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It’s been a long day and Hwanwoong groans as he exits the classroom to the corridors, only to notice that it’s snowing. He agreed to meet up with the guys in the cafeteria earlier, but it’s on the opposite side of the campus and he didn’t bring his beanie, and it’s freezing, and his ears are already pulsing from the cold. They stand out bright red amongst the blonde strands of his hair, as he attempts to cover them, brushing the strands down and patting them on his ears, but to no avail. As soon as he steps outside, the wind blows and his blood circulated ears are visible again.
He runs to the cafeteria building, hands in the pockets of his long puffer jacket that Keonhee gifted him on Christmas - thanks, Keonhee - and by now he’s sure he’s late, but it’s way too cold to get his phone out and check the time. His fingers feel frozen in his fists, as if he won’t be able to uncurl them ever again. Actually that’s definitely the case. Damn you, winter weather.
It’s not like he dislikes winter - it’s actually his favourite season - but he undeniably hates it when it starts snowing out of the blue and he’s underdressed. As if he came unprepared, when this morning there was not an ounce of little white snowflakes in the sky. Yes, he dislikes it partly because of the cold, but also because all edges of his body get red. And that cold red might look cute on others, but he finds it surprisingly ugly when he looks at his red-nosed reflection in the mirror.
He finally reaches the building door and climbs the stairs to the cafeteria - he does not have the courage to get his hand out and press the lift button, no way.
As soon as he gets upstairs, he spots Dongju and Keonhee sitting around a table, both with very serious expressions painting their faces, discussing god knows what. Hwanwoong, of course, knows they’re not , in reality, talking about anything grave. They’re most likely debating on whether to build Hwanwoong into a snowman again - apparently, they almost went through with this plan last year, before Youngjo and Geonhak came to the rescue, Youngjo claiming Hwanwoong would end up sick for at least the rest of the week, Geonhak not wanting to miss any dates with Dongju, who would have to be the one to take care of the sick blonde. Seoho, on the other hand, had been in great favour of the plan.
Hwanwoong remembers Dongju and Keonhee bickering afterwards, because Keonhee insisted they should not have told the others about the plan at all. “I was going to have Youngjo nurse him!!” Keonhee had whispered-shouted to the brown haired, who was still pouting in dissatisfaction. “If you hadn’t told Geonhak about it, we’d have completed it by now!”
“You do know Woong would have suffocated under the snow, right?” Youngjo had then popped up behind them.
When the three of them realized Youngjo was listening, Dongju stopped talking, pushing his lips together, Keonhee had mumbled something along the lines of “Well, his nose would have been left out…” and Hwanwoong pulled his hood up and tightened it to the point it was covering all of his flustered face, cheeks blushing. Then he kicked Keonhee on the shin in vengeance and ran ahead of them.
It was common knowledge among the three of them that Hwanwoong liked Youngjo, had liked him for two years now - and they had been annoyingly supportive, to an infuriating extent. Keonhee spoke too much, just like that time with the snowman, and Dongju was way too obvious, what with trying to bring them together and all that. Once, he kept glaring at Geonhak when he almost sat next to Youngjo, a very obvious way of saying It’s reserved for Woong, dumbass .
Hwanwoong, as much as he wanted to, wasn’t very capable of stopping them from indirectly confessing to Youngjo for him. They never listened to what he said - not because they didn’t care, but they knew Hwanwoong would never let it show, so they had taken it upon themselves to succeed. Like some secret mission agent shit. Hwanwoong just ignored them whenever possible.
He is now creeping up behind Keonhee, like a predator lurking in the shadows. He motions with his brows to Dongju to pretend he isn’t there, a finger on his lips (finally out of his pocket, he could uncurl his fist, in the end). The younger’s eyes only briefly meet his, and he continues the previous conversation as if Hwanwoong was but a hallucination. The blonde takes his chance, grabs Keonhee by the shoulders from behind, shouts a “HA!” in his ears, and chaotic™ Keonhee jumps up in terror. His mouth becomes triple times bigger when he screams, and he falls off from the chair, to his side.
