Chapter Text
the air in the park was crisp with the faint, sweet scent of early spring, a perfect backdrop for a day dedicated to love. so geon clutched the small, carefully wrapped box of artisan chocolate and tucked the folded letter in his coat pocket, his heart performing a frantic rhythm against his ribs. today was the day; today was valentines day. after weeks of rehearsing in the mirror and countless aborted attempts, he would finally tell tomiyasu yu how he felt. he had chosen their favourite spot; a secluded bench under the old willow tree by the pond, where they often came to decompress after long schedules.
as he approached, his steps light with anticipation, he saw yu was already there.
but the breath caught in so geon's throat.
yu wasn't alone.
tomoya was with him.
they were seated close on the bench, heads tilted together, and yu was laughing - a genuine, unrestrained sound that usually made geon's world brighter. but now, it felt like shards of glass in his chest. tomoya said something, and yu nodded enthusiastically, his expression open and happy in a way that seemed reserved for someone special.
geon stopped dead in his tracks, the warmth leaching from his body as if doused by icy water. the chocolate in his hands suddenly felt heavy, a ridiculous token of hope now shattered. he turned on his heel and walked away, the unspoken confession dissolving into the chill afternoon air, the letter now just a weight of unsaid words.
in the days that followed, a frost settled over so geon. the vibrant, playful member of nexz, known for his mischievous grins and endless energy, retreated into a shell of quietude. he performed his routines with mechanical precision, his smile during fansigns never quite reaching his eyes. the change was stark, a silent winter in the middle of their bustling spring schedules.
during a group meal at their favourite barbecue restaurant, the contrast was painfully evident. the table was loud with the clatter of dishes and the members' easy banter - seita and yuki debating the best combination of side dishes and haru teasing hyui about his eating speed. geon sat at the end of the table, beside haru, quietly pushing the pieces of meat that haru cooked for him around his plate, contributing only the occasional monosyllable when directly addressed.
yu, seated across from tomoya, found his gaze drifting to geon again and again. a knot of worry tightened in his stomach. this wasnt the so geon he knew. the so geon he was hopelessly, secretly in love with was the physical embodiment of geonsky, all bright eyes and contagious laughter and teasing comments, not this distant, closed-off stranger. he had been building the courage to bridge the gap between friendship and something more, but seeing this change was unnerving. perhaps he had waited too long. perhaps he should have asked what happened to their park plans instead of brushing it off out of fear.
"so, moya," yu said, forcing his attention away from the heartbreaking sight, his voice a little too bright and a little too loud to just be speaking to tomoya. "i was thinking, on our break, we should go to that theme park you talked about. the one with the new sprint race track game. i want to try it..." he was talking about the sprint, but his mind was elsewhere, crafting plans and seeking advice on how to finally, properly confess his own feelings.
to geon, however, the words were salt in an open wound. he loved running...each laugh yu shared with tomoya, each planned outing, felt like a confirmation of his worst fear - he prefers tomoya. the thought was a constant, aching hum in the back of his mind, making the delicious food taste like ash, his appetite leaving him early in the meal.
the tension became a silent eighth member of the group.
weeks blurred into a monotony of quiet pain for so geon. the distance between him and yu became a tangible wall, built from his own shattered hopes and misunderstood moments.
it was tomoya, their observant and kind-hearted leader, who finally bridged the gap. noticing the strain, he pulled geon aside after practice one day.
"geon-ah," tomoya began gently, "you've been so..sad lately, wheres my geonsky?" geon just dropped his head down, looking at his hands fidgeting. "is it..about yu?"
so geon, tired of carrying the weight alone, gave a barely perceptible nod.
tomoya sighed, a look of realisation dawning on his face. "that day at the park...valentine's day. you saw us, didnt you?" geon stayed quiet, not really wanting to talk about that. "he was asking me for advice. he was so nervous. he wanted to know the best way to confess his feelings... to you, geonnie."
time seemed to stop. the memory of the park reassembled itself in geon's mind, but now through a new, clarifying lens. yu's nervous laughter, his intense focus on tomoya's words - it wasnt intimacy, it was consultation, the theme park plans weren't an exclusion; they were yu's hopeful, clumsy attempts to see if geon would want to go with them.
the next evening, geon found yu alone in their usual practice room, absentmindedly revising b-boy moves. the air was thick with everything unsaid.
"yu hyung," geon's voice was soft, breaking the long-held silence between them.
yu paused, sitting on the floor. he looked up, eyes wide and unsure. "geon-ah?"
"i went to the park that day," geon started, his voice gaining strength.
yu's breath hitched. "you did?"
"i asked you to meet there - of course i'd be there," he laughed airily. "i had chocolate...and a hand-written letter...for you, hyung. but i got upset when i saw you-"
"i was with tomoya because i was so scared," yu interrupted, eager to explain. "i like you so much, but i didnt know how to say it. i thought...i was worried you realised you asked to meet on valenties day and didn't show up because you werent interested."
a wave of relief, so profound it was almost dizzying, washed over geon. "i left because i thought your heart was somewhere else. with him."
