----
The rematch began properly.
Which, in this case, meant Subin finally stopped talking.
Mostly.
Her nose had been wiped.
Her expression had hardened.
And the air around her had changed from offended embarrassment into something colder. Sharper. Actual focus.
Wooin stood across from her, quiet as ever.
No glasses.
Black jacket zipped up.
Hands loose at his sides.
He looked almost harmless.
Almost.
Jisuk leaned forward with his popcorn box tucked under one arm, eyes bright with the terrible joy of someone about to witness violence and drama at the same time.
Jiwoo stood nearby, hands clenched nervously at his sides.
Asuka remained at the edge of the room with Kayden in her arms, watching beneath her bandages.
Kayden's tail flicked once.
"This should be better."
Asuka tilted her head slightly.
"You sound pleased."
"I am evaluating."
"You are pleased."
"I said evaluating."
"Yes, Mr. Kayden."
He clicked his tongue.
Inhyuk stepped forward again, looking as though he regretted several life choices.
"Both sides ready?"
Subin lowered her stance.
Wooin did the same.
This time, neither took their eyes off the other.
The first beep sounded.
Subin's fingers flexed.
Cold spread across the floor beneath her feet.
The second beep sounded.
Wooin's energy gathered around him, silent and compressed.
The third beep sounded.
Wooin attacked first.
Of course he did.
A blast of telekinetic force shot straight toward Subin's face.
But this time, she was ready.
Subin's body twisted sharply, ice forming beneath her heel as she slid sideways. The attack tore past her and struck the reinforced wall behind her with a heavy impact.
She countered immediately.
Ice shards formed around her like jagged glass, then launched forward in a glittering wave.
Wooin lifted one hand.
The shards shattered midair.
Not all at once.
One after another.
Precise impacts.
Invisible force struck each shard at the weakest point, breaking them before they reached him.
Subin's eyes narrowed.
"So you can defend too."
Wooin said nothing.
Jisuk shoved popcorn into his mouth.
"Obviously."
Subin snapped, "I wasn't talking to you!"
"Too bad. I'm here."
"Unfortunately," Asuka murmured.
Jisuk pointed at her without looking.
"You be quiet too, blindfold."
Kayden's eyes narrowed.
Jisuk's hand slowly lowered.
"…Respectfully."
Asuka smiled faintly.
Subin surged forward.
More ice formed.
Larger this time.
Not simple shards, but layered spears, thin and sharp, coming from multiple angles. Wooin's telekinesis struck them, but Subin kept producing more. The floor froze in expanding patches, limiting where he could step.
Wooin moved backward.
One step.
Then another.
Subin noticed.
Her confidence returned.
"There."
Her ice aura grew stronger.
"Now you're starting to understand."
She lifted one hand, and a curved sheet of ice rose from the floor, forcing Wooin to dodge right.
Exactly where she wanted him.
A dagger of ice formed in her palm.
She closed the distance and slashed.
Wooin twisted, but not fast enough.
The blade cut across his sleeve, side, and thigh, drawing a thin line of blood along his arm.
Jiwoo flinched.
"Wooin!"
Wooin dropped to one knee.
Subin stopped with the dagger at her side.
For one second, she looked satisfied.
There it was.
The difference.
Training.
Experience.
Foundation.
She had been taught from the beginning. She knew how to control space with ice, how to pressure an opponent's movement, how to force a reaction and punish it.
He was useful.
But he was not better.
Subin's mouth curved.
"This is the difference between you and me."
Silence.
Then Jisuk's expression darkened.
"Are you for real?"
Subin glanced over.
"What?"
Jisuk stared at her like she had said something genuinely stupid.
"You think that's it?"
Subin's brows drew together.
"What are you talking about?"
Jisuk's grip tightened around the popcorn box.
"Wooin, you fought on even ground with me."
The room went quiet.
Subin's eyes shifted.
Even Inhyuk looked toward Jisuk.
Jisuk was not smiling now.
He looked annoyed.
Actually annoyed.
"Don't bullshit me! I know you can't possibly go down that easily?"
Subin looked back at Wooin.
Wooin's head was lowered.
Then he stood.
Slowly.
Calmly.
The thin cut on his arm dripped once onto the floor.
His expression had barely changed.
"I was figuring her out."
Subin froze.
Jisuk's grin returned instantly.
