summary:
Y/N may be SEVENTEEN’s youngest member, but after TWS debuted, she became the unofficial mom, emotional support human, and fearless ringleader of an entire rookie group. Now they follow her like ducklings—and SEVENTEEN is getting a little too used to being uncles.
word count: 857
warnings: none, except Y/N collecting baby idols like Pokémon and Seungcheol having a fake crisis about it
italics = inner thoughts or sassy emphasis
It started with one juice box.
Just one.
Y/N was sitting backstage after rehearsal for Inkigayo, sipping her banana milk and stress-eating gummies when she noticed a group of tiny, fresh-faced boys hovering near SEVENTEEN’s waiting room.
Enter: TWS. Shiny. Nervous. Kind of lost.
And one of them—Jihoon, she’d later learn—looked like he was five seconds away from either crying or bowing to the floor.
Y/N had no idea why that unlocked a maternal instinct in her, but it did. So she waved them over and handed out the backup snacks she always kept for herself and Dino.
And that was her first mistake.
[Baby Ducks Acquire GPS]
From that day on, every time they were at a music show together, she’d find the TWS members huddled outside the SEVENTEEN dressing room like shy puppies waiting to be invited inside.
She lets them in, obviously.
Woozi almost screamed the first time he walked in and saw seven teenagers sitting in a circle around Y/N like it was story time at kindergarten.
Jeonghan started charging them rent.
Y/N now gets seven different “noonas!!” screamed at her the second she walks into a building.
Even though she’s only, like, three years older than the eldest one.
(“They’re just babies,” she says one day. “You’re also a baby,” Seungcheol replies. “Shut up, Grandpa,” she shoots back.)
[Day 7: They Discover Her Weakness]
Banana milk.
That’s it.
That’s all it took.
One TWS member showed up to a SEVENTEEN rehearsal with a six-pack of banana milk “for Y/N-noona because she looked tired yesterday.”
She cried. Not sob sob cried—but her lip definitely wobbled.
Seungkwan has it on video.
That same TWS member now has “baby angel favorite child” status. The others are bitter but determined to win their spot back.
Hoshi once saw them fighting over who got to carry Y/N’s dance bag.
“I trained for fifteen years,” he whispered. “And you get this kind of devotion after two banana milks?!”
[Day 10: Operation Duck Patrol]
Now SEVENTEEN doesn’t refer to them as TWS anymore.
No, they’re “Y/N’s Ducklings.”
“Where are your ducklings, maknae?” Wonwoo asks casually one morning.
Y/N shrugs. “Probably following the sound of my laughter.”
Cue Seungcheol’s distant wail: “WHY ARE YOU RAISING A WHOLE GROUP?!”
[Day 15: Jeonghan’s Blackmail]
Jeonghan realizes the ducklings do anything Y/N asks.
So he pays her to get them to prank the rest of SEVENTEEN.
The chaos is glorious.
Mingyu opens his closet to find it filled with rubber ducks. The next day, his phone background is mysteriously changed to a picture of Y/N in a crown and sunglasses, holding a juice box like a royal scepter.
She didn’t do that. They did. And she is so proud.
[THE INTERVIEW]
MC: “Y/N, you’ve really taken TWS under your wing!”
Y/N: “Oh, I’m their mom now. It’s official.”
MC: “Really?”
Y/N: “I named their group chat ‘ducklings’ and everything. I feed them. I scold them. One of them calls me when he can’t figure out how to use the washer. I didn’t sign up for this life. It chose me.”
TWS (off-camera): “WE LOVE YOU NOONA!!”
SEVENTEEN (off-camera): “Return the children!!”
[STAGE DAY: CHAOS LEVEL 100]
Y/N is standing side stage, getting ready for her solo intro in a SEVENTEEN performance.
She’s in full glam, earbuds in, eyes closed.
And behind her, seven rookie idols are bouncing on their heels like excited toddlers at a zoo.
“Noona, fighting!!”
“You’re gonna kill it!!”
“Your eyeliner is so cool!!”
“Can I borrow that jacket later?”
She turns around, squints.
“Go to hair and makeup,” she says, but she’s smiling.
