Jeon.J gave a subtle signal.
Jea was standing a short distance away, pretending to be busy, but his eyes never left Jeon.J. As Jeon.J walked out of the studio, he was absolutely sure Jea would follow him. He had already noticed him watching—alert, ready, as always.
When Jea came closer, Teahun stared at him as if he were about to devour him alive.
"Will you ever let us go anywhere alone?" Teahun said with a mocking smile.
"At this rate," he continued, shaking his head, "even after Jeon.J gets married, you won't leave him alone in his own room. You'll probably tell his wife too—sorry, I can't leave Jeon.J alone."
Everyone burst out laughing. Even Jea couldn't stop himself this time. He smiled briefly and lowered his gaze, accepting the teasing quietly.
"Jea," Jeon.J said calmly, his voice firm but controlled, "drop Minji and her friends home. She's not in a condition to go alone, and the others are new to this city."
"Yes," Jea replied immediately.
"You know the address, right?" Jeon.J asked, just to be sure.
"Mr. Han Sung-Ho's place?"
"Yes, I know it. Don't worry," Jea said, gesturing for the girls to come.
Hana and Sophia supported Minji from both sides. Minji was laughing without reason, barely able to walk straight. Ruhi picked up Minji's bag and followed.
Between Minji's drunken state and the stress of Bamson being missing for days, everyone was overwhelmed. In the chaos, no one noticed that Zoya wasn't with them.
In a rush—voices overlapping, doors slamming—they all got into the car with Jea.
But Jeon.J didn't move. He stood silently, watching the car pull away. His gaze drifted toward the beach.
Near a pole, on the sand, Bamson was sitting. Sometimes he wagged his tail, sometimes he scratched the ground absentmindedly. Beside him, a girl sat on a bench.
Jeon.J narrowed his eyes slightly.
They didn't look like a girl and a dog. They looked like two souls who had finally found each other after a long separation—sitting quietly, sharing an unspoken understanding.
"Clever Bamson," Jeon.J murmured.
Inside the car, the girls were still laughing.
"Minji, you promised us a full DMC tour," Hana joked.
"But you kept walking in circles around the same drink stall," Sophia added.
Everyone laughed as the car merged into traffic.
Barely ten minutes later, Ruhi—sitting in the front seat—suddenly screamed.
The scream shocked everyone. Jea gripped the steering wheel hard, barely keeping control.
"What happened?" Hana shouted. "Why are you screaming like that?"
Ruhi turned around slowly, her teeth clenched.
"If I remind you of something," she snapped, "you'll scream even louder."
"What?" Sophia asked nervously.
With a sharp, sarcastic smile, Ruhi said,
"Where is Zoya?"
The car went silent. Hana and Sophia froze. Minji suddenly sat up straight.
"Not again…" Sophia whispered.
And then all of them screamed at once.
"Stop the car!" Ruhi shouted.
Jea slammed the brakes.
"What now?" he asked irritably.
"Our friend… she's still there," Hana said, her voice trembling.
Jea turned his head slightly.
"Was she a friend or a bag?" he snapped.
"You forgot her like luggage."
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
"Please," she said softly. "We can't go without her. She'll panic."
"So you didn't think of her when you were leaving?" Jea replied coldly.
Looking at Sophia in the rear-view mirror, he added,
"Drama queen."
"Look—" Sophia tried to speak.
"No, you look," Jea interrupted, pointing ahead.
"See this traffic? I need a U-turn to go back, and it's packed. Either I call Jeon.J and he brings your friend, or I drop you home first."
"No," Sophia said quickly.
"She's different… she'll start crying."
Jea narrowed his eyes.
"You should've thought of that earlier. There are no options now."
Jea called Jeon.J. The phone rang. No answer. They didn't know Jeon.J was deliberately ignoring the call. From the vibration alone, he had already guessed what happened. They forgot someone.
The thought made him smile faintly.
"What happened?" Hosu asked.
"Nothing," Jeon.J replied quietly.
Yomin's phone rang—it was Jea.
"Okay… fine. Drop them home," Yomin said.
After hanging up, he explained,
"One of Minji's friends was left behind. If Jea goes back, it'll get late."
"A friend or a wallet?" Teahun laughed.
Everyone laughed again.
"She's near the pole with Bamson," Yomin added.
"I'll go get Zoya."
Jeon.J felt something strange. Yomin kept saying her name. Zoya.
"What's with you and this Zoya?" Jeon.J snapped.
"You keep repeating her name."
"That's her name," Yomin replied casually. "That's what I'll call her."
And he walked away.
Near the pole, Zoya was sitting on the bench, talking to Bamson softly.
"Do you think he read the letter?" she asked him.
"But how would he… he doesn't even know the language."
She sighed.
"Or maybe he threw it away."
