Sleep did not arrive all at once.
It never did in a place like this.
NS's mansion settled into night the way a lake does after something heavy sinks into it. Slowly. Carefully. Sounds softened rather than vanished. The hum of distant heating. The faint tick of something mechanical behind the walls. Footsteps from staff moving quietly, respectfully, as if the house itself were asleep and they didn't want to wake it.
XH lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.
The room was too quiet.
At Campus 2, silence was thin. It always carried something underneath it. A door slamming two rooms away. Someone coughing. A phone vibrating on a desk. Proof that other lives were happening around you.
Here, silence felt deliberate.
Chosen.
He rolled onto his side and checked his phone.
12:41 a.m.
A message notification blinked at the top of his screen.
Kitty: are you awake
He smiled before he meant to.
XH: yeah
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
Kitty: good. june and i are bored. come downstairs
XH stared at the message for a second longer than necessary.
XH: on my way
He pulled on his hoodie, ran a hand through his hair, and stepped out into the hallway.
The mansion at night felt different. Softer. The lighting dimmed automatically as he passed, motion sensors adjusting without noise. He could hear low voices downstairs, laughter held back just enough to be polite.
When he reached the main living area, he found Kitty and June sitting cross legged on the floor near the couch, a blanket between them, cups of tea cooling beside their knees.
Kitty looked up first. "Finally."
June smiled. "We thought you fell asleep."
"Not a chance," XH said. "JP was yelling at his screen like it owed him money."
As if summoned by his name, JP's voice echoed faintly from the esports room. "WHY WOULD YOU GO IN ALONE."
TZ shouted back. "BECAUSE I BELIEVED."
HS's calmer voice followed. "Please stop shouting."
Kitty laughed, leaning back on her hands. "They've been like that for an hour."
XH sat down across from them, legs stretched out, back against the couch. "They'll pass out eventually."
June pulled the blanket closer around her shoulders. "This place feels… unreal."
"Yeah," Kitty agreed softly. "Like we're not supposed to exist in it."
XH glanced around. "NS grew up in it."
June tilted her head. "That explains some things."
They sat there quietly for a moment, the kind of silence that didn't demand to be filled.
Then Kitty broke it, phone already in her hand. "Okay. Since we're here. I'm helping you."
June frowned. "Helping me with what."
"Queen selection," Kitty said plainly.
June blinked. "Kitty, it's weeks away."
"Exactly," Kitty replied. "Which means you have time to stop sabotaging yourself."
XH watched them with mild amusement. "Is this a private lesson."
"No," Kitty said, not looking at him. "You're involved."
June shot her a look. "He doesn't need to be."
Kitty finally glanced up. "Yes, he does. Because you panic differently when he's around."
June opened her mouth to protest, then stopped.
XH raised his hands slightly. "I can leave."
"No," June said too quickly. Then, quieter, "Stay."
Kitty smiled like she'd won something.
She shifted closer to June and unlocked her phone, pulling up a saved folder of videos. "Okay. First rule. Posture."
June sighed. "This again."
"Chest open," Kitty said, demonstrating by straightening her own back, shoulders rolling slightly. "Chin up. Not arrogant. Confident."
June mirrored the movement awkwardly.
Kitty reached out without thinking and adjusted June's shoulder. "Relax. You're not marching."
XH looked away politely, though his ears were very much still working.
"And when you walk," Kitty continued, standing now, "don't rush. Let the room come to you."
She took a few slow steps across the floor, turning smoothly, head tilting just enough to catch imaginary light.
June watched, fascinated despite herself.
"That's not fair," June muttered. "You make it look easy."
"It's practice," Kitty said. "And knowing when not to try."
She turned back to June. "Your answers are your strength. You don't need to overpower the room. You need to invite it."
June swallowed. "What if I mess up."
Kitty shrugged lightly. "Then you mess up. People forget stumbles. They remember presence."
XH nodded. "She's right."
June looked at him. "You're biased."
"Probably," he admitted. "But she's still right."
June laughed softly, tension easing from her shoulders. "Okay. Fine. Teach me."
They spent the next half hour like that.
