prompt: youâre tired of seeing the schoolâs sweetheart, kang daniel, get taken advantage of.
note: a precious anon requested this - iâm so sorry for the delay! schoolâs been a bit busy for me but i really wanted to write so i hope you enjoy!!!
you were just a normal student with a normal amount of popularity and normal grades - the epitome of normal
involved in a few clubs, most people knew you or of you, but they werenât necessarily falling at your feet
you were you and that was that
kang daniel, on the other hand, was the schoolâs golden boy - not that he had amazing grades or a perfect record, but he had a heart of gold
whether it was helping professors with cleaning up after class, agreeing to pick up food for a random club he wasnât even a part of, or giving dance lessons to freshmen, he was always lending himself to others
he never complained and you found yourself wondering if he really never got tired of giving his time
the first time you ever interacted with him, he had offered to help your club put up posters and you got paired with him to put some up in one of your schoolâs wings
you were curious to see what the hype was about, if he was really as perfect as everyone made him to be
but tbh, the two of you just had fun shooting staples at each other in the hallways, laughing when he slipped on some loose paper
however, you could tell what a genuinely nice and helpful person he was when he didnât leave you by yourself to clean up the mess you two made even as he was called for dance practice
you heard he was going to be in a dance festival, so you convinced your friends to go watch it with you
that got you some sly smirks but you knew it was worth it to see him dance
the place was absolutely packed when you got there; apparently the show sold out because everyone knew that daniel would be headliner
luckily, your friend was close with one of the student directors who had reserved seats really close to the stage
when you watched daniel dance, it was like seeing power personified
his moves were beautiful, like his heart, but the intensity was so strong
you wish he would display that the next time he was getting taken advantage of
a week after the festival, your life still barely had any daniel in it - you only had one class with him
there, you noticed him sniffling into a tissue, eyes desperate to close
aside from you, no one else seemed to notice how tired and sick daniel looked all week
but you didnât want to pry, so you headed to your normal table for lunch after your class together ended
there you were, sitting at adjacent tables in your campusâ eatery; you were with your friends and he was with his usual crowd of people
despite the difference in your friend groups, he made sure to weakly wave at you with the brightest smile he could muster
you returned it and you noticed his eyes seemed to crinkle up further when he got your attention
you didnât want to admit it, but the schoolâs sweetheart had earned a soft spot in your heart
but you saw how some girls got up from their table at the corner of the room, giddily giggling on their way to danielâs table
you knew you didnât have a right to be jealousâŚbut you just were
so you continued to watch them while angrily eating a spoon of rice
daniel didnât even notice them at first as he was sleepily putting food into his mouth, eyes looking like they would shut at any second
(a few minutes ago you tried not to laugh at ong catching danielâs face from falling into his soup, but thatâs beside the point)
âdaniel!!!â wow, their voices were shrill
said male could be seen trying to blink away his sleepiness, looking around for the source of his name
he found it in his fangirls, who were surrounding his tableÂ
âyou looked so cool at last weekâs dance festival! you really deserved to be the headlining performer!!!â
âso we were wondering if youâd pleasepleaseplease teach us the routine? weâve been trying to learn it ourselves, but weâre just no goodâŚyou can teach us after lunch, right?â
you bit your lip in frustration: how could they just invite themselves into danielâs schedule like that? did they think he lived to serve everyone?
you were afraid that daniel would easily agree once more, but were proudly surprised to see him hesitate
he was rubbing the back of his neck nervously, a habit you realized he showed whenever he didnât know how to go about a situation
âi kind of have an exam tomorrow that i need to study forâŚâ
âoh, thatâs fine! weâll tutor you right after you teach us the dance!â
did these girls not understand social cues???
