'spend Valentine's with me?'
-Throwback to 'It's okay that's friendship' Treasure's drama because it's Valentine's tomorrow, and I wanted to finish at least a oneshot since I very much struggle to finish any of my works, so enjoy this little piece
-Fandom: Treasure (kpop bg)
-Ship: Jaewoo (Jaehyuk x Jeongwoo)
- +one sided crush on Jaehyuk from Doyoung
& one sided crush on Junkyu from Junghwan (not important for the storyline)
Doyoung's fingers danced across the keys of the piano, the melody filling the otherwise quiet auditorium, but for some reason the boy's thoughts were louder than any sound the instrument made.
The Valentine's day was approaching, and he was so nervous to ask his crush out.
He'd been hanging out a lot with Jaehyuk lately, it was like yesterday they'd sat at the piano together, Doyoung teaching the elder how to play a simple song for children — the three bears.
A smile ghosted over his lips, and he paused his fingers on some of the keys, while imagining Jaehyuk's slender digits under the warmth of his own. It made his heart beat faster, just slightly, but still enough to have him shake the memory away to snap back to reality.
A sigh escaped him, and he covered the piano with the fallboard since he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to concentrate on practising any longer today. He'd be too distracted by that guy's pretty smile haunting his mind.
He hung the jacket over his forearm, backpack strap over his shoulder, and he headed out of the auditorium.
"Doyoung?" He lifted his head to look at Junkyu, his twin brother, and he nodded gently as a greeting.
"I was about to text you, I'd been invited to join Junghwan for a coffee, and I thought to ask you to join—" Junkyu began talking, but his brother's frown silenced him.
"Kim Junkyu, you are so dumb that it pains me. So Junghwan asked you because he thinks of it as a date, you moron. He so obviously into you," Doyoung said, almost annoyed.
Junkyu's brows raised in surprise. "Oh God, why had I never realised that?"
Doyoung facepalmed in his head. "It's fine, we as humanity are often blind when it comes to someone having feelings for us," he murmured. He definitely wasn't referencing to his own lover boy who was undoubtedly unaware of his hopeless crush..
"More important question is, do you like him back?" Doyoung asked, because first of all he was a curious guy, and second of all, Junghwan really expected a date rather than a hangout with a friend.
Junkyu scratched his head thoughtfully. "I don't know. I.. don't think I do?" he said, his tone unsure.
"Then you should tell him. Don't lead him on, otherwise you'll end up spending the Valentine's with him even if you don't want to," Doyoung advised, and patted his twin's shoulder.
"You're right," Junkyu said, with a nod, and he smiled. He planned on telling Junghwan at the café later.
"Sorry, I can't hang out today. I usually ask someone to clean the classroom as the class president, but I feel like doing it myself for once," said Jaehyuk as him and Doyoung were chatting right once the last class ended.
"Let me help," Doyoung offered, because he wanted to seize this opportunity to do what he'd been fearing for a while now — confess his feelings to him. It was nerve-wracking and he felt his heart in his throat, but there wouldn't be a better opportunity than this.
"Oh, sure. At least we get to hang out that way!" Jaehyuk exclaimed, clapping his hands together, and he pulled Doyoung with him to get the cleaning supplies to start off the weekly classroom clean-up.
While Jae filled the bucket with warm water, Doyoung gathered the detergents to add in to mop the floor. They worked in sync and momentary silence, picking up a conversation later when they entered the classroom with the supplies.
Doyoung swept and mopped the floor while Jae cleaned the desks, windows and windowsills. Once done, the young leant the mop against the wall, and he turned at the older.
"Hey, can you get this smudge?" Doyoung asked, pointing up at the spot above the inside window that had some dirt on it.
Jae wiped the window, and the younger pointed him to reach even higher above it. They were a similar height, yet Jae was the one who had to jump up, only to trip and fall right into Doyoung's arms.
