Yeo Changgu's Cheeks @yeochangguscheeks - Tumblr Blog

Hello Fizzy!!!

I'm here with an idea for ya :)

F2L, Soonyoung confessing his feelings for a friend for the first time - the catch? No one saw it coming, the friend included 😂 Maybe Seungkwan is there and shrieks out of terror when Soonyoung does it? LOL

I'm in my Kwon Soonyoung feels rn (he is 1 of my 3 biases in SVT - I'm not very loyal sshhhh 🥴)

Feel free to do as you please with this idea, and if you're not up for writing it, that's fine too :)

Thank you! 💙

How to Cope with Rejection: An Unhelpful Guide to Protecting Your Friendship / k.sy

pairing: kwon soonyoung x gn!reader pronouns: they/them word count: 5.5k genre: the biggest of idiots to lovers, (accidental) confessions, no like actually everyone in this is an idiot except for woozi, can be read as idol or non-idol, angst if you squint, happy ending warnings: alcohol (reader doesn't drink), soonyoung teases reader for eating fast but thinks it's cute? and it's very short. let me know if there's anything else! note: thank you @twogyuu for the request!!! it was so fun to write and I hope you like it :) kwon soonyoung my absolute beloved

masterlist

STEP ONE: Don’t listen to your friends, whether they believe he likes you or not. Outside opinions will either get your hopes up or remind you of how unrequited your feelings are.

“Have you seen Hoshi?” Seokmin asked you, his arm around Seungkwan’s shoulders to steady himself. “We need to have an emergency BSS meeting.”

“Seokmin swears he has a good song idea…” Seungkwan explained, glancing warily at his drunk friend, steadying him with a hand to his stomach. “I’m not so sure.”

“Just tell me where Hoshi is, he’ll understand my vision.”

You smiled at Seokmin but shook your head. “Sorry, I haven’t seen him for a while. Last I saw him, he was dancing.”

Seokmin whined. “You’re supposed to know where he is! Who’s going to keep track of Soonyoung if you don’t?”

“Shua?”

The tall boy perked up, nodding. “I’ll ask him. Let’s go Kwannie.”

“I’m tired of babysitting you, DK. Let’s leave Shua alone and just hang out here until Soonyoung comes back,” he bargained. “He can’t stay away from Y/n for that long anyway, he’ll be back.”

Seokmin agreed with the idea and flopped to the floor to give his feet a break, almost immediately closing his eyes to sleep, his head tilting to rest against your leg as you stood against the wall.

“Didn’t you promise to not let him drink much?” you asked, making Seungkwan sigh.

“I was doing well but I had to pee and when I came back, Jeonghan had convinced him to take a few shots with them.”

“Of course it was Jeonghan.”

Seungkwan laughed through his nose as he looked out towards the dancefloor. “Just as I predicted,” he smiled, nodding towards Soonyoung, who was standing in the middle of the room looking around intently for someone. When his eyes met yours, his face lit up and he waved excitedly, excusing himself from the conversation he was in to join you.

“There you are!” he greeted, slinging his arm over your shoulder and pressing a soft kiss to your cheek. You laughed and wiped your face on your shirt despite the sudden butterflies telling you to accept the affection.

“I haven’t moved since you left,” you said. “It shouldn’t have been that hard to find me.”

Soonyoung pouted but interrupted his own thoughts when he saw Seokmin on the floor. “Kyeommie!” he yelled, dropping to the floor to sit on the boy’s lap and kiss his cheek as well. Unlike the quick kiss he had given you, he repeatedly kissed Seokmin’s cheek with loud kisses until the drunk boy pushed him off his lap.

You and Seungkwan exchanged looks, your friend’s eyes filled with sympathy and yours expressing slight annoyance.

The thing was, you had a massive crush on Soonyoung, and every time he did anything sweet towards you, he did something bigger and more lovey to one of your friends.

In the years you grew to know and love Kwon Soonyoung, you learned that he was many things. He was kind, he was talented, he was cuddly, a tad stupid sometimes, maybe a little loud and dramatic, and above all, the most unsubtle person you had ever met. Any emotion Soonyoung felt or thought he had was clear as day to anyone around him. He was the definition of someone wearing their heart on their sleeve.

