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Part 2 of Methods
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2026-02-14
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Zhou's method

Summary:

The dynamic is simple; every year, during Valentine's week, all students are given a ribbon on the first day on their pinky finger, a romantic way to bring back the legend of the red thread. After that, the real show starts.

It doesn't matter if they're boys or girls, anyone could participate, even teachers. The tradition is to crown someone as the heart collector once a year. Does it affect anything? No, not really, it's only an activity many see as something fun, others see it as a way to remain in the university's legacy.

At the beginning it didn't matter, it was just a game.

Until the next year his biggest rival at this university appeared, Zhou Anxin.

Notes:

Hello! I'm back with my Valentine's Day special, which is the wonxin side story of my story “Aoyagi's Method” (Junsato). I hope you like it! <3

Work Text:

Seoul University has a somewhat silly practice. Some students love it, others hate it, and others simply don't understand it.

Carl Jung divided the world in an interesting way when he proposed the models of where people direct their psychic energy. And he presented two different types of attitudes, introversion and extroversion.

No one's 100% an introvert and no one's 100% an extrovert, it's only a conversation about the preferences that dominate your personality.

Sometimes Lee Sangwon wondered, if both of them were categorized as introverts by the MBTI, wouldn't it make more sense for them to think they have something in common and maintain a normal relationship?

Not something like this, never something like that.

And Lee Sangwon isn't really someone competitive, but after so many years participating in the university tradition, it's impossible that some behaviors haven't stayed rooted in his being.

That's why Sangwon is a little obsessed with being the heart collector that year—I mean, it's his last year at the university, if it isn't now, then he'll never be able to be the heart collector and there'll never be a mark that he was there.

Everyone always forgets the other participants!

So when he sets a foot on campus that Monday, February 9, he can only feel the need to win. This year the title will be his.

The university is decorated in the most endearing way the event board could've come up with, the color red is everywhere you turn to look, even the green areas of the campus have some decoration here and there.

And while he's walking toward his classroom building, he can see the big banner that says "Time to collect hearts!" Indeed, the day has arrived.

Sangwon watches with a smile the small red ribbon tangled around his pinky as he walks through the hallways, and he almost miraculously avoids bumping into someone for not looking ahead. Wow, this really is his last year in the collection.

The dynamic is simple; every year, during Valentine's week, all students are given a ribbon on the first day on their pinky finger, a romantic way to bring back the legend of the red thread. After that, the real show starts.

It doesn't matter if they're boys or girls, anyone could participate, even teachers. The tradition is to crown someone as the heart collector once a year. Does it affect anything? No, not really, it's only an activity many see as something fun, others see it as a way to remain in the university's legacy.

He's always adored this tradition since the day he found out in his first year of classes, and ironically he was one of the top participants since his first year. At the beginning it didn't matter—it was just a game.

Until the next year his biggest rival at this university appeared, Zhou Anxin. Oh, just thinking about him made Sangwon's head hurt. That little boy who went from one side to another with a smile and captivated everyone.

Little by little, while the older students disappeared from the top, Zhou Anxin kept climbing until he was one place below Lee Sangwon—And he never lost his spot.

They always went down and up in the ranking, they were always stealing the spot from each other and fighting tooth and nail for it. This had stopped being a simple game for Sangwon.

He walked slowly until he reached his classroom and sat down with a wide smile. He felt the expectation of how everything would turn out that year, he couldn't explain the joy he held, maybe he never could.

Or so he thought.

"And what miracle is it that you arrived early to class today?" Leejeong greeted while sitting next to Sangwon. "I thought you'd be in the hallway receiving hearts. Let's see, show me your wrist."

Sangwon only laughed softly and showed his bare wrist, without any ribbon around it. "It's only the first day, they still haven't given me anything."

His friend only snorted exaggeratedly while leaning on the desk. He'd already gotten used to never receiving as many ribbons as he'd like, but hearing Sangwon's humble attitude was annoying.

"I really hope Anxin beats you this year, friend," Leejeong complained, and Sangwon only laughed out loud.

"He'll never manage to beat me, i'm afraid." But Sangwon was abruptly silenced by the laughter of his best friend who sat on his other side at that very moment. "What are you laughing at, Leo?"