"Careful—" Doyoung tried to seem calm, but he was absolutely gay panicking on the inside. Jaehyuk was so close to him, and he felt like if it continued any longer he'd just lose control.
"Gwaenchanha," the younger responded as he swiftly helped him stand back up on his feet.
They cleaned for a while more, and while there was silence between them, Doyoung couldn't help but swallow hard as his heart raced like for dear life. It was now or never.
"What are you doing on Valentine's?" Doyoung asked out of a sudden, to cut into the silence between them, and Jaehyuk looked over at him, a little puzzled.
"I'm spending it with Jeongwoo," he said, almost dreamily.
It caused a pang at Doyoung's chest.. Jeongwoo. Of course Jeongwoo. Jaehyuk's best friend, one of the popular guys not only due to his position as the chairman's son, but also because of his handsome looks and chocolate skin. He'd seen them act really close before, not just once, and he couldn't help but feel the familiar feeling of jealousy sneaking back into his system.
"You made plans?" he asked, his eyes watching the other like a hawk.
"No, not really," replied Jaehyuk, hinting that he was just planning to hang around Jeongwoo while figuring it out on the spot. While Doyoung could think of a list of things he'd do with this guy if he had the opportunity to.. after all it was Valentine's, the commercially romantic holiday.
"Can't you hang out with me?" he asked with a sweet smile ghosting over his lips as he couldn't hide the unfiltered hope in his expression.
"No, I have to be with Jeongwoo," replied Jae. "I want to be with him. That makes me happy, he makes me happy."
Doyoung's heart fell. His throat narrowed, his head spun, and he felt like he'd been thrown into a deep ocean with no way out. He didn't even fully confess, and he'd been rejected. For Park Jeongwoo, the forsaken Park Jeongwoo. The pretty boy that could have anything and anyone in the world, and yet he scored the heart of the guy that just broke Doyoung's.
"Oh, Jeongwoo." Doyoung pointed out the presence of the third boy that had just entered to see the pair standing together, the mop was now back in Doyoung's hands to support his weak body.
"I see how it is. I'm sorry for intruding on your moment," said Jeongwoo as he bit his lip, and his nail pierced through the firm plastic of the banana milk carton he'd been holding, spilling some of the liquid that dripped down on the freshly cleaned floor.
"Aishh, the banana milk! We just mopped the floor," complained Doyoung, and Jaehyuk stopped him with his hand.
Doyoung watched Jae run after Jeongwoo, who had ran off after leaving the carton pool out on the floor, and he sighed as he went to pick it up to throw it out and re-mop the floor.
Banana milk was Jaehyuk's favourite drink, and Jeongwoo had gotten it for him. It was a detail Doyoung noticed, and it wasn't the first time the guy actually did something small but significant for Jae. It made Doyoung feel like he knew so little about his crush that he'd have no chance against Jeongwoo even if Jae didn't have his eyes just for him.
One re-mopped floor later, Doyoung sighed, wiping sweat off his forehead, and picked up the cleaning supplies to put it away back in the closet. He just needed some time to get over his stupid crush.
Jeongwoo was biting at the tip of his finger out of nervousness. He knew he didn't need to ask Jae to spent time with him on Valentine's, because despite the jealousy over Doyoung that was getting the worst of him, he somehow knew Jae wouldn't pick to spend time with the guy he met just some time ago over his long-year best friend. Well, unless he actually liked Doyoung.. Well, no matter what he still wanted to ask, as if to make it official.
He was nervous, of course he was, since he'd been practically sharing Jaehyuk with Doyoung, but not anymore. He was going to ask Jae out, finally make them more than just friends.. very close friends at that.
Jeongwoo bought a carton of banana milk from the automat, a small smile creeping to his lips.
A memory of the day Doyoung and Junkyu were first introduced to the class popped into his mind. Not that part, but the part the banana milk reminded him of.