If he was hungry, you already knew because he listed several places within walking distance that you should accompany him to.

If he was happy, he wouldn’t stop talking about whatever it was that made him so, sometimes to an annoying extent, but you seemed to be one of the only people who would let him keep talking until he tired himself out.

If he didn’t like someone, it was rare, but his expression said it all, lips turned down and eyebrows pulled together as he eyed the person skeptically.

If he was tired, you were painfully aware. He was already laying all over you and burying his face in your hoodie or laying on your lap whining to go home or stay still so he could sleep.

Point is that he couldn’t hide a secret to save his life especially if it was something about himself. He was an open book, and he liked it that way. Sometimes his closest friends knew how he felt before he even did. Not only was he easy to read, he was over-the-top about how he felt.

So, when after years of friendship you still didn’t think he had feelings for you, it was pretty decided by you and your whole friend group that he didn’t like you back. If he did, it would be way more apparent in so many different ways. You had never seen him with a crush on someone, but you were positive it would have been more evident because it was Kwon Soonyoung; he certainly would have been giggling and twirling his hair every time you blinked if he actually had feelings for you.

But you were totally fine with just being his friend, really. Okay, it kinda sucked, but you loved to pretend it was fine. You had had a crush on him for so long but it was a well-known fact that he didn’t like you romantically, so it wasn’t worth shedding tears over.

Except maybe sometimes to Seungkwan.

Everyone in your shared friend group was aware of your unrequited feelings for Soonyoung, but you only really talked to Seungkwan about it. You had mentioned your crush a couple of times to a few others, and it became something they liked to try to joke to you about in front of him and see how obvious they could be before Soonyoung started to catch on. You didn’t like those jokes so much, so you decided Seungkwan was the only one you could openly vent to without being teased every time.

You often exchanged looks with him every time Soonyoung did anything like cover Seokmin’s face in kisses after giving you one incredibly platonic cheek kiss.

“Hoshiiiii,” Seokmin muttered, despite excitedly looking for the boy not five minutes earlier. “Off.”

Soonyoung listened, moving to sit next to Seokmin instead of on top of him. “Wonwoo said you were looking for me?”

Remembering the reason for asking everyone at the party where Soonyoung was, Seokmin opened his eyes and sat up. “I HAVE A SONG IDEA.”

You smiled as Soonyoung listened to the drunk slurring, trying his best to follow along with Seokmin’s ideas, which were messy and unorganized and very questionable. Soonyoung was sweet and patient nonetheless, writing down the ideas on his notes app so they could start writing a song the next day, but really he just wrote them down so he could tease Seokmin when he sobered up.

“Are you ready to go home, DK?” Soonyoung asked, helping the other boy up when he agreed.

“Wait, did you drink?” you asked Soonyoung, assuming he was being extra affectionate because of alcohol.

Soonyoung shook his head. “No. Well, I had some water…”

You smiled and shook your head.

“I’m going to go around and see if anyone else is ready to go home and needs a ride. Watch him to make sure he doesn’t wander off?”

Seungkwan agreed and waited for Soonyoung to get out of earshot before turning to you. “Can he stop being cute towards you?”

“I know,” you groaned. “What is wrong with him? It’s like he can’t tell I’m borderline in love with him.”

“Only borderline?” Seungkwan teased, but you elbowed him.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Jihoon walked up a few minutes later, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall on the other side of Seokmin. “Soonyoung sent me here to get collected to go home.”

You laughed. “Yeah, so far just you and DK though.”

“You’re not going home? Soonyoung sounded like he wanted you to.”

“What do you mean?”

Jihoon shrugged. “He asked if I wanted to go home yet, then went on a tangent about seeing if you wanted to go home too and watch a movie or have a sleepover with him or something.”

You felt your cheeks heat up, blaming it on the temperature of the crowded room. “I think I’m gonna stay here a little longer. I want to make sure everyone gets home safe since I know a few people have had a lot more to drink than Seokmin.”

At the mention of his name, Seokmin stood up and suddenly tried walking away like he just remembered he had to do something detrimental to the safety and security of the country, but Seungkwan grabbed his arm and pulled him back, pushing his shoulder down so he sat again. He obeyed with little restraint.