"That the first thing you do on a Monday at 9am is talk about Anxin, just marry him already," Leo rolled his eyes while starting to arrange his things under the desk. "Jiahao told me Anxin isn't participating this year, so you've got a free path, i guess."

What?

Maybe there was a way to ruin Sangwon's smile that day, that simple sentence ended all the happiness he felt running through his body since he walked in.

Why wouldn't Anxin participate that year?

"What?" Leejeong and Sangwon asked in unison.

"Hm, something about how he realized competing for feelings is stupid," Leo started speaking while shrugging. "And that this year he'll actually give his ribbon to someone."

A silence fell between them while Sangwon bit his lower lip without noticing the metallic taste that started brushing against his tongue.

"He can't give his ribbon to someone... why would he give his ribbon to someone?" Sangwon muttered ironically. He was still in a state of shock, he really couldn't trust or believe his best friend's words.

But he's his best friend, Leo would never tell him something to hurt him.

"That's what he told me," Leo replied, just as bored as before. "Confess first, drop that competition nonsense, man."

But Sangwon shook his head. "Confess what? Of course i don't like Anxin, you're crazy, man."

Why would Anxin give his ribbon to someone else?

Damn, Sangwon couldn't pay attention to anything in class. He only pretended he was understanding and wrote down a couple concepts his teacher was talking about, but he didn't hear anything.

It felt like he had his head underwater, everything arrived without much sense, everything echoed a little in a way he didn't understand. And he only followed his friends to have breakfast because it'd be weird if he didn't.

He wanted to bite his nails, he wanted to scream and he wanted to confront Anxin and ask him if he'd gone crazy. Why did he fall in love?

Who did he fall in love with?

"Don't even talk to me," were Sangwon's words when he finally sat at the table with all his friends.

Right next to Anxin.

"What happened, hyung?" Anxin asked softly. "Did you already have breakfast?"

Sangwon turned to look at him after a few seconds, and he stared at him for longer than seemed prudent, but he couldn't help it. Damn it, he'd never be able to help it. Was this guy really in love with someone?

"Aren't you going to participate in the collection?" he asked in a low voice. Only for the two of them. Anxin opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Leo told me."

Anxin thought about his answer for a while after that, and Sangwon was getting desperate. Why was he taking so long? Why couldn't he tell him it was a lie?

"Yeah, i'm not participating this year," Anxin started speaking while bringing a hand to Sangwon's blond hair. It was a little messy in his eyes, so he slowly moved a strand aside. "I don't see the point in competing this year, i'm tired."

He said everything with his smile, Anxin is so bad. So tragically bad.

Why does he say everything with a relaxed smile where Sangwon can see his dimple and will want to touch it, and therefore he'll forget all his problems?

"And i want to be a good boyfriend, so this year i want to give my ribbon to my special person."

God.

God.

Does God exist?

If God exists, then Sangwon wants to ask him why he makes life so cruel with his feelings. He knows well that he's in love with Anxin—damn it he knows it from a long time ago.

But he isn't capable of ruining the friendship, and now Anxin is in love with someone?

Life hates him.

"Then you'll have to watch me win the competition this year," Sangwon mocks, almost with the hope of causing something in Anxin's brain chemistry, but nothing crosses, nothing changes in his face.

"That's fine, i will."

He hated that answer. He hated it with all his soul and cursed Anxin under his breath for being like that, because there wasn't any reaction, absolutely nothing and not even an emotion in his dark eyes.

Not even the dangerous and playful spark that appeared every time someone mentioned the word win in front of Anxin. Absolutely nothing.

Sangwon clenched his jaw. "That's fine?"

"Of course," Anxin replied with the same unbearable serenity. "It's your last year. You should win."

You should. Of course.

"And who is it?" Sangwon suddenly blurted out.

Anxin blinked confused, awkwardly stroking Sangwon's hair. "Who is who?"

"The person you're going to give the ribbon to."

The table was full of noise. Leejeong was talking about something irrelevant, Leo was laughing, Kangmin dropped a glass. But between the two of them the world was completely silent.

Anxin looked at him for a few seconds too long. They were so eternal that Sangwon nervously bit his lip again. He doesn't know if he's really ready to get the answer to that question.

"You won't know yet."

"Won't i know or you don't want to say it?"

