Most assumed that Taekwoon, with his cold aura and tall stature, would be a very manly person, but in fact, it was quite the opposite.

Taekwoon wanted to be taken care of. Wanted to be loved. Wanted someone to tell him it was okay that he was shy and encouraged him to do his best. It was okay that he didn’t talk much and he should relax and not worry.  

Jaehwan was Taekwoon’s closest friend. Jaehwan didn’t seem to mind Taekwoon’s shyness. Jaehwan was also one of the only people that could make him laugh.

Taekwoon loved jokes no one else seemed to find funny, and it turns out Jaehwan is great at jokes that aren’t funny, though Taekwoon would disagree.

Seeing Jaehwan make a fool of himself just to make his friends laugh made him smile. He wasn’t afraid to be himself. He absorbed his energy from people’s laughter and being around friends. He was loud and funny and bright and everything Taekwoon was not.

At first Taekwoon was jealous. He wished he had that kind of self esteem. He wished he could be loud and make others laugh with just a look or one word.

But soon it just turned into admiration. Jaehwan was sunny. That was the only adjective Taekwoon could come up with to describe him. Sunny.

He was warm and bright and made everyone happy.

Vixx was invited to a radio show, as they had been often after their first win.

“Is Leo an fun person?”

The host asked Jaehwan.

His response was almost immediate.

“He’s boring!”

The whole table laughed and Taekwoon just shrugged, but inside he felt a pang of disappointment.

Is that what Jaehwan thought of him?

Boring?

He didn’t want to be.

He wanted to be like Jaehwan.

The funny one. The confident one. The sunny one.

But he wasn’t.

After the show they all joked as they walked to the van, Taekwoon trailed in the back, watching Hakyeon and Jaehwan laughing together.

Hakyeon and Jaehwan seemed almost like the perfect pair.

The two jokesters. The ones who liked to emit a response from Taekwoon the most.

Taekwoon bit the inside of his lip and shoved his hands into his pockets.

He supposed Jaehwan was right, he was boring.

He figured the rest of VIXX thought so as well, but Jaehwan being the one that said so made it sting a bit more.

That night during dinner, Taekwoon felt unusually tired and unconfident and decided to go to bed early, and yet, laying on his bed with the lights on, he wasn’t tired.

He heard the door open and lifted his head up.

“Ne, Taekwoon-hyung, you okay?”

Jaehwan’s unique voice inquired.

Taekwoon quickly sat up and nodded.

Jaehwan smiled.

“Well it’s just that you’re usually the one who eats the most and you didn’t eat much so-“

He said walking to sit next to Taekwoon on the bed.

Taekwoon looked at his lap and remained silent for a few seconds before uttering a quiet “I’m okay.”

Taekwoon hated how soft he sounded. How quiet and gentle.

When Jaewhan didn’t respond, he looked up to see him a few inches away from his face, with his eyebrows scrunched up, looking curiously at him with the bright sunny eyes Taekwoon had stared at for so long before.

Taekwoon felt himself jump and looked back down at his lap, messing with his fingers.

“You’ve been quiet.” Jaehwan observed.

Taekwoon allowed himself a small smile.

“I’m always quiet.” He whispered in his soft voice.

“and boring.” Taekwoon added even quieter, but Jaehwan heard, being so close to him.

Jaehwan leaned back.

“Oh.” He mused.

“So that’s what this is about.” He smiled fondly.

Taekwoon looked away.

“Hyung I was just kidding when I said that you know that.”  Jaehwan chuckled.

“I know…” Taekwoon replied.

“In fact, you’re quite the opposite of boring!”

Taekwoon turned back to look at him, interested.

 “You’re one of the most interesting people I know, you might be quiet, but you always have something on your mind. You’re always watching and listening. You just don’t want to waste your words. There’s nothing wrong with being quiet and shy. I…I like the way you are Taekwoon.”

Jaehwan smiled softly.

Taekwoon just stared. He’d always wanted to hear that and god did it feel good, he didn’t even mind the informal speech. Not if it was Jaehwan. He couldn’t seem to look away from him, who was now fidgeting under his gaze.

Taekwoon felt a smile slide across his face.

Jaehwan looked up and saw Taekwoon’s face bright up with a smile that to some would be considered small, but to Jaehwan, that smile lit up the whole room.

Jaehwan didn’t think he’d ever seen his hyung quite like this and he felt his face heat up.

“Thank you.”

Jaehwan just scratched the back of his neck, suddenly feeling warm and awkward.

“haha, well, you know, that’s what friends do. Well, goodnight.”

Jaehwan got up and quickly shuffled out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Taekwoon laid down and went to sleep with a smile on his face, he himself feeling

Sunny.