chapter six ;; the message

The cafeteria went silent right after seeing Jake with his group and the others whom they fought with few days ago. Expecting that they'll cause another trouble, they remain calm and wouldn't tend to stop them or even call the guards to cease them.

The leader of the group smirked which turned into a pissed face seeing Jake, remembering how he bruised his face. Jake, on the other hand, smirked back as he's stopping himself from laughing at how ridiculous the guy's ruined face is.

The stances were becoming more tense and looking ready for conflict.

"Well, look who we have here," the leader of the group sneered, scanning his eyes around them before landing on Inah. "And who's this beautiful girl with you?"

Jake's fists clenched as his gaze was burning with anger. "Leave her out of this," he growled.

The guy mockingly laughed. "Why? Are you her boyfriend?"

"She's our new friend. Any problem with that?" Ni-ki chimed in.

"So it's a 'no' huh?" The guy replied. "Then can I be your boyfriend perhaps, mi' lady?" He added, facing Inah and making her uncomfortable.

Jake noticed it as he quickly blocked Inah, glaring at the guy.

"I said... leave her alone," Jake said, clenching his teeth.

Inah gently held Jake's arm, speaking with her firm yet calm voice. "Just ignore them, Jake. Remember what Mr. Choi said about avoiding trouble."

Jake wanted to neglect Inah but he's trying to stop himself from punching the guy as he promised to himself that he'll change due to the project he's tasked with.

"Such a coward. Now it's easy for me to avenge against you."

The group was about to initiate their attack when Jake's friends quickly formed a protective barrier in front of him and Inah.

The leader of the group and his friends glared at them, hindering their plan of attacking first.

"Not worth it, assholes," Sunghoon said while scowling at them, "back off."

For a moment, the tension hung in the air, thick and suffocating.

With a final sneer, the guy told his friends to retreat. "This isn't over." He pointed his finger at Jake before walking away with his friends.

As they left, the cafeteria gradually returned to its usual buzz, though the lingering tension was still palpable.

They finally settled on their table as their hearts still pounding from the confrontation.

"Who were they?" Inah asked.

Heeseung sighed before replying. "Son Taewook. We had lots of enemies around the campus so... it's normal for us when this happened."

Inah nodded as she land her eyes on Jake beside her. "Glad that you didn't hit him."

"Tch. I would've done that if not because of you," Jake said, staring down at his food tray.

Inah shook her head, rolling her eyes due to his stubbornness.

"Let's just eat. We only have 25 minutes left before our next class," Jungwon said as he drink his water.

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After lunch, they headed to their History class.

The professor started discussing the topic of the day, his voice droning on about ancient civilizations.

"Today, we'll be diving into the Roman Empire," the professor said, writing on the white board, "specifically, the rise and fall of Julius Caesar."

Jake tried to focus, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the confrontation in the cafeteria and Inah's calming presence.

An hour later, the class ended and as they were packing up, Jake walked towards Inah who was fixing her things.

"Hey uhm... would you like us to go to Haewundo together?"

Inah was about to respond when Jake's friends immediately jumped in.

"Ooh~ asking her out now, are we?" Jungwon teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

Sunghoon laughed. "About time you made a move, Jake!"

"Shut up," Jake muttered but there was a hint of smile on his lips. He glanced at Inah, feeling a bit nervous of what she could respond.

Heeseung chimed in after fixing his things, nudging Jake playfully. "Looks like someone's got a date."

"Seriously guys... cut it out," Jake said though he couldn't hide his growing grin.

Inah can't help but chuckle out of amusement. Jake quickly turned to her, feeling kind of embarrassed as his friends were trying to stop themselves from laughing.

He just gulped, looking away and scratching his nape.

"I'd like that." Inah smiled warmly, her eyes meeting Jake's as he looked to her again, not expecting that she'd let him go with her.

Jake's friends start to burst with playful hoots and teasingly ruffling his hair.

"See you later Jake," Inah said, smiling once again before turning around to head towards the library.

🗼🗼🗼

It's their class dismissal and Jake was currently sitting on a bench, waiting on Inah to meet him.

Jake didn't actually expect himself that he'd ask Inah about driving to Haewundo together. He never does this even once. This was indeed his first time bonding alone with a girl.

If he'd be completely honest, he doesn't have romantic feelings towards Inah though he can't help but feel very much comfortable when he's with her even though she annoys the hell out of him.

His eyes roamed around the ample campus, landing on Inah who was stepping out of the entrance way of the main building while looking around to search for him.

Then, her eyes finally met Jake's where he was sitting which made her prettily smile and wave at him. Jake widens his eyes a bit at how Inah smiled and waved at him. He doesn't know what to feel as he just stares at her approaching him.

