#on the other hand Yang get the Best Brother Award - leaving the rest of the competition far far behind

[littleragondin]

So I may have been slightly obsessing over “To sir with love”, as one does, and a thing that has been circling in my head for the last few days is the way Tian's confrontation with his mother at the start of episode 13 and his talk with Yang at the end of the same episode echo and oppose each other.

Madame Li comes to Tian when he is in love, hopeful, begging for a chance at happiness, and how does she respond? She crushes it, with the revelation about Jiu and Mr. Ma yes, but mostly with everything else. You will never know love, she says, except mine. That stifling love who wants him to be someone else, that chips at who he is again and again and again.

Then Yang finds his brother (heart)broken, and Tian holds him back to confess his love, again, now in despair and shame and self loathing. And Yang response to that is as it has always been, that his brother is wonderful just as he is. You deserve love he promises, and I love you I love you I love you. A love with no reservation and for all that Tian is, a love always there.

And they both love Tian, they are both afraid and worried for him, both are going to great lengths to protect him, at this point both believe that Jiu has lied to Tian and played him. And. Yet. His mother again puts the blame on him, on who he is, makes him guilty of his own betrayal. His brother reminds him that it's not true, that the betrayer is to blame, and that the fault never laid with him.

And so it's no surprise that Tian pushes away his mother and the prison her love has built around him, but seeks the comfort of his brother's love who has always celebrated who he is.

[peaches-writes]

according to flora

description: growing up with jeongin according to the different shrubs and flowers around you member: jeongin / i.n. genre: fluff, childhood best friends to lovers au, neighbor au, slice of life, cottagecore elements (this is debatable) word count: 5.7k warning: mention of animal death (im so sorry) notes: some of these plants probably don’t grow in korea but whatever i need them for the plot + ending happens a year before ‘before one a.m.’ + i’m not confident w this pls go easy on me

makahiya ~ shy plant

When Yang Jeongin first moved into the neighbourhood when you were five, he and his brother let out a surprised gasp after stepping on their lawn. You were making flower crowns and trying to do ‘magic’ next door with your cat, immediately looking up at them from their loud reactions to the grass, the gears in your head concluding that they must have stepped on the shy plants that grew everywhere. 

“Do you think it’ll open again?” You overheard Jeongin’s brother ask curiously that day, squatting down on the grass.

Jeongin naturally followed, poking on the folded and now red leaves of the unusual plant. “It doesn’t seem to want to.” He muses sadly.

You took that as your cue to approach them, walking the small distance around the fence and poking Jeongin’s shoulder. He looks up at you with a small jump and wide eyes, almost falling on his butt and toppling over his brother next to him.

“Hello! You must be our neighbor!” His younger brother greeted instead for the two of them, waving politely at you with a small tree branch he found nearby. You waved back politely before extending the same hand to introduce yourself properly.

“The shy plant won’t open if you keep touching it.” You pointed out after the younger brother’s introduction, answering their query. “Just wait a little bit.”

“Shy plant?” Jeongin repeated, looking back down on the plant. At that, the leaves slowly began opening up again, returning to its vibrant green color as it stretches. “Wow!” He exclaims, touching it again and causing it to wrinkle back into a shy close but this time much clearer in front of him and his brother. “Cool!”

You smile in equal amazement, taking a step back and motioning over to your dividing fence and the tree across the Yang house’s lawn. “There’s more of them around your lawn, just look for the sharp leaves and maybe the pink flower that goes along with some of them since a lot of weeds and grass growing around here look like them too.”

His younger brother only nodded, muttering a quick thank you for tipping them off before running across the lawn, while Jeongin awkwardly stood up and extended his hand out for you to shake after realizing that he hasn’t introduced himself, “I’m Jeongin, by the way—we’re moving in today.”

“Y/N,” You shook his hand shyly, the unfamiliar feeling of holding someone else’s hand sending tingles down your spine. “I live next door.”

“Will you...” He trailed off, awkwardly placing his hand back to his side and darting his eyes everywhere but you. “Will you help us look for them?”

You nodded after a beat or silence, shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. “Sure.”

When Mr. Yang expressed interest to maintain the grass on their lawn and backyard some time later, Jeongin made sure that his father didn’t cut any of the shy plants.

dwarf santan ~ jungle geranium

Since that day, Jeongin has naturally stuck by your side, helping you 'make potions’ on your front porch by picking out the flowers for you when unfamiliar bugs and pests guard them and climbing up the trees in your lawns and backyards for when you need leaves. No one from the nearest four blocks are around your age and Jeongin never really thought of himself as the type of kid to walk all the way to the other side of the neighbourhood just to maintain a friendship with a friend. 

Besides, he’s always thought that your company was enjoyable and enough. 

“What are you doing?” He asked you one morning as he approached you, seated in the middle of your backyard garden. It’s the day before his seventh birthday and he’s spent the entire week pretending to not notice how you’ve been crushing and mixing flower petals less in favor of studying the stems of your garden flowers. “What flower’s that?” 

You quickly hid the pink jungle geraniums in your back, scrambling to stand up when Jeongin stops right in front of you. “N-Nothing!” You stammered out a reply as you tried to stop yourself from gripping the small flowers too tightly and accidentally crushing them in nervousness. “It’s just...”

When you trailed off, trying to come up with another excuse for the 7th day in the row, Jeongin only sighed, scratching the nape of his neck. “You’ve been acting weird this whole week.” He pointed out to you bluntly, a small pout on his lips. “I don’t want to assume that it’s for my birthday but if it is, you can just show it to me now—it’s tomorrow anyway.” 

A beat of silence passes. When you didn’t speak, he quietly added, “I don’t like it when you act weird...”

And with that, you slowly took out the crown of jungle geraniums from behind your back, “I’ve been trying to make you this but I’m really bad at connecting the flowers.” You then held it in front of him, delicately placing them in his hands when he reached out for them. 

He held it up to his eye-level, as if inspecting it, before looking back at you, “Can you put it on for me?” He then took a tentative step towards you, placing the crown back in your hands with a slight shake in his hand. 

