---

When it comes to Valentine's Day at Jongin's high school, it's always a pretty big event.

And even more-so when you're a popular person like Jongin is now that he's a Junior. And with that popularity comes the privilege and honor of getting numerous gifts on this romantic day.

In general, couples tend to go all out with their gifts, meanwhile some single people send each other genuine or goofy love-grams with their names attached or anonymously. And with Jongin's school specifically, for any popular person that'd like to receive gifts, it's as simple as setting up a little basket hooked to their locker to let people know that.

And from the morning to the end of any afterschool activities, any secret admirer or members of said popular person's unofficial fanclub can leave one little gift each. However, the gifts all have to be in their original packaging (no homemade foods or candies unless the popular person knows the gifter personally), so according to Jongin's popular friend Sehun, it's common to get store-bought candies, small stuffed animals, cards and such.

Of course, some people whine and complain because they feel like gifts like that are less personal, but Jongin thinks that that's a bit of the point. Because even if he and his fellow popular people are well-known, it doesn't make them deities to be worshipped and sent only the most expensive gifts ever, and it doesn't mean that everyone's automatically their friend or anything either. And because some people are highkey weird, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Like he's actually heard tales of popular people from years past getting weird- gifts, or homemade food with laxatives in them, or their lockers broken into (because again some people are way too creepy). And so, despite the measures now in place to make this holiday a safe one, not every popular person opts for hooking up a basket during Valentine's Day, like say Jongin's locker neighbor and crush, a cute Senior guy named Kyungsoo.

(When Jongin had come to school earlier, he was so ready to drop a card showing his admiration for the latter only to have his confidence deflate at the sight of Kyungsoo's basket-less locker.)

Either way, Jongin's set up a basket for himself and throughout the day he's been feeling so jittery and excited for the school day to end so that he can see what people left him. Currently, he's just saying Later to his dance club-mates and is now sprinting towards his locker that's on the next floor up. (And funnily enough, him joining the dance club last year is actually what led to him being popular now. A video of one of his dance recitals got shared by this one popular person online and basically it all went from there.)

Anyway, once Jongin reaches the second floor, his eyebrows raise and his heart beats a bit faster as he sees Kyungsoo right at his locker. Kyungsoo looks like he was just reaching inside his basket until he hears Jongin's footsteps and whips his head with wider eyes before he steps away. Jongin in his lips to them as he gets closer, mouth dry as he subtly checks out Kyungsoo's body as the latter's in his typical white and black Taekwondo uniform with his black belt wrapped around his waist.

It's pretty much empty in the hallways right now too since most people are either at home, hanging with friends wherever, or are still in their respective clubs. (Only clubs like Jongin's dance club and Kyungsoo's Taekwondo club tend to let out a bit earlier than the others.)

"Oh! Uh, hey Jongin," Kyungsoo says as he gets closer, pushing his black circular glasses up his nose.

Kyungsoo's about half a head shorter than Jongin and so when he looks up at him, it makes his eyes look even more adorable and cute. So, it's with warm cheeks and a shy smile that Jongin greets him back with, "H-hey, Kyungsoo."

"Uhh, how was your day?"

And Jongin, despite having butterflies fluttering about in his stomach, can't help but cut to the chase. Small talk with his crush be damned. "It was good. Though um, Kyungsoo, were you just...were you searching through my basket just now?"

Kyungsoo doesn't respond and just gives a guilty smile.

"I mean, like--it's cool, I just--how come you never set up your own for today? Like you would've gotten so many gifts yourself, heck..."

I wanted to gift you something, Jongin thinks.

Kyungsoo then looks down for a second. "What do ya mean? I'm not that popular aha--" Jongin instantly begs to differ but feels his mind go blank as he looks up at him again. "--Anyways, um so yeah I did look through your basket but um, i-it was 'cause I um--I wanted to see what ya got. Like I uh--I saw something long and thickish get dropped in there just now and uh, just wanted to make sure that it wasn't like a haha--like a or something."

Jongin bursts out into laughter at that before he quickly moves to look through his basket. "A hahaha? No in' way!"

He then notices Kyungsoo leaning in a bit closer to peer into the basket too and feels those dang butterflies appear again. And as he digs through the basket, he does indeed stumble upon something long, thickish, and wrapped in pink parchment paper and moves to grab it before Kyungsoo says, Wait.

Jongin's hand is still outstretched as he was just about to grasp the possible but he's turned to look at Kyungsoo now and can't help but look from his eyes to his lips and back for a quick second. Kyungsoo then speaks but Jongin's mind figuratively turns to static while he inwardly squeals for the thousandth time over how cute and adorable yet hot and y Kyungsoo looks.