[AFTERMATH]
After the show, she comes backstage and finds TWS waiting with a donut box.
Jihoon tries to protest. “She doesn’t need more sugar—!”
Y/N: already holding two donuts in one hand.
[SEVENTEEN GROUP CHAT, LATER]
Cheol: why do they follow you like ducklings
Y/N: because I give them snacks and validate their emotional growth 💅🏻
Jeonghan: she’s raising them better than we raised her
Dino: we didn’t raise her. she raised herself. in fire.
Woozi: and now she’s raising seven more.
Joshua: that makes us grandpas
Soonyoung: IM A TIGER NOT A GRANDPA
[BONUS: WHAT THE DUCKLINGS SAY]
TWS member, in a vlog: “Noona is really nice. She helps us when we’re nervous.”
Another one: “She taught us how to sneak banana milk past our managers.”
Another one: “She yelled at a stylist once because they rushed Jihoon-hyung’s makeup. It was amazing. She’s so cool.”
Another: “She let us use SEVENTEEN’s practice room but made us do a 30-minute warm-up and said if we didn’t stretch, she’d tell Woozi-hyung on us.”
The last one: “She’s like… if a cat was in charge of daycare.”
[THE END…?]
Y/N walks into HYBE one morning, hoodie over her head, drink in hand.
A TWS member runs up.
“Noona, did you eat yet??”
Another appears. “We saved you a seat in the cafeteria!!”
A third: “I brought you vitamin gummies!!”
Y/N blinks.
“Guys,” she says, touched. “You’re gonna make me cry.”
From behind her, Jeonghan: “She trained you too well. Now train Dino to answer his texts.”
A/N: @idiasplayertwo (hope you don't mind me tagging you) come get your burnt and poisoned meeaaallllll!!! I'm sorry this is so buns I'm terrible at writing for Floyd EUUGHHHH
floyd falls in love in the most inconvenient way possible: accidentally. because at first, you are just interesting. fun to mess with, fun to surprise, fun to watch reactions from. you're different from most people at NRC because you don't immediately panic around him the way others do, and honestly? that catches his attention fast. you talk back to him sometimes, tease him right back, roll your eyes when he gets dramatic instead of running away. it's entertaining. naturally floyd starts hanging around you more often because boredom is the enemy and you make things less dull. except eventually, somewhere along the line, your presence stops feeling like entertainment and starts feeling necessary. that's where things get weird.
because floyd is used to getting bored of people quickly. one day someone is interesting, the next day they're not. it happens all the time. but with you, the interest never fades. if anything, it gets worse. he keeps wanting more of your attention, more of your reactions, more time near you just to see what you will do next. and instead of getting tired of you, floyd starts building entire routines around finding you whenever he feels restless. which should probably alarm him more than it does.
"you're looking for the prefect again?" floyd glances over from where he is half-draped across the lounge counter. "hm?" jade smiles pleasantly. "you've checked the front door six times in the past ten minutes, floyd." "...maybe i'm bored." "i see." the knowing look jade gives him afterward is deeply irritating. especially because floyd immediately realizes jade is right.
it gets bad after that. suddenly floyd starts noticing all the little things he does around you automatically. how he gravitates toward you in crowded rooms without thinking. how his mood improves embarrassingly fast whenever you laugh at something he says. how he gets weirdly irritated when other people monopolize your attention for too long. and honestly? the possessiveness sneaks up on him harder than anything else. because floyd likes attention, especially yours.
if you ignore him too long, he sprawls across your lap dramatically until you acknowledge him again. if someone interrupts your conversations, he immediately inserts himself back into them like an oversized eel-shaped problem. if you spend too much time with another student, floyd suddenly appears beside you with his chin hooked over your shoulder acting clingier than usual for the rest of the day. he doesn't even realize he's doing it at first. you do.