And equally as shaky with your hands, you tiptoed and placed it on top of his head, catching his smile when your heels reach the grass beneath your feet once again. “How do I look?” He asks, tilting his head from side to side that almost caused the crown to fall of his head. 

“Pretty.” You answered matter-of-factly, turning his close-lipped smile into a full grin when you fixed the crown again with more confidence and a chuckle. “Happy birthday.”

“T-thank you!” He blushes, his cheeks matching the pink of the flowers. “Can you...can you teach me how to make this?” 

He especially left out the part that he wants to make one for you, too shy at the time to say it out loud.  

“Yeah—yeah, just help me pick out the ones you like.” You replied before leading him by the hand to the very back of your garden where the shrubs are. 

You then spent the rest of the afternoon teaching him how to make crowns and bracelets as well as convincing him that drinking the sap on the geraniums is okay. 

“It’s very sweet,” You told him as you suck on one while you work. “Some are bitter but it’s almost always sweet.” 

Jeongin went home with a whole stem of geraniums after, showing it and his flower crown proudly to his brothers. 

On your birthday that followed after this, you found a bracelet of jungle geraniums conveniently left on the pillar of your front porch. You still have this bracelet, pressed between the pages of your favorite book in a circle. 

rose

You and Mrs. Yang encouraged Jeongin to join his first school singing competition in the 3rd grade because if there’s something you and your best friend’s mom have in common, it’s your endless admiration for his singing skills. Mrs. Yang always encouraged her son to sing and perform during parties while you grew up to your best friend singing to you and the plants that you grew. 

So, for an entire month leading up to the talent show, you spent all your weekends in Jeongin’s room, clumsily playing the piano with him as he practiced trot songs. 

And, on the day before the competition, Jeongin’s mom sneaked you out of your practice sessions so you can help her buy his son a congratulatory bouquet at the supermarket. 

“So, Y/N, roses or tulips?” Mrs. Yang asked you as you stood in front of the shelves of plastic bouquet wrappings and vibrant flower arrangements. 

“Oh, um...” You examined the flowers closely, tiptoeing around the sides. You’ve always known that tulips and roses are traditionally given to say congratulations after competitions but something about the baby’s breath caught your eye. In a way, it seemed more fitting for your best friend. “Mrs. Yang, can we get the bouquet full of baby’s breaths?” 

But Mrs. Yang chuckled in response, albeit without any malice, “Sweetheart, we need to get our Jeongin a big bouquet, especially if he wins.” She then took a big bouquet of roses and another of tulips in the same size, both decorated with baby’s breaths, and held them in front of you. “but, we can buy a bouquet with baby’s breath on it, just not as the main flower in the arrangement.” 

You ended up nodding along, picking the bouquet of roses. 

Jeongin later won the singing competition. Mrs. Yang allowed you to hold the bouquet through the entire program and eventually give it to him when the awards have been given and the pictures have been taken. 

“Congratulations!” You practically ran halfway across the auditorium to him on the side of the stage, almost shaking the petals off the flowers.

“Thank you!” Jeongin grinned shyly at you, holding the big bouquet in one of his small hands as he pulled you into a hug with the other. “These are so pretty!”

“Your mom and and I picked them out at the supermarket.” You recalled as you slowly pulled away from his hug after a moment, hands unconsciously coming up once again to fix the baby’s breath and roses that have wrinkled slightly from all the running and hugging. 

Jeongin mimicked your actions almost instantly, his free hand going to the baby’s breath instead of the roses to admire them. “I like the baby’s breath the best, they’re so cute,” He commented nonchalantly. “but the roses are beautiful, too.” 

You hum through your heart doing a small unfamiliar flip in your chest. “I like them the best too.”

kalachuchi ~ plumeria

Hana, your family’s Persian cat of thirteen years, died some time in the summer before your 7th grade from old age. You don’t remember much from that period of time in your life but endless crying in your bedroom and a small funeral you held in your backyard with Jeongin, his two brothers, and a few friends from school. 

“We’re sorry about Hana again.” One of your friends, Chaeryeong, hugged you before leaving. Since the weather seemed appropriately gloomy on that Sunday morning, everyone had to leave right after before it rained harshly as predicted on the weather forecast. 

“Thank you.” Hugging her back tightly, you then bid her a second goodbye as her parents’ car arrived.

With that, only you and Jeongin were left standing in your front lawn, waiting for the rain to come. With a sigh, you quietly turned around with the intention of trudging back inside your house, only to be stopped by Jeongin wrapping his arms around your shoulders in a hug. 

The gesture immediately encouraged the reemergence of tears on your face. 

“I’m so sorry about Hana,” He mumbled against the nook of your neck, hugging you tighter when he heard you choke back sobs. He pats your back comfortingly, swaying you from side to side and humming gently to ease you. 

You stood there for what seemed to be a long time, until it started drizzling in light rain and your mom appeared on your front porch and gestured for Jeongin to bring you inside the house. Hesitantly, you let your best friend take you inside, his arm never leaving your shoulder until the two of you sat down on the sofa in your living room.

“Can I hug you again, please?” You asked next to him when he brought his arm back to his side, the absence of his arms feeling uncomfortable in the moment somehow. 

Hearing your small voice broke his heart instantly. He nodded with a small hum, letting you snake your arms around his waist this time as he brings his arm back on your shoulder. The downpour outside became harsh almost instantly, the different flowers and shrubs growing right below your windows crashing against the glass panes that suddenly gave him an idea. 

Over a month later towards the end of that summer, when you and Jeongin came home from the animal shelter and adopted an orange tabby named Mimi, the two of you ended up chasing the energetic kitten to Hana’s grave in the hidden corner of your backyard—only to find a plumeria tree growing on top of its small mound. 

“Oh? What’s that, Mimi?” You crouched down in front of the tree as Mimi sniffed the small white flowers, your eyes beginning to sting. Jeongin, a few steps behind you, immediately slowed down running at seeing where you ended up. “That’s a plumeria.” 

You turned to Jeongin after, mustering up a small smile for him. “Did you do this?” 

