999<3 | ONESHOT [ ✔️ ]

[ 🍄c - no ship woozi ] gift shops, music notes

no, he isn't oblivious. jihoon fully knows how bad he was at expressing his emotions. not like soonyoung, who's over the top and definitely makes his feelings show. jihoon, on the other hand, cannot ever vocalise his thoughts. it seems like he can make music, buy gifts, but can't say 'i love you'. it just refuses to come out the way he wants it to.

so he's here in this little gift shop that's just opened, picking out a fake succulent for jeonghan's birthday. the cashier asks if he'd like a card tag to attach to the plant and write his well wishes; he doesn't know how to, but accepts out of politeness. plus, it's free.

when he's home, he has the succulent in its cute plastic box sitting in front of him. he's tempted to chew on his marker while he attempts to swim through the jumble of words in his head and pick the right ones to convey his thoughts.

countless scrap receipt papers later, he settles on "to: jeonghan-hyung". how disappointing.

bringing his evident disappointment to the party the next day, he reluctantly hands over the gift with a less-than-excited smile on his face. soonyoung sidles up to him, "why so gloomy, jihoon? be happy, it's jeonghan's birthday." he can't bother replying, focusing on jeonghan's reaction as he unwraps it.

he feels soonyoung swat his hand away from his anxious biters and only then does he zone back in completely. apparently soonyoung notices, so he quietly keeps his arm around jihoon's waist.

"oh my god! a succulent! it's so cute!"

relief floods jihoon. he lets a smile appear, "glad you like it." jeonghan turns to him, blabbering praises like "how did you know?" and "this kind's my favourite!" and "thank you so much, jihoonie!"

lots of laughter comes with jeonghan's overly dramatic, but genuine, reactions. "he always knows," mingyu adds.

he always knows.

"double that please," he says to the bubble tea cashier. he pays, collects the drinks, and heads off to meet hansol for their lunch date. hansol has been very fond of jihoon's company for a while now, and it isn't like the elder didn't like this one-on-one bonding with one of his favourite maknaes.

reaching the tteokbokki house, he spots hansol and greets the ahjumma that's been serving their group midnight tteokbokki since they were teens. oh how they've grown.

"oh wow- hyung! you got me bubble tea?" hansol inspects the label that read out the order. his hand covers his mouth as he exclaimed in- the usual- calm surprise, "no way you remembered what i order." the food comes.

jihoon blames his blush on the steaming plate, "i just do. now eat up, sollie."

and despite many complaints, soonyoung still manages to worm his way into jihoon's studio late at night again. honestly, jihoon meant to lock the room while he went out for a trip to the convenience store (yes, he wanted to pull an all-nighter...) but totally forgot. he came back to soonyoung in his chair, eagerly and excitedly playing around with the audio software.

"yah, jihoon, check this out." he plays the wildest, most auto-tuned audio file jihoon has ever heard; not to mention the topic of tigers being littered all throughout it. jihoon wants to laugh to hard. it's so soonyoung.

"why do you always break in and make a mess in my software," jihoon sighs with no malice, and a smile on his face, as he watches soonyoung explore every area of the program that jihoon is intimately acquainted with.

"well, why do you let me?" soonyoung cheekily replies.

it stuns jihoon. why does he?

why does he write these emotional comfort songs? why do these sadness-dipped keys make his head fizzle with inspiration? and why are his members the first subjects he thinks about during those times?

"because i love them-"

jihoon gasps and covers his mouth with both hands. even in the utter privacy of his own room, he's conscious about anyone having heard him use the l-word; he never uses the l-word.

what other emotion could possibly be behind those works of art? in the end, any possibility boiled down just leaves love. he loves them.

maybe this is just the way he shows it; unlike soonyoung, who constantly says it. jihoon shows. and maybe it's a good thing that his love language is buying gifts only mentioned in passing, remembering a bubble tea order, or even opening up his sanctuary to those who wanted in. maybe jihoon isn't bad at expressing his emotions.

his 'i love you's are in his thoughts that come out as actions, rather than words.

or, he could make one.

his own... special way of saying he loves them.

ς(>‿<.)
wooahae

•••

okay one more and then i'll mark this complete and it's over at 90 <3