Barely two hours had passed since the apartment had finally fallen silent.
The warmth of the evening had faded into the quiet stillness of midnight.
Zoya had been the first to surrender to exhaustion.
The moment her head touched the pillow, sleep had claimed her. She hadn't even noticed when the others finished cleaning the kitchen.
For a while, the apartment had remained filled with the faintest sounds—plates being stacked, water running through the sink, sleepy laughter drifting from the kitchen.
Hana, Ruhi, Sophia, and Minji had quietly finished everything before returning to the room.
Hana slipped carefully onto the bed beside Zoya, making sure not to disturb her.
Ruhi, Sophia, and Minji spread their mattresses across the floor.
Within minutes, the room looked as though sleep had finally taken over everyone.
Everyone except Minji.
She lay beneath the dim glow of her phone, one hand tucked beneath her cheek as she whispered into a late-night call.
"Yeah…" Her voice was barely above a murmur. "I'll come tomorrow."
Her eyes were already heavy with sleep.
On the other end of the call, Jeon J was walking back toward his room after a brutal midnight workout.
His hoodie was damp with sweat, his hair slightly disheveled, and his earbuds were still in his ears.
He listened silently to Minji's sleepy voice.
Then—
A scream ripped through the apartment.
Sharp.
Terrified.
Raw.
Minji jolted upright.
"ZOYA!"
Her phone nearly slipped from her hand.
She threw herself toward the bed.
Hana woke with a start.
Ruhi and Sophia immediately pushed themselves up from the floor, their sleepy expressions turning into confusion and fear.
"Zoya!"
Minji grabbed her shoulders.
"Zoya, wake up! Look at me!"
But on the other end of the phone—
There was only chaos.
"Minji?"
Jeon J's voice came through the speaker.
"What happened?"
No answer.
Only Minji's trembling voice.
"Zoya…"
Again.
"Zoya…"
Jeon J stopped walking.
Completely.
The hallway suddenly felt too quiet.
The faint ceiling lights stretched across the polished floor, their pale glow making everything look strangely unreal.
His breathing slowed.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
Because he had heard it.
That scream.
He knew that voice.
And if the voice he'd just heard belonged to Zoya—
Then there was only one explanation.
Her voice had returned.
But why had it returned like that?
Why had it come back as a scream?
And why had that scream sounded like someone being pulled back into the worst moment of their life?
"There is no permanent damage to her vocal cords."
Ji-ho's calm voice cut through the heavy silence.
"Physically… she can speak."
The words echoed through the room.
Jeon J stared ahead.
He remembered the day Zoya had returned.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
Broken.
And completely silent.
The moment they had brought her back, Ji-ho had taken her to a doctor.
At first, everyone had assumed that her injuries were the reason she couldn't speak.
But the examinations had shown otherwise.
Her vocal cords were intact.
Her throat was capable of producing sound.
So why—
"Then why can't she talk?"
Hana's voice was barely a whisper.
Ji-ho lowered his eyes for a moment.
"The doctor said that sometimes, after severe emotional trauma, the brain tries to protect itself."
He paused.
"In rare cases, the mind can suppress a person's ability to speak even when there is nothing physically wrong with their voice."
Silence settled over the room.
"It's called psychogenic aphonia."
Minji's brows pulled together.
"So… she lost her voice because of shock?"
Ji-ho nodded slowly.
"Possibly."
His gaze shifted toward Zoya.
"But the doctor also said recovery is possible."
Everyone listened.
"A sudden emotional breakthrough can sometimes break that psychological block."
He spoke carefully.
"Fear. Panic. Overwhelming relief. Deep emotional pain…"
His voice softened.
"Any powerful emotion can sometimes force the mind to release what it has been holding back."
He looked at Zoya again.
"In simple words…"
A pause.
"Her voice isn't medically gone."
His eyes became heavier.
"Her body remembers what her mind is trying to forget."
Jeon J's expression tightened.
"Her voice isn't gone," Ji-ho continued quietly.
"It's trapped."
Another silence.
Then Hana asked cautiously—
"So one day… it could suddenly come back?"