He nods as if unsure, crossing the remaining distance to you and sitting down crisscross on the grass. “When the rain stopped, I found grown cuttings in our backyard and,” He shrugged, momentarily being distracted by your new kitten as she finished sniffing the flowers and proceeded to climb up his lap. “you did tell me one time that plumerias mean new beginnings.” 

Overwhelmed with the gesture, you let yourself fall back on the grass, leaning over to Jeongin to press your forehead to his shoulder blade gratefully. “You remember these kinds of things I tell you?” 

You hear him hum next to you, his shoulders moving slightly as he plays with your new cat. “I remember everything you tell me.” He clarified as nonchalantly as he could muster. “...and I know flowers make you the happiest.” 

“You make me the happiest.” You muttered under your breath in response, not knowing that he heard it clearly. “Thank you so much...this—this means a lot to me.”    

bougainvillea 

You went on your first overnight field trip three years later in your 12th grade, right after your college entrance exams. The destination wasn’t far from school but the retreat house’s ambiance was somehow entirely different from the city outside its gate because of the area’s unusual amount of pine trees encircling it. Compared to the towering skyscrapers and bland-colored suburban neighbourhoods you’ve gotten used to, the retreat house felt like an entirely different world and the entire trip felt like a healing from school stress. 

“Look at all these pine trees, Innie!” You exclaimed on the second morning, when you woke up an hour early and found Jeongin wandering around the retreat house’s extensive mini forest. Looking up as you walked alongside him on the trail heading to the mess hall, you couldn’t help but marvel at the trees and their calming presence. “They look like they could reach the sky!”

Next to you, you missed the way Jeongin briefly casted his eyes away from the pine trees to have a good look at you, grinning at your familiar bright eyes and agape lips that only comes out whenever you looked at plants. 

He considers himself lucky you never seemed to notice the way he always looks for this particular expression of yours. You didn’t know it at the time but he‘s always thought you’re the prettiest admiring the flora around you. 

“They are,” He verbally agreed after a while once he’s successfully made himself look away from you to watch the morning sunlight filter in through the trees. Looking around, an archway of unfamiliar vibrant pink and greenish white immediately caught his eyes, pointing it to you. “Hey, look at that.”

You followed his gaze, seeing bougainvilleas for the first time. “Bougainvilleas!“ You smartly named the plant, remembering it from one of the books you used to read to Jeongin. “We should check it out.”

Hurriedly, the two of you then approached the archway leading to a hidden garden. The ground dipped a little to form a slope underneath your slippers as you entered, catching Jeongin off-guard until you expertly steadied him by his arms.

“Careful!” You hissed playfully, gently pushing a stray branch of the pink bougainvilleas above his head when he’s regained composure and stood up straighter.

“Right, sorry!” He laughed before walking a little slower behind you to admire the flowers.

You then busied yourself after by whipping out your phone and taking photos of the flowers, snapping a couple of candid shots for Jeongin as well. You wandered around the archway in relative silence, noticing a couple more different flowers as you walk closer to the other side.

“Ow,” You suddenly heard Jeongin wince behind you after a while, immediately making you turn to him in worry. Catching your gaze, he shows you the hand he pricked on one of the thorns, luckily intact. “Thorns.”

You sighed at his clumsiness, taking a step toward him and taking his hand in yours to inspect it further. “I told you to be more careful,” You scolded him under your breath, heaving another sigh afterwards but this time in relief while massaging the pad of his index finger. “Their thorns might give you rashes.”

“Sorry...” He sheepishly apologizes, curling up his fingers above your hand as if to retract them back to his side.

But you keep his hand in place, bringing your linked hands down between the two of you. “We should get ointment for this, though,” You conclude, walking him now back to the trail. “Just to be sure.”

“O...kay...” He trails off in a daze, clumsily keeping up with your brisk walking to the mess hall.

Your Homeroom adviser would check up on Jeongin after, almost mistaking his blushing cheeks for signs of illness. 

baby’s breath 

In the summer that followed, when you’ve received your acceptance letters and graduated high school, you scheduled a packing day for university three days before you went to Seoul with Jeongin and his older brother. Video calling on your laptops and occasionally waving at each other through your nearly adjacent bedroom windows, you spent the entire day going through your things and arranging them in bags and boxes.

This is when you stumbled upon your books of pressed flowers.

Jeongin didn’t notice it at first, how your screen suddenly became silent, too engrossed for a while with running his hands through his keyboard which he hasn’t touched in a year to focus on studying. He played familiar melodies, mostly trot songs, for a while—looking up to you on the screen only after the fifth song and realizing that you’ve been standing in one distant spot the entire time, going through one of your hardbound books.

He walked over to his laptop perched amidst the mess on his bed at this, sitting down in front of it before calling your attention, “What’s that?”

The sudden voice made you close your book with a loud thud and you turned to Jeongin in surprise, “You startled me!”

He laughed through a quick apology before repeating his question, “What were you reading?”

“Oh,” Your hands unconsciously ran through the hardbound covers, opening it again to the page you were on previously. Walking to your laptop screen as well, you carefully tilted your book in front of the screen and showed him the the dried baby’s breath tucked in between the pages. “Remember when someone gave me a branch of baby’s breath on Valentine’s Day in the 10th grade? I forgot that I pressed it in a book and—I didn’t expect it to come out this pretty!”

Jeongin remembered. Of course he did, he almost died of anxiousness sneaking it around you at the time in an effort to be anonymous.

Braving through the butterflies that suddenly erupted in his chest, he coughed awkwardly once then replied, “Yeah, I remember. Didn’t it have a—a note?”

“Oh, right!” You exclaimed, retracting the book back to you and flipping through the pages until you found the card. “Here it is!” You then showed the perfectly preserved pink card he made, the words he printed on the paper barely visible on the screen but he knew each and every one in there until this point enough to get flustered. “This was really sweet, pity the sender never revealed themself.”

Though all the gears in Jeongin’s head urged him to reveal himself to you at that moment, he clumsily blurted out a small and almost dismissive ‘yeah,’ at your comment, letting the opportunity go as you then switched the topic to finding the jungle geranium bracelet he made for you, tucked in another book.

