Soonyoung felt defeat. Seokmin had just professed his love for him through a song. Seokmin had written and sung a song for him… Soonyoung had to find something better.

Soonyoung and Seokmin were a couple. A competitive one at that. And what better what to compete than to see who can show their love for each other best?

At first, it started with anonymous post-it notes, but that was before the two were dating. It was Soonyoung’s way of cheering Seokmin up when he was down. Happy Virus though he may have been, Seokmin was easily the most sensitive of the members. If a performance didn’t go as well as he would have liked, a note ever so slightly off-pitch, or he missed a step in the choreography, he would be down for the rest of the day. That wasn’t to say he brought the mood down; he never showed his insecurities to anyone. It was only because Soonyoung knew him that he could tell when something was off. When his laughs weren’t as hearty, and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

On a day when Seokmin was down from singing too sharp a note, Soonyoung wrote something on a post-it and stuck it on the underside of the top bunk, where Seokmin, who used the bottom bunk, could see as he laid his head on the pillow. That night, Soonyoung looked across the room as Seokmin got into bed, and a soft, warm feeling gushed inside of him when he saw Seokmin genuinely smile for the first time that day.

If he could make Seokmin smile like that all the time, he would be the happiest person alive.

Although the notes were at first written on days Seokmin was down, they eventually began appearing every day. From You’re important to the team to You make the room brighter just by being there, Soonyoung gave him encouraging notes when he could. What surprised him was when he found a note at his own bunk, which said Thank you for always being there.

He thought he had been sneaky enough not to get caught, but the note in front of him told him otherwise. Later, he asked Seokmin when he found out, and Seokmin revealed that he knew from the start, and that no one had such messy handwriting than Soonyoung.

Shortly after, they began dating, and their ways of expressing love had varied. At one point, it was cooking each other meals, but with Soonyoung being the awful chef he was, that method didn’t last long. Somewhere along the way, it became a competition to see who could come up with a better way to express their love, and as of now, Seokmin was winning.

Soonyoung scavenged the dorms, trying to find something that he could use. Anything that might be able to one-up Seokmin’s last attack. How unfair it was for him to use his charming voice as a weapon against him. Even if Soonyoung did the same, the outcome wouldn’t be nearly so effective, considering the difference between their vocal skills.

He paused. If Seokmin used his strengths to come up with a strong attack, why couldn’t Soonyoung? From the corner of his eye, he saw something red, and when he picked up the item, a smile spread across his face. It was perfect.

Soonyoung ushered Seokmin to a chair in the middle of the practice room. Preparations were done, and all that was left was the execution. He kept the lights dim, and when Seokmin questioned it, he brushed aside the question. He would find out soon enough anyways.

The music started, and Soonyoung’s face became serious… for a total of two seconds. He soon had a gushing smile on his face as he bounced with light steps and swung his arms cutely. He made a finger heart a couple times, blew some kisses, and threw in a few winks as well. He could see Seokmin’s ecstatic smile, and he knew it was working. As he danced, Seokmin was cheering, and it gave him more energy to perform. A bounce to the left and a finger gun to the heart, and skip to the right with a cute pose or two. He gave the performance his all.

At last, the finale was coming. He pranced over to grab an item from the floor and stuffed it into his shirt, then pranced back over to Seokmin and turned the item on.

A flickering red light appeared in his chest, and at first, Seokmin was confused. Soonyoung was disappointed, seeing that it was impossible to see the shape of the light, so he brought the thing from out of his shirt and held it against his chest. A red, glowing, heart-shaped lightstick meant to portray his living, beating heart for Seokmin. Soonyoung looked at him expectantly with a smile on his face

Seokmin got out of his seat to hug Soonyoung tightly, laughing while at it. The lightstick was still between the two of them, right between their chests.

“I love you so much, “ Seokmin sighed.

How unfair. Just when Soonyoung thought he had the advantage, Seokmin attacks with something more powerful.

But at that moment, Soonyoung was too happy to even think about their little competition. The extent of the feelings he had for Lee Seokmin surpassed what he even thought was possible.

He buried his face in Seokmin’s shoulder. “Me, too.”

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