valentine's day!au

HAPPY LONELY HEARTS DAY, EVERYONE!! <3 (aka will y'all be my love just for today? XD)

"I Like You"
Day6

***

"I like you."

Dowoon shyly smiled over at Wonpil . "I know."

Wonpil looked down at his lap, wringing his hands together. "I got you some chocolate."

"Thank you, hyung!" Dowoon excitedly grabbed the box of chocolates from the brunette's grasp, hugging it to his chest. "I love white chocolate!"

A tentative grin spread across Wonpil's lips as his eyes slowly rose to meet Dowoon's joyful gaze. But then realization hit him and he groaned in exasperation. "Dowoon-ssiiiiiiiiii..."

"What is it, Wonpil-hyung?" Dowoon's puppy-like look of excitement made way for an expression of confusion paired with a tilted head and slightly parted lips.

"Sungjin-hyung would never call me hyung." Wonpil made his signature face of exasperation and tiredness out of nervousness for what he was planning to do that day. Dowoon was supposed to be helping him practice his confession to Sungjin, not stealing his chocolate and calling him hyung!

Dowoon gasped and shuffled over to his friend so he was sitting on the older boy's lap, hugging him close. "Ah, hyung!! I'm so sorry!" He pressed his cheek to the brunette's shoulder, rubbing it in with a great amount of vigor. "I didn't mean to do that!!"

Wonpil groaned and tried to push the bulky boy off of him. "Dowoon-ssi! You're so heavy!!"

"Ah! Sorry, hyung!" The black-haired boy sheepishly grinned and rolled to the side so he was hugging the smaller man close without crushing him. "Why don't we try again?"

Wonpil sighed, comfortably settling into Dowoon's arms. "No, it's alright. I'd rather not think about it too much for a bit."

"That's a good idea, hyung." Dowoon beamed and cuddled the smaller man closer. "You should just take a rest. Why don't we watch something?"

"Like what?"

"Hmmm..." Dowoon tapped his chin in contemplation. "What about... One Punch Man?" The younger man's eyes lit up and he sat up a bit in anticipation.

"An anime? Really?!" Wonpil couldn't hold back his laugh. "Okay, okay. Sure. But let's try again after an episode."

"Works for me, hyung. Mansae! Saitama, mansae!" And so the excited boy sprang from the couch to fetch the remote to his hyungs' tv which only he knew how to control.

*

"I like you."

Jaebum rolled his eyes, punching Sungjin's shoulder. "Hyung... no offence, but you're a moron."

Sungjin sat beside Jaebum on his couch, trying to play a video game (which wasn't really working out for him at the moment). He was also trying to practice for the confession he was planning to make later in the day. Hearing Jaebum's reply, Sungjin groaned and tossed his controller to the side. "What am I meant to do, now? It's too late to come up with a plan, right?"

"You usually plan stuff out really early. What's gotten into you lately, hyung?"

A sigh escaped Sungjin's lips. "I... I don't know. I just... couldn't think of anything worth Wonpil's time. So I went with the last resort."

Jaebum finally paused the game and scoffed over at his friend. "And your last resort is, 'I like you?'"

"...Yeah."

"You really are a moron."

"I know." Sungjin drew a hand through his hair as he hissed out in despair. "I've been trying to say my feelings for days. But things never go the way I want them to." The man rested his chin on his palm in defeat. "I'm just scared that today will be another one of those pointless days when nothing works out for me at all... It's concerning."

"You're concerning."

*

The episode had ended, and Wonpil was back at it. "I'm so scared we won't be able to face each other as we did before after I say this..." The brunette frowned, looking at his hands. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to smile at each other like we used to. I'm scared you won't want to see me the way I see you."

"CUT!" Dowoon slapped one of his hands down on the palm of his other hand like a movie director. "That's too negative, hyung. You have to act sure of yourself!"

"But I'm just... not."