Kitty guiding. June practicing. XH offering the occasional comment that was less technical and more grounding.
"You don't need to look perfect," he said at one point. "You just need to look like you believe what you're saying."
June froze mid step, then nodded slowly. "That… helps."
Kitty watched the exchange quietly.
Something warm settled in her chest.
This was what it felt like, she thought. This strange balance of rivalry and care. Wanting something for yourself, but still wanting the other person to stand strong.
From the hallway, footsteps approached.
NS appeared, sleeves rolled up, expression tired but relaxed. "You three look suspicious."
"We're mentoring," Kitty said.
NS raised an eyebrow. "At midnight."
June smiled innocently. "It's character development."
XH smirked. "She needs it."
June reached out and flicked his sleeve. "Traitor."
NS chuckled and leaned against the wall. "JP's losing his mind. TZ fed again."
As if on cue, JP burst out of the esports room, hair wild. "I DEMAND A REMATCH."
NS pointed upstairs. "Sleep."
JP stared at him. "You don't understand. It's personal."
HS followed behind, rubbing his eyes. "It's one in the morning."
TZ appeared last, yawning. "I think I forgot how to blink."
NS clapped his hands once. "Alright. Power down. We're not dying tonight."
JP grumbled but obeyed, trudging upstairs with exaggerated misery.
The house quieted again.
XH glanced at the clock on the wall.
12:58 a.m.
June noticed. "It's almost New Year."
Kitty blinked. "Already."
NS straightened. "Oh."
XH frowned slightly. "What."
NS smiled in a way that immediately made XH uneasy. "Nothing."
Kitty's eyes narrowed. "What did you plan."
NS shrugged. "Just something fun."
June hugged the blanket closer. "Define fun."
NS looked toward the staircase, then back at them. "Countdown. Nothing dramatic."
XH hesitated. "NS."
"It's fine," NS said. "Relax."
The lights dimmed suddenly.
Not completely.
Just enough.
June inhaled sharply. "NS."
"Trust me," NS said calmly.
The clock ticked.
Kitty laughed nervously. "You're insane."
XH shifted, heart suddenly beating faster for no logical reason.
Kitty stood instinctively, turning toward June.
June stepped forward at the same time.
XH took a step too, not fully sure why.
The room was dim now. Shadows overlapping. Shapes too close.
Kitty reached out, aiming for XH's sleeve.
June did the same.
NS moved as well.
XH turned slightly, reacting to movement rather than thought.
Suddenly, he collided with someone.
Not softly.
Lips brushed.
Warm.
Wrong angle.
Wrong height.
Wrong everything.
XH froze.
So did the other person.
Then the lights snapped back on.
The room exploded into clarity.
XH was nose to nose with NS.
Their mouths inches apart.
Silence.
Then.
"What the hell," XH said at the same time NS said, "NO."
Kitty covered her mouth.
June stared.
JP, halfway down the stairs, choked on laughter. "I KNEW IT."
XH jumped back like he'd been burned. "NO. NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT."
NS wiped his mouth aggressively on his sleeve. "I need bleach."
"I need holy water," XH snapped.
Kitty collapsed onto the couch laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. "I'm going to die."
June laughed too, face red, tears in her eyes. "That was… that was incredible."
JP howled. "I'm posting this."
NS pointed at him. "You do and I will disown you."
XH groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm never forgiving you."
NS sighed. "I just wanted to mess with Kitty."
Kitty gasped between laughs. "You messed with fate."
They laughed until their sides hurt, until the awkwardness melted into something ridiculous and safe.
Eventually, they scattered upstairs again, still laughing.
In his room, XH collapsed onto his bed, face burning.
He stared at the ceiling.
Then laughed softly to himself.
Down the hall, Kitty lay awake too, smile lingering.
June stared at the dark, heart oddly light despite everything.
And NS brushed his teeth for the third time, muttering threats.
Midnight passed.
The year turned.
And without realizing it, they created a memory so absurd and human that it would survive far longer than any exam, any title, or any crown.
Some moments don't define love.
They define belonging.
And that night, in a house too big for secrets, they belonged.