#zerobaseone ff

Staying at Hanbin’s house made you guys brainstorm on things you should do for the night.

Play sports? Boring! Plus, you could imagine the amount of rage quitting — you didn’t want to deal with that!

Bake? It’s too late! You weren’t really in the mood to bake anyways.

Play games? Sure, but what you didn’t expect was a game about asking each other questions.

“You’ve declined everything I suggested—can’t take it anymore!” Hanbin dramatically grasps his chest. “Plus, I’ve been wanting to do this forever! We have to—at least once!”

You continued to refuse — there was no way you were going to participate in this!

“If Ricky agrees, we ARE doing it!” Hanbin pleads with his eyes, waiting for a response.

Ricky looks at the two of you cluelessly, not picking up what you and Hanbin talked about earlier.

Noticing the heavy stares, he takes out his airpod, waiting for someone to say something.

“Ricky—“ Hanbin cuts you off immediately, “Ricky, just say yes!”

“Just say yes for…?”

“Just do it!”

“Hey, you can’t do that!” You nudged Hanbin jokingly, a small chuckle escaped from his mouth.

Still clueless as ever, Ricky scratches the back of his head.

“Okay then…? Sure — for whatever you guys are planning to do.” Ricky is still unsure whether his answer was good or not — you groaned and sat in defeat while Hanbin held a mini celebration.

Hanbin easily used your weakness to play some stupid game. Your weakness? It was no other than Ricky.

Ricky. Your crush since the first year of high school. He became your best friend after you guys shared a majority of your classes together. And of course, you were afraid of rejection, so you held off confessing for now. (as if you were even going to actually do it.) Cliche, but not really. And you thought you held onto your secret of liking him pretty well.

You totally don’t turn red whenever Ricky indicates any physical touch. You totally don’t smile like an idiot when he walks away. You totally don’t fix yourself up whenever you see him walking your way.

Nope! There was no way you were that obvious.

Despite your great hiding skills, Hanbin had to be the first one to know about your crush. (as if you didn’t give it away from the beginning.) Ever since then, Hanbin has been using your crush as an advantage.

“You better tell me or else!” , “Ricky is with me.” , “I’ll bring Ricky along.” — the phrases he would always say to get you to do something. You practically engraved these in your brain already.

If you heard one of those phrases again, chills would shiver down your spine—that’s how traumatizing it is.

He knew that if he just mentioned his name once, you’d probably agree to something so fast.

Hanbin does the same thing everyday. Asks you to do something, you refuse—he calls Ricky’s name, and you admit defeat.

And you know it works every single time too. It just became something you could never avoid.

Having no other choice, you went to the living room.

…Just maybe, you’d participate in this stupid game.

Totally not for Ricky, though.

Here you are, gathered around in a circle in Hanbin’s living room. Not only did he manage to get you and Ricky to play, he even got Woongki, Seunghwan, and … Seowon?

Seowon showed up to the house last minute—it seemed like he only joined the “party” for this game. So now there’s six people instead of five. I guess, the more the merrier.

You stared at the four intensely, not knowing what they would be up to. Those four were mischievous together, and unbelievably chaotic when next to each other.

You’re sure that especially those four know you have a crush on him.

Seunghwan. He knew because you accidentally said you had a crush on him. Not surprised, Seunghwan heavily supported you and Ricky. He would always secretly drop hints to Ricky such as, “You and Y/N look great together!” or “Aw, couple goals!” However, he’s not sure whether Ricky is picking up on his signals.

Woongki. Your saved contact for Ricky was questionable — “my ricky 🫶” Seriously? Do friends put each other’s contacts like that? You eventually told him because Woongki kept asking you to explain. Since then, he has always teased you by saying, “Oh, your Ricky is here!”

Seowon. When you told Woongki to not tell anyone, it was too late! On the phone, he unintentionally mentioned your crush to Seowon. As a result, he called you … and you chased after Woongki. It was astonishing that Seowon was unaware of your crush, let alone that you were crushing on Ricky, your best friend.