At this point, the whole cafeteria is staring at them, but they must be used to Keonhee’s screams - this did happen pretty often, after all - because they return to their conversations quickly. Dongju, on the other hand, is choking on his food from laughing too hard, the HA HA HAs still recognisable even as he’s exhaling his last breaths.
The blonde takes a seat next to Keonhee’s now vacant seat, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
“Can you stop doing that every time?” Keonhee clicks his tongue. He gets back on his feet, ears red from drawing attention, rubbing the side of his hip on which he fell. “This is going to leave a bruise!”
“But it was such a good opportunity,” Hwanwoong giggles, going to take a bite off the sandwich Dongju bought for him - surprising for Dongju to buy him things, but they had placed a bet, and Dongju had lost it. “I couldn’t let it slip away.”
“I swear to god, Yeo Hwanwoong, if you jumpscare me one more time.” He snaps, “I will. Tell. Youngjo-”
“Tell me what?” says Youngjo, appearing somewhere behind the blonde.
Hwanwoong’s ears turn pink again, and he leans over his food even more to hide his face. It seems Keonhee has lost all ability to speak, as there’s a very awkward silence coating them for some seconds, until Hwanwoong kicks his friend, desperate. You brought this upon us, find a solution, he prays silently. But it’s Geonhak who saves them.
“What was all this commotion?” He asks, breaking an invisible wall of ice.
Dongju snorts in his orange juice, probably at the word the older used; Geonhak just picks up words from random places and uses them. It’s almost like recycling. Geonhak only lifts a brow at that, clearly unimpressed. “Did you scare Keonhee again?”
“Aw, was that what that birdsong scream was?” Seoho smiles, the sarcasm so obvious in his eyes that they twinkle. He takes a seat on the left side of Keonhee. “I’m sure I heard thirteen note changes in two different keys.”
“Right, ‘cause your screams are intonationally accurate,” it is Keonhee’s turn to snort, as he takes a sip from his coffee. “Can you scream in B flat and change to a G7?”
“Why don’t you all just drink your coffees?” Youngjo, who had briefly left to order them drinks, now passes Seoho and Geonhak their own. “I think I’ve heard enough bickering for today.” He sits opposite of Hwanwoong, and the underlying statement is clear; Geonhak and Seoho never stop biting each other’s asses. Metaphorically. Of course.
The six of them have generally been separate groups - the youngers being younger, the olders being older, both formed in different points in time. Occasionally, and when their studies and part time jobs allow, they have moments like this one. Fridays are usually their day - somehow almost none of them has a full day on campus, which means they get to meet at lunch. And Hwanwoong is happy with this timetable; eating with Youngjo at least once a week is almost a given, and even if he doesn’t make any moves on him, he just enjoys his presence. He is not going to risk it. It’s not worth it. If he could keep his crush hidden for two years, he can do it for a lot more to come.
They all sink in different conversations with each other as they eat, until Hwanwoong is tired of debating on which K-pop artist sang Come Back Home first; all of them are illiterate, and he knows he’s right. He is the Dance Major after all. It’s Seo Taiji & Boys, but of course none of them listen to old school k-pop or hip hop. “Damn it, Dongju! It is not 2NE1! Just Google it!”
“But didn’t the second Come Back Home come out in 2017 by BTS? So if the first one was 2014, Dongju is right.” says Keonhee, and Hwanwoong hardly keeps himself from facepalming. Them. Not his own face. He’s the one who’s correct on this one.
“You are all a disgrace to Kpop and Korean hip hop culture.” He says, on the verge of exploding, “BTS’ Come Back Home is a cover of Seo Taiji’s which came out in-”
“1995.” Interrupts Youngjo, who was the only one to empty his tray, now getting back to his seat.
“ Thank you. ” stresses the blonde, able to sit back in his seat again, unstiffening. “How did you know?”
“You forget I went through a hip hop phase.” he says, just smiling that beautiful smile, and suddenly Hwanwoong’s eyes are on his lips, heart pacing fast, but he looks up in panic, afraid Youngjo will notice. “Besides, I was born that year.”