As she was now in front of him, Jake wasn't able to speak and seemed like he's being paralyzed by the beauty of an angel.

"Jake? Jaaaake..."

Jake went back to his reverie when Inah was snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"H-Huh?" Jake uttered.

"Let's go now," Inah said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up from the bench. "It's already 3:30PM and we have to be there at 4PM." She added, still pulling him until they exited the campus.

Jake wanted to complain but he just let her grab him like that.

As they got in the parking area, Jake assisted Inah through opening the car door before hopping in his driver seat.

Inah clutched the seatbelt, struggling to pull it down and Jake noticed it.

"Let me help you with that." Jake leaned closer to help her with the seatbelt. While doing so, he realized how close he was to her so he slowly turned to face her and immediately looked away to successfully link the seatbelt on.

Jake can feel his face flushing and tries to stop it before starting his engine, eventually driving towards Haewundo.

The drive to Haewundo was filled with an awkward silence. Jake kept his eyes on the road but occasionally stealing glances at Inah.

Seconds later, Jake finally broke the deafening silence between them.

"Uhm... what's your favorite subject?" Jake randomly asked, making Inah quietly chuckle.

"Probably Math. I find it fun scribbling and solving formulas. You?"

"Honestly... I don't have any since I'm more into art and music," Jake replied.

"No doubt that the graffiti I found at the back of the main building is creatively amazing." Inah looked to him as he did as well.

Jake felt embarrassed about it, remembering how he and his friends were caught the time they escaped from the chaos with those bad guys few days ago.

"Y-You saw it?" Jake stuttered.

Inah nodded with a smile. "Yeah I did. But I hope you guys will stop doing that."

Jake didn't think of responding anymore so he could focus on driving. Inah, on the other hand, gazed out of the window while thinking of another topic they could talk about.

As she did, she quickly turned her face to look at him.

"Do you have any hobbies, aside from art?" Inah asked.

"Hmm... as for music, I have loved singing since I was 12. I made a lot of covers before until now. It just... takes away my boredom and it's my solace."

Inah nodded, kind of not expecting to know Jake can sing. "So we're just the same." Jake glanced at her, also not expecting that Inah can sing too.

"You sing too?"

"Mhm... my Dad was the one who made some vocal lessons for me. He said he was a bar singer when he was 20. When he shared it with me, I became interested in learning how to sing so... he's glad to teach me."

"That's nice though. Well me... it was self-taught. I just learn by myself." Jake became silent again and Inah can sense that there's something intriguing to know from him.

Inah has been wondering how his life was... what his family looked like and what they do... and why he's being a troublemaker... she assumes that maybe he has family problems that made him like that.

With that thought, she's glad that she met him especially now that she is helping him change through assisting him for the project and by tutoring him.

"What about you? Aside from singing?" Jake asked once more.

"I actually had another hobby but it's... unusual in a way."

"And that is?"

"Collecting old postcards. I really love the idea of having little pieces of history from different places. That's why you could always notice how fond and determined I am to discover stuff from the lighthouse," Inah replied.

"Not surprising from you at all. But that's interesting though," Jake said, genuinely intrigued and continued to drive until he thought of another random topic. "By the way, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

Inah's eyes lit up. "I'd love to visit Italy. The history, art, food... they're all fascinating to me."

"Hmm... I see. I've always wanted to go to Norway to see the Northern Lights," Jake shared, "it seems like it would be an unforgettable experience."

They exchanged more stories and dreams as the tension easing. Their conversation flowed more naturally and they found themselves laughing and telling more than they had expected.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Jake asked suddenly, grinning at her.

Inah raised an eyebrow. "All of a sudden? Well uhh... maybe. Why? Have you seen one?"

"Nah. But I've heard some pretty scary stories from my grandmother. She knows that our old house was haunted," Jake said with a chuckle.

Inah lets out a chuckle as well, turning her face in front again to see the beautiful view as Jake went back to focusing on the road.

As they're about to arrive at Haewundo, the awkward silence was long forgotten. They felt more comfortable with each other as the initial tension was replaced by a growing sense of friendship.

At Haewundo, Inah decided to introduce Jake to her family before heading to the lighthouse.

"Are you sure about this?" Jake asked.

"Yes. Why?" 

"Uhm... nothing..."

Inah smiled, opening the door as they both stepped in her house. She spotted her mother at the kitchen washing the dishes and her two siblings at the sofa.

"Inah my dear~" Her mother wiped her hands on a dish towel before walking towards her daughter and giving her a warm hug.

