jakeofheartz

[jakeofheartz]

Aphrodite's Reward II

⋆˚࿔ PAIRING: Jake / Jaeyun Sim x OC (Y/N)

⋆˚࿔ GENRE: Modern Greek Mythology AU

⋆˚࿔ SYNOPSIS: But Gods aren't meant to fall, and mortals? They break too easily.

⋆˚࿔ WC: 2.6k (Part 2 of n)

⋆˚࿔ PART ONE HERE

Jake Sim was not normal.

Y/N had known this for a while — but knowing and admitting were different beasts. Denial had been easy at first: chalk it up to charm, to charisma, to unusually good cheekbones and oddly perfect timing.

But now? Now he was folding origami heart bookmarks with a glow-in-the-dark pen while Wonyoung dramatically whispered behind her.

“That’s not a man,” Wonyoung muttered, squinting. “That’s a guy who knows way too much about everything and still somehow smells like fresh laundry.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, arms crossed as she watched Jake chat with an elderly customer like he’d known her since birth.

“He reorganized the entire astrology display based on Venus transits,” Wonyoung added, sipping from her lemon water. “I caught him quoting Sappho in Greek to a stranger yesterday. Greek. Like. Fluently.”

Sunoo slid in beside her, snack in hand. “I’m just saying, he knows way too much about romantic tragedy and how to pronounce 'ephemeral' without sounding pretentious.”

“Maybe he’s just smart?” Y/N offered.

“No,” they said in unison.

She hated how they were right.

Jake had walked into her life like a solution to a question she hadn’t asked. Too present, too aware, and too invested in who she flirted with. Every time she talked to someone with the slightest romantic potential — whether it was Jeno from the café or that one hot dog vendor with the biceps — Jake would materialize beside her like a concerned guardian angel with great hair.

At first, she found it funny. Now?

It was weird.

Today she was going to ask.

The store was quiet after lunch rush. Wonyoung and Sunoo had retreated to the back with snacks and whispered theories ("he’s probably cursed" / "or a fallen angel") while Jake alphabetized love poems with a focus she hadn’t seen in a person who wasn’t being paid to do it.

Y/N leaned against the counter and cleared her throat.

“Jake.”

He looked up, eyes warm as always. “Yes, goddess?”

She frowned. “Can you not call me that?”

He blinked. “Why not?”

“Because it’s weird. Because I never asked you to. Because you’re… weird.”

He set the book down. “Okay. Honest moment. What’s up?”

Y/N exhaled. “What’s your deal?”

He tilted his head. “My deal?”

“You don’t blink. You show up everywhere. You know things about me I’ve never told you. You quote poetry like it’s breathing. You reorganized the romance section by 'emotional vulnerability' level. Who does that?”

Jake smiled. “That system slaps and you know it.”

She stepped closer. “You’re too charming. Too helpful. Too... present. Every time someone shows interest in me, you insert yourself like some kind of relationship bodyguard.”

He paused.

And Y/N, sharp as ever, caught the micro-tension in his jaw.

“I don’t know what you are,” she said, quieter now. “But you’re not just a guy who temped at the right time. Are you?”

Jake hesitated.

Then he turned his gaze downward, flexing his hand.

“Okay,” he muttered. “I was hoping this would come out differently. Or... not at all.”

Y/N crossed her arms.

Jake looked up. “Just… don’t freak out.”

That’s when it happened.

The air around him shifted. Not dramatically — no thunderclap or slow-motion wind — but subtly, like the moment before lightning strikes. The light in the store flickered, catching something behind his eyes that didn’t look human. Golden light shimmered briefly beneath his skin, like sunbeams pressed under the surface.

Y/N blinked.

Jake looked... divine. For a second.

Then it was gone.

She took a step back. “What the hell was that?”

Jake ran a hand through his hair, the charm gone, replaced by something heavier. “Okay. So. I’m not, like… normal.”

“Understatement.”

“I’m… the son of Aphrodite.”

She stared at him.

He smiled sheepishly. “You know, goddess of love, beauty, birds, bad decisions?”

She blinked. “Are you joking?”

“I wish.”

BACKROOM.

