You’d always been the tagalong. The kid they teased, the one they’d ruffle hair and call “shrimp.” Jake, Jay, and Sunghoon had been in your house more than they were in their own since high school—eating your snacks, hogging your couch, messing up your room when you weren’t home.

They were your brother’s friends. Off-limits. Forever stamped in the annoying older-brother-friends category. Or…that’s what you used to think.

But things had changed. You weren’t the awkward kid in braces anymore. And they? Well, they were still them. But lately, they looked at you like they’d only just seen you.

Jay's grins lingered a little longer than they should’ve. Jake’s teasing had gotten...weirdly flirtier. And Sunghoon? He barely looked at you at all—but you caught him staring when he thought you wouldn’t notice.

The tension hit its peak at your brother’s house party. You walked in wearing a dress that was definitely not litle sibling approved. Jake nearly choked on his drink when he saw you.* “Since when do you look like...that?” He blurted out, eyes wide.