With a bright smile that makes his cheeks puffy and his eyes turn into slits, rosy color on his cheeks right above his dimples the word leave his lips.

-I love you-

It's easy to hear those tree words from Jiyong.
 

Whenever someone tells the leader they love him he naturally responds with 'I love you too'.
The respond is engraved in Jiyong's system it's almost as if it lies in his genes to respond like that and for a while, if being honest, Seunghyun makes use of it.

He tells Jiyong „Man, I love you!“ when the younger brings him snacks during late night recordings at the studio, he says „I freaking love you.“ when Jiyong acts funny and has him close to tears while laughing, he chokes out a drowsy „I love you.“ when dropping his head onto the boy's shoulder after they received yet another award and the drinks been coming and they are just too gone to see straight.

He says it many times over and over again to get the same three words in respond even though they never meant what Seunghyun really wants.

Jiyong doesn't know how much it pains Seunghyun whenever he casually tosses the words left and right or how much it burns when he says them to Seunghyun and doesn't notice how much the elder wishes for them to have a deeper meaning.
He wants those words to be meaningful, to be sincere and not just a casual reply.
He wants the flushed cheeks and the tremble in Jiyong's voice when those words slip his lips.
He wants the shy gaze to his shoes and the insecure bite to his lips as he waits for Seunghyun to repeat after him.
Seunghyun doesn't want to be the first to say those words anymore just to hear the empty reply, he wants the really meaning of those words, sincere, pure and overwhelming.

Just once he wants to hear the real words roll of Jiyong's lips and be able to capture them with his own afterward.

That one time when Jiyong says it, that one and only time he's the first to utter the words it's mere minutes before Seunghyun jumps onto the bus, his hair is shaved, his backpack heavy on his back and Jiyong smiles, hugs him quickly and mumbles the words against his neck, softly, sweetly and Seunghyun pats his back and says – I love you too.- with a smile on his face.

Jiyong doesn't meet his eyes and simply steps back to let the other boys hug him good bye.

It's about half an hour later as he sits in the bus staring out the window,watching the night scenery pass him by that he realizes it, the red tint on Jiyong's cheeks, the warmth of his quick but oddly tight embrace, the little waver in his voice when he said the words before Seunghyun had the chance too.

Too late he understands that for once Jiyong actually said “I love you”....

….and he meant it.

(Inspired by WinnerTV ep.7
Jinwoo : Mine (mission) was to hear I love you from Jiyong-Hyung
Taeyang : That would have been really easy though! If you just said "Hyung I love you" then he would have said "I love you too"
and that is really the only reason for this....)