“I think he likes you,” Jihoon declared simply.

“Who?” you asked hesitantly, partially wanting to ignore him to keep your hopes down, but also intrigued in indulging in the fantasy that Soonyoung might like you back.

“Soonyoung.”

“We’ve all talked about this, Ji. And all of us have agreed that he doesn’t. It would be so obvious if he did.”

Jihoon nodded and shifted, putting his phone in his pocket and turning towards you. “But… it is kinda obvious. He talks about you a lot.”

You scoffed, hopes immediately deflated. “He talks a lot about a lot of people.”

“But, like, for long periods of time. He literally just brought you up out of nowhere and went on a full tangent about hanging out with you without us. It’s hard to get him to change the topic once he starts talking about you sometimes. And he does it so shy like he’s worried we’re annoyed.”

Okay, that was kinda good reasoning. “Still.”

“He’s also pretty touchy with you.”

“That is definitely not a good argument,” you laughed. “All of you are touchy with everyone. Trust me, I’ve thought about that one. But every time I’m like ‘oooh he had his arm around my shoulder while we walked to lunch’, he turns around and does something like cuddling with Chan for an entire movie.”

The boy hummed, shrugging. “Just saying what I think. It’s a different vibe.”

“He just kissed my cheek. And then immediately after, he smothered DK with kisses.”

Jihoon shrugged in an ‘I don’t know what to tell you except what I’ve already told you and that is that he definitely likes you’ way. “Again, different vibe.”

“Well, no one else agrees with your vibe checker,” you teased. “Thanks for believing in me though.”

“I’m the biggest Soony/n shipper and even I don’t think he likes them,” Seungkwan admitted. “I mean, it’s Hoshi. He’s so obvious about everything; if he does like Y/n, he would have had to suddenly learn how to keep his feelings inside. Like, there’s no way there would be this much debate and confusion if he did because he’d be obvious, you know?”

“Wow, way to sugarcoat it, Seungkwan,” you forced out a small laugh and he deflated.

“I don’t mean it like that–”

“No, I get it,” you smiled, even while your heart was wilting. “I’m going to go check up on everyone and make sure they’re all okay.”

“Y/n–”

“I’ll see you guys later. Text me when you get home.”

You walked away, missing the way Soonyoung looked around for you in the crowd with a frown after Jihoon and Seungkwan told him you were staying. He’d have to convince you to have a sleepover and movie night some other time.

STEP TWO: Don’t spend time alone, especially if cuddling is involved. It fuels unrealistic fantasies which are not something you should be thinking about when with your FRIEND.

Soonyoung eventually tracked you down and found a day neither of you were busy to invite you over to hang out. Of course, you agreed. It was difficult to not agree with Soonyoung.

“Your cooking has gotten better,” you commented as you shoveled food into your mouth.

Soonyoung laughed at your haste. “Maybe you’re just starving. Slow down, you’re going to choke.”

You smiled but didn’t slow down. It was good and you were hungry.

“I was going to say I couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or not but judging by how you’re barely even tasting your food before eating it, I’m guessing it’s a compliment?”

You nodded, wiping your mouth with a napkin. “Big compliment. This is so good. Maybe it’s just good compared to what you used to make.”

“You’re cute,” Soonyoung giggled, his cheeks filling with color at the praise. “I’ve been getting some of the boys to teach me how to make stuff. They’re good teachers.”

“You’re a good student.”

He hid his smile behind his hand, trying to play off how happy the compliments made him by changing the subject. “Do you want more?”

You shook your head. “I’m full. But it was really good, thank you.”

He nodded and took your plate and his, bringing them to the sink to clean.

“Wait, let me help clean up since you made dinner,” you offered, gently pushing him out of the way. He let you, dramatically agreeing that he shouldn’t be expected to cook and clean, all while putting leftovers away and cleaning the counters.

It didn’t take long after tidying the kitchen for you two to retire to the living room and put on a movie. There was even less time between putting on the movie and him pulling you close to lean against his chest with his arms around you.

During times like this — with your back pressed to his chest, his chin resting on your shoulder, and his arms wrapped around your waist but his hand still managing to hold yours while you two softly commented on whatever movie you picked — it was easy to forget he didn’t like you.

