house crush [10]
summary: after the week of yearning it finally happens-- Jo and yn have their moment. masterlist
Across the packed living room, Alpha Kappaâs frat house was still loud and crowded. Bodies moved shoulder to shoulder under dim lights, people yelling over the music, drinks spilling onto the hardwood floors. But despite all of it, your eyes still found him immediately.
Jo stood near the kitchen island with K and Maki, red cup hanging loosely from his hand while he pretended to listen to whatever Taki was saying. You could only tell he wasnât really paying attention because every few seconds his eyes drifted back toward you.
And every single time you caught him looking, he looked away too late.
âOh my god,â Mina whispered, gripping your arm tighter. âHe keeps staring.â
âNo he doesnât.â Your cheeks burned.
âHe literally is right now.â Sooyoung laughed.
You made the mistake of looking again. Jo immediately straightened, then panicked. Taking a sip from an empty cup.
Your friends erupted, adorned by his awkwardness.
âHEâS SO BAD AT THIS!â Sooyoung nearly folded in half laughing.
Meanwhile, from behind the aux table, Nico watched the entire thing like it was a live sports event.
He watched Jo fail to act normal for the fifteenth time tonight. Watched you pretend not to smile every time Jo looked at you. Watched both of you standing on opposite sides of the room like idiots despite very obviously wanting to talk to each other.
Maki nudged Jo hard in the shoulder. âGo.â
âI am,â Jo muttered.
âYouâve been saying that for thirty minutes.â Kei sighed.
âIâm timing it.â
âThereâs nothing to time!â Yuma yelled. âShe likes you back!â
Jo looked genuinely sick, as if his tweets were speaking themselves into existence.
Back with the girls, Mina suddenly grabbed your shoulders. âOkay enough,â she said. âGo talk to him.â
âNo.â You answered quickly.
âYes.â Ningning joined in on the pestering.
âI literally already did.â
âYou took ONE shot together and then escaped.â Mina corrected you.
âThat counts!â You whined.
âIt absolutely does not.â Sooyoung shook her head.
Before you could protest again, Ningning and Sooyoung physically started steering you across the room.
âGuysââ You blinked, processing where they were taking you.
âYes?â Ningning laughed as she asked her rhetoric.
âI hate all of you.â You tried to steady yourself, hoping some resistance would kick in.
âNo you donât.â Sooyoung corrected.
The closer you got, the more your stomach twisted. And Jo looked no better. The second he realized you were actually walking toward him, he walked away too fast from the counter and nearly bumped into Taki as he rounded the corner.
âHoly shit,â Maki breathed out. âHeâs nervous nervous.â
Nico snorted from across the room, almost in disbelief from seeing you act the way you were. You stopped in front of Jo awkwardly. For a second neither of you said anything. Just stared, as if the words would appear in the air.
âOh,â Jo said finally.
âOh?â you repeated.
âHi.â He spoke breathlessly.
You laughed immediately. His shoulders relaxed just slightly hearing you.
âHi,â you echoed.
Silence followed and it was painful. Even to the strangers that were crowding this room.
Jo rubbed the back of his neck nervously. âYou look really pretty tonight.â
Somehow that made your stomach twist more. Because he said it so genuinely. It wasnât smooth or flirty. Just honest.
Your face heated instantly. âThanks,â you mumbled. âYou too.â
âYou too?â Maki repeated loudly from behind him.
Jo turned around instantly. âShut the fuck up.â
Everyone around you laughed. The tension-formed foundation cracking a little after that.
Jo cleared his throat. âAre you having fun?â
âA normal amount.â You nodded, smiling softly up at him.
He laughed awkwardly. âYeah. Me too.â He paused, overthinking his words. âI mean not normal. LikeâŚI donât usually throw parties.â He blurted out.
âYou throw parties constantly.â You raised an eyebrow at him.
âRight. Yeah.â He nodded, almost as if he felt defeated. The pained look on his face of wanting to crawl in a hole and die instead of being present in this conversation.
Somehow seeing him like this. Someone so confident, popular, and a frat-boy nonetheless, completely fumbling over every sentence made your own nerves settle a little.
âIâm sorry. I donât know why I said that. Iâm nervous.â He scratched the back of his head as he looked down at you.
The soft confession pulled a laugh out of you. The warm sound of it making Jo visibly relax.
Nico watched the entire interaction carefully from the aux. The way you kept inching closer unconsciously, despite the painful conversation. The way Jo leaned down automatically to hear you over the music. The way neither of you noticed how close your faces were getting now.
Trap music suddenly felt wrong for this. Too loud, too chaotic, too far from whatever the hell was happening between you two. So Nico sighed dramatically, ignored the immediate complaints he knew were coming, and switched the song.
The opening notes of âI Donât Understand But I Luv Uâ filled the house.