Inah hugged her back then introduced Jake to her. "Mom, this is Jake," she said, signaling him to come closer to them, "he's the one who was tasked to restore the lighthouse."

Inah's mother smiled warmly, extending her hand to Jake. "Nice to meet you, Jake. Any friend of Inah is welcome here."

"Thanks, Mrs. Bae." Jake accepted and shaked her hand. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Please... call me Tita," she replied as her eyes twinkled, "you must be working very hard on that old lighthouse."

Jake nodded. "Yeah... it's a lot of work but it's coming along."

Inah's younger brother peeked around the corner wherein curiosity piqued on his face, walking towards behind him. "Are you the guy helping with the lighthouse?"

Jake turned to his back to interact with the boy. "Mhm... that's me," Jake said, smiling at him, "What's your name?"

"My name's Hyun," the boy responded with a wide smile, "do you know some stories about the lighthouse?"

"Not really," Jake admitted, "but I'm learning a lot."

Inah's little sister, on the other hand, joined them and was holding a picture she had drawn. "Hi! I'm Hana! Look... I drew a picture of the lighthouse!" Hana faced her drawing towards Jake.

"You drew it well Hana," Jake said, gently ruffling her bangs, "you're quite the artist."

Mrs. Bae smiled, watching his interaction with the kids. "Why don't you sit down for a bit? Inah will get you some snacks before you guys head out."

Inah was walking down the staircases, heading towards the kitchen to prepare some snacks for them.

Jake felt a bit more at ease in the warm family environment. He looked around the living area, taking in the photographs and artwork that adorned the walls, all reflecting a happy close-knit family.

Minutes later, Inah went back to the living area and carefully placed a tray of snacks on the glass table.

"So, Jake," Mrs. Bae started, "how did you get involved in this lighthouse project?"

"It's part of my community service," Jake answered, taking the cup of tea from the tray, "I actually didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I do."

"We're glad to have you, Jake," Mrs. Bae said kindly, "that lighthouse means a lot to our family."

Inah remained silent but smiling at their interaction especially of how adorable he and her siblings talked. She took a sip from her tea and kept on listening to them.

Jake glanced at Inah, noticing her softly smiling as she looked back at him. "I can see why."

Moments later, they finished their snacks as Inah and Jake thanked Mrs. Bae before heading out.

"Your family is really nice," Jake said as they walked together to the lighthouse.

"Thank you," Inah replied, smiling, "I'm glad you got to meet them."

🗼🗼🗼

They had their usual routine of cleaning the interior of the lighthouse.

They both worked side by side, occasionally chatting but mostly focused on the task at hand.

"I'm curious though," Inah started, "what does your family look like?"

Jake paused for a moment after hearing what Inah just asked. He's well aware that they both have opposite family environments and he doesn't know what to answer.

"I hope someday I can meet th–" Inah's words got cut off when Jake interrupted.

"I don't wanna talk about them." Jake became serious and Inah can notice it. With that, she felt guilty of mentioning his family.

She thought that she's right to think that Jake indeed has family problems and it was the reason behind his rebellious demeanor at school. Inah curved her lips into thin line as she got back to cleaning while Jake shifted into a serious behavior of cleaning.

The sun began to set as they finished their day and transitioned to their tutoring session.

"Uhm... what subject are we gonna do now?" Jake asked, looking down at Inah's notebooks.

"Physics," Inah replied with a smile, making him sigh.

"Fine. Let's get it over with but don't expect me to love it."

Inah smiled encouragingly. "I won't. But I do expect you to try."

They worked through the problems as Inah patiently explains some of the concepts while Jake is trying to keep up. At one point, Jake rolled his pen down in frustration.

"It's so confusing! Why does this have to be so complicated?" He muttered.

Inah calmly picked up the pen and handed it back to him. "It's not that bad once you get the hang of it. Let's get over it one more time. Okay?" Her voice was soft just to encourage him.

Jake sighed, rubbing his temples. "Fine. I just don't get why I need to know this stuff."

"It helps to understand how the world works, Jake," Inah replied, "and besides, you're doing better than you think."

Jake skeptically looked at her but continued working through the problems.

"If you say so," he said and a bit more determined now, "let's see if I can at least get through this without failing miserably."

Just as they were wrapping up, Jake's phone buzzed. He checked the message and his expression suddenly became serious.

"What's wrong Jake?"

Jake's eyes darkened as he read the message again. "I need to go," he said, abruptly standing up.

"Is everything okay?" Inah asked, feeling worried.

"I'll just see you tomorrow," Jake replied as his mind was racing.

As Jake walked out of the lighthouse, Inah watched him go and the sense of unease settled over her.

Whatever the message was, she was sure that it was dire.