Work Text:
Jake wasn't snooping.
In his defense.
He genuinely wasn't.
The problem was that Jay had left his phone on the kitchen counter.
The other problem was that the screen lit up.
Right in front of Jake.
And the notification said:
Sweetheart
Jake froze.
...
...
What?
He stared at the screen.
Then at Jay.
Then back at the screen.
Jay was standing by the stove making breakfast as if he hadn't just destroyed Jake's entire morning.
Sweetheart
Good morning.
Jake nearly dropped his coffee.
No.
Because what did that mean?
Who was Sweetheart?
Why was Sweetheart saying good morning?
Why was Jay smiling at the message?
Most importantly—
Why did Jake suddenly want to fight somebody he'd never met?
"Jay-ah."
"Hm?"
"Who's Sweetheart?"
Jay looked up from the pan.
"Who?"
"Sweetheart."
"What about Sweetheart?"
Jake felt something inside him crack.
"WHO IS SWEETHEART?"
Jay glanced at his phone.
Then back at Jake.
Then shrugged.
"No one."
"No one?"
"Nope."
"You have a contact called Sweetheart."
"Do I?"
"YES."
Jay hummed thoughtfully.
"Interesting."
Jake wanted to throw the frying pan.
Unfortunately Jay was holding it.
Which was probably for the best.
Across the room Sunoo immediately sat upright.
"Wait."
Jake pointed dramatically.
"He has a Sweetheart."
Sunoo gasped.
"A WHAT?"
"A SWEETHEART."
"A WHAT?"
"A SWEETHEART."
Sunoo turned toward Jay.
"Hyung."
"No."
"I didn't even ask yet."
"I know what you're going to ask."
"Then answer it."
"No."
Jay smiled.
And suddenly Sunoo understood why villains existed.
...
The prank war had started three weeks ago.
Nobody knew who started it.
Ni-ki claimed it was Jake.
Jake claimed it was Sunoo.
Sunoo blamed Heeseung.
Heeseung blamed everybody.
And somehow Jay became the main victim.
Because Jay reacted.
Beautifully.
Every.
Single.
Time.
The first prank had been simple.
Jay had spent nearly twenty minutes searching for his wallet.
Checking his room.
Checking the living room.
Checking the kitchen.
Checking the practice bags.
Growing more irritated every minute.
Meanwhile the members had been following him around pretending to help.
"Did you check your room?"
"Obviously."
"What about your jacket?"
"I checked."
"The couch?"
"YES."
Eventually Jay had opened the refrigerator to grab water.
And found his wallet sitting beside the orange juice.
The scream he'd let out could probably be heard three floors away.
Jake still had the video.
It was his favorite thing on earth.
---
Then came the ringtone incident.
Which, according to Jay, was proof that he lived with terrorists.
He'd left his phone unattended for five minutes.
Five.
Minutes.
When a staff member called later that day, his ringtone suddenly blasted through the waiting room.
In Jay's own voice.
Loudly.
Proudly.
Embarrassingly.
"Park Jongseong is the most handsome member of ENHYPEN."
The entire room had gone silent.
Jay had stared at his phone.
The members.
Then back at his phone.
Before slowly saying
"I'm going to kill all of you."
The members had laughed so hard that Jungwon nearly fell off his chair.
...
Then came the sugar and salt incident.
Jay still hadn't forgiven them.
Because he'd spent twenty minutes making coffee.
Only to take one sip and immediately spit it out.
The members had watched from across the room.
Trying and failing to look innocent.
"Why does this taste weird?"
Nobody answered.
"Why."
Still nobody answered.
Then Sunghoon started laughing.
Which immediately gave everybody away.
Jay had stared at them.
Long.
Hard.
Dangerously.
Before saying:
"I hope all of you step on Legos."
---
The problem was that the more they pranked him—
The less Jay reacted.
At first they celebrated.
Then they started getting nervous.
Because somehow calm Jay was much scarier than angry Jay.
...
Especially after Sweetheart appeared.
...
The next week somehow got worse.