âbut the dance took a while for me to learn, i donât think weâd be able to finish it in just a few hoursâ
you were so proud of daniel for doing his best to disagree, but unfortunately, the girls saw his excuse as a blessing
âthatâs perfect, weâll see you all week!â
you could see daniel giving in - not because he wanted to, but because he was just too damn nice to say no, even when he was physically sick and exhausted
so you slammed your hands on your table and stood up, shocking not only the friends at your table, but most of the room
and just like you wanted, daniel, his table, and the girls turned their attention to you
you felt your body moving on its own to his table, stopping in front of daniel and the girls
daniel called out your name softly and questioningly while the girls glared at you like no tomorrow
âdo you not see that daniel isnât feeling well? he is actually exhausted - the festival just ended last week and i bet heâs had to catch up on a lot of schoolwork since then. there are so many other dancers at this school and i get it, danielâs the best, i really do, but canât you stop for a second and think about what heâs feeling?â
one of the girls scoffed at you, insisting that danielâs always up to helping other people and thatâs what makes him such a sweetheart
âthatâs just it, danielâs a sweetheart. heâs amazingly kind and would do anything to help other people, but do you realize heâs probably putting everyone first? he needs to prioritize himself for once and you arenât helping him. donât treat him like a doormat and walk all over him. he deserves more than thatâ
you ended your rant by looking at daniel pointedly - he was staring in awe, mouth and eyes open in shock - and walked back to your table
you heard a slow clap and looked back at danielâs table to see ong whooping and applauding you
you also saw jisung look at minhyun, who shrugged and started clapping, too
soon enough, the entire place was applauding your lecture, and you were covering your face in embarrassment and disbelief that you actually just did that
so you quickly muttered that youâd be leaving to your friends, who were all staring at you in amusement because they knew how you really felt about daniel and were proud that you stood up for him
you covered your face with a book as you practically ran out of there, finally taking it off as you reached the courtyard and determined you were safe from prying eyes
âthat was really cool of you back thereâ
you jumped when you saw daniel casually sitting on the bench next to youâŚhow did he even get thereâŚ?
âto answer the question youâre probably thinking of, i ran out the back entranceâŚthanks to you, the girls finally left me alone!â
you couldnât help but smile at how happy his freedom seemed to make him, sitting down next to him when he patted the empty space
âiâm happy i could help! but iâm sorry for meddling in your businessâŚthatâs not usually me, but i was really tired of seeing you get taken advantage of! you have to take charge sometimes!â
he nodded thoughtfully, taking in all of your words
âyouâre right and donât worry about it, iâm really grateful that someone said it. itâs my life and i donât always have to do what other people ask of meâ
âand i should take control, shouldnât i?â
âso have dinner with me tonight?â
your hand was mid-fist pump, ready to cheer for whatever you expected to come out of his mouth next; but this, oohâŚyou didnât expect this
he cheekily smiled and you couldâve sworn he had a lot more color to his face compared to when you saw him enter the eatery for lunch earlier
âiâve been wanting to ask you out ever since i helped you put up the posters for one of your clubsâ
âand when you cheered for me at the dance festival in the third row, i just knew i had to perform better than everâ
you were still speechless - happy, but speechless
âplus, seeing how passionate you were back there makes me believe you feel a bit more for me than you let on, hm?â
you scrunched your nose at his accurate analysis, breaking out into giggles when he laughed at your face
âthatâs fair, i do like youâŚbut donât you have an exam tomorrow?â
his laughs turned sheepish at that and he started rubbing the back of his neck nervously again
âyeah, thatâŚthat was kind of a lie? it was my attempt to back out of what they wanted me to doâŚâ
you mockingly gasped, poking his stomach playfully
âthe golden boy, our schoolâs sweetheart, god daniel is lying???â
he was a bit embarrassed but thought back to your words, and when his mischievous smile appeared, you knew you messed up
âlistenâŚeveryone calls you thatâ
âiâve heard and iâve cringed, but from you it sounds just rightâ
âi thought you were tired, though?â
âi was, but the thought of going out with you has me feeling so energeticâ
and that was the start of your relationship with the school sweetheart, the one who could do no wrong
his friends were really thankful that you were there to balance him out, for they were afraid heâd just drop dead in physical and mental exhaustion
you slowly convinced him to say ânoâ whenever he was feeling overwhelmed and to save some love for himself
âbut all my loveâs saved up for you~â
safe to say, you guys would be perfectly happy together
