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Jeongin clung onto his hot cup of coffee as he walked towards the school. He could feel the cold on his hands, despite having the warm beverage and thick mittens on his hands. As Jeongin walked, he saw various couples sharing intimate moments and sincere smiles. The sight made him cringe slightly, but he noted them to use as inspiration one day.
Today was Valentine’s Day, so it wasn’t like Jeongin hadn’t been expecting any couples at all. He just didn’t expect to see this many being so lovey-dovey at eight in the morning. He hoped he could catch a break as he neared the campus of his school, but was out of luck as the amount of relationships only seemed to grow.
“Hey Jeongin!!”
Jeongin looked around and nodded at Hyunjin after spotting him. He was shocked his friend wasn’t with Changbin considering the day…
“Hyunjin, I thought you were confessing today.”
His friend looked away and blushed, “Actually I had something to tell you.. Surprise!! Changbin ah.. He actually confessed first so I ran over here to tell you.”
Jeongin gaped, “You told him yes, didn’t you?”
Hyunjin’s eyes widened, “Uh…screaming ‘Oh my god, I have to tell Jeongin’ wouldn’t count as a yes, would it?”
Jeongin held back a laugh and began pushing his friend back in the direction he had come from, “You idiot, go tell him now. I’ll see you first period.”
Hyunjin nodded and gulped before finally walking on his own and waving before he was out of sight. Jeongin rolled his eyes and sighed, amused by his best friend’s antics. It was really a hilarious situation, it hardly seemed real. Suddenly remembering he was still out in the cold, Jeongin made his way into the building.
Jeongin stopped at his locker to deposit his coat and mittens, looking around to see if his favorite music teacher was here. He was lucky enough to get a locker close to his classroom. As if on cue, the teacher poked his head out of his classroom door and nodded at Jeongin.
“Hey Innie, thought I heard someone out here.”
Jeongin smiled as the teacher walked towards him and leaned against one of the nearby lockers.
“Morning Mr. Bang,” Jeongin offered.
The teacher cringed, “I told you already, I don’t like my students using those formalities.”
Jeongin smirked, “Then maybe you shouldn’t have gotten a job that involved using formalities old man.”
Mr. Bang gasped, causing Jeongin to laugh. A smile spread across the teacher’s lips as well as he tossed a small chocolate to Jeongin.
“Happy valentine’s day.”
Jeongin accepted the chocolate with a small “Thanks” before finally heading to the art room.
***
The art teacher wasn’t here, but the door was unlocked. Jeongin had made it a habit of asking her to leave it open whenever he wanted to come in the mornings. Luckily, she never seemed to have a problem with it.
The room was empty, so Jeongin moved over to his favorite corner and began sketching. He wanted to remember the examples of couples he’d seen that morning as well as he could. He sat there in the quiet classroom for a bit, simply drawing.
***
It was now first period and Jeongin was carefully listening as Hyunjin described the morning’s events with Changbin for what must’ve been the fifth time.
“He sang to me Jeongin, sang . I didn’t know he could do that,” Hyunjin sighed.
Jeongin looked up at the board to copy more notes before speaking again, “Sounds like he planned a lot for you, huh?”
Hyunjin nodded and placed his head in the palm of his hand. After a few moments he turned towards Jeongin, giving the other boy a nudge.
“Hey do you have something against Valentine’s day or something? Couldn’t help but notice you scowling at the couples on the way over here,” Hyunjin asked.
Jeongin thought for a moment before looking up, “I wouldn’t particularly say I have anything against it. It’s okay… I guess. I just don’t get why couples need a whole day to use as an excuse to be extra lovey-dovey. I feel like I need to pour black coffee on my eyes or something. It's way too sweet.”
Hyunjin put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Jeongin, who hurt you?”
Jeongin rolled his eyes, “No one, it’s just sickeningly sweet,” Jeongin then lowered the volume of his voice to a mutter,”...and I’m single.”
Hyunjin’s eyebrow quirked and he held back a smile, “Wait, Jeongin, what was that last part?”
“..Nothing,” Jeongin said, beginning to regret what he’d said.
