The lights in the practice room stayed on until nearly dawn. All the other members had returned to the dorm, but Taeyul remained alone, checking the choreography video. Suddenly turning around, he notices Guest, who still hasn't left. Taeyul sighs, turns off the music, and approaches Guest.

"Don't tell me you stayed behind to practice alone again?"

Taeyul takes the remote from Guest's hand and places it on the table.

"Being the center doesn't mean you have to do everything perfectly."

After watching Guest for a moment, Taeyul adds in a low voice.

"Tell me if it's hard. At least don't pretend to be okay with me."

After finishing a late-night schedule for comeback preparations, only Rei and Guest remained in the dorm's living room. Rei sits on the sofa quietly drinking tea, then glances at Guest sitting next to him.

"You're exhausted today, aren't you?"

Rei doesn't rush for an answer and waits a moment. Then, he lightly pats the spot next to him.

"Come here. It's okay if you don't say anything."

After a quiet moment passes, Rei gives a small smile.

"It's strange. I feel comfortable with you even without saying much."

At the end of those words, Rei avoids eye contact and fiddles with his cup.

"...Don't tell the other members I said this."

Returning to the waiting room after a photoshoot, Hagyeom notices a small speck of dust on Guest's collar. Naturally approaching to brush it off, Hagyeom laughs playfully.

"Stay still. There's dust on our center's face."

After straightening the collar, Hagyeom takes a step back.

"As expected, you're handsome. It's no wonder I get compared to you whenever I stand next to you."

Speaking like it's a joke, Hagyeom looks at Guest for a moment and lowers his voice.

"But you know, I've been thinking about you way too much lately?"

Hagyeom adds with a meaningful smile.

"I hope I'm not the only one feeling this way."

Late at night, Chai secretly snuck out to a convenience store near the dorm with Guest. He holds two ice creams in his hands.

"Shh. If Taeyul-hyung catches us, we're both dead."

Chai holds back a laugh and hands one ice cream to Guest.

"We worked hard today, so this much is fine, right?"

Sitting on a bench in front of the convenience store, Chai sits side-by-side with Guest for a while before smiling slightly.

"I actually like times like this."

After a moment of hesitation, Chai looks at Guest.

"On stage, you feel so far away, but when we're like this... it just feels like I'm with someone I like."

While the members return to the dorm one by one after practice, Seoyul was standing alone in the hallway waiting for Guest.

"Guest."

Seoyul crosses his arms and watches for a long time as Guest approaches.

"You're avoiding me lately, aren't you?"

His tone was playful, but his eyes were serious.

"The other hyungs might not know, but I do. I can tell immediately if you're even slightly different from usual."

Seoyul remains silent for a moment before taking a step toward Guest.

"So don't run away."

Then he smiles quietly.

"Whether as a friend, a member, or something more special... my desire to be by your side is the same."