It happened a few days after Fiesta promotion officially ends. It's nearly noon when Chaewon finds their usually shining (shimmering splendid) cheese lover looking so glum and blue sitting alone at the dorm 2’s living room.

And by adding the blue, she doesn’t mean it’s double the sadness or gloominess or such but rather—

She’s literally blue.

Rather, her hair is blue.

And short. Not her height! Her hair!

Chaewon has to make sure she’s seeing Hitomi and not the giant puppy, and only after she saw the admirable cheeks she’s sure it’s indeed Hitomi.

“Hitoma?” Chaewon softly calls out, trying not to alarm Hitomi of her sudden appearance from her room. It’s noon but Chaewon had just woken up and she clearly doesn’t expect to be greeted with a blue-haired and short-haired Hitomi.

Don’t get her wrong, it’s not a nasty surprise on Chaewon’s part, but you can’t blame her for being a bit taken aback. Moreover, she has just woken up. Her half-awake brain can’t handle the sudden stress.

When the younger girl only gives her a side-glance and refuses to respond, Chaewon pads over to the couch, feet swaying as she approaches Hitomi. She plops next to her, eyes still alight in wonder.

The Japanese dancer grumbles, puffing her hopes and dreams and continued to pout cutely. She pulls her knees even closer to her chest and turns her face away, grumbling again.

“You—“ a yawn, “—look good.”

And Chaewon is being honest. Perhaps if the surprise comes later, when she’s fully awake, she can shower Hitomi with more eloquent praises.

(Maybe add a sprinkle of cheesy lines, too)

“I wasn’t asking,” Hitomi says scathingly, slapping Chaewon’s fingers away from her dark-blue locks. "Leave me be."

Ah, here comes the sulking.

Chaewon pulls her fingers back immediately after the slap but moves her fingers to comb Hitomi’s dyed hair again, marveling the new feeling of touching Hitomi’s short hair. “I wasn’t answering,” Chaewon easily—sleepily—responds, all while showing a soft smile that will surely make everyone’s heart stutters as she continues to give Hitomi’s hair some attention. “I was talking to myself but you happened to hear it.”

Hitomi turns around, pouting.

Chaewon chuckled. Rather than annoyance, she can see Hitomi is insecure about her hair and thus, acting up like a brat. Her eyes – beautiful, dark, yet so bright they put the sun to shame – are silently asking her a question. A question Chaewon can easily answer any time, any day.

“You still look lovely,” Chaewon assures, tilting her body until her head lands on Hitomi’s thin shoulders. She closes her eyes. inhaling Hitomi’s strawberry-scented shampoo and natural scent, her chest filled with a warm, and nice, fuzzy feeling. “You always look lovely to me, Hitoma.”

“G-Geez!” Hitomi huffs, but can’t fight the growing smile on her lips. “You’re always so lame, unnie!”

“If it’s for you I’ll do anything~~”