Anxin tilted his head. "Does it really matter?"

Yes.

Yes, it matters.

But Sangwon shrugged, pretending indifference with an act that would've been perfect if it wasn't because he was gripping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles were white.

"No. Just curiosity," he lied. Of course he lied because he was closer to taking a stray bullet to the head than telling the truth.

Anxin held his gaze for one more second. Then he smiled. That small, private smile, that Sangwon hated because it seemed to mean something he never quite managed to decipher.

"When they says yes to me, you'll know."

 

 

🎗️🎗️🎗️

 

 

Lee Sangwon realized the only way to stop feeling the emptiness in his chest was to keep following the tradition. In short, if he kept competing as if nothing was happening, then he could ignore the fact that his heart was in pieces because very likely Anxin has already found his other half and it isn't him, and it'll never be him.

That day was unbearable.

The red ribbons started appearing on Sangwon's wrists before lunch—One, then two, then five. Confessions written on folded papers, shy glances, nervous smiles.

And he responded to every single one of them like always: kindly, politely, and charming without really giving them a chance.

And he couldn't stop thinking about Anxin. Damn it, every time he saw his wrist full of new ribbons, he remembered that the only one he really wants to have isn't on his wrist.

When will Anxin confess?

Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Friday?

Or maybe Saturday, of course he'd confess on Saturday just to put on a show on Valentine's Day and be remembered as the guy who had the best Valentine's confession and that everyone loved.

Is it necessary to say that Sangwon bit his pillow with rage taking over him?

Whoever Anxin's love is, Sangwon genuinely hopes they reject him. If they reject him, then he could step in and... no, that's a little immoral. But if he gets rejected, then Sangwon would have a chance while Anxin is still single.

But Tuesday arrived too fast, as if the university itself were conspiring not to give him time to pull himself together. Sangwon woke up to the sound of notifications exploding on his phone; messages from the faculty group chat, event reminders, pictures of the first public confessions posted on the main board.

The world kept spinning normally, which was offensive. How dare everything keep being the same when Anxin had decided to drop out of three years of tradition with a smile?

He stayed staring at his wrist before even getting out of bed. The red ribbon on his own pinky was still there, perfectly tied, impeccable, like a promise nobody had made but that he insisted on holding onto.

He tightened the knot with his fingers. He wasn't going to take it off. He wasn't going to act like nothing. If Anxin wanted to abandon the competition in his last year, that's on him. Sangwon wasn't going to allow himself to lose by default, as if his victory were a consolation prize.

The campus was even more ridiculously red than the day before. They'd added heart-shaped balloons at the main entrance and a table where volunteers were handing out little stickers with cheesy phrases. Sangwon took one without looking and stuck it on his notebook; when he checked it later it said "Destined by the red thread."

He almost laughed. Destined. Sure.

The confessions didn't take more than ten minutes to start again. One girl or another approached shyly with a trembling smile, but Sangwon couldn't do anything more than reject her politely. She, red up to her ears, tied the ribbon on his wrist and left almost running. Sangwon didn't even look at how many he had; he didn't want to seem desperate counting.

"How many do you have?" Geonwoo asked while eating his lunch.

"Ten," Sangwon said yawning. "Three they gave me before class and seven they gave me before coming here."

"I hate you so much," his friend complained. "I only got two today, did you know everyone says Junseo will win the collection this year? He's sweeping, all the girls are in love with him."

Sangwon nodded slowly while listening, but for some reason, the spark of competition didn't activate when he heard that.

"Do you think he'll win?" he asked instead. And Geonwoo only shrugged. "Maybe Junseo hyung deserves it."

"Hey! You deserve it too," Geonwoo scolded him, lightly hitting him on the head. "This year you should give your ribbon to Anxin, it's your last year."

"He's going to confess to the person he likes, there's no way he'll confess to me," Sangwon refused quickly. The shift in the conversation was felt strongly. The way Sangwon spoke with sadness.

"And who says it isn't you?"

Geonwoo opened a Pandora's box Sangwon didn't know if he wanted.

"There's no way," Sangwon denied. "If i get my hopes up and it doesn't turn out to be me, then i'll end up sad and single."

"I'm sure that if you aren't the one Anxin chooses, you're going to throw yourself into the Han River," Geonwoo mocked. "Tone down your crush a little, man."

