Zoya gently nudged Hana's arm and slid the notepad in front of her.
Hana looked at Zoya first, then followed the silent cue in her eyes and glanced down.
"Should we go home?"
A small smile touched Hana's lips as she read it.
"I'll ask Minji," she said softly, getting up.
In the kitchen, Minji and Ruhi were busy with Jinhun and Yomin, preparing dinner.
Across the room, Minjo and Hosu were messing around with Jeon.J's music instruments—the ones he occasionally used when inspiration struck.
Teahun and Jeon.J sat in the living room, scrolling through their phones. On the other sofa, Zoya and Hana had been sitting quietly. Everyone was busy in their own world.
But Teahun had noticed.
He had seen Zoya writing something on the notepad. And ever since Hana left, something restless stirred inside him. These days, if he didn't tease Zoya at least once… it felt like something was missing.
"Zoya…"
At the sound of his voice, she lifted her eyes and looked at him—silent, unreadable.
Jeon.J also looked up from his phone.
Teahun got up and moved to the three-seater sofa(couch), sitting at a slight distance from her. One leg folded, leaning casually into the corner… while Zoya remained at the opposite end, exactly as she had been.
A moment passed.
Then suddenly, Teahun stood up again.
Without a word, he walked around the room, grabbing cushions from different sofas—one by one—until his arms were full. He came back and quietly arranged them behind Zoya, building a soft support for her back.
For a brief second… she felt it.
That comfort. That ease she hadn't realized she needed.
But just as quickly, she straightened up again. Serious. Distant.
Teahun frowned, staring at her.
"I didn't build Mountain to become Everest. Sit properly… relax."
Then, with a faint smirk,
"Anyway, you're going to get annoyed at me in a minute, so you might as well be comfortable first."
Zoya just looked at him.
Blank.
Silent.
And this time… it hit him.
Teahun avoided her gaze. Something about her quietness was unsettling. In the past few days, he had never seen her like this. She would argue, snap back, fight him with words—
But this?
This silence… was cutting through him.
He just wanted her to speak.
Even if it meant starting a fight.
"Don't look at me like that…" he muttered lightly, trying to joke.
"I might get shy."
No reaction.
Zoya's gaze dropped slowly to her hands resting in her lap.
To the faint wounds on their backs.
Teahun followed her gaze.
And something inside him softened.
He shifted closer.
"I don't know how much pain you're in…" he said quietly,
"But what I can see… these wounds… I don't like them."
A pause.
"Once upon a time… when I was in pain too. My wounds weren't like yours… they were hidden."
Jeon.J had stopped scrolling.
He was Watching.
He was Listening.
"I had no one to share it with. Nights felt… endless.
I remember sitting in my room, crying… and there was no one there to even wipe my tears."
Zoya slowly lifted her eyes.
Teahun leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling, blinking hard—as if forcing even a single tear to fall.
Zoya kept looking at him.
Silently.
He turned his head back toward her—and froze when he caught her staring.
His eyes widened slightly.
"You don't believe me?"
She said nothing.
Jeon.J's gaze moved between them.
"I'm telling the truth," Teahun insisted, almost stubbornly now.
"I was really… really hurt. No one even wiped my tears."
Just then, Hosu and Minjo dropped onto the sofa beside Jeon.J.
"So… what happened then?" Hosu asked, completely direct.
Teahun shot him a look.
"You don't listen to someone's personal story like that."
"It becomes personal when you say it quietly in a corner," Minjo replied instantly.
"You said it loud enough for the whole room."
Teahun scoffed.
"I was emotional, okay? That's why I was loud. You didn't have to listen."
"If you speak that loud, people will listen," Hosu shrugged.
Jeon.J and Zoya remained silent—just watching it all unfold.
Then Minjo leaned forward slightly, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
"Zoya… if Teahun allows it, should I tell you his story?"
Teahun turned his head sharply—his eyes locking onto Minjo.
"Okay… so I can tell your story."
At Minjo's words, Zoya looked at him.
This time, the silence in her eyes was… fading.
A faint spark had returned.
Minjo leaned back, a teasing smile playing on his lips as he glanced at Teahun.
"Well… what else could happen to a kid who starts tying long threads of love in middle school?"
"Ohhh—that story?" Hosu jumped in dramatically.