It felt so real, so sweet, so pure. If it was anyone else, you would be suspicious of the occasional kisses he pressed to your shoulder or cheek. If it was anyone else, the small signs of affection would be enough evidence to convince you the person had feelings for you, but coming from Soonyoung, it wasn’t enough to determine a clear conclusion. It was easy to doubt that his intentions were romantic when he wasn’t his normal emphatic self about it. He was so loud and unmistakable about everything, so why would he be anything other than loud and unmistakable when it came to his romantic feelings?

In everything, Soonyoung was a hurricane that could disturb entire cities with any slight expression of emotion.

But this? The soft kiss he left on your ear as he giggled at your joke or the slow, absentminded trace of his fingers over your hand and arm when he noticed you were getting cold? This was anything but outspoken. It was soft, a gentle breeze that shakes leaves but does nothing to disturb the tree.

Unfortunately, it was easy to pretend when the only lights in the room came from the television and the boy whose smile knocked over every wall around your heart.

STEP THREE: Try dating other people. Sometimes you just need a reminder that other people are cool too, I guess.

A change needed to be made. When things don’t work, something’s got to give. In this case, being cuddly with Soonyoung 24/7 was not working. It was more than okay when it was actually happening, when you two would cuddle during a movie or sleep in the same bed or when he would hold your hand while walking to dinner, but the after made it difficult. After all of that, when he would cuddle with someone else or hold Minghao’s hand instead, it made all the good things feel insignificant and meaningless.

So something had to change. Unfortunately, Seungkwan took this to mean you wanted a boyfriend.

“I don’t want to go on a blind date, Seungkwan,” you sighed as you threw an old sweatshirt onto your bed.

The blonde boy frowned up at you from your floor. “Why not? I promise he’s nice. And probably your type. He looks a bit like Soonyoung now that I think about it.”

“That’s worse,” you replied, head deep in your closet.

“What, you don’t like Soonie for his looks?” he teased.

You threw a wadded-up hoodie at his big grin. “I don’t want to go on a date with someone who will remind me of the boy who doesn’t like me back. I meant I needed change as in, like, hanging out with him less.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen.” Seungkwan pulled the hoodie off his head and set it next to the other clothes you were getting rid of. “Come on, this guy thinks you’re really cute.”

You looked at him quickly. “He knows me?”

“He was at our dance practice the other day so he saw you when you stopped by.”

You thought back to that day, trying to remember the faces of the people you didn’t know. “Which one was he?”

“I don’t remember what he was wearing. Super tall? Dark hair?”

“Super tall? Yeah, sounds just like our Hoshi,” you joked. “What, like, taller than Mingyu?”

Seungkwan shrugged.

“You’re so helpful. I don’t want to go.”

“But he was so interested,” Seungkwan pouted. “He literally wouldn’t shut up about you after you left. It was annoying but also kinda cute. He’s probably not a good… long-term boyfriend… but I just want you to go out and have fun and forget about your unrequited love for one night to see that you’re capable of being loved by other people.”

You sighed and sat on your bed, looking down at Seungkwan on the floor. You held out your hands and he quickly placed them in yours, staring up at you with a pout. “Kwan, I know I am. I’ve been in relationships before. I’m not hopelessly in love with Soonyoung. I’m actually so fine with where our friendship is at. I’m content! Let me stay content.”

He paused. “I don’t believe you, though.”

Good, you thought, that makes you a good best friend.

“You just think anyone is better than Soonyoung,” you joked to postpone your answer.

Seungkwan scoffed. “Not true. I know we argue a lot but he’s one of my best friends. I’m rooting for you and Soon… but we know that’s not… you know…”

“Yeah,” you mumbled, rubbing the back of his hand as you tried to stop thinking about Soonyoung.

You thought hard about going on the date with Seungkwan’s friend, deciding it probably couldn’t hurt to go out with this guy. If it would make Seungkwan feel better, it would be worth it. And maybe he was right, maybe it would be fun and help you get your mind off things.

“One date,” you agreed.

Seungkwan cheered, taking his hands back to stand up and tackle you in a hug. “Thank you!! It will be fun, he’s really nice and funny.”

