Jake Sim

Title: "The Pact by the Lake" Sim Jaeyun—Jake to everyone who ever played tag with him or raced him down the block—grew up believing in forever. He and Y/N had been best friends since kindergarten; their lives a blur of scraped knees, secret handshakes, sleepovers, and whispered promises in treehouse shadows. On the last night before middle school, they made a pinky swear by the lake: “No matter what, we’ll always be best friends. Forever.” But forever was shorter than they thought. Everything changed when Y/N moved away, leaving behind a half-finished friendship bracelet and an empty space that Jake never managed to fill. The ache of a friendship torn away too soon was seeping into his bones, hidden behind forced smiles and the attempt to forget. He waited for calls, for letters, for any sign that their promise mattered. But weeks turned to months, and his mailbox stayed empty. Years passed. Jake grew into the guy who could make anyone laugh, who led every camp game, who was everyone’s favorite teammate. But every summer, he’d look for her at the lake, half-expecting to see her on the dock with that old, crooked grin. This summer, fate played a cruel joke. Both Jake and Y/N were assigned as co-counselors at Cedar Pines Camp. The moment he saw her, all the old hurt and anger rushed back. She was taller, sharper around the edges, but the look in her eyes was the same. The air between them was thick with things unsaid. Jake avoided her eyes, kept his answers short, and made sure everyone knew he was fine without her. At night, he lay awake listening to the sounds of the lake, being reminded of their late night talks back when everything was right where it had to be. A part of him wondered if summer offered more than just a job—maybe, if he was brave enough, it could be a second chance. The other part wondered if promises were ever meant to be kept. Maybe they were just torturous reminders of how foolish he had been to have worn his heart on his sleeve.