WATCHING FROM AFAR | Sunoo FF

๋࣭ ⭑ XII .

I pushed open the door and walked over to the elevator, greeting the receptionist with a nod. Just as I was about to press the button, I felt a soft tap on my head.

Turning around, I saw Taeyang standing there with a grin. "Oh hey, what are you doing?" I asked, glancing around to see if the others were with him.

"Those dipshits left us behind," he muttered, shooting a glance at the elevator as the doors slid open. We both stepped inside.

I couldn’t help but smile at his words. Being a part of this team felt like a blessing, despite all the chaos that came with it.

"Must be hard dealing with them," I teased, watching as Taeyang shot me a sharp look.

"Are you forgetting you work with them too, or what?" he countered, clearly not in the mood to be mocked. I giggled, enjoying the little banter. He looked like he was seriously contemplating splashing me with the water bottle in his hand.

"I’m sorry," I said with mock sincerity, giving him my best apologetic look.

Taeyang just nodded, smirking. "ㅋㅋㅋ That’s more like it."

When we reached the floor of the dance studio, I could already hear the faint sound of music playing. The boys were there, along with Yuna and Sungjin, already practicing. We walked into the room, and instantly, I felt Sunoo's gaze.

I greeted everyone with a soft smile, but I couldn’t hide the warmth that spread across my face the moment I saw him. He stood there, his usual bright smile lighting up the room as he interacted with the others.

It was that smile, that carefree personality, that I had missed the most. It was like a piece of the Sunoo I remembered still lingered, even after all the time that had passed.

For a brief moment, our eyes met, and I felt a strange mix of emotions. Nostalgia, guilt, maybe even hope. But I quickly turned away, refocusing on the task at hand.

"Alright, let's get to work," I said, more to myself than anyone else, as I took my place in the studio. But no matter how hard I tried to stay focused, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning of something between us again.

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Fast forward a couple of hours, and we were all drenched in sweat from the intense practice. The energy in the room had shifted—it was more relaxed, but there was still an undercurrent of focus as everyone worked to perfect their moves. Sunoo had been quiet for most of the session, but I could feel his presence lingering around me like a magnet.

During a short water break, I stepped off to the side, wiping my face with a towel. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sunoo making his way over, a mischievous glint in his eyes. I mentally braced myself, already knowing he was up to something.

"You're slowing down," he teased, handing me a fresh bottle of water.

I rolled my eyes, taking the bottle from him. "Oh, please. I saw you almost trip earlier. Should I remind you who’s really falling behind?"

Sunoo laughed, his signature high-pitched giggle that always managed to make me smile. "Okay, okay, fair point. But I’m getting better," he said, playfully nudging me with his elbow.

I raised an eyebrow, pretending to inspect him. "Hmm... I don’t know. You might need extra practice. Maybe stay after rehearsal?" I suggested with a smirk.

His eyes lit up with mock horror. "Extra practice? Are you trying to kill me?"

"I thought you could handle it, superstar," I teased back, feeling the playful tension between us ease some of the heaviness from earlier.

Sunoo took a sip of his water, glancing at me with a softer expression. "It's good to have you back, Haeni. I mean it."

I paused, feeling a twinge of warmth at his words. "It’s good to be back," I said quietly, meeting his eyes for a moment longer than necessary.

Before the moment could get too serious, Yuna called out, "Haeni! Sunoo! Break's over. Let’s go!"

I shot him a look that said We’ll finish this later, and he just grinned, following me back to the center of the room.

As we started the next round of choreography, Sunoo moved next to me, subtly mirroring my moves with exaggerated effort. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing as he intentionally overacted each move, making it look like he was struggling just to keep up.

"Sunoo, focus!" Taeyang barked from the other side of the room, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

"I am focused!" Sunoo insisted, sticking out his tongue at me when Taeyang turned away.

I giggled under my breath, and just like that, the tension from earlier was completely gone. It felt like old times again—like nothing had changed between us after all.

But deep down, I knew something had shifted. There was still unfinished business between us, and though we were pretending everything was fine, it wouldn’t be long before we’d have to confront the feelings that lingered just beneath the surface.