I woke up late. Not the kind of late where you jump out of bed panicking, but the quiet kind where sunlight sits warm on your face and the world feels softer than usual.
My first thought was last night in Yoongi's studio.
His shoulder under my cheek.
His voice steady.
His hand not pulling away.
It replayed in my mind like a slow video. Not romantic in a dramatic way. More like something settling into place. I didn't expect the comfort that came with it. I didn't expect the clarity either. I felt calm about us, like whatever was forming didn't need a label yet. It was enough that he didn't want distance.
I stretched and grabbed my phone.
Messages were already waiting.
Group chat, of course.
Jungkook: "Taehyung burned the eggs again."
Taehyung: "BRO THEY WERE EXPERIMENTAL."
Jin: "I left for one week and the entire kitchen turned into a science lab."
Namjoon: "I told him not to use sesame oil with butter."
Taehyung: "YOU ARE ALL WEAK."
I snorted and pulled the blanket over my chest.
Then a notification popped up.
Yoongi: "Come to the practice room when you wake up."
No emoji. No unnecessary words. Completely him.
My chest warmed more than I wanted to admit.
I washed up, threw on a hoodie, and headed out. The halls inside the building were quiet. A few staff walked by, greeting me politely. I kept my hood up. I liked it that way.
When I reached the practice room, I expected Yoongi to be inside waiting for me. Instead, I heard loud voices.
And definitely not his.
The moment I pushed open the door, I froze.
Taehyung and Jungkook were in the middle of the room, tangled together like they were attempting some kind of stretch exercise, both laughing way too loudly. Jungkook's hair was damp with sweat. Taehyung's shirt hung off one shoulder. Their faces were too close, the air between them charged in that familiar way.
Jungkook saw me first.
"Hyung," he said, smiling wide. "We're practicing for the fansign choreography."
Taehyung shook his head. "No, we are practicing for the moment when I finally win a dance battle against you."
"You will never win," Jungkook said, poking him in the rib.
The room felt warm with their energy, but deeper than before. Their relationship was settled now, clear in the way they touched each other with ease. It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't forced. It was natural. They fit.
"Where's Yoongi?" I asked.
Taehyung pointed behind me.
I turned.
He had been standing by the door, half-hidden, watching the chaos inside the room with the blank face he used whenever he pretended not to be amused.
"You're late," he said.
"You didn't give me a time," I answered.
"Still late."
He brushed past me and walked inside with the calmness of someone who had seen all of this a thousand times.
Jungkook immediately walked up to him. "Hyung, help us decide which part looks cooler."
Yoongi stared at him. "Neither."
Taehyung gasped dramatically. "You wound us."
I sat by the mirror, watching all three of them interact. For a moment, I imagined how strange this life must look from the outside. Seven people living together, leaning on each other, fighting, laughing, carrying secrets, carrying dreams. A family not formed by blood but by years of sweat and fear and stage lights.
This chapter of our lives felt different. Softer. More honest.
Then Yoongi walked toward me, hands in his pockets. He didn't speak. He just stood close enough for our arms to brush. Not a big gesture. Just enough for me to feel grounded.
He tilted his head slightly. "Sleep well?"
I nodded once.
His lips twitched in a small half-smile before he looked away.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
But the small things were changing everything.
Taehyung suddenly shouted, "HYUNG, ARE YOU TWO HAVING A SECRET MEETING?"
Jungkook's eyes widened as he turned toward us. "Wait, are you?!"
Yoongi didn't even flinch. "I'm leaving."
He walked out of the room immediately.
I burst into laughter, and Jungkook followed, dropping to the floor dramatically.
Taehyung pointed at me with suspicion. "You definitely know something."
I stretched my legs and leaned back on my hands. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't."
They both groaned loudly.
Their noise filled the room, warm and chaotic.
And my heart felt full in a way I hadn't realized I missed.
There was something beautiful about all this. About friendships growing. About love finding quiet spaces to breathe. About new connections forming inside old walls.
And something told me this was only the beginning.