"That's one hell of a way to figure her out."
Wooin lifted his head.
His energy rose. Not explosively. Not dramatically. But deeper. More of it filled the space around him, pressing outward in a quiet, steady wave.
Subin's eyes widened.
So this was it. This was why Mr. Park had personally offered him a place in the Union. Not because his ability was simply useful. Because his control was already at this level without formal evaluation. Without group training. Without being shaped from childhood the way she had been.
Inhyuk's expression sharpened as he watched.
Subin was finally taking this seriously.
Good.
Because if she didn't, she would lose again.
Subin stepped back and dissolved the ice dagger.
Then smiled.
"All right."
Her ice aura thickened.
"I'll do it for real this time."
She pointed at Wooin.
"Show me those skills of yours that arrogant punk Jisuk was raving about."
Jisuk choked.
"Raving?"
Subin ignored him.
Jisuk pointed violently.
"I did not rave!"
Jiwoo blinked.
"That's what it sounded like to me too."
Jisuk whipped toward him.
"Jiwoo!"
Asuka nodded sagely.
"It did sound similar to praise."
Jisuk's face reddened.
"No, you misunderstood!"
Wooin looked away.
His ears were faintly pink.
That only made Jisuk angrier.
"Don't blush! That makes it worse!"
Subin snapped.
"You punks!"
Everyone looked at her.
"Shut the hell up and stop distracting me!"
She pointed at Jisuk.
"Especially you. You really need to shut it!"
Then at Jiwoo.
"You too, kid. Sit still!"
Then at Wooin.
"And why would you fuel the fire, Wooin?!"
Wooin blinked.
"I didn't."
"You blushed!"
"I did not mean to."
Jisuk shouted back, "Don't be pointing fingers, Subin! You're the one who wanted to take your sweet ass time!"
Subin's eye twitched.
"You—"
Jiyoung watched in silence.
Inhyuk sweat-dropped.
Seongha looked increasingly pale.
Asuka tilted her head.
Were they in a comedy? The thought came so suddenly that it almost made her laugh. Then, unexpectedly, memory ached.
Suguru.
Toru.
Two boys arguing too loudly. A fight turning ridiculous because one of them could not stop provoking the other. White hair. A sharp smile. A dark uniform. A gentler voice beside it. For a moment, the training room blurred with a place that no longer existed.
Asuka's fingers tightened slightly around Kayden.
Kayden noticed.
He looked up at her.
"Asuka?"
She blinked beneath her bandages.
Then exhaled.
"It is nothing."
It was in the past. A past that still hurt. A past she could not return to.
Subin's voice snapped her fully back.
"Jisuk Yoo! Didn't I tell you to shut up?!"
Jisuk scoffed.
"Whatever. Just hurry up and fight."
He shook the popcorn box.
"My popcorn's getting stale."
Subin's face went blank.
Then her hand moved. An ice shard shot across the room. Not at Jisuk. At the popcorn. The shard sliced through the box.
Popcorn exploded into the air. For a second, everyone watched kernels rain down across the training room floor. Jisuk stared at the empty, ruined box in his hands.
His expression went dark.
Very dark.
"Subin."
Subin lifted her chin.
"What?"
"You've really gone mad, huh?"
"I'm perfectly sane."
"You destroyed my popcorn."
"You brought popcorn to my spar!"
"It was good popcorn."
"If you're pissed, bring it on, punk!"
Ice burst around her.
Jisuk's wind answered instantly.
A grin cut across his face.
"All right."
He dropped the ruined box.
"A brawl it is!"
"Wait," Inhyuk said immediately.
No one listened.
Jisuk dashed forward.
Subin launched herself at him.
Wind and ice collided in the middle of the training room with a sharp crack.
Wooin stood where he was.
Alone.
Awkwardly.
His hand was still lifted from the match that had apparently been abandoned.
Jiwoo stared.
"Um…"
Asuka watched Jisuk and Subin begin yelling over the sound of clashing abilities. Subin created ice platforms beneath her feet, slipping around Jisuk's wind bursts with practiced speed. Jisuk laughed and cut through them, launching himself sideways with compressed air.
"You missed!"
"Shut up!"
"You're slow!"
"You're annoying!"
"You attacked my popcorn!"
"You deserved it!"
"I deserved popcorn!"
"You deserved worse!"