"I thought it was something serious. Now I really want to tell you what happened next. Why was he alone? Why did no one wipe his tears?" Can I tell you the next scene? Hosu asked Zoya and looked in a teasing way at Teahun.
Zoya looked at Hosu, confused.
Jeon.J, meanwhile, had stopped pretending to scroll.
He was watching them now—quietly amused.
Hosu stepped forward like a storyteller on stage.
"So here's what happened…
Back in middle school, our dear Teahun fell for a girl."
Teahun shot him a warning look.
Hosu ignored it.
"He even confessed—"
"I didn't—" Teahun snapped.
"—and the girl?" Hosu continued louder, grinning, "She came from a very rich family."
Zoya's attention sharpened.
"She looked at this poor farmer's son…" Hosu added dramatically, pointing at Teahun,
"…and then later, after school, she showed up with her big, scary cousins from the high school section."
Minjo burst out laughing.
"And after that?" Hosu spread his hands wide,
"The wounds he got… weren't the kind you could see."
Teahun clenched his jaw.
"No one could notice them.
And telling at home?" Hosu shook his head,
"That would've just given him more wounds… maybe the kind everyone could see."
The room fell quieter for a second.
"That's why the night felt so long…" Hosu added softly,
"Not just because she left… but because of the pain hiding underneath."
Silence.
Then—
Zoya looked at Teahun.
And for the first time…
A soft smile touched her lips.
Minjo and Hosu burst out laughing again.
Even Jeon.J let out a chuckle.
"I DIDN'T propose!" Teahun snapped, glaring at Hosu.
"You added that part yourself!"
Then he turned to Zoya, half-annoyed, half-something else.
"And you—why are you laughing with them?
Are you my friend or theirs?"
At the word friend… Zoya's expression shifted.
She looked at him.
Teahun looked back.
And for a moment—
Everything felt… normal again.
"Okay, fine," Hosu smirked, stepping in again,
"Maybe he didn't propose. But asking a girl to go out on a date in middle school? That's basically the same thing, right?"
But—
Zoya's smile disappeared.
Her eyes turned serious.
Then… slowly… they began to fill.
Teahun and Hosu were still busy teasing each other.
Only one person noticed.
Jeon.J.
He had seen that shift.
From laughter… back to pain.
His brows furrowed slightly.
He didn't understand—
What just changed?
And then—
A voice echoed in Zoya's mind.
"We were physical too…" Ji-won's words.
Sharp. Unwanted.
Returning like a wound reopening.
Zoya's breath hitched.
She suddenly looked up—
And met Jeon.J's eyes.
He was already looking at her.
Watching.
Trying to understand.
Her gaze broke instantly.
She looked away.
Jeon.J's expression tightened.
A flicker of something dark crossed his face.
Without a word—
He stood up.
And started walking away.
______________________
Zoya quickly grabbed the notepad.
Her fingers moved fast.
She held it out to Teahun.
"Hye, don't write in English…" Teahun muttered lightly, still in his usual tone,
"I don't understand it."
But then he read.
And froze.
"What does physical date mean?"
Teahun blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"Okay…" he said slowly, looking at her,
"I get that you don't really have the whole 'dating' concept in your culture, but—
Now, how am I supposed to answer that?"
At that exact moment—
Jeon.J stopped.
He had heard it.
He turned.
His eyes landed on the notepad.
Then on Zoya.
Confusion flashed across his face.
Why would she ask that?
But it took only seconds—
For realization to hit.
His mind connected it back— to her expression earlier.
And something inside him… tightened.
"Hosu, you explain," Teahun said quickly, dragging him in.
"Why me?" Hosu raised his hands.
"I don't have any dating scandals. Ask Minjo."
Minjo stiffened instantly.
"I don't know anything!" he said quickly, already walking away toward the kitchen, passing by Jeon.J.
Hosu's gaze shifted—
And landed on Jeon.J.
A slow grin spread across his face.
"Ohhh—why don't you ask him?" he said, grabbing Jeon.J by the shoulder from behind.
"He's the youngest of them… but social media goes crazy over him when a small piece of video goes viral about dating rumours, I'm sure he has experience.
Zoya's head dropped at Hosu's pitiless words.
Jeon.J felt it.
Teahun and Hosu burst into laughter, the sound light and careless.
Hosu let go of Jeon.J's shoulder and casually followed Minjo toward the kitchen, still chuckling to himself.