Hyunjin obviously wasn’t going to let it go and said, “How shocking, you’re mad at all the couples because you aren’t one of them. I never saw that one coming. Are you getting a bit lonely?”
Jeongin grumbled and faced Hyunjin, “No, just what’s the point of being so intimate in public all the time because of some holiday?”
Hyunjin watched his friend go back to taking notes, not pushing things too far. He did, however, get to thinking about what Jeongin had said.
***
Fifth period was now ending, and Jeongin would soon get to have his lunch. He was excited for food, and his friend with his new relationship, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to escape the other couples. He really didn’t have anything against the holiday, it was always just such a firm reminder that he didn’t have a relationship of his own. Of course there was nothing wrong with being single, but the heart wants what it wants, right?
Jeongin went to his locker to grab his coat before meeting up with Hyunjin for lunch. He’d need it if they were going out for food today. He had just opened his locker to see an envelope slip out when his phone vibrated. Deciding the note could wait, he took out his phone to see a message from Hyunjin.
Hey, sorry, but can we have lunch another day? Something came up.
Jeongin sighed and typed out a quick Sure . He’d figured Hyunjin and Changbin might want to make lunch a date instead, but he didn’t get why the message was so vague. Before he could think too much about it, he was reminded of the envelope at his feet. He would’ve found it incredibly cliche if he didn’t know the student council had been offering valentine deliveries via lockers.
He wasn’t quite sure who might’ve sent the envelope. He flipped the envelope over to see a “ For Jeongin ” written in curly letters. His mind hadn’t come up with any possible sender, so he turned the envelope back over and began opening it. If he didn’t have any ideas the last thing he wanted to do was stand in the hallway thinking about who might’ve sent a note.
The envelope held what looked like a note of some sort. The note looked like it had been typed with one of those fonts made to resemble handwriting. It looked like the sender wanted to hide their handwriting. That suspicion made him think back to Hyunjin’s strange text. Jeongin shook his head and began reading the note, figuring he could talk to his friend later if it did have something to do with him.
Happy Valentine's Day Jeongin!!
My apologies for the sudden note, I hope it reaches you at the time I’d intended. If not, well.. that’d be pretty disappointing. I hope it’s not too much of a hassle, but would you mind stopping by the art room and coming to the dance studio? The teacher will give you something to bring me. If I got my timing right it should be lunch, I promise I’ll give you food :D
Jeongin was starting to think this was pretty cliche. The only thing that could’ve made this feel less real was being sent on a scavenger hunt. Going to a couple classrooms was better than that, so he’d take it. It wasn’t like he’d been given indirect instructions anyways. After putting his coat back in his locker, he started towards the art room.
***
Just when Jeongin thought the note had been enough cliche for one day, his art teacher handed him a mysterious bag along with a bouquet of roses. It wasn’t until he was pushed out of the art room with the bouquet under his arm that he fully processed what was happening. Was this some sort of confession? Or was this something Hyunjin planned to make him feel like he was in some movie?
As he neared the dance studio Jeongin began to get nervous. What was going to be in there, or who was going to be in there? He knew he’d been cringing at the couples and complaining about being single, but if this was real he didn’t know what he’d do. Actually getting a confession was not one of his plans for today.
Jeongin didn’t have time to think anymore, he’d arrived at the door to the dance studio. The windows on the door had been covered so he couldn’t see inside. One of them had a sign telling him to knock three times and wait for a clap before entering. As the cycle of cliche continued, all Jeongin could do was follow along. After about five minutes he heard a clap and opened the door to the sound of Fancy by Twice.
Jeongin gasped as soon as he’d seen how the studio had been decorated for the holiday. Though the lights were dim, he could see red and white lining the walls with a couple small lamps that projected hearts. It seemed a bit much for a school studio, but his eyes quickly left the walls as the person in the middle of the room began singing the lyrics of Fancy.
The voice was familiar, but Jeongin hadn’t quite gotten a face yet due to the room’s dim state. He could tell by the slightly muffled sound that the one singing and dancing had a handheld mic connected to the studio speakers, but their voice was sweet nonetheless. It definitely wasn’t Hyunjin, so Jeongin found himself blushing as he set the bag he’d been given down to move to a better place to watch.
