it'd been a few days since the show, kat only seeing them briefly once it was over. she went home with mars, staying the night as her boyfriend wouldn't be. he's probably celebrating with his brothers, no doubt. reene also stayed a while, eventually going home to actually get some kind of rest before she would leave again—for the european and asian leg of her plot twist tour, which would at least be close to home and not overseas.
kat's hands shook, but she placed them within themselves, just to stop them from giving her away. it felt cliché. she's never done this before, her ex's always taking the lead. but she was determined to tell him, and make him hear her. she just wanted someone to hear her; and he seemed like a, if not the best, candidate for the job.
the halls were empty, and once she got to her destination—the practice room—she looked through the small window of the door. there they were, the boys laughing and messing around together. she smiled to herself, huffing out a contempt noise.
she knew their schedule, so she knew they would've finished over ten minutes ago. she planned on waiting until later, hopefully most of them going home, but she couldn't risk him being one of those said people. but she also couldn't hold it anymore, having stayed up all night contemplating exactly how she'd do it.
if you didn't know what was going on, you would've assumed she was about to break up with him, showed due to her physical state and the look on her face—not the complete opposite.
she carefully took the handle, and walked inside. all movement paused for a moment, wondering who it was. she looked around, but it was only the seven of them—no staff members.
"hello." jungwon and niki greeted her properly, and she reciprocated it, but it was obvious she was nervous, no matter how hard she tried to shallow. jake and sunghoon were messing around, only giving her slight hellos. heeseung, sunoo and jay were all doing their own things, calming themselves and obviously resting,
jungwon, however, was good at reading people—why? well, kat couldn't pin-point when it happened exactly. maybe he's just been good at it his whole life. she thought it was great skill to have though, especially when there are so many people ready and willing to use you; not just in the industry, but in general.
he nodded towards jay, mouthing go at her. she bowed her head as a thank you, leaving to meet the second oldest in the room.
"hey, j-jay?" he looked up to her quickly, like he was startled, before scrambling to his feet. "sorry."
he waved her off, "no need." he awaited for her to go on. he just noticed how she couldn't look him in the eye, which wasn't uncommon—this time it just felt different. he thought that maybe he did something wrong, recalling past interactions before getting interrupted.
"can we go in the hall?" she asked, him nodding eagerly. it just fueled the fire burning inside his mind; he must've done something.
they left the practice room, only getting short glances from the six boys just dying to see how it would play out.
"i just n—" kat watched the boy be unable to face her, he looked guilty and lost in though, "—wha-what's wrong?"
"did i do something?" she was takenaback, "wrong?" she couldn't help but now feel guilty for making him believe this. "i'm sorry, kat."
"no!" she grabbed his hands, "you didn't do anything, i just need to tell you something." she thought about dragging it out in a long explanation, like she practiced. but she figured she'd wimp out at the last second and not say what she needed to say; no matter how determined she felt.
"okay," he encouraged her, "go on." she paused, killing him even more with the silence, and anticipation.
"i just need to say it, right?" she mumbled to herself, but got a hum from the boy, "jay," their eyes met and it felt like nothing around them was moving. it was so much like the movies that kat's head went fuzzy and only one thing swirled, "i like you, a lot."
it was so middle school, but she needed to be blunt and that's the only way she knew how.
as soon as the words hit his ears his breathing stopped, but just for a moment. his heart rate skyrocketed and he's sure his face turned pink.
"kat," he mimicked her, "i like you, much more."
the only way she knew to respond was by laughing awkwardly, she was sure it wasn't true, but also completely true. "r-really?"
his smile made her feel comfortable, like she was wrapped in a heated blanket during a winter storm, "yeah." he whispered pulling her into him.
she didn't want to admit it, but her wall was crumbling much more than she anticipated; crumbling to sand in his hands without him even doing anything.
but why did the bare minimum feel so good to her?
her tears brimmed her eyes, but she quickly shut them off. she wouldn't cry, not yet.
he squeezed her closer, his hand holding her head against his heart, "so kat...will you go out with me?"
she sniffled, giggling out a reply, "of course." her hands interlocked behind his back, holding him just as close as he was her.
home was concept kat didn't know, but she thought maybe she was getting closer to it.
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