Practice was more draining today according to Zoa, who was panting heavy as she leaned against the mirror with a water bottle in her hand. She scanned their practice room and wonders if she was the only one that was exhausted after a few rounds of repetitively dancing to the same choreography. Her 02-line unnies were goofing off as usual as Jiyoon attempts to try and do a trick on the cubes with Soeun supporting her and Monday judging her. On the other side, their leader and one of the 04-liners seemed to be having a serious discussion as they stood in the opposite corner of the room - that is, until they started laughing. 

She scrunched her eyebrows as she counted the number of members over and over again. Honestly, she thought she was going insane when she kept counting only five of her unnies, but then remembered her Jihan unnie was out filming for a program ran by 1theK. A raging feeling boiled in her stomach at the thought. Aggressively unscrewing her water bottle, Zoa took a gulp then screwed the cap back tightly causing the plastic bottle itself to twist. Suddenly in a horrible mood, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. 

However, the loud wrinkling noises caught everyone's attention. They looked over at their maknae, who sat on the practice floor by herself, then looked at each other. Jiyoon, Monday, Soeun, and Jaehee whipped their heads at the oldest. And with one look, Soojin already knew what it meant.

Making her way to Zoa, Soojin sat down next to her and waited patiently until the youngest took notice of her presence. 

"Yes, Soojin unnie?" Zoa muttered. She knew it was her by how gentle she sat down without having to open her eyes. 

"You okay? You seem down." Soojin watched Zoa sigh. 

"I'm fine, just a litle tired from all the practicing." 

Soojin knew it was a lie. "Alright then, just take it easy for now." The leader looked over at the other four, and they all shared a knowing nod. "We'll finish it up after a couple more rounds before heading home. Just hang in there."

Zoa did her best to nod in response. 

Soojin smiled and got onto her feet. "I'll extend the break for another 5 minutes. So, take the time to rest up." She walked over to the other girls.

Soeun put her arm over Soojin's shoulders. They shared a concerned look with each other and then with everyone else. 

--

Finally night fell, everyone dragged their feet as they stepped into the dorm and retreated to their own respective rooms. Zoa followed close behind Soojin and Soeun to enter their shared room. She thrown her bag on the top bunk in the opening above the ladder before heading out towards the bathroom. The last thing she heard as she exited was her Soojin unnie whining at her Soeun unnie's usual teasing. 

The youngest did her usual night routine of brushing her teeth and attending to her skincare. But the thought of her Jihan unnie didn't leave her mind, not even once. She never thought the other 04-liner's absence would have such a huge impact on her, but after today, she was wrong. Without the energy pill, Zoa couldn't even bare the constant movement that made her energy deplete. But that didn't seem to be the actual reason that bothered her. 

She stared down at the sink in deep thought until there was a knock on the door. 

"Hyewonnie? Are you still in there?" It was her Jaehee unnie. 

"Yeah!" She shouted in response.

The door swung open. Jaehee walked inside with her hair tied into a messy bun and glasses set on her nose while being her red, polka dotted pajamas (which Zoa was sure that Monday was wearing the same set). She even carried her toothbrush and face towel with her as well. 

Jaehee reached over to turn off the running facet. "Have to turn this off, or else, Jiyoon unnie would lecture us about saving the Earth again. And I would not like to deal with that after a day of practice." She applied a bit of toothpaste on her toothbrush. "You seem to have a lot on your mind lately." 

Zoa stepped back from the sink and with another frustrating sigh. 

Jaehee stopped brushing. "I haven't heard that sigh since that 1theK program, where you had to act like you had a crush on that male actor." The former child actress raised a brow at her and decided to put her two cents in. "Is this because of Jihan?"

"N-No." The youngest tried to deny it, but her sad pout gave it away. 

"Come on, talk to me. I know Jihan better than anyone here." Zoa gave Jaehee a look. Jaehee backtracked, "besides you, of course." Then Zoa went back to her downcast expression. 

"Do you think Jihan unnie... would ever choose her over me?" Feeling shy and embarrassed of her question, Zoa played with the hem of her shirt. 

Jaehee finished up her brushing and rinsed . "Knowing Jihan, I don't think she would. But who knows, Jihan is also very unpredictable, too." She washed her face and grabbed her towel to dry off. 

"I guess you're right..." 

Jaehee took notice through the reflect of the mirror. Offering comfort by a pat on the shoulder, she reassured, "ignore that last part. I'm completely sure Jihan wouldn't." 

It didn't help her mood so Zoa just nodded sadly. 

"YAH! Lee Jaehee! You better hurry up in there, or else, I'm watching this movie without you!" The loud voice from Monday could be heard across the dorm. 

