𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥 - 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄

𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝟴

"So it's dead Thursday?" Doah muttered to herself, addressing the cookies on her plate as she wandered toward the balcony off the second-floor hallway. She dropped into the heavily cushioned rocking chair, bathing in the afternoon sunlight as she took slow bites of her snack.

Today, hardly anyone stayed long in the common areas - she'd only glimpsed Wonya and Kai in the living room, both lost in their own worlds, wordless. Jihye had made jjajangmyeon for lunch, and leftovers sat waiting in the fridge, though everyone seemed to have their own erratic eating schedules.

Doah swore she spotted someone ordering bibimbap just an hour ago... at three in the afternoon. She knew because she was the one who'd opened the door for the delivery guy.

With a sigh, she examined the cookie in her hand. Not the prettiest thing she'd ever seen.

"Hey, Doah," AJ called, stepping out onto the balcony with a glass of water in hand and leaning against the railing.

Doah perked up at the sight of another living human being. "Hello, AJ! How are you?"

"I'm pretty good, how are you?"

Doah internally rolled her eyes. Here it was again... this dull routine of 'how are you's and 'I'm fine thank you's.

"Good too! How are you adjusting to China?"

"Hmm... it's definitely different from Korea, but it's nice! What about you?" AJ added, thankfully giving her enough to keep the conversation going.

Doah thought for a moment. "I don't know. I've been crocheting pretty much nonstop and only ventured out for dim sum once. What about you? Gone anywhere interesting?"

(Yubin once said "Awkward conversations are just a bunch of 'what about you's" after watching one of Doah's clips, deadpan as ever.)

"I've mostly stayed in too... though I went for dim sum as well," AJ admitted with a chuckle.

"Wow, seems we had the same idea," Doah laughed, relaxing a little. "Who do you usually talk to around here? I don't think we've ever had a long conversation before."

AJ tilted his head thoughtfully. "Honestly? Mostly Jihye. She's usually around when I am."

"Ooh," Doah nodded, intrigued. "Not much with the guys?"

"I think I had a brief conversation with Elliot once..." AJ took a sip of his water and moved to sit across from her in one of the wooden chairs. "But that's about it. Some of them can be pretty intimidating."

Doah's brows shot up. "Intimidating? Like who?"

"Pretty much everyone but Asher."

"Really? I never thought of Zen or Elliot as intimidating," she said, genuinely surprised by AJ's perspective.

He laughed, a bit awkwardly. "Well, I haven't actually seen Zen around, so he's kind of... mysterious."

"Mysterious..."

Doah's curiosity clearly sparked. Not long after, when AJ returned to his room, she was spotted strolling in the garden with THE Zen himself, both sharing a bag of chips.

"So, what have you been up to lately? Still crocheting?" he asked, glancing down at her with a soft smile.

"Yeah, I wanted to go out, but I don't really like exploring alone, you know?" she shrugged, sounding a bit self-conscious.

Zen shook his head, smiling. "What've you made recently?"

"A bag," Doah replied, flipping through her phone to pull up a picture. She held it out. "Almost finished it."

"That looks cute and practical. I heard a rumor that someone was making things for me..." Zen teased.

Doah looked up, her expression unreadable. "Oh? Who?"

"You," he said, chuckling at her sudden cough and turn of the head, clearly embarrassed.

"Now where'd you hear that?" she mumbled, still avoiding eye contact.

"Your Instagram stories."

A shy smile crept onto Doah's face. "I see... well, you wouldn't mind, right?"

"Of course not," Zen murmured, reaching over to ruffle her hair gently. "I love your gifts."

She stiffened slightly under his touch, but he pretended not to notice. He wondered if she found it uncomfortable.

"Really?"

"I'm not about to dislike cute things," he replied, his gaze softening. Not about to dislike cute things like your crochet projects, he thought. Or... cute things like you.

-

A few hours later, Minho wandered into the kitchen to make pasta for "dinner", nearly jumping when he spotted a figure perched on the kitchen island - a certain Miss Dinosaur sipping orange juice through a straw.

"Good evening," he greeted cautiously.

"Yo- HELLO MINHO OH MY GOD, HOW IS YOUR EVENING?" Doah asked, bouncing up from the island, her voice dripping with mock excitement.

Minho shook his head, muttering, "I will never get used to this. Please, act normal for once..."

Doah rolled her eyes. "You told me you didn't like 'yo'," she replied, to which he shot back with an exasperated, "BUT STILL???"

"Is it evening already?" Zen entered the kitchen.

"It's..." Minho checked the clock, showing 9:26 PM, and turned back with an awkward cough. "I don't know, I just got up."

"Same, I only woke up like 25 minutes ago," Zen said with a shrug. "Took a nap after talking with Doah earlier."

By the way, Doah was already sneaking over to Zen. "Are you free tomorrow?"

Zen reached over, patting her head fondly. "Always, unless I'm asleep. Why?"

"I wanted to ask you to go out with me," she said, looking hopeful.

Zen paused, his hand freezing mid-reach for a plate in the cabinet, but he managed to cover up quickly. "Maybe another day. You should try going out with other people too, though."

Doah's face fell slightly, and she took a step back. "Uh... yeah, I guess so. Anyway, I'll go now. It was fun talking to you both." Her voice softened as she slipped out of the kitchen. "Kinda feeling down, but good night, you two."

"Oh... Doah, I'm here if you want to talk," Zen called after her as she disappeared down the hall. "Have a good night."

Zen watched her leave in silence. Was it the wrong choice to suggest she spend time with others? The thought lingered uncomfortably for the rest of the night.