This would continue to bother Jeongin until the two of you were seated in the back of his older brother’s car, en route to Seoul, when he noticed the books in one of your bags, pointing to it and asking why you brought them.

“I collected all my pressed flowers into this one book—in case I miss home,” You answered after taking out the book from your bag. Flipping randomly, you ended up on the dried baby’s breath again—now reunited with its accompanying card. “Look, it’s the baby’s breath again.”

You then handed the card for him to read when he asked, noticing the way his hand slightly trembled in front of you.

“You complete all the empty spaces of my heart, like baby’s breath on sophisticated bouquets. Thank you for bringing more color and detail into my life. Without you, roses will only be intimidating and tulips insincere. Happy Valentine’s Day.” He read, nudging you on the shoulder after. “You like these kinds of things?”

“You don’t?” You shot back, taking the card from him once again and carefully placing it back on your book. “It’s a little cheesy but I think it’s nice.”

“Really?” He asked in disbelief, feeling light-heated all of a sudden.

“Yeah...” You shrugged back in response, fingers tapping on the book’s cover. “Like I said, it’s sweet.”

You especially left out the part that you’ve always hoped it was him who sent it.

Next to you, Jeongin felt like he could explode right there and then. He’s keep this in mind ever since. 

cherry blossom

Your Freshman Orientation was everything but calm and laid back. From playing an intense game of modified musical chairs to dividing the entire auditorium in smaller groups to compete in a treasure hunt around the building; you, Jeongin, and your newfound friends, Seungmin, Felix, Hyunjin, and Jisung, were completely exhausted at the end of the day.

Luckily, your facilitator, a music major named Chan, prepared a relatively calmer final activity before parting ways with your group at the end of the day. The instruction was to write short messages to each other on origami cherry blossoms and exchange them with each other. Provided with endless bundles of pink and red colored papers, you spent the last twenty minutes of your school hours on that day coming up to people, making small talk, then writing compliments or Twitter handles on your cherry blossoms.

Naturally, since you knew each other very well already, you and Jeongin made it a point to exchange origamis last. You didn’t have to, Seungmin pointed out, but you and Jeongin mutually insisted.

“It’s like a fresh start,” You explained to Seungmin before the group dispersed.

Jeongin nodded along in agreement, “But with the same people.”

Hyunjin dramatically gushed how he thought that the gesture is so sweet. Felix and Jisung, meanwhile, simply nodded along and agreed that it is cute, while Seungmin was quick to catch onto Jeongin (as he had the entire day) that there might be something going on between the two of you.

So, you approached Jeongin after he’s met up with everyone in your group, handing him the prettiest origami cherry blossom you made.

“I wrote it inside the paper.” You told him shyly when his expression turned into that of confusion at seeing the petals empty. “Can you read it when you get back to the dorms?”

“Why?” He asks bluntly with a small frown, fingers hovering over the petals as if tempted to unfold them. “Did you write anything weird? Are you actually transferring schools?”

Your eyes widen and you wave your hand dismissively, “No, no! Just...read it later!”

"Okay.” And true to his word, Jeongin waited until he and Jisung returned to their shared dorm before opening your letter. 

“‘Did you know that cherry blossoms symbolize life changes? Like new beginnings.’” You wrote in your neatest handwriting despite the lack of tables and flat surfaces back at the auditorium. “‘But you’re still here and I’m glad. Thank you for growing up by my side. I hope we continue to until even after this point in our lives. Y/N.’”

Jisung, who was peering over Jeongin’s shoulders annoyingly the entire time, shook his shoulders violently until it was time to cook dinner time. “You two are so adorable! Are you dating? You better be dating!” He exclaimed, attacking the younger boy exaggeratedly.

The last question only made Jeongin frown, pushing his roommate away immediately. “We’re not dating or anything.” He sighed. “Y/N’s just—someone I’ve spent all my life with.”

“Didn’t you say you met when you were five? That’s not your entire life.” Jisung pointed out before a smirk overtook his features. “So if you’re not dating, you like them, then?”

Jeongin looked over silently at Jisung next to him after, catching the older boy’s anticipating expression as he himself contemplated on the question. Though his brothers caught on quickly early on, Jeongin himself as never verbally voiced out his feelings for you before.

But it’s Jisung and even when he’s caused so much trouble throughout orientation, Jeongin decided he could trust him. “Yeah...” He trails off, much to Jisung’s satisfaction. Saying it out loud felt weird but also familiar somehow that Jeongin can’t help but blush. “But don’t tell anyone!” 

Jisung surprisingly kept his mouth shut about it for a grand total of three months, when he ended up accidentally telling Seungmin in front of Jeongin during one break time they happened to share together. 

“So? What am I going to do with this information?” Seungmin asked unfazed during this particular lunch. 

Though he’s said this, however, he was already raking his brain for what he deemed as his most evil scheme yet. 

“Don’t tell Y/N, duh.” Jeongin answered with a pointed look at Jisung sitting next to Seungmin. Jisung only returns this look with a bashful grin and a peace sign help up in the air. “I swear, Jisung, if you’re not months older than me—”

“I pay half the dorm rent too.” Jisung adds unhelpfully, making Jeongin place his hand on his face and groan. 

Luckily, the two have only gossiped to Hyunjin and Felix, occasionally almost letting it slip right in front of you but holding back every time. 

pink carnations

A week before Valentine’s Day, Jeongin found himself walking an entire two feet away from Seungmin along the empty crafts store aisles, begrudgingly dragging a small wheeled cart behind him. Seungmin has given up scolding him for trailing behind so slowly a long time ago and has decided on just carrying as many items as he can in his arms before walking back to the younger boy. Somewhere, you were also wandering around, albeit in a different aisle with Felix, as you try to find the other half of your buying list.

At this point, Jeongin really just wanted to strangle whoever came up with the idea of having a dorm party and a Secret Valentine exchange gift (Kim Seungmin).

