#2ji

With a soft grunt, she pushes the divider between them out of the way before placing her iPad on the ledge between them. She raises her brows at him, as if to say, See?

“But we can’t cuddle this way.”

“You wanna ask the flight attendant to demolish this table?”

“Can she?” Jisung giggles at his own joke, the light flick she leaves on his forehead hardly deters him from leaning in, and her heart skips a beat at how the twinkle in his eye compliments his cheeky grin. “What if you sit on my lap?” he suggests.

In front of her, Minho lets out a groan just audible enough for both of them to hear. “Oh, Jesus,” he mutters, no doubt having overheard the conversation as he dramatically drapes his blanket over his head. Face growing warm, she gives his seat a kick, causing him to whirl around to throw her a playful glare.

“Please get a room, you two.”

“We would if we could,” Jisung shoots back, earning him an eye-roll from the older boy and a smack on the arm from Angel. Minho snorts at the small yelp it elicits before returning to his movie, cranking up the volume and praying the airplane headphones drown out their flirty banter.

“I am not sitting on your lap,” Angel hisses with pink cheeks, the sight only making her more adorable in his eyes.

“Why not?” Now he’s playing dirty; looking at her with the saddest eyes like a kicked puppy. She almost doesn’t have the heart to say no again… almost. After all, they’re still in public and if the wrong photos get leaked, no amount of damage control by Chan would get them out of the trouble they’d be in with JYP.

Grinning, she leans in until their faces are only inches apart. “Later,” she whispers sultrily, knowing the immediate effect this will have on him, “when we’re not around all these people.”

The unexpected switch in her demeanour brings a blush to his cheeks instantly, and he can only gaze at her with a dazed look in his eyes before nodding dumbly.

“Stay still, lemme take some pictures of you too.” Upon landing and settling in at their hotel, the nine of them split up in small groups to explore the city. Absolutely no one was surprised when Jisung and Angel chose to spend the rest of the day together, though it’s hardly unreasonable—it is Valentine’s Day.

The café they’re currently in is packed due to the holiday with couples and friend groups filling every table available, but they managed to find a small one in the corner that offers a little more privacy.

Striking a pose, she holds the fork up to her face in a cute manner, smiling at the camera as he snaps away. Satisfied, Jisung pockets his phone and makes a mental reminder to change his homescreen later.

Now with plenty of photos of each other, some of which will undoubtedly be uploaded to their group’s official Instagram soon, the two eagerly eye the assortment of desserts in front of them, trying to decide which one to dig into first.

“Did we order too much?” Angel wonders aloud, though she doesn’t really seem too worried as she picks up a forkful of salted caramel cheesecake.

“It’s okay, we can get the rest to go for the others.”

“Yeah, because they’ll be really happy that we brought back half-eaten cakes.”

Jisung snorts at her sarcastic response. “They’ll eat just about anything. It’ll be the best leftovers they’ll ever have.”

Making a noise of agreement, she goes for another bite of the cake, only this time she holds it out towards him. “Try it, it’s incredible!”

With flushed cheeks, he eagerly accepts the bite, chewing slowly as the sweetness of the caramel melts on his tongue, the silky texture of the cake the perfect complement to the buttery biscuit base.

“It’s so good, right?” Angel grins, utterly endeared by how his fluffy blonde hair bounces along to his vigorous nodding.

Upon swallowing, Jisung cuts a piece from one of the other cakes and offers her a bite like she had. “Try this one, it’s the strawberry shortcake.”

She lets out a satisfied mm at the taste of the classic dessert, oblivious to the boy’s eyes lingering on her lips as her tongue peeks out from between them to lick off a speck of whipped cream.

“Is this a date?” he blurts. At the confused look she levels him, he blushes and rushes to get his next words out. “I-I mean! You know how most couples go somewhere fancy for Valentine’s Day?” She nods. “I guess I feel a little bad that we can’t do those things because we’re technically here for work and don’t have much time…”

Her confusion only grows, as neither of them are particularly fond of crowded spaces or anywhere with rigid expectations of how to present oneself. “I thought you’re intimidated by fancy places.”

“I am! Well, maybe just a little… or slightly more than that… but I’m still willing to try! I-I just want to give you a special experience…”

His rambling may be endearing, but Angel’s heart still aches at how much pressure he seems to be putting on himself. “Jisung,” she begins softly, putting her fork down to lay her hand atop his, “this is special. I don’t care where you take me as long as we get to enjoy ourselves and have a nice time.”

Jisung nods, lips still subconsciously jutted out in a small pout. “Yeah, you’re right…”

Her gentle squeeze of his hand encourages him to finally lift his gaze to meet her eyes. “I don’t want anything other than you being your true self. You never have to sacrifice your comfort to make me happy, you know that, right?”

“I know, I really do.” Shyly, he returns the smile, flipping his hand so he can interlace their fingers. “Thank you.”

Jisung’s seconds away from sending a search party to comb the entire mall. It’s been ten minutes since Angel left his side to use the bathroom, and he’s starting to panic. What if she got lost and couldn’t find him? What if she’s not feeling well? What if she got recognised and is being mobbed somewhere? What if—

A pat on his arm causes him to whip around in alarm, his shoulders slumping with relief when he’s met with her grinning face.

“What took you so long? I was getting so worried! Are you okay?”

Angel laughs. “I’m okay, I’m sorry I worried you. Close your eyes and hold out your hand and you’ll find out.”

Eyeing her suspiciously, Jisung does as she says. He feels her place something light in his palm before letting his fingers wrap around the object, and the sound of crinkling plastic reaches his ears. Eyes fluttering open, he looks down to find himself holding a beautifully-wrapped rose.

“Wh—”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jisungie,” Angel says, the tips of her ears tinted pink as she leans in to kiss him softly on the cheek. The look of utter astonishment on his face makes her smile shyly. “I saw someone selling these on my way to the bathroom and thought I’d get you something. It’s really not much, but—”

“I love it!” Jisung blurts. Now that he’s recovered from his shock, he’s grinning so widely that she wonders if his cheeks hurt. “Really, I do. Thank you.”

“Of course,” she murmurs, happily leaning into his touch when he pulls her into a hug. Her shoulders fall along with the deep, content sigh she lets out, cherishing the warmth radiating from him as she buries her face into his shoulder.

His gaze is tender and adoring as he pulls away slightly to look down at her. Her heart does somersaults in her chest as his hand smooths down her hair.

“Just you wait ‘til White Day. I’ll have something prepared for you.”

a/n: :’)))) 🫶🏻

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