“Nyeong-an, Song PD-nim!”

Jinyoung heard a familiar voice echoing in the hallways as he made his way back to his dressing room after getting his usual coffee. When he turned a corner, he saw Jisoo greeting everyone by name as soon as she arrived, making small talk with people even before making her way to her own dressing room to settle down.  Jinyoung always secretly admired that, how Jisoo managed to make people feel special. She probably didn’t get much sleep the night before given that she was flooding their group chat with Dalgom’s photos at 3am the evening before, and yet here she was, saying hello to everyone a genuine smile on her face.

It impressed him how someone can stay that cheerful and functional with such little sleep and no coffee.

Jinyoung leaned on the wall watching the scene, not minding getting delayed from going back to his dressing room for a few minutes. He was happy (not that he’d ever admit it out loud) that Jisoo was back, and was unknowingly smiling to himself as he saw Jisoo go from person to person saying hello or making some random joke that whoever she talked to laughed at even though it was probably not even that funny. Still, he noticed that everyone who she talked to couldn’t help but smile because of her.

The Jisoo effect.

Jisoo suddenly turned around, and her eyes accidentally caught Jinyoung’s before he could react. He looked away and tried to make it seem like he was totally concentrating on his coffee, but when she smiled that bright, heart-shaped smile of hers with those crinkly eyes, he couldn’t help but look back at her. She waved cheerfully and made her way towards him.

Jinyoung could feel his heart beat faster with each step she took.

It’s the coffee. Nothing more.

“You’re finally back! Nyeong-an, Jinyoung.”

“Good morning, Jisoo.”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It has. 6 weeks, in fact.”

“Heol, you kept count? 6 weeks… we’re practically strangers again at this point, huh? I don’t even remember the last time we saw each other.”

I do, he thought to himself. You were in a white and red printed dress, and your hair was in pigtails. Your perfume smelled like peaches, I noticed because you stood a little closer to me that day than usual since Doyoung wasn’t there, and we said goodbye at the parking lot–

“I don’t either. It’s been too long,” Jinyoung laughed rather awkwardly and took a sip of his drink. She made him uneasy today, and he wondered if Jisoo had always had this effect on him, this annoying unsettling effect that made him almost lose his cool. Or was it just today because they haven’t seen each other for so long and he wasn’t sure how it was to act around her anymore?

Maybe she was r