"What do you mean?" Y/n trailed. He turned to Hyewon, jolting as he came face to face with the hamster--their skin closer than Y/n had ever been to a woman.
Hyewon stared intently into the man's eyes, causing his heart to stop momentarily. She watched him dodge contact with her eyes, squinting.
He does.
"I-I don't," Y/n stuttered.
Hyewon leaned closer, "Why are you stuttering?"
"I was just caught off guard by your question," Y/n reasoned.
"I feel like you're lying."
Y/n turned away, biting the inside of his lip, "I'm not..."
"Then why is your heart beating faster?" Hyewon pressured.
"Because you're so close..." Y/n mumbled.
"What?"
"Nothing," Y/n breathed, his face a vibrant red.
He's definitely lying.
Y/n scooted off the bench, and away from Hyewon, heaving a heavy sigh. He gestured toward the practice room, "Let's go back. You still have practice."
Giving up on her interrogation, Hyewon nodded, gipping the snacks in her hand. "Yeah."
The pair reentered the practice room with Y/n's face still a brilliant red. Before he could make his way deeper into the room, Eunbi stood on her feet, pointing at the ground in front of her.
"Ya. Y/n, here. Now."
Y/n's stomach dropped to his feet, weighing his steps toward the leader. He held his breath as he drew closer with his eyes glued to the ground.
"Y-Yes...?"
"What did you two do out there?" she whispered, aggression seeping from her lips.
"W-We just went out to get some snacks," Y/n replied.
Eunbi stepped closer, leaning into Y/n's face, "Why are you stuttering so much? And why is your face so red?"
"You're too close," Y/n breathed. "And because the same thing happened with Hyewon ssi..."
"What happened with Hyewon??" Eunbi asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"The same thing that's happening right now."
Hyewon crossed her arms. She eyed her leader suspiciously, counting every beat of Y/n's heart that pounded against her chest.
What are those two talking about? His heart rate is way too high for it to be a normal conversation. Wait- He might be really anxious.
"You two got close," Eunbi concluded.
Y/n nodded.
"And what did you do while close?" she questioned.
"N-Nothing. She was just questioning me like you are right now."
Eunbi stepped back, sighing, "So nothing happened between you two."
Y/n shook his head vigorously, "I respect your guys' space."
"Good. You better not be lying to me."
Before Y/n could reply, Eunbi pulled Hyewon to the center of the room. With an invisible gun no longer to his head, Y/n slumped into his assigned spot with a relieved sigh.
"Do you mind if I sit here for a bit?"
Y/n turned to Hitomi, shaking his head.
"I saw what happened earlier," Hitomi said as she placed her back against the mirror. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Y/n chortled. "I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me."
The two fell into silence. Y/n reflected on his situations, grinning to himself. He never thought Hitomi would speak to him so gently, nor did he ever think he would see the girls face to face in such an informal fashion.
Hitomi pursed her lips. She pondered how to approach her situation, and how she would get herself out if she miss-stepped.
Should I ask him how he feels about Hyewon unnie? He was just put in a stressful situation though... I'll just make it so he knows he doesn't have to answer the question.
"Hey, Y/n ssi?"
"Hm?"
"You don't have to answer this but..." Hitomi paused, "How do you feel about Hyewon unnie?"
"What do you mean?" Y/n asked cautiously.
Hitomi hummed, "What do you think about her?"
"Ah." Y/n sighed, pushing a smile onto his face, "I think she's a very fun person to be around, even if food is her main priority."
"Do you have any romantic feelings for her?" the small peach asked.
"Uh..."
I shouldn't have asked him...
Hitomi waved her hands in front of her, "Y-You don't have to-"
"I've never thought about that," Y/n replied. "I've been too busy thinking about this string that connects us instead of any potential romantic feelings."
Hitomi sighed her worries away, nodding. "I see."
"Why?" Y/n asked.
"No reason. I was just curious." She stood on her feet, dusting her pants off, "I should go. I need to wash up."
"Okay. Get home safe," Y/n waved.
"Will do."
