"Oh, hyung! You look a lot better today," the assistant said as he came down the stairs and saw the leader in the kitchen, relief softening his voice.
"Yeah… still a little weak, but well enough to walk around again," Taeyong replied, taking a slow sip of his coffee. His movements were stiff, but controlled.
"By the way… why is one of the cars missing?" Taeyong asked, placing his cup on the counter again.
"Renjun drove to school this morning. I was busy earlier, and everyone else was still asleep. They would've been late otherwise.," the assistant explained.
The leader nodded quietly, accepting the explanation.
"When are they coming back?" Taeyong asked, voice calm but tired.
"Not sure. Probably around three. By the way, where’s Jaehyun? He slept in your room last night."
"He went grocery shopping for lunch," Taeyong replied.
The assistant nodded at Taeyong’s answer.
"Are you hurting anywhere?" the assistant asked, noticing the way Taeyong winced slightly as he moved.
"It’s fine. I’m just a bit stiff," Taeyong muttered, brushing it off.
Suddenly, the front door swung open, making both of them turn in surprise.
"Hyung, where’s Jaehyun hyung?" Renjun asked the two males breathlessly.
"He went out—what are you—"
"Come in…" the boy said urgently, pulling someone into the house.
"Ahh—it’s burning… it’s in my eyes…" a girl’s voice complained, shaky and distressed.
"Oh my god—what happened to her?" the assistant exclaimed, immediately standing and following the group as they hurried upstairs.
Taeyong followed them quickly, concern blinking into his eyes.
“Milkshakes.”
“Flour.”
“Cafeteria food.”
“Trash.”
“…Glue.”
The boys listed the substances stuck to her one by one as they escorted the girl into the bathroom, their voices a mix of anger and disbelief.
"Don’t touch your face, Soul, or you’ll glue your hand to your head," Renjun warned, gently pulling her hand away before she made it worse.
They sat the girl down on the cool bathroom tiles while her twin knelt next to her, gently attempting to brush through the hardened, sticky mess in her hair.
"Ah! Ah—ow!" she cried out, squeezing her eyes shut as Sungchan winced.
"I’m sorry… I’m so sorry," he whispered helplessly, guilt tugging at his voice..
"Just cut it off already!" she pleaded, her voice breaking in frustration.
The boys exchanged helpless, pity-filled looks.
"I’m not cutting your hair again, Soul! No way," her twin protested.
She looked at him with pleading, glassy eyes.
"You’ll end up bald if I cut it every time this happens," he added with a small pout.
“At least it can't happen again then...” She mumbled and stared down at the floor while Sungchan tried again to brush through the sticky knots.
The leader, silent until now, suddenly turned away, making the others glance behind him in confusion.
"AHH!"
"Noona… do you want to squeeze my hand?" Jisung offered softly, kneeling beside her with worried eyes.