Kayden's eyes gleamed.
He leaned forward in Asuka's arms, completely invested.
Now this—
This was a fight.
No hesitation.
No overthinking.
No stopping after one exchange because someone's pride got scratched.
Just movement.
Attack.
Counterattack.
Momentum.
Anger.
Adaptation.
Beautiful.
Kayden's tail flicked with delight.
"This is what I'm talking about."
Asuka looked down at him.
"You are enjoying this too much."
"No."
"You are."
"This is educational."
"For whom?"
"Everyone."
Jisuk sent a blade of wind toward Subin's feet. She froze the floor and slid backward, then threw three shards at his shoulder. He twisted, one grazing his sleeve.
"Ha! Still missed!"
"I'm aiming for your mouth next!"
"Try it!"
"Gladly!"
Jiwoo looked horrified.
"Should we stop them?"
Wooin looked at him.
"I think someone else should."
Jiyoung sighed.
A small sound.
Soft.
Controlled.
Terrifying.
Inhyuk immediately straightened.
Seongha did too.
That sigh was an order.
They moved.
One moment, they stood beside Jiyoung.
The next, both vanished.
Inhyuk appeared behind Jisuk and caught him by the back of the jacket, twisting his arm just enough to lock him without hurting him.
Seongha appeared in front of Subin and pressed one hand down, ice dispersing under his control as his presence overrode hers.
Both teenagers froze.
Then started yelling anyway.
"Let go!"
"Sir!"
"He started it!"
"She destroyed my popcorn!"
"He brought popcorn!"
"It was for the match!"
"It was insulting!"
"You're insulting!"
"You're ugly!"
"You're louder!"
"Enough," Jiyoung said.
The room went dead silent.
Jisuk's mouth shut.
Subin's mouth shut.
Even Kayden stopped looking amused for half a second.
Jiyoung's calm gaze moved between them.
Then to the floor.
Popcorn everywhere.
Ice marks across the panels.
Wind cuts along the reinforced wall.
Wooin still standing in the center like someone had misplaced him in the middle of a storm.
Seongha cleared his throat.
"Subin."
She stiffened.
"Yes, sir."
"What were you here to do?"
Subin froze.
Then blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Her gaze slowly moved toward Wooin.
Oh.
Right.
Wooin.
The test.
Her pride.
The Union offer.
She had completely forgotten.
Jisuk snorted.
Subin glared at him.
He smiled.
Inhyuk tightened his grip on Jisuk's jacket.
Jisuk went still.
Subin straightened herself as much as she could while still being held back by Seongha.
She pointed toward Wooin.
"You passed."
Wooin blinked.
Jiwoo blinked.
Asuka tilted her head.
Kayden stared.
Subin lifted her chin, trying to recover dignity that had been scattered across the floor with Jisuk's popcorn.
"You passed my test."
Wooin stared at her.
"Your test?"
"Yes."
She folded her arms.
"The test was to check if you were solid enough for Mr. Park's offer."
Her expression became proud.
"I've seen enough. You proved your worth."
Silence.
Then Jisuk spoke.
"What a load of bullcrap."
Subin's head snapped toward him.
"What did you say?"
Jisuk grinned even while Inhyuk held him back.
"Please. You're just scared of losing after using up your energy on me."
Subin's face reddened.
"Shut up."
"Don't act all high and mighty."
"Shut up!"
"You know I'm right."
"Why won't you just shut the hell up?!"
Jisuk shrugged.
"Natural talent."
Inhyuk sighed directly into his soul.
"Jisuk."
"What?"
"Stop talking."
"But I'm right."
"That has never stopped you from making things worse."
Asuka nodded.
"Accurate."
Jisuk pointed.
"You stay out of this!"
Kayden's eyes narrowed.
Jisuk froze.
"…Please."
Asuka smiled.
Wooin finally spoke.
"I'm not going to join the Union."
The room went quiet.
Subin turned back sharply.
"What?"
Wooin stood calmly.
"I won't join."
Subin looked genuinely offended.
"How dare you reject the Union?"
Wooin did not flinch.
"Why? Did you get another offer?"
She stepped forward, only for Seongha's hand to stop her.
"Are you weighing your options? Huh?"
"No."
Wooin's voice was steady.
"It's not that."
"Then what?"
"I just don't know what belonging to a group really means yet."
Subin stared.