"I hide it too well, that's why Anxin doesn't notice."

Geonwoo only rolled his eyes exasperated. Any conversation with that boy was impossible, definitely Sangwon wasn't made to catch hints.

Anxin arrived late to photography class. He sat two rows back. Sangwon knew without turning around; he knew by the minimal murmur that always formed when he walked in, by the small change in the air that Sangwon hated noticing so precisely–He forced himself not to look. He wasn't going to gift him that attention.

Even though Anxin really hadn't done anything to not deserve that attention, but Sangwon's heart tightened in it's place every time he saw him.

And he heard a laugh, that kind of nervous laugh from Anxin.

He turned just enough to see him leaning toward a girl, talking too close, too comfortable. Sangwon felt something ugly, something low and primitive, twist in his stomach.

Why is he jealous now of anyone who breathes near Anxin? He's probably crazy. God, he's a jealous idiot in the making.

Anxin has to stop laughing or Sangwon is going to lose the calm he has left. Why did he sit far away? They enrolled in that elective together.

Or maybe Anxin only took it with him because he had nothing else to do and now he's met someone he likes so he isn't interested in spending more time with Sangwon because at the end of the day Sangwon is only one of his best friends and his stupid rival. Oh god.

He gripped the pen so hard the ink stained the margin of his notes.

When class ended, someone stopped him in the hallway to hand him another ribbon. Then another. And while he smiled and thanked them, he managed to see, on the other side of the corridor, Anxin listening to someone with his head slightly tilted. He wasn't wearing a ribbon on his wrist. It was clean. Empty. And even so there was a girl laughing in front of him as if she'd already won something.

Sangwon finished Tuesday morning with fifteen new ribbons.

Fifteen.

Leejeong almost cried with pride while counting them one by one. Leo whistled exaggeratedly and announced they could already start preparing the coronation speech. Sangwon pretended modesty, but his gaze drifted on its own toward the door every time someone walked into the café.

Anxin appeared twenty minutes later, as if the universe were waiting for the exact moment to make him uncomfortable. He sat in front of Sangwon this time, not next to him. He rested his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together, watching him with a calm that was suspicious.

"Forty," he said suddenly.

Sangwon frowned. "What?"

"Forty ribbons," Anxin repeated, pointing at his wrist. "That was your record last year, so you're missing a few to beat it."

Sangwon's heart made a treacherous jump. How did he know that? Since when was he counting?

"I'm not counting," he replied automatically, which was a shameless lie.

Anxin smiled slightly, that smile that seemed to know too much. "Sure."

There was a brief silence, tense, invisible to the others. Sangwon wanted to ask him about the girl in the hallway, about the conversation, about the plan, about the exact moment he was planning to ruin his week with a public confession worthy of applause. But he couldn't sound desperate. He couldn't sound hurt.

"And you?" he finally asked, with a voice so casual he almost fooled himself. "Busy preparing your... big moment?"

Anxin looked at him steadily. Too steadily and with a smile. "I don't have anything to prepare."

"Did you already get the yes?" Sangwon insisted, unable to stop himself.

"No." That answer, so simple, gave him an absurd and momentary relief. But it didn't last long. "Not yet," Anxin added.

Not yet.

So his torture was going to continue, unfortunately Sangwon could never be free from this that fast. What was Anxin waiting for to confess? He needed the torture to end.

Sangwon looked away, annoyed with himself for clinging to crumbs of information as if they were victories.

The competition continued, yes, but it had changed shape. It wasn't only about how many ribbons he could accumulate anymore. It was about resisting. About not being the only one taking everything too seriously.

It was about ignoring his own feelings for Anxin and enduring.

 

🎗️🎗️🎗️

 

On Wednesday afternoon, Sangwon lived through the worst situation a heart collector could live through. The only thing that comforted him was that he knew well it had also happened to Junseo.

A public confession, right in front of everyone.

He was walking outside the library when it happened, right in front of the building. This time it was a guy Sangwon recognized from one of his classes, he had a rose in his hand and walked with confidence.

Sangwon was really wishing the earth would swallow him whole at that moment, forever.

"I like you, Lee Sangwon," was what the guy said. He lowered his head and held out the rose.