Meanwhile, in the back office, Sunoo paused mid-chip-crunch.

“Did the lights just flicker?”

Wonyoung glanced up. “Probably. Or your brain finally short-circuited from eating six bags of corn puffs in one shift.”

“No, like… divine flicker. Like Zeus-lite.”

Wonyoung narrowed her eyes toward the stockroom door. “If Jake just revealed he’s a minor deity, I’m going to scream.”

BACK AT THE REGISTER.

The shop was too quiet.

The hum of the refrigerator buzzed faintly behind them, and outside, the city moved on — buses rolled, heels clicked, coffee orders were shouted with half-hearted urgency. But here, between the bookshelves and coffee-scented silence, Y/N felt the world slow to a surreal crawl.

“I was sent here to help you,” Jake said quietly. “You did something… kind. You saved a dove. That dove belonged to my mother. She wanted to reward you. So she sent me.”

His voice was steady, but his eyes — those traitorous, glittering eyes — searched hers with something closer to fear than fondness.

Y/N didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

She couldn’t.

Her brain was doing somersaults, trying to land between logic and the completely unhinged reality that Jake was not just a bookstore assistant with a thing for poetry, but a celestial favor delivery boy from the actual goddess of love.

She blinked.

“To help me… find a boyfriend?” she asked, unsure if she was angry or baffled, or both layered like a very sarcastic cake.

He winced, just barely. “Well… yeah.”

Y/N scoffed, the sharp edge of it surprising even herself. “So you were spying on me. For your mom. Like a divine wingman.”

Jake winced harder. “That’s… a very harsh way of putting it.”

“And you’ve been sabotaging guys who flirt with me?”

“Not sabotage,” he rushed to clarify. “Just gentle... redirection.”

She let out a laugh, brittle and incredulous. “Unreal.”

She took a step back, not because she was afraid — but because the space between them suddenly felt too heavy, like it wasn’t just physical. There was history in it. Magic. Lies tangled in affection. It made her stomach twist.

Jake looked like he wanted to say more but was weighing every syllable like it might detonate.

“I didn’t expect to—” he paused, swallowing hard. His voice cracked just slightly, cracking through the polished confidence he always wore like a second skin. “I didn’t expect to care this much.”

Y/N froze again.

Her heart, despite everything, did something traitorous in her chest.

She looked at him — really looked at him — and saw the truth etched into every worried line on his face. He wasn’t lying. Not now.

“...You care?” she asked, voice low.

Jake nodded, slow and certain. “Too much.”

And in that moment, he didn’t look divine at all.

He looked human.

And that terrified her more than the golden glow ever did.

THE ROOFTOP. (Later That Evening)

The sky was bleeding into dusky pinks and golds, the city glowing beneath it. Y/N sat on the rooftop of her apartment building, legs crossed, a bottle of iced tea sweating beside her. The wind tugged at the hem of her hoodie, but she didn’t move.

Wonyoung appeared first, hair in a claw clip, her earrings catching the last bit of sunlight. Sunoo trailed behind her, still in his oversized denim jacket, carrying a plastic bag of snacks like he was preparing for war.

"You said it was urgent," Wonyoung said, settling beside her. "So… what’s the divine drama this time?"

Sunoo handed Y/N a bag of spicy chips and flopped down on her other side. “Is it a god thing or a ‘Jake-is-hot-and-I-wanna-kiss-him’ thing?”

“It’s both,” Y/N muttered, too tired to be sarcastic.

That got their attention.

“Wait.” Wonyoung’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“I mean. It started as a god thing. Then it… got messy.”

Sunoo sat up straighter. “Messy how?”

Y/N let out a breath, fiddling with the cap of her drink. “Jake—he’s not just some random hot guy who works at the bookstore. He’s a demigod. Son of Aphrodite. His mom sent him to help me with my love life.”

Both Wonyoung and Sunoo blinked.

Then—

“Oh my god,” Wonyoung gasped, hands flying to her mouth. “She sent you a celestial matchmaker?”

“I know,” Y/N said, exasperated. “It sounds like a mythological dating show.”

“And he’s been—what—coaching you? Setting you up?” Sunoo asked, now entirely invested.

