Dinnertime at TWICE dorm was always noisy and chaotic. Even when no one was speaking, the large kitchen was bustling with cooking sounds and the clinking of utensils against bowls containing various foods. Seeing as no one in the group could cook well nor enjoy cooking, it was a free-for-all where everyone either ordered take-out or tried their hands at whatever attractive recipes they found online. Therefore, fire extinguishers were never put out of reach.

In a corner, Nayeon- the eldest member of TWICE- was devouring her ramen in a highly unrefined fashion. Not caring even a little about how her hair was practically covering her face and brushing inside the bowl, she continued to slurp down the noodles with a fervor.

On the other side sat Mina and Jeongyeon, enjoying their dinnertime with a manner so disparate from Nayeon, people could not think they were sitting in the same room. Jeongyeon was leisurely flipping through a random megazine as she enjoyed her sandwich, while Mina looked over her shoulder, idly swirling her cup of tea.

In the middle, Sana was being Sana- hopelessly following a cooking video, doing something wrong at every step, shrieking everytime something hot touched her hand.

They barely spared a glance at the front door as it opened, and Jihyo came in.

"Welcome back Jihyo, why are you home so late. Thought you'd be home by noon." Not looking up from her megazine, Jeongyeon commented.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some other business." Taking off her shoes, Jihyo answered flippantly.

Mina stopped playing with the cup of tea.

"Oh." Said Jeongyeon, not wanting to dwell more on the topic.

"Say, Jihyo..." Mina asked tentatively, with a hint of worry in her voice. "Do you happen to know where Tzuzu is? We haven´t seen her since she left for school this morning either."

"I don`t know Mina, you can ask her manager? He is always nearby, no worries." Came another nonchalant reply. Jihyo was currently bending down to take off her shoes, her long hair obscuring whatever expression she had.

The brash sound of Nayeon's slurping ceased.

"Jihyo-ah..." Seeing the leader already heading towards their bedroom, she hastily called. "... Do you want to have some dinner? We ordered a lot for you guys."

"... I'm not hungry." Having stopped momentarily to listen to Nayeon, Jihyo answered and continued her retreat without turning back.

The obnoxious noise of Sana's cooking came to a halt.

Jihyo quickly entered the room and slammed the door shut.

The kitchen was now completely devoid of sound, as residents of the largest bedroom exchanged worried looks.

Something was terribly, dreadfully wrong.

_____

Ever since the very first day of TWICE, so far as Sixteen era, Jihyo’s overwhelming kindness had been unequivocal. At the beginning, where the trainees were either new to Korea or overly anxious of the competition underway, some might have doubted her for putting up a nice act and having ulterior motives. However, as days went by and every member- Major or Minor, depending which team Jihyo belonged to at the time- was showered by care and affection courtesy of JYP’s longest trainee, the suspicion began to fade, gradually replaced by appreciation. They started to rely on her private notes left at their bedside early in the morning, on her shoulder after they were reproached by the producer, and on her sweet encouraging words whispered into their ears whenever they needed emotional support.

Thus, Jihyo’s highest score during the anonymous voting session came as little surprise. That was when whatever negative thoughts about her completely dissipated; the trainees realized, by looking at the tally, that Jihyo had gone out of her way to help every single one of them at the expense of her own time and effort- not because she wanted something from them, but because that was the kind of person she was. While there might be some disappointment, discovering that one was not a special person to the girl, it was nothing compared to the collective adoration. That day, everyone knew- Jihyo was undoubtedly the centerpiece of the future girl group, the sister that they all needed, the leader that they could all depend on.

She had always been there, that kindhearted Jihyo. Sometimes too close for comfort, but when TWICE truly needed her, she never failed to show up. Not even once.

Therefore, when that very Jihyo acted nonchalant and distant, those closest to her- Nayeon, Mina, and Sana- knew she was deeply hurt. She was always looking after someone, and that left no time to look after her, not even herself. She had completely forgotten how, and thus when the pain became too great to handle, she turned into a completely different person.

 _____

“Jihyo-ah?” Nayeon gingerly knocked on the door. She half-expected a lack of answer and they would have to force it open, but then she heard the person inside shuffling towards where the three of them stood, and Jihyo simply opened it with a pleasant smile.

“Sorry unnie, I had to change. Haven’t got time to take off my makeup though.” She tugged at her clothing, which was not her nightwear- a plain red long-sleeved shirt and shorts. “So, what is it?” She asked, oblivious to the trio’s concern.

As Nayeon was struggling to approach the situation withou scaring the girl off, Jihyo’s stomach suddenly let out a grumble. Seizing the opportunity, she took hold of the embarrassed leader’s hand.

“Why did you tell us you’re not hungry?” Nayeon asked with a pout. She wanted to show that while the question was interrogative, it did not hold any ill intent.

“I don’t want to eat.” Jihyo answered monotonously, the positive façade long since dropped.

Sana felt it was her turn to try.

“Jihyo-ah… You only skip meals when you’re sad. What’s wrong?” Asked Sana quietly, knowing they were walking on thin ice. Yet, despite the tentativeness, her inquiry irked Jihyo even more.

“Please Sana, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Just tell us about it Jihyo, we’ll help you.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“If you would just…”

“I said I’m fine! Why do you keep acting like you know me!?” Jihyo snapped, and immediately regretted it. Her hand flew to , but what was done was done. Sana was petrified, tears already welling up her eyes. Her arms hung limp at her sides as she stood devastated by the harsh answer.

“I’m… I’m sorry. Please let me be alone for some time…” Jihyo’s voice cracked. She slammed the door shut, but it was o