Did You Know They Were Dating?

did you know they were dating?

↖ navigation: seventeen masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: club pres! mingyu x vice pres! reader

↬ tags: nonsense fighting which i pulled out of thin air, this time ft the hiphop unit, i saw this trope about lovers who fake hate each other on the outside but love each other deeply on the inside and i was like "wow thats kinda cute", quite wholesome towards the end-ish, hinted jokes

summary: you and mingyu's relationship in the eyes of your friends

word count: 1.1k words

seungcheol: "I KNEW IT. i just knew that the amount of tension bouncing off each other would have brought them closer together."

"i literally just came and they're already going at it? great, just great." seungcheol enters the room, shaking his head. he haphazardly dumps his bag at the back of the club room, joining vernon and wonwoo who were observing the entire fight go down.

there you stood with your arms akimbo, glaring right back at an equally emotionally-charged mingyu, who wasn't going to back down in this argument.

"i don't get why our members should following your steps! you're making them do extra when they can simply refer to my method which concisely explains how to go about planning events such as this." you tapped the whiteboard repeatedly to prove your point.

he makes a show of carding his hand through his dark brown locks, "this is how i was taught from our advisors, going the longer way is tedious but this evokes discipline from our future members. don't you see that?"

"um...actually" wonwoo cautiously raises his hand up and the two of you (almost comically) stared at the bespectacled boy, simultaneously hollering, "not now wonwoo!" seungcheol casts his gaze over to the two of you, almost neck to neck as you both breathed down each others throat.

a moment of realization hits him and seungcheol made a face, "i'm going to stand outside. call me when this shitshow is over."

----

wonwoo: "wait...they're dating? uhhhm. good for them i guess?"

wonwoo sighs unhappily, having been caught in the middle of crossfire. he feels his attention waning, homework long forgotten. the classroom has been vacated of everyone, except for the three of you who stayed back to revise a little more.

"wonwoo, can you tell mingyu that he's being the unreasonable one?" you leaned over, wagging your finger. mingyu gasped exasperatedly, "wonwoo, you tell that bugger to shut it!"

wonwoo felt himself get jostled by the bigger male and he huffs, "you two quit it! it's just a minor issue!" silence blanketed the three of you and wonwwo stiffens in his seat.

did he touch a nerve?

"you. outside. right now." you abruptly get up from your seat and spun on your heels, not turning back to look once. wonwoo gulps, "wait, i didn't mean..."

"don't worry about it." mingyu rolls his shoulder back a couple of times and wonwoo stands up in attempt to break off the fight, "mingyu-yah, maybe you should calm down--"

mingyu shoots him a look and wonwoo immediately zips it, sitting back down in defeat.

what did he get himself into?

----

vernon: "i had a hunch, but this just confirms everything. thing is, why would they choose to fight to show they love each other? that's...so weird."

vernon exits the toilet, the corner of his eyes attracted to the scene unfolding right outside the clubroom. mingyu was talking with you (nothing unusual), only for the fact that his hands were grasping yours while you had your head inclined forwards, avoiding him. vernon couldn't make out the conversation, but judging from the looks of things it wasn't going well.

"what kinda fight is that...did it have to get so personal..." vernon mumbled, still hovering by the restrooms so he didn't need to awkwardly go through the two of you to enter the clubroom.

he continues observing mingyu, who was leaning closer to you by the second and you huffed, shoulders moving animatedly with whatever conversation that had you so worked up. vernon nearly gasped out loud when he witness mingyu pulling you in for a hug; vernon desperately rubbed his eyes again to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him.

with sweaty palms, he pulls out his phone to hurriedly snap a picture, no doubt to send it to the group chat that didn't have the two of you inside. the sound of the camera shutter seemed to get your attention because just when you jerked your head towards his direction, vernon ducked down and out of sight.

he vaguely hears you murmuring, mingyu's baritone voice lilting in the quiet along the hallways. vernon remained motionless with bated breath, waiting for you two to walk away from where he was.

"that's right, just keep walking...walk away from me, please, please...!"

as soon as he couldn't distinguish anymore sound coming from you two, he makes a run for the clubroom, bursting through the door.

"guys! you won't believe what i just witnessed!!"

----

mingyu: "i think...our bantering has gone a little too far." you: "a little? you fight with me every opportunity you get!" mingyu: "am not?!"

