24H | SEVENTEEN

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"Hahaha." Rumi forced a laugh when her eyes met Mingyu's, who was sitting across the dining table, watching her with the intensity of a detective solving his biggest case. Wonwoo, seated beside her, cleared his throat and reached for his coffee, pretending he wasn't on the verge of combusting under Mingyu's gaze. "So," Rumi spoke up a little too quickly, plastering on an unnatural smile, "how did the trip go?"

Mingyu didn't answer right away. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, head slightly tilted. "Oh, it was great. But..." He narrowed his eyes at her. "What about you? How was your night?" Rumi stiffened. Wonwoo's grip on his coffee cup tightened. "My night?" Rumi blinked. "Oh! Uh... normal! Just normal! Super normal! Just, y'know, did some nighttime activities." Wonwoo slowly turned to look at her. Nighttime activities?! What is she talking? Noona you are making it worse.

Mingyu raised an eyebrow, biting back a smirk. "Nighttime activities, huh?"

"Yes," she nodded too fast. "Like sleeping. Alone. Peacefully. On a couch. Haha." Mingyu hummed, rubbing his chin. "Weird. Because when I came in this morning, the couch was untouched." Rumi's smile froze. Wonwoo choked on his coffee. Mingyu's smirk grew. "And even weirder... I swear I heard noises from Wonwoo hyung's room." Wonwoo slammed his coffee cup down. "You were imagining things." Mingyu gasped dramatically. "Was I?! But I could've sworn I heard something like—" He tapped his chin, pretending to think, then suddenly leaned forward and whispered, "Noona~"

Rumi started choking on air while Wonwoo refused to meet his eye. Mingyu grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. "So... care to explain what exactly happened earlier?"

"Nothing!" Rumi and Wonwoo yelled at the same time. Mingyu grinned wider. "Yeah, sure. Nothing happened." He nodded. "So how come you ended up here-sorry my bad, I should be more specific. How come you ended up spending the night in Wonwoo hyung's room?" He asked correcting himself. Rumi stiffened. Wonwoo, ever so composed, took a sip of his coffee like he was pretending this conversation wasn't happening. "I—I wasn't in his room. I was just... near it," Rumi blurted out. Mingyu tilted his head. "Near it? "So near that you teleported inside?"

"She was drunk, fell asleep on my bed," Wonwoo cut in, completely deadpan. "I took the couch." Mingyu gasped, slamming a hand on the table. "HYUNG TOOK THE COUCH?" He turned to Rumi, pointing dramatically. "Do you know how rare that is?! Do you understand what this means?!" Rumi blinked. "That he's a decent human being?"

"No, that he's in love with you."

Wonwoo choked on his coffee. "What?!" Mingyu ignored him, eyes narrowing as he drummed his fingers on the table. "Wait a second... now that I think about it... something is weird."

"Mingyu," Wonwoo warned, already sensing where this was going.

Mingyu leaned in, gaze flicking between them. "You two have been acting weird for months. The subtle glances, the random tension, the way hyung actually smiles sometimes, those 'I'm a lovesick puppy' smiles—" He gasped dramatically. "You guys are dating, aren't you?!" Silence. Rumi nearly dropped her cup. Wonwoo let out a slow exhale like he was questioning all of his life choices. Mingyu slammed his hands on the table. "OH MY GOD. YOU ARE. I KNEW IT." He pointed at Wonwoo. "You never ever let anyone sleep on your bed. Ever." He turned to Rumi. "And you—why do you have that guilty look on your face?"

"I do not have a guilty look," Rumi defended, looking even guiltier. Mingyu smirked. "Liar."

"We are not dating," Wonwoo said firmly. Mingyu squinted at him. "Hyung. I've known you for years. You blink exactly four times when you lie."

"What? That's ridiculous."

"Three... four—BOOM. CAUGHT." Wonwoo groaned. Mingyu grinned like he'd won the lottery. "How long has this been going on? Tell me everything."