Celestial Echoes~

Ren and Era walked home in contemplative silence, the cool evening breeze carrying the weight of the day's unforgettable events. Era, brimming with excitement, finally broke the silence, unable to contain her emotions any longer.

"I still can’t wrap my head around it!" she blurted out, her voice practically trembling with joy. "My dream actually came true! We hung out with them! And not only that, they even exchanged numbers with us. I mean, Ren, am I dreaming? Tell me I’m not dreaming!" she said being melodramatic, shaking Ren continuously.

Her enthusiasm was infectious, lighting up her face with a glow that made Ren cringe.

"Ugh, shut up already," Ren groaned, rolling her eyes with exaggerated irritation. "Don’t you think you’re overreacting? It wasn’t that big of a deal."

Era shot her a playful smirk, the corners of her mouth twitching with mischief. "Oh please, don’t act like you weren’t eyeing Wonwoo the entire time. I saw you sneaking those glances. Admit it—you’re falling for him."

Ren halted in her tracks, her jaw dropping in shock as her face flushed. "What? Stop talking nonsense, Era, or I swear I’ll kick your ass," she snapped, her voice sharp but tinged with embarrassment. "You little brat."

Laughing, Era shot her a cheeky middle finger before unlocking their apartment door. "Love you too," she teased before disappearing inside, leaving Ren flustered on the doorstep.

-------

At Seventeen's Dorm~~

Dino lounged on the couch, his gaze wandering toward Minghao, who sat quietly, lost in thought. "What’s on your mind, hyung?" Dino asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

Minghao frowned slightly, his fingers drumming against the armrest. "I was just wondering… what if those girls were sasaengs?" he mused, concern creeping into his voice.

Joshua, who had been scrolling through his phone, looked up and shook his head firmly. "No, they weren’t. If they were, we would’ve felt something off right away. They seemed genuine, and we interacted with them without any weird vibes. I think we’re in the clear."

The other members nodded in agreement, some visibly relieved.

Wonwoo's POV:

I’ve always been someone who keeps to himself, someone who prefers solitude and quiet observation rather than jumping into conversations. But today was different—she was different. There was something about Ren that grabbed my attention in a way I hadn’t expected. She wasn’t like anyone I’d met before. Her reserved nature, the way she avoided eye contact yet still seemed to notice everything, intrigued me more than I was willing to admit.

I wanted to know more about her, but I had to keep my emotions in check. I’ve always prided myself on staying detached, but today, my curiosity got the better of me.

"Yah, hyung," Mingyu’s voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to reality. "What are you thinking about? You’ve been zoning out."

Startled, I blinked and forced a small smile. "Uh, nothing much. Just thinking," I muttered, trying to brush it off, but the truth was, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. There was something about Ren that left me unsettled, like a puzzle I wanted to solve but couldn’t get a grip on just yet.

Era's POV:

As I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the day’s events played over in my mind like a whirlwind. Meeting him—Joshua, the one I had admired from afar for so long—was beyond anything I had ever imagined. I had dreamed of this moment, but when it actually happened, I was a mess. Every time I tried to speak, the words seemed to get stuck in my throat, and I could barely look him in the eye without my heart hammering in my chest.

I couldn’t help but cringe at my stuttering, wondering if I had made a fool of myself. What if he thought I was weird? What if I had ruined any chance of him seeing me as someone normal, someone worth talking to?

Despite all that, the day had been perfect—more than perfect, even. It felt like something out of a dream, something I never wanted to wake up from.

Ren's POV:

I tossed and turned in bed, staring up at the ceiling, my mind spinning. No matter how hard I tried to push it aside, my thoughts kept drifting back to him—'the glasses guy'. The way he wore his glasses, how he stayed quiet yet attentive, his calm demeanor... every little detail was burned into my mind. It wasn’t like me to get distracted like this, especially not over a guy.

But the truth was undeniable—every time I thought about him, my heart raced in a way that felt foreign to me. I had experienced crushes before, in my school life I used to had tones of crushes, but this... this felt different. Deeper. More intense.

I didn’t want to admit it, not to myself and definitely not to Era, but something inside me had shifted. I was falling, and fast. Yet, at the same time, I couldn’t let myself get swept away. I had too much at stake, too many goals I was determined to achieve. Love—or whatever this was—would only be a distraction, a complication I couldn’t afford.

But despite my best efforts, I couldn’t shake him from my mind. I couldn’t stop the way he made me feel, like the ground had been pulled out from under me.

The tale whispers on~~!