"floyd" you laugh while trying unsuccessfully to push his face away from where he is squishing against your cheek, "you've been attached to me all day." "mmhmm?~" "...why?" "you're just so fun to be around, shrimpy!" which is technically true. just not the whole truth.
physical affection becomes an even bigger disaster. floyd already invades personal space naturally, but around you it starts carrying actual weight behind it. like if you hug him unexpectedly, he clings right back and refuses to let go for an unreasonable amount of time. one evening you fall asleep against him in the vip room and floyd stays awake almost the entire time just staring at you with this strange heavy feeling sitting in his chest. that part unsettles him a little (surprisingly) because floyd isn’t used to wanting softness from people, but with you, he starts craving it constantly.
the realization itself takes longer than it probably should because he doesn't spend much time analyzing his emotions unless forced to. he just acts on instinct most of the time. if he wants to see you, he finds you. if he wants attention, he takes it. simple. except eventually even he notices this feeling has become way too big to ignore casually. especially after azul points it out.
"you seem unusually attached to the prefect lately." floyd immediately narrows his eyes and puts on a fake pout. "what's that supposed to mean?" azul adjusts his glasses carefully. "it means you become intolerable whenever they are absent for extended periods of time." "...ruuude." "am i wrong?" floyd opens his mouth. then closes it again. because unfortunately, no.
the truth hits him fully during a completely random moment. the two of you are sitting together in the lounge after closing hours while floyd complains dramatically about something unimportant. you are laughing softly beside him, tired enough that your reactions are slower and more genuine than usual. then, still smiling, you reach over and poke his cheek lightly. "you're cute when you sulk." he freezes completely.
because something in his chest twists so suddenly and sharply that it catches him entirely off guard. and all at once, every weird feeling over the past several months crashes together perfectly. every instinct dragging him toward you constantly, every spike of irritation when someone else stole your attention, every ridiculous urge to keep touching you just because he could.
he likes you. seriously. way more seriously than he realized. and honestly? once the realization settles properly, he starts grinning. because suddenly all his clinginess, all his attention-seeking, all his constant need to stay wrapped around you somehow finally makes sense. meanwhile you are still looking at him in confusion because he has gone weirdly quiet. "...floyd?" he immediately flops sideways onto you like a giant sea snake. "shrimpyyyy~" "that did not answer my question at all." "don't care~"
and while you struggle beneath the weight of an extremely affectionate moray eel, floyd hides his smile against your shoulder and thinks, distantly, that he's probably never letting you go now.
idk anything about tws nor what this guy sounds like.. so im kinda just freeballing and going off of one clip of him talking lmfao sorry this isnt rlly rough and sorry if this wasnt what u wanted
pov; u gotta save urself from yet another wave of dating rumours, but hey, at least it was with your crush this time??
wc; n/a, 20 ss. 6th member of newjeans x seonghyeon
feat.; bff! stella (hearts2hearts), hyein (newjeans), wonhee (illit), martin and keonho (cortis), crush!seonghyeon (cortis) mentions of bff!minji and hanni (newjeans), datingrumor!kyungmin (tws)
note; hi guys.. sorry about the long break!! im back!! (not that anyone cares) ill try to post more again, but it won't be on a daily basis as it's the end of the term and I need to fix up my grades. on another note, my good fake kakaotalk website shut down so idk what im gonna do for kkt msgs now </3 anyway QOTD! what'd u search up to find this post??
taglist; @sssssydni @chuutaroo @sweetlydolls @kkyunho @meowchness @haezki @kirbzyq @hyuneskkami @qngelical @ikeufied @inadazeee @rositapinchesfresita @starlightsooha @pumrikku @whlhql @tbhkwarrior @kienhawon @wonnieslvr @pinkquillfury @mitsubal0ver @one-chance-pls @jenniebyrubies @nanamyberry @zzzmirella @cortisean comment to be added/removed! im so sorry about the inactivity & im so grateful for everyone interested in this series!! 🫶
ʚଓ ּ ֶָ֢. being best friends with an idol had its perks — especially when you were jobless . thank god for han jihoon and his big mouth , now you finally have a job you love . or maybe someone you love ?
⋆˚࿔ 00 . jobless idiot
01 . applications
02 . woonhak stfu
03 . i’m in …?
04 . first encounters are always hard
05 . test drives
06 . are you up ?
07 . group dinner again ??
08 . shinyu’s first win
09 . oh him ?