*

Similarly, Sungjin was trying his best to show Jaebum all he had. "I don't know how you'll see me after I say this... But still. I have to say it." Sungjin slowly averted his gaze from the floor and dramatically grasped Jaebum's shoulder. "I like you."

Jaebum groaned and swatted the hand off of his shoulder. "Shut up and think of a better idea already, hyung."

"I'll try..."

*

"I can't hold it down anymore... I just can't! I like you, Sungjin-hyung!" Wonpil grabbed Dowoon's shoulders and violently shook them. "I like you!"

*

"It took me a long time to come up with a way to say this..." Sungjin grabbed Jaebum's cheeks in a deathly hold and forcefully brought the man to face him. "I like you, Wonpil-ssi. And, someday, I want to love you!"

*

Dowoon sat on the couch beside a defeated-looking Wonpil, scared out of his wits. The poor man had just witnessed the brunette's violent outburst... and it was not something he ever wanted to witness again. His head still spun from all the shaking, and the nauseous feeling he got from the jolts made him question whether or not he was going to vomit the next second. "Wonpil-hyung..." he finally breathed out. "Are you... okay?"

"No," was the weak reply, and the next second, Dowoon found himself wrapping the smaller man up in his arms to keep him from breaking down. What had he gotten himself into?

*

Jaebum was slightly shook. No, he was majorly shook. "Sungjin hyung... You are scarier than I thought."

"I'm so sorry!" Sungjin released the poor man's cheeks and frantically brushed them off. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"It doesn't hurt..." Jaebum swallowed, shying away from the older man. "You just... surprised me."

"Oh?"

"It's just... when your eyes shake like that, as if you're about to cry or maybe go insane..." Jaebum paused. Then he continued to speak with a slightly hushed tone, a soft smile settling on his lips and a knowing glint appearing in his eyes. "I think that will shake Wonpil-ssi's heart." His smile broadened as he saw Sungjin's expression become awestruck. "And I think I can help you out. I have an idea."

Sungjin leaned forward, excitement lighting up his eyes. "Hit me."

*

"Let's go again." Dowoon clasped Wonpil's shaking hands in his own, tracing his thumbs over the sensitive man's knuckles. "From the beginning."

Wonpil took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. " Sungjin-hyung... I've been crushing on you like this... for a while. And I really hope we can go back to how it was before I told you all of this... I hope you'll still see me as your best friend after I get my feelings under control. But... but I don't think I'll ever be able to do that, hyung! So if you think of me differently than I do you, just say, 'I'm sorry,' and leave it at that. I'll be fine, hyung, I swear! Have some chocolate! I got it just for you!! FUCK!" The frustrated boy ended his rant with a violent swing of his head.

Dowoon was concerned... He was concerned indeed. How would he fix this situation? He knew that Sungjin returned Wonpil's feelings... but he couldn't just flat-out tell his hyung about that! He would never believe him! Plus, there was no telling whether or not it would just make Wonpil feel worse if he heard that right now... So the black-haired man simply settled for hugging the brunette close and patting his head. He awkwardly looked around the room, searching for a way to calm his smaller companion down.

Then it hit him right in the face.

A giant balloon in the shape of a heart had floated into the room through the open balcony door (it was a surprisingly warm day for February...), thrashing around in the breeze and hitting Dowoon square in the jaw. "Aish! Why?!"

Wonpil startled and looked up, seeing Dowoon battling with a giant balloon that was currently trying to continuously whack him in the face. Although he was slightly concerned for the poor man, the brunette couldn't help but laugh. "Yah! Where did it come from?" he finally managed to breathe out between laughs.

Dowoon pointed over to the balcony, having finally subdued the balloon and holding onto its tail. "What does it say, hyung?"

Wonpil looked up at the writing on the balloon and read it out loud. "I like you?"

"I wonder who it was meant for..." Dowoon tilted his head to the side in contemplation. "I hope the person who bought it knows where it went so they can come pick it up."

