Chapter Text
It starts out with Hansol coming to Jihoon in hopes of getting some guidance on writing some coherent lyrics.
“The rest of the hip-hop team told me I have good ideas, but they don’t really make that much sense when I try to put them in lyric form.” Hansol told Jihoon with a frown. “Any you’re the best at giving straight feedback, hyung. Please?”
Jihoon eyed the trickles of liquid drip into his waiting mug as the expresso machine ran before looking back at the puppy-eyed dongsaeng at his right. “Okay, fine.” Jihoon said with a labourous sigh. “But come back to me tomorrow. I don’t have the brain function to decipher your 4D lyrics tonight.”
Hansol laughed in understanding, to which Jihoon couldn’t help but to smile fondly at the endearing sound.
And then it is spending so much time with Hansol one-on-one in the tight quarters of the small studio on the second floor that was essentially deemed Jihoon’s own.
“Hyung, can you look at my latest revision?” Hansol asked, waking Jihoon up from his episode of zoning out. Jihoon needed more sleep, but that was nothing new.
“Hyung?”
Jihoon looked up at Hansol, following the length of his arm to where his hand seemed to have been occupied with petting the soft hairs of Hansol’s growing undercut.
“Sorry. Hand it over.” Jihoon said briskly, quickly retracting his hand to take the notebook that sat between them on the desk. After reading over the lyrics and confirming the meaning was both poetic in a purely Vernon-like style while still remaining relatively clear, Jihoon pushed the notebook back with advice to check the flow of words.
A moment of silence passed as Hansol tried to work before breaking the silence with a quiet request for Jihoon to continue petting his hair, which caused the older to inhale a gulp of coffee and go into a coughing fit.
To reassure the young rapper that he was okay, Jihoon hesitantly put his hand back to trace random patterns in Hansol’s bleached hair, which made the blonde smile in appreciation before he returned to mumbling lyrics under his breath.
Jihoon nibbled lightly at the cuff of his sleeve before beginning to zone out again. He supposed it was fairly relaxing for him as well.
Before long, Jihoon swears that Hansol shows him blatant favouritism over the other members.
“There’s going to be an overnight schedule tomorrow. Five pairs and one trio. Decide amongst yourselves by tomorrow morning.” Their head manager announces when they finally wrap up dance practice for the night.
“97-line!” Mingyu shouted, causing Wonwoo at his side to recoil at the noise and roll his eyes at the younger rapper.
“I wanted Myungho-hyung!” Seungkwan whined only to be ignored by Mingyu and receive a shrug from Myungho. “Then Vernonnie! Room with me!”
“Ah…” Hansol said, freezing in his tracks as he held two bottles of water in his hands and avoided his friend’s eyes as he sat down next to Jihoon. “I kind of wanted to ask Jihoon-hyung?”
Seungkwan squawked in frustration. “You already called sitting next to him at the fansign tomorrow!”
“You can room with me, Seungkwannie. Since we’re both being betrayed by them.” Jeonghan suddenly said, swooping in to wrap an arm around the youngest vocalist.
Jihoon rolled his eyes. “You didn’t even say you wanted to room with me, hyung.”
“You should have known.” Jeonghan insisted, sticking his tongue out and pushing Seungkwan towards the mini-fridge with him.
Rolling his eyes at the older’s teasing, Jihoon turned to Hansol to tell him, “I guess we’re roommates then, Hansol-ah,” to which the rapper replied with a grin and an offered bottle of water.
And then before Jihoon really realises it, his body searches out for Hansol, sitting next to him whenever possible, agreeing to go out for food with him at god awful hours, being especially patient with him in the recording studio, and always having his hand in Hansol’s hair if possible. And before Jihoon consciously acknowledges it, Junhwi makes him.
“So Jihoon, how are things going with Hansol?” The dancer asked as he slid a bowl of rice across the table to the shorter man as they sat at a familiar restaurant for a Soonyoung demanded 96-line dinner.
Jihoon accepted the extra rice graciously and furrowed his brows. “Like his lyrics? Our album is nearly done, you’ve already heard them.”
“I meant your crush on him actually.” Junhwi said nonchalantly despite causing the rest of the table to burst out in surprise. Namely Soonyoung who spat out a portion of the rice that was in his mouth, which caused Wonwoo to recoil away from him.
At the sight of Jihoon’s confused frown, Junhwi lightly slapped his mouth and apologised quickly. “Was that supposed to be a secret? I’m sorry!”
“I have no idea what you’re getting at.” Jihoon said, causing the Chinese member to tilt his head in confusion.
“But I thought…”
“Holy shit you totally do have a crush on him!” Soonyoung said as if he just had an epiphany.
Wonwoo nodded sagely in agreement. “You do spoil him pretty badly despite your tsundere tendancies.”
“You spend a lot of time with him alone, going with him wherever he wants.” Soonyoung added. “Not like how half the time you complain about being dragged out by the rest of us.”
“And then there’s how you look at him really fondly. Like how you look at all of the maknae line, but with a little bit extra disbelief because you can’t imagine life without him or something.” Junhwi smiled at Jihoon’s gaping face and colour that climbed up his neck and painted his ears vermillion. “So not that you really need to, but can you confirm our theory in words, Jihoonie?”
A beat of silence overtakes the table as Soonyoung, Wonwoo, and Junhwi turn to the youngest and all he says is, “Oh my god, I like Hansol.”
Then, following his rather burdensome realisation, which forced him to be hyperaware of his actions around and proximity to Hansol, Jihoon found himself being teased by the entire hyung-line (because apparently Jeonghan was the one who told Junhwi in the first place, and therefore had already told Seungcheol and Jisoo) at any possible moment until he finally caved to their urging to do something about his crush and bought Hansol a gift for the fourteenth.
It’s not exactly like Jihoon intends to confess his undying love or anything. Hansol is nearly done with his most recent composition notebook and the journal that Jihoon chose seems like something the younger would like. And if Jihoon did indeed intend to give the notebook to Hansol tonight just after midnight, on Diary Day, that could just be brushed off as a coincidence or friendly gesture. The scribble a simple, “아낀다” on the first page though, Jihoon was pretty sure would not even fly under Hansol’s occasionally dense radar.
All Jihoon had to do was simply give it to Hansol.
Flipping his eyes between Hansol and the pile of paper on his desk which hid the notebook he intended to give the younger, as Hansol stood to leave as they finished their current lyric writing session (which had really just turned into song brainstorming and showing Hansol how to compose over the months that had passed), Jihoon suddenly says, “Wait.”
Hansol stops in his tracks, looking away from checking his phone to smile at Jihoon expectantly.
Grabbing the notebook from under the sheet music on his desk, Jihoon shoves it into Hansol’s chest before quickly leaving the room first to run to the dorm and hide under his covers.
When Jihoon wakes up the morning of January fourteenth and reaches out blindly for his phone, his hand hits something much heavier and taller than his mobile, making him lift the covers from his head and look at his night stand. Sitting beside his phone sits a candle the size of his hand wrapped in a piece of paper.
Sitting up, Jihoon picks up the candle and pulls the paper free to see a message scribbled in an all too familiar handwriting.
Dear Jihoon-hyung,
I really hope that this isn’t too forward, but do you want to go out with me?
-Hansol Vernon Chwe
It ends with Jihoon getting out of bed to find his date, but he supposes it’s really just a new beginning.