Sudden Change┊Huening Kai┆彡

-ˏˋ elevenˊˎ

The sun sets, and the house fills with teenagers pacing around, getting ready for bed. Some are doing their night routines, while others are setting up beds on the floor, laying out floral-printed comforters, and gathering pillows.

"How are we splitting up the rooms?" Yeonjun asks, stepping out of the bathroom.

I giggle at the sight.

"What's funny?" he asks again, adjusting his face mask while wearing his pink bunny headband.

"Nothing," I reply, trying to hold in my smile.

"What?" He brushes his fingers through his hair. "Perfection like this is carefully curated." He closes his eyes, letting the light from the bulb shine on him like he's on a runway.

The spotlight shatters suddenly when a pillow hits him square in the face.

"Are you fucking my ass right now?" he snaps, turning to suspect Beomgyu. He stomps toward him, but Beomgyu bolts into one of the bedrooms, dragging the chaos with him.

"I guess they're sharing a room," Taehyun shrugs, picking up the fallen pillow and tossing it back into the other room.

"I'm staying with [Name]. No exceptions," Chaewon says, gluing herself to my side.

"I'll stay with them too," Soobin chimes in.

"That means, Hyuka, you're with us," Taehyun says.

Hyuka sighs dramatically. "But why?"

"No, you freak," Taehyun drags him away, "you only want to be in there because [Name] is."

Chaewon side-eyes me.

We split off, settling into our assigned rooms.

As we're getting comfortable, Chaewon turns to me. "Something's off with you, [Name]," she says, narrowing her eyes.

"What do you mean?" I ask, catching Soobin's attention too. Great—now he's facing me as well.

Highkey regretting being in the middle.

"I mean, there's not much evidence yet, but the way you've been acting around Hyuka lately," she rests her head on her elbow, "I know you. And I know the way you look at him."

"You're onto something," Soobin adds.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," I reply defensively.

Wait, why am I getting so defensive? I literally have no idea what they're talking about.

"Think about it. You from last year would've never accepted his invite to eat out, or even let him crash in our dorm," Chaewon presses.

"That's why I was so surprised to see him there—I thought I was dreaming!" Soobin chimes in.

"Okay, you guys are overreac—" I start to say, trying to shut it down.

"You even said it at the cafe!" Chaewon cuts me off. "When he was flirting, you weren't annoyed. What else could that mean except you're crushing?"

"Why do you refuse to return his feelings anyway?" Soobin asks, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, I'm starting to think you're a lesbian," Chaewon jokes with a giggle.

I glare at her. I pause, staring up at the ceiling before sighing.

"I don't know. I just wanted to enjoy my college experience," I admit. "I wasted my high school years on a boy who ended up friend-zoning me. Well—not totally wasted, but it definitely didn't reach its full potential."

"[Name], head over heels for someone? I can't even imagine," Soobin teases, earning a smack on the arm from me.

"But Hyuka is absolutely head over heels for you," Chaewon insists. "He greets you every morning and buys you your go-to drink. For god's sake!"

"I know you don't want to ruin college, but you might actually enjoy it more if you gave yourself a chance," Soobin says gently, patting my arm.

"But we support you no matter what," Chaewon adds, patting over the blanket too.

"I'll see where the wind takes me," I mutter with a soft sigh.

"YOU STINK!" A yell bursts from the other side of the house.

"BE QUIET!" Chaewon shouts.

"HE FARTED THOUGH!" another voice—definitely Yeonjun—yells back.

"Lord, have mercy on what I'm about to do to this man," someone says on the other side.

Chaos erupts for a good five minutes, giving us all a good laugh.

Then, silence.

"Goodnight!" Hyuka calls out.

"Goodnight!" we all echo back at the same time.

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I can't sleep.

I stare at the ceiling, Chaewon and Soobin's words replaying in my head, blending with the sound of crickets outside.

Do I really like him back?

I try to shake it off, but either way, tomorrow's going to be a tired mess.

I get up slowly, avoiding too much movement. I slip on a hoodie, shove my phone into my pocket, and quietly make my way to the door. I pause as I turn the knob, freezing when Chaewon shifts slightly. I only continue once I hear her breathing deepen again.

Gently closing the door behind me, I step out of the house in my slippers.

Hyuka's POV

Surrounded by snoring animals, sleep booked a one-way ticket out of here.

I stare at the ceiling, completely done with trying to fall asleep, when a shadow crosses the moonlight outside. I glance toward the front window.

[Name]?

She's walking out of the house.

What's she doing out this late?

I get up immediately, a spark of worry shooting through me. As I reach for my hoodie, an arm wraps around my leg.

Beomgyu, dead asleep, has latched onto me like a koala.

I shake him off without mercy.

I throw on my hoodie and rush out the door, determined to catch up to her.