"did you really have to pull that stunt in front of our juniors?" you chuckled lightly and mingyu delights in the way you were slightly bumping shoulders with him as you two stroll leisurely out of school.

"i mean, all banter aside, i love you. you know that right?" mingyu refutes back, an age-old statement that never fails to worm its way into your heart. he repeats it once more, earning him a giggle from you.

you rolled your eyes, reaching up to ruffle his hair playfully, "i know that. say, maybe if you showed your loving side to me, then people would take you more seriously."

"you really think so? i think our fellow members get a kick out of us bickering. i bet they keep tabs on us too." you hummed at mingyu's statement.

"nah, i like it when you get up close and personal with me." mingyu finally concludes, adding on, "i love it more when you're feisty, you know?" he exaggeratedly pouts his lips, making kissy faces as you mock-disgustedly push him away.

"YOU'RE NASTY KIM MINGYU!"

@ppumeonae-bigvibe 's work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated <3

centrestage

↖ navigation: nct masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: friend to lover! doyoung x gn! reader

↬ tags: not a regular listener of little light but whenever i hear it my soul ascends out of my body into the galaxies (warning: not a universal experience), friends to lovers, mentions of doyoung being a performer), open-ending because again idk, pulled this out of the depths of wattpad drafts uhh

summary: doyoung has only got this chance to confess his love to the one person who means everything to him

word count: 719 words

a/n: in light of what has been happening, i will also be working to remove any past post in the coming week that i have written of nct’s taeil,, as for my stance, i do believe the rest of the nct members shouldn’t be dragged down until more information has been given! till then i will keep supporting nct and the units

doyoung's heart beat in trepidation against his chest as he dials your handphone number for the third time that night. he was still coming from from his high, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"where are you now?" he weaves through backstage, pressing the phone to his ear.

"i left."

he clicks his tongue, mumbling apologies before speaking to you, "i know you did. i had my eyes on you the entire time i was on stage." he paused to push the exit door, "are you nearby? i wanna see you, please."

the cool breeze of the night kissed his sweat-soaked skin as he awaited your response. he did know, however that your resolve was breaking with every passing beat of silence.

"i'm...sat at the nearby park. i'll wait for you." you hung up.

without a moment's hesitation, doyoung starts sprinting ahead, feet moving faster than his mind can even comprehend where you actually were. running like his life depended on it, he hangs onto the hope that he could officially tell you his feelings.

as soon as he spots you sitting by the curb of the playground, doyoung speeds up till he stands before you, huffing and puffing away.

"i wasn't...going anywhere. you didn't need to run here." you averted your gaze, and under the artificial street lights, doyoung think you couldn't look any better than this moment.

"i...know. i just wanted...to see you..." he catches his breath, slowly sitting down beside you. this curb you two were sat on has seen more memories than he could count: from the very first time he met you as a child in this park, to when you two skipped classes to chill here in the lazy afternoon sun, to the heart-to-heart talks shared in the late of the night.

"you left as soon as i ended." doyoung begins after a while, gathering his thoughts as he wiped his sweaty palms against his jeans, "did i...was i not impressive?" he felt small under your gentle gaze and you shook your head, "you were every bit of the performer you dreamt to be."

"then why did you go? i was..." he held back. he wanted to dedicate his own composed song to you, but the moment he saw you leave, his vision got crowded with the fans asking for an encore. he decides to continue, "i was hoping to catch you to tell you thanks for coming."

he rests his weight towards his right palm, leaning closer to you.

"i'm sorry." you blurted out and doyoung jerks his head towards you, eyebrows furrowing, "what are you sorry for?"

"you've gotten quite famous even with you own gigs and everything. look at you, you belong out there on the stage with the fans cheering your name. not with some...person like me."

"i don't care about that! tell me, did i capture your attention on stage?" doyoung reached over to grasp your hand, forcing you to look at him. the dim lights made your eyes sparkle and doyoung wishes he could read your mind this instant.

"of course." you replied with certainty and he pulled you into his embrace, "then that's all i wanna hear. screw those fans because...i was performing for you and you alone."

doyoung pulls away, not breaking eye contact with you, "that song? that was meant for you. it was meant to be a confession song for your ears to here, which was why i invited you to come today."