Because Jungwon saw another notification.
Sweetheart
Jungwon stared.
Then stared harder.
Then looked at Jay.
Then looked at the phone again.
"No."
Jay didn't even look up.
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking it."
Jungwon looked offended.
"Who is Sweetheart?"
"No one."
The answer came immediately.
Too immediately.
Suspiciously immediately.
Jungwon narrowed his eyes.
Jay smiled.
Jungwon hated that smile.
...
That night the members gathered in the living room.
Not intentionally.
It just happened.
Jake was on one couch.
Sunoo was on the floor.
Ni-ki was upside down.
Heeseung looked exhausted.
Sunghoon looked annoyed.
Jungwon looked concerned.
"So."
Jake began.
"So."
Sunoo echoed.
"He's definitely seeing someone."
"Definitely."
"One hundred percent."
"Absolutely."
Heeseung sighed.
"You guys sound insane."
"We ARE insane."
Jake pointed dramatically.
"He has a Sweetheart."
Sunoo added.
"And he smiles at his phone."
Jungwon contributed.
Sunghoon finally spoke.
"He hides the screen."
Everybody turned.
"YOU NOTICED TOO?"
...
Unfortunately.
Things only got worse.
...
A few days later Ni-ki accidentally caught the contact name again.
Sweetheart
The dorm nearly exploded.
...
Jay denied everything.
Every time.
Without fail.
Like a professional.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Do you like someone?"
"No."
"Is the contact name real?"
"No."
"What does that mean?"
"No."
The members eventually gave up.
Mostly because they valued their sanity.
...
Except they didn't.
Because nobody stopped paying attention.
...
Jake noticed Jay smiling at his phone.
Sunghoon noticed Jay texting more often.
Jungwon noticed Jay leaving rooms to take calls.
Heeseung noticed everything.
Unfortunately.
...
Then something changed.
Something small.
So small that nobody noticed at first.
Jay stopped sitting beside them automatically.
Not dramatically.
Not intentionally.
At least it didn't seem intentional.
But it happened.
Instead of dropping beside Jungwon during movie nights—
He sat on the armchair.
Instead of stealing Jake's blanket—
He brought his own.
Instead of wandering into everybody's rooms to bother them—
He stayed in his own.
Tiny things.
Little things.
Things that shouldn't matter.
Except they did.
...
One night Sunghoon walked into the living room carrying snacks.
Automatically looking for Jay.
Only to realize Jay wasn't there.
He was sitting at the dining table instead.
Working on something.
Earphones in.
Smiling at his laptop.
Sunghoon stopped.
The distance felt strange.
Uncomfortable.
Wrong.
Jay noticed him.
Lifted a hand.
Smiled.
Then returned to whatever he was doing.
And somehow that felt worse.
Because usually Jay would've called him over.
...
Another time Ni-ki sent Jay a meme.
A genuinely funny meme.
An excellent meme.
A masterpiece.
Normally Jay would've replied with three messages and a voice note.
This time?
👍
Just.
A thumbs up.
Ni-ki stared at his phone.
Offended.
Betrayed.
Heartbroken.
...
Heeseung suffered the most.
Because Heeseung noticed things.
All the things.
The little things.
The annoying things.
The terrifying things.
Like how Jay stopped seeking them out.
Still affectionate.
Still kind.
Still Jay.
But less.
A little less every day.
Enough to make them uncomfortable.
Not enough to explain why.
...
"Do you think he's mad?"
Sunoo asked one evening.
Nobody answered.
Because they'd all been wondering the same thing.
...
The next morning Jay cooked breakfast.
Like always.
He laughed with staff .
Like always.
He joked with a manager.
Like always.
Then he sat down at the table.
Checked a message.
Smiled.
And immediately six pairs of eyes locked onto him.
Jay looked up.
"...Why are you staring?"
Nobody answered.
Because admitting they were all jealous of a phone would be embarrassing.
...
The final straw came during an show.
Backstage.
The members were waiting for their turn.
Sunghoon was scrolling through his phone.
Jake was talking.