“Stop frowning, you look ugly.” Seungmin suddenly snapped him out of his daydreams after a while, carefully dumping packs of colored paper and bottles of glitter on the cart.

Jeongin narrowed his eyes in response, crossing his arms, “You come up with an exchange gift for Hyunjin.”

At this response, Seungmin only scoffed, taking the cart on one hand and dragging Jeongin along with him with the other. “We both know that’s not why you’re frowning.” He stated matter-of-factly as the two transfered to another aisle. “If you’re thinking about buying Y/N something or, you know, confessing, I’m telling you, just do it. It’s Valentine’s, anyway.” 

Jeongin rolled his eyes. “It’s not that easy! And it’s really not the right time to confess.”

“When is the right time?” Seungmin prodded on, stopping right in front a display of party cups. This crafts store has everything for some reason. “You’re in your first year of uni, you just finished your second semester midterms, and your wingman friends have time until finals to help you out. When else is the right time?”

The younger boy rolled his eyes, helping Seungmin examine different party cup designs now. “That’s exactly why it’s the worst time ever: it’s Valentine’s, we’re still adjusting to university, and we have four mutual friends trying to wingman terribly.” 

“If you don’t plan on confessing then at least give Y/N something, they’re your best friend and they deserve it on a holiday like this.” Seungmin sighed exasperatedly, picking a design after a while. “Plus, it’s not like you haven’t given Y/N gifts in other holidays or anything of the sort before. Just think of it casually like you would do with Christmases or birthdays.”

As if on dramatic cue, the two boys see you and Felix pass by after, laughing at something on the latter’s phone while dragging along a cart of buntings and cartolinas. Seungmin had to physically snap his fingers in front of Jeongin again to get his attention.

“I...” Jeongin trailed off, sighing towards the end when you disappear. “I’ve only given them something on Valentine’s once and it was—well, it was anonymous.” 

"What?” Seungmin blinked twice in disbelief. “You have a best friend who’s into flowers, literally the most common Valentine’s Day gift, yet you’ve never officially given them anything on such day before?” 

“Valentine’s is just too obvious, even if they don’t know how I feel—” Jeongin sighed helplessly before frowning at his own words. “It sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”   

“Yeah,” Seungmin nodded fervently, lightly smacking Jeongin in the head with his party cups. “Took you long enough to realize. Like I said, you don’t have to have romantic intentions if you can’t confess right now.” 

“Ugh, what do I do?” Jeongin scratched his head in frustration, realizing at that moment that it does sound a bit stupid not giving you anything on Valentine’s before. 

The older boy sighed, though he seriously contemplated on it for a moment. “The market’s on the other entrance of the crafts store,” He finally said after a while, shaking Jeongin’s hand off his arm. “Pick out something simple, not too big and extravagant because it’d be a waste seeing them wilt after a while, as long as it can be meaningful for the two of you.”

Jeongin’s eyes widened at this. “Really?”

And Seungmin only nods, shooing him with his hands, “Yeah, yeah, go, but make it back here before we go to checkout.”

“I owe you one.” Jeongin grinned happily, sprinting out of the bookstore. 

Now left alone, Seungmin joined you and Felix on another aisle, showing you his and Jeongin’s cart.

“But where’s Jeongin?” You asked curiously, looking around for any sign of your best friend.

“Oh, he went to the bathroom.” Seungmin lied smoothly with a reassuring grin. “Now, what else do we need?”

-

Later on at the Valentine’s day dorm party, once the exchange gifts have been done, Jeongin approaches you at the end of the night as you prepare to head back up to your dorm with the last gift he’s been carefully carrying around with him. 

“Oh? Innie, hi.” You smile up at him when he jogs up to you by the staircase, immediately noticing the wrapped gift in his hands. “What’s that? Do you want me to give that to my roommate?” 

The boy only shakes his head in front of you before thrusting the gift in your hands. “No, no, it’s for you.” He clarifies, letting go of the wrapped package only when it’s safely in both of your hands as you adjust to its surprising weight. “Happy Valentine’s Day!” 

“But I didn’t make you anything.” You frown, one hand fiddling with the ribbon tying the newspaper packaging together. 

You and Jeongin have never exchanged gifts on Valentine’s Day or even White Day before (or at least from what you know). You once told him that you get enough flowers and other little gifts from him on other days and he’s always told you that he enjoys just spending time casually with you on this particular day. 

And you’ve always thought that, even with your crush on him, you don’t think he owes you something on these kinds of days. 

“It’s fine.” You hear Jeongin reassure you after a while. “Just open it when you get back to your room.” 

The familiar words make you giggle. “Why? Did you make something weird?” 

He catches on after a slight delay, laughing along with you. “No!” He waves his hand dismissively. “Just open it later.” 

“Okay.” You then transfer the gift to one hand in order to hug Jeongin properly. “I’m giving you a hug because I don’t have anything to exchange with you right now but expect something on White Day, okay?” 

“You don’t have to give me anything on White Day.” He pats your back with a laugh, his heartbeat ringing loudly in his ears now. 

“We’ll see.” You conclude before parting ways with him, bidding him a second goodnight and going up to your dorms first. 

When you arrive back in your dorm, the first thing you do is to take the gift back in your room and unwrap it, finding a small jar turned into a terrarium of dried pink carnations and baby’s breaths inside. 

The note attached to it reads, “’Y/N! I was surprised you kept the baby’s breath. I didn’t think of drying flowers until you showed them to me so here’s my own attempt, that maybe these flowers can last for as long as we’ve been together. Happy Valentine’s Day!” 

It didn’t take you long to connect the dots together, a sigh of relief passing your lips as your chest now feels lighter with your worries vanishing. 

You can finally and clearly tell that Jeongin likes you too. 

Picking up the terrarium from the newspaper wrappings before throwing the latter away, you examine the smaller details inside, your heart melting at the visible effort Jeongin spent making you such an intricate gift. 

Touched by this gesture, you then spend the rest of the night coming up with Jeongin’s White Day gift. 