Hwanwoong simply nods, suddenly growing hot. The impact Youngjo has is being very hard on him. He starts fanning himself with his hands, without realising it.
“Are you hot?” Youngjo asks in a frown. “It’s pretty cold outside, are you getting sick-”
“NO! I mean no- it’s probably the, uhm.”
“The chili in the sandwich I bought him - sorry Woong I forgot to tell them not to put any inside.”
Hwanwoong silently thanks all existing Gods who made Dongju listen up to that point to save him. Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Japanese, whatever Gods are up in that sky, he is grateful.
“Oh, that’s good then,” Youngjo relaxes in his seat. “‘Cause I wanted to ask - are you free this Sunday?”
Hwanwoong waits for someone to answer, but no one does, so he says, “...Are you talking to me?”
“Woong? Yes, I’m asking you.” The older giggles at Hwanwoong’s cuteness, and his eyes form crescents from how much his cheeks lift up. “Is Woongie baby still out of it?” He asks in a mock cute tone.
There it is. Youngjo’s bad habit of calling him baby. Hwanwoong is aware that Youngjo means it as an actual baby, but that does not change the effect the word has, and it does not take away the fact that it’s coming out of Youngjo’s mouth, or that it is collocated with Woongie. Sometimes, accompanied with Youngjo biting his lips as the corners of his mouth curl upwards. Youngjo has a lot of bad habits like this one.
He does not even think of what’s on Sunday; he’s sure he's missing something, because he feels that weird twirl in his gut that something is slipping his mind, but if he forgot it, then it must not have been important enough. And so Hwanwoong considers it briefly (he also feels a kick on his legs, courtesy of Keonhee, so he hurries his answer up) and just says “I don’t think I’ve anything on that day, no. Why though?”
“It says it’s gonna snow on that day. More than today.”
“Oh,” says Hwanwoong, not really understanding the point, “and?”
“I thought we should go out and… I don’t know. Snowfight.”
“Are… How are we going to snow fight if we’re just two?”
“I mean, all of us can come,” says Youngjo quickly, and Hwanwoong feels his heart sink a little in disappointment but he tries to brush away the feeling, because after all, it means they’re going to meet up again on Sunday rather than doing the weekly cleaning housework. “...So are you all in?” He asks the rest.
They’re heading to the exit of the building, all talking loudly, but at least it’s not Keonhee screaming. Hwanwoong is laughing at Geonhak's failed impression of Spongebob when Dongju suddenly whispers in his ear. “Yeo Hwanwoong, you fucking idiot. ”
“What the hell?” He frowns. “What did I do?”
Dongju slips his arm around Hwanwoong’s, so that they’re intertwined, and he drags him further down the steps, a safe distance away from the others’ ears.
“You idiotic squidleg.” He curses again, for dramatic effect. Obviously. Drama majors. “Are your brains there for decoration or what?”
“Dongju I swear to god, stop being a drama queen and spit it out.”
“Youngjo asked you out, you fucker.”
“What? He asked all of us!”
Dongju exhales, as if Hwanwoong is a middle schooler in Algebra class and he is the teacher who has just heard the most stupid answer to what x is. “Riddle me that then: what’s on Sunday, Woong?”
“Is this about cleaning the dorm? ‘Cause if that’s what it is, I can do it on Satur-”
“It’s Valentine’s Day, you moron! ”
Hwanwoong’s heart drops at the realization. His head snaps to Dongju’s direction, eyes wide, an expression which the younger is mirroring. But then he internally slaps himself, he should not get carried away. It is Valentine’s Day, but Youngjo asked them all out.
“Yes, it is, but still Youngjo said we should all go out and-”
Dongju is losing his patience with him at this point. He places his hands on Hwanwoong’s arms and shakes him violently, Hwanwoong’s head going from front to back. “He asked you out, but you had the freaking audacity to say that two people cannot snowfight, so he thought he had to ask all of us. Do you understand?”
