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It was already three in the morning yet there was still one person stuck in his studio with the bright display being the only light source, looking so intensely on his screen while scrolling endlessly. And although it might not seem like it with how serious he looks, Lee Jihoon was for once not stuck working on a song. Instead, he was looking for something that he could do with his boyfriend for tomorrow, during Valentine's Day.
Lee Jihoon and Kwon Soonyoung have already been together for about five years and Soonyoung was always the one who planned what they would do and would just tell the former on what he should wear or bring. But it’s not like Jihoon hasn't done anything for Soonyoung in the past five years, he would always have something for Soonyoung as well during their special days and even during random ones, just to show how much he appreciates the other. It’s just Soonyoung had always prepared something for Valentines before Jihoon could even talk to the other about it.
But Jihoon was sure that he would make this year different. He’s going to be the one to plan a day that would sweep Soonyoung off his feet. He made sure to remind Soonyoung that he was going to be the one planning something ever since his birthday passed–Soonyoung once again prepared a really nice gift for him and he was even able to celebrate with the other members. He even felt like everything was going according to his plan since they had a long break and they had already prepared a recorded Carat Day celebration so they didn’t have any schedules.
Still, it was already February 13, the day before Valentine's Day, and Jihoon still had nothing planned. He was already searching for whatever they could do since he found a Christmas gift for the other along with the other things he had to prepare for the holidays and end of the year shows, and that was in December. It’s already February and he feels like he has already read every forum and article out there yet he still hasn’t found the perfect activity. There were good ones but they either couldn’t do that activity, being an idol and all, or they have already done it some time before.
He was already frustrated but he knew that he couldn’t give up. But he’s been at it for a long time so he decided to rest for a while, looking back on the past years they celebrated Valentine’s hoping to get any ideas.
—
February 14, 2023
Jihoon woke up with Soonyoung’s hand running through his hair, quietly humming to Imperfect Love , one of their older songs he wrote for the other. But as much as he wanted to bask in the other’s affection, he badly feels like wanting to see the other already. He opened his eyes and Soonyoung was already smiling widely at him.
Soonyoung leaned in and placed a fleeting kiss on Jihoon’s forehead. “Good morning my Hoonie. Did you sleep well?”
Jihoon looked at Soonyoung softly while the other and nodded while burying his head on Soonyoung’s chest which made the other chuckle. “Do you want to lie in bed some more or do you want to eat breakfast now? I made us something nice for today.”
Soonyoung started rubbing Jihoon’s back to slowly wake him up and after a while Jihoon looked up at him. “Good morning my Youngie. Happy Valentine’s Day,” Jihoon said as he kissed Soonyoung’s cheeks.
“Happy Valentine’s day, my love. Let’s go down now. Is that fine? I’ll even carry you.” Soonyoung said while Jihoon immediately wrapped his hands around the other.
As they were going down, Jihoon kept cuddling closer to Soonyoung and knowing that Jihoon is in his clingy mood, he didn’t let the other go and placed him on his lap when he sat down at the chair in their dining table. They simply sat there for a while basking in each other’s presence, feeding each other food and giving soft kisses to one another.
They then stayed in the living room couch, cuddling while playing sappy movies that they actually care nothing about when their focus is on each other anyway. After a while they had to get ready to go to their company building for the Carat Day live.
It was right after their Carat Day live and Jihoon was already content with how their day went. He just wanted to go home and spend some more time with his boyfriend at the comfort of their own home and probably get some take out for dinner or maybe they can even try to cook together. He was already lost in his own head, planning whatever they could do when they arrived home, when suddenly Soonyoung was coming near him while carrying two large bags and holding his hand out towards him.
“Let’s go?” Soonyoung said as he pulled the other closer to him once Jihoon placed his hand on the dancer’s.
Soonyoung was swaying their bodies together as he waited for the other’s answer and Jihoon turned around in his arms so that he would be facing him. “Where are we going? Aren’t we going home yet?”
Jihoon has always looked adorable for Soonyoung when it was just the two of them and he just couldn’t help himself and pinched the other’s cheeks and the latter was already used to him so he just snuggled closer to him.
Soonyoung was back to swaying there bodies again. “Well, I kind of booked a flight to Japan and a hotel just for us. We can just stay there and go to that place that you love, then we can go home the next day.” He waited for the other’s response who was only looking at him. And after a while that Jihoon hasn’t answered, Soonyoung was quick to assure the other that they don’t have to. “Unless you don’t wa-”
“Let’s go!” Jihoon exclaimed as he dragged the older towards the exit.
Just like that they were on their way to Japan where they roamed around while holding each other’s hand and ate at their favorite restaurant. They were free to be just themselves that day, falling in love with each other a little more.
