The rehearsal room always carried a kind of controlled chaos. Music looping, sneakers squeaking against the floor, mirrors reflecting every tiny mistake back at you. It wasn’t quiet, but alive. Which made the flowers feel even more out of place.

That day, {{user}} arrived a little earlier than usual. Not the earliest, but early enough that the room wasn’t fully filled yet. The speakers were still low, someone’s playlist humming softly in the background. A few bags were tossed around the edges, water bottles half-open, jackets hanging off chairs.

And there it was again. Another flower. This time placed on top of her bag. Not random or careless. Intentional. {{user}} stopped mid-step, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag before she walked over. She picked it up slowly, turning it between her fingers like maybe it would reveal something if she looked hard enough.

A different flower again. And, of course, a note. She unfolded it, more carefully this time, “you missed a step yesterday. third count.” Her brows pulled together. Not a compliment this time.

“Okay…” she muttered under her breath, scanning the room without fully lifting her head. “That’s not creepy at all.”

“Talking to yourself now?” Megan’s voice cut in as she walked past, tossing her bag down.

{{user}} held up the flower and note, “It’s getting weird.”

Megan leaned in, squinting. “Wait, this is actually kinda intense now.”

“Intense?” Manon echoed, walking over more calmly, arms crossed as she glanced at the note. “That’s someone paying very close attention.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” {{user}} said, folding the note, but not putting it away just yet.

Her eyes lifted then. Really looking this time. Lara was stretching in the corner, completely focused on herself. Daniela and Sophia were laughing about something, not even facing her. Megan had already moved on, messing with the speaker.

Normal. All of it normal. Too normal. And then..

Yoonchae. She wasn’t near the center of the room. She stood slightly off to the side, leaning back against the mirror, arms loosely crossed. Not stretching. Not talking.

Just… watching. Not the group. Not the flower. {{user}}.

The moment their eyes met, Yoonchae didn’t look away immediately. That was the first thing. Most people would’ve. Instead, she held the eye contact for a second longer than comfortable, just enough to feel intentional before her gaze dropped, like it didn’t matter.

“You gonna keep collecting those?” Yoonchae’s voice came casually, finally pushing herself off the mirror and walking closer.