For JungJaehwan - sorry for the delay! v-v Hope you like it~~

Friends
Leo & Lyyn

"Congratulations!”

"You've all worked hard for this!"

"You guys were awesome out there!"

Standing amongst all of the celebrations, Lyyn couldn’t help but pick him out in the crowd. He was standing on the other side of the room, flanked by his boys, surrounded by his coordis - she found him instantly, holding a glass of champagne, sweat still trickling down his temple and ear piece hanging over his shoulder.

Leo. Her Leo.

It had been two years since their fumbled confessions in the wardrobe department, blushing and embarrassed and sweet. She was a new stylist, only working for two months when he had grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the room, too shy to look back until they had stopped moving. He had caught her eye during their fittings, his broad shoulders and silent demeanour alluring - she had caught his with her heart fluttering smile and teasing looks.

Two years, she mused, as she watched him bow to the make-up artists in turn, always genuine in his thanks. Yeah. Two years of lying.

The truth was, no one knew. Jellyfish had no ban on dating, but Leo, being Leo, wanted it kept secret. He had just debuted, and it was unprofessional to date in the workplace. Their coffee dates, late night movie marathons, the phone calls at four in the morning - all of it, when questioned, had been met with the same answer.

Ah, we’re just really good friends.

She never told him, but the words stung. With every answer her heart broke a little more, and yet she would smile, laugh, smack their arm and say me? With Leo? Don’t be ridiculous, eonni! It was a mantra, and for the first few months the words were venom on her tongue.

But like with any poison, after enough exposure, she grew a tolerance. The words fell from her lips as if they weren’t a lie at all, and with every passing month, she found herself believing them more and more to be true. Is this really a relationship? Aren’t we just friends?

And with every comeback they grew apart more and more as there was less time for themselves. She had only seen him during work for the past few months - she couldn’t remember the last time they had kissed. It worried her, to have such a blank in her memory. The ghost of his lips against her skin was gone, and she could barely recall how safe his arms felt when he held her.

"Yah~ Lyynie~ you having fun?"

She blinked, drawn from her imagination, turning her head upwards to where the cheery voice came from. Ken had thrown his arm over her shoulder casually, champagne in one hand, sending her down a smile while she raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn’t you go celebrate with your group?" She asked, sipping her own drink.

Ken pouted. “I wanna celebrate with you, noona. My stylist~! Thank you for your hard work!” He chimed, stepping back so he could bow. There was no keeping the infectious smile from her face, though she tried to fight it, and she found herself returning the gesture to the younger with an eye roll and a chuckle.

"You’re too lively for me, Ken-ssi."

"Yah, noona, I told you to be more comfortable. ‘Ken-ssi’ is too stiff! We’ve known each other for two years!"

"Ken-ah?"

"Nooooooo!"

"Jaehwan-ssi?"

"Noona~!" He whined childishly, sticking his tongue out as she laughed at his expression.

"Yah, you baby. Jaehwannie~" she teased, reaching up the squeeze his cheek as he blushed a bit. "Really? You like that?"

"Noona," he whined again, pouting.

"I never took you to be so needy," she mused, dropping her hand and returning to observe the party.

Ken smiled and leaned down to rest his chin on her shoulder - which wasn’t too far, considering she was pretty tall herself. “Only for you, Lyynie!”

She snorted, her spirits considerably lighter than they were before. Ken had a way of wriggling into her depressing thoughts and completely vomiting happiness all over them, and she honestly enjoyed his company. He was bright and friendly, affectionate, and not shy of skinship with the people he loved - quite the opposite of Leo, who stood at least a metre away from her in public most of the time.

Leo. His name brought her back to her thoughts before, and she glanced across the room to where he was greeting the runner - only to find him staring blankly back at her, the poor boy’s conversation completely going over his head. His gaze was unnerving, especially with Ken's presense by her ear, breathing softly against her neck. Though nothing changed in his expression, she knew he was annoyed.