Then her expression twisted.
"Our Union is the best in the country."
Wooin listened.
"Our problems are zero to none. Do you know how lucky it is to be part of such a group as an awakened one?"
Her voice rose.
"Don't you know how dangerous it is for an awakened one to be without a group?"
She pointed at him.
"This is no time to be full of yourself!"
Wooin lowered his gaze for a moment.
Then lifted it again.
"I know the Union is a good place."
Subin paused.
"And I know very well that it's dangerous to be alone."
"Then why—"
"But for now…"
Wooin turned toward Seongha.
He bowed deeply.
"I'm sorry."
Seongha looked at him quietly.
Wooin continued.
"Thank you for the offer."
A pause.
"But I'm not looking to become part of a group right now."
Subin looked stunned.
Jiwoo's expression softened.
Jisuk stopped smirking.
Asuka watched Wooin quietly.
He was afraid.
Not visibly.
Not obviously.
But she could tell.
He knew what danger looked like. He knew what it meant to be alone. And still, he was choosing not to step into another structure before he understood what it would take from him.
That was not arrogance.
That was caution.
And perhaps, for someone like Wooin, it was also courage.
Seongha's face grew serious.
"What happened before may happen again."
Wooin did not look away.
"This time, it worked out."
Seongha's voice lowered.
"But next time, you may face something more difficult."
The Klein brothers remained unspoken.
But everyone heard them anyway.
Jiwoo's hands tightened slightly.
Wooin nodded.
"I understand."
"Do you?"
"Yes."
Wooin's voice stayed calm.
"I'm prepared."
Seongha studied him for a long moment.
Then sighed.
"Fine."
Subin stared at him.
"Sir—"
"If that's what you want, I have my hands tied."
Seongha's expression softened slightly.
"If you change your mind, contact me anytime."
Wooin bowed again.
"I will."
A pause.
"Thank you."
Subin looked away with a huff.
"How stupid."
Asuka nodded sagely in silent agreement.
Not with Subin's insult.
With the general stupidity of everything that had happened in the room.
Kayden glanced up at her.
"You agreed too fast."
"I was agreeing with the atmosphere."
"What does that mean?"
"That it is stupid."
Kayden blinked.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
Jiyoung finally stepped forward.
Her heels clicked against the floor.
Once.
Twice.
The sound alone made Jisuk straighten.
Jiyoung looked across the room.
At Subin.
At Wooin.
At Jisuk.
At the damaged floor.
At the scattered popcorn.
Then she asked calmly, "Is it over now?"
Everyone looked at her.
Inhyuk released Jisuk slowly.
Seongha lowered his hand from Subin's shoulder.
Subin stiffened.
Wooin nodded faintly.
"Yes."
Jiyoung's eyes moved to the floor again.
"Then clean up before you leave."
Silence.
The translation was immediate.
Jisuk, clean up your popcorn.
Jisuk's face went pale.
Jiyoung turned without another word and walked away.
Her heels clicked against the floor, each step elegant and devastating.
No one moved until the door closed behind her.
Then everyone slowly looked at Jisuk.
The destroyed popcorn box lay at his feet.
Kernels covered the floor like evidence of a crime.
Jisuk swallowed.
"…Yes, ma'am."
Subin snorted.
Jisuk glared at her.
"You're helping. You destroyed it."
"Absolutely not."
"It's your fault."
"You brought popcorn."
"You attacked popcorn."
"You deserved it."
"You're evil."
"You're annoying."
Inhyuk rubbed his forehead.
Seongha looked like he wanted to apologize to the building.
Jiwoo crouched and began gathering popcorn into his hands.
Jisuk stared.
"What are you doing?"
Jiwoo looked up.
"Helping."
Jisuk froze.
Then looked away.
"Tch. No one asked you."
"I know."
Wooin quietly crouched beside Jiwoo.
"I will help too."
Jisuk's ears reddened.
"Don't all of you make this weird."
Asuka, still holding Kayden, looked at the scene.
Then slowly crouched as well.
Jisuk stared at her.
"You too?"
She tilted her head.
"Jiyoung said clean up."
"She meant me!"
"Yes."
A pause.
"You are slow."
Jisuk's mouth opened.
Closed.
Subin looked at them all.
Jiwoo, picking up popcorn without complaint.
Wooin, quietly helping beside him.