"never," yu whispered, standing up from the floor. "it's only ever been you."
for a moment, neither of them moved. weeks of misunderstandings, longing glances, and sleepless nights hung in the space between them. the practice room suddenly felt too small to contain everything they had been carrying.
yu laughed first, a breathless, disbelieving laugh that cracked something open inside both of them. "you idiot," he said, eyes shining.
geon blinked. "me?"
"yes, you."
"hyung-"
"you spent weeks avoiding me."
"you were acting weird, too!"
"i thought you rejected me before i even confessed," yu defended.
"because i thought you liked tomoya hyung!"
the words collided between them before both of them dissolved into helpless laughter.
the tension finally broke, and somehow that made everything feel even more real.
geon was still smiling when yu stepped closer. close enough that the world seemed to narrow to just the two of them. close enough that yu could see the tiny crease that appeared beside geon's eyes when he smiled. close enough that neither of them could pretend anymore.
"so..."
"so?" yu echoed.
"we're both kind of stupid."
yu huffed out a laugh. "very."
geon's gaze dropped briefly to yu's lips before returning to his eyes. the smile on his face softened. "i really like you."
yu's heart nearly stopped. "i really like you, too."
the confession settled between them, warm and certain.
then geon leaned forward slowly, giving yu every chance to pull away.
yu did not.
their first kiss was gentle. just a soft press of lips that lasted barely a second - sweet and tentative, the kind of kiss that felt less like a beginning and more like finally arriving somewhere they'd both been trying to reach for weeks.
when they pulled apart, neither of them could stop smiling. yu's cheeks were pink, and geon's were probably (definitely) worse.
"wow," yu whispered.
"wow," geon agreed. then the familiar sparkle returned to geon's eyes. the one yu had been missing for weeks, then the mischievous, puppy-like grin appeared. "oh," geon said, trying and failing to hide his amusement. "that's it?"
yu narrowed his eyes. "what do you mean, 'thats it?'?"
"i dont know," geon shrugged innocently. "i just expected my first kiss with the person i've been in love with for months to be a little less..." he tapped his chin dramatically, "..short."
yu stared at him.
geon leaned in, deliberately stealing another quick peck before darting back with a grin.
then another.
and another.
each kiss barely a brush of lips. each one making yu a little more flustered than the last.
"geonie."
"hm?"
"you're impossible."
"i've been told that."
geon stole one more quick kiss and yu caught his wrist before he could escape again. the playful smile faded from geon's face - not completely, but just enough. the room seemed to go quiet.
yu's thumb brushed lightly across the back of geon's hand. his gaze softened. months of affection, worry, and longing sat openly in his eyes. "come here," yu said softly.
for once, geon obeyed without any teasing remarks.
yu closed the distance himself this time.
this kiss was slower, more deliberate. the teasing disappeared, replaced by something deeper. something that said everything they hadn't managed to say all spring. the relief of finally knowing they felt the same. geon's fingers curled into the front of yu's hoodie as yu pulled him closer. the older boy slid his hand from geon's wrist to his waist while his other hand traced a careful path up his side and along his collarbone before settling beneath his chin, guiding him closer as they kissed. geon's breath caught when yu's hand settled against his jaw.
the kiss deepened naturally, neither of them rushing it, neither willing to be the first to pull away. it felt as though they were making up for every conversation they'd avoided, every glance that had lingered a second too long before being torn away.
yu's thumb brushed slowly against geon's cheek, and that simple gesture nearly made geon's knees give out. he leaned closer instinctively, pressing himself into yu's space until there wasn't room for even a breath between them. his grip tightened in the front of yu's hoodie, bunching the fabric beneath trembling fingers.
a soft sound escaped him before he could stop it, and yu seemed to feel it more than hear it. his hand slid from geon's jaw into his hair, fingertips threading gently through the dark strands as he tilted his head and kissed him again. the kiss was unhurried and genuine, like yu was memorizing him.
geon couldn't stop smiling. even when their lips met again, the corners of his mouth kept threatening to lift. yu pulled back only far enough to look at him, their foreheads bumped and their noses brushed. they were close enough that geon could see every tiny detail and star in yu's eyes.
"you keep smiling," yu murmured.
geon laughed softly, breathlessly. "can you blame me?" the answering look yu gave him made his chest ache.
the two were completely unable to stop staring at each other. after all this time, it felt almost unbelievable.
yu laughed softly. "so. want to go to that sprint game with me?"
geon groaned. "after all this, thats your line?"
"it worked, didn't it?"
geon rolled his eyes affectionately before leaning forward and pressing one last kiss to the corner of yu's mouth. "yeah," he murmured, his smile brighter than it had been in weeks. "it did."