#yunki

it's not that he found it stressful, he liked his job, loved it even, it gave him a chance to slightly interfere when it was needed.

but he never expected how much people would trust him with this. now he was buried in requests from almost half of campus.

but matchmaking wasn't as hard as everyone deemed it to be. you just need to be sincere, careful, specific, and everything else would come on its own.

riki was more observant than what most people would expect.

that's what made him so good at being a match-maker. he could tell peoples emotions by looking at them, their intentions by their body language, their thoughts by their expressions.

but if you ever asked riki if he had someone special? he'd say he's too busy for it.

this is what jake is trying to understand right now.

"so you've never had a crush before?" He prompted, walking alongside him as riki scanned the library.

riki sighs. "no, that's not what I said."

"then why don't you have someone?"

"because I'm busy." he said firmly.

"too busy to focus on your happiness?" Jake tilted his head in confusion. he just couldn't understand why a match-maker as good as riki wouldn't use these abilities on themselves.

riki rolled his eyes. he couldn't even remember when jake started hanging around him. just that one day, the university's version of sunshine in human form started bothering him a lot more than usual, and jake was not one to be brushed off easily, riki knows that all too well.

"match-making is my happiness." his voice was stern, tone final, but something unfamiliar settled inside riki's chest. was it really enough?

—

february 14th was inching closer and closer, and riki could only focus on the endless clients he wanted to please. it's not like anyone bothered to ask about my plans.

but someone did, jake did.

he paused.

jake hovered around him all the time, jake tried to ask about his day, jake bothered him about being too adamant on his job, jake offered an escape for him when he felt suffocated.

his mind drifts back to when jake noticed his burnt out state and pulled him out of it, forcing him to go to random places to take his mind off of the things pilling up on him.

jake was surprisingly good at improving his mood, effortlessly at that.

but could riki admit it? never. not when he acted annoyed when jake came up to him, not when he never gave jake the satisfaction that he was right about something, not when he denied jake's statements all the time, even though they were mostly true.

he groaned in frustration. I need to stop thinking about him.

right, riki, just focus on your job.

"riki?"

a soft voice pulls him out of his trance.

he was now in the library, organizing his tasks for the day, when someone interrupted his train of thought.

park jongseong.

he only knows that because jake talked about him so much. jake's best friend now stood in front of him, fingers toying with the hem of his sleeve.

he must be here for match-making.

"hey, jongseong, right?" riki started as he watched him take a seat across from him.

"yeah, you could just call me jay."

"sure, you're here for match-making, I assume?"

jay's eyes widen as he looks at riki, "how'd you know?"

riki chuckles humorlessly, "it's obvious."

jay only looks down in embarrassment, his cheeks heating up despite him not saying anything yet.

"so?" riki prompts.

"I want to ask out jake for valentine's." he said carefully, hoping riki could be of some help.

however, riki's heart dropped upon hearing that sentence.

jake. he wants to ask out jake.

"so, are you gonna help me?" jay asks again, hopeful.

riki nods, pushing all his feelings aside. maybe he's just shocked, maybe he's just confused.

he can't let his feelings interfere.

riki just nods, signaling for him to continue.

"he's my best friend, so I know what he likes, and I'm sure he'll like it. But I'm still kind of hesitant.. can you help?"

he looks sincere, too sincere.

he must really like him..

riki nods, "yeah"

—

jake was a stroke of light in riki's dull life.

he was annoyed at first. everyone seemed to come to him when they needed something, and he was used to it, but jake wanted him. his company.

but somewhere between the forced hangouts and library sessions spent together, riki found himself growing accustomed to his presence.

he remembers the first time jake invited him over.

it was casual, too casual. riki wasn't used to it. how easily jake said things, how his actions followed, how he does those things like he means them, as casual as they all seem.

riki never had people that cared about him deeply, and he was okay with that. he never had a special bond with anyone, he never had someone who'd think about him when he wasn't there.

but jake did all of those things.

jake tells him about his day with excitement, like it was what he waited to do all day, jake clings to him, jake stays even when told to leave, jake listens, and his actions show that.

jake makes his heart flutter.

the realization isn't overwhelming, nor dramatic and all-consuming.

it was simple, jake was different, jake was special. jake made him feel things he has never felt before, and he couldn't lose that, he didn't want to.

"why aren't you home yet?"

a voice pulls him away from his overwhelming thoughts. jake's voice.