Ni-ki was causing problems.
Normal.
Everything was normal.
Until laughter echoed down the hallway.
A familiar laugh.
Jay's laugh.
The loud one.
The real one.
Everybody turned.
And there he was.
Standing with another idol.
Completely relaxed.
Completely happy.
Not with them.
The members watched.
Silent.
Because suddenly something felt wrong.
Not because Jay was laughing.
But because they hadn't seen him laugh like that with them in weeks.
...
That night nobody slept particularly well.
....
Then came the day off.
The day everything went to hell.
...
The dorm was peaceful.
For once.
No schedules.
No practice.
No interviews.
Nothing.
It was a lazy morning.
Sunoo was half asleep on the couch.
Jake was making coffee.
Jungwon was scrolling through his phone.
Heeseung looked dead.
Ni-ki was stealing snacks.
Sunghoon was zoning out.
Then the door opened.
And the entire room froze.
Because what.
The.
Hell.
Jay stepped out.
The expensive coat.
The jewelry.
The boots.
The watch.
The perfectly styled hair.
The cologne.
Everything.
Even Heeseung sat up.
Sunoo nearly choked.
Jake looked offended.
Sunghoon forgot how breathing worked.
Jay blinked.
"...Why are you all staring?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody could.
Jay looked down at himself.
Then back at them.
"What?"
Still silence.
Then Jay checked his watch.
Grabbed his keys.
And headed toward the door.
Jungwon recovered first.
"Where are you going?"
Jay paused.
Turned around.
Smiled.
And they immediately didn't trust that smile.
Not even a little.
"I'm going on a date."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then Jay opened the door.
And left.
---
The second the door closed—
Chaos.
"DATE?" Sunoo's voice cracked.
"DATE WITH WHO?" Jake was already standing.
"HE NEVER SAID HE WAS DATING." Ni-ki looked horrified.
Jungwon looked stressed.
Actually stressed.
The kind of stressed that only happened when things were serious.
Sunghoon hadn't moved.
He was staring at the door.
Trying to process what had just happened.
Date.
The word echoed in their head.
Date.
Date.
Date.
Something ugly twisted in their chest.
Something they didn't want to name.
Because naming it would make it real.
...
Jake
Where are you?
No answer.
Sunoo
WHO IS IT???
No answer.
Jungwon called.
No answer.
....
Hours passed.
No response.
No explanation.
Nothing.
The members slowly lost their minds.
...
Meanwhile.
Jay was having the time of his life.
Vintage record store.
Coffee.
Guitar shop.
Lunch.
Another vintage store.
A bookstore.
Peace.
Silence.
Freedom.
His phone buzzed constantly.
He ignored every message.
...
Back at the dorm.
The atmosphere got worse.
Much worse.
Because the longer Jay stayed gone—
The more everybody thought.
And thinking was dangerous.
Especially for people who had spent months pretending they weren't hopelessly attached to Jay.
....
By three in the afternoon nobody was functioning properly.
By four they were miserable.
By five they were waiting near the door.
Pretending they weren't waiting.
...
The thing about spending an entire day convincing yourself that somebody is leaving you—
is that logic stops working.
Completely.
Spectacularly.
Irreversibly
...
Then the lock clicked.
And Jay walked in carrying shopping bags.
Happy.
Relaxed.
Completely unaware that six people were about to have emotional breakdowns.
Jay stopped.
"...Why are you all sitting here?"
Nobody answered.
The atmosphere felt strange immediately.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Jay frowned.
"Guys?"
Jake stood first.
"Where were you?"
Jay blinked.
"Shopping."
"With who?"
The question came too quickly.
Too sharply.
Jay looked confused.
"Myself?"
Nobody believed him.
Not for a second.
And somehow.
That made everything worse.
The silence that followed was immediate.
And dangerous.
Because nobody believed him.
Not for a second.
Jay looked between them.
Then at the shopping bags.
Then back at them.
Slowly.
"...Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Nobody answered.
Ni-ki laughed first.
A short sound.
Not amused.
Not even a little.
"Seriously?"
