✓ SOUR SWEETHEARTS | JAKE

40 - Blue Birthday

Sitting in the police station at five in the morning along with Jake wasn't something either of them had hoped to do on his birthday. But the moment they were told his father was finally arrested, the weight of the situation pulled them from the warmth of their bed and into the harsh reality of the police station.

The room was filled with officers, and detectives, and the cold, sterile lighting did little to dispel the tension in the air. Jake sat beside Y/N, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes focused on the officer who had brought them in. His father's presence on his birthday was, again like all those years, a haunting shadow he had hoped to escape. For so long, he had wanted his father to pay for his crimes, to face justice for the pain he had inflicted on so many, including Jake himself. And now, on his birthday, justice was finally knocking on their door.

Y/N and Jake sat side by side, their fingers entwined as they waited for the official confirmation of his father's arrest. The minutes felt like hours until the door opened, and Detective Park entered, carrying a file in his hands. He cleared his throat and looked directly at Jake. "Mr. Sim will arrive here shortly. You'll have the chance to confront him in the presence of legal authorities. But Y/N, I don't know if you want to be in the same room when that happens."

Swallowing a lump that formed in her throat, she looked down at her fidgeting fingers. Confronting and being in the same room with the very person who burned her home and killed her parents was a prospect that sent shivers down her spine. She couldn't tell if she was going to break down, lash out in anger, or simply feel numb. But she knew she had to do it, for her parents, for both her and Jake. "Yeah... I'll stay." Jake squeezed her hand softly and she knew she could do it.

Moments later, the door opened again, and a group of officers escorted Mr. Sim into the room. Y/N sucked in a breath, her gaze never leaving the man who had caused so much pain and suffering in her life. Seeing the person responsible for her parents' death in the flesh was a surreal and gut-wrenching experience. She could feel Jake's body tense and the two watched n silence as the man who had haunted their lives for so long sat across from them. 

Mr. Sim's eyes fell on Y/N, and his smug expression faltered at her presence. He didn't know who she was, but he didn't need any explanation because the look in her eyes would be enough to make him uncomfortable. "You're..." He started, his voice trembling as he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. 

"You killed my parents." Her lips trembled but no tears fell from her eyes. "Was it worth it?"

He didn't reply. He just couldn't. Instead, he looked at his son whom he had abandoned and who was now sitting beside the woman he had tried to destroy. He remained stoic, his jaw clenched, eyes never leaving his father. "Answer her."

Mr. Sim shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes darting between Y/N and Jake. "I did what I had to do-" And yet, before he could finish his sentence, Jake cut him off with a blow to the face, his knuckles connecting with his father's jaw. The room fell silent for a moment and the sound reverberated through the room, a raw expression of the pain that had festered for so long.

"You had to do nothing!" Jake snarled, his voice filled with a bitter rage before he was pulled away by the officers, who firmly restrained him. "You destroyed lives! You took away everything from me, from her! You're so fucking rotten-"

"You're just like me, son. You're a Sim too." The words his father blurted out made him freeze for a moment. The accusation, the claim that he was somehow like the man who had caused him so much pain, echoed in the air. The officers held Jake back, ensuring he couldn't reach his father again because if he could, there was no telling what Jake might do in the heat of the moment.

"No, he's not like you. He's nothing like you," But Y/N was there to back Jake up. The punch, although satisfying in some primal way, didn't erase the pain or bring her parents back. And so she decided to speak because what's worse than physical pain is the emotional torment that words can bring. "He's a better man than you could ever be. You might share blood but you've never shared the same heart, the same choices. You're a monster, but Jaeyun is choosing to be something more. We can't undo the terrible things you've done, but I'll enjoy thinking of you rotting in a cell for the rest of your life."

Jake's eyes remained fixed on the retreating figure of his father as they dragged him away. He didn't know what to feel anymore. Anger? Sorrow? Relief? His father might have been taken away in handcuffs, but the scars of the past still lingered. They wouldn't fade easily. 

"The two of you have been strong though I know it was difficult. Mr. Sim will face the consequences of his actions and justice will be served today." With that, Detective Park walked away, leaving both Y/N and Jake alone in the dimly lit room.

"Are you okay?" Squeezing his hand, she got on her knees next to him and looked into his eyes with a genuine concern that touched his soul.

He took a deep breath, his hands still clenched. "I will be. It's just...I didn't think it would hit me this hard, you know? Seeing him, hearing those words... How do you feel?" At his question, the tears glistened in Y/N's eyes, revealing the pain she had been holding back.

"It hurts, Jake. More than I can express. But, just like you, I'll be okay. We'll be okay," she whispered, wiping away a tear with the back of her hand. "What matters now-"

"Y/N!" The voice of her brother made her turn to look at the door and there they were, her whole family, rushing into the room. Seojin crouched down and wrapped his arms so tightly around her, the kind of hug that speaks of relief and love. Her parents let out sighs of relief and joined the embrace. And that's when Y/N could break down. That's when she could finally let the weight of the past lift from her shoulders. As Seojin held her, she buried her face in his shoulder, the dam holding back her emotions finally breaking. "We were so worried."

Having a family that would run to her side without hesitation was a gift that Y/N had learned not to take for granted. "I'm okay..." She choked out between her sobs and her father rubbed her back soothingly, a silent reassurance that he was there for her.

Family to Jake was always a concept so foreign, an ideal he had witnessed from afar but never truly experienced. He stood there, an outsider looking in on a scene he wished he could call his own. "Jake, come here. You're a part of this too." Seojin extended a hesitant arm and everyone turned to look at the man who had stood by Y/N through thick and thin. To them, he wasn't a murderer's son, he was the person that Y/N had chosen, the one who had protected her when she needed it most.

Her father clapped him on the back and her mother smiled warmly at Jake. "Thank you for being there for our daughter. We owe you a debt of gratitude."Jake swallowed hard, his gaze shifting between Y/N's family members, still processing the idea that he was truly part of something bigger. "You're not just keeping her safe, Jake. You're family now. Remember that."

For the first time in a long while, Jake felt a warmth in his chest. And Y/N held his hand, not ever wanting to let go. 

The scars of their past were not erased, but it didn't their matter. Because the love that flourished within Y/N's family became a healing balm, soothing the wounds they carried and their hearts were harmonizing like the perfect blend of sour sweethearts.