“He better be,” you jokingly threatened, making him smile.

STEP FOUR: Realize dating other people is pointless.

He wasn’t nice and funny. Well, he was, but you couldn’t stop yourself from comparing him to Soonyoung and no one does well when compared to Soonyoung. It wasn’t fair to compare a mere mortal with the epitome of happiness and love, but you didn’t mean to.

“I never said he was a terrible person!” you defended, pouting as a few of the boys continued to make jokes about your bad date. “I said he–” you groaned, giving up as Jeonghan and Mingyu talked over you to make more jokes at your expense.

“Was he at least a good kisser?”

“I didn’t kiss him, we went on one date.”

“Give him a chance. Maybe his most redeemable quality is his kissing?” Jeonghan suggested, laughing as you groaned.

“He has redeemable qualities, I just didn’t like him in that way.”

“What’s happening?” Soonyoung asked, joining the conversation late as he fell next to you on the couch. He opted to shove himself in the small space between you and the armrest instead of anywhere else on the otherwise empty couch, leaving him half on your lap with one leg flung over yours.

“We’re talking about Y/n’s terrible date,” Wonwoo summarized.

“I never used the word ‘terrible’,” you corrected.

“Was it bad?” Soonyoung asked genuinely, eyes full of curiosity as he looked at you.

“It was fine,” you said before anyone could answer for you. “We just didn’t really click, that’s all.”

“Wasn’t it that dude who hangs around the practice room all the time?” Soonyoung asked, giggling when Seungkwan nodded. “That guy sucks.”

Half of the room broke out laughing at the abruptness, but you and Seungkwan looked at him. “What? No, he doesn’t! He’s so nice!” Seungkwan defended.

“Because all you talk to him about is dance,” Soonyoung explained, “so he always throws around compliments to suck up to you. If you talked to him about literally anything else, you’d see he’s so boring. And has bad opinions.”

“Hoshi’s just mad because he said he liked bears better than tigers,” Wonwoo teased, making Soonyoung frown.

“Nooo,” Soonyoung lied obviously. “Partly. Mostly. But he’s also boring. He’s majoring in, like, finance or something.”

“That’s an honorable field…” you defended.

“I thought you agreed he sucked,” Soonyoung looked at you with a pout.

“Aw, is Soonie jealous?” Jeonghan teased, which was purposefully ignored by both you and Soonyoung (after Soonyoung gave Jeonghan a quick, panicked look).

“I never said he sucks!” you groaned again to Soonyoung’s comment. “All I said was we didn’t click.”

“Meaning he’s boring and you won’t be going out again,” Minghao giggled.

“Does that mean he should join the ‘Rejected by Y/n Club’?” Soonyoung asked with a playful grin. “I can send him an application.”

You breathed out a laugh out of habit before processing what he said, turning to look at him. “Wait, what?”

“What? Are there enough people to make a club?” Jihoon laughed.

Soonyoung shrugged. “I guess it really only takes two to form a club,” he reasoned. “So, yeah.”

“Then who’s the other member?” you asked.

“Me?” Soonyoung said with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

The seven of you looked at him, silent except for Seungkwan’s small scream he let out before slapping his hand over his mouth and turning towards whoever was closest to him, which was an equally surprised Mingyu.

Soonyoung’s eyes widened. “What? Should I not joke about that?” he asked you, worry all over his features. He feared he crossed a line, worried there was an unspoken rule to not talk about his unrequited crush on you.

“What are you talking about?” you asked quickly after the initial shock.

“Because… you’ve rejected me?” he looked around at everyone hitting each other’s arms or giggling or smiling. “Like, because you don’t like me back? Why is everyone looking at me like that?” His cheeks were tinged with pink embarrassment, or perhaps nervousness from being the center of attention.

“Because that’s a weird joke, Soonyoung,” you brushed off, cheeks warming at his confession but convincing yourself it was a joke of some sort. You would have known if he made a move before because everything he did was done with obvious intent, and you would have never knowingly rejected Kwon Soonyoung.

