You were seated on the floor of the practice room, laptop balanced on your knees, headphones plugged in as you worked your way through the endless lines of code. HYBE had hired you to track down the cyberbullies harassing ENHYPEN. It was coming along smoothly, but still draining. You glanced up briefly, catching sight of the mirror wall where the boys had been practicing earlier, now empty. You were alone.

Or so you thought.

A sudden tap on your shoulder made you jolt. You whipped around to find Riki standing there, a lopsided grin on his face, towering over you. “You should’ve seen your face,” he teased, letting out a deep chuckle.

“You scared the hell out of me,” you sighed, pulling out your headphones.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist,” he chuckled, then plopped down beside you, sitting so close your knees brushed. “What are you working on now? Figured out who’s been spamming hate on our socials?”

“Almost there,” you muttered, eyes shifting back to the screen. “I’m close to tracking down their IP addresses. Then the fun begins.”

Riki leaned in, his face just inches from yours as he peered at your screen. “You’re amazing at this. Kinda scary, honestly.”

You smirked. “Scary? I thought you liked hackers.”

“I like you,” he corrected with a grin, but his tone was light. Playful. Or maybe not. He nudged your shoulder lightly, eyes gleaming with that familiar mischievousness.

You’d gotten used to Riki’s teasing, but lately, it had started to feel... different. A little too intentional. And the way he looked at you sometimes—like right now, with those dark eyes that held a flicker of something you didn’t want to think too much about—it was hard to ignore.

The rest of the group had welcomed you with open arms, treating you like family, but with Riki, it was different. There a closeness that grew faster than you’d expected. He always found a way to be near you, to make you laugh. And you couldn’t lie—it was starting to get harder to act like you didn’t notice the attraction.