Yomin's voice startled her. She stood up immediately.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "For giving me time with him."
Her phone rang—Hana.
"You left me again?!" Zoya cried.
"How could you forget me every time?"
"Enough," Hana said firmly.
"Jeon.J will drop you."
"What? No!" Zoya panicked.
"Think of him as a taxi," Hana laughed and hung up.
Zoya sat back down, shaking.
"I'll take a taxi," Zoya replied.
"If we're dropping you, why taxi?" Jeon.J asked sharply.
Teahun laughed.
"We'll drop you safely."
Inside the car, traffic crawled.
"You're from Busan?" Yomin asked.
"No. I study there. I'm from Pakistan."
"Oh," Teahun said. "So you like Korea?"
"As it should be," Zoya replied.
"I don't get attracted by beauty," she added.
"My country is beautiful too."
"Wait," Teahun asked suddenly. "You don't know TBS?"
"No."
"You don't know us?"
"No."
Teahun hit the steering wheel.
"This is unbelievable."
"My phone isn't a fan box," Zoya said calmly.
"I don't waste it on celebrities."
"Stop the car," she said suddenly.
"I'll walk."
Jeon.J stayed silent. She wasn't impressed. She wasn't pretending. And that irritated him more than he expected.
The car stopped at Mr. Han Sung-Ho's house.
"Thanks for the ride," Zoya said.
"No autograph?" Teahun teased.
"If I wanted one," she replied without smiling,
"I would've asked."
She walked away. Inside the car, silence lingered.
"That girl isn't normal," Yomin said.
Jeon.J watched her disappear and whispered,
"Interesting…"
The car moved on. But Zoya Khan's presence stayed behind.
Zoya stepped into the hallway and stopped. All four girls were sitting on the floor like school kids waiting outside the principal's office.
She raised one eyebrow.
"Oh wow," Zoya said slowly, folding her arms,
"full meeting? Or do I need to file a complaint?"
Sophia instantly pointed at Minji.
"She started it!"
Minji hugged the cushion tighter.
"Don't look at me like that."
Zoya tilted her head.
"Should I even watch?" she asked lightly.
"Or should I forget you all like you forget me?"
Ruhi let out a short laugh.
"Okay, okay—shot fired."
Zoya walked a little closer.
"By the way," she said casually,
"even at Christmas, you left me like this."
Everyone froze for half a second.
Zoya continued calmly,
"After shopping. Outside the café. You were all inside… and I was outside."
Hana pressed her lips together.
"And today," Zoya added, counting on her fingers,
"same pattern. Same drama. Same girls."
Sophia groaned.
"Please don't start counting dates."
Zoya smiled slightly.
"I remember dates," she said.
"You don't."
Minji raised her head.
"That's not true."
Zoya shrugged.
"Maybe every time I slip out of your minds," she said lightly,
"like an extra file that gets deleted."
Ruhi pointed at her.
"See? Emotional blackmail."
Zoya laughed.
"Facts," she corrected.
Hana finally stood up and walked toward her.
"Okay," Hana said.
"We admit it. You're our group's quiet member, so sometimes—"
"—invisible," Zoya completed.
Sophia clapped once.
"THANK YOU. That's the word."
Zoya nodded.
"Exactly. Invisible people often get forgotten."
Minji stood up quickly.
"Enough," she said.
"Before you start another lecture—tell us."
Sophia leaned forward eagerly.
"Yes! Who did you come with?"
Zoya paused dramatically. Then she adjusted her bag strap and said calmly,
"Hana told me to treat it like a taxi ride."
The girls leaned in.
"So," Zoya continued seriously,
"I came with a driver—Teahun."
Ruhi burst out laughing.
"Driver?!"
Zoya nodded.
"Then a guard—Jeon.J."
The hallway exploded.
"WHAT?!"
Zoya raised one finger.
"There are rules," she said.
"With a guard, there's also an assistant."
She smiled.
"Assistant—Yomin."
Minji dropped the cushion.
"And…" Zoya added, completely straight-faced,
"A companion too."
Sophia blinked.
"Who?"
"Bamson."
For a second—silence. Then—
"HAHAHAHA!"
Ruhi almost fell back laughing.
Sophia held her stomach.
Minji covered her face.
"You're saying," Hana managed between laughs,
"you came home with a driver, a guard, an assistant… and a dog?"
Zoya shrugged.
"Very secure ride," she said.
"VIP protection."
Sophia wiped her tears.
"Next time," she said,
"We'll forget you on purpose."
Zoya smiled.
"Please do," she replied.
"I get free security."
Everyone laughed again.
"By the way," Zoya added, pointing upward with a playful glare,
"How can you call Bamson a dog? He's your idol's son—your nephew. You're all his aunties!"
She dashed upstairs as the girls again teased Jeon.J, calling him her brother loudly, then suddenly burst into laughter.
