When the wind changes

You arrived at LE SSERAFIM’s dorm a little later than planned, and to your chagrin, Sakura and Toji were already gone.

“Damn it, Kura and Toji,” you muttered, sighing.

“I said five minutes late, not fifty,” you grumbled, checking your watch. “Two and a half minutes. This is total BS.”

Your phone buzzed with a message. It was from Sakura.

Sakura: Hey Denji, just saw your text. Sorry! Toji and I decided to make it a date day when you didn’t show 💕

You rolled your eyes and groaned quietly. “Seriously? Two minutes late and I’m ghosted.”

Just as you turned to leave, the sound of soft footsteps padded into the living room. You looked up to see Chaewon standing in the doorway, wearing an oversized hoodie and blinking at you like a curious cat.

“Oh—it’s you. Denji, right?” she asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yep, that’s me. How are you, Chaewon?”

She smiled—small and teasing. “I’m good. But you’re late,” she said, mock-scolding.

You sighed. “Yeah… My ex tried calling out of nowhere. Wanted to talk about getting back together.”

Chaewon’s brows furrowed. “And… she’s in the U.S., right?”

“Yeah. She’s in the States. I’m in Korea. So… impossible.”

She tilted her head, studying you. “So… if she flew out here, would you get back with her?”

You shook your head immediately. “Absolutely not. Not even a little bit.”

Chaewon laughed—bright and bubbly—and did that nose scrunch she was famous for, the one that had an annoying tendency to melt hearts.

“Don’t you dare,” you said, pointing at her accusingly.

She blinked, surprised. “What? What did I do?”

“You did the flirty nose scrunch. I saw it. I’m not falling for that today.”

Chaewon grinned mischievously. “Why not?”

“Because I’ll fall in love with you, and I’m trying to remain emotionally neutral around you people.”

That earned a soft laugh from her. “You’re funny, Denji.”

She stepped closer, her sweet, innocent brown eyes locking onto yours—and suddenly your heart was doing laps in your chest.

“Chae,” you said, a bit more curtly than intended.

Chaewon’s lips curled into a teasing smile. “Oh, so I’m Chae now?”