"i wanted to tell you that i love you."

the second the words left his lips, he almost immediately feels that thread snap in him. "i have loved you from the day we first met, and i've never stopped loving you ever since." he remembers the day he finally accepted his feelings for you, growing stronger with each passing day he spent with you. he remembers that worn-out notebook with heart doodles and some lyrics he penned down, definitely not forgetting the multiple voice recordings he saved to create the very song he played just for you today.

he hears you inhale audibly and he spots that uncertainty in your eyes, "don't say that. not when you're gaining popularity. i'm just gonna be a hindrance."

"i'm willing to do anything it takes to be with you. so, will you be mine?"

@ppumeonae-bigvibe 's work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated <3

stay by my side

↖ navigation: nct masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: bf! jeno x fem! reader

↬ tags: jeno refers to you as baby, ft! 00z because when will they not cause chaos, jeno and reader shares a home/ apartment!, reader is also 00z's friend!!, brief mention of period (and jeno having a period tracker for you)

summary: nothing went to plan, but jeno wasn't gonna complain

word count: 1.3k words

jeno dons on his outer coat, checking himself in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. a little worried that you hadn't gotten out of bed despite the sun being sky high already, he strides over to you.

"baby, i'm about to go out. are you up?"

he wasn't going to leave the house until he knew you were awake. the sheets rustled and he pulls back the cover by a bit, "rise and shine my sleepy baby." he sits by the edge of your shared bed, head cocked to the side as he observed each and every of your moves.

you made a noise at the back of your throat—a protest to having been woken by him—and opened your eyes to meet jeno's twinkling (and more awake) ones, "hey..."

jeno immediately frowned at the scratchy tone of your voice, "you don't sound good. you feeling alright?"

“’m just tired. are you leaving now?” you cleared your throat as if attempting to get rid of the sleep in your system. “yeah. i’m out with the boys for a bowling session."

he brushes the stray strands of hair away from your face and catches you leaning into his hold. gently, he pressed his palm directly against forehead.

good, no temperature. he tucks the covers comfortably around your chest, patting you as he did. you wiggled a bit to lie down on your side, eyes half-opened as you stared back at him.

"will you be alright?" he repeats again, fingers intertwined with yours.

you yawned, “i should be. just really tired.” jeno cups your face in his hands and pressed multiple kisses all over your face, causing you to briefly smile at the affectionate action. "i'll be back as soon as i can."

"i will miss you."

that few words seemed to pierce his heart and it throbbed uncomfortably against his ribs.

as he stands up, he was torn between hanging out with his friends and also to just be there for you. you sensed his hesitance, squeezing his arm, "jeno, i'll be okay. our friends are gonna make a fuss if you don't show your handsome face in a few."

"anything you're on my hot dial, alright? just ring me." he emphasized, making sure you acknowledge his request before he leaves the room. he glances through the whole house, making sure that windows were shut, the hot water had just been boiled and everything was placed away neatly—just the way you liked it.

momentary worry gave way to anticipation when he sees the message from jaemin, telling them they were waiting downstairs. he slips on his sneakers and locks the door with a soft click, dashing down the steps 2 at a time towards the apartment's carpark.

"yo! you're here!" jaemin greets from behind the steering wheel as the window winds down. "hurry up or we're going to be late!" haechan—who was in the shotgun seat—hollered at him.

jeno makes his way over, but stopped when the image of you pitifully (you claimed you were fine...but were you really?) lying in bed surfaced in his mind. did he imagine it or were you looking a little paler too, with a slight hint of pain lacing your voice earlier?

"i...don't think i'm gonna go with you guys."

"look at him. it's definitely a lover's quarrel." haechan teased, arm slightly leaning out of the window frame. renjun cranes his neck from the back seats, "if you're grounded or something, then we're just gonna go ahead."

jaemin makes a show of inching the car forward by a few centimetres, causing all three of them to laugh.

"the kind of friends i have." jeno dramatically shakes his head. "one, i'm not having a lover's quarrel. two, i'm not grounded. the thing is, my lover is just feeling under the weather and i don't feel assured leaving her alone."

"jeno being a sappy lover is difficult for my mind to wrap around. he didn't even visit me when i broke my arm." jaemin joked to break the tension and everyone laughed again.

"i'm sorry guys. i know we've planned this for a while now."

haechan waved him off, "we get it, loverboy. now go before i start gagging!" renjun smacks the back of haechan's head, earning him a pained "ow!", before looking back jeno, "jeno-ah, just go up. we'll get going first."

jeno spun around, "i'll treat y'all to something next time. i promise."

