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The tense atmosphere soon disappeared as the group began their harsh training. The trio were sitting exhausted after hours of training and were finally granted a break.
"God, forget about romance. I'm going to die at this rate," stated Sunja. Chaewon and Haeyi nodded in agreement, not even willing themselves to respond.
"Are you going to keep this up?" asked Sunho, who made his way over to them, specifically looking at Haeyi.
Haeyi looked at him blankly, clearly tired, before responding "Yeah."
Sunho stood back up and nodded, "okay."
Chaewon watched the boy leave, her words of greeting on the tip of her tongue. She sighed in disappointment as he left as soon as Haeyi answered him.
♬
That night the team went out for drinks. Chaewon casually sat between her two best friends as Woonchan explained the rules within Theia.
"Dating within the squad causes a variety of problems, so it's prohibited," he said. Chaewon looked up from her hands and towards Sunho, who was already looking at Haeyi, a twinge of sadness hitting her. Of course he's probably interested in her, how silly of me to think...
Chaewon shifted her attention back to the presentation, only for Sunho to raise his hand and ask, "What happens if we break the rules?"
"Drop out of the squad," replied Woonchan, "basically, you'll get kicked out." Silence overtook the group, until Woonchan quickly changed the subject to one of congratulations.
"About the three prophecies, don't they concern you?" asked Sunho. "It means someone will die." The celebratory atmosphere suddenly became tense once again.
"I said this before, whether or not you believe it, it's up to you," answered Jungwoo. "I personally don't believe in superstitions."
"Right?" replied Sunho, looking around. "There's no way a fatal accident will happen here, right?"
Sensing everyone's tenseness, Woonchan said, "All old groups have a strange legend or a superstition or two, right?"
"This isn't exactly a joyful topic, there's no need to speak of it elsewhere, alright?" asked Chohui. Everyone agreed simultaneously, going back to drinking.
Chaewon didn't drink. In fact, she hated drinking as it reminded her of her father, so instead she just watched over everyone.
Sunho, noticing her not drinking, leaned over closer to her. "Not a fan of drinking?" he asked.
"Yeah, I don't like the taste of alcohol," she answered, shaking her head.
"Oh rea-"
Suddenly, Haeyi tapped Chaewon's shoulder, interrupting their conversation and gestured that she was leaving. Chaewon and Sunja waved goodbye before turning back around to the rest of the group who were chattering loudly.
Chaewon smiled at Sunho, eager to continue their conversation, but it faded quickly after seeing him smile to Haeyi's back as she left.
An hour later she turned to Sunja telling her that she was leaving as it was getting late. Her father wouldn't like it if she was late again.
Chaewon stood up to leave and as she got to the door she heard a "wait for me," behind her. The girl turned and saw Sunho rushing over to her with his things.
"I'm leaving too," he said, giving her a smile. Chaewon gave him a smile back and nodded. When they made it outside Sunho turned to her again.
"Where do you live?" he asked. Chaewon gave him a confused look, making him panic. "I mean, I can walk you home since it's late and all."
"Oh, are you sure?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah, I'm sure," he smiled.
"I live about fifteen minutes away," she replied, and started walking. He walked next to her and the two started to converse.
Chaewon smiled internally, savoring this moment. Next thing she knew, they were a few feet away from her house. The pair stopped walking and said their goodbyes.
She headed inside after seeing him begin to walk away, knowing for sure that she liked him even more than yesterday.
But, what Chaewon didn't know was that Sunho didn't actually leave until he knew she was safely inside.