10 . dohoon’s vlog …
11 . siblings day out !! ft leehan
12 . sneak outs & talks
13 . graduation day !
14 . ceo’s email …?!
15 . texts count btw
16 . funny guy ? i’m funny too ??
17 . psst …
18 . awkward tension
19 . silence .
20 . forever goodbye …?
21 . alone time
22 . already ?
23 . surprise …!
24 . only us .
25 . two worlds apart .
26 . beautiful
27 . miumiu’s girl
28 . bare minimum
29 . lucky to be loved
.✦ ݁˖ heeheesang notes ꪆৎ hai hello annyeong :3 welcome to my tws writer debut …? this will be a short and simple smau just for me to get back on track with writing ! i hope everyone loves this as much as i do hehe 🍀 the tags are so hard to find omg 😭
⋆.𐙚 ̊ clingy!tws headcanons, idol!tws x gn!reader, wc: +1.7k, i mean no harm to any of the members. this is purely a work of fiction!
⋆˚꩜｡ shinyu
shinyu may be the eldest in the group, but as the youngest in his family, there's nothing he likes more than being babied by you. it had been their day off and you had planned an outing together that day. but shinyu was being extra clingy, refusing to get out of bed.
"baby, five more minutes, please," he said, voice muffled as he burrowed his face in the crook of your neck, messing up his bedhead even more, which you didn't even know was possible. you always teased him how crazy his hair would be after bed, having your phone gallery full of pictures of what he looked like first thing in the morning.
"hwannie, you've been saying that for the past hour," you whined as lightly hit his chest, feigning annoyance. but on the inside, you didn't mind the opportunity to cuddle with him a little bit more. especially since he’d been so tired from his schedules lately.
"last five minutes, i promise," he replied, hugging you even closer to his chest. you could only roll your eyes in amusement, giving in to his request. your hand unconsciously reaches up to thread your fingers through his hair, as if he was a puppy. he hummed and smiled even in his sleepy state, thinking that he could stay here in this moment for the rest of his life.
rest of the members under the cut!
⋆˚꩜｡ dohoon
it was a friday night, and that meant your weekly date night with dohoon. this week, you had decided to have a stay in date at their dorms, where you ordered food for everyone and played video games in the living room. you all were having fun, throwing jokes left and right, and making fun of each other’s mario kart skills. as the night grew darker, the others started heading to bed, leaving you and dohoon in the living room
you had shifted from your spot from the couch, planning to clean up the mess before heading home. dohoon had told you they had schedules the next day, so it was best for you to go home so that you were out of everybody’s way when they needed to get ready in the morning.
“i’ll go home after cleaning-“ you started, before you felt dohoon’s arms wrap around your waist. “no,” he whined “you’re staying the night with me.” you could only let out a small laugh at his reaction. dohoon, despite caring so deeply of his cool image, was always so clingy when the it’s time for you to go home. he had always claimed that you helped him sleep better. which is true, considering it would need double the effort to get him out of his bed if you were sleeping with him.
“you have schedules tomorrow and i don’t want to bother-“ you couldn’t even finish you sentence before dohoon pulled you back on the couch. falling onto your back, you barely had time to escape before dohoon put his entire body weight on you. “you’re not a bother to anyone, and the schedules are in the afternoon,” he said casually as if you weren’t being squished, “so can we please cuddle and sleep in tomorrow?” he finally brought his gaze to you, waiting for your response.
you were going to say no, but you couldn’t resist the look on his face. from his beady eyes, to his puffed out cheeks, and to his pouty lips, he was already begging you to stay.
“fine, you’re getting away with it this time,” you said before placing a kiss on his lips. but who were you kidding, he always got his way.
⋆˚꩜｡ youngjae
youngjae was always the quiet one, but you noticed that tonight he had been maybe too quiet. you were hanging out with the other members, exploring the city after dinner. throughout the night, you would squeeze youngjae’s hand and ask him with your eyes if everything was okay. but he’d only give you a reassuring smile in return before turning his attention back to the group.
everybody decided to go back to the hotel, already tired from the day’s activities. you were sharing a room with youngjae of course, and you were also excited to have some alone time with him after a long day out with friends.
you barely got to close the door to the hotel room when youngjae caught you in the biggest bear hug, dropping his forehead to your shoulder.