Sangwon couldn't help comparing it to the many animes he's watched with Anxin when they stay up late on Discord during vacations. Oh god—At that moment was he the girl? Or the guy?

The murmurs grew louder, little by little people started gathering around and Sangwon wanted to cry from embarrassment, god—this is what he hates the most.

But for a second, when his eyes drifted to the large crowd surrounding him, he looked for Anxin and found him.

He was watching the whole situation, staring directly at Sangwon, but his eyes didn't carry any emotion, they were only observing. Everything about Anxin represented the calm that drove Sangwon crazy because ever since he met him he became someone who can't stay calm, and instead he's someone who causes disasters everywhere because he needs to express how he feels.

"Can you accept my ribbon?" the guy asked after a moment, when Sangwon finally took the rose.

"Sure, sure," Sangwon replied nervously. Anxin's gaze on him intimidated him, left him in limbo.

The two of them don't talk about it later. And they don't the following days either.

But silence isn't the absence of conversation. It's a conversation in itself, and it's much worse.

On Wednesday night Sangwon counted the ribbons sitting on the floor of his room like he was checking his war supplies. Forty-two. He beat his record before Thursday even arrived. Forty-two small red ribbons tightening around his wrist, some tighter than others, all useless.

The rose from the guy at the library was on his desk, starting to lean to one side as if it was also tired of holding something that wasn't going to bloom.

He let himself fall back against the bed and stared at the ceiling in silence.

Anxin didn't say anything.

Not a joke.

Not a hint.

Not even a playful comment about how dramatic the public confession had been.

 

🎗️🎗️🎗️

 

 

 

Thursday woke up with a cloudy sky, as if the weather had decided to match Sangwon's mental state. The university was still absurdly red, but the gray over the buildings made everything feel heavier. The ribbons no longer looked romantic; they looked like chains.

As soon as he crossed the main entrance, two girls intercepted him together. Double confession. Nervous laughter. Pictures. Someone shouted his name from the back. Sangwon smiled like he knew exactly what he was doing with his life.

He didn't know anything.

He accepted the ribbons. He thanked them. He bowed slightly. Everything perfectly executed.

When he lifted his gaze, he saw him.

Anxin was there, leaning against a column talking to his friends, his hands in his pockets and watching him. Only him, not the girls, only Sangwon. So he held his gaze back, and they were in a competition as usual.

It didn't last more than a few minutes, but for Sangwon it was enough to keep him smiling all day.

And for some reason, that was the mark of Thursday, they ran into each other everywhere, but they didn't approach—they only stared at each other intensely until one of them decided to break the contact.

The rest of the day went by like a competition against a ghost. Sangwon kept accumulating ribbons like he was on a divine mission. Every time someone mentioned his name, Geonwoo made exaggerated comments about statistics and probabilities. Leejeong was already planning a banner for Friday. Leo, meanwhile, looked at Sangwon with that "you're an idiot" expression that didn't need words.

But nobody mentioned Anxin.

It was like he'd officially left the board.

And that enraged Sangwon more than any possible defeat.

In the afternoon, during photography class, the professor asked them to work in pairs for an improvised exercise. Sangwon automatically lifted his gaze toward Anxin's usual seat.

Empty.

A second later, he heard his voice behind him.

"Should we work together?"

Sangwon didn't turn immediately. He needed those two seconds to fix his expression, to make sure his voice wouldn't betray anything.

"I thought you already had company," he replied, too neutral.

Anxin moved to sit next to him, so close his knee barely brushed Sangwon's. That minimal contact was enough for Sangwon's brain to go into emergency mode.

He was completely in his personal space, just like Anxin always was. Sangwon really hadn't been aware of how much he missed this.

"Why? Are you jealous?" Anxin asked in a low voice. His voice was like honey, so soft and addictive.

"Why would i be jealous of you?" he complained.

Out of respect for the teacher, Anxin only laughed in a soft nasal sound, but he was smiling openly because he'd won the war. It didn't matter how many battles Sangwon had on his back. Anxin always won.

They worked in silence for several minutes, adjusting the camera, changing the focus, discussing the light. Normal. Too normal. As if Wednesday hadn't existed. As if the rose hadn't been accepted in front of half the university.

"He was brave," Anxin said suddenly, without looking at him.

