a/n: this will be a flashback of soyeon and hongjoong's part. this happened sometime before the jaehyun incident with seonghwa!

the two were currently at a nearby cafe where they've always went ever since that thank you coffee hongjoong suggested.

this has been the fifth date they've been on which was sadly disguised as a study meeting.

instead of doing their tasks, however, the two ended up getting lost in a conversation.

it was all fun and games until it reached the topic of relationships.

"so, why don't you have a girl friend?" soyeon asked quite boldly, taking a sip of her drink.

"how about you? you know how many guys came up to me, telling me to stop trying it with you?" hongjoong held up his fingers to gesture quotation marks.

the girl hissed internally. "that can't be helped. i didn't return their feelings, after all."

"so? you don't like them back, right? you shouldn't force yourself to, and it's their job to respect that." the blue haired boy claimed somewhat angrily.

this is one of the reasons why she likes him. he's such an angel. she thought.

"you still haven't answered my question." soyeon reminded half jokingly.

the light atmosphere suddenly had a hint of gloom as the boy cleared his throat.

"i met this girl once. and i really did like her, though i don't know why. she kept competing with me and degrading me. even mingi, the most supportive person you could ever find, told me to let her go." hongjoong chuckled bitterly at the memory.

"i'm sorry. you didn't deserve that." soyeon said through her gritted teeth.

"don't be. you didn't do anything wrong." the blue haired smiled warmly. "i guess that's where my insecurities along with commitment issues started."

commitment... issues? soyeon thought to herself.

"ah, enough about that." hongjoong fanned his hand, indicating they should already forget about the topic. "don't wanna get all depressed." he chuckled.

"yeah."

-

ever since her crush mentioned about his problems about basically not wanting to date anyone, soyeon felt the need to distance herself.

it's not that she wanted to, but she was itching to confess and it was her goal to have a special relationship with him. she didn't make all those moves for nothing.

of course, she wasn't throwing herself onto him. she was willing to take it slow, make what they had develop. however, she doesn't want to force hongjoong into anything.

if he didn't want to commit to anybody yet, then there was nothing she could do but simply respect him.

and in her opinion, in order to do that, she must move on from this unhealthy infatuation.

coming up with one conclusion in mind, she decided to minimize her interactions with the boy. she knows it's not the best idea but she couldn't risk unintentionally flirting and making him uncomfortable.

it has been going on for at least a week now, and this definitely wasn't a well kept secret from hongjoong.

he could tell she was purposely avoiding him for who knows what reason.

the last time he recalled a moment where he didn't feel a heavy burden was on that latest coffee date- meet up they had.

when he texted her, asking if she arrived home safely, he only received dry replies. he figured it was due to her being tired but when they saw each other at school, he could tell she wasn't being her usual self around him.

hongjoong then grew curious and confused as to what he did wrong. he wanted answers and tried multiple times to get them, only to be shrugged off.

i'll try again. he has been repeating this sentence in his head for the last couple days.

"hey, soyeon. wanna grab something to eat after school?" he asked, trying his best not to show his desperation.

the girl mentally frowned, feeling guilty for what she was doing but thought it was for the better.

"sorry, joong. i promised mom we'd do groceries today." she replied, not exactly making eye contact.

hongjoong sighed silently as he nodded, getting out of the classroom.

now, being the broad minded boy that he is, he thought back about the conversation they had about relationships. and that's when it came to him.

she doesn't do relationships. his brain said. meaning, she saw right through you! you were obviously drooling over her, like, who couldn't tell?

"shut up." he grumbled.

great. now, he's having an argument with himself.

"i didn't say anything?" a bewildered voice said. they were currently in the library, reviewing previous topics.

"sorry, yeosang. i wasn't talking to you." hongjoong sheepishly apologized.

"okay, what's up?" the brunette puts down his book. "you've acting very weird lately. you and seonghwa hyung actually, are you hiding something?"

the sudden confrontation made hongjoong intimidated for some reason. "i absolutely have no idea what's happening with hwa." was all he could reply.

"then, what's going on with you? you're holding a book but i can tell you're spacing out, then you tell god knows who to shut up." yeosang cocked an eyebrow.

the older friend sighed. "soyeon." he faintly whispered, enough to make the chestnut haired boy gasp. "she's ignoring me."

"you like her~" the younger teased. "so? did you get rejected?"

"no! i didn't even confess yet." hongjoong huffed.

yeosang widened his eyes a bit at his hyung's words. "yet? you were planning to?"

the blue haired boy immediately felt a blush creep up his neck. "w-well, better to get it off the system, you know?"