Makiâs head snapped around instantly. âWHAT IS THIS?â he yelled.
Yuma looked horrified. âWHY ARE WE SLOW DANCING?â
âShut up,â Nico snapped. âIâm creating atmosphere.â
âYou are sick in the head.â Maki grumbled.
But Nico was already looking back toward you and Jo and immediately grinned.
âHeâs trying to help me,â Jo muttered miserably, at the music change.
âThis is him helping?â
âHe thinks Iâm emotionally incapable without intervention.â
âIs he wrong?â
Jo stared at you for a second too long. âNo,â he admitted quietly.
Your heart stuttered embarrassingly hard.
The song wrapping around both of you hazily, alcohol warm in your veins, party noise fading into background static. And suddenly the awkwardness didnât feel unbearable anymore. Just nerves alight as if this was a first date.
You kept looking at him, taking in his messy blonde hair that seemed to have gotten the worst from the humidity in the house. His silver chain that rested on his pretty collar bones, glinting in the flashing colorful lights. God, you wanted to kiss him. Â
Jo looked at you. He looked hesitant, like he wanted to say something else but before he could say another word your lips were on his. Fast at first, like you got tired of overthinking. He tasted like the shot of tequila and something addictingly sweet.
Jo froze for half a second in complete shock before immediately kissing you back harder, one hand grabbing carefully at your waist like he was scared youâd disappear if he held too tight. Your hand held onto his shirt, fingers curling into the fabric.
Behind him, Maki lost his mind. âOH MY GOD FINALLYYYYYââ
Nico punched him directly in the arm. âShut the fuck up!â he hissed while grinning like an idiot.
Taki was already yelling. Yuma nearly dropped his drink. Your friends across the room were screaming loud enough to be heard over the music. But neither of you noticed anymore.
The cheering around you faded into noise after a while. Muted by the feeling of Joâs hand still pressed against your waist, warm and steady like he couldnât convince himself to let go yet.
And honestly? You didnât want him to.
When the kiss finally broke, neither of you moved far. Your faces stayed close enough that every shaky breath mixed together. Jo looked completely stunned, like he genuinely couldnât believe that had just happened.
âYou kissed me,â he said softly.
You laughed a little, breathless. âYeah. I did.â
âI thought I hallucinated that for a second.â He laughed softly.
âYouâre drunk.â You shrugged it off like you didnât just completely shatter the nerves.
âIâm serious.â His grip on your waist tightened slightly as the chorus played softly around you.
The party still moved in the background, people yelling, laughing, drinks spilling somewhere down the hall, but the little space around you suddenly felt weirdly private.
Jo smiled nervously. âIâve liked you for like⌠an embarrassingly long time.â He blurted, filling the silence again.
You stared at him. âHow long is embarrassing?â
He groaned instantly. âDonât make me say it.â
âJoâŚâ
âSince before the first AK party.â His ears tinged pink as he bit his lip.
Your eyes widened. âWHAT?â
âI know.â
âThat was months ago!â
âI KNOW.â He matched your shock.
You started laughing so hard you nearly hid your face in his shoulder. Jo looked horrified at himself.
âThis is why I didnât wanna say it out loud.â He swallowed.
âNo wait,â you said quickly, grabbing his wrist. âWait⌠thatâs actually really cute.â
His expression softened immediately. âYeah?â
âYeah.â
The confidence from the kiss started settling into your chest now, warm and dizzying. So you admitted quietly. Â âI liked you first.â
Jo blinked. âNo you did not.â
âI literally did.â
âThatâs impossible.â
âItâs not impossible. I saw you maybe last year? When Nico posted something and I was too shy to say anything.â
Jo dropped his forehead against yours for a second, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt.
âI canât believe that. I also canât believe whatever Nico did actually worked,â he muttered.
âWhat worked?â
Before Jo could answer, both of you turned toward the aux table at the same time. Nico stood there looking unbearably proud of himself, arms crossed. Nodding slowly as if he had personally orchestrated world peace.
The final chorus of âI Donât Understand But I Luv Uâ echoed through the house while Nico pointed directly at the two of you. âI did that,â he announced.
âYou are NEVER touching aux again,â Maki yelled back.
Nico ignored him completely. âYouâre welcome!â Nico called out.
You laughed against Joâs shoulder.
And right as the song started fading out, Nico immediately switched the music straight back to aggressive, vulgar, trap music that flooded the house before. The bass exploding through the speakers so abruptly it made both of you jump.
Yuma screamed in celebration somewhere across the room, satisfied that the party was back at the level they so desperately wanted to keep it at.
Maki started yelling the lyrics instantly. The entire emotional atmosphere Nico created died in under three seconds.
