all the little things β PART 1
β.ΰ³ΰΏ* :ο½₯πβ.ΰ³ΰΏ* :ο½₯
background :: Juhoon has spent years quietly noticing his best friendβs sister without ever realizing how much space she takes up in his thoughts.
leeβs note :: AHHH this series is making my heart flutter hehehehehehehehhbeβ¦ anyways i love this idea MUWAHAHAHAH you guys arent ready for this one w/ luv, THROUGHYRS
β.ΰ³ΰΏ* :ο½₯π§β.ΰ³ΰΏ* :ο½₯
Juhoon didnβt think it was possible to like someone quietly for so long without it becoming obvious.
Apparently, he had been wrong.
Or maybe he was just good at hiding it.
That was what he kept telling himself anyway.
It started the way most things did for him without intention.
You were just Keonhoβs younger sister. Someone who existed on the edges of every hangout, always present but never demanding attention. While the rest of the group filled rooms with noise, you tended to occupy silence instead. A book in your lap, a pen between your fingers, or your eyes half-focused on conversations you didnβt always join.
At first, Juhoon didnβt think much of it.
He noticed, of course. He noticed everything.
But noticing wasnβt the same as caring.
At least, that was what he thought.
Then came the small things.
The kind that didnβt feel important until they stacked up.
You always curled your sleeves over your hands when you were thinking too hard.
You always chose the same corner of the couch, even when it was already taken and you had to awkwardly squeeze in anyway.
You always laughed quietly first, like you were testing whether it was okay to laugh at all.
And then there was your smile.
Or rather, the way you tried not to show it.
Especially when it was something genuinely funny. Your hand would immediately rise to cover your mouth, even if the laughter had already slipped out. It was like a reflex. Like you were hiding something you werenβt supposed to let people see.
He also never understood why it bothered him.
Just⦠in a way that lingered.
That afternoon, the group had gathered at Keonhoβs house like they always did when they had nothing better to do. Which, lately, was often.
Martin was lying upside down on the couch, complaining about something no one was listening to. James was laughing at him anyway. Keonho looked tired in a way that suggested he had been dealing with them for too long, and Seonghyeon sat slightly apart from the chaos, phone in hand, barely reacting to anything happening around him.
Sitting in the armchair near the window.
Juhoon wasnβt even sure when he started looking at you more than the others.
It was just that your presence didnβt demand anything from him. He didnβt have to perform or keep up or fill silence with noise. You were quiet in a way that felt familiar, almost comforting.
And then he kept looking.
The moment James accidentally smacked himself in the face with a pillow, the room exploded into laughter. Even Keonho cracked a smile. Juhoon barely reacted, but when he glanced over, he saw you.
Quietly, almost like you hadnβt meant to.
And then your hand immediately covered your mouth, like it always did.
But Juhoon had already seen it.
The small dip in your cheeks.
The way your eyes softened when you found something funny.
It was gone in less than a second, hidden behind your fingers and the edge of your book.
Still, Juhoon felt something settle in his chest that he didnβt have a name for.
βWhy are you staring at the same page like that?β
Keonhoβs voice cut through his thoughts.
Juhoon blinked and looked down at the magazine in his hands.
Across the room, Martin noticed immediately.
βOh?β he said, sitting up like he had just been given entertainment. βOh?β
βNo,β Juhoon said quickly.
βOh, this is interesting,β James added, grinning now.
βItβs not,β Juhoon muttered.
Martin pointed across the room, far too dramatically for the situation. βI think Juhoon has a crush.β
The room went silent for half a second.
Juhoon felt his entire soul leave his body.
βWhat?β he said, too fast.
Martin didnβt hesitate. His finger shifted.
Juhoonβs stomach dropped so hard it felt physical.
Because now everyone was looking.
You had just lifted your head from your book, eyes flicking between Martin and Juhoon with mild confusion, like you were trying to figure out whether this was real or another one of Martinβs episodes.
βMe?β you asked slowly.
Martin, of course, took that as confirmation.
βNo,β Juhoon said at the same time, which unfortunately sounded less convincing than he wanted.
James leaned forward like he was watching a live show. Keonho groaned, already tired of this conversation before it even finished.
But Juhoon wasnβt looking at them anymore.
