How about I help you find something for your sister?" Jake offers since Sunoo mentioned earlier that he might as well look for a gift for her if he comes, anyway.

"I was thinking of buying her a perfume," Sunoo smiles apologetically, because that's not an area that Jake's good at.

"In that case, you'll need our expert's opinion," Jake chuckles, referring to his best friend, and Sunoo agrees.

Sunghoon uses a lot of good-smelling perfumes and is pretty good at recommending them to others, based on the smells they like.

"Sunoo hyung," Jungwon comes in their direction. "Let's go buy coffee for everyone," he says, knowing Sunoo won't refuse because he'd rather do anything else than this.

Sunoo instantly nods in agreement, and they leave together. Jake continues looking through the clothes. He finds a plaid, light blue mixed with yellow shirt and a white hoodie that he really likes, so he decides to try them on.
But, before he goes into the fitting room, Sunghoon comes out of one, to look into the mirror outside. He's fully dressed into a classic outfit - black flowy trousers with a white shirt and topped with a long, black coat to complete the look - which is exactly his style. It fits him perfectly, Jake thinks.

"What do you think?" Sunghoon asks, catching Jake's attention, who didn't realize he was staring.

"You look g-great," Jake doesn't know why he's stuttering, but he recomposes himself.