The doorbell to Infinite’s doom rang, resounding throughout the entire apartment. Woohyun, being the most outgoing and charming, hurried over to the door. He cleared his throat loudly, admiring his handsome face in the mirror in the foyer.

Hoya let out his signature scoff and roll of the eyes. “Just answer the door already. You’re being rude.” Sunggyu set out some snacks on the table adjacent to the TV. Myungsoo yawned, while Sungyeol looked terribly bored.

Woohyun opened the door slowly, as if he hadn’t been standing right behind it for a minute already. The girls of A Pink stood in the hallway with expectant expressions and smiles on their faces. He scanned the small crowd of girls, looking for one of them in particular.

He seemed as if he was glued to the floor, his mouth growing dry. Naeun waved her hands in front of his face, trying to get his attention. Myungsoo appeared behind him, wondering what was taking Woohyun so long. “Uh, are you going to let them in or not? Woohyun? Woohyun!” Myungsoo shook his shoulder.

Woohyun finally spoke. “You look… absolutely hideous.” The girls quietly gasped, turning to Chorong to see how she would react. It was obvious he was referring to her appearance. Chorong’s face immediately turning red, but not in a good way. She was wounded by his words. She looked down at her feet. She didn’t look that bad, right? Everyone else had thought she looked amazing earlier.

She gave him an icy stare. “Why thank you, Woohyun. Your opinion is much needed.” She brushed past him after her sarcastic retort.

The other Infinite members watched the scene unfold. When the girls followed Chorong into the apartment, Sunggyu slapped Woohyun on the head. “What the hell, hyung?” Woohyun rubbed the back of his scalp.

“That was so mean of you. She looks very pretty, how could you say that? She’s our guest, be a man and stop playing these games with her.” Sunggyu hissed at him.

“I didn’t mean it like that. You know I’m not very good at expressing my emotions. I didn’t mean to say that…” Woohyun repeated, casting a longing look at Chorong.

Sunggyu was still annoyed. “Just stay away from her tonight. You just screwed up your chances of talking to Chorong.”

Woohyun sighed and trudged after the leader into the living room. Hoya glanced at Woohyun’s state for only a mere second. His focus was elsewhere.

On Eunji, to be exact.

Eunji saw Hoya and gave him a tight hug. He awkwardly hugged her back, trying to decrease the pelvic contact between them. She seemed to have no problem with it. He inwardly groaned, wanting to push her away, yet wanting to keep her in his arms forever like this. She let go, giving him a huge grin.

“Oppa! Where’s Myungsoo?” Hoya’s smile faded quickly.

“Why are you asking?” It bothered him how the first thing that came out of around him was another guy’s name. His feelings for her had slowly developed, but now it seemed as if he couldn’t control it anymore.

Eunji, being her usual oblivious self, couldn’t tell Hoya was suddenly irritated. “I’m just wondering. Oh! There he is.” Before Hoya could protest, she was by Myungsoo’s side. She linked his arm in his.

Myungsoo’s eyes widened. “Hi, Eunji…” He trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

“You look quite nice tonight, oppa. I mean, you always look good, but I noticed it tonight more than usual.” Eunji batted her eyelashes at Myungsoo.

He raised an eyebrow. She was certainly acting weird again. His stomach growled, embarrassing Myungsoo. Eunji laughed heartily at this. “Let’s get you some food, you must be starving. You always need to eat.” She grabbed his hand, leading him towards the kitchen.

Hoya’s stare burned holes into where she held Myungsoo’s hand. Anger was an understatement. He was beyond furious. He wasn’t the type to interfere, however, as he let them go on their way.

Hoya found a glass bowl of M&M’s lying on the table. He stuffed several in his mouth, desperately trying to distract and calm himself down. She was just leading Myungsoo elsewhere.

It meant nothing. It meant nothing. It meant nothing.

It became an incessant chant in his head until he finally felt his heart rate slow down a bit. He sank into the couch, sulking with his arms crossed. He had no right to be mad, but he hated feeling helpless like this.

Meanwhile, Chorong sampled the candies in the kitchen. With every bite, she could sense her composure coming back. Who cared what Woohyun thought anyway? He was an idiot and didn’t know how to treat a girl right. His comment earlier was so uncalled for. He couldn’t control his mouth, everything that he said was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

A soft pair of hands interrupted the heated conversation she was having with herself in her head. They rested on her shoulders, gently steering her away from the plates of food.

“Don’t eat everything, Chorong. Everyone would be pissed.” Sunggyu chuckled.

“Sorry.” She uttered apologetically, taking a step back.

“Nah, I should be sorry. I want to apologize on Woohyun’s behalf. He can be…” Sunggyu paused.

“An idiot? Tell me about it.” Chorong laughed, finishing his sentence for him. He smiled.

“There we go. But yeah, I don’t think he really meant what he said. He doesn’t really know how to express himself well.” Sunggyu laughed also.

She shook her head. “I know that you’re trying to make me feel better, but that’s really no excuse for what he did. I may be overreacting, but I don’t really appreciate someone telling me that I look ‘absolutely hideous.’ I know that I look good already.” She grabbed a glass bottle of the spiced rum on the counter and poured herself a glass.

Sunggyu studied Chorong. She was very strong, and he admired that. Chorong took a small sip, the dark liquid burning . It was oddly soothing. She peeked at Sunggyu, who looked away when their eyes met.

“If you don’t mind, you can hang out with me during the movie. If you aren’t sitting next to Woohyun, of course.” Sunggyu suggested tentatively.

Chorong gave him a slight smile. “I would like that. It’s not like Woohyun is my boyfriend. We aren’t like that.”

Before Sunggyu could change the topic, Eunji came rushing in, dragging Myungsoo behind her.

Uh-oh. Chorong saw the excited look on Eunji’s face and knew she was up to something. She grabbed a whole plate of mini-sandwiches, shoving them in front of Myungsoo. “I think these will suffice, Myungsoo oppa.”

He took the plate gratefully, biting into one of them. “Thanks, Eunji. I haven’t eaten the entire day.”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Myungsoo, you’re such a liar. You ate a full meal two hours ago.”

Eunji looked up at him in adoration. “Oppa’s so adorable sometimes, don’t you agree?” Chorong froze.

Chorong had been wrong all along.

She looked over at Hoya, who met Chorong’s gaze. She could tell he was hurting. She then glanced at Eunji, who was feeding Myungsoo by now. Myungsoo seemed to be coming out of his shy and reserved shell with Eunji tonight.

Chorong shook her head. It didn’t make sense. Didn’t Eunji like Hoya? It was obvious to her. Unless…

It had been Myungsoo all along.

Chorong wanted to slap herself for not anticipating this. Her plans were suddenly crushed.

She was going to have to talk to Hoya sooner rather than later about this. Hoya was her friend also, and she couldn’t stand to see him this way.

Sunggyu was curious. Ignoring Myungsoo and Eunji, he found himself studying Chorong again. She wrinkled her nose, apparently deep in thought. She looked torn, biting her lip every now and then with downcast eyes.

He was drawn to Chorong in a weird way, not quite romantically, but he wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know every secret she held, every thought that processed through her mind. He wouldn’t call it an attraction or infatuation, but she pulled him towards her in a way he couldn’t figure out just yet.

Park Chorong intrigued him. And yes, he liked it.