❝Treat You Better❞ ☓ soonhoon

❥ 6

jihoon sits on the couch, hugging a pillow close. he didn't mean to cry in front of soonyoung. he didn't want to show his weakness. he didn't want to look pathetic. soonyoung barely knew him at all. what would he think of him now? jihoon can feel his eyes start to tear up again as he tightens his grip on the throw pillow.

"jihoon?" soonyoung emerges from the kitchen with two plates in his hands. "i know you went to the convenience store to get food but i made some just now and- are you crying?!" he is quick to put the plates down onto the coffee table and tend to his new friend.

he reaches a hand out to the smaller before doubling back. 'right..' he thought as he recalled what had happened earlier. instead, he sat down cross legged on the floor in front of him looking up at his face with a gentle frown, showing his concern.

"no." jihoon let out small sniffles. "i'm not crying.." he quickly wiped away his tears as best he could before looking at soonyoung in the eyes. "see?" jihoon smiled. but it was a forced smile.

soonyoung's expression softened "jihoon it's okay to cry.. everybody has to cry sometimes. you don't have to hide it."

"yes i do.." jihoon muttered quietly as he buried his face into the pillow.

"what did you say?" the taller asked with a confused expression.

jihoon only shook his head in response, refusing to show his face.

soonyoung wanted to help him. he really did. but he didn't know how to. he looked down at his hands and let out a small sigh of defeat before getting up off the floor. he picked up one plate off the coffee table before speaking.

"if you don't want me being near you, that's perfectly okay with me. i don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me and i can tell you probably want some time.." he paused for a moment before taking a breath. "i'll.. leave your food here.. i'll just be eating in the kitchen.."

soonyoung took one last glance at the younger before walking away.

jihoon began to cry again. he didn't mean to hurt soonyoung's feelings either. he didn't know what to do. he shouldn't tell him about what happened.

wiping away the last of the tears, he sets the pillow aside and grabs the plate that was set on the table in front of him. soonyoung had made some chicken with rice and vegetables for dinner. despite not knowing him well, jihoon felt that soonyoung was more that welcoming to him. he let a small smile creep up on his face from the sheer gratitude he felt towards the older.

the moment didn't last very long though. jihoon's face fell, thinking back to what he caused. he didn't want soonyoung to be mad a him. there had to be something he could do to make it up to him.

...

soonyoung sat at the small table in the kitchen, looking out the sliding glass door that led to the small balcony of his dorm room. the stars are bright tonight, he thought. they adorned every inch of the sky, their bright twinkles like tiny fireworks. soonyoung's eyes seemed to sparkle just as bright.

the blonde haired male slowly turned his head when he heard footsteps creep up to the kitchen. a small hand was wrapped around the wall separating the living space from the kitchen. soonyoung let out a small chuckle at the sight of small tuffs of brow hair peeking out from behind.

jihoon slowly shuffled out from behind the white plaster wall, looking down at the plate in his hands. the older of the two watched curiously as the boy silently walked over to the table he was seated at.

the only sounds heard were the slow dragging of the chair as the younger sat down directly across from soonyoung and the sound of the plate in his hands being set down onto the table. silence followed afterwards as jihoon kept his head low and avoided eye contact.

"i'm sorry.."

soonyoung was surprised to hear this from him. did he come over to apologize?

"no, jihoon, you have nothing to be sorry for. you were only—" before he could continue, jihoon's head shot up and he started rambling on.

"i shouldn't have acted that way with you i mean we barely know each other and i was being stubborn and cold towards you when you were only trying to help me it wasn't the right thing to do at all i—" the brunette took a deep breath before continuing. "what i mean to say is.. thank you." he slowly lowered his head down in embarrassment, a light blush creeping onto his cheeks.

soonyoung couldn't help but laugh at the younger's sudden outburst. he looked absolutely adorable as he frantically used a series of hand gestures while explaining.

once he gathered enough oxygen to breathe again, he looked back over at the small boy who was now staring at him, face flushed red and biting his lower lip to show his growing embarrassment.

"s-sorry!" soonyoung waved his hands "i wasn't laughing at what you said. it's just that you looked so cute and endearing while talking and i just couldn't help it." he smiled.

jihoon let a smile slowly settle on his lips as he laughed along. he figured he looked pretty silly spouting near gibberish as he spoke but, cute? he looked around the room awkwardly trying not to seem obviously flustered.

"now, why don't we eat out on the porch? the sky is beautiful tonight. it would be a waste not to enjoy it" the older stated with a vibrant smile on his face. he picks up his plate and walks over to the sliding glass door to open it.

soonyoung walks outside onto the balcony, jihoon following shortly behind him. he pulls two lawn chairs out, one by one, that were neatly folded up near the door. he hands one chair to jihoon and sets up his, placing it in the centre of the floor so he could get a good view of the stars above them. the younger follows in suit, placing his chair next to soonyoung's.

both boys settle down, enjoying each other's company and looking up into the night. the millions of twinkling stars seemed to greet them from their home up in the sky. jihoon felt himself become mesmerized. he'd never seen how pretty the night sky looked with anyone, nor by himself for that matter. not being allowed to be anywhere outside before sunset caused him to miss a lot. especially beautiful things like this.

jihoon hadn't even realized when his mouth fell agape and his eyes started to twinkle the same way the stars did. of course, soonyoung happened to look his way at the very moment the boy's eyes lit up. he couldn't help but stare in admiration.

after a few seconds of looking up at the sky, jihoon turned around to be met with a smiling face.

"did you.. see the stars?" he asked. figuring that soonyoung was probably just as astonished as he was.

"i was actually looking at you"

well that was an answer he wasn't expecting.

"y-you— what?"

"you're beautiful"

"..."

"..."

"uh— the— the uh— food's gonna get cold if we don't eat, don't you think?" jihoon scratched the nape of his neck with a finger and tried his best to hide his blushing face from view of kwon soonyoung.

"hmm.. you have a point. let's eat!" soonyoung exclaimed as he began to dig into his food, not minding at all what just went down. he was more than proud with his excellent work at making jihoon a flustered mess.

———
wowowow this was longer than usual chapters but i hope you enjoyed!