you and jiseok stepped into the practice room, laughing lightly at something that had happened earlier. everything felt comfortable between you two, as it always did, but as soon as gunil noticed, his eyes immediately flicked between you and jiseok, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “so, what’s going on with you two?” he asked, his tone dripping with curiosity.

you froze for a second, glancing at jiseok, who was already looking at you with a nervous smile. his hand, which had been resting lightly on your waist, tightened subtly, as if to reassure you that everything was fine. “we’re not like that,” you said quickly, but the words felt awkward, especially as jiseok gave a small, unconvincing nod, though he didn’t pull his hand away. instead, he shifted a little closer, his fingers lightly tracing the curve of your waist as if he couldn’t bear the thought of putting any space between you two.

“yeah, not like that,” you added, but gunil wasn’t buying it, his skeptical gaze moving between the two of you. jiseok, almost as if to prove his point, casually wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you a little closer, his cheek brushing against yours as he leaned in, completely oblivious to the teasing stares from the others. his hand never left your waist, and even when he pulled back slightly, it lingered there, warm and reassuring.

as the others continued to joke, you tried to act natural, but jiseok's clinginess only made it harder to deny. he kept his hand on your back or waist, always finding excuses to hold your hand or hug you closer, as if he didn’t want to let go. every touch felt like it meant more than you were willing to admit aloud. and no matter how many times you both insisted that it wasn’t anything serious, the warmth of his affection and the way he never quite let go spoke volumes. you could feel the truth in every small gesture, even if you weren’t ready to say it out loud yet.