----

as jeno makes his way back up, he receives a notification from the period tracker app and everything clicks into place. the way you were subtly hunched over yesterday, mentioning about how your back hurt and even the resurgence of your chocolate cravings all made sense now.

jeno slots the key into the lock and swings open the door. as expected, you were in deep sleep considering the fact that everything was still in place. toeing off his shoes by the door, he closed it shut behind him and hurriedly made his way over to the room.

"baby..." he greets and you groggily gazed at him. "didn't you just leave...? why did you come back?" despite your words sounding like you wanted him to go, your opened arms begged him to stay. and stay he would, as he comes up to you, "i'm worried for you, so i came back."

the face you made was worth it because you tugged him even closer, till his entire body was up on the bed and toppled over you. with his arms bracketing your body, you were effectively caged in his warm embrace.

"you didn't have to..." he chuckles when you hid your warm face in the juncture of his neck, his body relaxing knowing that it was the right thing to have chosen to stay by your side.

"i know that. i wanted to. the guys were chill with it." he pushed himself up on his elbows, a hair's breadth away from your blushing face. "so...how does netflix and chill sound?"

"i would love that. hopefully our friends don't get too mad that we're spending time again this week."

----

much to your surprise, the other 3 made their appearance by the door, armed with takeout and other goodies mid movie.

"what are you doing here?" jeno stands with his arms on his hips, bewildered. the movie was playing in the background and you peeked out your head from amidst the soft blankets, "haechan? jaemin and renjun?"

"because these two were bickering about how not fun it would be without you or actually either of you two. and then when we reached the alley, the booking got cancelled because we were actually really late. so we decided to crash your pity party." renjun summarized, not forgetting to point to the two troublemakers.

haechan being haechan, shuffles into the dim apartment which was set up for the movie, "i think this is better than the bowling alley. there were too many kids there anyways." jaemin huffs, "you're the real problem here haech. anyways where is my bestie!"

jaemin pushes past jeno, sheds off his coat and makes himself comfortable beside you. he gave you a once over before wagging his fingers, "girl, you look like you need some of these food. eat up and don't even try to feed your self-sufficient boyfriend."

you burst out laughing at the whole situation: an appalled jeno staring at the three of them making themselves in you two's shared home (you did say they were welcomed anytime they wanted to), haechan already starting to eat the takeout, renjun raiding your kitchen for utensils and cups, jaemin who was outright haggling you in front of your boyfriend.

jeno clambers onto the sofa, manhandling you out of jaemin's grasp. jaemin huffs, but immediately got distracted by the food haechan held out to him, renjun automatically rewinding the movie to the start so that they could watch it.

"a stay at home kinda day huh?"

"wouldn't change it for the world."

@ppumeonae-bigvibe 's work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated <3

centrestage

↖ navigation: nct masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: friend to lover! doyoung x gn! reader

↬ tags: not a regular listener of little light but whenever i hear it my soul ascends out of my body into the galaxies (warning: not a universal experience), friends to lovers, mentions of doyoung being a performer), open-ending because again idk, pulled this out of the depths of wattpad drafts uhh

summary: doyoung has only got this chance to confess his love to the one person who means everything to him

word count: 719 words

a/n: in light of what has been happening, i will also be working to remove any past post in the coming week that i have written of nct’s taeil,, as for my stance, i do believe the rest of the nct members shouldn’t be dragged down until more information has been given! till then i will keep supporting nct and the units

doyoung's heart beat in trepidation against his chest as he dials your handphone number for the third time that night. he was still coming from from his high, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"where are you now?" he weaves through backstage, pressing the phone to his ear.

"i left."

he clicks his tongue, mumbling apologies before speaking to you, "i know you did. i had my eyes on you the entire time i was on stage." he paused to push the exit door, "are you nearby? i wanna see you, please."

the cool breeze of the night kissed his sweat-soaked skin as he awaited your response. he did know, however that your resolve was breaking with every passing beat of silence.

"i'm...sat at the nearby park. i'll wait for you." you hung up.

without a moment's hesitation, doyoung starts sprinting ahead, feet moving faster than his mind can even comprehend where you actually were. running like his life depended on it, he hangs onto the hope that he could officially tell you his feelings.

as soon as he spots you sitting by the curb of the playground, doyoung speeds up till he stands before you, huffing and puffing away.

"i wasn't...going anywhere. you didn't need to run here." you averted your gaze, and under the artificial street lights, doyoung think you couldn't look any better than this moment.