Asuka, calm and strange and unreadable.
Jisuk, furious and embarrassed and somehow not pushing them away.
For a moment, Subin did not understand them.
Then, quietly, she crouched too.
Jisuk's eyes widened.
"What are you doing?"
Subin snapped, "Cleaning, idiot!"
"You said you wouldn't!"
"I changed my mind!"
"Why?"
"Because you're taking too long!"
Kayden watched from Asuka's arms.
He looked at the gathered teenagers.
A wind brat.
An ice girl.
A telekinetic kid.
A speed idiot.
His impossible disciple.
All crouched on the floor, picking up popcorn after a spar that had turned into a brawl.
Ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
Then Jiwoo smiled at Subin.
"Thank you."
Subin froze.
"Don't thank me!"
"Okay."
"And don't smile!"
"Okay."
"You're still smiling!"
"Sorry."
Kayden stared.
Then sighed.
Yes.
This was definitely getting worse.
Their circle was expanding.
And somehow, every new addition was just as troublesome as the last.
By the time they returned to the Seo house, the afternoon had softened.
The sky outside had turned pale gold. The cats greeted them as if they had been gone for years. The tabby launched itself at Jiwoo's shoes. The black cat moved toward Wooin immediately, brushing against his ankle with quiet insistence. The black-and-white cat stretched across the back of the couch and yawned like she owned the concept of returning home.
The grey scarred cat went straight to Asuka.
Of course.
Kayden was already on the couch.
Also of course.
He sat in his usual corner, looking outwardly like a large orange cat resting after a hard day.
In reality, he was glaring at everyone as if they had personally inconvenienced him by involving him in teenage politics.
Which they had.
Jiwoo smiled.
"We're home."
Kayden's tail flicked.
Asuka slipped off her shoes and stepped inside. Wooin followed more quietly. He moved carefully, but not carefully enough. Asuka noticed the slight stiffness in his shoulder. The way his right side shifted a fraction too slowly. The shallow cut along his arm had stopped bleeding, but the bruising beneath his jacket had not fully settled yet.
He did not mention it.
Naturally.
They all gathered in the living room.
Wooin sat on the floor against the couch, knees pulled slightly up, the black cat immediately climbing into the space beside him as if it had appointed itself his personal guardian.
Jiwoo sat across from him, still worried.
"Wooin."
Wooin looked up.
"Yes?"
"Are you sure you don't have to see a doctor?"
Wooin blinked.
Then shook his head.
"It's not that serious."
Jiwoo frowned.
"But Subin cut you."
"It's fine."
"And you were hit."
"I'm fine."
Jiwoo did not look convinced. Asuka did not either. She closed the door behind her. Then walked over.
Wooin looked up at her.
"Asuka?"
She crouched in front of him.
Without a word, she poked his cheek.
Wooin froze.
Jiwoo blinked.
Kayden's ears lifted slightly.
Wooin stared at her finger still lightly pressed against his face.
There was a faint warmth. Not the warm kind that came from touch. Something deeper. A strange flow that passed through his skin, beneath the bruising, under the small injuries he had been ignoring.
The ache in his jaw vanished. The sting along his arm faded. The soreness in his ribs loosened. The marks disappeared like they had never existed.
Wooin's eyes widened slightly.
Asuka withdrew her hand.
Then stood.
Like nothing had happened.
She walked back to the couch, sat down, picked up her book, and opened it to the page she had marked earlier.
The Meaning of Life.
Kayden stared at her.
Then at Wooin.
Then at Asuka again.
Of course.
Of course she would casually heal someone in the living room and go straight back to reading philosophy.
Wooin touched his cheek.
Then his arm.
The cut was gone.
So was the pain.
He looked at Asuka.
"Thank you."
Asuka turned a page.
"You're welcome."
Jiwoo's face brightened with relief.
"Asuka, you're amazing."
"Yes."
Kayden scoffed.
"You accepted that too quickly."
Asuka did not look up.
"It was accurate."
Kayden clicked his tongue.
The black cat curled beside Wooin's knee.
For a moment, the room settled.
Soft.
Warm.
Quiet.
Then Jiwoo looked at Wooin again.
"Wooin."
"Yes?"
"Can I ask something?"
Wooin nodded.
"Why didn't you join the Union?"
The question was gentle.
Not judgmental.
Not confused in a bad way.