He sat up, keeping his leg on you but looking more alert. “You shouldn’t feel bad for rejecting people, that wasn’t what I was saying. If you don’t like someone, then you don’t like them–”

“No, I meant it’s weird to say that I’ve rejected you,” you said awkwardly, trying to explain yourself without giving away your feelings. “You shouldn't joke about liking people.”

The room filled with awkward tension, everyone but Soonyoung knowing your feelings while Soonyoung tried to understand what was going on.

“But… you have rejected me…” he persisted shyly, cheeks glowing red when you snapped your head to look at him. “And… I do like you?”

Minghao and Wonwoo simply looked up quickly with big smiles but Seungkwan gasped loudly, following his shock with, “Hoshi! You WHAT?”

Jihoon shushed Seungkwan, pushing the younger boy’s face but had a huge grin of his own.

“You like me??” Bewilderment didn’t begin to describe your emotion at the implication of Soonyoung’s – the boy you liked for years – words. "As in, like, like me like me? Romantically? Not just in a friend way?"

“I’m so confused. I’m not… did you not know that?” Soonyoung looked around the room quickly. “Did… none of you know that?”

Your brain felt fuzzy and confused, trying to process what he was saying. For the first time in all the years of knowing him, you weren’t sure what Soonyoung was thinking or feeling or doing. It was terrifying.

Others, like Minghao who was giggling or Jeonghan who was full on laughing, found the situation to be a little more entertaining than scary.

“Can someone please say something? I’m so lost,” Soonyoung begged, looking mostly at you but occasionally letting his eyes flick to someone else in search of answers.

“Are you being serious?” you asked softly.

Soonyoung looked at you, eyes concerned and desperate but focused on you like you two were the only ones in the room and possibly in the world. “Yes,” he replied equally soft.

You just stared at him with your jaw hung open slightly, eyes wide. He had to glance behind him cautiously to make sure you hadn’t spotted a ravenous lion ready to pounce.

“Wow, look at the time,” Wonwoo coughed loudly, looking at the other friends in the room. “We have that thing we need to do, right guys?” He stood up and pulled Seungkwan up with him, who protested immediately.

“No, I need to watch this unfold!” Seungkwan cried, eyes still wide and frantic with pure shock. “Do you know how long Y/n has liked Soo–?”

Mingyu covered Seungkwan’s mouth with his hand and started pushing him towards the door.

“No way, this is better than TV,” Jeonghan giggled as he continued looking at you (still silent with shock) and Soonyoung (still wildly embarrassed). After seeing even Minghao stand up and Wonwoo’s pointed look, Jeonghan groaned and followed the others out of the room.

“Sorry for the timing,” Jihoon started, leaning down to whisper to you even though you didn’t react, “but I told you so. Never question my suspicions ever again.”

The door closed behind the five of them, leaving the room eerily silent and tense.

“Right now would be a great time for you to say something and let me know I didn’t just mess up our entire friendship,” Soonyoung mumbled, taking his leg off of yours in fear that the contact was making you uncomfortable.

“I–I just…” you stumbled, shaking your head to get your brain back in line. “I’m trying to understand… you like me back?”

“Back?” Soonyoung emphasized, before letting out a breath. “Well, that’s a good sign…” he mumbled.

“Yes, back,” you laughed, finally feeling your lungs fill with air again. He looked up at the sound and smiled. “I had no idea you liked me.”

“How? I’ve been so obvious. Even the boys have been obvious, always making jokes about me liking you and stuff. Like, Jeonghan just did it when he teased me about being jealous.”

“Soon, they make those jokes because they know I like you and are trying to tease me. I promise you no one knew you liked me. Except for Jihoon, but he was only suspicious.”

Soonyoung frowned. “Really?”

“Yeah. Why would you just assume we knew? Did you ever tell anyone that you liked me?”

“Well, no,” he admitted, pouting as he thought. “But everyone always tells me how obvious I am about my feelings. You guys know how I feel about things before I even do sometimes. So I assumed you could all tell this too. I didn’t even try to hide it…”

“You assumed wrong, idiot,” you teased, nudging his thigh with your knee. “You can’t just assume things like that.”

“What about you?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me you liked me?”

You paused and gave a nervous smile, realizing your hypocrisy. “Okay, I might have… also assumed some things…”

He laughed, urging you to explain.