“No. Worse. He’s been intervening. Anytime someone flirts with me? Boom. They suddenly get distracted, or they back off, or their Uber shows up suspiciously fast. He admitted it.”

Wonyoung’s jaw dropped. “He’s been divine-cockblocking you?!”

“That’s not even the worst part,” Y/N said, voice quieter now. “He told me… he cares. Like, genuinely. And not in the ‘I’m-doing-my-job’ kind of way.”

The three of them sat in stunned silence for a beat, the city buzzing faintly below.

Sunoo was the first to speak. “So, you’re telling me.... hot bookstore boy is a literal son of the goddess of love, sent to help you fall in love… and now he’s the one in love with you?”

Y/N gave him a pointed look. “I didn’t say love.”

“But you didn’t not say love,” Wonyoung added, eyebrow raised.

“I don’t even know how I feel!” Y/N groaned, leaning back dramatically. “I mean, he lied. Sort of. He left stuff out. But also… he’s been there. For weeks. Always around. Making me laugh, showing up when I needed help, like he knows me. And I thought it was just... chemistry. But now I don’t know what’s real and what’s divine manipulation.”

“Okay,” Sunoo said, crossing his legs like a therapist. “Let’s break this down.”

Wonyoung held up a hand. “First question: are you attracted to him?”

“Obviously,” Y/N said, with zero hesitation. “He looks like the concept of romance.”

“Second question,” Sunoo added, “do you trust him?”

That one took longer.

“I did,” she said eventually, voice quieter.

Wonyoung leaned in, gentle now. “Do you want to trust him again?”

Y/N didn’t answer.

She didn’t have to.

Her silence was loud.

Jake’s POV

The poetry aisle had become his safe zone. Predictable. Quiet. Romantic enough to make sense of his chaos.

He ran his fingers along the spines of dog-eared Neruda and Rumi collections, trying to ground himself. But the words blurred. Nothing stuck.

Y/N knew.

And worse—he meant every word he told her.

He cared. Too much.

A sharp tap on his shoulder pulled him back into the moment.

Heeseung.

He didn’t look thrilled.

Behind him, Sunghoon leaned against a shelf like he’d been dragged here reluctantly, arms crossed, jaw tight. His usual calm looked fractured, like he'd just walked in on a tragedy unfolding in slow motion.

“Wanna tell us what the hell that was?” Heeseung asked. Not loudly, but pointed.

Jake didn’t pretend to misunderstand.

“She deserved the truth.”

“Your truth?” Sunghoon raised an eyebrow. “Or Aphrodite’s truth?”

Jake exhaled through his nose. “Does it matter?”

“Yeah, it does,” Heeseung said, stepping in. “Because you weren’t just sent to play matchmaker. You were sent to fix her love life, not insert yourself into it.”

Jake looked away, jaw clenched. He hated how they made it sound like a crime. Maybe it was.

Sunghoon’s voice was quieter this time. “Do you even know what happens if she finds out who you really are? Not the soft version. The whole truth?”

Jake said nothing.

Heeseung scoffed. “You do. You just don’t care anymore.”

“I didn’t plan for this,” Jake muttered. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was supposed to help her—nudge fate along, not… not feel like I belong wherever she is.”

Sunghoon looked away, suddenly tense.

Heeseung rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re lucky she hasn’t fallen for you. That would be worse.”

Jake flinched.

Because he didn’t know if that was true anymore.

Heeseung caught the look. “No,” he said, eyes narrowing. “Jake. Tell me you didn’t let it go that far.”

“You think she hasn’t fallen for me yet? I didn’t do anything,” Jake snapped. “I’ve barely touched her. I just—feel it. That’s all.”

Sunghoon met his eyes, serious now. “And you think that’s not worse? You're a son of Aphrodite. If she starts loving you back, that’s not a mortal falling in love. That’s divine interference. You’d be rewriting her whole fate.”

Jake’s chest tightened.

Heeseung leaned in. “You want to protect her? Then start acting like it.”

The silence afterward was heavy—final. Jake swallowed hard, every breath suddenly laced with guilt and longing.

He knew what he had to do.

He just didn’t know if he was strong enough to do it.

