Tied Remastered

Chapter 17

Seven pairs of eyes set on Wonyoung as she took a deep breath. The air hung in suspense, dragging each passing second on with anticipation.

"So, Oppa and I have been friends since we were children. When we were younger, he was energetic--like Yujin unnie. He didn't know how to make friends, so he mostly kept to himself, but somehow we became friends anyway."

"Did you approach him first? Or did he approach you?" Hitomi asked.

Y/n scooped his first bite of stew into his mouth, widening his eyes at the flourishing symphony of flavors. It danced along his tongue, each flavor hitting his taste buds in cannon.

Holy shit...

"I approached him first," she replied. "As we got closer, I slowly got more and more attacked to him to the point that I didn't want to make any other friends. This 'want' to be around him turned into a 'need' as I... became obsessed."

Wonyoung sighed as she swirled her spoon, pursing her lips. "I don't know if he likes me back, but I'm just happy with how things are now."

"That's good to hear," Eunbi remarked.

Minju pumped her fist through the air, smiling, "I'm rooting for you two."

A bittersweet smile grew on Wonyoung's face. She turned toward the older members, straining the smile's curves.

"Thank you, Unnies."

"What's wrong?" Y/n asked gently.

"Nothing," Wonyoung sighed, "It's just... recently... he's been talking about a classmate of his named Youngeun-"

The front door clicked open, causing Wonyoung's mouth to shut. The entire table stiffened with some shoving their mouths to avoid the boy's attention. Without a word, Ji Hoon walked into Wonyoung's room, allowing the wave of sighs to wash over the table.

"That was close," Wonyoung breathed.

"Too close," Eunbi chuckled.

Minju stared down the hallway, squinting at the maknae's door, "I'll keep watch of him. We can keep talking."

"Who is this Youngeun person?" Chaewon prodded.

Wonyoung frowned, "A classmate of his that apparently wants to become an idol as well."

"Are they close?" Hyewon joined. "I didn't take him as one to make a lot of friends."

"Apparently," Wonyoung shrugged. "He name dropped her, so she's important to him at the very least."

Y/n pursed his lips, pinching his chin. He stared deep into his stew, muttering to himself before raising his gaze.

"What if he's mentioning her because he's drawing a connection between you two as a conversation starter?"

The table turned to Y/n, silently asking him to explain.

"Like... He's friends, or acquainted, with her, and is drawing a parallel between you two just to start a conversation with you?" Y/n explained. "With the way you said it, it seems like he just mentioned her once."

The man's proposal bounced off the wall of the girls' silence, prompting him to turn his attention back to his food.

I am never doing that again.

"I guess that could be the case. You two are guys, so you'd naturally know more," Wonyoung reasoned.

"What if he likes her?!" Minju gasped.

Eunbi smacked the fox's shoulder, turning to Wonyoung with a soft frown, "Don't listen to her."

"I can ask him," Y/n interrupted.

"What?"

"Well, maybe not ask him about his friend, but I can ask him if he likes Wonyoung ssi--we're both guys after all," Y/n continued. "I already asked him how he feels about her, so a direct question wouldn't hurt."

Wonyoung's dull expression flipped like a switch, turning to a hopeful stare, "What did he say??"

"He said he cared about you a lot."

Eunbi furrowed her eyebrows, "Wait, he actually gave you an answer?!"

"Yeah," Y/n nodded.

"Wah... We always thought he'd be like Wonyoung and brush off our questions," Chaewon scoffed.

Y/n turned to the radish, tilting his head, "You've never tried?"

Chaewon shrugged, "He's a guy. We didn't know how to task him, or if he'd answer at all."

"He comes off colder than Wonyoung and with those two being the same age, we thought they would be the same," Hitomi added.

"You guys seem pretty invested in these two," Y/n trailed. "Why?"

"Because Wonyoung is our precious maknae, and we see her act around him in ways that we've never seen," Eunbi answered. "At first, we were skeptical because Ji Hoon seemed cold, but since Wonyoung wouldn't stop talking about him after she introduced him to us, we learned more about him."

"He's also a cool guy to be around," Chaewon continued. "He cooks for us, listens to our idol problems, and takes care of us when we're sick."

"I appreciate it," Ji Hoon said as he walked from the kitchen.

The table turned to Minju who gasped. She watched him walk through the hallway and into Wonyoung's room, shaking her head.

"I didn't see him at all!!!"

"There is only one way in and out of that hallway," Hitomi squinted. "How did you not see him?"

"It's like he teleported! I didn't see the door open or anything!!"

Hyewon rubbed her forehead, sighing, "Why did we trust Minju to keep watch...?"

"Guys, please!!" Minju whined.

Eunbi turned to Wonyoung, "How's the progress on putting a bell on him?"

"Same as always," Wonyoung replied as she chewed her food.

"You should just do it," Hyewon shrugged.

"Put some cat ears on him while you're at it," Chaewon giggled.

Y/n sighed softly into his blanket. He stared at the ceiling and into the static darkness of Eunbi's room. Soft snores indicated the two women fell fast asleep, yet his eyes remained wide awake.

So that's the kind of person that they all like...

Fleeting ideas of learning to cook passed through his mind as he compared himself to the boy. A part of him yearned to become as well-liked as relied on as Ji Hoon, sprouting ephemeral ideas and motivations alike.

Since I'm forced to be next to Hyewon, maybe she'll go to me if she has any problems. Chaewon too. I can be like someone outside of the Kpop sphere that will feel refreshing to talk to.

Ideas of steps he would take plotted themselves in order from watching videos detailing how to cook to practicing in his spare time.

Hyewon likes to eat, so if I make her lunch every day... What if I asked Chaeyeon ssi to let me take over for cooking? No. That's too much.