“I know you’re expressive… so I figured – well, we all figured – if you liked me, we’d be able to easily tell because we always… know what’s going on in your head...”

Soonyoung laughed again. “You can’t just assume things like that,” he mimicked, making you laugh.

“We’re stupid.”

“The stupidest.”

You grinned at him, a new feeling blossoming in your chest now that you could stare at him without worrying you were being obvious.

“So you just never talked to anyone about me?”

“I did to Jihoon a lot, which is probably why he thought I liked you.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Seungkwan and Jeonghan with their faces smushed against the window that looked out into the hallway, trying desperately to eavesdrop on your conversation. You laughed and shooed them away with your hand but they shook their heads until Wonwoo and Minghao came back, dragging them away by their collars.

“I guess that one guy has to be alone in his club now, huh?” you sighed. “Seeing as I never rejected you in the first place.”

“To be fair, there were some times that I was incredibly obvious and you brushed me off and that feels the exact same as rejection. I literally cried one time when I got home because you– never mind. I won’t get into it.”

You looked at him quickly with guilt, your heart falling at the news. “What? I’m so sorry, I never meant– I probably brushed you off because I was too nervous to flirt back and worried about being obvious–”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he reassured softly, reaching out and grabbing your hand. “Just thought that me being affectionate all the time was a pretty big indication that I liked you…” he joked.

“Okay, but that was almost always followed by you being affectionate with someone else. So it was hard to see that as anything but platonic unless you have crushes on everyone.”

“I don’t, I don’t,” he laughed. “It’s only you. So hopefully now if I kiss your cheek or ask you to cuddle with me, you won’t think it’s just me being friendly.”

You smiled widely, cheeks warming. “I won’t. I bet if you kissed me right now I wouldn’t think you’re just being friendly either.”

“So hasty,” he teased. “Not even a date first?”

“We can go on a date but I’ve liked you for so long and have wanted to kiss you so many times and now that I know you like me I–”

Soonyoung cut off your rambling by pecking your lips, pulling away before you could even process what happened. You smiled and grabbed his face, pulling him back gently to kiss him properly. It was a little too much, Soonyoung suddenly being the center of attention for all your senses. You suddenly knew what his lips felt like on yours and what he tasted like, which was endearingly reminiscent of oranges. Both of you were too giddy and happy, breaking the kiss not long after.

“This is too much. I’m too overwhelmed,” Soonyoung admitted softly with a small laugh.

“In a bad way?” you asked.

“No. Never in a bad way,” he said, giving you one more quick kiss. “I just need to finish processing the fact you actually like me back before my brain will be okay with making out with you. Baby steps.”

You laughed but agreed, dropping your hands from his face but letting him take your hand in his.

“But how about a date?”

STEP FIVE: be glad your friends were rooting for you, but plan revenge to get back at them for profiting from painful years of pining

Despite all your friends believing that Soonyoung didn’t like you back, a few of them had bets going on relating to when, how, where, and why one of you would confess. As soon as word got around to the others that Soonyoung admitted he had a crush on you, people started paying up.

“I was so certain Y/n would confess because they got sick of being friend-zoned,” Mingyu groaned, handing Seungcheol money.

“I honestly just randomly guessed Soonyoung would say it thinking everyone knew. I just knew it wouldn’t be Y/n first so I came up with a complete shot in the dark,” he admitted with a loud laugh.

“That makes it so much more annoying.”

“Does this mean you two are going to be even more sickeningly cute than usual?” Hansol whined, watching as you wrapped your arms around Soonyoung from behind while he helped Jun cook for everyone.

“Yup,” you said. “Get over it.”

“I’ve never been happier to tell someone a second date isn’t going to happen,” Seungkwan smiled at his two best friends. “That guy asked me if you had said anything about him because he wants to ask you out again.”

“He sucks!” Soonyoung, Wonwoo, and Jeonghan shouted together, making you and everyone else laugh loudly.

“Tell him to back off,” Soonyoung said, turning around to hold you in his arms like he was protecting you.

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t have said yes even if you didn’t accidentally confess to me.”

Soonyoung rolled his eyes but couldn’t fight his smile. “That’s reassuring.”