"is something wrong?", you asked, concerned over your boyfriend's behavior. you felt him shake his head against your shoulder, "nothing, just wanted your attention."
you smiled at his reason before teasing him, "you big baby. let's spend tomorrow for just the two of us, hm?" you suggested as you rubbed his back, not rushing to let go of the embrace.
throughout your relationship with youngjae, you came to realize that when his social battery would run out, his favorite way to recharge would be to spend some alone time with you.
he reluctantly let go of your hold to go and get ready for bed, but not before stealing a kiss and walking away as if he didn't ask to be babied for a good minute or two.
⋆˚꩜｡ hanjin
the moment the members had told you that hanjin was not feeling well, you immediately went to the store to buy things you needed to take care of him.
when you arrived at the dorms, you quietly walked in hanjin's room. approaching his bed, you tried to locate your boyfriend who was buried under blankets and his many plushies.
he stirred in his sleep, peaking his head from under the blankets. he squinted his eyes up at the figure in front of him. when he realized that it was you, he frowned, feeling guilty. "baobei, you didn't have to come here. you'll get sick," he said as he hid himself under the blanket again.
still, you approached him, and patted his head over the blanket. "don't worry, i'll just be in the kitchen making you food." you had left the room and made your way to the kitchen.
you hadn't even finished unpacking the groceries, when your heard a door click open and close. out came hanjin still wrapped in his blanket, taking small and slow steps to you in the kitchen. you were about the scold him when he had simply come up to hug you from behind.
"i want cuddles," he said, voice raspy and muffled. your heart immediately melted, not having the heart to scold him anymore. you grabbed him by the hand and guided him to the couch.
"we can cuddle later when you've eaten some food and taken your medicine, okay?" you said, as you made sure he was comfy on one side of the couch. all hanjin wanted to do was to cling on to you everywhere you went. but he knew you were doing what was best for him.
so he watched you move around the kitchen from the living room sofa, wondering how lucky he was to have you.
⋆˚꩜｡ jihoon
if you could describe han jihoon in only one word, it definitely would be clingy. you could be anywhere. in the dance practice room, their dorms, even in public. he would hug you, beg you to pet his hair, even putting his body in weird positions just to gain your attention and place his head under your hand.
you would sometimes wonder if he ever ran out of energy. because by the way you watch him interact with his members and perform on stage, it really did seem like he had unlimited energy.
but after a certain busy and tiring comeback season, they finally had a few days off. you were on your way to their dorm, already having a bag full of snacks to share with everybody. you were already thinking of all of the things that jihoon would want to tell you about this comeback and every funny moment that had happened in between.
but you were surprised when you entered their dorm and you weren't ambushed by your boyfriend, who would usually come bounding down the hallway to greet you like a puppy waiting for his owner. you found the other members in the living room, but jihoon had been nowhere to be found.
dohoon said that jihoon was in their room, saying that he was retiring early for the night. after dropping off the snacks, you went to jihoon's room where you found him already in bed, body in another weird sleeping position. you always teased him with the way that even in his sleep, his body can't stop moving.
you approached his bed, deciding to join him. jihoon stirred in his sleep, already moving aside to make space for you. even if he was half-asleep, it was as if he knew it was you, already had the feeling of your presence memorized.
once settled in bed, you could only laugh at the contrast of the situation. this was one of the rare times where you found jihoon tired out. calm, even. but nothing changed, as even in his sleepy state, he found your wrist and brought it to his head, asking for head rubs as he continued to fall back asleep.
⋆˚꩜｡ kyungmin
kyungmin was already so babied by his members, being the maknae. so in your relationship, it was actually kind of rare for him to be clingy to you, especially since he was used to being the eldest in his family, anyway.
but perhaps today was an exception. you were hanging out with the rest of the members at an arcade, having a go at the different games with each of the members.
but now that you were back home, you had wondered why kyungmin was following you around everywhere you'd go. even now as you were trying to focus on the movie that the two of you were supposed to be watching, kyungmin was restless beside you.
