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Keeho was proud of himself.
Actually, no. Keeho was smug. Weeks of anonymous notes, little gifts, even a post-it doodle of a dancing bear that looked more like a potato (but with personality!) had all gone smoothly. Intak always looked so happy when he found them, grinning that grin that made Keeho’s chest ache in ways he would never, ever admit out loud.
Until now.
Keeho sat on the dorm couch, carefully writing tonight’s note. “Don’t forget you’re the brightest star in the room.”
He tilted his head, chewing the pen cap. “Hmm… too much? He’s gonna know it’s me if I keep sounding poetic.”
“Know it’s you for what?”
Keeho nearly levitated off the couch. Taeyang had appeared out of nowhere, balancing a bowl of cereal like he owned the place.
“Nothing!” Keeho squeaked, slamming his notebook shut so fast he nearly bent the cover.
Taeyang raised a brow. “That looked like a love note.”
“It’s-- It’s not.” Keeho’s laugh was painfully fake. “It’s… my-- lyrics. Yeah. Songwriting.”
Taeyang leaned over and snatched the notebook before Keeho could react. His eyes scanned the page. Then he burst out laughing so loud Keeho considered stuffing a couch pillow down his throat.
“Brightest star in the room? Dude, you sound like a K-Drama lead.”
“Give it back!” Keeho lunged, but Taeyang twisted away, cereal bowl still miraculously steady.
“Oh my god,” Taeyang wheezed, “you’re Intak’s secret admirer, aren’t you?”
Keeho froze. His silence said everything.
Taeyang's eyes widened, then his grin stretched like the Cheshire cat. “No way. It’s you? Keeho, the leader, the one who always says he’s ‘too busy to date’? You’ve been leaving all those notes? The snacks? The potato bear?”
Keeho groaned, grabbing a pillow and smashing it into his own face. “Why are you like this?”
Taeyang shoved the pillow aside, eyes sparkling like he’d won the lottery. “You simp! You’ve been crushing on Intak this whole time, and you didn’t tell me? Oh, this is so good.”
Keeho shot him a glare. “Taeyang. Listen to me carefully. If you tell anyone, especially Intak, I will end you.”
Taeyang plopped onto the couch, looking far too delighted. “Relax. Your secret’s safe with me… for now.”
Keeho narrowed his eyes. “For now?”
Taeyang smirked. “Well, it depends on how nice you are to me. Maybe if you buy me bubble tea--”
“Taeyang.” Keeho’s tone was low, deadly.
“Fine, fine! I won’t tell him. But, Keeho…” Taeyang leaned in, whispering dramatically, “you’re the worst secret admirer ever. You get these big sparkly eyes whenever Intak breathes in your direction. Honestly it’s embarrassing.”
Keeho hurled a cushion at his face.
<><><><>
For the next week, Keeho’s life became ten times harder.
Every time he tried to sneak something into Intak’s bag, Taeyang would clear his throat loudly from across the room.
Every time Keeho stared at Intak for too long, Taeyang would make obnoxious kissing noises.
Every time Keeeho so much as held a pen, Taeyang would whisper, “Whatcha writing, Romeo?”
It was exhausting.
During one particularly chaotic morning, Keeho stood at the dorm counter with a granola bar, trying to tape a note to the wrapper before Intak got out of the shower.
Taeyang appeared behind him like a ghost. “You know,” he said casually, “for someone who claims to be subtle, you’re extremely obvious.”
Keeho nearly dropped the granola bar. “Get OUT of my business!”
Taeyang peered at the note. “‘Don’t forget breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Fighting!’ …Keeho. That’s not romantic. That’s parental.”
Keeho shoved him. “Not every note has to be poetry, okay? I’m versatile.”
“Oh, versatile, huh?” Taeyang smirked. “Then what’s next? A love coupon? A mixtape of ballads? Your diary printed and laminated?”
Keeho threw a spoon at him.
<><><><>
The next day, Keeho decided to up his game. He drew another doodle, this time a dog with floppy ears. Or at least, that’s what he was aiming for. He slipped it into Intak’s bag before practice.