Ji-ho nodded.
"Sometimes it returns as a whisper."
His gaze remained fixed on Zoya.
"And sometimes…"
A beat.
"…in a scream."
The words struck Jeon J like a blow.
That scream returned instantly inside his mind.
Zoya.
Terrified.
Helpless.
Screaming.
For a moment, everything around him disappeared.
"Minji?"
Nothing.
"Minji, answer me."
Still nothing.
Jeon J lowered his phone.
Then turned around.
He walked quickly toward his room.
His steps were controlled.
But his mind wasn't.
The moment he entered, he grabbed his second phone and opened the apartment's security system.
Camera after camera appeared across the screen.
Hallway.
Clear.
Main entrance.
Secure.
Back corridor.
Guarded.
Every checkpoint was covered.
No intruder.
No suspicious movement.
Nothing.
His thumb moved restlessly across the screen.
The security was tighter than ever.
So why?
Why had Zoya screamed like that?
Why had her voice returned in terror?
His chest tightened.
The rooms themselves had no cameras.
He knew that.
Everyone was inside.
Safe.
But logic wasn't enough to calm him.
Not tonight.
Jeon J abruptly stood.
He grabbed his phone and walked out again.
His destination was Jinhun's room—the room between Yomin's and Teahun's.
He stopped outside the door.
Knock.
Soft.
Careful.
Nothing.
He waited.
Knock.
This time, slightly louder.
Still nothing.
Jinhun was asleep.
Everyone was asleep.
Jeon J stepped back and began pacing the hallway.
His fingers repeatedly tightened around his phone.
He didn't know what he wanted to say.
He only knew that he needed someone.
Someone who would understand the panic he couldn't explain.
Someone who wouldn't ask him to put his thoughts into words.
Jinhun had always been that person.
But tonight—
another door opened.
Yomin stepped into the hallway.
The moment he saw Jeon J, he froze.
Jeon J stood beneath the dim hallway light, pale and visibly drenched in sweat.
Yomin's expression changed immediately.
"Jeon J?"
He walked toward him.
"What happened?"
Jeon J lowered his gaze.
"Why are you sweating like this?"
No response.
"You look terrified."
Jeon J swallowed.
"I… needed to talk to Jinhun."
His voice was quiet.
"But it's late."
He looked toward the closed door.
"I should go."
He turned.
Fast.
Almost too fast.
Because standing in front of Yomin felt dangerous.
Yomin knew him too well.
And if Jeon J stayed—
the wall he'd spent so long building might finally collapse.
"Jeon J."
Yomin gently caught his shoulder.
Jeon J stopped.
Yomin turned him back.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Yomin sighed.
"Come with me."
Yomin led him quietly into his room.
The door closed behind them.
A small yellow lamp in the corner cast a warm glow across the room.
Everything felt calm.
Safe.
Familiar.
Almost painfully so.
Jeon J remained near the wall, avoiding Yomin's eyes.
Yomin watched him for a long moment.
"I've been noticing something for a while now."
Jeon J said nothing.
"You're upset."
Silence.
Yomin continued softly.
"And whenever you're like this…"
A sad smile touched his lips.
"…you only look for Jinhun."
Jeon J's jaw tightened.
Yomin sat slowly on the floor beside the bed and leaned his back against it.
"Are you not comfortable sharing things with us anymore?"
There was no accusation in his voice.
Only hurt.
"We've been raising you since you were fifteen."
A faint laugh escaped him.
"Yeah, the age difference between us was never that big."
He looked toward Jeon J.
"But to us…"
His smile softened.
"…you were always that tiny kid we had to protect."
Jeon J lowered his eyes.
Yomin's memories began spilling into the quiet room.
"You used to sleep beside Kim Joon whenever you got scared after trainee evaluations."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"You'd sit with me for hours trying to learn guitar, even though your fingers would start hurting after ten minutes."
Jeon J's expression softened almost imperceptibly.
"And Jinhun…"
Yomin chuckled.
"Jinhun was basically your official laughter partner."
Jeon J looked down.
"You laughed the most with him."
Yomin shook his head.
