Morning sunlight slowly crept in, wrapping the room in a pale, gentle glow.
Seolhyo woke up.
Her hair was a complete mess, strands sticking out in every direction as her eyes fluttered open.
She sat up slowly and looked around.
The other girls were still asleep, scattered across the room in quiet, peaceful poses.
Her soft gaze was no more and her usual fierce gaze can be seen it seems she was back to her usual self.
Then without warning the yesterday night memories hit.
Her face went bright red in an instant.
"No-no no no-" she slapped both cheeks hard, hoping praying it had all been a dream.
But the sting burned, and the memories were still painfully vivid.
…Not a dream.
"I'm dead," she muttered weakly.
Feeling sticky and gross, she took a deep breath.
I need to cool my head.
She slipped out of bed quietly, careful not to wake anyone or maybe not wanting to face them right now after what she'd done last night.
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, a towel lay around her head.
My head is pounding…
I must've completely lost my mind. What are you thinking drinking an alcohol you should've just had a soft drink!!
She clenched her hair in both hands.
"AGGHHH why did I do that?!"
she hissed under her breath. "And in front of everyone?!"
Panic bubbled up fast.
Should I just go home right now? There's no way I can face them after that…
She ground her teeth, mortified and then a face suddenly appear in her eyes her eyes was fiercely staring at the boys room.
"…This is all Seojin's fault!"
At the boys room, Seojin suddenly shuddered in his sleep.
"If he hadn't drunk an alcohol, I wouldn't have drunk either!" she snapped, stomping toward the boys' room. "This is absolutely his fault!"
Inside, Seojin stirred awake for no clear reason.
He sat up, stretching his arms with a tired yawn, still half-asleep.
What is this ominous feeling…?
A sharp knock echoed through the room.
"Huh…?"
Still stretching, shirtless from having slept without one because of the heat, I dragged myself to the door and opened it.
What appear before me was an angry, glaring pretty black cat.
"…Good morning?"
Seojin stared at Seolhyo, still half-awake, genuinely confused as to why she was glaring at him like this so early in the morning.
"…What happened?" he asked.
Seolhyo saw how nonchalant he is after what happen yesterday, like any of it didn't affect him one bit irk her off.
Tears welled up in her eyes her cheeks puffing out as she stare at him .
"…This is your fault."
Seojin blinked. "My fault?"
Just then, the door to the girls' room creaked open.
Seolhyo's eyes widened in panic.
Without thinking, she grabbed Seojin's arm and yanked him away, dragging him down the hall.
She shoved him outside, shut the door firmly behind them, and spun around.
Her fists immediately came down on his chest.
"Why didn't you stop me?!" she hissed. "Why did you just let me do that?!"
Seojin stood there, stunned, taking the hits without protest.
Seolhyo suddenly buried her face against his bare chest, her voice muffled and shaky."What am I supposed to do…? I can't show my face to them after what happened last night."
Seojin paused then let out a small, helpless chuckle.
"…So that's what you're fussing about."
She pulled back sharply, lifting her chin to glare at him."Stop acting like this isn't a big deal!"
He met her eyes, thinking to himself that honestly
… it wasn't though.
Out loud, he sighed. "Fine, fine. Then what do you want to do?"
"I don't know," she snapped. "You think of something."
Seojin scratched the back of his head. "It's really not that bad. They'll tease you for a few days, then it'll die down."
Seolhyo fell silent, lips pressed into a thin line.
Inside, the house slowly came back to life.
Park Dong stood in front of a full-length mirror, razor in hand.
Inseop hovered beside him, watching intently.
"…Do you shave your eyebrows every day?" Inseop asked.
Park Dong carefully dragged the blade along his brow. "If I don't, they grow back too fast."
Inseop leaned in closer. "Why do you even bother? You can barely tell."
Park Dong shot him a glare. "Do you even understand style? Get lost you're distracting me."
"HAHA, 'style,' my foot," Inseop snorted, then glanced around the room."…Hey. Where's Seojin?"
Before Park Dong could answer, a knock came from the door.
"Ono! Can I cook ramen and eat it?!"
Inseop opened the door. "What did you say?"
"HEY, WHAT THE HELL?!"
Park Dong yelped suddenly seeing Irina he hurriedly cover his chest getting nervous made his hand jerk and the blade nicked his eyebrow.
At the doorway stood Irina seeing Park Dong shirtless again stared at this flustered.
Irina's face went bright red. "KYAAAAHH!!!"
Soon, the girls finished cooking.
A pot of ramen, steam rolling thick and fragrant, was placed at the center of the table, a fried egg floating proudly on top.
"They're still not up?" someone grumbled. "It's going to get soggy."
"Go wake them up already," Daegyu said.
Inseop headed toward the boys' room and banged open the door. "Stop sleeping and get up! Ramen's ready!"
One by one, the others dragged themselves out, hair a mess, eyes half-open.
Everyone gathered around the table, bowls clinking as noodles were served.
While slurping his ramen, Park Dong felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Did you see Seojin?" Jinkyung asked.
Park Dong barely looked up. "When I woke up, he was already gone. Why?"
Jinkyung frowned slightly. "Seolhyo wasn't in our room when I woke up."
Inseop scoffed. "What, they're outside on a morning date or something?"
Laughter broke out around the table.
Irina snickered. "KYAHAHAHA Seolhyo probably ran away."
"Yeah," Jinkyung laughed. "Knowing her, after what she did last night, there's no way she'd show her face HAHA."
Hyewon, quietly eating, spoke up. "I saw them earlier. They went outside."
Her cheeks flushed faintly as an image flashed through her mind Seojin, shirtless, muscles clearly defined.
She shook her head quickly, trying to erase the thought.
Jinkyung stood up. "I'll go call them."
She walked to the door and peeked outside
and immediately froze.
Just a few steps away, Seojin and Seolhyo were standing close, arms wrapped around each other. Seolhyo was pressed against him, her forehead tucked near his chest.
A slow, knowing smirk spread across Jinkyung's face.
She let out a quiet snicker.
Seolhyo heard it.
Her head snapped up, eyes meeting Jinkyung's amused gaze.
Her face turned bright red instantly.
Jinkyung bit her lip, barely holding back her urge to tease. "We already cooked ramen. Come eat."
Her eyes flicked briefly to Seojin's bare upper body.
…I didn't know Seojin was this built,
I always assumed he was average. Is he one of those they call a sleeper build?
Turning back inside, she added, "Hurry up. The others will eat everything."
As Seojin stepped forward, Seolhyo suddenly realized something.
"…Wait."
She grabbed his arm. "Don't you have a shirt?"
He blinked. "You dragged me out before I could grab one."
Seolhyo looked away sharply, embarrassed, then shoved a towel into his hands."Put this over your shoulder. At least cover yourself."
Seojin flexed his muscles making a pose. "Why hide this beauty? I worked hard for this."
She shot him a death glare.
Seojin immediately surrendered. "Okay, okay."
He draped the towel over his shoulder, covering most of his chest though not entirely.
Satisfied enough, Seolhyo followed closely behind him as they headed back inside, keeping her gaze firmly on the floor.
The moment they stepped in, the room went quiet.
Every pair of eyes turned toward them.
Seolhyo felt it instantly.