"okay, what's wrong?" you asked, as you finally turned to face him. he couldn't even meet your eyes, choosing to focus his eyes on his lap.
"y-you haven't been giving me a lot of attention today," he confessed quietly, "but you were having so much fun, so i didn't want to bring it up."
"aww, is my minie jelous?" you said, teasingly. before he could even protest, you wrapped your arms around him, snuggling your face into his chest. "you don't have to keep it in, okay? i like it when you're clingy."
kyungmin couldn't even respond. instead, he welcomed the attention with open arms, his heart warming at the fact that he doesn't need to pretend or hide his feelings, especially not from you.
gosh i forgot how hard it is to write headcanons hehe but i hope you like them!! pls send in any thoughts, ideas, requests and i'll try to get to them when i can! i'd also love to chitchat about the members any time!
[24/7] ୨୧ classmate!dohoon x reader﹒fluff high school au senior sunrise confession ft. zb1 gunwook, triples yubin, kiiikiii leesol, tws youngjae. ⠀2.3k ﹒ 🎧 ( supercrush )
💌﹒hai…anyone still remember me…LMAO ok but jokes aside sorry for ghosting you guys for two whole months TT i wish i could say that i’ve been busy (which i really have), but honestly i think my biggest issue is procrastination gulps... anyways i hope you enjoy i really love this fic 🥹
the glow of your phone screen illuminated your dark room as your alarm ringtone sounded and your device vibrated, reminding you it was time to wake up. you sat up in your bed, rubbing your eyes as you picked up your phone and turned off the alert. a glance at the time told you that it was currently 4:50am. the entire room was still pitch dark, the sky outside a jet black.
you yawned as you sat there for a moment, contemplating your life choices before it suddenly dawned on you why you had woken up so early in the first place: senior sunrise! the realization caused you to perk up, energy suddenly coming to you.
you picked your phone back up and turned off do not disturb, and right on cue, your friends’ messages started flooding into the notification center. you scrolled through the texts, most of them leesol and yubin debating with gunwook about how many donuts to buy. you smiled at their never-ending bantering before shooting them a text that you’d be on the way to school soon. then, climbing out of bed, you slipped into the bathroom to wash up and get ready.
( rest of fic under the cut ! )
—
the air was fresh and chilly as you walked onto the football field of your school fifteen minutes later. blue hour was starting now, the night sky morphing into a mesmerizing shade of deep blue. you peered around, in search of your friends, and was met with the sight of gunwook struggling to carry four large boxes of donuts. you trotted over and took two from him, alleviating him from the risk of dropping all of them and getting scolded by yubin.
“yn!” gunwook turned toward you, happy to see you. “you made it!”
you grinned at him as you set the small stack of boxes on a nearby table, where yubin, committed to her duties as school president, was busy organizing the food the students had brought into a snack bar. leesol was next to her, helping her set up some pre-made signs.
the two looked up from their work upon your arrival.
“yn!” leesol came out from behind the table and gasped dramatically as she circled around you, admiring your outfit. “oh my gosh, you look so good!”
you smiled. “thanks. i forgot my jacket though…hopefully it doesn’t get cold later.” you sighed as leesol pouted and yubin patted your shoulder.
you helped yubin and leesol finish setting up the snack bar before the three of you made your way to where gunwook was laying out a picnic blanket on the synthetic turf.
“gunwook!” a male voice sounded from behind you guys. the boy looked up and saw youngjae, a guy in your class, coming over with his own group of friends. he ran over to the other boy, and two of them dabbed each other up. you noticed in particular that part of youngjae’s group was dohoon, the boy you sat next to in biology class. your heart involuntarily skipped a beat, like that was its natural reaction to dohoon’s very presence. the dip surprised even yourself, and you put your hand to your chest absently. it didn’t help that dohoon’s gaze hadn’t seemed to leave your figure since their group had come. you avoided his gaze, finding it to be a bit intimidating despite the fact that the two of you usually exchanged friendly interactions during class.
