In Bloom Again

Dew scanned his keycard and stepped inside only to be greeted by a battlefield of mismatched shoes scattered across the floor.

Uninvited guests. Again.

From the dining table, Win shouted like he owned the place, "Dew! Come eat!"

Dew walked over and stopped behind Tul's chair.

"You guys really know how to make yourselves at home" he said dryly. "Especially when the owner isn't here."

Tul looked up innocently, holding out a kimbap with chopsticks. "Wanna bite?"

Win chimed in without shame "Don't worry, we already blessed the house with our presence."

"So generous of you." Dew replied then turned his head. "Mui."

A fluffy white cat trotted out with a meow, tail high like royalty.

Dew pulled out the little handmade doll Tee had given him and placed it beside Mui.

The cat sniffed it, decided it was acceptable, and promptly made its way over to Nani's lap, doll and all.

Nani scratched behind Mui's ears. "Where'd you get this? It's so cute."

Dew, already halfway to his bedroom, replied without looking back, "It's not cute. Not even a little."

Win suddenly popped up beside Nani, snatching the doll from Mui with no remorse.

He turned it over, inspecting every stitch like a detective.

"Guys, look!" he shouted, pointing to a tiny embroidered letter on the bottom. "There's a 'T' on it!"

Sky blinked, then slowly pulled a doll from his bag.

Win gasped. "You too?!"

He reached into his jacket pocket, producing another small doll. They both checked, same tiny 'T'.

Win squinted at Dew's again. "Why is Dew's doll way cuter than ours?"

Nani pulled out his own. It was the cutest. Like, offensively cute.

Sky and Win gasped in betrayal.

"Tee only loves Nani and Dew!" Sky whined.

"Discrimination" Win muttered, wounded.

Tul and Prim looked at each other.

"...We want one too." Tul said.

"Yeah" Prim nodded. "Where do we find this Tee person?"

Win pointed his chopsticks dramatically. "If you wanna meet Tee, just follow Dew to his filming set. They're basically glued together now."

Sky perked up. "Can't. Dew's joining an event with me tomorrow, remember? No filming for him."

Right on cue, Dew walked out of his room with his sleeves rolled up, looking like he was about to sue someone for breathing too loud.

He went straight to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of cold water, and said "Don't even think about following me tomorrow. It's impossible."

Win scoffed. "Who wants to follow you, huh? I have my own life. My own schedule. My own... appointments."

"Same." Nani added quickly, nodding a little too fast.

"Totally." Tul mumbled with a mouthful of kimbap.

"Absolutely not obsessed." Prim chimed in, trying not to make eye contact.

They all said it in unison, eyes darting everywhere except at Dew.

Dew raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "That was the worst group lie I've ever heard."