The tension disappeared. The hallway felt light again.
And Zoya—for once—was very hard to forget.
Car scene continues
The car rolled back onto the road. For a full thirty seconds, no one spoke. Then Teahun broke the silence.
"Guys," he said, shaking his head,
"What a girl."
Jeon.J glanced at him briefly.
"Unbelievable," Teahun continued dramatically,
"She didn't give us even a minute of idol protocol."
Yomin burst out laughing.
"Protocol?" he repeated.
"Brother, she didn't even promote you to guard. You were literally the driver."
Teahun shot him a look.
"Not a driver," he corrected.
"Temporary transport service."
Jeon.J smirked faintly.
"She didn't even blink," Yomin added.
"No autograph. No photo. No OMG."
Teahun hit the steering wheel lightly.
"Exactly! I gave full setup—front seat, safety talk—and she says, 'Stop the car, I'll walk.'"
Jeon.J chuckled.
"That part hurt you the most," he said calmly.
Yomin leaned back.
"Honestly," he said,
"She treated us like background noise."
Teahun sighed.
"Not even background noise. She treated it like a fan meeting."
Jeon.J finally turned toward him.
"She roasted you," he said simply.
Yomin nodded.
"Without even trying."
Teahun groaned.
"You two joke, but think—everyone goes crazy over us… and her?"
"She called you extra," Jeon.J reminded him.
Silence. Then Yomin lost it.
"HAHAHA—extra!"
Teahun pointed at him.
"Enough. Ego already in ICU today."
Jeon.J smiled slightly.
"She didn't come to see us," he said.
"She came to go home."
Yomin raised an eyebrow.
"And still," he added,
"We were completely under her control the whole ride."
Teahun laughed despite himself.
"Guys," he admitted,
"I have to admit… never met a girl like this before."
Jeon.J looked ahead, thoughtful.
"Be careful," Yomin teased.
"Your idol status is at risk."
Teahun shook his head.
"No," he said.
"Just… respect earned."
Jeon.J said nothing.
But in his mind, the same thought returned—
She didn't pretend.
She didn't perform.
She didn't care.
And somehow—that was the most dangerous part.
The car disappeared into traffic. But Teahun's bruised ego—was still in the back seat.
The car kept moving. Streetlights passed one by one, throwing soft shadows inside.
Teahun was still sulking when Yomin suddenly leaned forward, grinning.
"By the way," Yomin said casually,
"did you notice?"
"Notice what?" Teahun muttered.
Yomin tilted his head toward the front seat.
"Jeon.J."
Jeon.J didn't react.
"What about him?" he asked calmly.
Yomin smirked.
"You were unusually quiet."
Teahun straightened immediately.
"Yes!" he said, pointing.
"Exactly. The whole ride, you said one line—'Teahun, enough.'"
Jeon.J glanced at him.
"That was enough."
"No," Teahun said dramatically.
"That was suspicious."
They burst out laughing.
"Honestly," Yomin teased,
"were you taking guard duty seriously or studying Zoya Khan?"
Jeon.J sighed.
"Focus on the road."
"Oh ho," Yomin said.
"Deflection."
Teahun grinned now.
"Remember," he said,
"When she said, 'interesting things are not loud'?"
Jeon.J stayed quiet.
"Brother," Teahun continued,
"That line hit you directly."
Yomin nodded.
"Exactly. You're not loud… you just are."
Jeon.J finally looked at them.
"You two are bored," he said flatly.
"We're entertained," Yomin corrected.
"You're exposed."
Teahun laughed.
"Honestly," he said,
"When she said, 'if I wanted an autograph, I would have asked'—"
"—your heart said, 'ouch,'" Yomin finished.
Jeon.J shook his head.
"She wasn't rude," he said.
"She was just honest."
Both paused. Then they laughed.
"What a girl…
Idol protocol straight to character analysis."
Jeon.J looked out the window.
"She didn't care who we were," he said quietly.
"She only cared about getting home."
Yomin smiled.
"Dangerous quality," he said.
"People like that are unforgettable."
Teahun nodded.
"Yes," he admitted.
"Fan or not, the impact was real."
For a moment, the car was quiet again.
Then Teahun suddenly smirked.
"By the way," he said,
"place your bets."
"For what?" Yomin asked.
"She'll meet us again," Teahun said confidently.
"And she'll refuse to recognize us again."
Yomin laughed.
"I'm in."
Both looked at Jeon.J. He didn't answer immediately. Then calmly—
"The next meeting won't be by accident."
Yomin raised an eyebrow.
"Ohhh."
Teahun grinned.
"Game on."
The car moved ahead, disappearing into the city lights.
And somewhere between teasing, laughter, and quiet thoughts—
Zoya Khan had officially entered their space.
Whether they liked it or not. 😌