Valentine’s Day…huh? Jihoon thought as he set down the book he was reading. Even with the book in his hands, his mind was elsewhere. It was already late at night and he couldn’t seem to sleep. Raking a hand through his hair, he let out a sigh and lightly tossed the book onto this nightstand. He got into a comfortable position in his bed as he looked up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. What will the outcome be? His eyes traveled to the gift and envelope sitting on his desk along.

Jihoon sighed and returned to staring at the ceiling. Did they really convince me into doing this? Are you kidding me? He scrunched up his nose in frustration as doubts filled his mind. Will she even like the gift I got her? Ani, Ani. Of course she would, whenever you guys went out and passed by that store, she’d always stare at it before it was out of sight.

“God I feel like such a girl…” he muttered to himself as he rested his forearm onto his forehead, covering his eyes slightly.

He felt something hit against his forehead and put his arm in front of him. Ah, that’s right… I remember when we got this. A small smile was found on his face as he stared at the bracelet on his wrist. During his sixth month at Seoul High, their group of friends had decided to have an outing in Hongdae. Since their group was too big, they had all decided to split up into pairs. To decide partners, they drew different colored strips from one of their friend’s origami pack. Whoever had the same design, would be partners. It was as if the whole thing was planned, he and Ailee had become partners.

“Shall we get going?” he asked as they looped arms.

She nodded her head excitedly and smiled, “Let’s go! Oh, wait, but how should we speak? Korean or English?”

“English, por favor~”

“And fail Spanish?” she raised an eyebrow and let out a chuckle.

He watched as they walked through the busy streets of Hongdae and her eyes would always light up whenever they came across a street performer or a clothing shop. Their laughter filled the air as they told endless jokes to each other and goofed around with the stores around them. Jihoon let Ailee lead their Hongdae adventure as they explored the different alleyways and found Indie cafés.

“Hoon-ah! Look at these cute bracelets!” Ailee called out to him as she ran towards one of the small jewelry vendors on the sidewalk. He smiled softly as he watched her look through each bracelet. Who knew I’d actually fall for a girl like you?

“Should we get a pair?” she asked him, holding out a pair of bracelets.

“Agassi, those are the top sellers for couples in this area. You and your boyfriend should get it. I think it’d suit the both of you quite well.” The ahjumma said as she smiled at the two.

“Ah, for you two, I’ll give it to you for 250,000 won. Originally the price was 500,000 won, but I haven’t seen a couple like you in a long time. The engraving is free as well.”

“What do you mean by that ahjumma?” Jihoon asked.

“Usually it’s either the girl or guy who is passionate about the relationship. Only one of the partners is giving it their all. But for you two, I can clearly see some great chemistry. So, don’t ever let each other go, arasso?”

Ailee was about to say something, but Jihoon just wrapped around an arm around her shoulders and said, “Neh ahjumma~ I promise that I’ll take very good care of her and never let her go.”

And I totally mean that. Ever since Minhyuk and Eunkwang slapped some sense into me, I finally realized how much you mean to me.

“So what would you like as the message for the engraving?”

“Pabo + Angel = Heaven for both them, juseyo~” Ailee replied as she linked her hand with his. The both of them met eyes for a moment before smiling at each other.

The ahjumma quickly finished their bracelets and gave it to them. Jihoon handed the money to the woman before turning his attention back to Ailee. Aigoo this girl… Seeing that she needed help putting on the bracelet, he softly took it out of her grip before putting it on for her. She looked up at him and gave him her famous eyesmile. While hugging him lightly, she chuckled and said, “Gomawo Hoon-ah~”

He returned the hug and set his cheek on top of her head. “You’re welcome Ailee-yah.”

“Need help with yours?” she asked as they got out of their hug. He nodded and watched as she latched on his bracelet. “There, all done!”

“Bye ahjumma!” the two said before continuing on with their adventure. After an hour or so of exploring, they decided to take a pit-stop at a café they discovered called Publique. (A/N -start at 9:15 to see how the cafe looks like!)

 “Jihoon-ah, on Yelp it says that this place is known for their éclairs. Should we get one?” she asked as she looked up at him.

His eyes widened at her sudden skinship when she grabbed his arm and leaned onto him slightly.

“S-Sure…” he stuttered as he felt his pulse increase tenfold.

Ushering her towards an empty table, he quickly sat her down before going up to the counter to place their order.  Once their order was placed, he went to their table and sat down.

“How come you didn’t stop the ahjumma when she called us a couple?” Ailee asked.

He slightly jolted in his seat as he heard her question and rubbed his neck sheepishly. Out of the corner of his eye while looking out of the café window, Jihoon could see the curiosity in her eyes as she tilted her head to the side. With a sheepish smile, he tried to calm his accelerating heart and replied, “That’s because the ahjumma gave it to us half off and with free engraving, and you know how I can be when it comes to bargaining.”

“Ah, so that’s why…” she said in a small voice as she nodded her head. He turned his head so that he was completely facing her and said, “But I like the message you told her to put.”

Ailee’s eyes widened as she looked down at the message and blushed slightly. “A-A-Ani it wasn’t like that. I mean –“

“Don’t worry about it, I think it’s cute. Plus it is true. You are the Angel and I am the Pabo.” he said as their orders came to their table.