He was going through some pictures of them together when Jae asked him what he was doing. He internally panicked as he looked over at his best friend.
"Is that perhaps..?" Jae asked teasingly.
"Hey, don't get any ideas," the younger baffled, and proceeded to say that it was just an online class he was attending.
Jeongwoo smacked his lips. "All I can say is that it's interesting. It makes me lose track of time."
He couldn't hide a smile, yet he didn't dare to reveal the reality to the other. He was too much of a chicken to confess.
"Hmmm, the teacher must be good. Whose is it?"
Jeongwoo quickly babbled out: "Banana milk again? Aren't you sick of it?" as he looked over at the choice of drink that sat in between Jae's long fingers. He had to avert the attention from the conversation, and somehow it worked. Lucky day for him.
"Of course not, it's my bias! I could drop the delivery food, but not my favourite banana milk." Jae showcased the carton to the younger, who leaned his hand to take it from him.
The moment their fingers touched, there was a spark of electricity between the two of them, causing shivers run down Jeongwoo's body.
"That's not what you should say," he said as he tried to hide the way that simple touch made him feel, and he took a sip from the same straw Jae had been drinking from this entire time, while watching the elder's eyes widen in surprise. For a second there it felt like the time around them slowed down, and it was just the two of them in the moment..
"Hey, that's.." Jae stuttered for a moment.
"What?" Jeongwoo must've been smiling like an idiot at that point.
Jae swiftly grabbed the carton back. "That can't scare me away!" he exclaimed, and did an exaggerated aegyo that had the other both cringe and find it incredibly adorable at the same time.
The wink from Jae, and how he drank from the same straw again after him, it was so attractive to Jeongwoo in a way that caused butterflies in his stomach.
And he felt butterflies just thinking about that memory, and a few others, and his face felt like he was running a fever — so warm with a pink flush spread from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.
After swiftly swallowing away the momentary feeling, he fixed his hair, and freshened up his face with some cold water from the sink.
'You got this, Park Jeongwoo,' he psyched himself up in the mirror, and then he headed for the classroom knowing Jae had planned to stay behind to take on the weekly cleaning duty.
He was smiling down at the carton in his hand, when he suddenly heard muffled voices coming from the classroom.
"What are you doing on Valentine's?" That was undoubtedly Doyoung's voice.
He could hear some murmurs, clearly the other voice belonged to Jae, and then "that's nice" from Doyoung again.
He quickly entered the room, and once dropping the ruined banana milk carton after speaking the quick apology to the pair, he ran off.
Pushing back his tears out of hurt, humiliation and jealousy, he continued marching forward, and he couldn't mistake the loud steps of Jaehyuk following right behind him.
He got cornered under the staircase, and Jae put a hand over his arm, forcing him to face him. "Are you okay? Are you upset? What's up? I won't know if you don't talk to me."
Jeongwoo, who was emotional, and tried not to show it, wetted his lips anxiously. "I can't see you with another guy."
You're mine, he was so tempted to say, the words lingered on the tip of his tongue, but he bit them back, he didn't own his best friend after all.
He tried to pass him, but Jae's arms wrapped around his frame, pulling him into an embrace from behind, and by now Jeongwoo was barely not crying.
"You pabo.." a mutter from the older reached his ear like a whisper from another dimension, and it caused shivers down his spine.
He turned around to face him again, and Jae's hands landed on his shoulders.
"Promise you what?" Jae's hands slipped off his shoulders.
"That you won't call anyone else other than me by their first name." Jeongwoo stretched out his pinky, and Jae's wrapped around it, sealing the pinky promise between the two of them.
With a half-forced chuckle, Jeongwoo patted the nape of Jae's head. "Don't mess with me."
The pair hugged, and Jeongwoo's heart was like on a rollercoaster at that moment due to how close the other's body to his own was.
Jeongwoo quickly pulled away. "See you later?" He didn't even wait for a reply, and he was off.
