Feeling several pairs of eyes on him, Toma turned his head.
Of course.
The Kweens.
All five of them were seated in their usual corner, enthusiastically giving him finger claps and dramatic nods of approval as if they were judging the final round of a bodybuilding competition.
Honestly?
Fair.
The man was sculpted like somebody had spent way too much time in the character creator.
But Toma barely noticed the others.
His eyes immediately found Jeremiah.
The instant he did, his entire face lit up.
Golden retriever.
Literal golden retriever.
He gave Jeremiah a small, cheerful wave.
Then...
Out of absolutely nowhere.
Like...
From so far out of left field it deserved its own zip code...
Jeremiah clicked his tongue.
"Tsk."
Loud enough for Toma to hear.
Then he turned away.
Completely.
Suddenly, his fingernails became the most fascinating things in existence.
Toma's smile slowly disappeared.
He frowned.
The emotional equivalent of getting hit by a sledgehammer.
As far as he knew...
Everything had been perfectly fine this morning.
So...
What the hell happened?
The Kweens gasped in perfect synchronization.
"Bitch..."
Kitty whisper-yelled.
"What the hell was that?"
Jeremiah blinked innocently.
"What the hell was what?"
Pink slowly crossed his arms.
"...She's being a bitch today."
"I've always been a bitch."
Jeremiah answered without missing a beat.
"I don't think Pink meant that as a compliment," Aqua muttered.
Javi tilted his head.
"Chica..."
"You good?"
Jeremiah looked genuinely confused.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm good."
He said it with such confidence that, for a split second...
Even he almost believed himself.
"Reaaaaaally?"
Javi wasn't buying it.
"'Cause whatever this is..."
He gestured vaguely toward Jeremiah.
"...it ain't the definition of good."
Jeremiah let out a long sigh.
Not just any sigh.
It was the kind of sigh that clearly translated to,
"I'm already annoyed, and you're all making it worse."
The Kweens exchanged alarmed looks.
Jeremiah sighed again.
This one translated to,
"I've reached my limit."
"Whatever."
"You guys are being extra for no fucking reason."
He stood up.
Without another word...
He walked across the room.
Straight toward...
Johnny.
Out of everyone in the studio...
Johnny was probably the last person anyone expected Jeremiah to willingly approach.
Especially voluntarily.
See, Jeremiah and Johnny operated on pure sibling energy.
Their relationship consisted of bickering, roasting each other, and generally behaving like they shared parents despite sharing absolutely no DNA.
They weren't enemies.
They weren't exactly friends either.
They simply existed to inconvenience one another.
Which was precisely why the Kweens watched in stunned silence.
Because Jeremiah would probably choose heterosexuality before voluntarily asking Johnny for help.
...
And yet.
Here he was.
Still very much gay.
Walking directly toward him.
Johnny, meanwhile...
Was the only person in the room who still had enough stamina to keep practicing.
Maybe it was the daily five-in-the-morning runs.
Maybe the guy secretly ran on solar power.
Whatever it was...
He looked suspiciously alive while everyone else resembled discarded laundry.
Completely focused, Johnny practiced the chorus in front of the mirror.
Then he noticed Jeremiah approaching.
His eyes widened.
"...Uh?"
Jeremiah stopped beside him.
"How does the chorus go again?"
Johnny stared.
"..."
"..."
His brain immediately called an emergency board meeting.
Every neuron took its assigned seat.
"What?"
"Did he just ask me for help?"
"Is this a prank?"
"Has hell frozen over?"
"Is he dying?"
"...Are you okay?"
Johnny finally asked.
"Are you sick or something?"
"I'm fine."
Jeremiah answered a little too quickly.
Then, louder...
"NOW."
"How does the chorus go again?"
"O-okay..."
Johnny slowly nodded.
"It goes like this..."
He demonstrated the choreography from the top.
Outwardly...
He looked perfectly calm.
Internally...
The council meeting was still in full session.
"Ladies and gentlemen..."
"What in God's green planet is happening?"
Back in the corner...
The Kweens stood frozen.
Actually frozen.
For perhaps the first time in recorded history...
They were completely gagged.
Gooped.
Bamboozled.
Speechless.
Meanwhile...
Toma had started chatting with another trainee.
At least...
That was what it looked like.
Every few seconds, however, his eyes quietly drifted toward Jeremiah.
Then...
Toward Johnny.
And every now and then...
Johnny caught what could only be described as a very pointed glare.
Poor Johnny.
He might've been the poster child for Boy Failures™...
But he wasn't oblivious.
Not this time.
One minute he was peacefully rehearsing.
The next...
His good friend Toma was glaring at him from across the room.
Jeremiah was acting like he'd contracted a terminal illness and had suddenly decided Johnny was his emotional support human.
And the Kweens looked like they were seconds away from opening a group investigation.
Johnny could only handle so much.
Somebody...
Please leave the poor loveable idiot alone.
