✓ | cool for the summer, sim jaeyun

𝟏𝟑. ( 'something's wrong with me.' )

AFTER THE TWO made it back to the home and quietly made their way up to the bathroom, careful not to wake the girls parents or Niah, Jake sat himself down on top of the bathroom counter.

Silence filled the air between him and Issy as she tucked a piece of her long, brunette hair behind her ear and kneeled down to search through the cabinets beneath the sink for the First Aid kit.

There were many thoughts swirling through her head and questions that she was asking herself, yet couldn't find an answer to were clogging her mind.

Why was she helping Jake?

Why didn't she just stay at the party with Jungwon?

Jungwon... Isabel had completely forgotten about him and now, as his face appeared in her head she couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving the party without telling him.

Once the Park girl had retrieved the kit from behind a load of shampoo bottles, she placed it on the side of the sink and opened the container and began getting the equipment ready.

A few glances were shared between her and Jake, however no words were spoke as Issy drowned a q-tip in saline solution before she hesitantly turned her body to face the Sim boy — who had been watching her the whole time.

"This'll probably going to hurt a bit." She warned, her voice quiet and tone soft, and Jake nodded his head, not uttering a word as he allowed Isabel to clean his wounds.

Gently, Issy brought the q-tip up to the corner of the boys lip and began to wipe it. The pressure she put on it was delicate, almost like she'd cause even more injury to him if she pressed down harder. However, no matter the gentle approach she had, it didn't stop the wince of pain escaping Jake's mouth.

Instantly, Issy pulled back with her eyes slightly widened. "I'm sorry." She quickly apologized, afraid she'd hurt him more than he already was, but Jake shook his head.

"You shouldn't apologize, I should..." He started, shaking his head ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, Issy," Jake spoke just above a whisper. "For being mean to you, I didn't mean it at all."

"I'm finding that hard to believe." Isabel sighed, a small chuckle falling past her lips as she slumped her shoulders and she lowered her hand that held the q-tip.

The Sim boy bit down on his bottom lip and bowed his head in shame. He knew what he said hurt her, and he wanted nothing more than to take it back. He doesn't know why he said it, but all he knew was that didn't mean it.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Jake uttered out. "There's something going on with me, Issy, and I don't know what it is." He explained and raised his head, instantly making their eyes connect.

Isabel could feel a bubble of nerves appear in her chest as their eyes met and she felt herself gulp whilst she quickly disconnected the eye contact and mimicked Jake's actions by lowering her head.

It felt as if her chest was pounding against her chest, uncontrollably. Jake always knew how to make her feel like this; like her heart was going to burst from her body at any given moment and she hated it. He knew how to make her feel nervous and make the butterflies in her stomach flap their wings.

Quietly, Jake reached forward and placed his hand beneath her chin and slowly raised her head so that she could look back at him. The tension between them was thick as nobody chose to say a word — the only sound between them was sound of their breathing.

"What do you mean?" Isabel eventually spoke up. Her voice was as quiet as ever and laced with nerves. What did Jake mean? Was he ill?

Jake licked his lips whilst his eyes darted from her eyes and down to her own plump lips. They lingered there for a moment, immediately making Issy's breathing hitch and her ears tint red before his dark eyes travelled back to her eyes. It felt like Jake had put her under a spell and now she was caught within his trance.

Isabel watched as the boys lips parted, about to speak, though before he could get the chance to get any words out, the bathroom door abruptly opened, causing Issy to jump away from him in fright and for them both to turn their heads to see who had walked in.

"What's going on?" Issy's mother tiredly asked. Her eyes were half open and her hair was a mess with strands of it poking out in all kinds of directions.

"I fell over." Jake quickly answered. "And Issy was helping me clean up." He informed the older women, who slightly nodded her head, far too exhausted to properly understand — or care.

"You both should get to bed, it's late." She stated and Issy agreed with her mother, and hurriedly walked past her and headed to her bedroom with her heart still in her throat.

Once Jake got to the room he shared with both Jay and Sunghoon, he lazily dropped down on his bed and let out a long sigh. His mind was restless with images of his best friends sister running through it and he couldn't understand why he was thinking of her so much.

He felt frustrated with himself. He shouldn't be thinking of Jay's younger sister in the way he does. That was his best friends sister. She was off limits. Jake Sim had a girlfriend — Niah, and yet he didn't find himself wanting to be near her all the time like he did with Issy. There was something wrong with him... there had to be...

Pulling out his phone from his back pocket, the boy began scrolling through it, desperate to get his mind off the Park girl. However, as the boys finger clicked on the contacts icon and he scrolled past Niah's name and landed on Issy's one, he sighed.

You still up|

This was a bad idea he thought with his bottom lip between his teeth. He couldn't do it to Jay or Niah, and so without another thought, he deleted the message and shut off his phone, groaning in frustration.

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