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The night gave away to a new day, and with the first rays of morning sunlight, Jay, nestled in his slumber beside the window, felt the gentle warmth caressing his face. Fluttering his eyes open, he sat up straight. Looking over to the others, he saw Jake, and Sunghoon still sleeping. Leaving his bed, he headed towards the washroom. Brushing his teeth and doing his skincare, he exited the washroom.
"Wake up, guys. It's 11 am already." He said while pulling the blanket aggressively, from both the members. Jake, and Sunghoon groaned before waking up and taking their turns to freshen up. Jay then headed to Heeseung's and Jungwon's room and saw that Jungwon was already awake and was trying to wake up the oldest. He shook his head in disbelief and left the room knowing that waking up Heeseung was the most difficult task to do. Quietly knocking the 3rd room, where Aera, Ni-ki and Sunoo slept, Jay enters the room.
"Rae, wake up. It's 11 am." Jay says softly before tapping on her shoulder lightly. Jake and Sunghoon who stood by the door shook their heads in disbelief as Jay was so aggressive in waking them up and it's completely opposite with Aera. She wakes up slowly, her eyelids fluttering open as she stretches and yawns, greeted by Jay. She smiled at him. "Good Morning, Jay." She says making jay smile softly.
Jay, who was an only child, found himself 6 best friends or more like brothers as he entered the I-land. Since then, he has always made sure to become their safe place. He wanted to experience the siblings bond that he had craved for since childhood. After Aera joined the group, he was the happiest member as he had always seen her as a little sister of his. Their bond had grown stronger.
Soon, all the members woke up. After waking up, Aera begins her morning routine by heading to the bathroom. She washes her face with warm water to feel more awake. She then brushes her teeth and takes a quick shower to refresh herself, letting the warm water wash away the remnants of sleep. Once out of the shower, she dries off and gets dressed for the day ahead. Aera applies a touch of her favorite moisturizer and a light fragrance, ready to face whatever the day brings.
She leaves the room and joins the boys who were in the kitchen preparing for the breakfast. Soon, they all settled down and started eating. "Oh, we have a fan signing event today, right?" asked Sunoo. Jungwon shook his head as a 'yes'. The fan signing event was announced month ago so they were pretty much prepared for it. "I'm so excited to meet Engenes." Aera said excited. They all nodded agreeing that they missed Engenes.
"Hmm, someone's birthday is coming soon." Heeseung said teasing Jake. It's true, his birthday was in 2 weeks. He smiled and raised her hand making all of them chuckle. "So, what are your plans for your birthday, hyung?" They asked him to which he shrugged her shoulders. He hadn't decided what he's do on his birthday. He has always celebrated the day with either his members, or family. "No plans, yet." He simply said failing to notice the sudden relief on the faces of the members.
After having breakfast, all of them cleaned the dorm. The guys decided to play some games on the computer that was setup in the living room. Heeseung and Sunghoon started off playing Fortnite. Aera who was sitting on the couch was fully focused on the game. Both the boys were extra cautious not to be caught but a groaned was heard suddenly everyone look at Sunghoon. "How did he even kill me? I was hiding in such a hideous spot." sunghoon sulked getting up while the others laughed. As they were playing duo mode, Heeseung was still alive and could respawn the other. Since Sunghoon got up not wanting to play anymore, Aera sat besides the oldest, volunteering to play. The boys looked at her in confusion. "Aera, do you know how to play this game?" She looked at Ni-ki and nodded. "Of course. Kenji and I used to play this together when we sneaked out of our classes for the internet cafe."
They all seemed so surprised. Soon, aera took over the game. 7 minutes into the game, and the duo were playing the game so well. Heeseung had 6 kills while Aera had 9 kills. The members were cheering for them to win. Only 4 duos were left increasing the anticipation. "AERA YOU CAN DO IT." Sunoo yelled, cheering for the girl. She strategically landed at a popular, but not too crowded, location on the map. She quickly gathered resources, and kept an eye out for opponents. As the circle began to shrink, she maintained a careful balance between aggressive play and stealth. She eliminated opponents one by one, with the help of Heeseung who shielded her. With a perfectly timed shotgun blast, they both secured a Victory Royale winning the game.
As soon as they won, Heeseung and Aera jumped in excitement and hugged each other. "Yay, we won the victory Royale." Heeseung says making her nod. The guys giggled seeing the oldest, and the maknae hugging each other just because they won a game. Sunghoon looked at her with 'awe' eyes which didn't go unnoticed by Jay, his best friend.
Time Skip It was now 4pm. The members were in the building where the fan sign event is being held. They were back stage in one of the rooms getting ready. The boys were already done with their outfits, while the staff was styling sunghoon's hair, and also Aera's outfit. Soon, Aera returned wearing a jeans top with a jeans skirt a matching cap that said 'LOVERBOY'. Her hair was styled into light curls and bangs. As Aera walked into the room, the members couldn't help but be stunned by her ethereal beauty. She had chosen a stunning outfit that accentuated her features and showcased her style. The members appreciated her beauty.
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Jake's eyes widened as he saw Aera, a blush creeping up on his cheeks. He couldn't believe how elegant and beautiful she looked, and his heart skipped a beat. He couldn't stop staring at her. What's happening to me? He thought. Sunghoon, on the other hand, didn't utter any word and just smiled seeing her. He didn't know why, but Aera made him feel things. Being the less expressive person he is, he stayed quiet seeing the members adore the maknae. She looked so pretty and loved her smile. He sure was in love with her.
Soon, they went to the fan sign room where the crowd screamed for them. The event started with fans going one by one to the idols. "Unnie, you look so gorgeous." says one of the fans to aera who reciprocated the compliment by saying, "you look even prettier, bae." The girl screamed. The members couldn't stop stealing glances at her, feeling a renewed sense of pride and admiration for their maknae.
Jake who sat on the left of Aera, kept stealing glances of her throughout the fansign event. From the moment she entered the room looking stunning, his eyes seemed to be drawn to her like a magnet. He pretended to be engrossed in signing autographs and interacting with fans, but his gaze frequently drifted towards her. Whenever she was busy talking to fans or signing posters, he would use the opportunity to look at her. Why am I looking at her? Do I like her? No, Jake. You can't do that. Shaking his head, he continued signing the posters and the albums. He didn't want to take any rational action, so instead, he decided to avoid her.