"hm." yeosang hummed, placing his pointer and thumb on his chin to make it look like he's thinking. he, then snapped his fingers when an idea popped in his head.

"do you still want to tell her?" the brown haired boy asked for confirmation to which hongjoong shyly nodded to.

this was a first for yeosang. sure, he was considered as the only one braincell they shared in their friend group, but hongjoong and seonghwa were always the ones making sure they were okay.

with their hyungs not being themselves and the younger ones not wanting to ask and bother them, everything was kind of chaotic.

"why don't you just do it over the phone?" the younger suggested. he knows about hongjoong's issues and this was the first time he got enough confidence in telling someone how he feels.

it wasn't that easy, clearly, so yeosang thought it would be easier for the older to call the girl.

"that could actually work."

-

when the day ended, after scrolling up and down cold messages and replies, hongjoong finally plucked up some courage to click on soyeon's contact name and call her.

it took a few rings before the girl answered. "hello?"

"hey." the boy's voice sounded like a whisper as he contemplated if he should go through with the confession.

"joong, did you need anything?" she still sounded as sweet and caring as ever.

"uh, no. i just wanted to say something." he explained, getting more nervous.

"oh, what is it?" a little silence followed.

"oh, um-" his stuttered. "i just- you know..."

he could hear her gulp and clearing her throat. "joong, i'm sorry but i think i need to hang up." soyeon said, making his heart drop and anxiety worse.

"did i do anything wrong?" that sentence should be the last thing he wanted to say but his mouth somehow manged to speak anyway.

"no! of course not!" she quickly denied. "something's just been on my mind lately." she shyly admitted.

"me, too, actually." hongjoong says in a soft, defeated tone. "i know it's really selfish of me to say this, but i need a reason as to why you're ignoring me."

the girl on the other line couldn't quite form words to reply so hongjoong continued.

"i don't know, soyeon. it's just that i can't think of anything i did to make you avoid me. you've literally been one of the greatest people that came in my life and i can't help but feel that you want to leave."

soyeon became speechless. did she really mean that much to hongjoong?

so much was going through her head until a forced, bitter chuckle was heard on the phone.

"was i too dramatic? sorry, i don't know what came over me. i'll let you-"

"i like you." soyeon spoke, resulting both lines to go very silent that she had to double if she was still the call.

"...that's it?" was the response she received, making her question if she was dreaming.

"um, yeah?"

she heard a sigh of relief followed by what sounded like a cheer. "i like you, too, idiot. that's why i was so scared i made you mad or something." hongjoong muttered.

soyeon felt electricity going through her veins. even though she was excited, she was also very stunned. "did you just call me an idiot?"

"did you just completely disregard the fact that i like you?" the boy countered, trying to keep his cool despite wanting to explode of happiness.

"no." she chuckled. "so, will you go out with me?"

END OF FLASHBACK

BACK TO PRESENT

"hold up. you asked him out?" jungkook cocked an eyebrow followed by an eye roll.

"yeah-"

"what a pussy." he bluntly stated, resulting a pillow to his face.

jihae shoved her brother aside and leaned more towards soyeon. "how come we didn't know about this? it should be all over the school, right? i mean, jeon soyeon having a boyfriend."

"exactly why he said we should stay low about it. he's worried about how people would react, especially towards me." the middle child smiled as she recalled how hongjoong cared for her and their relationship.

"atleast he's looking out for you." the senior mumbled as if he was still looking for downsides of his sister's boyfriend. "who else knows?"

"at the moment, only you two." soyeon replies honestly.

"though, soyeon, from experience, keeping it lowkey is okay. just don't deny each other, yeah?" her brother advised, resulting a grin making its way to both the girls' faces.

"awe, you're not mad?" the junior jokingly asked.

"well, this dude seems okay so far. i'm just going to watch you guys more." jungkook squints his eyes.

"you're still as weird as ever, kook." jihae claimed while giggling who was soo joined by hee sister.

"especially you, jihae." the eldest huffed. "dating an older guy. tch."

"we're not dating!" the sophomore quickly denied.

"yet." jungkook winked.

"you talk like that when who know what perverted things you've done to lisa." soyeon calmly said, though there was a hint of mockery.

"ew, gross." jihae stuck out her tongue, pretending to be disgusted.

"shut up, you two. i'm still driving you both tomorrow." the senior held his chin up like he won the argument.

"i can call seonghwa." the youngest said as if she wasn't affected by the 'threat'.

"i can tag along." the junior nodded, making it no big deal.

jungkook's shoulders sagged. "ouch. i've been replaced."

the girls erupted in laughter then proceeded to give their slightly sulking brother a hug. "we love you, kook!"