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ever since produce 101, woojin had realised one key thing about park jihoon that, really, everyone knew.
he knew exactly how to make anyone and everyone fall in love with him.
whether it was winking at the camera, reciting his usual cute lines or asking his fellow trainees for advice, he had managed to charm everyone. he was the most talked about trainee, with whispers of "have you heard about that maroo trainee?" and "that wink boy is really something..." resounding through the streets of south korea. woojin had realised it too, seeing so many people with jihoon phone cases whilst he was on the subway home.
really, he couldn't blame them. jihoon had everyone wrapped around his little finger; even myunghoon had texted him just to tell him how "completely loved up he was with the jjeojang boy!" the other trainees were all enamoured with him: bae jinyoung had warmed to him, jung sewoon had given him all the sweets he possessed, yoon jisung had taken him under his wing, daehwi had even called him his aegyo rival-
woojin wasn't feeling it.
he'd never been one to follow the crowd, instead desiring to wander off the path whenever he could. his elementary classmates all boasted about becoming doctors, singers, kings, queens, anything you could imagine! though, these future wishes changed almost every week with his classmates.
woojin, on the other hand, had always aspired to become a dancer. it was all he desired out of life, and dancing was the one passion he refused to drop; he'd even gone so far as to convince his parents to get him dancing lessons every other week. dancing was in his blood, the rhythm becoming his to control; woojin loved that. whilst everyone else grew to do new things, he stuck with what he knew: dance (eventually rapping.) it was an unique career choice, to say the least, but he didn't care. taking the other route from everyone else was all he ever knew, and it paid off.
perhaps that was why he refused to succumb to jihoon's cuteness, forcing himself to cringe inwardly whenever the fellow '99 liner did it. the audience would echo in loud squeals, whilst the other trainees would utter the words "so cute" amongst each other. woojin would sit in silence.
it wasn't like he didn't like jihoon or anything; in fact, the both of them got on pretty well. he was an honest boy, with the same sense of humour as him, meaning they spoke quite a lot. that being said though, no amount of friendship and jokes would make woojin give into jihoon's charms.
the whole world had fallen for park jihoon's cute appeal, his winks and catchphrases.
woojin was not about to let jihoon captivate him, he swore to himself.
҉ ♡ ҉
when he was announced for top 11, he was shocked (to say the least.) never in his life had woojin felt more pride, modesty and fear, all filling him at the same time. he was in final line up.
park woojin was going to debut.
of course then, when second rank was called out, he wasn't surprised. everyone and their grandmother knew that jihoon was going to be in the final line up. for ages, he'd worked his ass off for this, charming everyone in the process.
park jihoon would be debuting with him.
looking over at him, woojin watched as jihoon waved at the cheering audience, thanking them modestly and bowing when appropriate. he also ended up doing his legendary "save you in my heart!" bit, riling up everyone again. he'd be lying if his heart didn't almost skip a beat when he watched jihoon.
the keyword here is almost.
because woojin could not, would not be falling for jihoon! never! it went against his morals! jihoon had managed to fool everyone else with his damned sweet image and smiles, but he was dead set on distancing himself from that. his heart would never flutter for the other boy.
certainly not if he had anything to do with it, anyway.
҉ ♡ ҉
living with each other for almost 2 months now, jihoon and woojin were practically best friends. they were inseparable, no matter how much jisung tried to pry them from each other because "i've had enough of this pink sausages bullying!" they teased each other, joked with each other, even cried with each other after watching 'nice guy' in the middle of the night.
they were arguably the closest of duos in the group.
"look what i found woojin!" jihoon's voice came from outside the room, leaving woojin in brief confusion. before he could question the other, said boy took it on himself to saunter into the room. woojin held his breath.
jihoon was wearing a pastel pink sweater (surprise), covered in a variety of birds all over; he'd never seen it before, promoting him to believe that a fan had gifted it to him or something along those lines. he did a twirl at the door, before doing his best model impression as he got directly in front of woojin.