As the member's numbers dwindled, Y/n found himself, Hyewon and Eunbi alone in the practice room. He watched the leader explain the flaws in Hyewon's dancing before showcasing her explanation.
To his surprise, her gentle tone resembled a caring leader; nothing like what she had shown herself as prior. He felt his resurfacing guilt beat at his chest as he sighed.
I'm really weighing them down, aren't I?
"Y/n!" Eunbi shouted.
The man jumped in his spot, snapping his head toward the leader, "Y-Yes?"
"You must be tired." She pointed toward the door, tilting her head int he same direction with a gentle smile, "Let's go home."
Y/n dropped onto his futon, letting out a long exhale of comfort. He gripped his new, clean, shirt feeling the fabric while scrolling through social media. The conflicting happiness he felt weighed on his mind as his eyelids slowly drooped.
"Y/n... Y/n..." Hyewon grabbed the man's arms, shaking him, "Y/n!!"
Like a zombie rising from his coffin, Y/n shot up, gasping. "Huh?!"
"I need to pee," Hyewon mumbled.
Y/n ran his hands over his face, nodding before moving to his feet. He trudged through the hallway, bowing his head toward the passing members while he waited.
As soon as he returned to his bedding, the man fell back into his slumber, gaining Hyewon's attention. She observed his sleeping face, relaxing her body with a sigh.
Though not confident, Hyewon set her façade down, hoping Y/n wouldn't feel her insecurities surface. She knew she shouldn't; she bashed herself for being stupid enough to scroll in search of hateful comments.
Her curiosity felt like a guilty, toxic pleasure. Wonder about what others said about her fueled her downward spiral, throwing her deeper and deeper into the hole she wished she could escape.
Occasionally, Hyewon glanced toward Y/n. She scoffed at herself for believing she could see if her emotions seeped into his consciousness, but she also felt an odd sense of comfort from his presence.
Though superficial in feeling, knowing he adored her the most, alongside Chaewon, felt reassuring. Somehow, there was someone in the world willing to overlook the astounding talent around her, and focus on the one who thrived in the shadows of her peers.
As her eyelids succumbed to her exhaustion, Hyewon took one last glance toward Y/n. She smiled contently, reaching out toward the man before entering the land of dreams.
Following their naps, Y/n found himself setting an omelet in front of Hyewon. He sat down to enjoy one of his own, eyeing the approaching leader.
Oh no...
"Hey, anything new?" Eunbi asked.
Y/n shook his head as he chewed.
"That's a bummer," Eunbi frowned.
Y/n swallowed his food, shrugging, "I have no idea how we're going to get rid of this thing."
"I don't feel like we can remove this," Hyewon mumbled.
"I got that feeling too," Y/n sighed. "But I don't want to completely cross the possibility off the list."
"What if you made the string longer?" Eunbi asked, earning a glare from Hyewon as she took a bite of the hamster's food.
Y/n scratched his head, "I haven't thought about that. How would we do that?"
Eunbi pursed her lips, "Don't know. What if you pulled hard enough?"
"The most that would do is give both of us a headache," Hyewon replied.
"Can you grab the string?" Eunbi questioned.
"Nope."
The front door clicked, drawing the trio's attention to the entering radish.
"Oh, Y/n!" Chaewon smiled. She hugged Y/n, frowning, "You haven't replied to my text yet..."
Y/n pulled his phone from his pocket, revealing the single notification from the radish, "Sorry, I haven't been on my phone in a bit."
"I sent it to you hours ago," Chaewon pouted.
"I was napping," Y/n replied. He yawned, placing his phone back into his pocket, "I'll respond when I'm back in bed."
"Okay!"
Chaewon smiled brightly, earning a hidden glare of disgust from Hyewon.
"Y/n, I want to lay down," Hyewon voiced.
Y/n nodded, scraping the last of his food into his mouth before stacking the plates. Chaewon placed her hands on the empty dishes, gesturing toward Hyewon with her head.
"I'll wash these for you. You shouldn't keep Unnie waiting."
Y/n smiled gently, "Thank you. I'll see you later then."
"Bye byee~"