"Yah! Kim Jimin, stop yelling! It's late!" That was from Soojin for sure. 

"Ok! I'm coming!" Jaehee responded to Monday. She looked at Zoa. "Why not ask Jihan yourself? It's the only way you'll know." A couple of pats on the shoulder. "Now I have to go before Monday unnie wakes up the entire building." Then Jaehee exited the bathroom and stride across the hallway to her shared room with Monday. 

I guess I have no choice, but to ask. The youngest groaned. But how?

--

Sitting on the couch, Zoa aimlessly clicked through multiple channels on their television. Since their dorm was freezing, she had grabbed her blanket to keep herself warm. The living room lights were off, but the lights from the kitchen illuminated part of the room. A sound of clunking and running water told her that Jiyoon was done eating her late night snack of cereal. The room turned dark and relied on the flashing colors from the tv screen. 

"Not going to bed yet, Hyewonnie?" Jiyoon stopped to check up on her when she was on her way to her room, shared between her and Jihan. 

Zoa shook her head in a slow motion. She was obviously beat tired, but she was determined to wait for her Jihan unnie to come back from her filming. "It's fine. I'll be going to bed soon." 

"Alrighty. Make sure soon is sooner because I heard from Soeun that practice tomorrow is going to be intense with award shows coming up." Yawning, Jiyoon rubbed her eyes. "Well, I'm going to turn in for the night. Goodnight, Hyewonnie!" The songwriter continued her route to her bedroom. 

"Goodnight, Jiyoon unnie!" Zoa returned, and received a 'uh huh'. 

She went back to surfing the channels. The dorm would have been completely quiet if it wasn't for the chatter that came from Monday's and Jaehee's room or the muffled sounds of bickering and whining coming from her own room with Soojin and Soeun or the loud snoring from Jiyoon's and Jihan's room. Giving up on finding anything interesting to watch, the remote was left beside her on the couch's arm rest. A random show played on the screen. Her eyes drooped, but she knew she wasn't ready to sleep until she got the answers she needed. 

The sound of the front door was heard. Quiet footsteps walked across the kitchen tiles and finally, to the living room. 

"Hyewon-ah?" There's the voice she's been wanting to hear all day. 

"You're home, Jihyo unnie." Zoa watched as the other half of the 04-line sat down next to her on the couch. The cushion sank down a bit due to the newly introduced weight. "How was your filming?"

Jihan's eyes brighten up in excitement, only making Zoa feel that green monster in her stomach grow stronger. But Zoa didn't have the heart to take back her question, especially when Jihan had her cute bunny smile with the curvature of her dimple showing. 

"It was a dream come true! I can't believe I actually got to meet and spend time with my bias who I've been looking up to since I was a trainee! It was certainly the best day ever!" Jihan reached into her pocket and brought out the decorated polaroid. "Could you believe she actually wanted to decorate these with me!" 

Zoa stared at the older, who was too busy admiring the photo. As much as she wanted to be happy for her unnie meeting her idol, Zoa couldn't stop herself from feeling a bit... envy? Was that the correct word? Anyways, she didn't like the fact of this person being able to suddenly becoming her Jihan unnie's world because she was the other's world before this happened. And she didn't want to stop being that. 

"Jihyo unnie?" It came out as a whisper. 

Jihyo hummed in acknowledgment without tearing her eyes off the piece of film that she held in her hands. 

"...would you... ever choose her over me?" There was a crack in her voice when she asked it. Maybe it was the tears swelling up in her eyes as the her vision became sightly blurry. 

Slowing bringing the photo down, Jihan's smile faded into confusion with her brows pushing against one another as she returned the photo back in her pocket. "What do you mean, Hyewon-ah?" 

Zoa swallowed her emotions down. It was quite hard to repeat the question for a second time. "W-Would you ever choose her over me?" 

Jihan's facial expression became serious. The older scooted close to the younger until their shoulders brushed against each other's. Reaching over, Jihan gently held her hand and rubbed her thumb against the back of it. They gazed into each other's eyes before Jihan broke into a small smile. 

"No, why would I?" The same bunny smile that Zoa loved was back. 

She felt relieved. In the replacement of the jealous feeling, Zoa felt happy as she was finally was able to sniff back the tears. 

"Why is that? I thought you said before that you really liked her." Leaning her head on Jihan's shoulder, Zoa pulled some her blanket to cover the other, too. 

Jihan leaned her head against Zoa's. "Because your still my one and only, no matter what." 

They stayed cuddled against one another and watched the random tv program that was still playing, even laughed at some of the ridiculous parts together, a bit longer until they both had to head off to bed. And as much Zoa loved her roommates, she couldn't deny Jihan's offer of sharing a bed together just for tonight.