Honey

The door slams open like a storm.

"Did you miss me?!"

And you're right in the eye of it.

Mid-yawning, you were (because thing has been peaceful ever since Yujin calls in sick), adjusting your earpiece near the back corner of the practice room when the shout rang out, echoing off the polished mirrors.

Oh boy, she's back. An Yujin. The girl who just recovered from a cold. Dressed in an oversized black hoodie, cap backwards, mask slung lazily beneath her chin, and arms stretched wide like she was welcoming a stadium of screaming fans.

She spun once, and nearly tripping over her own sneaker. “I have returned, baby!”

No one even looked up.

Rei barely lifted a hand from her phone. “Boo.”

Gaeul didn’t pause stretching. “Was hoping you’d be out one more day, Yujin-ah.”

Wonyoung, sipping something from a straw, didn’t even blink. “I had peace for two whole days. I want them back.”

Leeseo gave her a thumbs-up with the flattest face imaginable. “Congrats on surviving your cold, unnie!”

Liz muttered, “Should’ve stayed in bed longer.”

Yujin clutched her chest dramatically like she'd been betrayed by her entire kingdom. “You traitors! This is how you greet your beloved leader?”

“Maybe if you act like one.” Gaeul deadpanned.

You didn’t say anything. Not yet. Because you're too busy... staring. The hoodie sleeves were bunched awkwardly, her eyes were still a little puffy from lingering fatigue, and the end of her sentences cracked slightly from strain. But she was walking, talking, smiling. She sounds…okay, at least. And your chest, which had felt a little too tight for the past few days, finally eased. Phew.

It was subtle. You didn’t make a big deal of it. You didn’t walk over or say some awkward “glad you’re okay.” That would’ve only fed her ego. But you couldn’t help but stare at her. You watched as she stumbled over her own feet, quite impressed at her attempt at playing off that lingering cough which you knew was bothering her.

Just like the soreness she carried, her hand subtly massaging her side. You knew it already, she was anything but slick. She could've been toughing it out, who knows? So, as casually as possible, you shift towards the edge of the bench. Quietly, trying to avoid bringing attention to yourself, you cushioned the sharp corner from Yujin’s own clumsiness, attempting to prevent her from getting hurt.

Just like usual.

Only now, you weren’t just doing it because it was your job. You were doing it because she was Yujin. Your pain-in-the-ass favourite.

And nothing had ever felt more normal. Well…sort of.

When Yujin came back from her short sick leave, you told yourself everything was back to normal. You resumed your post—silent, alert, just another shadow in the background of their busy schedules.

Somehow your eyes keep landing to Yujin.

It wasn’t conscious at first. Your eyes found her before anyone else. If she laughed too hard, coughed even once, or lingered behind the group for more than five seconds, then your body moved on its own.

When the girls were filming a behind-the-scenes vlog at the park, you were meant to stay back with another staff member and keep your eyes on the crowd. The other members were off doing bits for the camera — Leeseo trying to race a squirrel, Rei spinning in circles for a TikTok, Wonyoung striking poses every five steps.

But your gaze locked onto Yujin, who had wandered to the edge of the walkway to wave at a passing toddler. The child’s mom smiled politely. Yujin beamed whereas you narrowed your eyes.

“Don’t wander too far,” you muttered into her earpiece.

She blinked, surprised, glancing around. Then she spotted you, arms crossed from thirty feet away, deadpan as usual.

She grinned. “Wow,” she whispered, loud enough into her mic for the whole crew to hear. “Even when I’m being adorable, I’m being pampered.”

"Yujin, what the-"

Later, at a crowded event where all six girls needed to take individual photos, you were meant to rotate between them. One minute per member, just a routine check-in. Uh, you spent three on Yujin. Checking the heels she hated wearing, handing her a tissue even though she hadn’t asked for one, fixing the mic pack on her back, even though a stylist had already done it.

“Oppa,” Wonyoung called, arching a brow from the side, “you do know the rest of us exist, right?”

You didn’t even turn. “Yeah, I just have a priority system. And you’re currently ranked... uhh…somewhere below the sound guy.”

The entire staff went, “Ohhhh snap-”

Rei nearly choked on her protein bar. “Oh damn.”

Yujin, gleaming like she just won an award, leaned into you and whispered, “Don’t let her live that one down. Please.”

Wonyoung huffed dramatically. “I hope she breaks your heart.”

“I hope she pays me more.”

That earned a laugh from even the manager, while Yujin clutched her stomach and leaned fully against your shoulder like it was her personal throne.

“See? That’s my bodyguard,” she said proudly. “Sassy and effective.”

You didn’t say it aloud, but you kind of liked the way she uses the word "my" like that….or anytime she mentions you at all. Normally, you sat up front with the manager or quietly scanned your phone in the back row. Now? Now you were subtly adjusting the air conditioning whenever Yujin looked flushed. Offering her your water bottle without being asked. Ducking your head when she caught you glancing at her through the rearview mirror. Very minor things.

She’d tease you mercilessly every time. “Is this what love feels like?” “Are you writing a fanfic about me in your head right now?” “Hey~ blink if you want me to hold your hand.”

“Yujin, I can still push you out of this van.”

But your words lacked bite because even you couldn’t ignore it anymore. Your attention always gravitated toward her.

Somehow, in a job built on staying detached, you had grown undeniably, stupidly, attached to An Yujin. Fucking damn it.

At some point, it became background noise, like the hum of fluorescent lights or the soft spin of a fan. Reliable. Predictable.

You and Yujin bicker. All day long. Since who knows when.

The other members had stopped commenting on it. They had stopped reacting to it…ok, honestly, they barely heard it anymore — at least not in the way most people would, just like this morning.

“Your hoodie’s inside out,” you muttered one morning as Yujin stomped out of the dorm in slippers and sleepy menace.

“It’s fashion,” she yawned. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Of course I don't because it's dumb. I can see the tag.” “That’s the statement piece. It’s commentary on how society’s always looking at labels!”