You looked back at Jo in disbelief. Jo looked at you, matching the same awe of how fast the entire vibe changed. Â Both of you started laughing again, the kind that made your stomach hurt and tears pierce the corners of your eyes.
âThat was so fucking stupid,â you said through laughter.
Jo nodded immediately. âActually the corniest thing thatâs ever happened to me.â
âBut it worked.â
He smiled softly at that. âYeah,â he admitted, pulling you back against him once more. âIt really did.â
Jo kept his hand around your waist even after the music switched back. Nervous that if he let go now the entire thing would suddenly become awkward again.
Your eyes scanned the room again. The house fully returned to chaos around you, people shouting over bass-heavy music, bodies packed into the living room, Yuma and Maki already arguing about the aux again while Nico defended his âcinematic visionâ with his entire chest.
But somehow Jo only looked at you. Still smiling a little in disbelief.
âYou wanna get out of here for a second?â he asked carefully.
Your stomach flipped immediately. âOkay,â you answered softly.
The second he heard you agree, Jo visibly relaxed, a smile on his face instead of the awkward grimace and his shoulders loosening. He guided you through the crowded house with his hand resting lightly at your lower back, occasionally glancing behind him to make sure one of the guys wasnât following to instigate.
Maki noticed instantly. âOHHHHH?â he shouted from the kitchen.
Jo didnât even look at him. âShut up!â He shouted over the music.
âHEâS TAKING HER UPSTAIRS!â Maki screamed, making sure to get the attention of everyone in the house.
âMAKI,â Jo snapped.
Nico nearly collapsed laughing.
You hid your face in your hands as Jo hurried you toward the stairs. âThis is so embarrassing,â you muttered.
âI know,â he sighed. âI live with animals.â
By the time you reached the second floor, the music downstairs sounded muffled enough to finally breathe normally again.
Jo slowed near the end of the hallway. Then suddenly looked nervous all over again. His hand slipped from your back as he opened the door.
âSorry my roomâs kindaââ
You stepped inside, and blinked.
He was about to apologize for his room but it was clean, maybe even too clean for a frat boy. You turned slowly toward him. âDid you clean for me?â
Jo froze. ââŚNo.â
From downstairs, Euijooâs voice was faintly heard as he shouted over the music. Â âYES HE DID!â
You burst into laughter instantly while Jo covered his face with both hands. âI hate them so much.â
You kept laughing softly as you wandered farther into the room while Jo shut the door behind you.
The atmosphere shifted immediately after that, quieter and softer. Â
Without everyone yelling around you, the reality of finally being alone together settled in. And weirdly enough? The awkwardness from earlier started disappearing in full now.
Jo sat carefully on the edge of his bed, looking up at you with a small smile. âYouâre like⌠way easier to talk to than I thought youâd be.â
You raised an eyebrow. âWhat does that mean?âYou took a seat near him on the edge of his bed.
âI donât know,â he admitted. âI think I convinced myself you were way out of my league.â
âI convinced myself you were out of mine.â You laughed softly.
He shook his head at you, a smile on his face and his ears bright red. The sight of him making your heart ache. You moved closer to him. Sitting beside him now as your knees brushed.
And after that? Conversation just⌠happened. It was natural and easy. The two of you had already skipped past the hard part.
You talked about classes. About mutual friends. About how Nico apparently knew about both of your crushes before either of you admitted anything.
âYou know he threatened me if I fumbled tonight?â Jo admitted.
You laughed so hard you nearly fell sideways.
âI would threaten him if he did anything to you.â You shrugged innocently.
Jo looked at you for a second after that. The silence blooming wasnât something that needed to be filled for once. Yet, Jo still had to ask. âYou really liked me?â
The sincerity in his voice made your chest ache a little.
You nodded. âYeah, I still do.â
âHow?â
âWhat do you mean how?â
âI donât know,â he said, smiling shyly. âI just didnât think someone like you would look at me twice.â
You frowned immediately. âJo.â
âWhat?â
âYouâre literallyâŚâ You gestured vaguely toward him. âYou.â
âThat explains nothing.â
âYouâre handsome. Funny. Sweet when you stop panicking for five seconds.â
Jo blushed, resulting in him hiding his face again.
âBut I remember seeing you here and I never could get you off my mind.â
He peeked at you through his fingers. âReally?â
âYes, really.â You giggled, cheeks burning from your confession and the alcohol.
He smiled to himself, biting the inside of his cheek as he processed your words. Â Seeing him relaxed like this, finally not overthinking every word he wanted to say, made something warm settle in your chest.
Because this version of Jo felt real. Not the nervous boy staring at the door downstairs. Not the frat guy everyone hyped up online. Just him.
He looked at you carefully again. Your bodies closer now.
âSo,â he said softly.
âSo?â You echoed.
âCan I kiss you again when neither of us is mid-panic attack?â
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