Y/n stood in front of the house door, taking a deep breath as she recited her practiced apology under her breath. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you guys. I should have trusted you more. I'll do better next time, please forgive me." She repeated it again, and again, until it felt almost automatic. After the third time, she gave herself a firm nod. "Okay, you can do this," she whispered, mustering up her courage.
With another steadying breath, Y/n knocked on the door and pushed it open.
To her surprise, all five girls, Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Hyein, and Danielle stood huddled behind the door, glancing at each other awkwardly. Their eyes flicked between themselves and Y/n, creating an atmosphere that felt strangely tense for what she thought would be a simple apology.
"What... what happened?" Y/n thought, confusion bubbling up inside her. She had expected to face them one by one, not all of them together like this.
For a brief moment, silence filled the air as Y/n stood there, wondering why no one was saying anything. Then, all of a sudden, Hanni nudged Minji's shoulder with enough force to make her stumble forward, sending her closer to Y/n.
Minji, flustered and now standing inches away from Y/n, took a deep breath before speaking. "I... I'm sorry."
Y/n blinked, taken aback. "Wait, what?"
Minji rubbed the back of her neck, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, for making you feel like you couldn't trust us. I should've been more understanding instead of reacting the way I did."
The words hung in the air for a moment, and Y/n's carefully rehearsed apology vanished from her mind. This wasn't how she thought things would go. She had been so focused on her own guilt, her own apology, that she hadn't even considered Minji might have felt bad too.
"Oh," Y/n said, still processing. She glanced at the other girls, who were watching with nervous expressions, clearly in on the situation but letting Minji take the lead.
Feeling her own heart soften, Y/n shook her head lightly, a small smile forming on her lips. "Minji, no... I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have lashed out at you guys like that. I didn't trust you, and I acted like I had to protect you when you're all perfectly capable of protecting yourselves. I was just... scared."
Minji finally looked up, her eyes meeting Y/n's. "We were scared too," she admitted. "But we're a family, Y/n. We have to trust each other. It's okay to be afraid, but we should've talked about it instead of letting it get to this point."
The others nodded in agreement, and the tension that had been lingering in the air seemed to lift just a bit.
Y/n let out a deep breath, feeling lighter. "You're right. I promise, I'll do better. I'll trust you all more... and I'm really sorry for how I acted."
For a brief second, silence hung again. Then, Hanni stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Minji and pushing her even closer to Y/n. "Hug it out, you two. We all know you want to."
Y/n laughed, shaking her head at Hanni's antics, but when she turned to Minji, she saw the other girl already reaching out for her. Without another word, Y/n stepped into Minji's embrace, the tension dissolving completely as they hugged tightly.
The others quickly piled in, creating a warm, Teletubbies comforting group hug. Y/n found herself squeezed in the middle, laughter breaking out between them as the awkwardness turned into something much more comforting.
"Next time, let's talk it out before things get this messy, yeah?" Hyein piped up from the side, her tone lighthearted.
"Agreed," Y/n said with a grin. "No more unnecessary drama."
As they pulled away from the hug, Hanni gave Y/n a playful nudge. "See, wasn't so bad, right?"
Y/n rolled her eyes but smiled. Then, Y/n took a small step back, her eyes drifting toward Hanni and Haerin. The memory of her harsh words from before still weighed heavily on her heart, and she knew she needed to make things right with them too.
She cleared her throat softly, her gaze shifting between the two of them. "Hanni, Haerin... I need to apologize to both of you too. I know I scared you back there with how I acted. I was so caught up in my own head, thinking I had to protect everyone, that I forgot... we're all in this together."
Hanni smiled warmly. "Y/n, we were worried, but I get it. You were just trying to do what you thought was right." She stepped forward and squeezed Y/n's hand. "You're like a family to us, and sometimes family member gets a little overprotective. It happens."
Haerin nodded quietly beside her, "We know you care, Y/n. But you don't have to carry all that responsibility alone. We can handle things together."
Y/n felt a wave of emotion well up in her chest at their words. She took another breath, steadying herself.
"I know now. I should've trusted you more, and I'm really sorry for making you feel like I didn't. I just... I didn't want to lose anyone."
Haerin's eyes softened, and she stepped forward, giving Y/n another hug. "We're not going anywhere. Not without you."
Y/n smiled back, feeling the warmth of her friends around her.
After the heartfelt reconciliation, the mood in the room lightened significantly. Y/n finally felt the tension lift from her shoulders, and the weight of her earlier emotions was replaced by a comfortable warmth between her and her housemates.
Suddenly, Hanni clapped her hands together. "Well, now that we're all good and emotional, how about we celebrate with some food?" She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.
Minji chuckled. "I'm down for that. But who's cooking? Not Y/n, though. Last time she cooked, we almost had to call for backup from the kingdom's firefighters."
Y/n raised her hands defensively. "Hey! That was one time, and I told you, the recipe was too complicated!"
Haerin deadpanned, "You burned water, Y/n."
"Twice," Danielle added, poking her head from behind Haerin with a cheeky grin.
"But I- ugh" Y/n groaned, she couldn't fight that, throwing her hands in the air. "Okay, okay! I'm officially banned from the kitchen. Happy?"
Hanni smirked, clearly enjoying Y/n's minor defeat. "Don't worry, Y/n. I'll make sure your snack doesn't get burnt."
"Appreciated," Y/n replied, rolling her eyes playfully.
-
As Hanni and the others started preparing a quick meal in the kitchen, Haerin suddenly walked up to Y/n and said with complete seriousness, "I'll take care of the drinks. You trust me, right?"
Y/n narrowed her eyes suspiciously, before replying, "That sounds suspicious coming from you, Haerin."
Without missing a beat, Haerin leaned closer and whispered, "What's life without a little surprise?"
Y/n shook her head, chuckling as Haerin walked away mysteriously. A few minutes later, Haerin appeared with a tray of oddly colored drinks. She handed one to Y/n, and the rest of the girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"What's in this, Haerin?" Y/n asked cautiously, staring at the strange, glittery purple liquid in her cup.
"Trust me," Haerin said, stone-faced, "it's totally safe."
Danielle raised her glass. "Well, here goes nothing!"
The moment Y/n took a sip, her eyes widened. "This... this tastes like..."
"Unicorn tears," Minji blurted out, laughing.
Y/n blinked in confusion. "I was going to say it tastes like grape soda mixed with... stardust?"
"Exactly. You're welcome."
Hanni, who had been busy preparing snacks in the kitchen, returned with a plate full of treats and stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw the strange drinks in everyone's hands. Her eyes widened in confusion.
"Wait... what is that?" she asked, pointing at the glittery, glowing drinks.
"Behold! Haerin's newest concoction, 'Unicorn Tears!'" Dani yelled, being happy from how good the flavor was.
Hanni blinked, her face a mix of surprise and amusement. "Unicorn... what?"
"It's a special drink. Try it, you might feel enlightened." Haerin asked Hanni to taste her drink.
Hanni squinted at Haerin, then at the drink in Y/n's hand. "Enlightened or poisoned?" she teased.
"Like, I don't know if I should drink it or use it to summon some kind of magical creature." Hanni continued to observe the strange liquid.
Hyein raised her own cup, "Well, if a unicorn suddenly shows up, you'll know who to thank"