Hwanwoong is getting it, yes, but he disagrees. Just as he opens his mouth to object, they hear a piercing scream that almost makes their ears bleed, and he covers them with his hands out of reflex, for safekeeping - he needs his ears. He desperately needs them to hear music to dance to. He needs them for many things.
Dongju looks up at the source of the shriek with an angry frown stuck on his face, the way he does when Seoho takes his food from his plate - Dongju is a bit possessive over snacks - but all they see is Keonhee shrinking to himself as his neck grows pink, and Seoho throwing his head back laughing. “WHO the FUCK screamed?” Dongju yells, annoyed.
But all of them are laughing, and only Seoho attempts to answer the question, albeit in a gibberish language; “Hahahahahah- I told him… ahahahahaahhaha, I told ‘im to scream in… ahahahahaha I can’t believe he actually - ahahahahaha, I told him to scream in ahahahaha in G7 ahahaha -”
“Hyung, dare to make him scream again and I’ll cut your precious ‘equipment’ off.”
♥
It’s Sunday.
February 14th.
Valentine’s day.
Hwanwoong is aware.
What he does not understand is why Dongju is trying to find him pretty clothes instead of warm, casual ones, fitting the freezing weather outside.
“This isn't even a date, Dongju.” He says, spread all over his bed like the marmalade on the bread every breakfast. His eyes are wandering around the ceiling, way too tired to actually try and argue with the brown haired.
The younger only sighs, not bothering to explain anything. He has already done so, been doing for the past three days, but Hwanwoong just cannot get it inside of his head that this was supposed to be a date. It always has to be him who fixes Hwanwoong’s dumbassery mistakes. Thank god for his existence, or Hwanwoong’s love life would have been out of the picture long ago.
Dongju digs in the closet a little more, until he finds exactly what he’s looking for. Then he throws them on the bed, and they fall on Hwanwoong’s face, who makes minimal effort to get up and dress.
“Get dressed. Now.” Dongju says, as he hears a knock on the door - Keonhee. He exits the room to answer, leaving Hwanwoong alone, with a set of clothes on his face.
“IF THEY’RE NOT WARM ENOUGH I’M NOT WEARING THEM!”
“DO WHAT YOU WANT HYUNG I’M TIRED!” He hears the other’s muffled yelling from the next room.
“Took you long enough,” Keonhee notices when Hwanwoong steps out of his room with the clothes Dongju picked out for him, a beanie, and his gloves. “I could’ve gone back home and peed twice.”
Hwanwoong lifts an eyebrow. “You could’ve peed here?”
“Figure of speech.” Keonhee says, and Hwanwoong is pretty sure it’s not a figure of speech.
“Good. Let’s go then, I’m pretty sure Hak and the others are at the entrance downstairs waiting.” Dongju says as he slips his own gloves on his hands.
“You made them wait outside?!”
“No, hyung, you made them wait outside. It’s you who took a hundred years to get ready.”
Hwanwoong throws a dead look at Keonhee, but instead the reply he gets is: “He’s got a point.”
The other three are indeed waiting downstairs, and they’re all already shivering, huddled up together in a corner when Keonhee, Hwanwoong and Dongju meet up with them.
They walk towards a small park close to Hwanwoong’s and Dongju’s place, snowflakes falling softly all around them. It’s just white everywhere, and the atmosphere strangely feels more like Christmas than Christmas did. Hwanwoong is lowkey expecting to see Christmas trees decorated with colourful lights in the corners - but it’s February, and the only thing around them is pure, soft white snow. He reaches down and cups a handful of that white stuff, just to feel the cold in his hands. At least the only red edge today that is visible will be his nose.
Geonhak and Keonhee aren’t wearing anything on their heads, and Youngjo leans a bit to Hwanwoong’s side, whispering: “Doesn’t it kinda look like they’ve got dandruff on their hair?”
The blonde giggles, because if he adds some imagination into it, it does look like dandruff, but he’s not able to reply, because Dongju accidentally pushes him over as he’s running away from Keonhee, who has his own snowball in his hand, ready to fire.
