16th November 2024

Hongbin walks through the doors slightly after midnight.

“Welcome home.”

“Noona, you didn’t have to wait up for me.”

“I didn’t. I’m with Hakyeon and Taekwoon who are taking a short break from gaming in the room.”
“Are we gaming tonight?”

“Are you on?”

Hongbin sighs, “but I’m so dead tired.”
“Then why don’t you take a nice long bath and then go to sleep.”

“But it’s a game night!”

“We can play tomorrow if you want.”

“Okay, on!” He replies happily, “but can I please not be a team with Hakyeon hyung.”

“I can’t help you on that one, that’s up to fate to decide.”

He’s about to walk away when he hesitates and turns back briefly, “by the way, Jiyoon noona, if you’re interested to know. It wasn’t the best, far from it. But it’s not as bad as I would have feared.”

“You’ve done your best. It will just have to be enough.”

-

Sungyeol walks through the door around 2 in the morning.

“Long day?”

“I’m so sorry, I know I said I would try my best to come back earlier, but…”

“Don’t worry about it. Both of them went out to play with their friends. Hongbin came back after twelve. I don’t know where Sohyunnie even is.”

“Still.”

“Don’t worry about it, you have important things to do, don’t you?”

“Like getting scolded by the higher ups.”

Jiyoon pats his back, “we all have those days. Just take a good bath and get some rest.”

“If you need me to go and fetch Sohyun, just tell me okay?”

-

Sohyun walks through the door after 4 in the morning.

“Welcome home.”

“Jiyoon unnie,” Sohyun whines before running up to hug her unnie, “it was horrible. I didn’t even want to look at it.”

“Did you try your best?”

“I did! I did! But it’s still beyond me.”

“Then it just has to be enough.”

“But I want to get a scholarship.”

“Well, if after you’ve tried your best, and you still can’t, then that’s what it’s going to be. If you’re worried about money, then don’t worry. I’ll do what I can.”

-

“Hey, Jiyoon noona,” Sungyeol tries to shake her awake as gently as possible, “Jiyoon noona? It’s late. Jiyoon noona? The kids are getting prepared to start a game day. Jiyoon noona?”

It’s not working.

“Why don’t you’ll just go ahead first? Jiyoon noona probably is really tired.”

Hakyeon, Taekwoon, Hyuna and Hongbin glance at each other before deciding to take his words at face value.
“I think Sohyun came home really late last night and Jiyoon noona waited up for her, so she’s probably exhausted.”

“It’s my day today, and I don’t want to be on Hakyeon hyung’s team.”

“Seriously, this brat.”

“Hyesu, let’s scissor paper stone.”

“We might as well not go through this farce because we all know what the outcome is.”

Taekwoon promptly loses.

“What did I say?” Hakyeon triumphantly declares, and Taekwoon groans.

-

“Sohyunnie, hot pot for dinner?”

“Okay! Can we please have more food? Sohyunnie’s hungry.”

“Hotpot is good, and Hongbinnie is also hungry,” Hongbin turns away from the screen for a moment to flash his winning smile at Jiyoon.

Taekwoon gets off the sofa but Sungyeol gestures for him to sit back down, “I’ll go with Jiyoon noona. If you leave who’s going to team up with Hakyeon?”

Hakyeon growls, displeased, at the screen, which only results in him slipping up more, much to Sohyun’s pleasure.

“See, that’s what I mean.”

---

19th November 2024

“What are you watching?” Sohyun asks when she sees Hakyeon and Taekwoon staring at one laptop screen.

“It’s nothing!”

“It’s a mobile drama! Your Taekwoonie oppa is watching a mobile drama!” Hakyeon blares, “and you should watch it too! Why? Because it’s the mobile drama that Taekwoonie’s watching!”

“No offence Taekwoon oppa, but why on earth are you watching a mobile drama?”

“What? What’s the problem with a mobile drama?” Taekwoon huffs.

“Nothing, nothing at all! It’s just so unlike oppa, that’s all!”

---

“Be sure to keep in contact with me!” Hyesu implores as she hugs Hwajae tightly before bidding her goodbye at the doorstep.

“Don’t worry, oppa will try to keep in contact with you as much as oppa can.”

“And you will come back safe and sound won’t you, oppa?”

“Of course, don’t worry, oppa will be just fine,” Hwajae reassures as he breaks the hug.

“I love you,” Hyesu mumbles as Hwajae approaches the door.

“I love you too, Hyesu-yah,” he replies, without turning around. If he does, he probably won’t be able to leave the place until daybreak.

Sujeong comforts the silently sobbing Hyesu after the sound of footsteps fade.

-

To Hwajae:

First off, I’ll look out for your girlfriend so don’t fret about that. Of course, I’ll take care of Hyesu, but you already know that.

Hyesu is coping fairly well. She treats it like you’re on an extended world tour, though it doesn’t really help that right before you left, you had time to spend with Hyesu. Anyway, she has Ilsoo and the rest for company, so she’s not lonely. She does miss you though.

About the rest, well, N is working hard and doing well in school. Might have a girlfriend, I’m not too sure about that, he’s pretty secretive. But he’s a smart boy so I don’t worry about him.

Leo is, as usual, being way way too hard on himself when it comes to football. He’s such a perfectionist and that isn’t very healthy, not when he pushes himself way too hard. And he has to keep on top of his studies too. But he loves football, so I’m hoping that it’ll turn out all right.

Ilsoo. Well, not the best. Her studies are not the best, but that’s not the greatest worry for the moment. That probably is that she’s being ostracized by her classmates. They don’t talk to her, and basically treat her as transparent. Worst part is that we don’t know why she’s being treated like that. It’s heartbreaking when she comes home crying every other day because the classmates are so cold towards her. (yes it’s much worse than when you left) I offered to transfer her out if she really didn’t want to be there but she didn’t want to transfer. I couldn’t stand it, so I went to see the teachers, but they gave me all