“wanna sit with us?” gunwook’s voice snapped you back to what was happening at hand. the other group voiced their agreement, and that’s how you found yourself sat between your friends and dohoon and his friends. somehow—by coincidence, you thought—he had taken a seat at the spot right beside you. the space was slightly cramped, with seven people sitting on three medium-sized blankets, and your shoulder brushed against his occasionally as you shifted around.
the sky started showing more visible signs of light, the color now slowly but surely shifting to a brighter cobalt blue, as more students from your grade made their way into the field.
just as everyone was settling down, playing games, chatting with each other, and munching on snacks, all waiting for the sun to rise, yubin suddenly got up with a start, as one of the teachers had come over to see her about something student government related. as if yubin’s departure had caused a domino effect, leesol also stood up, claiming to need to go use the restroom. gunwook followed, going with youngjae and the rest of dohoon’s friends to go play catch with a football.
and before you knew it, you were all alone with dohoon.
there was an obvious tension in the air, and the awkward silence was starting to make you a bit uncomfortable. however, just as you were about to say something to break the silence, dohoon suddenly spoke first.
“yn. how…are you doing today?”
you were a bit taken aback, hearing his voice initiate conversation for once. usually, you were always the one who started conversations during biology, saying hello when you saw him, commenting about the dissection specimen, asking him questions and such. you couldn’t deny though that—athough a bit unfamiliar—this was a pleasant change.
“i’m good, dohoon. what about you?” you returned politely.
“i’m good too.” he responded, sounding casual as he sat back, leaning on his hands, though you didn’t miss the faint tremble in his voice.
with that, silence ensued, and awkwardness retook its place, as if it had never left at all.
you looked into the distance, absentmindedly tapping your fingers on your arm as you silently prayed for leesol to return from the bathroom and end this awkwardness before you embarrassed yourself in front of dohoon. speaking of who, now cleared his throat as he too stared off into some distant spot, seemingly finding the principal’s munching on donuts to be very intriguing.
you turned your head, looking around at the activity of the other students around you. somehow, if felt as if the other kids were a whole different dimension away from you. like you and dohoon were encased in your own little private bubble separate from the rest of the world. just as you were about to make an observation about the photobooth in a lame attempt at reigniting conversation, a breeze suddenly rushed by, blowing your hair against your face as goosebumps quickly raised upon your bare arms, the feeling akin to raindrops falling upon the cement sidewalks on a particularly rainy day. you shivered involuntarily at the abrupt temperature drop.
dohoon’s figure seemed to visibly tense besides you. “are you cold?” he asked, concern washing over his perfect features.
you were about to shake your head, insisting you were fine, when he spoke again, shaking his head. “wait, sorry, that’s a really dumb question.” then, without warning, he unzipped his jacket, shrugged it off, and handed it over to you.
you stared at him blankly, unsure what to do as you took the jacket into your hands. dohoon made a vague gesture as if telling you to put it on. “wear it. i don’t want you to catch a cold.”
you hesitated a moment, but then the morning breeze picked up once more, and you found yourself pulling the jacket on. the sleeves were a bit long, but its warmth hugged you and gave you comfort. you couldn’t help but notice how good the garment smelled as well: its fragrance was a mix of refreshing cologne and a natural scent that reminded you of wood.
“thanks.” you remembered to say, mumbling the word quietly.
“no worries.” dohoon replies softly, and you look up as he shoots you a small, timid smile. and honestly? that smile warmed you up from inside out more than any jacket in the world possibly could.
you definitely didn’t imagine your own reaction when your face flushed. you could feel the heat, it was practically burning your face. the thought that you were probably already blushing profusely from the cold didn’t help your case either, only tinging your cheeks with more color—from embarrassment, this time.
thankfully, leesol was finally coming back from the restroom now, and you looked upon her approaching figure like she was your life saviour.
she plopped down on the blanket, took one look at you, and asked, “what’s wrong?”
you blinked twice. “nothing’s wrong.”
she narrowed her eyes at you for a moment, her eyes flickering between the jacket on you and dohoon’s jacketless figure next to you. she raised an eyebrow, staring not-so-discreetly at the boy who was nonchalantly scrolling on his phone now.