"Me too."

*

"Yah! Jaebum-ssi, how could you do this?!" Sungjin frantically searched the air for any signs of the balloon he and Jaebum had bought. The younger had accidentally let it go while they were searching for his car keys (which he had somehow dropped under his seat). "What will we do now?!"

"I'm sorry, hyung! I didn't notice it fly out the door!" Jaebum pitifully scuffed his feet on the pavement, holding out a box of milk chocolates to his hyung. "I'm sorry..."

Sungjin sighed, taking the box of chocolate with a heavy heart. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it. The chocolates will just have to do."

"Should I stay in the car?"

"No, please come. Dowoon-ssi is there, anyway."

"Oh. Sure thing then, hyung."

Sungjin smiled at his friend, dipping his head. "Thanks, Jaebum-ssi."

"No problem, hyung." Jaebum returned his smile and they made their way over to Wonpil and Sungjin's apartment. The older man hesitated and then knocked on the door. While he waited for the brunette to open the door for him like he always did, Sungjin hid the chocolate behind his back.

The door soon swung open to reveal Dowoon, who was giddily jumping up and down on his heels. "Ah, hyungs! You have to come see what just flew in through the balcony door!!"

Jaebum's eyebrows quirked upwards and he followed the excited man in, taking off his shoes and going to see what Dowoon was talking about.

"Ah! That's where it is!" Jaebum excitedly ran up to Wonpil, sending him a polite greeting before pointing out what the brunette was holding in his hand. "The balloon, Sungjin-hyung! It's here! It's faith, isn't it?"

Of course it fucking is, Sungjin thought to himself, mentally slapping his dongsaeng and telling him off for being so obvious.

"Oh. Who's it for?" Wonpil asked.

"You, of course!" Jaebum and Dowoon said in sync, as if they had been planning this together the whole time. Which maybe they had been. Or maybe not. Who knows?

"Whh-- Me?!" Wonpil looked over at Jaebum in disbelief. "Hyung... You like me?"

Jaebum went still, his eyes growing wide. Fuck, fuck, fuck, his mind was screaming, and he was scared to look over at Sungjin, whose glare was surely drilling holes in the back of his head. "Weeeell..." he finally drew out, chuckling. "I'll let Sungjin-hyung do the explaining. It's his balloon, after all... not mine." With this, he grabbed Dowoon's sleeve and pulled the younger man over to grab their shoes and leave. Dowoon barely managed to yell a goodbye to his hyungs before he was dragged out of the apartment by the panicked/giddy Jaebum.

"This is yours?" Wonpil asked after the two men had stood in silence for a few minutes.

"It's yours." Sungjin bashfully replied.

"But... why?"

Sungjin steeled himself for what was yet to come and walked closer to the man holding the balloon. "Well... it says the words I've been trying to tell you for a while now." He took another shy step closer to the brunette. "So it's yours."

"You... So you're the one who likes me, hyung?"

Wonpil braced himself for the harsh reality that this was one big joke, but it never came. Instead, a box of chocolates was pressed to his chest by two very shy hands. "Yes, Wonpil-ssi. I like you."

Wonpil let go of the balloon and enveloped Sungjin in a hug. The older man was still clutching the box of chocolates to Wonpil's chest. "I've wanted to tell you the same thing for a long time, too, hyung." Sungjin let the box of chocolates drop to the floor and wrapped his arms around Wonpil's shoulders, pulling the man closer. The brunette then murmured into his shoulder, "I like you, Sungjin-ssi. I like you!"

And as the balloon floated back out the balcony door, drifting further and further away in the cool, gentle breeze of mid-February, Sungjin and Wonpil felt their "I like you"s start to sway closer and closer in the direction of "I love you."

***

and here, in the spirit of the cheesiest holiday of the year, we have another classic terrible eloveated oneshot ;P

this took me way too long to write, what the fuck is quality content anyway? XD