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GAME OVER

The house was alive with the usual, comfortable chaos of eight teenagers sharing a space that never truly slept. The warm glow of a single lamp illuminated the living room, where Seorin sat curled up on the sofa, her fingers absentmindedly weaving through Jay's dark hair. He let out a content sigh, tilting his head slightly into her touch, his eyes half-lidded with relaxation. Ni-ki lay sprawled beside them, his head resting against Seorin's thigh, his breathing slow and steady.

"We really did adopt him, huh?" Seorin mused, glancing down at Ni-ki with a small smirk.

Jay chuckled, cracking one eye open to look at the youngest. "Yeah, our oversized baby." He turned his head slightly, pressing a light kiss to Seorin's wrist before mumbling, "At least he doesn't cry at night."

A loud slurp from the corner of the room interrupted the moment.

"Damn, this is spicy," Jake groaned, fanning his mouth with one hand while the other clutched a pair of chopsticks. Heeseung, seated beside him at their shared desk, barely acknowledged his suffering, too focused on the flashing screen in front of him.

"If you can't handle it, don't eat it," Heeseung muttered, eyes glued to his game as his fingers danced over the keyboard. The clicking of keys filled the air, blending with the occasional crunch of someone shifting on the couch.

Jake huffed. "I can handle it." He immediately took another bite, regretting it the second the heat hit his tongue.

Across the room, Jungwon sat cross-legged on the floor, idly scrolling through his phone. His face remained impassive, only occasionally raising an eyebrow at whatever nonsense the internet was throwing at him.

Sunghoon was barely conscious, his head lolling back against the armchair. He looked like he was trying to fight off sleep, but with each passing second, his resolve weakened.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Sunoo had opted for solitude, lounging in his room with a small tub of mint-choco ice cream in hand. The others always teased him about his questionable taste, but he didn't care. It was peaceful up here—no shouting, no fighting over the remote, no Jake making terrible food choices. Just him, his ice cream, and the occasional message popping up on his phone.

The night was quiet. Familiar. Just another evening in their shared home.

Heeseung was the one who found it. Or rather, clicked on it.

It had been a few minutes of mindless banter before his attention was drawn to the corner of his screen. Something strange—a little icon, an unfamiliar app. He hadn't downloaded anything recently, so where had it come from?

"What's this?" Heeseung raised an eyebrow, a playful grin tugging at his lips. "Game over? Sounds like something you'd play, Jake."

Jake, his mouth full of spicy ramen, glanced over but didn't bother much with it. "What, you gonna chicken out, man?"