[razorblade180]

Duality

“I.... am not okay. Haven’t been since I was six, but even then, I was a pretty weak child. I’m quick to tears, quick to give up, and to give in. No matter how talented people may say I am it still feels like I’m coming up short. Short, another thing that gets to me. I might as well be the runt of everything; the weakest link in any chain. Just a bit a of tension before pop, severed and left falling to the floor with whoever was unfortunate to still be attached with me. At least they can still connect to something while I’ll be left broken. Maybe... that wouldn’t be the worst? I could save everyone the trouble of being latched to me if I just- no, wait, shit.... Can’t think like that. Dr. P went over this with you. Focus on the good and good will focus on you. But what is so good about being me? Well, a lot actually when I think about it. My folks love me unconditionally. My best friend adores me; even strangers adore me. Some of them would say that their even proud of me. Though I can’t imagine why. Does simply being their daughter earn my that praise or is it genuine? They all do so much more; my brother does his absolute most. It’s frustrating. Why can’t I do that? Why can’t I stand by him? Be the one in front of him for a change!? Is that so much to ask; to just feel like I’m pulling my weight with my own two hands for once in my life? Why isn’t he the runt? The one that got- that’s horrible of me. Disgusting of me; I don’t mean that at all. I’d never wish for such a thing, yet....I crossed my mind? I wouldn’t think that. He’s my big brother, I love him. He’s always there, always.... Why the hell is he always there? Why is everyone always there!? Don’t they know I can do things on my own? Is their faith that tiny? Agh, what am I saying; they do it out of love. It’s always been love. But it doesn’t make it feel any better! It never did. All it does is prove how weak I really am. Huh, this was supposed to be a list of good things....”

“I need a stage. Any stage really. A place where I decide who gets to join me or stand on the sidelines. Either way, the focus is on me. They all came to see me and make them happy. No sweat. Metaphorically anyways. I’ll make sure my performance heats up their excitement every time. Spotlights? On me. Their eyes? On me. My voice? It’s still mine. They simply get the chance to revel in it. Here, nothing else matters but me. I call the shots. I rule like queen. Powerful and radiant. It’s tiring work. Scary at times, but I love that thrill. Out there, no one can touch me; she can’t touch me. My only wish...is to take all this power, then step off the stage. Maybe then the dark thoughts can go away. I wouldn’t be afraid of what is yet to come. Everyday I can feel it. I’m running out of time. Will they notice? The ones closet will, I hope. The others might not even blink an eye. I sure wouldn’t. Still, I won’t go quietly. They might not notice me. Not who I really am anyways, but they’ll notice the absence of what I gave them. My gift to the world they cherish so dearly. Petty I know, but who are they to complain? If they miss it so much then they’ll seek me out right? Sounds nice, a stranger reaching for me. Funny, I preach about independence but fantasy seeing them all chase after me. I guess....I actually don’t know what I want from people. All I know is I wanna shine all the time. On and off the stage.”

Announcer:Ladies and Gentlemen, Summer Schnee!!’

Curtains rise and spotlights beam down on her as she walks across the stage. The cheering roar of a full stadium of fans hits her ears all at once; she loves it. Her gaze is directed towards an aerial camera which is no doubt getting dynamic shots of the long and beautiful black dress she wore that sparked red flakes like a kindling campfire.

“Hello everyone!” The girl said proudly as she greeted her audience with an award winning smile. She could hear the plethora of greetings she was getting back one after another. Summer took the microphone off the stand and started pacing left and right playfully as she looked at all the excitement.

Summer:Well well well, quite the turnout. Feels like I’m performing at a halftime show. Everyone feeling good this winter break?

The crowd screams happily; completely invigorated.

Summer:That’s good, me too. Been training with my brother for obvious reasons. He’s in the theater box with the rest of my family by the way. Can we get a camera on them?

One of the stadium monitors flip to the inside of the theater box to show the Schnee family and friends all dressed up. From Ruby all the way to Veronica; they were all there waving.

Summer:Most of them are responsible for setting this up since I’ve been a bit preoccupied. I’m thankful. Unfortunately....I still have forgotten to do something very important before the show. *smirking*

Scattered murmurs came from the crowd. As well as a few puzzled looks from her family.

Penny:What’s she doing?

Weiss:I have no clue.

Oscar:Owning it.

Jaune:Being extra like her mom.

Weiss:What’s that mean!?

Summer:You see, I sorta of couldn’t find the time to do my favorite vocal exercises; the most important one I usually do by myself. However.... since all of you look so excited to be here. I can make an exception.

Summer snaps her fingers and all the lights shut off. Everyone goes silent; wondering what was happening only added to the anticipation. They didn’t have to wait long before the sound of a piano filled the air; accompanied by an angelic voice that sung on key with it like if it was the opera. Weiss’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates when a single spot light came back on. Summer was sitting on top of the edge of a piano while someone played it. She looked calm; radiant.

Summer:Mirrior, tell me something? Tell me who’s the loneliest of all~

Weiss:W...when did she...?

More spotlights turn on to reveal the rest of the orchestra as they start to play.

Summer: Mirror, tell me something? Tell me who's the loneliest of all? Mirror, what's inside of me? Tell me can a heart be turned to stone~

Her voice held the note with a force and power. As the piano started it’s solo. No one could speak; they didn’t even seem to breathe. Summer’s voice didn’t try to intimate her mother’s in terms of pitch. She knew it would be foolish. Yet it more than made up for it with how much soul and air she could put into each not. Something even Weiss struggled with. Summer was however, she was about to show everyone exactly how she rose to stardom.

She hopped off the piano and made her way to the front of the stage with the microphone at her side. The average person would think she’s facing the entire crowd. No, she’s looking right where she knows her mom is sitting. The crowd doesn’t matter. Right now, it’s a family affair. Summer slowly inhales as the piano solo starts to end. Her left hand raises to her chest and extends her right one out with the mic. Almost as if she’s reaching for Weiss to grab it. Then....she turns it off.