Jay frowned.
"What?"
"You're seriously asking that?"
Something about Jake's tone made Jay straighten.
The amusement faded from his face.
"Jake."
"What?"
The answer came too quickly.
Too sharply.
The room felt wrong.
Jay noticed it immediately.
Because they weren't angry.
Not really.
Anger was easy.
Anger made sense.
This felt different.
Hurt.
And Jay didn't understand why.
"I was shopping."
"After saying you were going on a date."
Sunoo's voice cut through the room.
Jay blinked.
"Oh."
That word.
Again.
Oh.
They hated that word.
Because every time Jay said it—
it sounded like none of this mattered.
Like he genuinely hadn't realized what he'd done.
Like they were the only ones affected.
"That's all you have to say?" Sunghoon said.
Jay turned toward him "What?"
Sunghoon immediately regretted opening his mouth.
Because now everybody was staring.
But it was too late.
"That's it?"
Jay frowned "What exactly do you want me to say?"
The question wasn't defensive.
That somehow made it worse.
Because he genuinely sounded confused.
As if the answer wasn't obvious.
As if they hadn't spent weeks slowly losing their minds.
Jake stood.
"You could start by telling us the truth."
"The truth?"
"About the date."
"It wasn't a date."
"Then why did you call it a date?" Heeseung asked.
"Because I took myself out."
Nobody spoke.
Jay sighed.
"What?"
"You ignored us all day."
"I was busy."
"Doing what?"
"Shopping."
"FOR SIX HOURS?"
"Yes?"
The disbelief in their voice bounced off the walls.
Jay looked increasingly confused.
Which was a problem.
Because now everyone felt ridiculous.
And hurt.
And neither feeling was particularly pleasant.
Sunoo crossed his arms "You didn't answer one message."
"I was enjoying my day off."
"And we weren't part of that?" The question slipped out before Ni-ki could stop it.
The room immediately went silent.
Because there it was.
The actual problem.
Not the date.
Not the contact.
Not even the disappearing.
The feeling.
The awful feeling.
That somewhere along the way—
Jay had stopped choosing them first.
Jay froze.
Just slightly.
But everybody saw it.
His expression softened.
Because for the first time all evening—
Jay looked guilty "I didn't mean—"
"No." Jungwon interrupted.
His voice was quiet.
Tired.
"We know."
Jay looked at him.
Jungwon looked away.
Because eye contact suddenly felt impossible.
"We know you didn't mean to." Heeseung said.
The room grew still.
"We just..."
Jungwon laughed.
A little.
Not because anything was funny.
Because he didn't know what else to do.
"We thought we had something."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Jay stared.
Actually stared.
Like he hadn't expected those words.
Like the possibility had never occurred to him.
And somehow.
That hurt.
A lot.
Because suddenly everyone was forced to confront a horrifying possibility.
Maybe all those moments meant different things.
To them.
And to Jay.
Jake rubbed his face.
"We spend every day together."
No response.
"You hold our hands."
Jay blinked.
"You save seats for us."
Jay swallowed.
"You cook for us."
Still silence.
"You fall asleep on us."
Nobody laughed.
Nobody even smiled.
Because the room was too heavy.
Too honest.
And honesty had always been dangerous.
Especially in situationships.
Because situationships survive on assumptions.
On pretending.
On maybe.
And maybe had finally run out.
Sunghoon laughed softly.
The sound hurt.
"Forget it."
Jay's head snapped toward him.
"Hoon."
"Forget it."
"No."
The answer came immediately.
Firm.
Certain.
And suddenly everybody was staring at Jay.
Because something had changed.
Something important.
"No." Jay repeated "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Act like it doesn't matter."
The room went quiet.
Because Jay looked upset now.
Actually upset.
And nobody knew what to do with that.
Sunghoon stared.
Jay stared back.
Then sighed.
A tired sound.
The kind that carried weeks worth of frustration.
"You think this is about a date?"
Nobody answered.
Because yes.
A little.
Jay laughed.
Not amused.
Not happy.
Just tired.