Youngjo catches the shorter from both of his arms, as Hwanwoong has almost fallen all over (for) him. He feels his heart leap as Youngjo embraces him. He does not even understand why Youngjo is embracing him, and he does not question it - it’s beyond his capacity at this point, the state of his mind being: panic.
“Is our Woongie baby cold?” Youngjo says, again in that mock cute tone, his hands properly enveloping him in a hug, tightening around him.
Actually Hwanwoong is growing hotter with every passing second, but he knows Youngjo does that - he randomly hugs you when he finds the chance. His back is glued to the older’s chest, and Youngjo’s head has come to rest on the side of his own. The volume to which his heart is beating is scary; he can feel it pumping throughout his body, and he’s almost sure - though he knows it’s not normally possible - Youngjo can feel it too. That he can hear it. Just like he can feel the warmth of the older’s body on his own. Damn Youngjo and his bad habits.
Then, Youngjo eats a snowball in the face by none other than Seoho, who, in return, eats another one from Dongju whose eyes are sending darts all over Seoho’s existence. Youngjo lets Hwanwoong go, and the blonde does not know if he should be disappointed or relieved.
He sees the eldest firing another snowball to Seoho, his face covered in little snowflakes, and then Youngjo jumps on him, enveloping him in a weird embrace that causes the both of them to fall down on the snow, thankfully. Youngjo is strong enough to pin Seoho down, and he keeps him there as Dongju keeps throwing over his snowballs - until, that is, Geonhak’s great interruption, a snowball tossed with such force that sends Dongju stumbling on the snow.
And who is Hwanwoong to not join in the fun?
He picks up the snow that fell from his hands when Youngjo hugged him from the back and casts it at the one who caused it to fall in the first place.
They’re divided in two teams: Keonhee, Hwanwoong and Youngjo, and Seoho, Geonhak and Dongju.
Currently the three of them are hiding on the side of a building in the park, working on their strategy. Which Hwanwoong finds ridiculous, because this is a snow fight, what sort of strategy can save them when there’s no rules?
“I say we just charge at them.” he suggests, not seeing the point in hiding anyway.
“Aww Woongie is bold?” Youngjo asks.
“Yeeeeth Woongie is bold,” Hwanwoong mocks him back. “Do you have to propose anything better?”
“I think,” starts Keonhee, “I should go first. I know for a fact all three of them are going to be fighting over what to do right now anyway. I’ll go first, find them, and when I give you the signal, come over. I know Dongju’s hiding spots.”
Youngjo and Hwanwoong nod, and they stand up to stick their backs at the wall again, trying to blend in as much as possible. Keonhee slowly draws his head out of the corner, checking for foes, but the area is clear and he steps out.
With Keonhee’s absence, all Hwanwoong can think of right now is how his side is touching with Youngjo’s. And God, it’s not something great; there have been times where Youngjo had to carry him on his back, or when they had cuddled together on the floor in Seoho’s place for a sleepover and Hwanwoong was trembling from the cold. But it’s the intense silence that he’s pretty sure only he is finding really loud , it’s his own heart drumming in his ears, it’s Youngjo’s breath that comes out in an even rhythm, it’s... Youngjo. And he doesn’t know what to do with his feelings at all - if he was brave enough, he would take Youngjo’s hand in his, just for the sake of it, Youngjo is touchy and affectionate anyway, he wouldn’t mind. If he was even braver than that, he would already have confessed; he’s pretty sure Youngjo likes boys. But he doesn’t want to destroy their little friend group.
They’ve built a beautiful little world of their own, something Hwanwoong didn’t have the previous years of his school life, and he does not want to destroy their small bubble with some stupid unimportant crush he formed on his own. He doesn’t want Youngjo to feel awkward around him if Hwanwoong confesses. And suddenly he’s so overwhelmed for no reason at all, he almost follows Keonhee - he would have, if Youngjo had not grabbed his wrist.
“Where are you going?”
“I… don’t- I just thought-”
“Keonhee didn’t give us the signal yet.” Youngjo murmurs.
“No, I know, but-”
“Woong.” Youngjo stops him. “I wanna give you something.”
