Earlier that afternoon, Yoonchae knew something was wrong immediately because YN texted her.
i wanna talk about smth. be there in 5
Which, honestly, felt concerning.
And she definitely didn’t ask for conversations.
But exactly five minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
The door opened slowly. YN stood there with her hands in her pockets, looking weirdly serious.
“No.” YN looked away for a second. “I need advice.”
Yoonchae physically sat up straighter.
“You don’t ask for advice.”
YN looked mildly offended, she sat down at the edge of the chair near the desk.
“You’re close with Sophia.”
Yoonchae narrowed her eyes.
There was a pause, long enough to feel dramatic.
“…would she think it’s weird if someone wanted to court her? Like would it make her uncomfortable?”
She paused, trying to gather her words.
YN sighed immediately and leaned back in the chair.
Yoonchae grabbed the nearest pillow dramatically.
“Can you answer the question?”
YN asking for romantic advice voluntarily.
“…honestly?” Yoonchae started, calming down a little.
“She’d actually like that.”
Yoonchae thought about it for a second before continuing.
“She likes effort,” she said finally. “People remembering things. Intentional stuff.”
“Thoughtful. Quiet.” Yoonchae pointed. “Acts thirty emotionally.”
“And,” she added, ignoring that completely, “you actually listen.”
“Oh my god,” Yoonchae said immediately. “You already started.”
Yoonchae actually laughed.
Her expression softened a little.
Actually pause because that sounded dangerous in a good way.
“So,” Yoonchae said, tilting her head slightly, “you gonna ask?”
YN looked down for a second, then nodded once.
Yoonchae physically covered her face.
“This is so embarrassing.”
Before leaving, YN paused near the door.
As soon as the door shut, Yoonchae grabbed her phone.
Then sighed dramatically and dropped it back onto the bed.
For once, she decided to mind her business.
The next few days felt different. Not dramatically. Nothing obvious had changed.
But something about YN felt more intentional.
At first, Sophia thought she was imagining it. Because YN had always been thoughtful, hadn’t she?
Or walking Sophia back after things ended late.
Even checking if she locked her door felt like something YN would normally do.
So technically nothing had changed.
Except somehow, it still felt different.
Sophia looked up from her phone.
YN stood near the doorway of the practice room, hands tucked into her hoodie pockets, looking suspiciously casual.
YN shifted slightly against the doorframe before glancing away for a second.
“You said you wanted to try that strawberry place.”
YN paused briefly, like she was trying to remember exactly when Sophia had mentioned it.
“The one you talked about like…” She thought for a second. “…a week ago?”
Sophia stared because that had been one sentence. One random comment she barely remembered making, just something she’d said in passing.
YN suddenly looked a little awkward, maybe she’d brought it up too casually.
Sophia physically forgot how to function for a second.
She cleared her throat immediately.
A small smile crossed YN’s face.
Like she hadn’t casually ruined Sophia’s emotional stability in under thirty seconds.
Across the room, Megan slowly lowered her phone.
Then Yoonchae, who looked suspiciously unsurprised.
“…girl,” Megan said slowly.
“What?” Sophia asked immediately.
Lara pointed dramatically toward the door.
“That woman remembers things you said one time.”
“No literally,” Daniela added. “Actually terrifying.”
Manon tilted her head slightly.
Yoonchae quietly took a sip of her drink.
“Especially if she cares.”
Megan slowly turned toward Sophia.
Lara gasped dramatically.
Yoonchae looked deeply unbothered.
Sophia immediately stood up.
“You guys are being weird again.”
“We’re observing,” Manon corrected.
“Very carefully,” Daniela added.
Sophia grabbed her bag immediately.
Yoonchae looked up from her drink.
“You still going to the dessert place?”
“She already looked up the menu yesterday.”
“She asked what flavors you’d like.”
Megan physically grabbed Lara’s arm.
Yoonchae smiled into her drink.
Sophia spent an embarrassing amount of time getting ready, which felt ridiculous because this wasn’t a date.
The point was—she cared a completely normal amount.
Sophia looked up from the mirror.
Megan was lying across the bed with her phone in hand, looking far too interested in whatever was happening.
Sophia grabbed her bag immediately.
“Tell your girlfriend I said hi!”
The door had already closed behind her.
By the time Sophia reached the lobby, YN was already downstairs.
Hands tucked into her pockets, phone in one hand, looking suspiciously calm for someone who had quietly become the source of ninety percent of Sophia’s problems lately.
YN looked up immediately.
Then casually held it out.
“You looked tired earlier.”
Like that explained everything.
Like showing up with coffee had somehow become normal.
Sophia took it carefully.
There was a small pause before YN glanced toward the door.
And for some reason, the way she said it felt weirdly soft.
The walk started easily, quiet in a way that somehow wasn’t awkward.
At some point, Sophia started talking, mostly random things.