—
February 14, 2021
Soonyoung has always understood Jihoon. Sometimes even to the point that he would know what was going on before Jihoon could even think about it and realize what was happening with him.
Jihoon was feeling a bit down that week and he just blamed it on the looming deadlines that he needed to finish. He had a lot of things to do but felt like he didn’t have as much time to finish it and he was already so tired and stressed about it. And after a while of just staring at his screen, he decided that he had enough and that he wouldn’t be able to finish anything anyway so he decided to already go home.
The dorm was already dark when he arrived. He didn’t feel like doing anything else so he went straight to his room. As he got closer to his bed, he realized that someone was already sleeping on his bed. He tapped on the lump on his bed hoping that the said person would wake up. After a while, said lump removed the blanket that was covering himself and he realized that it was just Soonyoung. He might have fallen asleep while waiting.
“Hi Youngie, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in your room?” Jihoon asked Soonyoung who was sleepily looking at him.
“I missed you.” Soonyoung immediately answered while yawning. Jihoon immediately went to his side and positioned the both of them so that there wouldn’t be any space left between them. “Also, Happy Valentine’s Day, Jagiya.” Soonyoung added and kissed Jihoon on his lips.
“Happy Valentine’s to you as well my Jagiya.” Jihoon told the other after sharing a slightly longer kiss with the other. “Do we have any plans for later? We only have to do the Carat Day live if I remember correctly?” He asked when they pulled away from each other.
Soonyoung snuggled closer to Jihoon before answering. “I was actually planning to drive both of us to Busan later. I feel like you’ve been missing your family lately and they’ve messaged me as well asking when we could visit.”
Ohhh. That was when Jihoon realized that he actually has been missing his family a lot and he only found it out through Soonyoung. He knew that he had been feeling down but he doesn’t know why and just kept blaming it on his deadlines. But Soonyoung knew that he had been wanting to visit his parents since they’ve been more free to go out and aren’t as restricted anymore. He just didn’t have the time which made it hard for him to go.
“Ohh. Thank you for helping me realize why I have been feeling a bit down lately and for making time for us to visit my family. Let’s visit yours next when we find time, especially during the weekends so we can stay for a longer time.” Jihoon told the other while running his hands through the other’s hair.
“Don’t worry about it.” Soonyoung replied while yawning. “We can talk some more about that later. But for now, let’s sleep so that we will have energy when we visit eomma and appa. Good night Jagiya.”
Jihoon pecked the other’s forehead for the last time that night. “Good night to you too, Jagi.”
Later that day when they were already done with the live, they went for a few hours long drive to Busan. When they arrived, they were immediately welcomed by Jihoon’s parents with their arms open for the both of them. They talked together while having dinner and Jihoon’s parents asked them to stay the night to which they quickly agreed.
They then went out with just the two of them to walk around and get some fresh air before falling asleep. Soonyoung was swinging their arms while their hands were interlocked. It was quiet between the both of them when Jihoon suddenly spoke. “Thank you for today, Youngie. I had a great time. I’m sorry we weren’t able to go out with just the two of us.”
Soonyoung stopped walking and pulled the other towards him. “Hey Hoonie, don’t worry. I had fun as well and they’re my family now as well, of course I’d like to see them too.”
Jihoon didn’t even realize that he was already tearing up so he was surprised when he felt Soonyoung wiping tears away from his cheeks. “I love you.” Jihoon mumbled softly before leaning towards Soonyoung.
“I love you too,” Soonyoung whispered back before leaning in as well.
—
February 14, 2020
It was just the start of the pandemic and they were in quarantine. There’s not a lot of things that they can do outside, and most of the establishments are closed anyway. Plus, they were still tired. It’s just been a few days since they had the last stop for their Ode to You tour and they were still supposed to be touring right now. But now they’re stuck at home, feeling a lot of different things all at once.
But this was the first Valentine’s day that they have as a couple. Soonyoung wouldn’t let this day just pass by without them being able to do anything. Jihoon on the other hand was curious as to why his boyfriend was suddenly busy when they’ve just gotten back to Korea. But he let the other be, thinking that he’s just keeping himself busy since their schedules were suddenly canceled.
He was hiding in his room, wrapping the gift that he bought for the other for Valentine’s Day. An expensive pair of shoes that he can use during their practices and he has a pair for himself too which he knows the other would love. When suddenly, his phone pinged with a notification from Soonyoung asking him to come to his room.
When he opened the door, the room was dark with fairy lights hanging on the wall being the only light source. There were also pictures of the both of them clipped on the lights and there was a blanket fort set up on the bed.
“Soonyoung?” he called out when he realized the other was nowhere to be seen.
Jihoon turned around when someone tapped him on his shoulder and saw Soonyoung beaming at him while holding a bouquet of chocolate flowers and some other snack.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jagiya. I know this isn’t a lot and I had other things planned but quarantine-” Soonyoung wasn’t able to finish what he was saying because Jihoon suddenly hugged him tight.