Jaehyuk let out a sigh. Sometimes, this boy was truly a mystery to him.
Jeongwoo failed to confess again. His hands were clenched into fists after he chickened out and left his best friend standing there alone, and he sighed heavily. Why couldn't he just say it? At this point even if his feelings weren't reciprocated it wouldn't affect the strength of their friendship, so what was he so afraid of?
Maybe the possibility of hearing that he liked Doyoung? Because that would be an arrow straight through his heart.
He didn't quite pay attention to where he was going, until he bumped into someone.
"Oh, So Junghwan! Watch where you're going," Jeongwoo groaned, and the other guy just rolled his eyes.
"You crashed into me, huh, you watch where you're going," Junghwan responded defensively, and passed the other with a judging shake of his head.
Great. People assumed that the two of them were friends since they were both in the popular group, but Jeongwoo would rather eat concrete.
It continued for a few more days, Jeongwoo almost confessing, but chickening out at the last possible moment, and at this point he thought he wasn't going to gather courage to do it at all.
While he believed how clueless his best friend was, missing all the signs and behaving just like any other time.
There were still moments he was jealous. Especially of Doyoung, but practically anyone that just breathed around Jaehyuk.
Oh the jealousy flared and messed with him so much every time. Filled his veins, made him feel a variety of emotions, and had him ball his hands into fists, jaw clenched, he was almost terrifying like that.
Until the day before the fourteenth, it was Friday and the Valentine's was on a Saturday, it was too close to the hangout that had Jeongwoo anxious like a deer in headlights the moment he saw Jae in the class.
He was laughing with Doyoung, so effortlessly, his eyes disappearing into two crescents, and it made Jeongwoo's heart clench.
He wished to slip away before Jae noticed him, but too late. He was already waving at him, gesturing to join them since he always sat there in the back next to his best friend, and a hopeless crush, who's seat was right behind Doyoung's.
Jeongwoo shook his head impulsively and darted away from the class, just around the corner to crash his back to the wall, breathing heavily. He couldn't do this. He was in love with Jae, and it hurt too much.
"What's with you, Jeongwoo? You keep running away." Jaehyuk's voice had his blood run cold, and his heart jumped.
He looked away, swallowing away the feeling of terror.
Jaehyuk stepped closer, one of his hands half-trapped the younger between him and the wall.
"Look at me." Jeongwoo shook his head.
"Damn it, Jeongwoo, just look at me."
He refused again, so Jaehyuk placed his free hand on his chin, angling his head to face him.
Jeongwoo's eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat, Jae's fingers practically burned on his chin, and his heart was beating so fast as if it wanted to burst out of his chest.
"Jae—" he choked on his words, and his fingers dug into the elder's shirt as if he was seeking support, aid to hold onto for dear life.
"You're avoiding something. Talk to me, Jeongwoo. Please talk to me." Jaehyuk's breath fanned over the younger's face, and little did he know how insanely crazy it drove him.
"I'm not avoiding anything," Jeongwoo murmured, but his lie had been easily seen through, like a glass wall.
"I can read you like a book."
Jeongwoo pursed his lips. "Not here. Let's talk during break."
"Fine." Jaehyuk finally let him go, but the feeling of his touch still lingered on his skin like a parasite not willing to let go.
Still a little dazed, and processing the moment that had just happened, Jeongwoo followed him back to the classroom to attend the class.
The first longer break, Jeongwoo appeared busy with some "unfinished homework" because he wasn't ready to talk to Jae just yet, and it prolonged until lunch break, when the guy snuck up to the roof, to get some fresh air since his head was close to exploding from the amount of thoughts roaming freely in his mind.
"Aish," he muttered and leant over the railing as he took a deep breath.
"You can't run forever, Park Jeongwoo."
"I just needed some fresh air."
Jaehyuk leant over the railing next to him, the mid-February breeze ruffling through both of their hair.
