It was strange that she couldn’t identify when it happened. Given her penchant for uniformity and organization, she should have been able to pinpoint the exact moment something changed. The exact moment Hitomi stopped being simply “Hitomi” and became some sort of new, italicized version of herself, complete with hearts and sparkles and fancy little rainbows. It was sometime between the beginning of IZ*ONE and the current moment, but the specifics eluded her, causing her much anxiety and distress. Amazingly, hardly anyone noticed.

 

But Chaewon did.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” They were walking home under the fading sun, Nako bounding ahead like always, and her question caught Minju off guard.

 

“What do you mean?” she asked. “Do I seem ill?”

 

“No, not exactly. But you don’t seem well, either. Does that make sense?”

 

“No.”

 

“Hm, okay.” Chaewon pursed her lips. “How about this - normally when you’re broody and sullen, you find fault with everything. But today, you’re broody and sullen and you haven’t said a word. You’ve been like this ever since that horrendous exercise Chaeyeon made us do against Wonyoung and Yuril. Did you get hurt?”

 

“No. I’m fine. Perhaps I’m not talking because I have nothing to say.”

 

“Well, I guess that could be true, but...wait.” Chaewon turned. “You’re not in love, are you?”

 

Caught off guard yet again, Minju stumbled, cursing as she banged her left knee hard against the cobblestone street. “Damn, stupid, asymmetrical paving stones,” she growled. “Don’t these people understand the importance of making everything even?!?”

 

“Actually, the stones are just fine. That was you.”

 

“No. It was the stones.” Minju brushed the dust from her knees. “You can see the problem right there. That one by my left foot is 3/8 of an inch higher than the one by my right. Also how did you get from ‘are you hurt’ to ‘are you in love’? Those two things have nothing to do with each other.”

 

“Actually, studies have shown that the emotional effects of being in love can be strong enough to cause all sorts of physical ailments. Anxiety, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping....”

 

“And you know this, how?”

 

“Oh, I read it in this book. The Ultimate Guide to Love and Relationships - Finding A Rad Romance by Dr. Q. Pidsarrow. It’s in the library.”

 

“Library?” Minju tilted her head. “You went to the library?”

 

“Yes, why?”

 

“Because you hate books.”

 

“I don’t hate books. I hate boring books with too many words. This one had words, but it counteracted that by having lots of pictures.”

 

“Ah, yes. Pictures. The hallmark of any serious scientific study.”

 

“Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. And it couldn’t have been all that bad if Hitomi was reading it.”

 

Minju stopped short, a bolt of anxiety making her wobble. “H...Hitomi?” she stuttered. “Hitomi was reading it?”

 

“Yeah, how do you think I found it? That library has a ton of floors, and I wasn’t about to go searching for where they kept the interesting stuff. So I went to the back and there she was, in one of the cubicles, with this book. And she seemed a little embarrassed when I asked her about it, but there was nothing to be embarrassed about. It was actually really informative reading and...”

 

Chaewon continued talking, but Minju’s brain had already tuned her out. Hitomi was reading. Hitomi was reading books about love.

 

Why was Hitomi reading books about love? Was Hitomi in love? If she was, was it with him? Her? Was it someone else? Was it possible she’d picked up on their amorous feelings and was starting to piece things together?

 

“Min... Minju! Earth to Minju!” Chaewon poked her arm. “You’re going to tri