jiae woke up alone on her couch, a knitted blanket thrown over her body and a pillow beneath her head. slowly, she sat up and looked around, yawning. her brows knitted when she found it empty, trying to remember when she wrapped herself up in this blanket.

something caught her eye on her coffee table, and jiae leaned forward to pick it up and pull it close. a smile crossed her lips when she recognized the handwriting. dear, pinkie pie.

shaking her head, jiae opened the makeshift letter made out of a sheet of notebook paper.

dear pinkie pie,

you drool in your sleep.

xoxo,
your favorite person on earth

jiae pressed a hand against her cheek, which was beginning to ache with how long she'd been smiling. "he is too much," she muttered aloud. standing, she grabbed her phone to check the time and froze in place.

unknown
Jiae dear, why do you
still have me blocked?

unknown
Have you not forgiven your
mother after all this time?

jiae's heart leapt into her throat, stifling any possible sound from coming out as she dropped the phone from her hands.

she tried not to panic. she knew the woman trying to contact her wasn't her mother. no, this woman had no right messaging her out of the blue like this.

jiae didn't realize she was shaking until she knelt down to grab her phone. with trembling fingers, she began typing out a reply.

jiae
i think you have the wrong number

unknown
Oh, thank goodness you replied,
sweetheart!! It's Mom!

jiae
i don't have a mom.
my parents are dead

unknown
Jiae! You don't mean that

jiae
as i said before. you have
the wrong number.

unknown
Don't lie to me, girl. I know
I'm talking to my daughter.
I got your number from your
boss.

Incoming call from Unknown
accept | decline

jiae
new phone. sorry ma'am

unknown
Answer the phone, Rhee Jiae!!!!

Incoming call from Unknown
accept | decline

Incoming call from Unknown
accept | decline

Incoming call from Unknown
accept | decline

you have blocked "unknown"

yuxi
what if i dyed my hair?
what color should i go for?

yuxi
omg WAIT did you guys know
that hyeyeong, soyi, miles, sosuke,
jiae, and i are in a co-ed group?

renjun
part of me is a little afraid to ask

miles
WAIT

miles
ZOOPALS????

yuxi
YEAH

miles
GIRL I FORGOT ABOUT THAT NGL

yuxi
SAME AND THEN I WAS LIKE
if i was an emoji what would i be?
THEN I REMEMBEREDDDD

mark
um can one of y'all like elaborate lol

yuxi
so basically

yuxi
jiae helped us decide what animals
we'd be as emojis and then we were
like ✨zoopals💫

miles
i'll break them down for you
so see if you agree or not

miles
hye mama - 🐻‍❄️
sosuke <3 - 🐸
jiae bb - 🐷
soyi ml - 🐰
ME 🏄‍♂️💯 - 🦁
yuxi bae - 🦋

mark
yoooooo why is that actually
so accurate tho

renjun
if they weren't animals i'd say yuxi 🥝

yuxi
THATS LITERALLY ME

yuxi
and to think jiae was gonna
call me a DUCK

renjun
ducks are cute???

yuxi
would you rather be a duck or a butterfly?

renjun
.. i see your point

miles
to answer your question yuxi i think
you'd look good with blonde hair

yuxi
I FORGOT I ASKED LMAO

yuxi
we got one for blonde 1

renjun
try like red or smth idk

yuxi
okay so blonde 1
red 1

mark
i'd also go for blonde
i think it'd be cooool

yuxi
just say you're in love with me

mark
yo whatttt

yuxi
what

haechan
i hate orange hair

haechan
the company hates me pt. 8384929

yuxi
pics or you're lying

haechan

haechan
can you see the life leaving my eyes?

yuxi
you poor poor man 😭😭

miles
i think jiae talked about dying her
hair orange a little while ago

yuxi
OMG YALL CAN BE MATCHINGGGG
GGSJDNSKKDMS THATS SO CUTE

haechan
i would not wish this fate upon anyone
(jerry let's suffer together 🤗💞)

yuxi
literally goals

yuxi
could be us if you were into girls
miles and i was into you ❤️‍🩹

miles
i AM into girls.. sometimes 💔

miles
also hi so ik you guys are idols and
very like korean and such so yeah um
if you're uncomfortable with me talking
about my sexuality at all just lmkkkkkk

mark
dude :/ just be yourself man we aren't
gonna like not like you for liking guys

mark
love is love bro

renjun
LOVE IS LOVE 😠🫶

miles
🥹 thanks bros

renjun
oh, do you guys have the
address for the party?

renjun
everyones gonna try to stay up
cause we have an early flight to
osaka tomorrow and can just sleep
when we get to the hotel

yuxi
address please, monsieur

jiae stared, hesitant, at the address in her maps app. she wasn't dressed, she hadn't answered any texts from her friends, and she didn't even know if this party was something she could handle at the moment. her step-mother knew where she worked, which means her step-brother likely did, too. it wouldn't be long before they found her address, and she squeezed her eyes to stop her thoughts from snowballing.

a knock on the door caused her to flinch. taking a few moments to calm herself, jiae opened it to find yuxi and miles standing with bright smiles.

"jiae!" yuxi greeted as she stepped inside. "are you ready to g—you aren't wearing that, are you?"