"Noona, we should go out sometime! It feels wrong that we've been friends for so long and not hung out, don't you think?" Ken asked, and Lyyn felt his arms wrap around her waist from behind, locking her in a hug.

"Ah..." To say it was awkward would be a lie - the ever affectionate Ken often engulfed her with hugs, and it was pretty much accepted as the norm amongst the staff. But this time, she kept eye contact with Leo for a few seconds before turning her gaze slowly to the younger, smiling. "I guess so. I could have sworn we've hung out before, though."

"But not like you and Leo! I wanna be as close as you are with him!" He pouted, hugging her tighter.

Lyyn felt her cheeks begin to burn, her eyes dropping to the floor. Suddenly, being in his arms felt a little too weird. Okay, now this is a bit awkward. "Uh..."

"Why does he get you all to himself? It's not like he's your boyfriend."

Although he was teasing, her body froze up. She could feel his chest rising with each breath, hear it close to her ear - his warm hug felt more like a cage, and she chewed her lip nervously. What if he knew..? 

Around them, the party continued, completely oblivious to the aura slowly surrounding the two. He showed no sign of letting go, and honestly Lyyn was too confused and worried to move. Ken was her friend. And sure, Leo probably wasn't the best boyfriend in the world, but he was still her boyfriend. Knowing he was watching their interaction from across the room was enough to make her heart race in her chest.

But when she glanced up to try and shoot him a 'help me' look, he was nowhere to be found. Her stomach dropped. Oh no... what if he thinks...?

"... Noona?" He frowned, letting go and moving around to the front, his hands taking her cheeks gently. "Are you okay? You're shaking..."

"A-Ah, I'm fine! I'm fine!" She dismissed, trying to edge her way out of his hands, but Ken just slid them to her arms instead, suddenly a lot less energetic. He was still smiling, but his face had gone red, and he was looking at the floor with an embarrassed expression.

"Y-Y'know... noona... I really like you. You're funny, and you're kind, and you're really pretty."

"Um... th-thank you, Jaehwan-ah... I like you too..." Taekwoon, where are you...

"Ah... no," he glanced up quickly, before looking away again. Honestly, the usually confident Ken stumbling over his words really was an adorable sight. "Lyyn... I-"

"Excuse me."

The usually quiet voice cut through his sentence, followed closely by the person that Lyyn was unusually relieved to see.

"Leo," she breathed, immediately relaxing under Ken's fingers before he pulled away from her.

"Hyung! A-Ah, what's up? What brings you over here?" Ken stuttered, laughing awkwardly as he tried to return to his normal self.

Leo slid his gaze from his dongsaeng to his girlfriend, eyes narrow, face blank. "Lyyn," he simply said, reaching out with one hand to catch hers. And with that he turned to walk away, pulling her along beside him.

"... What the heck..." Ken blinked at them, staring after their backs as Lyyn briefly glanced over her shoulder. "... Ah...Aishhh... there goes my chance..."

"You know, I feel kind of bad for him," Lyyn muttered, watching his dejected face before turning back to look at her boyfriend. "But if I'd known all it took was a bit of jealously, I would have flirted a while ago."

"What?" Leo raised his eyebrow, glancing down at her before excusing himself as he pushed past some people.

"To get you to notice me. To treat me like your girlfriend instead of your friend for once. I don't know," she shrugged, looking away.

But suddenly his hand disappeared from hers and he stopped in front of her, letting her bump into his back before collecting herself.

"Leo? What are you-"

She didn't have time to think anything else, before he whirled around in the middle of the crowd, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss; his hand went to cup her cheek, the other tangling loosely in her hair. Around them, people began to notice, whispers and pointing and shouts of 'what's happening?' - but she didn't care. So many thoughts, too many to comprehend, rushed through her head - and all she knew was how right it felt, how much she'd missed his warmth, the feel of his fingertips on her skin, his lips against hers. She melted into his touch, wrapping her arms around her neck, smiling.

Because this was all she'd wanted, just a little recognition.

And she was happy.