The poetry section had always been her escape.

A soft corner at the back of the store, tucked behind classics and drama, where time slowed and Neruda held her hand like an old friend.

Y/N balanced a few restocked titles in her arms—dog-eared, loved, maybe even cried on—and made her way toward the shelves. She turned down the aisle softly, her steps quiet.

And froze.

Voices. Low. Tense.

She recognized one instantly.

Jake.

Her heart leapt automatically, a stupid reflex by now—but it dropped just as quickly when she heard his tone. Not flirty. Not warm.

Tight. Controlled.

“You think she hasn’t fallen for me yet?”

“You’re lucky she hasn’t fallen for you. That would be worse.” someone said.

Y/N stood still, completely still, like if she moved, the words would rearrange into something less terrifying.

Another voice replied—calm, sharp. A stranger.

“If she starts loving you back, that’s not a mortal falling in love.” the guy said, “that’s divine interference.”

A third voice murmured something she couldn’t hear. She thought she caught her name. But it was gone in a breath.

Y/N’s throat tightened.

She didn’t mean to listen. She shouldn’t be here. But her feet wouldn’t move. Her mind was too loud.

Divine interference.

Her stomach twisted.

The phrase didn’t make sense. Not entirely. But the way they said it—like it was dangerous. Like she was the danger.

Like love itself was a mistake.

She backed away slowly, the books in her arms suddenly heavy. Her shoulder bumped a display stand and it rattled softly, but no one came after her.

They didn’t even notice.

She slipped into the break room and sat down hard on the bench beside the lockers. Her chest ached. Her hands trembled slightly, enough to betray her.

She replayed the words again. And again.

“You think she hasn’t fallen for me yet?”

“If she starts loving you back…”

“ That’s divine interference”

Her heart screamed one question:

Why would Jake be afraid of her falling for him?

Later that night, at Wonyoung’s place, Y/N sat curled on the couch, knees hugged to her chest, while Wonyoung scrolled aimlessly on her phone.

“Can I ask you something?” Y/N said quietly.

“Hmm?”

“Do you think it’s possible for someone to…” she paused. “To fake fate?”

Wonyoung blinked at her. “That’s oddly specific. Did you finally read that Greek mythology book I gave you?”

“No.” Y/N chewed on her lip. “Just—hypothetically. Like, what if you thought something real was happening between you and someone, but then you realized… maybe it wasn’t real. Maybe it was just supposed to feel real.”

Wonyoung gave her a long look. “Okay. What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Y/N.”

“I said hypothetically.”

“Hypothetically, you sound like someone whose crush just gave her a cosmic existential crisis.”

Y/N forced a laugh. “Forget it. It’s dumb.”

But her heart wouldn’t let it go.

The way Jake had looked at her, touched her, teased her like she mattered. That wasn’t fake… was it?

She closed her eyes.

But all she could hear was his voice again.

“You think she hasn’t fallen for me yet?”

And the terrifying answer:

She had.

⋆˚࿔ Hi, everyone!

I am glad that y'all liked the part one of Aphrodite's Reward, so here's the part two! Feel free to leave your thoughts, reviews, and critiques—I genuinely appreciate every bit of feedback. Also, the taglist is now open, so let me know if you'd like to be added!

Comment if you want the next part to be posted ♡

⋆˚࿔ TAGLIST: @junirohaz @seungsoftly

© 2025, jakeofheartz.

[jakeofheartz]

Aphrodite's Reward

⋆˚࿔ PAIRING: Jake / Jaeyun Sim x OC (Y/N)

⋆˚࿔ GENRE: Modern Greek Mythology AU

⋆˚࿔ WC: 1.4k (Part 1 of n)

⋆˚࿔ SYNOPSIS: After Y/N unknowingly helps the goddess Aphrodite, she’s rewarded with divine help in her love life—specifically in the form of her too-handsome son, Jake. He’s supposed to guide her to love, not fall for her himself. But the more time he spends with her, the more one truth becomes clear: He might be the one in need of saving.

⋆˚࿔ PART TWO HERE

If Y/N had known that rescuing a bird would get her entangled in divine matchmaking, she would've just kept walking.