He only really gets to see Kyungsoo afterschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays because that's when their clubs both coincide (and unfortunately they have no classes together and hang out with different crowds). But, Jongin's never been so glad to have Valentine's Day fall on a freakin' Thursday, even if it's supposed to rain in an hour and he forgot to bring an umbrella and--

"--Jongin? Jongin, are you okay? Hey--" Kyungsoo calls out, and Jongin snaps out of his thoughts. Kyungsoo's head is tilted with worry now, and he pouts a bit. "Seriously, are you okay?"

Jongin simply nods as he looks into Kyungsoo's concerned eyes, and then tells Kyungsoo a sorta white lie about how he barely got any sleep last night as he gently grabs for the long gift and pulls it out of his basket.

And as he holds said gift, he pouts and looks down at it as he lifts it up and down, feeling that whatever's inside of it must be really light and delicate. Or maybe there's actually just nothing inside.

He then looks up at Kyungsoo only for his eyebrows to lift when he sees the latter looking so serious now. "What?" Jongin asks, his eyes wider now.

Kyungsoo just blinks, his expression softening a bit. "Uh...aren't ya gonna open it?"

"Oh, I-I want to, but you look so serious and now my mind's overthinking what could be in this and--"

"Aha, I'm sorry--I'm sorry. But um don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Like, I even--"

He then cuts himself off with wider eyes and Jongin can't help but narrow his eyes with suspicion at that. What was he about to say?

...Did he give me this gift? Could he...? No-no, he probably just saw who left it and I just missed them. Yeah. Yeah, there's no way he could like me back...But what if? Oh gosh I would ing die--!

"Jongin? Oh my gosh, you really need to get more sleep at night."

"...Did I really just miss whoever gave me this?" Jongin finally asks, fiddling with the gift a bit.

Kyungsoo seems to hesitate at that before he tells him Yeah.

"Well, how'd they look? Like were they a girl, a guy, non-binary...?"

And Kyungsoo chokes on his spit at that, leading to Jongin immediately moving closer as he asks Kyungsoo if he's okay. Kyungsoo just waves him off though before he says, Sorry, I just didn't expect you to ask me that.

And Jongin gets a bit taken aback at that. "Wait, why? Was that a weird question to ask?"

Kyungsoo shyly rubs behind the back of his own neck. "No-no, I just--I dunno--nevermind." Jongin just deeply pouts and he continues. "But um, they--they were a guy. Like...you don't mind that, right?"

And Jongin laughs at that. "Mind it? Aha, Kyungsoo, don'tcha know I'm Pan?"

Kyungsoo's eyes bug out and he pushes up his glasses. "Wait, you are?"

"Yeah haha! I never told you?" Kyungsoo cutely shakes his head no. "Oh. Well I am hehe...But um so anyways, back to this guy...like are they in my grade, your grade?"

And Kyungsoo's eyes shift. "Um, my grade."

Jongin grins. "Ooh, and is he like short, tall?"

Kyungsoo's lips quirk as he tries not to smile. "He's taller than short."

"So...average height like you?"

"Hey! Who ya callin' average?" Kyungsoo replies teasingly.

Jongin giggles at that and Kyungsoo just watches him with playfully narrowed eyes and a smile. Then, as Jongin's giggles die down, he says, Anyways, lemme stop putting this off, huh? before he slowly unwraps the gift's pink parchment paper.

And what he sees as he unwraps it, leads to him breathing out an Oh my gosh before he looks up with a wide grin at Kyungsoo. Because underneath that parchment paper is a beautiful pink rose wrapped in plastic (and de-thorned, of course).

Kyungsoo lets out a soft chuckle at his expression. "Ooh, a rose. Hah, and judging by your reaction, I guess you like that sorta thing, huh?"

Jongin's eyes crinkle as he grins even harder. "Like it?" He then leans in to sniff the rose and lets out a pleased sigh at the scent. "This is one of the sweetest gifts I've ever gotten from a stranger, period."

"Hehe...Oh and um, by the way, you do know what a pink rose means, right?" Kyungsoo then asks.

Jongin nods his head. "Admiration, right?"

And Kyungsoo grins, his lips forming a heart-shape. "Yup."

They both keep smiling at each other for a nice moment before Kyungsoo says, "Oh yeah. I uh I think I saw the guy leave a card with an envelope in there too. It was taped up with the paper but I guess the other gifts ripped the tape up."

So, Jongin quickly goes back to his basket after tucking the rose into his hair for now, right above his right ear, and sifts through the cards he got before he finds a pink envelope with some cute squig