"so, what do you think?" indeed, what did he think? saying anything negative wasn't an option because jihoon would most likely end his life, plus it would be a complete lie anyway; he looked...nice. complimenting him was out of the question though, for jihoon was not worthy of his praise (that and, what could he say that didn't risk him being smitten with the other's cuteness?)
instead, he settled on what was meant to be a funny answer with, "i think naomi campbell sunbaenim would be shaking if she saw you."
earning a snort from him, jihoon plopped himself down on the bed beside woojin. it was then he began pointing at the bird designs laid out on the fabric, a specific bird to be exact.
"look, it's a sparrow," he grinned, pointing it out like a child showing their parents a drawing, "i'm carrying you on my sweater, park chamsae!"
jihoon's eyes were practically gleaming at him, clearly eager to show woojin his sweater-bird equivalent. woojin, on the other hand, was having a hard time keeping a stoic face. what was he meant to say? that was just a... cu-, no! it wasn't cute at all! curse him for thinking like that!
"looks good dude." saved it. saying this seemed to make jihoon even happier, as he turned to leave the room. he got to the door, twirled yet again (the sweater moving up slightly with him) before he disappeared completely.
that was close, woojin whispered to himself. he hadn't fallen for jihoon's cute side (and never would!) but he understood perfectly why anyone else would.
҉ ♡ ҉
it was around 9 in the evening; the wanna one members were coming back from one of their many fansigns. someone (probably minhyun) had put on son dambi's "bad boy" and now, the sound of jaehwan and minhyun practically screaming the lyrics overtook the car. woojin was kinda surprised to hear someone being louder than him for once, inciting a small laugh from him.
jihoon sat beside him, head bobbing along with the song. he'd recently had his hair dyed blonde and it really suited him, though jihoon suited everything. he looked attractive, woojin couldn't deny, especially when it was curly like now. he liked it. maybe more than he should've.
before he realised it, jihoon's eyes were meeting his. he must've noticed him staring too long, woojin assumed, about to pull his gaze away from the other. the corner of jihoon's lips turnt up as he gave woojin one of his usual smiles.
"are you tired?" he asked, trying to speak over his hyungs' screeching.
"a bit, what about you?"
"not really," jihoon shrugged, "i can go on for ages."
woojin snorted louder than intended, immediately surveying the car to see if anyone else had heard; thankfully, they hadn't. jihoon smiled again, laughing again. it was one of those warm laughs, one that wasn't too loud or too quiet, too obnoxious or too meek; it was park jihoon's and his alone.
"if you do get tired though," jihoon started up again, the car light dimming as they went through a tunnel, "you can sleep on me."
woojin felt the heat in his cheeks rise at that, immediately shaking off any thoughts he had. with an expectant look on his face, the other boy pulled woojin closer to him.
"are you sure?" he asked, sceptical of jihoon's sudden off camera kindness. said boy pouted at his question, mock hurt as he stated, "of course i mean it, sleep!"
and so, woojin did just that. resting his head on jihoon's shoulder (and getting some sort of proud sound from him in the process) woojin was left to fight with his own thoughts in peace. jihoon wasn't an unkind person, but he'd never offered to do something so... adorable caring in front of everyone; in saying that though, nobody was focusing on them at all (instead, everyone was more focused on winner's really really now being blasted full volume, it felt like a karaoke session.)
"sleep now, my woojinnie." his voice was practically inaudible over the music and singing, but woojin heard. he couldn't not hear it. as he closed his eyes, woojin only had one thing on his mind.
jihoon had called him his "woojinnie."
he liked hearing it a bit too much.
҉ ♡ ҉
it was a freezing, winters evening when woojin heard that phrase again.
for context, jihoon had been complaining at the dorm that he just wasn't nailing a certain part of the choreography correctly and it was, of course, stressing him out. when he'd called through the dorm that he was going to be heading to their practice room, woojin, minhyun and jinyoung decided to tag along.
they'd practiced for hours together, helping jihoon with the choreo and joking when they'd made mistakes together. it got to 9-ish when minhyun and jinyoung suddenly announced their departure.
"he's hungry and i have to make sure a certain someone hasnt burnt down the dorm yet." minhyun sighed, slipping on his coat. they all snorted at minhyun's casual dig at sungwoon.
