soyi rubbed her arm through the sleeve of her sweater as she hovered in the corner of the room. after their awkward encounter, chenle was nowhere to be found, and miles and sosuke were off exploring the dorm with jisung and renjun.

she was mentally preparing an excuse to leave early when someone appeared at her side, and soyi looked up in surprise to see mark standing there with a water bottle in his hand. he gave the bottle a little shake, signaling for her to take it, so she did.

"thanks," soyi said with a small smile, and mark shrugged before giving her shoulder a slight nudge.

mark nodded his head back and took a sip from his own bottle before leaning against the wall. "wanna talk about it?"

a crease formed between soyi's brows. "about what?"

"girl... you know what." the deadpanned look that spread across mark's face almost made soyi break, so she bit into her bottom lip to keep from smiling.

"you and chenle."

her smile was quick to disappear then. soyi swallowed a gulp of water and twisted the cap hard to shut it. "what about chenle and me?"

the encounter left her cringing, especially when she thought back to it. it hasn't been a long greeting—when soyi walked into the apartment with the others, chenle was sitting peacefully on a barstool. she saw him look up, and before soyi had even had a chance to step forward, chenle was off the stool and locked away in one of the bedrooms.

she didn't think anyone else noticed until mark approached her with his liquid peace offering. he was looking at her expectingly, like he desperately wanted to know what was going on between the two but didn't want to push her any further.

sighing, soyi let her head fall back against the wall, her gaze drifting until it landed on the idol to her left. "i don't know... there was a chance we could have been more than best friends, and i blew it because i was afraid of change. now he can't even stand being in the same room as me," her voice cracked deep inside her throat at the end, and mark cooed before slinging an arm around the girl's shoulder.

"aw, come on, dude. i'm sure that's not true. he probably just had to grab something or... something..." mark stumbled a bit and laughed after soyi did.

she let her head fall against mark's propped shoulder, his arm still tossed warmly around her. "i just have to suck it up and talk to him. i know i have to, i have to get it over with or else things will stay bad and never get better." she reasoned, more with herself than anything, but mark nodded enthusiastically, encouragingly.

"hell yeah, dude. just do it!"

"i'm gonna do it," she giggled at his silliness.

"nah, so, you gotta feel it. you're gonna do it!"

soyi let out a loud laugh as she yelled, "i'm gonna do it!"

thankfully, music was playing in the other room, loud laughter spilling into the hallway soyi and mark were hiding in, so she figured no one else heard.

mark gave her one last squeeze as if charging her up before stepping away. "you got this, man."

"wish me luck!" soyi exclaimed as she shook the remaining nerves out with her hands, and mark's chin tipped down as he chuckled at her.

"you don't need it. now go on, and find me once you're done. i'm invested in this story."

soyi beamed at him. "deal."

elly
💚

elly
🧀

chenle
🏀

elly
💣

elly
🛟

elly
🎾

elly
🍪

elly
🌸

chenle got the new high score!

elly
HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD
AT THIS GAME??

chenle
the basketball obvsss 😎

elly
maybe i need a new emoji

elly
🐬

elly
🪩

elly got the new high score!

elly
24 HITS
NEW HIGH SCORE!!!

chenle got the new high score!

elly
WHAT

elly
36??!?!? HOWWW

chenle
what can i sayyyy

elly
that's not human

elly
you like seeing the crown
over your pfp don't you

chenle
👑
😁

elly
HAHAAAA

elly
remind me again why battling you in
the emoji game was a dire need?

chenle
boreddd

elly
righttt

elly
you live in korea now right?

chenle
yesss

elly
cool! i have some cousins over
there BEGGING me to visit but
haven't really thought about it

elly
idk if you and jisung would be up for
a little reunion when you're free?

chenle
i don't know if tha|

chenle
yes|

chenle
i'll have to ask him but|

a gentle knock on the door pulled chenle's attention from his phone, and he finished propping himself up on his elbows right as the door cracked open.

"chenle?" soft voice asked, and chenle felt his stomach twist into all sorts of knots. he wasn't one to get nervous, especially not around people, but this person in particular always knew how to fluster him in ways he didn't think possible.

soyi poked her head into the room, large eyes blinking as she stared at his sprawled form before quietly asking, "can we talk?"

•
ideas on what'll happen next?? 😵‍💫🤭