Just Jiwoo.
Trying to understand.
Wooin lowered his gaze.
His hands rested loosely near his knees.
For a while, he did not speak.
Jiwoo waited.
Asuka continued reading, but her attention stayed on them.
Kayden pretended not to care.
He cared.
Unfortunately.
Wooin's voice was quiet when it finally came.
"When I was young, I was used to hiding my powers."
Jiwoo's face softened.
"At the orphanage?" he asked carefully.
Wooin nodded.
"Yes."
His fingers curled slightly against his sleeve.
"I didn't know what would happen if people found out."
A pause.
"I was lucky to meet my professor."
Jiwoo listened.
"But after that, we wandered from place to place."
Wooin looked down.
"I was always cautious."
The black cat pressed closer.
Wooin's hand rested lightly on its back.
"I always thought about what other people would think. What they wanted. What they expected. What would happen if I made the wrong choice."
His expression did not change much.
But his voice did.
Just slightly.
Enough.
"So I never really made decisions on my own."
Jiwoo went very still.
Asuka's finger paused at the edge of the page.
Wooin continued.
"Before…"
His hand tightened.
"I ended up alone."
Silence.
"Without a choice."
Jiwoo's eyes softened.
Wooin lifted his head.
"From now on, I want to be responsible for making my own decisions."
A pause.
"If I join a group right now, I'll have to keep being cautious of what others think."
His gaze lowered again.
"What the Union wants."
"What Mr. Park expects."
"What Subin thinks I should do."
He shook his head faintly.
"I don't dislike them."
Jiwoo nodded.
"I know."
"And I know Mr. Park was trying to help."
Wooin looked toward the window.
"But I don't want to enter somewhere just because I'm afraid."
The words settled heavily.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just honest.
"I want to choose because I understand."
Jiwoo's mouth parted slightly.
"Wooin…"
Kayden watched from the couch.
Interesting.
The kid was quiet, but he was not weak.
Not mentally.
Not where it mattered.
Fear had shaped him.
Loneliness had shaped him.
But he still wanted his choice to belong to him.
That was good.
Dangerous, maybe.
But good.
Asuka turned a page.
Slowly.
Her mouth softened.
Then a voice came from beside Kayden.
"I understand."
Everyone froze.
Jiwoo turned.
Wooin turned.
Asuka lowered her book.
Kayden's expression went flat.
Jisuk Yoo was there.
Somehow.
Sitting beside Kayden's cat body on the floor near the couch.
No.
Not sitting.
Kneeling.
Respectfully.
With his hands resting on his thighs.
As if he had been summoned by the concept of emotional vulnerability and immediately placed himself in service to the orange murder cat.
The room went silent.
Jisuk nodded solemnly.
"I understand."
Jiwoo stared.
Wooin stared.
Asuka stared.
Kayden stared.
The cats did not stare because apparently they had already accepted Jisuk as part of the house's strange ecosystem.
Asuka slowly looked back down at her book.
Honestly.
Why did she bother?
The Meaning of Life was far more consistent than this.
Jisuk sweat-dropped.
"What?"
No one answered.
His sweat drop became larger.
"Why?"
Still no answer.
His face reddened.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Jiwoo blinked.
"Jisuk…"
"What?!"
"When did you get here?"
Jisuk froze.
Then looked away.
"Just now."
Kayden's eyes narrowed.
Jisuk immediately corrected himself.
"A while ago."
Asuka turned one page.
"You followed us."
Jisuk pointed at her.
"I did not!"
Kayden looked at him.
Jisuk lowered his finger.
"…Not suspiciously."
Wooin looked genuinely confused.
"Why are you kneeling?"
Jisuk's eye twitched.
"I'm not kneeling."
Jiwoo looked at his legs.
"You are."
"This is sitting."
"On your knees."
"A type of sitting."
"It looks uncomfortable."
"It isn't."
Kayden practically whispered, "It is unnatural."
To everyone else, it was a low meow.
Jisuk immediately straightened.
Jiwoo brightened.
"Casein Nitrate agrees?"
Jisuk's soul briefly left his body.
Kayden stared at him.
Jisuk forced a laugh.
"Wow. What a smart cat."
His voice cracked.
Asuka's shoulders trembled.
Jisuk whipped toward her.
"You're enjoying this again."
Asuka did not look up.