And Hanbin…well there’s no need to explain how he found out.

It just had to be those four to play this game with you and your crush.

“Ah, wait. Let me get us some snacks.” Hanbin interrupts the tense moment briefly — the only thing you were glad he did today.

The other three scattered to “find” things to get to leave you and Ricky alone for a bit. (but you didn’t know that.)

The two of you sat there silently, waiting for the others to start the game. Ricky managed to see you nervously picking at your fingertips. Tapping on your hand slightly, he was able to get your attention.

You hummed, ignoring your slightly reddened cheeks, and gradually stopped picking the skin off your fingers.

“Are you okay?” he mouths to you, just to get a quick nod from you.

“You sure? You only pick at your fingers when you’re nervous.” you smiled at him for remembering one of your habits. He should know, after all, you've known each other for at least two years. “Are you uncomfortable with playing this game? I can tell the others.”

“Oh no, I’m fine with this.” you lied — I mean, it’s just a childish game, right? Plus, you didn’t want to be seen as a coward to him. (although he would never see you like that). “Just randomly nervous, I guess.” another lie — you’re good at lying aren't you?

Ricky did have many questions, but to prevent you from getting even more overwhelmed, he sat there quietly. But, he never failed to take a glance or two at you.

The four slowly returned back, hands filled with snacks that could last for at least two weeks.

“Let’s start!”

The first few rounds were fine, with Hanbin being fearless, Seunghwan doing ridiculous things, and both Woongki and Seowon screaming their heads off. The sweets that had been collected began to vanish slowly.

You were chuckling quietly when you noticed Hanbin staring at you — you quickly stopped laughing because you knew what that stare meant.

It was finally your turn.

You exhaled deeply and attempted to ignore the twisting knot in your stomach. “Go ahead.”

“Y/N, truth or dare?”

You considered your options briefly while deciding what to do.

Truth. Hanbin will almost certainly ask you if you like Ricky, which you will most likely refuse to respond at this time.

Dare. It appears to be a much safer option — after all, what could Hanbin possibly force you to do?

“…Dare.” you said, wanting to get this over with.

“Sit closer to Ricky.”

You gave him a little death glare while the others said “ooh” quietly. They were aware of Hanbin's actions and enthusiastically supported them. I mean, it wasn't as horrible as you expected.

As you scooted closer to Ricky, he couldn’t comprehend why the rest were smiling. Why are they laughing now that you and him have been this close before?

There were many reactions, but Ricky didn't seem bothered by your proximity to him. You, on the other hand, were most likely the same shade as the pink couch pillow. You were humiliated for no apparent reason – why were you driven to be this way now? This would undoubtedly make Ricky suspect something is up.

Ignoring your friends' gaze, you knew it was Ricky's turn.

You ignored your bad feeling and watched Hanbin ask precisely the same question he had asked you a few minutes ago.

Without hesitation, Ricky quickly said dare. You had no idea how he made such an easy decision — he was as calm and cool as always.

Seunghwan patted Hanbin on the shoulder as he was going to say something. Hanbin smiled as he murmured something into his ear.

"That's a much better idea than I had in mind!" He held his hands together, his attention returning back to Ricky and you.

Oh no. You just know this dare will be awful.

"Hold hands with Y/N until the end of this game." The words that came out of his mouth made your jaw drop. You needed to listen back to make sure he said it correctly.

You and Ricky don't hold hands very often, if at all.

Ricky reached for your hand before you could even deny the dare uncomfortably. You stared at him with slightly bigger eyes, unable to break free from his grip.

He lays your hand on top of his thigh after interlocking his hands with yours. His hands fit perfectly with yours, like his hand was the final piece of a completed puzzle. He looked and raised his brows at the others, again with the serene face (with the slight pink hue on his cheeks that you didn't catch).

"Are you happy?" the others ask, secretly squealing to each other as if they'd gotten you and him together.

You and Ricky both shrugged, pretending holding hands didn’t affect you two at all.

Another sigh escaped from your lips as you stared at the rest slowly taking their time to answer the simple truth or dare questions.

