It's approximately three-thirty when Iseul notices the shift in the air of the dorm, silent steps stalking through the dark hallway leading to the spacious living room where she is currently sat at with a notepad on her lap, a pen in her hand. She sets her supplies down on the soft cushions of the couch to take a look at who it might be, concern washing over her.
Did someone need help? Maybe woken up from a stomachache of some sort? With those in mind, she walks toward the washroom that had the lights turned on and peers inside through the wide open door as the group's leader splashes water on his face, shaking the droplets off and patting his face dry with a towel.
"Jungwon? Are you good?" She asks gently as to not startle him— not to say that hearing someone's voice coming from behind you while he is in front of that bathroom sink well beyond midnight isn't enough to send him jumping out of his own skin no matter the tone.
He quickly turns around with raised shoulders, simultaneously feeling relieved and dismayed by the fact that it was her, "Oh, nuna. You're still awake."
He just wished she was able to take a rest.
She nods wordlessly at the statement, noticing the habit of playing with the hems of his clothes he had developed over the weeks and months they spent living together act up again, "Yeah, but it's all good. We have schedules packed tomorrow, are you nervous for the first comeback?"
"You could say that," he follows the older woman to the brightly lit living room and plops on the faux leather material, "My heart is beating so fast right now. Is this normal?"
Iseul shakes her head, partly amused, "You'll be fine. You are doing amazing, trust me. Tomorrow will be tiring, but you got this. It's just the nerves and excitement getting to you."
She rests her head on the back of the couch and stares blankly at the ceiling when her companion falls silent for a brief few seconds. She was fiddling with the clicker of the pen, matching the soft mechanical sounds to the rhythm of their new title track when Jungwon tilts lower and lower to his side and has his head land on her lap, comfortably in peace.
"Did you write anything new?" He peers up at her from where he lies and she moves her free hand to play with the strands of his dark hair absentmindedly. Her silence is uncharacteristic to those who have never seen her in the confines of their own house without the surveillance of cameras set up for their variety shows, urging her to show the viewers only the liveliest side of her.
Cautious as to not wake another member up, she replies in a low voice, "I did, actually. It's still rough around the edges, but we will get there eventually."
"Will you allow me to see it?" He knows that she won't say no, she never does. He asks for a short permission every time regardless.
The notebook looks well-used, time wearing the edges down and creases lining all over the cover and pages. It is, perhaps, the item she owns that Iseul takes the most pride in. She hands it to him with care, letting him flip through the pages one by one to reach the most recent piece of lyrics and thoughts she had scribbled down prior to his appearance.
His eyes scan over the content scribbled on the page with great interest, fascinated by the process in which the lyrics to some of his favourite songs had come to life through— Iseul never released her own songs to the public, they weren't given the clearance to do so just yet, but she always let them listen to her finished works.
This time was no different, her writings were beautifully put together, a melancholic tone read in between the lines, a feeling he couldn't quite put into words. Tracing over a line that tugs a string in his heart, he shows it to her, "I really like this one. Who did you think of while writing this?"
Her smile grows, albeit tired she replies, "You, Jake, Jay, Heeseung, Riki, Sunoo, Sunghoon."
"Really? Us?" He pushes himself up to sit properly, "It's about us?"
"Yeah," Iseul laughs quietly, "I really, really appreciate your existence, I hope you guys know that. I can't imagine going forward without any of you."
Jungwon is in awe— he had never had someone write a song about him before, the adoration he had for the member he loved like his own biological sister growing, "You're so cool."
"Cool?" she sniggers at the choice of adjective, "Me? Yeah, I'm pretty cool. Do you think I'm as cool as Ryujin seonbae?"
Jungwon nods, completely serious, "I think that you're the coolest person ever other than Suga seonbaenim." He lays back down on the couch, expecting another round of head pats from the female.
"You're exaggerating way too much."
"Yup," Jungwon's lips curl into a mischievous grin, "You're actually lame a lot of times."
He supposed he deserved the fingers pinching his cheeks and moving his head around in the process. The female plays with her tone, "What did you say, brat?"
Through squished cheeks he manages to squeak out a curt "Sorry—", rubbing his pink cheeks with his own hands afterwards as she continues to run her fingers through his hair like nothing happened. She urges him to return to sleep, "The sun will be up in less than three hours."
"Okay," he wiggles around in his current horizontal position, "Just five more minutes and then I'll go."
She sighs, not having the heart to reject his small request, "Fine, but don't complain if you wake up late in the morning when manager comes to pick us up."
And then he is out like a light.
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❥ so yeah, a little seulwon bonding time </3 honestly felt very self indulgent bc i have terrible nocturnal schedules as well :')