“did he…?” she asked you in a hushed voice.
you pretended to not understand what she was getting at as you answered, “did he what?”
“come on, yn! you know what i’m talking about…
at this point, the other boys were also making their way back from the field, talking animatedly. gunwook was tossing the football they had been throwing in the air, watching it spin in a spiral before catching it in his arms.
sensing a chance for a distraction, you grasped it quickly and called him over.
“gunwook! over here!”
dohoon’s head popped up at your words, and you stared at him as he watched gunwook’s approaching figure with a complex expression on his face. then, his head abruptly turned, and you found yourself staring into his eyes. your face burned as you briskly turned away.
“i’m going to the bathroom.” you announced as you stood up. you didn’t really have to go, but your heart felt somewhat heavy, like something was weighing on it, and you wanted to go be alone for a bit.
leesol looked up at you. “oh, okay. just make sure to come back before the sun rises!”
you nodded, walking off in the direction of the nearest bathroom.
you could feel a pair of eyes lingering on you even as you walked away.
—
after having splashed water on your face to refresh yourself and having stared at your reflection for a good five minutes in the bathroom, you slowly made your way out, hands shoved in your—no, dohoon’s—jacket pockets.
you were starting to head back towards the football field when a quiet voice spoke from behind you.
“yn.”
you turned quickly, face lighting up in pleasant surprise as your brain registered the voice. sure enough, dohoon stood behind you, leaning on the wall separating the two bathrooms. you were so in your own headspace that you hadn’t even noticed him before. as you faced him, he stood up straight, staring into your eyes. his face was serious, but his eyes shone with something that looked a bit like determination.
“oh, hey, dohoon.”
“hi.” was the hesitant response. he scratched his nape, as if he didn’t know what to say. you noticed incredulously that he was—blushing?
he cleared his throat loudly, eyes darting from your eyes to your chin to your lips before finally settling on a spot on the top of your head. “um… how do i say this. i know we’re not really super close, but…”
you tilted your head, waiting.
his face flushed, and he looked right in your eyes as he said the next words. “but i like you! and i…have for a while, actually.”
whatever you had been expecting him to say, it definitely wasn’t this. you were about to say something in response, but he continued on.
“you’re such a caring person and just so pleasant to be around. and i wanted to tell you this now, at the start of our last year, because i wanted this year to be the year i become braver about expressing my feelings.”
you smiled at his words, feeling shy at his compliments. "that’s so sweet, dohoon. i'd love to get to know you better dohoon. to be honest, i've kind of liked you for a while now.”
dohoon’s entire face lit up in genuine surprise before a small smile slowly made its way onto his lips.
“really?” he asked quietly, relief washing across his features.
you nodded eagerly, and took a step forward, standing closer to him. then, standing up on your tip toes, you carefully leaned closer to his face, searching it. you found nothing but warmth and genuine affection on it. taking this as your sign, you closed the distance between the two of you and pressed a light, fleeting kiss onto his lips.
then, you reached out your hand. “come on, let’s go see that sunrise.”
—
the two of you made your way, hand in hand, outside the building and back onto the football field, where everyone was starting to gather. the sky was a light blue now, and it was apparent that the new day was fully dawning now.
“yn! dohoon! hurry, the sun’s starting to rise!” you saw yubin beckoning you over in the distance.
you turned around, casting a glance at dohoon, who smiled at you. you found yourself smiling back as you pulled him toward your friends.
“yn!” leesol called as she saw you walking over. then, her eyes trailed to dohoon behind you, and they widened slightly. “oh, hi, dohoon…”
she looked back at you, raising her eyebrows in a silent question. you just shook your head, mouthing “later”, which satisfied her.
by this point, the golden rays of the morning sun had become fully visible, and the light cast a glow upon the seniors’ faces, illuminating their hopes for the new year and their futures.
you stare at the beautiful sight, feeling the sunlight engulf you like a warm hug. you turn to look at dohoon next to you, wanting to catch him enjoying the view as well, only to find him already looking at you.
you raise your eyebrows at him and ask playfully, “aren’t you going to enjoy the view too?”