Without hesitation, Summer begans her part again; and let’s out the famous angelic cry the song is known for. Every ear is reached perfectly as Summer evenly expels every last ounce of air from her lungs out on time. Her chest feels like fire and she’s tearing up. Not from pain though, but from absolute pride. Her mother might be hard to see from this distance but she already knows that Weiss is feeling the exact same thing. The strings start to kick in as the music becomes dynamic. Summer doesn’t miss the beat. Raises her voice along with it as the note climbs before the second half. She flips back on the microphone; never breaking eye contact from Weiss.

Summer: Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?Save me from the things I've seen!

I can keep it from the world; why won't you let me hide from me?

Mirror, mirror, tell me something? Who's the loneliest of, Aaaaaaallllll~

She holds it as the tempo increases faster and faster with the strings building up. Before all instruments stop abruptly as her note trails off; their spotlights vanishing with them and leaving her alone. The crowd is speechless as they look upon her. Not a hair out of place. It barely looks like she needs to catch her as she stare back. Her face glistening with a little sweat. The hard part was over. Her voice returning to the calm an pure way she started with. Summer closed her eyes.

Summer:I'm the loneliest of, all~

She could feel less heat on her. The spotlight had slowly turned off as she finished ilthe beloved song. Summer didn’t need to see the crowds reaction. The slow building of cheers and clapping was enough. Still, she opened her eyes while finally taking an actual breather. What she saw was something rare indeed. Summer had gotten a standing ovation. Even from her family; Veronica herself looked amazed. They all clapped. All except for Weiss. She was too busy crying tears of joy and trying to keep herself together by hugging Jaune. That alone was worth it.

Penny:Sensational!!!!

Nora:Damn...

Ruby:Woah....

Ren:That’s a warm up?

Winter:*sniffling* I’m not gonna cry.

Whitley:Yes you are.

Qrow:Cry? What are you talking about? It’s just smoky in here. *winks*

Winter:*crying* Exactly!

Jaune:Sweetie we are still on the monitor by the way.

Weiss:I don’t care!? Let the world see me proud of my girl! Gods I need a tissue. She was so good! So...so everything and more! I had no idea she practiced that song. Let alone made it her own!

Nicholas:I don’t know how. Those high notes aren’t exactly you know, quiet? I heard her practice once though. Summer does a good job keeping secrets.

Yang:Looks like talent runs deep in the family. What do you think Vee?

Veronica:Doesn’t matter what I think.

Valerie:Just admit that you are amazed?

Veronica:I thought that was clear from my clapping?

Blake:That’s all you’re getting out of her.

The crowd still cheered which was fine by Summer. Someone backstage was kind enough to give her some water as musicians left the stage and came back with the standard instruments for Summer’s typical style of music. One put a guitar around her as she finally perked up.

Summer:Phew! Thank you, thank you all so much. I gotta say, probably my best vocal exercise but that’s just me. Now....who’s ready for something with a bit more energy!?

The crowd doesn’t even get a chance to respond before Summer starts going all in on the guitar. It’s not like she didn’t already know what their answer. That’s what happens when you know your loyal subjects after all. In this moment, she truly controlled everything. It won’t last forever. So she’ll make the most of it. Summer will reign the way she wants with no restraint.

“That’s right. See me in my element; my finest hours. Cling to them. Who knows how many day I have left, before my reign comes to an end. My only wish? That the throne remains empty. Gods help them all otherwise.”

[cheollies]

100 Reasons To Love Joshua Hong

thanks to @justsomekpopstuff for some help at the end when my brain was stalling to think of things

First of all, um why not

his eyes are so frickin well defined and sharp, cat eyes for real, they’re so mesmerizing and so easy to fall in to

his lip tint/lipstick/lip gloss or whatever he’s wearing on his lips, it’s always on point and literally the prettiest colors ever cause they’re always so pinkish/peach that it makes his lips look so irresistible

HIS PIERCINGS!!!!!!!!!!! They’re so attractive. like he has such an innocent image and the piercings kinda give him a nice aesthetic edge and its even more attractive (in my opinion) that his piercing are asymmetrical (sigh i remember when cheol had that)

He looks cute with bangs

BUT HE LOOKS GORGEOUS WHEN HIS HAIR IS LIKE SLIGHTLY PARTED AND HIS FOREHEAD IS SHOWING. DO YOU GET WHAT I MEAN???????

remember when he said spongebob reminded him of Hansol

he used to sing Sunday Morning all the time

I’M SORRY I STARTED CRYING CAUSE BC OF THAT BLESSED VIDEO OF JOSHUA IN A LEATHER JACKET, A GUITAR AND SINGING SUNDAY MORNING

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California so his english is perfect basically

He has a very nice soft singing voice as well as a nice speaking voice

Let’s never forget the time he did a high note battle with the rest of vocal team one fine day and his face basically turned into a tomato

but let’s also not forget when he did the thing with the water bottle where he blew his nose into it and totally ruining his image

He’s an only child that later gained twelve brothers

back in LA he used to sing in his church, which is where he discovered that he enjoyed performing

BLACK HAIRED JOSHUA

His look when he was on the golden disc award red carpet (basically making me think about switching lanes)

His laugh is just so precious. he goes ‘hahahaha’ literally 

He does that thing where when he laughs, he covers his mouth with the back of his hand or he just claps like a seal

During the sleepover live where they’re all sleeping in pajamas, when Soonyoung moved over to Joshua, Joshua just let Soonyoung hug him and snuggle into him

best friends with mr. Yoon Jeonghan and Joshua’s personality change when he’s with Jeonghan is amazing

like the time on 95 line vlive when it was only Joshua and Seungcheol, and Joshua asked Seungcheol to do freestyle rap or sing but Seungcheol refused so obviously Joshua was going to let it go BUT THEN JEONGHAN CAME IN AND JOSHUA WAS ALL LIKE ‘SEUNGCHEOLS GONNA DO FREESTYLE RAP NOW’

his favorite move is the pindrop and no one can stop the man from doing it

He’s got twelve hype men so you’re gonna see it more often than you want

he basically does it in DWC so yeah it’s staying with him forever.

rapline wannabe

Constantly trying out for Hiphop Unit, have you heard his raps? They’re legendary

