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დ .•*””*• ★ •*””*•.★.•*””*• ★ •*””*•.დ
The next day, the boys gathered in the cafeteria for breakfast. “She must be sleeping in.”, Renjun said, his eyes trailing over to the empty spot in which Zoey took up every morning.
The others nodded, also noticing her missing presence. “Is Jeno hyung still feeling sick?”, Chenle asked, a small frown on his face. Haechan nodded, letting out a long sigh. “He's beating himself up for getting injured and not being able to help much.”.
The six of them sat in silence, each too eloped in their thoughts. “I talked to Zoey last night..”, Mark blurted out, grabbing their attention. “About?”, Jaemin asked. “Her feelings.”.
Their attention was completely drawn to Mark and Zoey's conversation from last night, wanting to know exactly where her feelings were at.
“She said she felt attracted to all seven of us, but she hasn't felt that specific spark with any of us, that spark that gives her a good idea of who she really likes.”, his words came to a shock to them. “So, she likes all of us?”, Jisung asked.
Mark shook his head. “No, she feels attracted to us. She doesn't have any romantic feelings just yet, she's trying to figure out which one of us can give her that spark she's been waiting for.”, he explained, the words sinking into them.
Her feelings were more complicated then they originally thought. “But, I want you all to promise me something.”, he began, regaining their attention. “No matter who she chooses, it won't affect our friendship.”.
Haechan and Chenle nodded in agreement. “I'd never ruin our friendship over a girl.”, Haechan said, his words reflecting Chenle's feelings as well.
“It will take some time to heal from that, knowing I'll have to move on and let go of my feelings, but I'll try..”, Renjun said, a small smile on his lips.
“I've lost a lot and I've finally started to feel like I can fully trust someone again. I don't want to lose her trust, but I also don't want to let her go...”, Jisung confessed, his words relatable to each and every one of them.
“I won't give up easily, may the best man win.”, Jaemin said, a sly grin forming on his lips. Haechan scoffed a laugh, shaking his head. “Well, I better get to training.”, he said, standing up from his seat.
The others waved goodbye to Haechan as he left the cafeteria, walking up the stairs to the next floor.
As he passed by the bedrooms, his footsteps came to a halt just before Zoey's bedroom. The small muffled sounds of sobbing caught his attention.
She's crying.
He thought about it, whether he should comfort her or leave her alone to let it all out. But the constant memories of his past prevented him from walking away.
When his parents were executed for trying to rebel against the government, he didn't have anyone to comfort him, he hadn't joined Neo Zone at that point.
He suffered alone, drowning in his thoughts of despair. He yearned for someone, anyone to take notice of his pain. He didn't want her to feel like that.
With a deep breath, he brought his hand up to knock on her door, the sobs immediately dying with it. He waited for a few seconds before the door cracked open.
Haechan's eyes softened as he saw her red, puffy eyes. She sniffled, avoiding eye contact. “Flower..”, he called out, his voice deeper than usual.
She didn't say anything, her actions making him sigh. “Flower, look at me.”.
Her head lifted up, making eye contact with him. Zoey saw the concerned look in his eyes, the guilt of worrying him already creeping up on her. “Are you okay?”, he asked, his words causing her eyes to brim with tears once more.
She lightly shook her head, her lips quivering and her pupils shaking. Haechan noticed this, taking steps towards her. She got out of his way, opening the door slightly so he could come in.
Haechan stepped inside her room, his eyes never leaving her gloomy figure. “Want to talk about it?”, she averted her gaze to the floor, slowly shutting the door from behind them.
She shrugged her shoulders, allowing her emotions to slip out.
Haechan took a seat on her bed, patting the space besides him. She hesitantly sat down next to him, avoiding his gaze. He brought his arm up to rub circular motions along her back, his eyes scanning her features.
“My thoughts... they're scaring me..”, she confessed, slightly leaning into his embrace. “I keep thinking that I'm a terrible person. That... I got so caught up in my thoughts and training for our next mission that I.... I never properly mourned my brother's death...”.
Haechan stayed silent, lending an ear to her every word. “I'm scared of what will happen. What if I do the same to your feelings? I push them aside... I'll only end up hurting you...”.
Her words saddened him. “You are not a terrible person, Zoey. You're thinking too much about this. No one blames you for not taking the time to mourn, we are all busy in our own ways. Sometimes you have to push things aside in order to get anything done.”, he began.
“Not prioritizing your feelings just means that you're selfless, always putting others before you. That's a great trait to have, only you keep overthinking things.”.
“No one will judge you for being selfish right now, if anything, they'll encourage you. You've been through a lot and you've helped us a lot, you deserve to start prioritizing yourself.”.
His words touched her heart. “Take as long as you need. Leave everything to us. You just lost your brother, it's hard, and no one expects you to suck it up and start coping with it right away. Take your time to grieve. Don't even think about joining us for training until you know for sure that you'll be okay.”.
Zoey smiled, her smile shining brightly despite the pools of tears that wouldn't stop. “Thank you... you really are my teddy bear.”, she said, wrapping her arms around his waist before digging her face into his chest.
His heart fluttered at her actions, a bright tint of pink creeping onto the sides of his face. He scratched the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed by the nickname.
After taking a second to process things, one of his arms wrapped around her waist as the other settled on the top of her head, softly stroking through her locks. “Anything for you, Flower...”.
