JL was alone in the practice room, sweat dripping from his brow as he perfected his routine.
His body ached, but he pushed through. He had to be better.
Suddenly-
The door burst open.
Two figures rushed in, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him out.
"We got him!" Woongki yelled.
Shuaibo cackled. "Operation Night Runners is a success!"
JL flailed. "What the-Put me down!"
"Nope!" Woongki grinned. "You've been sentenced to mandatory fun!"
"I'm practicing!" JL struggled, but these two were unnaturally strong when they teamed up.
Shuaibo tsked. "Bro, if you don't take a break, you're gonna turn into a practice zombie."
JL sighed.
There was no escape.
---
They reached a 24-hour convenience store, immediately attacking the snack aisle.
JL sighed, arms crossed. "Can we at least pretend to be responsible?"
"No," Woongki and Shuaibo said at the same time.
As they debated over which ramyeon was superior, JL felt eyes on someone.
Turning his head, he spotted Eli.
The boy was standing near the drinks, holding a banana milk, looking suspiciously guilty.
Woongki snorted. "Is that--?"
JL smirked and approached him. "Eli, are you following us?"
Eli blinked, pretending to look at the drink label. "No."
JL raised an eyebrow.
Eli cleared his throat. "I was just... thirsty."
Shuaibo appeared beside them. "Then why do you look like you got caught stealing?"
Eli coughed. "I-I just... wanted to see what you guys were doing."
JL grinned. "Then come eat with us."
Woongki jokingly mimicked a girl's voice, "Ra-myeon meok-go gal-lae?"
Shuaibo and JL burst out laughing. They didn't mean to tease Eli. In Korea, asking someone to eat ramyeon with them has a double meaning.
Eli hesitated. "I shouldn't. My group-"
Shuaibo gasped dramatically. "What, seriously, are you forbidden from socializing?"
JL chuckled. "It's just ramyeon, Eli."
After a pause, Eli gave in and sat with them.
As they slurped their noodles, Eli kept stealing glances at JL.
He smiled softly.
JL still doesn't remember, huh?
---
After eating, Eli tried to slip away.
Big mistake.
Woongki and Shuaibo grabbed him before he could run.
"Where do you think you're going, little giant?" Woongki gasped. Eli seemed to be the tallest among the three.
"You're part of this mess now," Shuaibo declared.
JL just laughed as they dragged Eli into a karaoke room.
Then the chaos began.
Shuaibo grabbed the mic dramatically and sang like a heartbroken diva, fake crying into the couch.
Woongki played a girl group dance song and forced JL to dance with him. They twirled, body-rolled, and did dramatic hair flips.
JL, for once, was having the time of his life.
Then they shoved a mic into Eli's hands.
"Sing," Shuaibo commanded.
Eli smirked. "Fine."
He chose a song.
A Filipino song.
As soon as he sang, JL froze.
The voice.
The memories.
---
Years ago.
A small boy-just a 2nd grader-stood in front of JL in their elementary school music club.
"Can you teach me to sing and dance?"
JL chuckled. "You're tiny. Can you even keep up?"
The boy pouted. "I'll practice really hard! I wanna be cool like you!"
That boy was Eli.
---
Back in the karaoke room, JL stared at Eli, shocked.
JL remembered.
"You..." His voice trailed off. "You're that kid."
Eli grinned. Finally.
"You remember now?" he said, looking pleased.
JL blinked. "You knew this whole time?"
Eli laughed. "Of course! I just wanted to see when you'd figure it out."
Shuaibo and Woongki gasped dramatically.
"You guys were childhood friends?!"
"This is like a K-drama plot twist!"
JL shook his head, still in disbelief. "I can't believe the tiny kid I knew is taller than me now."
Eli smirked. "You're still my JL hyung, though."
JL chuckled, a warm feeling settling in his chest. For the first time in a while, he forgot all his worries about Eli, about the Unicorns.
He had known he felt a familiar feeling for both Galee and Eli.
Eli grinned. "Oh, and... don't tell my group about all this. Especially Joe."
Woongki crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah, your little secret is safe."
Then they continued singing, dancing, and laughing the night away.
---
Meanwhile: NPAC's Ruthless Decision
In the NPAC meeting room, tension filled the air.
The chairman stood. "Let's be clear. Anyone in this supergroup is replaceable if they don't perform well."
Silence.
Then-
Jay Park stood up sharply. "What?!"
Ten and Yangyang rose from their seats.
EC scoffed. "So we're just using them?"
Even Changsub frowned. "This is ridiculous."
The NPAC chairman remained cold. "This is how we maintain standards."
A low whine echoed in the room.
Jay Park clenched his fists. "I'm going to the resort myself."
Yangyang frowned. "We should all go."
Jay Park shook his head. "No. You're all too attached to them. I need to see them myself."
The chairman nodded. "Fine. But remember-our team decide who stays and who goes."