"I'm here. I'm listening. Whatever is bothering you, I'm not judging."
The younger pursed his lips. "You're putting pressure on me."
Jaehyuk's eyes widened a little at the realisation. He'd really been nagging and pushing him a lot lately.
"Uh.. you're right. I'm sorry. It's just.. I can't see you like this. You're obviously troubled, and I just wish I could help. I really care about you, Woo."
Jeongwoo's mind was busy replaying those like it was a broken recorder. Oh God.
He swallowed hard. "Remember when you asked me if I'm jealous of Doyoung and I called you ridiculous for it?" Jae nodded. "Well, I was. Jealous. And still am." This was so difficult to admit, let alone say out loud. It was hurting his pride.
The older looked at him. "There's nothing to be jealous of. He's my friend, yes, but he's not as special as you."
Special. No no no no, he shouldn't be saying that kind of stuff, it was making Jeongwoo all giddy and excited on the inside.
"You're special to me, too, Yoon Jaehyuk. You can't even imagine.." he murmured.
"I think I pretty much can," replied the other, causing the younger's heart to speed up its pace.
Jeongwoo didn't know what to reply, and he watched his best friend scooting closer to him, and nudging his arm with his own in a playful way.
"Mrhmm," Jeongwoo let out a sound, and he tried to resist the flustered feeling creeping up his throat, but unsuccessfully, because it did, and it painted his ears and cheeks pink.
He would have to be extremely lucky for Jae to not notice, because he moved his hand to pinch his rosy cheek.
"What are you so embarrassed about?"
Oh, Jeongwoo wasn't embarrassed. He was flustered as hell.
Jae raised his eyebrow. "Hmm, sure sure."
"Get a grip, Yoon Jaehyuk."
A chuckle came from the older, who leaned close to press a kiss to the younger male's forehead, who could swear his heart skipped a beat at that moment.
"Jae—" he breathed out in panic, and the next moment he felt the other's hand cupping his cheek.
"Shh.." Jae's thumb caressed his soft skin, causing shivers down his face.
"What, is this too close?" Jaehyuk whispered, his breath fanning over his face.
Jeongwoo swallowed, nodding slowly, the colour of his cheeks deepening.
"Should I pull away?—" Jeongwoo pulled him close by his nape.
"S-stay," he whispered, and he swore he'd never felt as nervous as he did now. Yet, he felt a sudden rush of boldness, something that he usually lacked when it came to his best friend.
"I'm not going anywhere," Jaehyuk whispered back, and subconsciously leaned in even closer.
"Kiss me," Jeongwoo said out of a sudden, his voice quiet but powerful despite the bluntness of the request.
"Oh, Woo.." Jaehyuk breathed out, but the next moment his lips pressed to the younger's, in a soft but firm kind of a way.
God, Jae's lips were so soft against Jeongwoo's, if not even softer than he expected them to be, and they tasted like a mix of cherries, something indescribable and the banana milk he'd had earlier. It was a combination that had him already so hooked and addicted that he wished to taste it forever. He wasn't that much of a fan of banana milk, but on Jae's lips it was a different tale to tell.
They kissed for what to seemed to be a long time, but really was just like three minutes, before they pulled back, and pressed their foreheads together.
"I'd been wanting to ask you something for a long time, but it was hard when you kept pulling away from me.." Jae whispered into the thick air that was between them due to their mixed breaths.
"I'm sorry.." Jeongwoo murmured in response.
"No need to say sorry. Just.. hear me out, okay?" Jae's hands wrapped firmly around Jeongwoo's frame, as if he was trying to keep him there forever.
"Park Jeongwoo, will you be my Valentine's?"
Butterflies erupted in Jeongwoo's stomach.
"I've never wanted anything more in my life, so yes. I'll be your Valentine's."
And the two boys wasted their lunch break away just by being together, and it was truly the best day of Jeongwoo's life. He couldn't wait for Valentine's.
