I can't believe I'm finally ticking the box that says Mark Story Complete.
I've always wanted to write something like this and I can finally say I've done it ;A;
(Also I managed to finish a story again! Yay progress! And it's a Jihan fic again, woops?)
Thank you to everyone who has been reading from beginning to end and has left comments!!! All the comments made my day each time ; u ;
To anybody who is reading this after it's complete: thank you, too! Leave comments! Upvote if you liked it! ♡

Finally, I present. The end.

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Jeonghan’s heart was still pounding wildly in his chest.

It was too much. All of this was too much— the bet, the sudden realizations, the feelings. Most of all, Jisoo was too much. Jisoo with his soft pink hair and perfect voice, his brilliant smile and gentle demeanour, all of him; all of him and the heart that belonged to some other guy that the brunette still didn’t know enough about. Why did he have to fall for his best friend, anyway? This whole bet was going to be the end of him, Jeonghan was sure. 

Earlier was a crystal clear example about how he’s losing his control over keeping his feelings in check. The brush against his neck was still okay. He didn’t completely melt at that, at least not obviously, anyway. Jisoo holding his hand wasn’t even a new thing and they’ve held hands like that a lot, but this was the first time it meant something different for Jeonghan. It wasn't even the romantic kind of hand holding, no entertwined fingers at all, but still. He was fine then, right? Even when Jisoo became worried over the flush of his cheeks?

It was the moment in the kitchen that really got to him, though. Their faces were a mere few inches apart. Almost touching, especially their lips. On a normal basis, maybe Jeonghan would have joked around about it; smile and say something witty, jokingly flirt like he would to some of the other members sometimes, but after everything that has happened it was just too much to handle in one afternoon. Jisoo was fine about it, of course, barely flustered. At least he didn't judge Jeonghan's weird reaction. Maybe he did? He reacted so calmly, though. 

"Of course he would, Jeonghan, you're the only one who feels like this anyway," the brunette muttered to himself, a sinking feeling growing in his chest as he tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. 

It was all that stupid bet's fault. 

Then again, it was technically his fault, too. He started the whole thing, after all. He had been the one who barely noticed what his friend was doing and what Jisoo was like. He had jumped to conclusions, opened his big mouth, and was now paying the price for what he did. Maybe fate was just playing a truly cruel trick on him to end up falling for his best friend right as he told Jisoo to go after the man of his dreams. He couldn't help it. Jisoo was just so... Jisoo. In everything he did. Even with how he took the bet. Meanwhile Jeonghan was an idiot for starting all of this. Jisoo had recently mentioned that the mystery guy was definitely confessing him soon, thus making him win the bet. He sounded so sure and so happy. 

He didn't want Jisoo to end up with somebody else.

Bet or no bet, could Jeonghan really break his friend's happiness for his own selfish reasons? 

He wanted to be that guy. The one who ended up in a relationship with Jisoo— and not just for a few days or weeks like he usually does, but a long and lasting one. He could be that guy, if it were with Jisoo, he thought. Could he really, though? Jisoo would definitely be that type of person. He had said so himself, after all. He wanted something stable and not just for fun, two things that Jeonghan's past has shown that he wasn't good at. What if it wasn't his fault, though? What if it was because his past relationships weren't with Jisoo? 

Jeonghan groaned in frustration, "this isn't the time to be thinking this. Why does this have to be so hard?"

"Whatever you're dealing with must be terrible since it's been a few minutes and you still haven't noticed me." 

What? 

The brunette looked up and finally noticed two things. One, he had entered a room in his sudden panic and it was not his room. Two, Junhui was smiling at him cheekily from his bed, waving a hand when he finally got Jeonghan's attention. Brilliant. He's in an emotional crisis and it had to be in front of another member. He should have been careful, but Junhui was right. There was something plaguing his mind. Maybe the younger boy could actually help.

"Jeonghan, you can tell me," the Chinese boy said softly, losing that teasing air once he realized that Jeonghan really was in a state of distress. "Is it about Jisoo? Did you guys fight?"

"No! Well, I mean, first of all the rumour you heard— or started— was false. We're not together," the older boy explained, walking over to Junhui's bed and asking the other boy to scoot over so he could have space. "But it is about Jisoo." 

"Can I help?" 

Jeonghan sighed, giving in, "I don't even know where to begin. Long story short, I guess: I like him. He likes someone else. I want us to end up together, but..." 

He trailed off, mind wandering back to his previous thoughts. Beside him, Junhui had a mix of both surprise and concern on his face. The latter was first and foremost surprised to hear that Jeonghan thought Jisoo didn't like him— he had figured that bit out years ago, but apparently not Jeonghan.