captain - jaeyong

twenty five.

"he liked it!" taeyong had practically screamed at doyoung when they finally met up again during lunch. doyoung was startled by his best friend's sudden outburst for a second but he quickly regained his composure and grinned back at taeyong.

"i told you he would didn't i?" the younger replied before winwin joined them with a wide smile.

"yuta hyung said that jaehyun hasn't shut up about the jacket since the second he left you," the youngest of the trio seemed amused by this whilst taeyong's cheeks began to flush a deep red. had jaehyun really liked it that much? taeyong could hardly believe it. maybe it was because, to him at least, jaehyun had always seemed so untouchable.

taeyong had always wanted to know him better, even when he swore that jaehyun was the worst person he had ever met, the boy found himself fascinated by the younger. it was the way jaehyun was so fiercely passionate about everything from football to his school work and even in the way he hated taeyong. it was funny, really, to think of how much their feelings towards each other had changed in such a small amount of time. when looking back, taeyong felt baffled that he was beginning to have doubts about whether jaehyun really did ever hate him.

"taeyong!" doyoung yelled suddenly and snapped the boy straight from his daze.

"huh- sorry i zoned out, did you say something?" taeyong questioned and doyoung only laughed.

"you've got a message from jaehyun," doyoung pointed out and taeyong's eyes immediately snapped to the screen of his phone that lay on the table.

- hi, i know i already took you out but the jacket is just so beautiful please let me treat you to boba tea later to say thank you

taeyong's breath caught in his throat. jaehyun wanted to go out with him again?

"what did he say?" came doyoung's voice as he nosily peeked over taeyong's shoulder. the boy noticed quickly and pulled his phone close to his chest so that doyoung couldn't see, it seemed, however, that the younger had already read the message.

"he wants to take me for boba tea later," taeyong couldn't help but smile as he told his two friends the contents of the message.

"reply then quickly!" the younger replied and taeyong suddenly burst into action.

"what do i even say?" he grimaced as he typed out what seemed like 50 messages and deleted every single one almost as quickly as he wrote it. it was odd that he was thinking so deeply into such a simple reply for a simple text. it should've been easy right? just a 'yes sounds great!' would've done it but for taeyong, where jaehyun was concerned, the only thing that had been easy was how easily he had caught feelings.

"just spin something about how he doesn't need to say thank you but you'll accept his offer anyway, don't think too much into it he likes you not a panicky version of you," winwin hummed and doyoung nodded his head in agreement.

"i'm a naturally panicky person, the panicky version is me," taeyong whined as he stared back down at the empty reply box.

"well then he likes that too," doyoung huffed, "just reply quickly, he'll think you've left him on read."

taeyong panicked again upon hearing this and quickly typed out the first thing that came into his mind and clicked send. actually, it was better that way, he hadn't had time to rethink every word choice and get worried about it instead, he just did what came naturally to him.

- ah you don't have to thank me you know, i did it because i wanted to, boba tea sounds good though!

taeyong was actually rather happy with his response and it seemed that jaehyun was too as not even thirty seconds after he sent his reply, his phone pinged again with the younger boy's response.

- perfect! i'll meet you after practice then?

taeyong didn't bother thinking before replying again

- yes! can't wait <3

"oh god," taeyong breathed out as he looked down in horror at what he had just sent.

"what did you do?" doyoung asked quickly before glancing over his best friend's shoulder and bursting into laughter.

"what did he do?!" winwin questioned quickly as he saw the other's reaction and doyoung could hardly contain his laughter as he desperately attempted to explain.

"h- he sent him a heart!" doyoung managed to breathe out between his laughter and winwin joined him almost immediately as his lips curled up in amusement. taeyong, however, was anything but amused while his heart raced at a million miles an hour and he was suddenly overcome with dread.

that was until his phone pinged again.

- me either <3

taeyong's face flushed a scorching red then and both doyoung and winwin moved to see his phone screen this time. "HE SENT ONE BACK?!?" doyoung exclaimed loudly, drawing attention from some people on the tables around them.

"he did!" taeyong desperately tried not to yell from the excitement of it all.

jung jaehyun had sent him a heart.

in the grand scheme of things, it should feel like nothing, it probably was nothing but taeyong just couldn't slow the speed that his heart was beating at. he entire body felt like it was on fire because this, this wasn't something jaehyun had ever sent to him before, it wasn't something he'd sent to doyoung or to winwin, it was never something he did. so that meant that it was special right?

"what does it even mean?" taeyong managed to breathe out after calming himself down for far too long.

"well it's pretty obvious to me," winwin spoke out bluntly and doyoung nodded quickly at that.

"yeah, he likes you back, i mean if i was 99% certain 15 minutes ago then i am 100% certain now," doyoung spoke, "i mean, he's just so obvious honestly, i don't even see how you're still managing to deny it now."

"you're so smart taeyong so i know that deep down you know he likes you," winwin offered a kind smile, "please don't let your insecurities stop you from pursuing this, let yourself be loved."

it was at those words that taeyong sat back in his seat and really thought. the way jaehyun was acting around him, he knew deep down that it just wasn't normal for them to act that way as just friends. he'd seen how the younger boy had acted around johnny and it was just nothing like the way he was around him.

winwin was right.

"you're right," taeyong voiced this out quickly after the realisation set in, "i need to tell him today."

"yes!" doyoung all but screamed, "it's the perfect time, please don't back down on this you deserve this so much."

"i won't," taeyong breathed out, hardly believing that the words were finding their way past his lips, "i'll tell jaehyun that i like him today."

-

hiii! first of all thank you so much for reading! if i'm really honest, with how long it's been since i went ia from this fic, i don't really expect that anyone will be reading anymore so if you are here thank you so so so impossibly much for being so patient and kind with me. i have been struggling a lot recently both with my mental health and the pressure of my exams but i hope that updating this fic will reignite my love and passion for writing as a hobby rather than just for school.

thank you so much for reading, every comment and vote and reader really does mean everything to me <33 ily!!!