The flowerbed - Aespa's Giselle x M!Reader

The tears and jeans (Part 5)

The coffee shop's "CLOSED" sign didn't stop Minjoo-noona from waving us in the moment she saw us outside. It was well past midnight, but some traditions couldn't be broken – especially not tonight, with the golden trophy catching streetlight reflections through the window.

"I saw everything," she beamed, already moving to make our usual orders. "I cried three times!"

"Only three?" Ningning managed through her own fresh tears. She hadn't really stopped crying since they announced the winner. "I'm on round twelve at least."

"Thirteen," Winter corrected, somehow maintaining her deadpan delivery despite her red-rimmed eyes. "I've been keeping count."

The familiar ritual of claiming our usual spots felt different tonight. The trophy sat in the center of the table, catching the coffee shop's warm lighting. Karina kept reaching out to touch it, like she needed to confirm it was real.

"I still can't believe it," she said softly, leader's composure finally completely gone. "We actually..."

"Won?" I finished, setting down their drinks. "Because you deserved it. All of it."

"Our manager's getting soft," Winter teased, but her voice wobbled slightly. "He cried more than Ningning backstage."

"I did not!" I protested automatically. "I was just..."

"Checking if the monitors were too bright?" Giselle finished, echoing my earlier excuse with a knowing smile. "Through tears?"

Minjoo-noona brought over a plate of pastries – on the house, she insisted – then tactfully retreated to give us privacy. The late hour and emotional exhaustion created a bubble of intimacy around our corner table.

"Do you remember," Winter said suddenly, "that first night we practiced 'Whiplash'? When we thought it was impossible?"

"When you couldn't hit the transition," Karina nodded, "and our manager suddenly jumped in to demonstrate?"

"My professional dignity has never recovered," I groaned, but the memory made me smile. Those early days felt so distant now.

"That's when I knew," Giselle said quietly, her eyes meeting mine briefly. "That you were different. That you really cared about the art, not just the business."

The moment hung there, weighted with everything we couldn't say openly, until Winter cleared her throat.

"Gross," she declared, but her fond smile betrayed her. "Save it for your coffee dates."

We lingered until even Minjoo-noona's generous hospitality couldn't justify staying any longer. The drive back to the dorm was quiet, everyone processing the night in their own way. But as we pulled into the parking garage, Ningning suddenly sat up straight.

"We have to call everyone!" she exclaimed, exhaustion forgotten. "Mom's been sending messages every five minutes!"

That sparked a new wave of energy as we made our way up to their dorm, manager protocol about appropriate hours forgotten in the special circumstances. The moment they opened the door, Ningning was bouncing around with the trophy.

"Where should we put it?" she spun in excited circles. "What about here? No, here! Or maybe..."

"If you drop our first daesang, I'm disowning you," Winter warned, but she was filming everything on her phone, her smile soft and real.

"Put it where everyone can see it when they come in," Karina decided, leader-brain still partially functioning. "But first..." She pulled out her phone. "Family calls."

The next hour dissolved into a blur of happy tears and FaceTime connections. Ningning's mom cried harder than her daughter (which was saying something). Winter's dad tried to maintain stoic pride but broke down mid-sentence. Karina's sister screamed so loud we probably woke the neighbors.