"i...know. i just wanted...to see you..." he catches his breath, slowly sitting down beside you. this curb you two were sat on has seen more memories than he could count: from the very first time he met you as a child in this park, to when you two skipped classes to chill here in the lazy afternoon sun, to the heart-to-heart talks shared in the late of the night.

"you left as soon as i ended." doyoung begins after a while, gathering his thoughts as he wiped his sweaty palms against his jeans, "did i...was i not impressive?" he felt small under your gentle gaze and you shook your head, "you were every bit of the performer you dreamt to be."

"then why did you go? i was..." he held back. he wanted to dedicate his own composed song to you, but the moment he saw you leave, his vision got crowded with the fans asking for an encore. he decides to continue, "i was hoping to catch you to tell you thanks for coming."

he rests his weight towards his right palm, leaning closer to you.

"i'm sorry." you blurted out and doyoung jerks his head towards you, eyebrows furrowing, "what are you sorry for?"

"you've gotten quite famous even with you own gigs and everything. look at you, you belong out there on the stage with the fans cheering your name. not with some...person like me."

"i don't care about that! tell me, did i capture your attention on stage?" doyoung reached over to grasp your hand, forcing you to look at him. the dim lights made your eyes sparkle and doyoung wishes he could read your mind this instant.

"of course." you replied with certainty and he pulled you into his embrace, "then that's all i wanna hear. screw those fans because...i was performing for you and you alone."

doyoung pulls away, not breaking eye contact with you, "that song? that was meant for you. it was meant to be a confession song for your ears to here, which was why i invited you to come today."

"i wanted to tell you that i love you."

the second the words left his lips, he almost immediately feels that thread snap in him. "i have loved you from the day we first met, and i've never stopped loving you ever since." he remembers the day he finally accepted his feelings for you, growing stronger with each passing day he spent with you. he remembers that worn-out notebook with heart doodles and some lyrics he penned down, definitely not forgetting the multiple voice recordings he saved to create the very song he played just for you today.

he hears you inhale audibly and he spots that uncertainty in your eyes, "don't say that. not when you're gaining popularity. i'm just gonna be a hindrance."

"i'm willing to do anything it takes to be with you. so, will you be mine?"

@ppumeonae-bigvibe 's work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated <3

barista's special

↖ navigation: enhypen masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: barista! jay x part-timer! reader

↬ tags: (guys im so tired i dont know anything anymore i was in bed and realized i forgot to post this so i had to get up) wholesome fluff surely, a short read about developing feelings! (i like this one very much and pondered a lot about what to write for this) jay being self-aware and heeseung being some kind of a friend c

summary: continuation from this // now that jay has got to know you for a while, perhaps things are brewing where he first met you

word count: 1.03k words

jay wiped down the countertop for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. he folds the cloth neatly and parks it to the side, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

just then, the doorbell jingles and he stands up straighter, ready to receive the customer. the door swings open gently, and jay smiles at the sight of you almost immediately when you meet his gaze.

you shoot him a wry smile when you see the confusion flit across his face as you made your way closer to where he stood.

"last i checked, you're off today. and i'm working with heeseung." jay teases and you responded with equal humor, "i miss working with sunbae so much that i decided to accompany you at work despite it being my off day." despite the sarcasm lacing your words, jay knows you didn't mean any harm. in fact he sees the way your eyes twinkle with mischief and finds you rather endearing.

you held up the thick laptop bag snug tightly on your left forearm, "i'm here to do some school work because there's some renovations going on at home. you gonna chase me out or something?"

jay was glad that the cafe wasn't crowded that day.

he leans over the counter, shaking his head all while a smile tugs on his lips, "you can stay here, but you gotta get something to eat or drink here. cafe rules." you waved him off, huffing at his banter, "i know." you pause to look at the menu, before returning your attention to him, "sunbae! can you make me that drink? your..." you moved closer to him causing his heart to beat in trepidation, "your special drink?"