Hwanwoong doesn’t speak, dazed, confused.
Youngjo takes out of his coat a little packet of Hwanwoong’s favourite Japanese snacks - how did he get them? - and on them there’s a little sticky note, that Hwanwoong does not have time to read, because right then Youngjo takes the hand which he grabbed before, and holds it properly. He does that often. Hwanwoong waits, heart in his mouth.
“Hmm… how do I say this…” Youngjo wonders, alone. “Woong. Will you be my Valentine?”
The blonde’s mind pauses, all working cells on standby, as he tries to process what this could possibly mean.
“I- what?”
“Be my Valentine.” Then, “I like you.”
Hwanwoong can only stare at Youngjo’s eyes that are staring deep into his own, looking for an answer inside them. They’re glistening, little twinkles that the blonde wonders how they could have gotten in there. Hwanwoong doesn’t respond, yet Youngjo does not break off the contact.
“YOUNGJO HYUUUUUNG HEEEELP!” Keonhee shouts from somewhere far.
Both of them ignore Keonhee.
“I like you, Woongie. I’ve liked you for months now - I thought you knew.” He says, half a smile on his lips.
“No I- How could I have known?” Hwanwoong says, and his heart skips as he feels Youngjo’s thumb brushing over his knuckles.
“You’re so dense, Woongie. I literally cuddle you to sleep.” He leans over and kisses his forehead, and Hwanwoong’s breath hitches. “I like you. So what’s your answer?”
“I can’t believe this… I’ve liked you for quite some time too but-” he can’t continue his sentence, because it’s stupid, because this doesn’t feel real, yet-
“But?”
“...I don’t know.” Pause. “I just really like you.” He says, looking everywhere but Youngjo’s eyes, which are still gazing at his.
“HWANWOONG! YOUNGJO HYUNG! THIS IS THE SIGNAL! I’M BEING ATTACKED HERE!!!”
They still ignore Keonhee.
Youngjo lifts Hwanwoong’s chin up. “You’re so cute when your nose is red from the cold.” He says, and maybe, just maybe, having cold edges isn’t that bad after all. “May I?”
Hwanwoong smiles, nods. His mind still unable to process any of this.
He feels the other’s hand cup the side of his face, slightly leaning to the side, as Youngjo’s lips meet his, and they touch, softly, remain there for a little while. And only when Youngjo puts a hand on Hwanwoong’s waist to bring him closer, as close as he can, after all these months of lurking feelings, of oppressing his own, of almost exploding from them; only when Youngjo pushes his mouth to Hwanwoong’s and smiles into the kiss as Keonhee screams in the background, only then does it feel real.
♥
“So, it worked?” Dongju asks, after the snowfight is over, and they’re all sat on the snow, catching their breath.
“What worked?” asks Youngjo.
“Do you know how hard I tried to get the two of you alone?”
“I can’t believe both of you betrayed your teammate just to hook up.” Keonhee snickers. “I literally went to find their hiding spot and once I ask for help… you know I will get revenge on that, right? Seoho put a snowball in my armpit! I don’t even know how he reached there!”
Seoho laughs, an evil thing, “I have my ways.”
“So are you officially a couple now?” Geonhak asks them, and Hwanwoong freaks out.
“We’re WHAT?”
“Woongie, I’m literally your boyfriend. Chill.” He grabs his hand, holds it gently.
“Ew, are we going to have to see that now?” Keonhee asks, disgusted.
Seoho shrugs. “They’ve literally been doing shit like this for ages already. What’s the difference.”
“I’m just glad it’s over.” Dongju says. “At least I can focus on my own problems.”
Youngjo just smiles, because he loves all of them, he does, but right now he loves Hwanwoong the most. And the latter is seated next to him, ears red from the cold, the embarrassment. He brushes the strands of his hair behind his ear, and feels Hwanwoong stiffen at his touch, and his smile only widens. Hwanwoong is adorable.
“Your ears are cute, too.” Youngjo kisses his temple.
And maybe, just maybe, having cold edges isn’t bad at all.