"I am reading."
"You are smiling."
"The book is interesting."
"What part?"
Asuka glanced down.
"The protagonist has concluded that meaning must be chosen rather than assigned."
Jisuk stared.
Then looked at Wooin.
Then at Jiwoo.
Then at Asuka.
Then at the book.
His expression twisted.
"Why does that actually fit the conversation?"
Asuka hummed.
"It is a good book."
Kayden looked at the cover again.
He still did not trust it.
Jiwoo smiled softly.
"Maybe you should read it too, Jisuk."
"Absolutely not."
"It might help."
"With what?"
Jiwoo blinked.
"I don't know."
Jisuk pointed.
"Then don't recommend it!"
Wooin's mouth twitched faintly.
Jisuk noticed immediately.
"Did you just almost laugh?"
Wooin shook his head.
"No."
"You did."
"I almost did."
"Why does everyone keep saying that like it's better?"
Jiwoo laughed quietly.
The atmosphere eased.
Only a little.
But enough.
Wooin's shoulders relaxed.
Asuka noticed.
So did Kayden.
Jisuk looked at Wooin again, then scratched the side of his head awkwardly.
"Anyway."
He cleared his throat.
"What I meant was…"
His voice became less loud.
Less sharp.
Almost serious.
"You made the right call."
Wooin looked at him.
Jisuk looked away.
"Groups are useful, sure. But if you don't know what you're getting into, don't rush."
A pause.
"And the Union can wait."
Jiwoo smiled.
"Jisuk…"
Jisuk snapped instantly, "Don't say my name like that."
"Like what?"
"Like I did something nice."
"You did."
"No, I didn't."
"You did."
"I said something obvious."
Asuka nodded.
"Kindly."
Jisuk's face went red.
"No."
Wooin looked at him for a moment.
Then said quietly, "Thank you."
Jisuk froze.
Completely.
His mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
"Tch."
He looked away.
"Whatever."
Kayden stared.
This brat.
Loud, annoying, dramatic, terrible at secrets.
But not completely useless.
Unfortunately.
Jiwoo smiled warmly.
"You're a good friend, Jisuk."
Jisuk jolted.
"I am not!"
Wooin nodded.
"You are."
"Stop agreeing!"
Asuka turned a page.
"Truth is difficult to avoid."
"You too?!"
Kayden's tail flicked once.
Jisuk immediately lowered his voice.
"…Respectfully."
Jiwoo tilted his head.
"You keep saying that around Casein Nitrate."
Jisuk went pale.
Asuka slowly lifted her book higher to hide her mouth.
Kayden's expression sharpened.
Jiwoo continued, unaware.
"Do you really respect cats that much now?"
Jisuk stared at him.
Then nodded with the grave expression of a man who had seen war.
"Yes."
Jiwoo's eyes brightened.
"That's wonderful."
"It is survival," Jisuk muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Kayden stood on the couch.
Jisuk immediately shifted, like he was ready to offer assistance, tribute, or his last will.
Kayden looked at him.
Then deliberately walked across the couch cushion and settled beside Asuka instead.
Jisuk exhaled.
Too loudly.
Everyone looked at him again.
He snapped, "What now?!"
Jiwoo smiled.
"Nothing."
Wooin looked away.
Asuka read another line.
Kayden curled his paws beneath himself.
For a moment, they were just there.
Jiwoo sitting on the floor.
Wooin leaning against the couch with the black cat beside him.
Jisuk kneeling near the couch like an unwilling temple attendant.
Asuka reading The Meaning of Life while pretending she was not invested.
Kayden in cat form, pretending he was not comfortable.
The house was strange.
Warm.
Too full.
A little loud.
And somehow, for Wooin, safer than silence.
He looked down at the black cat beside him.
Then at Jiwoo.
Then at Asuka.
Then, reluctantly, at Jisuk.
"I don't know what I'll choose later," Wooin said.
Jiwoo looked at him.
"But for now…"
Wooin's voice softened.
"I think I want to stay like this a little longer."
Jiwoo's smile grew.
"Okay."
Simple.
Immediate.
No pressure.
No question.
Just acceptance.
Jisuk looked away.
"Tch. Do whatever you want."
Asuka's mouth curved behind her book.
Kayden closed his eyes.
Troublesome.
All of them.
But not bad.
Not bad at all.
----