And for a second, something strange happened.
You didnβt look embarrassed.
Like the situation wasnβt humiliating, just slightly ridiculous.
Juhoon saw it clearly this time.
And it made his chest tighten in a way he absolutely wasnβt prepared for.
Before he could process it further, you lowered your gaze back to your book, as if nothing had happened at all.
As if his entire world hadnβt just shifted slightly out of place.
That night, Juhoonβs phone was a disaster.
Because he didnβt have an answer that made sense.
Not one he wanted to type out loud.
So instead, he typed the only thing that felt even remotely true.
Juhoon frowned at the screen.
Martin immediately capitalized on it.
βWHAT DO YOU MEAN βHE DOESβ?β
But Juhoon wasnβt reading anymore.
He was thinking about you again.
About the way you laughed earlier.
About the way you looked at him like he wasnβt scary or strange or anything at all.
And for the first time, that felt like enough.
But enough to make him want to keep noticing.
Even if it ruined him later.
Juhoon told himself he would stop thinking about it the next day.
That was his first mistake.
Because the problem with moments like that wasnβt that they were loud or dramatic. It was that they were small enough to replay in his head without permission. The way you had looked up at him. The way you didnβt seem embarrassed. The way you smiled like it wasnβt something you were trying to hide for once.
He kept seeing it in fragments between classes, between practice, between everything else he was supposed to be focusing on.
Definitely the situation.
By the time he ended up at Keonhoβs house again that weekend, he had almost convinced himself he was normal about it.
The second he stepped inside, the usual chaos hit him like a wall. Martin was already arguing about something stupid, James was laughing at him, and Keonho looked like he was one bad comment away from losing his patience completely. Seonghyeon was there too, sitting slightly apart from everyone else like he always did, phone in hand, expression unreadable.
You were sitting on the floor this time instead of the armchair, knees tucked to your chest, a book open in your lap. Your hair was slightly messy, like you had been running your fingers through it without realizing. You didnβt look up right away when he walked in, but when you did, it was brief.
Juhoon stood there for a second longer than necessary before Keonho finally called him over. He moved, but his attention stayed split the entire time. Every few minutes, without meaning to, his eyes drifted back to where you were sitting.
He told himself it was normal.
But then James made a joke so bad that even Martin paused, and you let out that quiet laugh again. The kind you tried to swallow immediately after it happened. Your hand came up automatically, like it always did, covering your mouth before anyone could really see it.
Except Juhoon had already seen it.
It shouldnβt have mattered.
He realized Keonho was watching him only when his friend spoke up.
βYouβre doing it again.β
Juhoon blinked. βDoing what?β
Keonho didnβt answer right away. He just looked between Juhoon and you for a second, like he was putting pieces together that Juhoon really didnβt want him to find.
βNothing,β Keonho finally said, but his tone made it clear he didnβt believe that.
Across the room, Martin suddenly sat up like he had been waiting for exactly this moment.
βOh no,β he said slowly, βdonβt tell meββ
βDonβt,β Juhoon warned immediately.
But Martin was already smiling.
Martin pointed lazily across the room. βHeβs staring again.β
This time, Juhoon actually felt his ears go warm.
And worse, you had noticed.
You werenβt looking at him directly, but your attention had shifted slightly, like you could feel the direction of his gaze even if you werenβt acknowledging it out loud. Your fingers tightened around the edge of your book.
And for the second time that week, your eyes met his.
He expected you to look away quickly like usual.
Instead, you just looked at him for a second longer than normal, expression unreadable in a way he couldnβt decode. Then, slowly, you lowered your gaze back to your book like nothing had happened at all.
But your hand stayed covering your mouth even though you werenβt laughing anymore.
Later that night, MartinβsΒ
Β was exactly as unbearable as expected.
Juhoon stared at the screen for a moment, then set his phone down with more force than necessary.
He didnβt like how easily they all said it.
Like it was something simple.
It was just noticing things.
Still, even as he thought it, his mind drifted back to you again.
To the way you looked at him earlier.
Like you almost understood something.
Like you were also noticing things.
And for the first time, Juhoon wondered if he was the only one who had been quietly paying attention all this time.
Or if you had been doing the same thing without ever saying it out loud.