"Seriously?"
The shopping bags hit the floor.
The sound echoed.
And suddenly something in the room shifted.
Because Jay looked angry.
For the first time all evening.
Actually angry.
And somehow.
That scared everyone more.
"You want to know why I didn't answer?"
Nobody interrupted.
"You want to know why I left?
Still silence.
Jay looked around the room.
At every face
One by one.
Then laughed again.
Short.
Bitter.
"Because I was tired."
The words landed heavily.
Nobody spoke.
Jay crossed his arms.
"I'm tired of being the joke."
...
...
...
Nobody moved.
The room felt frozen.
Because suddenly.
Everything made sense.
The pranks.
The distance.
The withdrawal.
The way he'd stopped reacting.
Stopped sitting beside them.
Stopped seeking them out.
Jay looked away.
His voice quieter now.
"I know you were joking."
That somehow made it worse.
Because nobody had meant harm.
Not once.
Not ever.
"I know."
Jay repeated.
"But after a while..."
He laughed softly.
"It kind of felt like every time I opened my mouth somebody was waiting to laugh."
The words hit like a punch.
Jake looked down.
Sunoo suddenly couldn't meet his eyes.
Ni-ki looked guilty.
Because they remembered.
Every prank.
Every joke.
Every time Jay rolled his eyes while everybody laughed.
And maybe.
Maybe they hadn't noticed the difference.
Between laughing with him.
And laughing at him.
Jay swallowed.
"I wasn't mad."
A pause.
"I was hurt."
Silence.
Terrible.
Awful.
Silence.
Then
"I like you."
Everybody froze.
Jungwon blinked.
Because that wasn't part of the conversation.
At all.
Jake looked horrified.
Mostly because the words had come out of his mouth.
Not Jungwon's.
His.
"Oh my god."
Jake whispered.
Jay stared.
Sunoo stared.
Everybody stared.
Jake covered his face.
"I wasn't planning to say that."
Nobody knew what to do.
Then Sunghoon laughed.
A genuinely broken sound.
"Good."
Everybody looked at him.
Because he looked done.
Completely done.
With pretending.
With waiting.
With maybe.
"Because I like you too."
The room exploded.
Not literally.
Emotionally.
Which was worse.
Sunoo groaned "Great."
Jungwon pointed "Now I have to say it."
"You don't have to."
"I do."
Then:
"I like you too."
Jay looked increasingly overwhelmed.
"I like you three."
"I like you four."
"I like you five."
"I like you six."
Which honestly was fair.
Because six people had essentially staged an intervention.
And somehow turned it into a confession.
A very embarrassing confession.
"This is your fault."
"How?"
"I don't know."
Fair enough.
The room slowly dissolved into chaos.
The kind of chaos only they could create.
Talking over each other.
Arguing.
Confessing accidentally.
Getting embarrassed.
Immediately regretting everything.
Until finally.
Jay started laughing.
Actually laughing.
The real one.
The loud one.
And suddenly everybody stopped.
Because they'd missed that laugh.
More than they realized.
A lot more.
...
A month later.
The dorm felt different
Not dramatically.
Just warmer.
Softer.
More honest.
Jay was cooking.
Sunghoon was standing far too close.
Jake was sitting on the counter.
Sunoo was stealing ingredients.
Jungwon was doing dishes.
Ni-ki was causing problems.
Heeseung was pretending not to be involved.
Normal.
Mostly.
Jay's phone buzzed.
Immediately six heads turned.
Jay stared.
Then laughed.
"You know we're dating now, right?"
"That's not the point."
Sunghoon replied instantly.
"Who is it?"
Jake asked.
Jay checked the notification.
Then smiled.
"My mother."
(She's THE Sweetheart)
The room relaxed immediately.
Jay looked genuinely offended.
"You people are unbelievable."
"Maybe."
Sunoo agreed.
Then stole a piece of food.
Jay complained.
Nobody listened.
Because now whenever Jay looked for someone—
Someone was always there.
And whenever the members looked for home—
They found Jay.
🥀👽💕