Sangwon knew exactly who he meant.

"Who?"

"The guy from the library."

Ah. Of course.

"Yeah," Sangwon replied after a second. "He was. I wouldn't have been able to do it."

Silence.

Anxin adjusted the lens with excessive care while pointing the camera toward Sangwon.

"Did you like it?" The question was valid. Neither of them overreacted, but Sangwon only shook his head with a laugh.

"Not my type. You know that."

Just as he finished speaking, he heard the click of the camera and felt the flash on his face. Sangwon blinked several times before looking at Anxin while frowning.

"What was that?"

"You looked cute," Anxin said, without any regret or hesitation. "I wanted to immortalize your beauty, i can sell this photo for a lot."

"Mmm, you think?" Sangwon asked with one eyebrow raised. "You should keep it and kiss it every morning when you wake up."

"Deal."

Sangwon couldn't help the laugh that escaped him, he laughed so much he was about to cry and felt his stomach burn from the effort.

"How are you going to kiss my photo? Are you crazy?"

Anxin didn't look away or lower the camera, not at any moment.

He didn't even blink.

He only lowered the camera slowly after a moment, as if the moment deserved to be treated carefully, and tilted his head.

"Why not?" he asked, softly. Too softly.

"You're weird," Sangwon complained when he finally managed to stand without laughing. "It means you'd be obsessed with me."

"Certainly," Anxin started speaking. "I don't think that'd bother you. Or would it?"

If this was Zhou Anxin's usual flirting game, he should stop. For the sake of Lee Sangwon's heart he should stop right now. But he won't, and Sangwon can only respond even though all his defenses are being torn down.

"No," Sangwon finally murmured. "It wouldn't bother me."

Anxin held his gaze one more instant before smiling, but it wasn't his public smile, the one he used when someone handed him a heart. It was small, almost private.

"I'll take good care of it. Let's make sure my kisses every morning reach you too."

The professor interrupted the moment by calling their attention, and the noise of the classroom filled the space between them again—However, Sangwon couldn't concentrate anymore. Something had changed, and he didn't know if he liked it or if it terrified him.

His heart was beating like he'd run a long race, probably a marathon, but it was only Anxin. It was always only Anxin who was to blame.

Sangwon stayed at home all afternoon, completely ignoring everything around him while replaying the interaction with Anxin. Oh god, how could he be so beautiful with him if he already had someone to love?

He looked at the sky outside his window through his fingers. He couldn't see the stars, he'd always been fascinated by astronomy, but now the pollution had increased to the point it was impossible to see the stars from where he lived.

He wanted a shooting star to pass so he could make a wish like his sisters taught him when he was little, but he couldn't see anything.

"To any star that wants to grant my wish," he started speaking, still looking at the window. "I want... i wish i could be the one Anxin loves."

He slowly fell into Morpheus' arms shortly after, because he was so tired that not even a romantic wish could've stopped him from sleeping when his head touched the pillow.

Until his phone rang again.

"What do you want?" he asked a little irritated, because Sangwon hates being woken up in the middle of a nap.

"Hi, beast," Leo mocked on the other side of the line. "I need you to come out of your apartment right now—"

"I'm hanging up," he stated and kept his word. He didn't have time for his friends' nonsense.

His phone kept making noise in the background, but Sangwon closed his eyes trying to go back to sleep.

As he drifted deeper into the world of dreams, he heard the sound of keys outside his apartment; murmurs, laughter and then the locks carefully opening.

Was Leo breaking in to steal?

Well, as long as he didn't take his books he didn't really care.

Sangwon turned lazily in his bed and ended up sleeping face down. From that moment his friends had free access to take anything from his room, he didn't care.

You should never interfere between Lee Sangwon and his sleep schedule. Absolutely not.

He slowly fell asleep, and you could say he has extreme trust in all his friends, because that's just how Sangwon is. But after a while he woke up again, because the laughter didn't sound like thieves, it sounded exactly like all his idiot friends and one unacceptable thing was that they were all watching him sleep—.

Sangwon frowned against the pillow, still half asleep, when he felt something gently hitting his leg.

"Wake up," a voice he knew perfectly whispered to him.

No.

It couldn't be.