“Who keeps leaving these for me?” Intak asked aloud, holding it up. His grin was wide, teasing, but his eyes scanned the room curiously.
Keeho froze.
Taeyang, sitting on the floor, clutched his stomach like he was in pain from holding back laughter.
Keeho immediately stared at the ceiling, pretending he hadn’t heard anything, while his ears burned so hot he was sure the others could see steam.
“You’ve got a secret admirer, huh?” Jiung teased.
“Yeah,” Intak said, tucking the doodle carefully into his notebook. “They’re kind of cute.”
Keeho’s heart nearly beat out of his chest.
Taeyang caught his eye and mouthed, Simp.
Shut up, Keeho mouthed back.
<><><><>
By the time Intak found the note in his water bottle a few days later, “You make practice bearable just by being here,” Keeho was already a wreck.
And when Intak looked up, eyes scanning the room with that same slow curiosity, Keeho swore his soul left his body.
This was it. The beginning of the end.
Across the room, Taeyang mouthed one word, smug as ever. Puppy.
Keeho was going to strangle him. Later. After he survived this.
<><><><>
It happened after practice, when the others had already shuffled off to shower or collapse in their rooms.
Keeho was bent over his bag, shoving his notebook deep inside like hiding it further somehow erase the evidence of weeks of anonymous simping. He was sweaty, tired, and very much planning on pretending the last hour never happened.
“Hyung.”
Keeho froze.
He turned slowly to find Intak leaning against the wall, arms crossed, hair still damp from the shower. His expression was unreadable, somewhere between curious and unamused, with just the tiniest spark in his eyes that made Keeho’s stomach flip.
“Yeah?” Keeho croaked.
Intak tilted his head. “You’ve been leaving me notes.”
Keeho’s soul exited his body. “What? No, I-- notes? I don’t--”
“Hyung.” Intak’s tone was gentle but firm, the kind he used when cutting through Keeho’s dramatic rambling. “It’s you. I know it’s you.”
Keeho opened his mouth, closed it again, then flailed. “Okay-- but in my defense, I was going to tell you eventually! Just, like, on my deathbed. Or maybe in a dramatic music video concept where it would be poetic and not-- this.”
Intak laughed, and Keeho swore the sound short-circuited his brain.
“You’re ridiculous,” Intak said, stepping closer. “I knew it was you weeks ago.”
Keeho blinked. “You-- what?!”
“You draw the same lopsided eyes on all your doodles,” Intak said matter-of-factly. “And no one else writes their Ys like that. Plus, Taeyang hyung isn’t as subtle as he thinks. He kept looking at you every time I found something.”
Keeho clutched his chest. “I’ve been betrayed. By my own handwriting. And Taeyang.”
Intak ignored his dramatics and smiled, softer this time. “I like the notes, hyung. I like… that they’re from you.”
Keeho’s heart stopped, restarted, and then started breakdancing. “You-- you do?”
Intak’s ears turned pink, but he nodded. “I like you too. I thought you’d never say anything, so… I figured I’d save you the trouble.”
Keeho stared at him for a long moment, completely dumbfounded. Then, because he was Keeho, he blurted, “So you’re saying I risked my reputation as mysterious secret admirer mastermind for no reason?”
Intak laughed again, shoving his shoulder lightly. “You’re terrible at being mysterious. But you’re a good admirer.”
Keeho was about to make another sarcastic comeback, but then Intak looked at him, really looked at him, and the words melted right off his tongue.
“...Can I--” Keeho started, then hesitated, nerves bubbling up.
Intak saved him the trouble, stepping forward and pressing a quick, soft kiss to his cheek. “Yes, hyung. You can.”
From the hallway came a very loud, very smug voice. “FINALLY!”
Both of them whipped around to see Taeyang sticking his head in through the door, grinning ear to ear. “Took you long enough. Now I can stop watching Keeho write love poems at 2AM.”
Keeho grabbed the nearest water bottle and hurled it at him.
But even with Taeyang’s cackling echoing down the hall, Keeho couldn’t stop smiling.