“Besides the whole bracelet story, how did you think of today?” Jihoon asked as they began to eat their éclairs.

“Today was an amazing day. To be honest, if I were with anyone else, I wouldn’t have had as much fun as I did with you.” She replied.

He looked up at her as she tried to play it cool. Jihoon could already feel his body get all warm from her statement and smiled warmly at her. “I wouldn’t have said it better myself.”

His eyes met hers as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. She chuckled as he gave her the peace sign. Rolling her eyes and turning back to their food she simply said, “Pabo, stop staring and continuing eating.”

He merely smirked in amusement as she looked down and avoided his gaze while taking small bites of her éclair. You don’t know how much you’re making me crazy right now…

Jihoon sighed happily as he remembered that time. Looking at the bracelet wrapped around his wrist once more and to the clock on the wall opposite of him, he pursed his lips. Five more hours until it’s Valentine’s Day… I should get some sleep for tomorrow. Let’s hope that everything goes well. Slipping deeper into his covers, he closed his eyes and let sleep take over him.

The next morning, he groaned as his alarm clock went off. Quickly slamming the thing off, he threw the covers off of him and rubbed his face tiredly. God, why is it so damn early? Oh, that’s right. You don’t want to get trampled over your fangirls…

Letting a yawn escape through his lips, he stretched out his body before getting out of bed and taking a quick shower. Once he was done, he whipped up his own breakfast and scarfed it down before getting his things. When he was all ready to go, he stopped by the mirror that was in the hallway and stared at his reflection. Today is the day, bro. Today is the day where you’re going to confess to the girl that’s always been there for you since you’ve transferred to Seoul. You’re the big guy now. You can do it.

Jihoon checked his watch before his bottom lip and smirked. It’s game time. Before he left to school, he wrapped his mother’s breakfast and wrote a small note stating that he went to school early. Once he arrived onto campus, he smiled happily as he saw that there weren’t many students. Safe so far… He opened his bag to double check if he had everything and nodded in satisfaction. “Today’s going to be a good day…” he muttered as he went behind the school building.

His eyes landed onto the familiar window sill of the abandoned music room. Surveying the area around him, he made sure that no one was looking before going onto his tiptoes and opening the window. He threw his backpack into the room before hurling himself into the room as well. Jihoon fished his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. Fifteen more minutes until she comes to school, what should I do now? Sitting on the empty piano bench, he slowly lifted up the cover and softly ran his fingers through the keys. Haven’t played in a while… Since he was left with nothing else to do, he decided to play Jokwon’s moving song while he waited for her.

“Jihoon-ah.”

He looked up to meet eyes with Ailee. She gave him a lopsided smile and entered the classroom. He watched as she stood by the door.

“Hiding from your fan girls once again?” she teased.

They both chuckled as he nodded and stood up. Jihoon walked towards her and the both of them stood in front of each other. “So? You still have your own fans.”

She shrugged and laughed. “Even so... Those don't really matter. You know that I'm just gonna give all my chocolate to charity or my parents. The ones I keep are the ones from the gang and my parents." 

Jihoon nodded in agreement as they both looked at each other. A moment of comfortable silence fell between the two as Ailee avoided his stare and rocked on her heels. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and bit his bottom lip as he saw how cute she was. She looks so cute today… His eyes landed on her face as she bit her bottom lip. You’re so adorable… He was brought out of his trance when she broke the silence.

"Actually Jihoon… I have something to give you.” His eyes widened slightly at this and his heart began hammering against his chest.

He stared at the present that was in her hands as handed Ailee it to him.

“You actually got me something this year?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow at her, examining the neatly wrapped gift. He took the gift from her and opened the envelope on top. Slowly taking the card out of it, he immediately recognized her neat cursive and began to read her message.

Yah Pabo-Hoon, I just wanted to say, that I have actually developed feelings for you. I don’t know when, how, or why I did. But I did. Who would’ve thought, huh? As you know… I’m not really good with expressing my emotions… But I hope you can take my confession seriously. Yes, I like the Roh Jihoon. I like the pabo that always make my day. I like you. Just… thank you as well. For everything.

P.S. Enjoy the chocolates! I made your favorite, dark bon bon chocolates~!  – Ailee

He blankly stared at the letter before reading it over and over again. Jihoon couldn’t believe that his crush actually liked him. The Ailee has feelings for him. Looking up from her confession, he was about to say something, but the bell rang. Jihoon looked at her as she sighed and smile at him.

“You don’t have to give me an answer now, I just wanted to let you know since it’s Valentine’s Day and…yeah. See you at lunch Jihoon-ah!” With that, she darted out of the classroom before he had a chance to speak.

He tried to call after her, but he was frozen in place. Looking down at the gift in his hands and the letter once more, he couldn’t stop the big smile that was planted on his face. Feeling the happiness within him, Jihoon did a small happy dance before calming himself down. Now that you know that she likes you back, all you have to do is return her feelings. You can do this. Just wait until lunch and the happily ever after you both have been waiting for will happen.

With great care, he slipped her present into his backpack before heading to class. Whistling to their favorite song, Tonight I’m Afraid of the Dark by 10 cm, he leisurely made his way to his first class of the day.

Just you wait. You won’t be disappointed Ailee-yah…