"yah, you're taking too much advantage of me here!" you made a face, "but, please? can't a struggling student have something special to focus on their heinous amount of work?" you looked pointedly at your laptop bag. "i really like the special drink you make. i crave it all the time but i don't know what you put in there that makes it so addicting." you admitted sheepishly, a silly grin on your face.

jay relents (he had already intended to make you something nice even before you asked), rolling his eyes like it was a big deal (it wasn't), "i'll bring it to you."

you beam and nod at him so brightly, jay thinks he must have done something great in his past life for him to melt so easily just by that action alone. he watches as you move to sit at a cozy spot away from the machines, taking out your study materials.

from his peripheral vision, he occasionally flits his focus to you as he prepared your drink and a snack despite you not asking for it. absorbed in your studies, he was reminded of when he was first starting university just like you were right now.

he graduated just recently and you had about 3 more years to go in school.

"huh, it's been a few months..." jay wonders aloud to himself. it felt like yesterday when you had first joined, the shy part-timer that he warmed up to after comforting you on your first busy shift. but with the passing of time, it was almost nearly 10 months of you joining the crew.

and somehow in this time and in this small space of a cafe, he realized he's taken quite a liking to you.

well, according to google at least (google says its a platonic crush), he surely doesn't have an infatuation on you: he thinks that he clicks rather well with you, having so many common topics to chat about. his logical mind relates it due to the fact the full-time staff here were much older, hence you two getting along well was only bound to happen. he doesn't think about you romantically, nor does he feel that "butterflies in stomach" sensation when he interacts with you.

more often than not, jay finds himself subconsciously glancing past the staff roster to see when his and your shifts aligned, never making it too obvious when he swaps a shift with his coworkers just so that he could work with you; he definitely does feel a sense of pride when he watches you master some coffee grinding techniques or latte art he taught you, and also even enjoys hearing you vent about the professors you two shared.

the oven dings softly, bringing him out of his revere. heeseung who was coincidentally back from his toilet break, stands beside jay. "well, well. who is this for?" jay looks at the older male, one side of his lips quirking up, "the poor student over there."

heeseung looks over jay's shoulders and hums, "said 'poor student' comes here to study quite often actually. during their off days and occasionally weekends, like today."

"really? i didn't know that..." jay stores that information to the back of his head. heeseung side-eyes him, "why, you curious as to when they come? i could tell you if you want~"

"ah hyung! mind your business!" jay sputters and hurriedly pulls the pastry out onto a plate. with the drink in his free hand he makes his way to your table and set it down to escape a prying heeseung.

"for you."

you perked up, "thanks!" he never fails to notice the way your entire demeanor brightens around him (and only him, he hopes). he peers over to look at the notes sprawled all over the table,

you brought the mug to your lips, exclaiming after the first sip, "why did this get even better than the last one you made me!"

jay felt the tips of his ears warm up, spouting whatever reason that popped up to his head, "y-you're just caffeine crazy! i'm sure you don't even start the day drinking water." you sighed dramatically, "sunbae is such a spoilsport. but thanks for making this though! i'm gonna get this A for my assignment!"

as he steps away from you, he catches heeseung staring at him funny, his head cocked to one side, as if calculating jay's every move.

he's got some avoiding to do.

@ppumeonae-bigvibe 's work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated !

between the lines

↖ navigation: seventeen masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: dormmate! woozi x gn! reader

↬ tags: bringing the 96 liners into this because i can, pining + longing, love is blind yada yada <3, quite wholesome towards the end

summary: through unspoken thoughts and harmless meddling, both you and jihoon get caught in the midst of your friends playful matchmaking

word count: 1.1k words

a/n: i posted it a whole day later ,, i thought today was the 1st of august… ㅠㅠ

jihoon wanted to get close to you. but the only thing stopping him was just that he was bad at initiating anything, especially when it came to things concerning you. unlike his friends who seemed to so easily befriended you. he sadly thinks that his love language might just be existing.

soonyoung displayed his affections with physical banter, oftentimes grabbing you and roughing you up playfully. you didn't mind it one bit, but jihoon did when his chest tightened at the sight of you leaning against soonyoung almost willingly as the male scrolls through his phone and shows it to you. or when you linked arms with soonyoung as the two of you strolled, leaving jihoon trailing behind.

the ever so brotherly junhwi was like a big sibling figure: upon your request, jun always never hesitated to do anything for you within reason. acts of service was something jun excelled at; on the other hand jihoon's dejection simmered beneath his skin when you walked past him towards jun, asking for his help even though jihoon could have done it too.

you sought wonwoo to spend time together. every time he thought of asking you to do passive things together, you had claimed to be spending time with wonwoo instead. wonwoo and you clicked because of the games you two played, but outside of gaming you two also do school work together in comfortable silence.