He opened one eye with effort, his hair flattened against his forehead, his cheeks marked by the blankets, and the first thing he saw was red.

Red everywhere.

Small balloons tied to the railing of his bed. Ribbons hanging from the door frame. Even someone —clearly Leo— had left a cardboard heart stuck to his lamp creating a small shadow illusion.

He managed to see his friends outside his room laughing, but while trying to focus properly, he saw him in the middle of everything. Standing right next to his desk and in front of his bookshelf.

He wasn't wearing a jacket, his hair messily tousled, with a shy smile and his precious dimple marked on his cheek. He was dressed so casually that Sangwon wondered if he'd ever seen him like that.

But he himself was in pajamas, so personally he was dying of embarrassment.

"Am i dead and this is the entrance to heaven?" he asked with his sleep-rough voice, but so seriously that the other boy burst out laughing.

"Dramatic. Come here."

Sangwon slowly sat up, his heart starting to race when he noticed something else.

Anxin wasn't wearing any ribbon on his pinky.

He was holding it in his hand.

Untied.

The hallway was full of their friends, but none of them were talking now. Geonwoo was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Leejeong was holding his phone like he was ready to record. Kangmin was trying not to laugh.

Everything was carefully planned and organized.

"What are you doing, Xinnie?" he asked awkwardly. Now he was sitting on the bed, but he kept some distance from Anxin. He seemed like a real threat in his poor sleep-bruised brain.

And Anxin understood, he always understood. So he took several steps forward, until they were face to face and he knelt in front of Sangwon.

"I couldn't wait," Anxin started speaking, still smiling widely.

"Huh?"

Sangwon swallowed. He didn't understand anything, his brain was making an effort to process something, but all his ideas passed through his head and disappeared.

So Anxin took his wrist, caressed it softly and wrapped his red ribbon around it, tying it in a gentle but firm knot. He didn't tremble, he didn't hesitate, everything was calm and with his smile on his face.

But Sangwon was trembling.

He watched every movement and tried to form a coherent sentence in his mouth.

"The answer to your question is simple," Anxin started again. "It's you."

"In small words please?" Sangwon asked sweetly.

"It's you. The person i wanted to give my ribbon to is you," Anxin finally said. "I like you, Lee Sangwon."

Absolute silence.

Even Leo stopped breathing dramatically.

Anxin held Sangwon's gaze with a firmness that wasn't playful this time. It wasn't competition. It wasn't pride.

It was something closer to decision. To knowing what you want and having in front of you the way to get it.

But something broke inside Sangwon at that moment, the source of need, of love, his feelings. Everything ended up spilling out and little by little the tears he'd been holding back since the first day started to fall.

"I hate you," Sangwon murmured while hugging Anxin tightly. "I hate you so much, i was so worried."

"How could i love someone else?" Anxin teased while kissing the tip of his nose. "It's you, hyung. It's always been you."

In the background, all their friends started shouting excitedly. They threw confetti and yelled something like "Long live the boyfriends." Everything was perfect, but something was missing. Sangwon needed to do something that still hadn't happened.

Years had passed competing, claiming hearts everywhere, however, only one part had delivered his heart.

So while their friends moved away to start taking out alcohol to celebrate, he pulled Anxin by the arm so he'd stay in place.

"Hi, boyfriend," he greeted teasingly while hooking his pinky with Anxin's, gently brushing their skin with the ribbon. However, he didn't allow Anxin to respond.

In a single instant, their mouths weren't separated anymore. Their lips were together in a sweet, slightly lazy but perfect kiss, both of them pausing to memorize the feeling so they'd never forget it—It was the first kiss of many, that was Sangwon's new goal.

The first touch was slow, careful, loaded with all the years of contained tension. Sangwon felt the immediate warmth, the exact way Anxin's lips fit with his as if they'd always known how to do it.

There was no rush.

There was no spectacle.

Only the faint sigh that escaped Anxin when one of Sangwon's hands moved up to his cheek, holding him with a tenderness he'd never have shown in public before that day.

Finally he didn't have to watch from afar and imagine what it would be like to kiss Anxin.

Now he's his to kiss whenever he wants and however he wants. And at the end of the day, the method to make Lee Sangwon stop competing as a heart collector, and accept your heart, is to be Zhou Anxin.

 

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