****
And so, as the day continued...
So did the angst.
...
Gasp.
Angst?
In my story?
Who are you?
And what have you done with the original author?!
This story is supposed to be wholesome.
Sunshine.
Rainbows.
Found family.
Questionable life choices.
Where the hell did this angst come from?!
I demand an explanati...
Hmmpppph!
...
Our sincerest apologies, dear readers.
The author has decided to take the day off after being criminally negligent with chapter updates.
So I've graciously volunteered to take over narration duties.
You're welcome.
Now then...
Where were we?
...
Right.
Emotional damage.
As the day dragged on, Toma seized every opening he could to approach Jeremiah.
Every.
Single.
One.
Unfortunately for him...
Jeremiah had somehow evolved into a slippery eel.
Yes.
I'm calling him a slippery eel.
Because that's exactly what he's acting like.
"Hey..."
Toma cautiously approached.
"Can we talk?"
Jeremiah reacted immediately.
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'M GONNAAAAAA SWIIIIIIIING FROM THE CHANDELIEEEEEERRRRRR!"
"...FROM THE CHANDELIEEEEEERRRRR!"
At the absolute top of his lungs.
He wasn't even trying to be subtle.
Everyone in the studio knew exactly what he was doing.
Trouble in paradise.
Plain and simple.
A little later...
Toma spotted another opportunity.
He hadn't even opened his mouth yet when Jeremiah dramatically burst into song again.
🎵 "I CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL~!"
"...NOT WEARING ANYTHING AT ALL~!"
Kitty blinked.
"...Bitch."
"That's not even how the song goes."
Pink slowly massaged his temples.
"Lord have mercy..."
Aqua finally snapped.
"นี่เป็นบ้าอะไรเนี่ย?"
He delivered it with a razor-sharp side-eye, a dramatic head tilt, and enough attitude to fuel an entire reality show.
For those unfamiliar with Aqua's factory settings...
The Thai had come out.
Which meant...
He had officially run out of patience.
Javi watched the disaster unfold with crossed arms.
"Oof..."
"She's messy today."
Even the Kweens had limits.
And Jeremiah had somehow found them.
For the first time in what felt like forever...
They collectively abandoned him.
Not permanently.
Just...
Long enough for him to realize he was being entirely too much.
Jeremiah sat alone.
No dramatic commentary.
No witty comebacks.
No slaying.
Just...
Gloom.
His aura practically radiated,
"Approach me at your own risk."
Most people got the message.
Almost everyone, actually.
Except...
Three people.
The most aggressively innocent trio known to mankind.
August.
Jordan.
And Zen.
Seriously.
One look at them and your immediate instinct was,
"Must protecc."
The three quietly exchanged glances.
Then, without hesitation...
They walked over and sat around Jeremiah.
The surrounding trainees visibly winced.
Several silently offered prayers.
Poor kids.
They had no idea what they were walking into.
Jeremiah sensed three people sitting beside him.
Already irritated, he inhaled, preparing to unleash a spectacularly sarcastic remark.
Then he looked up.
...
August.
Jordan.
Zen.
The words died in his throat.
"...Jeremiah..."
August smiled brightly.
"...Hyung?"
He paused.
"...Noona?"
Jordan thoughtfully nodded.
"I think noona sounds right."
"But Jeremiah's a guy."
Zen's phone spoke in its familiar mechanical voice.
"Wouldn't hyung be correct?"
August frowned in deep concentration.
"...I still wanna call him noona."
The sheer sincerity of the conversation caught Jeremiah completely off guard.
A laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
It wasn't loud.
Just...
Real.
The three immediately looked at one another.
Mission accomplished.
Tiny victory.
Seeing their bright smiles only made Jeremiah's chest tighten.
They looked so...
Pure.
And all he could think was how messy he felt sitting beside them.
"What are you three doing here?"
Jeremiah asked, smiling faintly.
"Shouldn't you guys be..."
He glanced toward the windows.
"...I don't know."
"Catching butterflies or something?"
August grinned.
"Jeremiah noona..."
He stopped.
"I'll call you noona."
"Is that okay?"
Jeremiah laughed softly.
"Suit yourself, Sunshine."
August beamed.
"Thank you."
Then his smile became gentler.
"...Noona."
"We noticed you've been sad all day."
"What happened?"
"You can tell us."
"We'll do our best to help."
Jeremiah's smile slowly faded.
"I don't think you guys would understand."
He sighed.
"You three are just..."
"...too pure."
"I don't need my nasty bitch ass rubbing off on you."
The three exchanged worried looks.
Then Jordan quietly spoke.
"...We're probably not as innocent as you think."
Zen's phone immediately followed.
"Besides..."
"Maybe hearing the perspective of people you think are 'innocent'..."
"...is exactly what you need."
For the first time that day...
Jeremiah didn't have an immediate answer.
He simply looked at the three of them.
And listened.