He sat down a few feet in front of the person as they neared the chorus. There must’ve been someone else in the room he hadn’t noticed, because a light directed right towards the person dancing switched on as the first “Fancy you” was sung. Pointing right at Jeongin was Lee Felix.
Jeongin put a hand over his mouth as the song continued and found himself simply staring and the boy in front of him as he continued the song. Once his blush had cooled a bit, he began swaying and singing along as Felix neared the chorus again. Felix smiled when he heard Jeongin singing along, but didn’t let it disrupt his performance.
As the song came to a close and Felix struck his last pose, Jeongin stood with the bouquet and walked over to Felix.
“I’m uh- I’m guessing you sent the note. Speaking of the note it said that uh, I needed to bring something to you right? Would this be it?” Jeongin cringed at his own words, he was quite flustered for someone who’d been scowling at couples just that morning.
Felix let out a small laugh as Jeongin began trying to hide himself behind the bouquet.
“Yes, I would be the one behind the note. The flowers are uh, for you though. I hope you like them, please tell me you’re not allergic,” Felix quickly spoke.
Jeongin shook his head and stopped hiding behind the bouquet, “Thank you, they’re very pretty. I think I might’ve noticed by now if I was allergic,” Jeongin took a deep breath before speaking again, “Your performance was really nice.”
Felix blushed at that and looked away, “Thanks, I was worried I’d end up getting one of those looks I saw you giving all the couples earlier.”
This time Jeongin blushed, “Oh uh, those are reserved for lovebirds reminding me of how single I am…”
Felix was shocked for a second, then began laughing, “I didn’t take you for the gloomy single type.”
Jeongin groaned, “This is why I don’t say anything.”
After regaining composure, Felix looked Jeongin in the eyes, “Go ahead and cringe at me all you want, but in the words of Twice, ‘I fancy you.’ I know we uh, haven’t talked in a little while... but ever since I got stuck in that art class last semester I haven’t been able to stop noticing how focused you get while creating something, or how your face lights up when you’re happy with a painting you’ve been working on. Everything you make is just about as beautiful as you, and I mean it. Jeongin, will you go out with me?”
Jeongin froze. Up until now, he hadn’t fully believed this might actually turn into a confession. Here he was, Yang Jeongin, being confessed to by the cute guy who had accidentally been enrolled in his art class instead of dance a while ago. His heart was pounding so hard he thought Felix must be able to hear it himself. The other boy’s face fell as he’d yet to receive a response, and the small frown drew Jeongin out of his frozen state.
“Yes. I will, oh my gosh yes I will.”
Felix smiled and moved forwards to hug Jeongin but stopped when the other boy moved back.
“I’d love a hug,” Jeongin started, “But let me get rid of these first. Wouldn’t want a thorn poking you.”
Felix nodded as Jeongin placed the bouquet on the ground and moved forward to hug him. The two stood there, embracing each other, before a voice came out of nowhere.
“Hey you two, why don’t you just kiss already?”
Felix’s face turned a bright red as Jeongin turned to see his best friend coming towards him with his new boyfriend.
“Yeah we couldn’t use the party poppers on that hug,” Changbin spoke.
Hyunjin nodded, “There are only so many things we’ll clean up confetti for.”
Hyunjin turned up the brightness of the dance studio lights before walking over to a bag placed in the corner of the room, Changbin following behind him.
“Felix promised us spare brownies so we’ll be over here eating while you guys stand there I guess,” Changbin explained.
When the couple was turned around and fully distracted by brownies, Jeongin faced Felix again. He understood Hyunjin’s vague text now. There was still a lot he’d have to ask his friend, but that could wait for later.
Felix looked down and muttered, “Sorry, I needed a bit of help.”
Jeongin smiled and whispered, “It’s fine, but did you want to?”
Felix looked up, confused, “Want to what?”
Jeongin’s smile grew bigger, “Kiss.”
Felix blushed, “That might… be nice.”
Jeongin took that as his cue and moved towards the other boy before his head could catch up to him. He barely even noticed the sound of the party poppers finally being used after the other couple had noticed them. Jeongin’s heart felt warm as he kissed Felix. If this was how happy the couples he’d scowled at felt, maybe he could apologize for the dirty looks.