They were clearly doing this on purpose — but you had nothing to complain about though. You just worried your palm would start becoming sweaty if you continued to hold onto his hands for at least another twenty minutes.

His thumb would frequently brush against yours, causing your heart to skip a beat. When you put your hand on his, he prefers to play with your fingers rather than stay still. This game became too much for you to handle.

Once again, the simple question went back to you. You hoped that saying the truth would be much better than picking a dare.

“Truth.” Seowon looked at you mischievously and fixed his posture.

“Do you like anyone in this room right now? Romantically, I mean.”

You froze.

What did you expect from your circle of friends? They wanted you to confess just as much as you wanted to let these feelings out.

It’s just a game. Just say yes and continue. You had to remind yourself — there are five people here, so Ricky has a one-in-five chance of guessing correctly.

“…Yes.” Ricky was taken aback, and his heart in his chest sprung slightly. He kept his face expressionless and collected himself. He couldn’t be too sure, right?

Woongki playfully asked if you had a crush on him, which elicited some laughter from you and the others.

Ricky was gently laughing, but he hoped that wasn't actually the case.

They raced to make Ricky pick a decision when they were satisfied with your response.

“Truth.” That surprised you because you expected him to keep saying dare. That's exactly what he did last year.

"Do you like Y/N?" they inquired emphatically.

You turned to look at him, attempting to read his expressions.

The abrupt question tightened his grip on your hand. It's unusual to view Ricky in this light – it was like seeing him for the first time.

But he wasn't the only one who was taken aback by this question; you were as well.

You felt a surge of feelings rush over you: anxiousness, happiness, and worry. You hoped you knew the answer to this question.

You're not sure whether you should be grateful for Seowon's direct question.

He did take a bit longer to answer this question, the anticipation was killing you. He opens his mouth slightly, making your twisted knot feeling in your stomach grow bigger. Why won’t he say something already?

Ricky finally responded, feeling the eyes from you and the rest.

"Well, I wouldn't be holding hands with Y/N if I didn't like them, right?" He turned to face you, hoping for the same reaction. Ricky feels more at ease when he sees you smiling.

The four's loud cheers flooded the living room, ruining this romantic moment. Ricky ended himself laughing in embarrassment, wishing he had confessed in a more private setting.

“You mean it?” You said to him over the ongoing cheers. He nodded, staring into your eyes with much love. He had been waiting to say this for ages, and he finally did.

Ricky had finally noticed the blush you had, which made him smile widely.

“You look so cute like that.”

“Oh, enough.”

Looking right back at them, you wore a shy grin on your face. “Well, are you guys satisfied?”

"Trust me, we're not satisfied!" Hanbin says, knowing he was serious. "Let's just ask you guys the questions—it's more fun." The others nod in agreement, eager to bombard you two with questions.

The nervous feeling you experienced at the start of the game began to diminish as you giggled slightly at the questions being asked. Instead, a warm, loving sensation arises in your stomach.

It wasn’t just you who felt that feeling, it was Ricky as well. “Oh, just kiss already!” Seunghwan says dramatically, slightly opening one eye to check if you'll actually do it.

You were staring at Ricky when you noticed him gulp, which made you giggle. "...Can you guys turn around? It’s kind of awkward, yknow…" Ricky was taken aback by your unexpected question – it's amazing how much can happen in only a few hours in this game. The others eagerly turned around, remaining silent to allow you and Ricky to have some "private" time.

Noticing how Ricky was caught off guard, you took your chance. Grabbing his chin softly, you pulled him closer to you.

As you went for a peck there, your lips felt the warmth of his cheek. The four screamed in excitement when they heard you kiss him. They appeared to be happier than you, as if they had received a kiss from their crush.

In your own little world, you stared at Ricky lovingly — you made him feel shy with your gaze.

“..So what are we?”

“Definitely more than friends.”

Your hands with his collided even tighter, both of you not wanting to let go. Resting your head on his shoulder, you both watched the others continue to create chaos.

…Just maybe this game isn’t bad or stupid at all.