Teahun pushed himself up from the sofa, about to leave—
suddenly,
Zoya's hand hit the sofa sharply.
Teahun stopped.
Turned.
She was looking at him… and with a small, silent gesture, she signalled him to sit back down.
Stay.
That one moment—
That one gesture—
Jeon.J saw it.
Something inside him snapped.
She stopped Teahun...
Why?
His thoughts spiraled before he could stop them.
Does she not want to be alone with me?
After that question...
Does she think I'm that kind of man?
Is that who I am to her now?
Zoya's silence.
Her question.
The way she avoided looking at him.
And now—
Stopping Teahun from leaving.
One by one, every moment fell into place.
Not the truth—
Only the story his mind chose to believe.
She wasn't confused.
She was wary.
Stay away from him.
Don't leave me alone with him.
Without asking.
Without hearing her.
Without knowing what was really going through her mind—
Jeon.J crossed a line.
In that moment, Zoya was no longer the girl struggling to understand.
She became the one who had judged him...
The one who had already decided what kind of man he was.
And to him—
It felt undeniable.
His jaw clenched.
His gaze darkened.
Anger rushed through him before reason had a chance to speak.
He turned—
CRASH.
His foot slammed into the small table beside him.
It flipped over.
The vase crashed onto the floor, shattering into countless pieces.
The sound tore through the silence.
Teahun and Zoya both flinched—turning instantly toward the noise.
But Jeon.J didn't look back.
Not at them.
Not at her.
His chest rising, his thoughts burning—
He walked away.
Fast.
"What just happened to him?" Teahun asked, still staring in the direction Jeon.J had disappeared.
He glanced at Zoya.
She looked just as confused.
Before either of them could say anything—
"What is this?" Minjo's voice came as everyone rushed out of the kitchen, drawn by the loud crash.
Broken glass. The fallen table.
Minjo looked straight at Teahun.
"What happened?"
Teahun scoffed, clearly irritated.
"The youngest psycho among us did this," he said bluntly. "Go call him. Come back and clean it?"
"Where is he?" Hosu asked, looking around.
"I don't know," Teahun snapped, already turning to leave.
"Teahun—either clean this up or go wash the dishes. And not just these—the dinner ones too," Yomin said firmly.
Teahun froze.
He turned slowly, staring at him in disbelief.
"Why me?" he burst out.
"Whenever something goes wrong on either side, I'm the one you all see?!"
He pointed toward the mess.
"Tell that psycho to clean it!"
"He'll come back eventually?. Go call him," Jinhun said calmly.
Teahun looked around.
Everyone… was looking at him.
As if he were the one at fault.
As if Jeon.J was the victim.
His frustration snapped.
"Fine! I'll clean it!" he shouted.
"Good. Hurry up. I'll go check on him," Jinhun said, already heading toward Jeon.J's room.
Teahun glared at his back, then turned to Minji—who was quietly heading back to the kitchen.
"You clean it," he muttered. "Your boyfriend did this."
Minji paused for a split second—glancing first toward Jeon.J's room… then at Teahun.
And then—
She walked away.
Ignoring him completely.
Teahun blinked, stunned.
He turned to Hana and Ruhi, silently hoping for backup—
But they, too, left without a word.
No mercy.
No help.
Across the room, Hosu and Minjo stood watching for a moment.
Then Hosu casually nudged Minjo
"Come on, let's go wash the dishes."
Teahun's head snapped toward them.
He looked at Yomin, offended beyond words.
"When I wash dishes, I do it alone. And now these two are doing it together? Why this injustice with me?!" he complained dramatically.
Yomin just shrugged and walked back into the kitchen, checking the final touches of dinner.
Teahun stood there… betrayed.
"This is why I say—you all don't love me," he declared, placing a hand over his heart.
"You always do this to me. I don't even have a single friend here…"
He dragged the last word with full dramatic effect—
Then turned toward Zoya.
She was already looking at him.
Quietly.
Softly.
She raised her hand slightly—gesturing,
"Should I do it?"
For a moment, Teahun just looked at her.
Then a slow, genuine smile appeared.
"I'll do it," he said gently.
A small pause.
"And honestly… talking to you like this—through gestures—feels nice."
A faint smirk touched his lips.
"At least your words don't hit like arrows this way."
Zoya narrowed her eyes at him—
Then… despite herself—
A small smile slipped through.
To be continued.....
Regards,
ZK