silent sparks, nishimura riki

it had been a quiet week, a rare lull in their busy schedules. enhypen and solstice hadn't seen much of each other since their last chaotic gathering, and the separation had been oddly noticeable. the usual buzz in the group chat had died down, replaced with polite exchanges about work. but tonight, for reasons unknown, the stars seemed to align.

"i got a text from sunoo," haerin said, glancing up from her phone as the solstice members lounged in their dorm. "he wants to meet up. says the guys are free tonight."

"meet up where?" nayeon asked, flipping through a magazine.

"he said it's a surprise," haerin replied, smirking. "but to dress warm."

yeri, curled up in a blanket on the couch, perked up. "a surprise? knowing enhypen, it's either something ridiculous or incredibly sweet."

"or both," jiwoo added, tying her hair back. "let's go, though. it's been ages since we all hung out properly."

eunji shrugged, already pulling on her jacket. "i'm in. let's see what they've planned."

an hour later, both groups found themselves standing at the edge of a quiet lake on the outskirts of the city. the moonlight danced on the water, and a scattering of lanterns had been set up along the shore.

"what is this?" yeri asked, turning to jungwon, who was unloading supplies from the van.

"something different," he replied with a small smile.

"it's peaceful," sunoo said, looking out at the water. "and we figured it might be nice to just... relax for once."

"relaxing is overrated," riki muttered, earning a laugh from jake.

"you'll survive," jay said, tossing a blanket at riki's head.

soon, the group had settled onto the blankets spread out on the grass, snacks and hot drinks in hand. the quiet hum of the night wrapped around them, broken only by the occasional ripple of water or the rustling of leaves.

"so," jiwoo started, leaning back on her hands, "any scandals we should know about?"

"funny you ask," jake said, glancing at riki with a teasing grin. "riki's been in the spotlight a lot lately."

"oh, please don't start," riki groaned, covering his face.

"what happened?" nayeon asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"just the usual," sunghoon said, smirking. "dating rumors, paparazzi... you know how it goes."

yeri tried to suppress a laugh but failed, catching riki's annoyed glance. "don't look at me like that. it's funny."

"funny until it's you," riki shot back, but his tone was light.

"it probably will be someday," eunji said with a shrug. "we're all in the same industry. it's bound to happen."

"can we not manifest that, please?" yeri said, shaking her head. "i'd like to avoid the chaos for as long as possible."

"chaos is inevitable," jay said, his voice almost philosophical.

"wow, deep," nayeon said, rolling her eyes.

as the night went on, the conversation grew quieter, more reflective. they talked about their dreams, their struggles, and the things they missed about being regular teenagers.

"sometimes i wonder what it would've been like," haerin said softly, staring up at the stars. "you know, just... a normal life."

"boring," sunghoon said immediately, earning a laugh from everyone.

"he's not wrong," eunji said. "but still, it'd be nice to have a little more freedom."

"you can't think like that," jungwon said. "we're here because we worked for it. because we wanted it."

"true," jiwoo said, nodding. "but it's okay to miss the little things too."

riki glanced at yeri, who was unusually quiet. "you good?" he asked in a low voice.

she looked at him and smiled faintly. "yeah. just thinking."

"about what?"

"how far we've come," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "and how far we still have to go."

"we'll get there," he said confidently.

"together?" she asked, half-joking.

he grinned. "obviously."

as the night wound down, the group started packing up. nayeon and haerin collected the empty cups, while jay and heeseung folded the blankets.

"this was nice," jiwoo said, stretching. "we should do it again sometime."

"yeah," jake said, his breath visible in the cold air. "but maybe next time, we bring a heater or something."

"agreed," sunoo said, shivering.

yeri lingered by the water's edge, staring out at the moonlit lake. riki walked up beside her, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"what are you thinking about now?" he asked.

"how perfect this moment is," she said, not looking at him.

he followed her gaze. "it is."

they stood there in silence for a while, the sound of their friends laughing in the background.

"thanks for tonight," she said finally, glancing at him. "you guys didn't have to do this, but it means a lot."

"you're welcome," he said, smiling softly.

and in that moment, under the starlight, everything felt right.