Han woke up when chaewon knocked on his door. He rubbed his eyes, dragged himself up, and unlocked it.
"Han, it's 7 p.m. Get ready—it's tryouts today, we have to leave early," Chaewon reminded him.
Han yawned, but then a smell caught his attention. He sniffed the air.
"You brought food?"
Chaewon grinned with pride. "No. I made it."
That answer made Han blink in surprise. He followed the smell into the kitchen, and his eyes widened at the sight of vegetables, meat, and fruit spread across the counter.
"You… know how to cook?"
Chaewon nodded. "Yeah. I always cook for the members."
Han tilted his head, doubtful. "I've known you since debut. I watched all of Nexon Next. I never once saw you near the kitchen."
Chaewon's voice dropped, softer now. "The production didn't want me cooking on camera. They told me to just sit around and act lazy. They wanted people to see me like that. But at home… I did cook. For all of us."
Han sat on the kitchen shelf, grabbed a piece of toast, and took a bite. He chewed slowly, still processing.
"Why would they do that?"
Chaewon leaned against the same shelf, close enough for their shoulders to nearly brush. He picked up a piece of toast, bit into it, then said quietly, "Maybe because they wanted people to like me less. Or maybe the wanted peopleto like me like that."
Without thinking too much, he speared a sausage and held it up to Han's lips. Han hesitated, staring at him for a second, before finally leaning forward and taking a bite. Their eyes lingered. Then Chaewon casually ate from the same sausage.
The moment felt too heavy, so Han tried to break it. "Your company was truly evil. That's crazy that you guys have to act like 24/7."
Chaewon gave a small laugh. "Yeah, but… they made us what we are now."
"Hmm. If you say so." Han muttered, not entirely agreeing, but letting it slide.
They kept eating in silence for a while.
Before hopping off the counter, Han frowned at the mountain of food. "Why'd you buy so much? Half of this will rot. And I don't even know how to cook."
Chaewon smiled and leaned closer, his face just a little too near. "That's fine. I can cook for you."
Han pushed lightly at his chest with one finger. "No, I don't want to be a burden."
Chaewon straightened but didn't back down. His voice was calm, but firm. "Since I've been with you, I've never seen you eat a proper meal. It's always noodles… or fried chicken. So let me do this. I cook for myself anyway—it's not a burden."
Han frowned, still not convinced. "Yeah, but—"
Chaewon cut him off. "You give me rides every day. So let me return something. Deal? Now go get dressed—we're running late."