It was raining — because of course it was — and she was already late for her shift at the bookstore when she spotted it: a small white dove, perched on the curb with one wing bent at a crooked angle. Most people rushed past, umbrellas tilted and eyes down. But Y/N, curse her bleeding heart, knelt beside the trembling thing and whispered, “You’re lucky I’m a sucker for dramatic symbolism.”

She brought it to the nearest vet, paid out of pocket for the wing wrap, and left without even taking a receipt. Just another day of being soft in a world that didn’t reward it.

Or so she thought.

OLYMPUS.

In a realm humans couldn’t touch — all silk clouds and rose quartz light — Aphrodite tilted her head, amused.

“She returned the dove.”

Heeseung raised an eyebrow. “You mean your dove.”

“Semantics.” She traced her finger along the rim of her goblet. “She acted without reward. She protected what others ignored.”

Sunghoon, sitting nearby with an unreadable book in hand, asked flatly, “You’re going to interfere again, aren’t you?”

Aphrodite smiled. “Not interfere. Reward.”

Jake groaned from his lounge chair. “Please don’t.”

“Oh, Jakey,” she purred, “you’ve been brooding in Olympus long enough. This mortal girl? She’s ripe for love. And you, my darling son, will be her guide.”

Jake sat up. “You’re sending me to Earth again?”

“Mmhm.”

“To matchmake?”

“Correct.”

He rubbed his temples. “I’m the son of love, not a dating app.”

“But you’re so charming,” she cooed. “And mortal girls adore a pretty boy with tragic eyes.”

Sunghoon coughed. “Facts.”

Heeseung added, “You do have main character face.”

“I am tired of being the side character in everyone else's love story,” Jake muttered.

Aphrodite leaned in. “Then don’t just guide her, Jakey. Watch her. Learn her. Help her… find love. And remember—” Her voice dropped. Honey-sweet, steel-sharp. “You may guide the mortal’s heart, but you are never to offer yours.”

ON EARTH, THE NEXT DAY.

Y/N was eyeing the new guy behind the register like his level of attractiveness should be illegal. Seriously, no human had any right to look like that. Especially not in this dusty old bookstore that barely deserved functioning lights — let alone a walking thirst trap with a face made to ruin TikTok algorithms.

He caught her staring. He smiled. Great. Now he was smiling with his complete set of pearl teeth? Someone needed to regulate this!

She squinted, stepping behind the counter, her brow already raised like a warning sign. “I don’t remember hiring you,” she said coolly.

The guy turned, effortlessly smooth, voice like honey melting over marble. “I’m the new temp. Manager said you needed help.”

Y/N frowned. “I didn’t request—”

“He said someone up top sent me,” he cut in, lips curling into a wink.

She crossed her arms. “This a prank? Did Wonyoung send you?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” His expression was pure mischief as he extended a hand. “Jake. No last name. Just… Jake.”

“Y/N,” she replied, cautiously shaking his hand, already regretting it when his palm was warm and way too steady.

Jake leaned in, just slightly, enough to make her pulse jump. “Lovely name. Really rolls off the tongue.”

Behind her, Sunoo popped up like a curious meerkat from the Fiction aisle, mouthing, WHO IS THAT??

Y/N ignored him and narrowed her eyes at the stranger. “You’re weird.”

Jake beamed like she’d just paid him a compliment. “Thanks. I’m here to help.”

Jake had been assigned one thing:

Help Y/N find love.

Not catch feelings every time she laughed too hard at someone else's joke.

Not feel something twist in his chest when she smiled at someone who wasn’t him.

And yet here he was — standing in the middle of the Romance section for the third time that day — because Jeno from the café had made her giggle, and it made Jake irrationally want to uppercut a barista and smash a perfectly innocent macchiato machine.

Pathetic.

His phone buzzed. Jake answered without looking.

“You’re glaring at the Nicholas Sparks shelf,” came Sunghoon’s voice, dry as ever.

“I’m not glaring,” Jake muttered, jaw tight.

“You’re brooding,” Sunghoon corrected. “Stop brooding. You’re not on an enemies-to-lovers arc.”

Jake lowered his voice and turned his back to the counter. “She was talking to that guy again.”

