The Retreat | Enha multi ship

[Chapter 19]

From all his years playing football, Heeseung found it quite refreshing to play a game where the stakes were so low. At the end of the day, there would be a winner and a loser, nothing more, nothing less. Whereas, in football, one game lost could destroy his teams reputation, or knock them out of the league, and always risked him losing his captaincy. To phrase it simply, this game was actually fun because it wasn't extremely stressful for him.

Of course, he still put his effort in, and as the day went on, their group had actually developed some ounce of strategy. They'd even won a few games. Now, he was in his final game of the day, hoping to pull out one more win, before the games were done.

No one was assigned roles in his team, they all just agreed they'd do their best, and whatever happens happens. Riki definitely went above and beyond though, declaring that he would steal the tails of anyone he came across, in a much less polite manner. The boy was almost like a rabid dog being let off his leash, while Heeseung preferred to keep a more calm and collected persona.

Like every game before it, Heeseung wandered through the woods looking for the other teams flag. He wasn't too scared of bumping into the other team, because there was no point in fearing it until it actually happens. His main goal was finding the flag, while enjoying the beautiful forest surrounding him. Ignoring all the distant sound of people fighting over tails, it was actually rather peaceful.

"Oh shoot..."

Heeseung could recognize that nervous voice anywhere. Unsurprisingly, he had stumbled upon Jake, who was just sitting next to a tree. The brunette seemed really intimidated by him, instantly pressing his hand against the back of his trousers to secure his tail.

"I promise you I don't have the flag!" Jake blurts out in a panic, causing Heeseung to laugh.

"But it looks like you're guarding one." Heeseung gestures to his sitting position.

It takes a second for Jake to understand what Heeseung was implying. When he finally does, his eyes go wide, and he stutters a bit trying to denounce the claim, but he inevitably gives up, and lets out a deep sigh. "Okay I am...it is hidden around here, and I won't stop you looking." Jake says, sounding depleted, as he gets to his feet, still guarding his tail. "Could you at least give me a hint to where yours is, so I can try and contribute to my team."

"I'll just tell you where it is." 

Instantly, he wanted to kick himself. That would make no sense for him to do, and Jake was visibly shocked by it. He didn't know how to come back from this.

"What? why would you do that?" Jake mutters in confusion.

This is when Heeseung's heart beat really started to speed up. Was this the time? Should he actually say how he feels? It didn't feel right to do it during a game of capture the flag, but if not now, who knows when?

He couldn't put it off forever, and he didn't want to, so with all his courage he responds with, "Because I like you."

"What?"

"I said I like you, as in more than a friend." Heeseung states as confidently as he can, however his voice still wobbles slightly from the nerves. He had to work extremely hard to keep himself from shaking, this was probably the scariest thing he had done in a long time. Despite what people believe about him, he had never actually confessed to anyone before; he never liked anyone enough to do so.

Silence falls upon them for a brief moment as Jake drops his gaze to the floor. This only worries Heeseung even more, with all the concerns and thoughts of regret passing through his mind. When Jake eventually lifts his head again, he appears distraught, as if he was about to cry. "Why though?" He asks quietly, almost in a whisper.

"Do I need a reason?" 

Heeseung's gentle reply is instantly contrasted with Jake's more emotional response. "Yes! People like you don't go for people like me!" His raised voice lowers towards the end, and he takes in a deep breath before speaking again. "If you're trying to mess with me this isn't funny..."

Seeing Jake this upset broke Heeseung's heart. It was blatantly clear about how Jake viewed himself in comparison to him, as if there was some sort of hierarchy. He would never treat anyone like the were less than himself. It was other people who pushed him up on this pedestal, and painted this picture that his was out of reach.

"I'm being serious. If you want me to list out all the reasons, then it's too easy." He would do anything to make Jake happy again, and if pouring out his heart was what it took, then the decision was simple. "I could talk all day about how cute you look when you come running into homeroom late, and your hairs all messy because you had no time to style it. I could tell you about how distracted I am at lunch when I'm playing football, because you're out there too and I just want to stare at your pretty smile. Then I could go on and on about how big your heart is. I can see that just from your friendship with Sunoo. There's not a lot of people who care about others as much as you do."

Through all of this, Heeseung never took his eyes of Jake, so he knew that he had no doubt in what he was saying. "And that's only the surface, I want to get to know you more, and for you to know the real me. Not what everyone thinks I'm like. So there it is, I like you and I'm not expecting anything in return. I just want you to know that." 

Delivering on his original promise, Heeseung finishes up with, "The flags with Wonyoung by the way. It's tied into a bow in the back of her hair."

Another moment of silence occurs, before Jake nods and slowly walks past Heeseung. The red head eagerly turns around, wanting to say something more, but unable to get anything out. He just watches him walk away, having no clue on whether this confession had gone well.

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More HeeJake to come...