“Ahem… Doojoon-goon?”

Doojoon jolted up from Hyunseung’s shoulder. “Wha- Ah, Ji Hye noona! Annyeong,” he greeted the woman standing by the booth.

“Annyeong, Doojoon-goon.” Mistress Ji Hye hesitated. “Did you know that the seven of you have been sitting here for over an hour without speaking? Is there anything wrong?”

“Ah, no, nothing is wrong… Has it really been over an hour? Mianhae, I must have fallen asleep.”

“You and the rest of them,” Ji Hye smiled fondly.

“Annyeong, noona,” Hyunseung greeted her, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He had fallen asleep as well, but had been woken up by Doojoon’s abrupt movements.

“Annyeong, Hyunseung-goon. Sleep well?” She teased.

“Ah, yes…” Hyunseung blushed. “Psst!” He nudged Yoseob. “Wake up!”

“Mm… Five more minutes…” Yoseob murmured. After a few more shoves from Hyunseung he struggled to sit up, irritated. “I’m up, I’m up!”

“Ji Hye noona’s here,” Hyunseung told him.

“Omo. Ji Hye noona, annyeong! Mianhae, I fell asleep,” Yoseob admitted ashamedly, then kicked the dozing boy next to him. “Yah, Kwangie, wake up! Ji Hye noona’s here!”

“Hnngh… Annyeong, noona,” Gikwang yawned unabashedly. However, instead of staying awake and rousing Junhyung from his music-induced trance, he fell right back to sleep.

Hyunseung exhaled in annoyance. Really, Kwangie… “Yah, Junnie!” He shout-whispered, trying not to wake Da Eun.’

“Just kick him,” Doojoon whispered.

Hyunseung widened his eyes and turned to him. “Kick?”

Doojoon nodded.

“Ah, you don’t have to wake them up, really,” Ji Hye said, flustered. “I just wondered if there was anything wrong, seeing as none of you were speaking. But if you were sleeping…”

Hyunseung kicked.

“Yah!” Junhyung’s eyes flashed open and he glared, pulling off his headphones. “What?”

Hyunseung offered up a little apologetic smile, then cast his eyes to his left.

“Wae- oh. Ji Hye noona, annyeong,” Junhyung greeted her, then patted Dongwoon’s cheek, careful not to wake Da Eun.

“Huh? What?” Dongwoon blinked open his eyes. He saw Mistress Ji Hye and made to get up. The others frantically gestured for him to stay put, but it was too late. Even as he realized Da Eun was still leaning on him and sat back down, she woke with a start.

“Omo!” She gasped as she almost fell out of the booth before Dongwoon caught her. The rest of booth’s occupants looked on with varying degrees of exasperation and concern. Mistress Ji Hye’s brow creased with curiosity.

“Why did you wake her up, you babo?” Doojoon sighed.

“I-“ Dongwoon cringed. “Mianhae, noona. Gwenchana?”

“I’m okay, just surprised, that’s all. Mianhae, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Da Eun apologized worriedly.

“Gwenchana, you can keep on sleeping if you want. Woonie didn’t mean to wake you,” Doojoon reassured her, shooting a glare toward his dongseng.

“It’s alright. Are we not leaving then?” Da Eun asked, yawning.

“No, actually, um…” Hyunseung hesitated. “This is Ji Hye noona. She’s the mistress of this café,” he introduced, gesturing at Ji Hye.

“Omo, mianhaeyo, I didn’t see you there!” Da Eun got out of the booth, stumbling slightly, and bowed. “Annyeonghaseyo, Mistress Ji Hyo.”

“Annyeonghaseyo!” Ji Hye greeted her. “And you are…?” She asked hesitantly.

“Ah, I’m Da Eun. I’m Gikwang’s-“ Da Eun began.

“-friend. She’s our friend,” Dongwoon cut in.

“Yeah, our friend,” Yoseob agreed with a smile.

“Our friend,” Gikwang said, echoing Yoseob.

“Yep, Ji Hye noona; meet Da Eun, our friend,” Doojoon grinned.

“You guys…” Da Eun protested, flustered. “Actually, I’m Gikwang’s-“

“-girlfriend?” Ji Hye guessed, smiling slightly.

Da Eun flamed red. “No, no! I’m his-“

“Oh, stop it, Da Eun-ah,” Junhyung smirked. Sometime in the midst of the introductions, he had removed his headphones. “None of us are going to let you finish your sentence, so you might as well give up.”

Da Eun pouted. “But-“

“Still trying, eh?” Junhyung cut her off smoothly. He winked. “In your dreams.”

If you keep that up, you’re going to be in my dreams, Da Eun thought with unmistakable dismay. But she couldn’t let Mistress Ji Hye misunderstand. She opened to try again as Ji Hye waited expectantly, rather amused.

Seeing the determined set of Da Eun’s mouth, Doojoon smirked and jerked his head slightly, catching Dongwoon’s eye. The maknae grinned delightedly, almost laughing aloud. As the first whisper of sound escaped the girl’s lips, his arm s around her, quick as a flash.

“Hou- mmph!” Da Eun mumbled into Dongwoon’s hand. “Mmph!” Brow furrowing, she turned to her left and pointed at the offending appendage, eyes widening with silent, frustrated plea.

Dongwoon flinched. Wrenching his gaze away, he stared at the patterned tablecloth with all the fiery intensity of a thousand suns.

Da Eun emitted a muffled squeak of exasperation before commencing to try and remove Dongwoon’s hand. Wrapping her fingers around his arm, she pulled with all her might. It didn’t budge; he never even looked up from the table. Instead, all she got as a result was giggles from the rest of them, including Ji Hye. Looking around, she found Gikwang in fits, Yoseob wheezing, Junhyung smirking, Hyunseung smiling so hard his eyes almost disappeared, Doojoon tearing up, and Ji Hye covering her smile, politely hiding her laughter. Hearing the weird sounds from his hyungs, Dongwoon peeked at the rest of the table, then at Da Eun’s feeble attempt to move his arm. He giggled.

Da Eun frowned even more, forehead creasing.

“Da Eunie, don’t be angry,” Doojoon chuckled affectionately. “Come on…” He reached over and smoothed his thumb over her forehead gently as the table grew silent.

Forgetting for a second that Dongwoon’s hand was over , Da Eun stuck her tongue out.

“What the-“ Dongwoon jerked his hand away as if from a fire.

“Ick!” Da Eun swiped her napkin and wiped her tongue hastily, then folded it over and grabbed Dongwoon’s flailing hand, wiping that as well.

“Ew…” She sighed, wrinkling her nose. Her need to reveal the truth was completely forgotten.

“Erhm… What just happened?” Gikwang asked.

“She my hand!” The maknae complained.

“It was an accident! It’s not like I want to your hand or anything,” she retorted.

“Seems like our Da Eunie plays dirty,” Junhyung smirked.

Doojoon’s and Junhyung’s affectionate use of the –ie suffix, previously restricted to their group of six, escaped Gikwang’s flighty observational skills. Somehow, Da Eun as well failed to realize the significance of the syllable. However, the rest of the boys noticed, and the atmosphere grew charged with tension.