"I'm here!" Dahee announces as she discards her shoes on the welcome mat and throws her jacket on the couch. She tackles her brother into a hug like she always does when she gets home and almost makes him choke on the avocado toast he is munching on.
"Where have you been?" Renjun asks, shrugging her off gently. Skinship is something he isn't really used to; receiving affection makes him feel awkward. "You were supposed to be home by six."
"Just watched the guys' soccer practice and ate at the diner," she says and steals a bite of his toast. "Why aren't you at Jeno's? It's boys night."
"Didn't feel like going." He curtly answers, snatching his toast back.
"Hm, okay then." She knows something is off when he avoided eye contact, but decides not to ask. He will tell her eventually if he has a problem─he always does.
"Who's the guy you were with?" He suddenly asks in his overprotective brother tone.
"Park Jisung, remember him?" She says and he shakes his head. "Used to be my classmate in middle school."
"Mhm," he nods, but continues to look at her incredulously with narrow eyes. "Why did I hear you say you wanted to play some sort of love game with him though?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, you probably just misheard." She immediately denies, realizing how stupid her lie is only when she has already said it.
"The doors and walls aren't thick, I know what I heard and I heard it clearly." He says matter-of-factly and she gives up with a defeated sigh.
She begins explaining everything to him, knowing he isn't going to let her off the hook easily this time (she can never hide anything from him anyway). Hearing the full story, not a single detail left out, makes him scoff and look at her like she is the most stupid person on the planet.
"For an essay?" He scoffs again. "It's all fun and games until one of you really fall in love, and I have a feeling it will be you."
She huffs, "I'm offended you think that."
"Just saying," he shrugs. "If that happens, I won't hesitate to say I told you so."
Neither of the two say anything else after he makes his point and she fails to find the words to argue back. She hates how he is always right. But she wants to prove him wrong for once and vows to herself that she will never be the one to fall. It won't be that hard, right?
"Hello, Renjun and his loser of a sister."
The two whip their heads towards the door at the sudden voice that they already knew belongs to Donghyuck before they even turned to him. His hair looks damp as if he headed straight to their apartment right after taking a shower.
"What are you doing here?" Renjun asks rather bluntly.
Donghyuck huffs and crosses his arms, "Wow, okay, I see I'm not wanted here."
"Yeah," Dahee says jokingly. "You're not."
"I feel the love, guys," he rolls his eyes, but there is a smile tugging at the ends of his mouth. "Anyway. Why didn't you go to Jeno's? Is it still awkward between you and Jaemin?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Renjun says and hops off the bar stool. "Go bother Dahee instead. I still need to finish a painting for my class."
Her curiousity is piqued as she watches him disappear into his room. "Wait, what happened between him and Jaem?" She asks Donghyuck.
"Not my place to say," he jumps onto the sofa and sinks into the faux leather material. "Ask him instead."
"I will." She says, intrigued. Renjun and Jaemin have never fought in their five years of friendship and she wants to know what went down between them. Her nosy nature will not let it go until she does. "Why are you here though? Aren't you supposed to be, I don't know, doing dumb shit with Jeno and Jaemin?"
"I just wanted to check up on Renjun... and you," he says as he turns over to lay on his back. "Oh, about the essay you mentioned earlier. I, uh, know a thing or two about love and I can help you with it if you want."
"Thanks, but I already asked help from Jisung earlier," she tells him and bites down on her bottom lip to suppress a yawn. "Surprisingly, he was willing to."
His smile falters, "Oh. Alright."
Finally unleashing the yawn she can't hold back anymore, she stretches her arms above her head as she does and waddles over to him. She bares her teeth into a wide smile and he already knows what she wants.
"Cuddles?"
"Cuddles."
He scoots back and makes space for her on the couch, warmth spreading through both of their bodies as she snuggles deeper into him. She feels his arm wrap around her waist and his chin on top of her head. Even though she can't see his face, she knows his eyes are closed as he, too, feels as tired as she is.
The next time she opens her eyes, she is already wearing different clothes and stuffing a spoonful of milk-drenched cereal in her mouth. Realizing this, she jolts up and surprises the two in front of her. It isn't a frequent occurence, but it has happened several times before and she is still surprised everytime it does.
She asks, "Was I on autopilot again?"
"Yup." Renjun says casually like he is used to it.
"It was adorable, not gonna lie." Donghyuck comments, a smile tugging at his lips. The oldest of the three gives him a look before shaking his head and continuing to eat his breakfast. "I mean, the only time you're cute is when you're asleep. You're damn annoying when you're awake."
"Rude." She huffs, but she knows he doesn't mean it.
She slumps in her seat and waits for them to finish eating, deciding not to go ahead since she doesn't feel like driving alone to campus today. Right before she can doze off, the sound of dishes clanking makes her jump and she sees that Donghyuck and Renjun are ready to go. She grabs her car keys from the kitchen counter and her tote bag from the couch before exiting the flat with the two following behind.
"Is that Jisung?" Donghyuck says, which makes her look over to where his eyes are directed. "Ji!"
Hearing his name being called, Jisung turns around and he looks like he just got out of bed not too long ago. His eyes are droopy and his hair is disheveled, but he doesn't seem to mind nor notice that it is.
"Hey Donghyuck hyung, Dahee, and person I don't know." He greets them groggily, making the two laugh at what he said.
Renjun steps forward and introduces himself, sporting an intimidating look that seems to work as Jisung looks visibly nervous. "I saw you walk Dahee home last night," he says and narrows his eyes. "Park Jisung, right?"
"Uh," Jisung gulps audibly at the older's tone. "Yes."
Renjun stares at him intensely before walking past him, feeling satisfied with the impression he made. Dahee rolls her eyes at how her brother acted and apologizes to Jisung on his behalf. Renjun still holds the expression he had earlier as the four of them step inside the elevator. Jisung subtly tries to hide behind Dahee for security, which Renjun finds quite amusing.
"Do you have a car, or do you take public transportation?" She randomly asks Jisung.
"Public transpo," he replies with a sheepish grin. "My parents revoked my car privileges 'cause I, uh, crashed it, like, three times."
"Oh, wow," her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well, if you want, you can ride with me until you get your car back."
"Oh, no, it's alright," he declines politely. "I don't wanna be a bother."
"You won't be," she smiles assuringly. "Besides, it would be nice to have someone to ride with to school. I don't like driving alone sometimes."
Sighing, he finally gives in, "If you insist."