"you two will be fine here, right?" jinyoung spoke up. the two 99 liners assured him they would, and that they wanted to stay so jihoon wasn't completely stressing out over the choreo. jinyoung accepted the answer straight away, waving his goodbyes as he pushed minhyun out the door with him.
they were left alone.
for a further hour, woojin went over and over the dance for jihoon's sake, helping him with both the choreo and his expressions. honestly, woojin was thankful that jihoon was able to catch on quicker than before. it'd be disastrous if the other main dancer wasn't able to help him with everyone else.
over and over again, the snaggletoothed boy watched as jihoon perfected the choreo, performing it (he daresay) better than the teachers who'd shown them in the first place. watching jihoon dance was something else altogether, he thought. for someone who had built himself up as an aegyo filled idol, he'd never seen someone else so passionate and intense during a dance. it was one of the many things he admired about jihoon.
"should we go now?" the other's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "it's late and i'm hungry as fuck."
"yeah, let's go." both boys gathered their things and headed outside, ready to go home to the warmth of their dorm-
it was then they realised, it wouldn't be that easy.
it was raining, pouring down completely, not to mention that the skies had darkened considerably more. woojin let out a sound of pain before stepping back inside.
"we're doomed." is all he could say.
jihoon gave him a confused look, stepping inside too; the other boy then began fishing around their practice room for something, anything that could help them-
"i found an umbrella!" jihoon hollered, gleam in his eyes making woojin want to melt on the spot despite the coldness.
"there's only one?"
"relax, we can share!" dragging woojin back out the door, jihoon pulled the umbrella up. as he did this, it gave woojin a moment just to think: it was just sharing an umbrella, why did he feel so nervous? jihoon was his best friend, not some stranger. this shouldn't be weird.
so why did it feel that way?
noticing his hesitation, jihoon grinned, "i'm not that awful dude, just c'mere!" it was then that woojin accepted his fate, ducking under the umbrella with jihoon. in the corner of his eye, he saw jihoon make a face at him, before grabbing the other boy's hand and putting it on the umbrella pole with his.
they were pretty much holding hands.
to say woojin was freaking out would be an understatement.
"see, this is good!"
"y-yeah, it is."
"let's go home, my woojinnie." the familiar heating of his cheeks came up again, making woojin feel a tad bit guilty. taking a glance at jihoon, woojin realised that he wasn't completely alone; the other boy's cheeks seemed to be just as rosy, his clutch on the pole (and woojin's hand) tightening.
the action made woojin's heart flutter, seriously.
they walked on, their shoulders bumping softly with every step. the sound of the rain drowning out any chance of conversation allowed woojin to think to himself for a bit.
he'd always stuck to his motto of not fitting into the norm, running right when society was going to the left, loving the things that people wouldn't even give a chance. it was how he lived, and ultimately survived. in saying that, his motto seemed to be somewhat messed up now; he was glancing at the things everyone was admiring, his heart beating for something (or someone) that he was not alone in taking an interest in. all of that was because of him, park jihoon.
jihoon was responsible for changing woojin and he wasn't even aware; hell, woojin didn't even know how he was feeling completely.
what he was sure of, however, was that done of this would of happened if park jihoon hadn't entered produce 101 that very day, being so damn adorable.
҉ ♡ ҉
woojin was exhausted.
3 fanmeets in one day, non stop schedules and, on top of that, they hadn't rested at all. they were used to it now, it was one of the many downsides to idol life and all they could do was accept it.
that being said, woojin was both tired AND pissed off. something had snapped in him during the yohi fansign when one of the fans had muttered something almost inaudible under their breath about him (something about him being the most annoying member of wanna one, he thinks?) to which he was forced to fake a smile and give an awkward laugh. ever since then though, woojin had been annoyed at life.
he sat on his bed, scrolling through his phone in an attempt to lessen his anger; the many texts from rhymer and his friends helped a bit but he still couldn't shake the bitterness in his heart. sighing, woojin closed his eyes.
he blinked.
jihoon was in front of him.
"wh-" woojin had to stop himself from falling back in surprise, "when did you get here?"
"just now." the other hummed, playful smile as he took a seat next to woojin. jihoon truly had no regrets about almost giving woojin a heart attack all of a sudden.
"oh..."
there was an uncomfortable silence between them, prompting woojin to take a look at the other boy; for some reason, jihoon was staring directly at him with a pout on his face.
"what's wrong?" surprisingly, it was jihoon asking him that and not the other way round. woojin blinked in confusion at jihoon's question, making the other speak again.
