ꜱᴄᴀɴᴅᴀʟᴏᴜꜱ - ʜᴇᴇᴊᴀᴋᴇᴋɪ

✦ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ᴛᴡᴏ ✦

Niki - May 6th, 2026

"Wow, it's so much warmer here already," Jake mumbled, waving his hands in front of his face to fan himself off.

"Just wait until summer hits," I chuckled as we climbed into our thankfully air-conditioned ride.

My dumbass misread the time our flight was, so we showed up at the airport three hours later than Jay and Sunghoon had even left. They probably thought it was hilarious, no doubt.

The driver pulled onto the traffic-riddled streets as Jake and I continued to chat away in the backseats. "Have you ever met Jay and Sunghoon?"

"Um...not formally, but I've kinda seen them around before." Jake stared out of the window as he spoke, and it was obvious that he never left the strict confines of New York City before. He looked so excited just to see new things and places. I can only imagine how shell-shocked he'll be at the concert this week. "I think I ran into Jay after sleeping- er, almost sleeping with Heeseung. And Sunghoon, I definitely saw him at the bar shouting at our staff to find Sunoo."

"That sounds about right," I laughed. "To make it straightforward, Sunghoon is blunt and obsessive while Jay is just chill all the time."

"Oh, really?" Jake raised his eyebrows, finally turning back towards me with a giddy smile. "Isn't Jay dating Jungwon? I've heard...a lot about him."

"Jungwon? I'll be honest, I fucking hate him."

"Really?"

"Yes! You know that he told all of us one day that he thought Heeseung 'faked' his suicide attempt?" I scoffed, burying my face into my hands. "He's such an asshole, I swear to god."

The car went chillingly silent out of the blue. I whipped my head up towards Jake, watching him fiddle with his expensive-looking watch. "I didn't know he...did that."

"He was trying to keep it a secret, I think. Like I said, Jungwon just told everyone for no damn reason."

"...yeah," Jake replied meekly. His tone was so mousey that I nearly missed it completely. I guess couldn't bear to look at me anymore, judging by him staring out of the window with much less enthusiasm. Maybe it hurt him that Heeseung never admitted that.

"Um..." A suddenly feminine voice spoke up, coming from the driver in front of us. "W-were here."

"Oh, sorry," Jake chuckled. It was astonishing how quickly his face brightened as he shot her a smile and stepped out of the car. I guess he was talented at pretending. Good to know.

I followed him out, heading right up to my favorite hotel. The building was dark, and its white and marbled interior just screamed elegance. But my favorite part of this place was the beds. They were already calling my name.

The heels of our shoes clacked against the tile as we approached the desk with our suitcases in hand. "Ah, Nishimura. Back again?"

"Sure am." I'd met this receptionist so many times that we'd practically become friends. Her name was Irene, and she was the perfect fit for a fancy place like this.