Stories from trainee days. Something ridiculous Lara said earlier. Whatever Daniella had done that week to annoy her.
Not checking her phone every five seconds.
At one point, Sophia laughed quietly to herself before glancing over.
“You’re weirdly quiet today.”
“Yeah.” Sophia looked at her suspiciously. “Usually you make fun of me more.”
A small smile crossed YN’s face.
“That sounds suspicious.”
Then YN glanced over briefly.
“…you talk a lot when you’re excited.”
YN looked genuinely confused.
“When you were talking about music.”
Because that had been one conversation.
“You remember weird things.”
YN looked away for a second.
“…not weird things, just things.”
That did something deeply embarrassing to Sophia’s stomach.
By the time they reached the dessert place, Sophia had already been smiling for most of the walk.
Because for some reason tonight felt different.
And she couldn’t figure out why.
The dessert place turned out to be embarrassingly cute.
Warm lights. Small tables pushed too close together. Way too many strawberries on the menu for one place to reasonably justify.
Sophia narrowed her eyes almost immediately.
YN looked up from where she was setting the tray down.
“The whole strawberry thing.”
There was a small pause before realization crossed YN’s face.
“You said you liked strawberries.”
Like that explained everything.
Sophia looked down at the tray again.
The exact drink she liked.
Even the dessert she had pointed at once while scrolling on her phone.
YN pulled her sleeves down slightly before shrugging again.
“That doesn’t mean people remember them.”
Then YN glanced up briefly.
Sophia immediately looked down at her drink, because what exactly were you supposed to say to that?
“…try it before you judge me.”
“You’re acting like you made it.”
“You absolutely did not make this.”
A tiny smile crossed YN’s face.
Sophia took a bite, paused, then pointed accusingly across the table.
YN looked suspiciously pleased with herself.
The conversation settled into something easy after that, the kind of quiet that didn’t feel awkward.
At some point, YN rested her chin against her hand slightly.
Sophia blinked, a little surprised by the question.
That got a laugh out of Sophia immediately.
“My mom calls too much and sometimes sends voice notes.”
And after that, they just talked.
Family. Music. Training. Random stories from trainee days. Things they missed. Things they wanted later.
At one point, Sophia laughed hard enough that she had to look away for a second.
When she looked back, YN was already looking at her.
Like she liked hearing Sophia laugh.
Sophia suddenly forgot what she had been saying.
Sophia laughed immediately.
The second the words left her mouth, YN looked down at her drink.
“No, not bad weird,” she corrected quickly.
She frowned slightly, trying to find the right words.
“You feel different today.”
And for a second, she just looked down at the table.
And suddenly, the whole night felt a little more dangerous.
The walk back to the hotel felt different.
Like neither of them really wanted the night to end yet.
YN walked beside Sophia the entire way back, hands tucked into her hoodie pockets and matching Sophia’s pace without even thinking about it. Every time Sophia slowed down, YN slowed too. Every time she sped up, YN somehow noticed.
By the time they got upstairs, the quiet had settled into something comfortable, then they stopped.
Sophia glanced at her door, then at YN, then down at the hoodie still hanging off her shoulders.
“…thanks again,” she said quietly. “For today.”
Because normally, this part was easy.
Except tonight, YN stayed where she was.
Then YN looked down at the carpet for a second.
“Can I ask you something?”
Because YN looked nervous, actually nervous.
Hands shoved deeper into her pockets, shoulders a little tense, like she had been thinking too hard about something.
“I asked Yoonchae something earlier.”
Sophia frowned immediately.
A quiet laugh escaped YN.
“I asked if people still… do courting.”
YN exhaled slowly, like she had been overthinking this for hours.
“You don’t have to say yes. I just…” She paused again, looking away briefly. “I like you.”
“And I wanna do this right.”
Sophia physically forgot how to breathe for a second.
For the first time in what felt like forever, YN looked nervous.
The hallway went completely quiet.
Because that was dangerously sweet.
And suddenly, completely against her will, her family flashed into her brain.
All of them absolutely losing their minds over this.
And embarrassingly how much she liked the idea.
She had genuinely thought about this.
Sophia looked down for a second, then back up.
There was a pause, then YN looked down briefly before meeting Sophia’s eyes again.
“Properly,” she said quietly.
Sophia laughed nervously.
Then she looked down briefly before meeting YN’s eyes again.
For a second, YN just stood there.
Like she genuinely hadn’t expected that to work.
Then a very small smile appeared, almost shy.
There was a beat of silence, then YN nodded toward the door.
Sophia laughed immediately.
“You ask to court me and now I’m supposed to sleep?”
“I’m trying to be respectful.”
A tiny smile pulled at the corner of YN’s mouth, growing.
And before Sophia could even recover from that, YN disappeared into the room next door.
Leaving Sophia standing alone in the hallway.
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