"The two of you could turn literally anything into chaos."
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"Half the time, nobody even knew what you were laughing about."
His smile grew.
"But somehow, you'd both end up lying on the floor, crying from laughter."
For a moment—
something flickered across Jeon J's exhausted face.
An old memory.
An old version of himself.
And then—
the corner of his lips moved.
Barely.
Yomin noticed.
"And Hosu?"
He chuckled.
"You tortured that poor man during dance practice."
A tiny breath escaped Jeon J's nose.
Almost a laugh.
Yomin immediately continued.
"Because Hosu looked like a military commander during rehearsals."
Jeon J shook his head faintly.
"But honestly?"
Yomin raised a finger.
"Kim Joon was the senior leader."
Another finger.
"Hosu was the junior leader."
He sighed dramatically.
"And somehow, those two managed to handle all five of us."
He paused.
Then placed a hand over his chest.
"But honestly…"
He shook his head.
"If we're telling the truth, they were only handling four."
Jeon J finally looked at him.
Confusion crossed his face.
Yomin pointed at himself with complete innocence.
"Because I was obviously the calm and innocent one."
For a second, silence.
Then—
a weak breath of laughter escaped Jeon J.
Yomin gasped.
"What was that reaction?"
Jeon J immediately looked away.
"You think I caused trouble?"
His shoulders moved slightly.
Yomin narrowed his eyes dramatically.
"Excuse me, sir."
He placed a hand against his chest.
"I was the emotionally stable member of this family."
This time—
Jeon J actually laughed.
Quietly.
Barely more than a breath.
But it was real.
Yomin stopped.
He simply looked at him.
And something in his expression softened.
Because that tiny sound—
that almost-forgotten laugh—
was the first glimpse of the old Jeon J he'd seen in days.
Jeon J slowly lowered himself to the floor and sat against the opposite wall.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Yomin's voice became quieter.
"When Minjo couldn't handle dieting anymore…"
Jeon J's eyes lowered.
"He started breaking down."
Yomin smiled sadly.
"And you started dieting with him."
Jeon J's fingers tightened.
"Even though you were already underweight yourself."
Yomin looked directly at him.
"You did it because you didn't want him to feel alone."
The room fell silent.
"You were always like that."
His voice softened.
"The kind of friend who carried everyone else's pain without ever talking about your own."
Jeon J stared at his hands.
"And Teahun…"
Yomin laughed softly.
"That man was practically attached to your shoulder twenty-four seven."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"You ate together."
"You slept together."
"You ran around like two chaotic children."
He shook his head.
"That's probably why social media still has enough memes about you two to last another ten years."
Jeon J remained silent.
But he was listening.
Yomin slowly moved closer.
Until he was sitting directly in front of him.
Then, gently—
he placed his hand over Jeon J's tightly clenched fists.
Jeon J froze.
"You're changing."
Yomin's voice was barely above a whisper.
Jeon J didn't look up.
"And that change is hurting us."
His fingers tightened gently around Jeon J's hands.
"Not because people change."
A pause.
"Change is normal."
Yomin swallowed.
"But because you're hurting while you're changing."
Jeon J's breathing became heavier.
"We can all see it."
Yomin's voice cracked.
"You're becoming harder to reach."
A pause.
"Colder."
Another pause.
"More distant."
His eyes glistened.
"And we don't understand why."
Jeon J's throat tightened.
Yomin looked at him for a long moment.
"You're not the same Jeon J anymore."
The words were gentle.
But they hurt.
Yomin smiled sadly.
"The Jeon J who used to wait quietly while all of us worked all day…"
His smile trembled.
"…just so we could buy you banana milk afterward."
Jeon J's eyes slowly closed.
"That Jeon J was easy to understand."
Yomin's voice dropped.
"But now…"
He looked directly into Jeon J's eyes.
"…you're hurting so deeply that even we can't reach you anymore."
Silence.
Heavy.
Complete.
Yomin didn't let go of his hands.
Then, finally—
he asked the question none of them had been brave enough to ask.
"Why do you look like someone who's carrying all his pain completely alone?"
To be continued…
Regards,
ZK💌