"jake.." he started softly.

"it's raining." jake stated, and it causes riki to look outside the window. oh, it is.

"you have an umbrella?"

riki shakes his head, not trusting his own words.

jake chuckles. "me neither." he says with a smile, a smile that caused riki's heartbeat to quicken. he looks so warm..

"wanna run back home together?" he suddenly says.

"h-huh?" riki manages to mutter, but it was too late, jake had already gotten ahold of his wrist, and dragged him out the classroom.

"let's go before the rain thickens." he exclaims as they make contact with cold droplets of water.

—

it felt like 5 minutes and 5 hours at the same exact time.

jake's hand still entangled with his own, riki couldn't bother to look away from the boy in front of him, wet hair across his forehead, a vibrant smile, and a sparkle in his eyes that he'd never seen before. jake managed to glow under the dark sky.

after what felt like eternity, but also just 5 minutes, they made it to jake's dorm.

his dorm was almost as warm as him.

"let me get you a towel. you're soaked." jake says before disappearing into a room and then coming out again.

he doesn't hand riki the towel. he doesn't give him a chance to take it either, he just places it on top of his head.

"riki."

"hm?"

jake's smile never fades, "you look cute like this."

it makes his heart flutter.

"riki?" jake tilts his head. he always said things like this, but riki always shut him down, he always brushed him off.

but riki looks like he's considering something.

"why do you act this way around me?" he suddenly asked.

"because I like you." jake shrugged, like it was a casual sunday, like he didn't just rewired riki's entire brain chemistry.

"you don't have to give me an answer, don't worry your little head about it." jake added, his voice playful.

he's serious.

riki didn't say anything else, just that he spent the rest of the day seeking jake's warmth. whether it was leaning towards him on the couch or tugging him closer whenever he stood too far.

—

it all happened too fast.

riki couldn't remember when was the last time he saw jake when he was buried under so much work.

it was valentine's day. february 14th.

the day he's the busiest. people double check their plans, people ask him for last minute advice, people get ready to give him their thank yous, and people get ready to profess their love.

this day usually ended with riki lonely, though he never admitted it. he always felt hallow, like a part of him was missing.

his chest tightened when he thought about it, jay asking out jake. he remembers how he helped jay with everything, ignoring the tug in his chest, he remembered how nervous jay looked, and he remembered that, just when he set up everything with jay, jake barged in and casually confessed to him, he remembers how he has been ignoring him since then, unsure what to do.

he sighed as he settled on his couch, phone in hand. the day was almost over, he might as well get ready for bed and sleep.

but just as he got up, his door bell rang.

huh?

his eyes widened as he opened the door.

"jake?"

he breathes heavily before starting, "you set me up? really?"

did he run here?

"well-"

"after I told you I liked you?"

riki shakes his head, "that was before. I helped him before I knew that."

"and now?"

the words hung between them. riki truly didn't know what to say.

"riki," jake broke the short-lived silence. "he tried to kiss me."

riki's eyes widen. he feels the pit in his stomach grow larger.

"he said- .. he said that you helped him- with everything. every small detail."

"riki.. did you tell him to kiss me?"

"I did." riki takes a deep breath, scared of jake's reaction. "I only did because I thought you liked him too, at the time. ans you once mentioned that you'd like to be confessed with by a kiss because-"

"that's because I wanted you to kiss me."

riki halts.

but jake couldn't stand still anymore. in two long strides, he closes the distance between them, jake's hand landing on riki's cheek.

before riki can say anything, jake leaned in, capturing his lips in a captivating kiss.

it was tender, soft at first, but it grew firm over time. riki was hesitant, not having kissed anyone in his life before, while jake was confident, not just in his actions but in his feelings too, in riki's feelings. jake smiled into the kiss.

riki panted as they pulled away, both out of breath.

jake's smile was uncontrollable as he looked at the sight in front of him. riki's face, his red cheeks, his swollen lips, his eyes that can't quite believe what just happened, looking down at the ground.

"riki. you help everyone find their special someone through your match-making abilities. but I think you need someone too. and I want to be that someone. so.. while everyone finds their own valentine, will you be mine?" jake asks carefully, looking at shy riki with so much adoration.

riki could only nod, burying his face into the crook of jake's neck, happy tears threatening to spill.

jake's smile widened as his fingers got tangled in riki's hair.

"I like you, too." he mumbles against jake's skin, barely heard, but it was enough.