“You mean Jeno?” Sunghoon said. “The guy who eats pickles out of Ziploc bags and calls her ‘dude’? Yeah, you’re definitely in danger.”

Jake didn’t respond. He didn’t need to.

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “You’re not supposed to fall for the assignment, Jake.”

Jake ran a hand through his hair, heart pounding against a rule he never meant to break. “Too late.”

LATER THAT WEEK.

Y/N eyed Jake suspiciously from across the register. He was scribbling furiously in a notebook like he was solving the mystery of the universe. Or planning world domination.

“What are you doing?” she asked, stepping closer.

Jake didn’t even look up. “Compiling,” he replied. “A list.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Of?”

“Guys who might be your type.”

She blinked, deadpan. “You made me a dating list?”

He finally looked up, smiling like it was the most thoughtful thing in the world. “Consider it… divine guidance.”

“I don’t even know if I want to date right now,” she muttered, reaching for the notebook.

“Everyone says that before they fall in love.”

She rolled her eyes and flipped through the pages. “Let’s see… Jeno — ew. Jaemin? Absolutely not. Sunoo?! He’s my best friend.”

Jake shrugged like it was a logical suggestion. “I just think you’d look good with someone who makes you laugh.”

Y/N stared at him, tilting her head. “What do you even know about love?”

More than you could imagine, he thought bitterly.

“Plenty,” Jake said smoothly, masking the weight behind his words. “I was literally born for this.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You sound like you have a degree in it.”

“I do,” he said with a grin. “From the University of Aphrodite.”

Y/N snorted, handing the notebook back. “Is that in Greece or in your ego?”

Jake laughed, but the humor didn’t quite reach his eyes.

She had no idea — no clue that she was his assignment. That she was the one girl he wasn’t allowed to want.

And yet, every time she smiled, it felt like a secret he’d break the world to keep.

THAT NIGHT.

“So,” Wonyoung said, dipping a fry into honey mustard with the elegance of a girl who just finished her third coat of nail polish. “What’s the deal with this Jake guy?”

Y/N blinked. “What deal?”

“He’s hot. Too hot. Suspiciously hot.”

“I think he’s an alien,” Sunoo chimed in from across the table. “Or a male lead in a K-drama that wandered off set and forgot how to blend in with commoners.”

“He reorganized the entire store by color palette,” Wonyoung added. “That’s not normal. That’s Pinterest-core obsession.”

Y/N let out a laugh, but even she knew it sounded distracted. “Okay, but he’s… sweet? He’s been trying to help me with my ‘love life,’ whatever that means. I think he’s kind of like a weird cupid.”

Sunoo’s eyes widened. “That’s it. He gives me love god vibes. Like a Greek statue but with better hair.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, but the words hit a little too close to home.

Jake always knew what to say. Always looked like he belonged, even when he didn’t. And even when others were around, his gaze never lingered on anyone else but her.

Something didn’t add up.

And she was starting to wonder:

Was Jake just too good at this… or was he failing at it on purpose?

Meanwhile, at OLYMPUS.

“I gave you one rule,” Aphrodite said, swirling her wine like she was spinning fate itself.

Jake stood with his back to her, fists clenched. “I didn’t mean to.”

“You’re getting attached.”

His voice cracked, low. “She makes it hard not to.”

“She’s human, Jake.”

“She’s real.”

Aphrodite’s tone sharpened like a blade. “You cannot fall for her. She was meant to be your assignment — not your undoing.”

Jake stared out over Olympus, the stars too far, the earth too close. His chest felt like a battlefield. He wanted to say he could walk away. That he would.

But even the goddess of love saw it now.

Her golden boy wasn’t just watching from afar anymore.

He was falling.

⋆˚࿔ Hi everyone! After years on hiatus, I'm finally back and ready to dive into writing again. I've decided to start fresh by deleting my past works and focusing entirely on new stories moving forward. Feel free to leave your thoughts, reviews, and critiques—I genuinely appreciate every bit of feedback. Also, the taglist is now open, so let me know if you'd like to be added!

Comment if you want the next part to be posted :))

PART TWO HERE

© 2025, jakeofheartz.