"you're upset but i can't figure out why." his pout somehow got worse when he said that.
"it's nothing, really." woojin sighed out as convincingly as he could muster. jihoon's presence, whilst calming, wasn't going to pull him out of his strop that easily. he's been so annoyed for the past hour that it seemed way too pathetic to suddenly give up now.
at his answer, jihoon's face turned briefly sour before his eyes lit up; he'd had an idea. park jihoon + an idea could only mean one thing for woojin = he was fucked, somehow.
in a matter of seconds, jihoon made woojin turn to face him, eyes brighter than all of the hair colour options YMC had ever shown jaehwan.
"psst." he whispered, lips curling slightly.
woojin knew jihoon well. in fact, he prided himself on being the closest to jihoon out of everyone. it was because of that, unfortunately, that he knew exactly what jihoon was planning to do.
when all of the rumours had come out about jisung, he vividly remembered the dark atmosphere that followed within the group for the short time it was hot gossip; jisung kept his eyes on the ground and would only respond in small grunts or hums if spoken to. after a week, jihoon had had enough of it and taken it upon himself to cheer up jisung (which he was successful in doing, of course), sharing with woojin beforehand what his plan to lift the eldest from his slump was, which just happened to be-
"no," woojin whispered back, praying that he was wrong, maybe jihoon wouldn't do the thing, "don't do it."
"psst!!" jihoon whispered even louder.
"i'm warning you park jihoon," he folded his arms in a last ditch attempt to look intimidating, "you better not!"
"ding!" it wasn't so much the ding sound that woojin was worried about, but the radiant smile that followed after it. no one, and he meant no one, could resist the iconic jihoon gleam™, not even daehwi when he was moping, and certainly not jisung before.
and now, it was woojin's turn to fall victim to it.
jihoon's beaming grin had forced him out of his slump, making him return a smile back to him; there was just something about that smile that lit up the world, and now perhaps, his world. seeing woojin's change in demeanour, jihoon applauded himself and had a mini celebration in front of the other.
"cute."
that cut jihoon's celebration short, along with woojin's own thought track. he hadn't thought about what he'd said before he said it; it just kinda...slipped out. he hadn't meant it...had he?
taking another look at jihoon though, he knew. these past months alongside his fellow 99 liner bro had changed him. no longer was he the woojin who stood alone on a path, but the woojin who sometimes decided to venture onto the road with his friends, not completely afraid of being considered not unique anymore. he was now the woojin who laughed alongside his members all the time, making them either laugh with him or scream at him to be quiet for once in his lifetime (did he ever listen? fuck no.) jihoon simply stared at him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed; it was then that he realised...
there was no denying that park jihoon was truly adorable, amongst other things. the reason he couldn't resist thinking otherwise was because that was just reflective of how powerful jihoon was. the kid was a literal bunny half of time, how could he stay thinking he wasn't cute?
"...you think i'm cute?" the other boy's sudden change in tone surprised woojin, clear shock and disbelief written on his features.
"..yes?" woojin uttered out, "everyone thinks you're cute though."
"i know but this is you we're talking about!" jihoon babbled, "you never call me cute!"
ah, he'd realised.
"i just did!" he called out, sudden confidence taking over, "what're you gonna do about it?!"
at that, jihoon snorted and buried his head in his hands. when woojin scooted closer to him, he pulled his head up. the rosy tint on jihoon's cheeks was still present, the colour darkening ever to slightly. a small laugh escaped his mouth.
"what is it?"
"you, woojinnie," there it was again, the nickname that made woojin feel like melting on the spot, "are the cutest idiot i've ever met." it was true, he had no idea what jihoon meant by calling him an idiot, but it didn't phase him.
"what do you mean, idiot..." woojin mumbled, trying to copy jihoon's earlier pout. earning a laugh from the other boy, jihoon then pushed woojin's shoulder lightly, blush still overpowering his face.
"so cute..." jihoon whispered to himself.
it was then woojin had his second epiphany of the day. he was no different from the other trainees on produce 101, no different from the south korean public, no different to the entirety of the world who'd witnessed the "jjeojang boy" in action.
in that moment, he too had began falling in love with park jihoon.
he truly was an idiot.