(for withoutchange@LJ)

There were a lot of things he doesn’t think much of.

Like self-help books and purple toy elephants. To Lee Jinki, books that told you what to do and miscolored toy animals annoyed him – and so, he found it so much easier if he just ignored them. They were useless after all, so why bother?

And for a moment there, he remembers a time when he didn’t care for her either.

Jinki think he’s better when he’s alone, but can’t complain when one day Jonghyun drags him out to spend the day with his girlfriend and her sister. He doesn’t particularly think it’s fair that Jonghyun gets to date around SNSD’s Ice Princess while the rest of the company has to keep theirs a secret – but it’s Jonghyun and his girl is Jessica and no matter what they were still quite perfect in the public’s eyes.

And so he relents, at least for the time being. He didn’t have any plans on Valentine’s anyway.

They arrive a few hours after lunch at the sisters’ apartment, huffing cool puffs out of their mouths from the biting wind of Seoul’s still-in-winter streets. Jinki doesn’t necessarily like the cold, but the city is beautiful and he does like the feeling of snow sloshing under his feet. It only takes a few seconds for the door to open when they arrive and the moment his eyes falls on Soojung by the door, Jinki hears a bell start ringing in his ear.

“Oh, good – you’re actually on time, Dinosaur!” She grins, rolling her eyes as Jonghyun pushed past her and ruffled her hair. She offers him a smile after delivering a kick to the former’s shin and welcomed them into the living room. “Make yourself at home. Unni will be out in a minute… I think. She’s taking forever in the shower and the food’s not here yet.”

Krystal laughs and knocks her feet onto the table in front of her, sitting back in a way that was too free, too natural– too happy that it makes him feel a little dazed. He’d been too used to seeing her so serious, sitting by herself with her phone in hand and whispering at practices to be shown a side of her that’s so relaxed. In his mind, she is Krystal – f(x)’s maknae and ice princess-in-training. He doesn’t know her as Jung Soojung – they weren’t even friends.

“I’m surprised you managed to get Onew-oppa out today, Dino,” she says easily, flicking the TV on with a swish of her hand. One arm is up and behind her head as she sat, watching images float by the screen and speak to Jonghyun as though you weren’t there. “I always held the impression that he didn’t like going out and chaperone dates with you.”

“Well, Sooyeon and I aren’t exactly going out on a date today, Soojung,” Jonghyun replies, and Jinki wonders how come it’s so easy for other people see her as Soojung when he can’t even imagine her as anything but Krystal.

His friend continues speaking completely unaware of him, “And who says I let him chaperone me? I would never! Not on Valentine’s Day!”

Jinki snorts a little loudly from his seat as Krystal rolls her eyes. “Valentine’s Day? Isn’t it just a Tuesday today?”

“Am I detecting a hint of bitterness in your tone, my dear Soojung?”

‘Soojung’ grins and shrugs her shoulders, flipping her hair in a way that makes Jinki blink at the sudden movement, the sudden gleam of its texture and her skin shining towards him like never before.

And when her eyes turn to catch his staring at her, he relents and chokes back a cough in the back of his throat when her expression turns curious. Her eyebrow shoots up in surprise, and somehow her lips come into view and he turns away just as a heat occupies his face. He doesn’t necessarily know why he’s so flustered all of a sudden, but it’s different and new and—oh Holy ghost why is the word gorgeousringing in my head right now?

It’s lucky that Jessica arrives just as Krystal opened to speak, giggling and skipping towards Jonghyun as though they hadn’t seen each other in ages instead of only a few hours. It’s a bit sickening really, how perfectly and nauseatingly in love they are – but Jonghyun’s one of his closest friends and it’s nice when he’s being creepy and cute to someone else.

“Happy Valentine’s, baby.” Jessica coos, brushing her nose against Jonghyun’s while the latter grins and nips at her lips. He repeats her greeting back at her before bringing her close for a kiss, drawing another round of giggles as the couple embraced and murmured sweet nothings. It makes him a little uncomfortable, watching them make out right next to him but he feels paralyzed to move.

It reminds him once again why he shouldn’t have agreed to come in the first place. Playing third wheel was never fun after all, not when things got a little too cute and lovey-dovey between couples and not you.

“I might puke, I’m not going to lie.” Krystal announces suddenly, standing up and rolling her eyes. She