King of acrostic poems

He has the cutest nose scrunch you will ever see

The time joshua tried to high five a fan at a fansign but got rejected because the girl didn’t see but luckily Jun saw and started laughing

the life hack Joshua did by putting his coke in the snow while he was outside (get you a man this smart)

Known as Seventeen’s Gentleman so that basically means if you stan him, he’s going to treat you right and like royalty

That time on weekly idol when he introduced himself as the guy who spoke five languages as an attempt to speak the languages

On the Yang and Nam show when Joshua outed Jihoon for taking vocal team out to eat and forgetting him

He said it so sweetly too even though Jihoon did him wrong

He honestly looks so good in simple button up shirts it’s truly inspiring

The Where is my Friend’s hometown episode where Joshua was supposed to plan out the trip but instead went to sleep once the guys left the room

On one of the andromeda episodes, when Joshua took off his necktie and the other members started screaming (#same)

when he laughed so hard at a fanmeet that he accidentally pushed Jeonghan off the staged and pretended to be innocent of the crime

Anime nerd that likes One Piece, Naruto and Bleach

One said that if he were in Jeonghan’s body, he would eat lots of food

okay but the time Joshua sat in a massage chair and made it seem as though the massage chair was on but in reality, the chair wasn’t even plugged in

why doesn’t anyone talk about Joshua’s chocolate song

‘Sometimes i dream about chocolate’

‘I WANT SOME FOOD RIGHT NOW JUST KIDDING’

‘I need some twix yeah’

Don’t forget his pizza song

his pizza song that included him wanting a chocolate pizza with some twix on top

He pronounces Nutella as ‘nuh-tella’ i’m just gonna leave that here for you to think about

He said ‘Boing Boing’ on Going Seventeen once

His nickname is Shua, the members call him Shua a lot and Chan referred to Joshua as ‘Shua hyung’

He can’t spicy food

a cute boy who likes playing with the cute snow filters and being cute

When he was asked to dance for his audition, all he did was clap to the beat since he didn’t know how to dance

He was streetcasted at a festival in the U.S.

He often helps the others with english, he teaches Hansol english as well as helps Jihoon with any english lyrics

Seokmin said that Joshua has a sophisticated and luxurious style

That time during predebut when Joshua screamed ‘YOU’RE CREATING A GAP BETWEEN OUR RELATIONSHIP’ at Hansol

WHEN HE SAID THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AS A TALENT

On an andromeda episode when they called Joshua, Jeonghan said that Joshua didn’t like aegyo

He doesn’t like insects

He said that if he wasn’t an idol, he’d either be studying English or Business in college

Joshua said he was closest to Jeonghan because they had entered the company at relatively the same time

Honestly the coolest part of the DWC dance is Joshua’s part, Joshua got the best dance part, it’s just so cool looking at the way they move during that part

Joshua says ‘Yo’ a lot that it’s probably his go to word

Okay but that outfit he had on in the Going Seventeen Prologue, the cute grey zip up hoodie with his blue and white striped shirt, and he had a black backpack on, it’s such a simple outfit but it’s totally some boyfriend Joshua aesthetic

That time Joshua said ‘Vernon Oppa’

In the dorm, it’s said that Joshua often forgets to take a towel with him to the bathroom when he showers so he often calls someone to get him a towel

He shares a birthday with BTS’s Taehyung if you didn’t know and they’re totally cool with each other

Joshua talking about chicken ‘it’ll heal our hearts’

He’s not that great at cooking, he says he usually orders food

Joshua in the Adore U performance unit version calmly and cooly playing the guitar while chilling above the floor on the wall

He has the prettiest hands, they look so nice, like imagine holding his hands

on one fine day, Joshua didn’t know how to cook/prepare rice in a pot because he always used a rice cooker

He wants to speed up his eating because he doesn’t want the others to have to wait for him to finish

Joshua has the most impeccable cheekbones

To quote Joshua: bibbity hamburg pizza woo

His really light pinkish hair was so pretty

But his light caramel brown was also great

Let’s be real, he’s never had a bad hair moment

Remember when photos of Joshua during a dry rehearsal was put on the internet, and he was wearing a white shirt with no sleeve and we all were #blessed with Joshua’s arms

If he was a carat, he said he’d stan Soonyoung (who wouldn’t tbh)

the time Joshua used an umbrella as a golf club and shimmied his butt before he pretended to shoot

Joshua jumping into the pool with his little fluttery hands is cuter than puppies

Joshua chose love over friendship and i think that says a lot about him

He said that if he had his own radio broadcast, he’d want the name of it to be ‘a glass of wine’ (aa self promotion, read my joshua angst titled a glass of wine)

His personality is described as introverted and shy, but thanks to Seventeen, he shows us his very weird and comical side

Joshua touching Soonyoung’s ear in the sleepover vlive

Joshua used to watch Immortal Song with his mother and grandmother, so when he finally got the chance to perform on the show, he sent out a few words to his family, even saying that his grandma can brag to her friends

sometimes Joshua pretends he’s going to low-five hansol but then sikes him out and why is Joshua like this

He did his call intro for the DWC era on NCT’s radio and made everyone cringe like heck

Sexy shua, that one gif of him waving his fingers and basically being eye candy while singing in the mic (its the gif up there. i just had to put it)

Shua in leather pants……….yeah

Honestly how many handshakes does he have and make with the other boys. Like i’m surprised he even got Jihoon to make a handshake

SHUA IN SWEATERS !! A VERY SOFT AND COMFY SHUA THAT EVERYONE NEEDS

to Joshua his faith is something dear to him. It’s something he’s open about and i’m glad that it’s being respected in a sense that no one is bashing him for it.

At the age of 18 he moved from the U.S. to Korea, basically to a place where he didn’t know the customs well and had to learn to adapt to the new setting

When he moved in Korea, Joshua didn’t know to to read or write korean, he stated that he could never read the lyrics that were given to him because of it

During 17project when the parents came out as a surprise, Joshua who had been away from his family so long, clung to his mother with tears

“Carats are always being my energy and strength”