Syncing Dream [Aespa x M!Reader] (COMPLETED)

Extra Chapter - I want...

Mornings in the dorm had a rhythm. A familiar soundtrack that you could almost set a clock to: Karina's slippers dragging like she was carrying the weight of ten worlds, the faint clink of Giselle's spoon against her cereal bowl in her room (probably binging Single's Inferno again or something), and Ningning humming some random tune while scrolling her phone half-asleep on her bed. It was comfortable and predictable. Your life as their manager couldn't get any better.

But today? Nothing. No sound. Just... silence. It was unsettling, but you didn't mind it.

You were perched at the kitchen island, laptop open, iced americano within reach — the holy trinity of productivity. Fingers tapping away at yet another schedule spreadsheet, you were ready for another day of juggling calls, double-checking venues, and micromanaging things no one else wanted to think about with SM.

Except, of course, the feeling of being watched.

You glanced up and there she was. Winter. Your Winter. Across from you, hoodie practically swallowing her whole, hair sticking out in messy little tufts that screamed bedhead, and eyes... way too awake for someone who swore she barely slept last night. Her elbows propped on the counter, chin balanced on her palm, fingers lazily tapping her cheek.

And she was staring.

Not just casually. Staring-staring.

"...What?" you asked, suspicion creeping into your tone.

She tilted her head slightly, that smirk of hers widening like she'd been waiting for you to crack. Then, without even blinking, "I'm going to college."

Your brain short-circuited, and your body betrayed you. The sip of iced americano you'd just taken shot right back out in an unholy spray across the counter, narrowly missing your laptop but very much not missing Winter.

Cold coffee splattered across her hoodie and cheek.

"YAH!" she yelped, jerking back so fast her chair screeched against the floor.

Your eyes bulged. You nearly knocked over the entire cup trying to set it down. "WHAT THE—?! YOU CAN'T JUST—! You—!" You jabbed a frantic finger in her direction. "WHO SAYS SOMETHING LIKE THAT SO CASUALLY AT 8?!"

"You just showered me with coffee, you moron!" she shrieked, grabbing for paper towels.

"BECAUSE YOU DROPPED A BOMB ON ME!"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE DRINKING IT!" she snapped back, blotting at her hoodie like her life depended on it.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA SAY YOU LOST YOUR PHONE OR—OR BROKE YOUR EARPHONES! NOT FREAKIN' COLLEGE!"

"You're insane," she muttered, dabbing at her cheek, glaring at the brown stains spreading on her hoodie. "Do you know how disgusting that was?!"

"Do you know how insane that sentence was?!" you shot back. Then you froze, blinking rapidly. "Wait. Hold up. You're... you're serious?"

She stopped wiping for a moment. Looked up at you. Her eyes softened, a flicker of something sincere cutting through her usual smugness. "...Yeah. I am."

Before you could even recover from that, the noise of footsteps echoed in the hall. The other three — drawn by the commotion, like moths to flame.

"Why is Winter wet?" Giselle mumbled, hair sticking out as she stumbled in, scratching her head. "Did she fall in the bathtub?"

"She said she's going to college," you deadpanned, still dazed, still processing.

Karina rubbed her eyes, utterly unconvinced. "...Okay, what kind of prank show is this? Do we have hidden cameras? Is that what this is?"