"i, um—"

"never mind," said yuxi as she faced a mirror in jiae's doorway and gently tapped her lips. she was dressed a bit like she'd been when the group went to nct dream's concert. a green tube top, blue jeans, and shoes that made her unfairly taller than she already was.

"she's freaking out," miles commented from behind jiae. "but you aren't actually going to an idol party in pajamas, right?"

when she turned around, jiae noticed a box in miles's hands that made her furrow her brows. he smiled shyly when he caught her staring. "i promised jisung i'd make him a cake."

jiae smiles. "cute. he'll love it."

"he better!" miles replied, though she could hear in his voice that was wasn't being serious.

looking away from her reflection, yuxi pursed her lips to the side. "what about that tank top you have? the cropped one? you could wear your pretty sheer cardigan and some jeans? maybe the long jean skirt?"

unable to deny the younger, jiae stepped aside and gestured to the open door leading to her bedroom. "please, lead the way, my beloved fashion godmother."

—

dressed and ready, the trio arrived at the address renjun sent them a little after 9 pm. they'd eaten dinner together to pass time, then sat in the car for about twenty minutes for miles and yuxi to stop freaking out.

"nct." yuxi let out an airy sigh before jiae rang the bell. she wasn't sure who's apartment this was, but it was nice. she guessed someone from 127, since haechan told her most of the members lived on their own.

yuxi had wrapped herself around one of jiae's arms, with miles clinging to the other, as they waited for someone to answer the door. "i don't think i'll ever get used to this," miles whispered, as if there was a camera recording them.

it didn't take long before someone opened the door, and jiae felt both younger's tense against her when she realized it was xiaojun from wayv.

he seemed surprised to see them, glancing behind him before facing them for a second time. "uh, hi?"

"hi," jiae greeted, not-so-subtly pulling her arms out of the others grasps. "i'm jiae. this is yuxi and miles. sorry, we might be a little late."

she didn't have to elaborate the way she did, because xiaojun's face shifted from wary to relief when he heard their names. "thank god! okay, sorry, i was worried you might be stalkers... come in!"

he held the door as the group filed in, and jiae was immediately shocked at how many people fit in the, admittedly large, room. she saw people from every unit, including people she didn't recognize. there was snacks and delivery food on the counters, and drinks on the tables.

despite how crowded it was, her eyes filtered through and stilled on one person, who was playing foosball with another member she couldn't quite make out. he was in a black tee, which was tucked perfectly into his dark jeans. a smile graced jiae's lips as he jumped back, pumping a fist in excitement over a clear win.

jiae turned, a bit distractedly, to her two friends. "you two okay on your own?"

yuxi and miles blinked up at her with wide "don't leave me" eyes, but thankfully xiaojun was there to help out. "come on. yangyang is hanging out somewhere with renjun and shotaro. i can bring you two to them."

with that, they were off to find the members, leaving jiae alone. she decided to make her way through the group, squeezing past people until she reached the foosball table. it looks like they'd started a new game, and jiae now recognized the opposing member as jungwoo.

quietly, jiae stepped behind her boyfriend and carefully rested her chin on his shoulder, trying not to freak him out too bad. he seemed used to skin ship, because he melted a bit at the weight of her touch and tilted his head just enough to see her faded pink hair.

"well, hello, stranger." he teased, gesturing for the next person to play so that he could take a break. jiae stepped back so that he could face her, and hyuck tossed an arm around her when he did. "did you get my letter this morning?"

jiae tipped her chin to lower her eyes at him. "uh-huh. super romantic. you really had me at the 'you drool' part."

"i'm just naturally gifted. you know, i'm secretly a world-renowned poet."

"you don't say!"

the couple chuckled at each other before making their way to the kitchen, which seemed a bit less populated.

"i'm glad you came," donghyuck began, his eyes trained on jiae's fingers as he mindlessly fidgeted with them. "you didn't seem like yourself when i called today."

a chill formed at the base of jiae's spine. "i, um, yeah, sorry, i was a little distracted. yuxi and miles were dolling me up for tonight." she twisted a little to the left and right, showing her outfit off without letting go on her boyfriend hand.

he gave her an adoring smile that showed how cute he thought she was, and jiae fought the urge to look away from him. still, something in his eyes made it clear he didn't fully believe her.

taking a small step forward, jiae tilted her head to the side and smiled. "i'll tell you about it later."

hyuck nodded in understanding, removing his hands from hers to pull her into a hug. one arm went around her waist, the other gently massaging her shoulder, and jiae let her arms wrap around his middle. they stayed there for a moment, until jiae felt at least a bit of her worries melt away.

"do you need me to stay here? i can take a later flight to osaka if you want." she felt his warm breath against the side of her face and fought the urge to shiver.

swallowing, jiae shook her head. "now that's crazy talk." she pulled away just enough to fully look at him. "if i need anything, i'll call you."

a small pout formed on her boyfriend's lips. his eyes were round and sparkly, and completely breaking jiae's heart. "promise?"

she laughed. "i promise."

that seemed to satisfy him, because hyuck's expression morphed into one of excitement as he pulled away and took her hands in his. "good. now, let me introduce you to my members."

•
i'm so bad a party scenes but jiae and hyuck 💞