“Soonyoung, I love you, really. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.” Jihoon quickly said before cupping Soonyoung’s cheeks and placing a quick kiss on his lips.
Soonyoung chuckled when Jihoon let go and gave the bouquet to the other. “I love you too. What do you want to watch?”
And that’s how they spent their first valentine’s day as a couple, wrapped in each other’s arms, surrounded by their favorite snacks, favorite shows, and their favorite person.
—
Looking back at some of the moments they had during Valentine’s made Jihoon realize once again how far they have come. Still, he wasn’t able to find any ideas that they could do for Valentine’s day. They’ve already done a lot and that’s just Valentine’s, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special events are still not included. He was feeling even more stressed out now seeing how much Soonyoung has already done for them during their Valentine’s Day celebration. He was already spiraling when he suddenly received a message.
My Youngie 🐯: Are you not coming home yet? I miss you already.
And just like that, he already knew what to do.
—
February 14, 2024
The next day, Valentine’s Day, Jihoon was already up at dawn, too early for him to be awake. He’s so excited that he wanted to wake up his boyfriend as well but he had a few things to do first. He prepared a simple breakfast for them and started the coffee machine. He then quietly entered their room and packed a few clothes for them and some other things that they would need. Once he was done with everything, he entered their bedroom again and sat beside Soonyoung.
“Youngie, wake up.” Jihoon softly said while softly patting the others cheeks.
“10 more minutes…” Soonyoung groaned as he tried to swat Jihoon’s hand away.
Jihoon was now shaking Soonyoung but the latter pulled him so that they could lie down together. “Nooo we should get ready now, I need you to drive us somewhere.”
Soonyoung slowly woke up and stared at the other. “I thought this was your surprise so why am I driving the both of us.”
“You do know that I don’t have my license yet. Unless you want to get arrested on Valentine’s day.” Jihoon scolded while playfully hitting the other. Soonyoung only chuckled at him and let the other go, slowly standing up and dragging the other with him. “Okay, okay. Just let me wash up and brush my teeth so that we can already eat breakfast and get ready.”
Jihoon simply nodded at the other and placed a quick kiss on the other’s lips. He then let the other be to get himself awake and went back to the kitchen so that he could fix their breakfast.
After eating breakfast and getting ready, they were already on their way to wherever Jihoon wants them to go. He simply pinned the address on his boyfriend’s phone but didn’t tell him where they were exactly going. And as they were in the car, they just talked about the most random things and sang along with the music that Jihoon had been playing.
It was more than an hour later that they arrived in front of a nice house. Soonyoung didn’t know what they were doing there yet but Jihoon told him that they were in the right place and the other was already preparing to get their things down so he just followed him.
“Did you rent this place for us? How long are we staying here?” Soonyoung asked as they were walking towards the door while carrying their bags in one hand and holding Jihoon’s hand in the other.
Jihoon just smiled at him and took two sets of keys and placed one of them on the hand that was holding his. “We can stay here for as long as you want, whenever you want.” Soonyoung was shocked and stared at the younger with his mouth agape. “I’ve been planning to buy a place for the both of us and bought it a few months ago. I was just finding the perfect time to let you know.”
Soonyoung dropped their bags and went straight to pull the other towards him. “What- Why- I don’t even know what to say,” he said with tears already falling from his eyes.
“Are you crying,” Jihoon asked while pulling the other away from the other and wiped his tears.
“I’m just so happy. Why didn’t you tell me before and the fact that you’ve been planning this for years- Hoonie what are you really?” Soonyoung held Jihoon’s hand’s with his again before placing them near his lips. He looked straight at the younger with a fond look on his eyes, “I love you really.”
“I love you too, my Youngie.” Jihoon replied with the same fondness in his eyes before placing his lips on the other. “Shall we go inside? We can stay here for the rest of our break before we have to go back to work again.”
Soonyoung just nodded at the other and Jihoon had let him use his own keys and open the door on his own. He felt even more loved seeing what the inside looked like. It’s just like how he imagined after their random talks about their future where they briefly mentioned their preferences when choosing a house. Jihoon really knows him so much, just as much as he knows the other, probably even more.
And that was how Jihoon successfully planned his first Valentine’s surprise for his boyfriend. What better way to show his love for the other than by showing how much he’d want to spend a future with him. But of course, he didn’t want to end the day with just showing the house. They were able to cook together, preparing a candlelight dinner that they were able to enjoy in their new dining room.
They might have spent a lot of Valentine’s together, but they were going to make sure it’s not going to be the last. They would just have to think about a lot more things to do with each other. But for now, they’re a little more in love with each other, hoping to have an even longer future together.