in conclusion, he's bad at expressing his feelings that he wanted to be with you. he found it confusing himself too, not being able to put a feeling as to why he always desired to spend time with you, to hold your hand, to do things for you.

funny thing was that, his friends knew about his way-too-obvious crush, and have been devising so many ways for you two to be alone together. call it brothers for brothers, or something.

jihoon zones back into the present: it was a movie night after finals and you had suggested to host a sleepover with the rest of them. wonwoo lightly bumps shoulders with jihoon; a curt nod, and a small grin.

junhwi unpacks all the food and exclaims in displeasure (jihoon thinks it was a bit too much), "we didn't get the drinks!" sooyoung makes a show of sighing (a little too loudly), "dang i was just getting thirsty for some cola..."

"i can go get them!" you offered unknowingly and jihoon perked up. his three friends looked at each other, as if their brains were firing off signals simultaneously and jihoon immediately claims, "i'll go down too, you guys can set up the area."

"yeah that would be good. we aren't too familiar with the neighborhood here." wonwoo adds on, sealing the deal. (jihoon never thought he'd see the stoic wonwoo trying his best to fight off a playful smirk)

with a recycle bag slung on jihoon's shoulder, the two of you headed out as the evening sun started to dip. "i'm glad finals are over." you light-heartedly started the conversation, beaming a little when jihoon reciprocates with his shy smile, "me too. it's been a while since we last saw them too."

silence blanketed you two again, and jihoon started getting fidgety as the convenience store emerged as both of you turned left. you glanced at the male, "jihoon, do you have something to say to me?" his shocked expression betrayed him with a mere statement from you.

you soften your eyes, "is this about the laundry? if it is, then i'm sorry, i knew it was my responsibility and i've been just so cooped up with all the tests and everything, and i know that you're a stickler for hygiene and i--" jihoon notices a whizzing cyclists pedaling downslope and immediately drags you towards him, "watch it!"

you let out a gentle "oof" at the sudden impact and jihoon hopes his heart wasn't beating too loudly. you moved away from him almost as quickly as he pulled you in.

"you okay?" his hands were still lightly grasping yours and your face flushed under his scrutiny, "yeah. you can let go of me now." jihoon's reluctance seemed to catch your eye too, "did you mean to talk about something else?"

dang it, you and your perception.

jihoon glanced down at his hand intertwined with yours, "why can't i link arms with you like you do with soonyoung?" you were mildly taken aback by the sudden question, but jihoon pressed on, "or when you got jun to do things for you when i could do them too? i'm your roommate, not him. certainly you don't need him to move your shelf when i was around."

you stared back at him with an unreadable expression and jihoon abashedly looks at the ground, "and when you spend time with wonwoo instead of me, i feel like i've been...left out. i don't know, tell me if i'm reading too much into this or maybe..."

he hears your sudden laughter amidst his worries and he thinks you might have lost it. you wiped away a tear from the sheer amount of force it took you when you started chuckling, "i didn't think this day would come. i like you, lee jihoon. like, a lot."

jihoon sputters, "this entire time?" you averted your gaze, "i just wanna ask if...maybe you do have feelings for me?"

"i do, for as long as i've met you and i..." you pecked him on the cheek and rocked back on your heels, "then that's all i wanted to hear."

if jihoon could combust right now, he would. he noticed how your blushing face mirrored his and he pulled you in for a hug: this time it was far from anything like that of two friends embracing.

"the things you mentioned: about soonyoung, he's just naturally clingy like that, but i thought maybe if i got closer to him it would make you jealous. same with jun, or more like he offered and i decided to test you a little to see if i was right. and for wonwoo, he was totally on board trying to rile you up."

you stopped your rambling and raised your hands as if to surrender, "i said my piece. the boys had a hand in all of these sneaky actions."

your words caused his mind to run at miles per hour, "but they told me they'd be 'wingmen' for me, and would try to create more opportunities for us to be alone together...?"

realization hit you. they've been instigating everything, orchestrating every action. "do you think they..."

"i think so." you confirmed his suspicions. hurriedly, you two entered the provision shop and bought the drinks, feet quickly carrying both of you back to the dorms to confront the three trouble makers.

the door bursts open at the impact, effectively shocking the three masterminds.

jun swallows his food comedically, "uh-oh." "seems like our plan worked out, huh?" wonwoo smirked as he leaned over to high-five and equally joyous soonyoung, "welcome back lovebirds!"

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