CHAPTER SIX
( The Stars Dim In Comparison )

‎DAIYU'S GRANDPARENTS RETURN from their mountain trip the following morning with aches in their old bones and many tales to tell.

The Chinese-Korean girl wakes to the smell of breakfast wafting in through the open door of Seyeon's room, and she knows that they have finally returned because the house smells like a home again.

Her sleep-addled body drags itself to greet them, bending her knees and allowing her grandmother to press a soft kiss to the crown of her head, and lets her grandfather pat her back as she bows her greetings to him.

"How was your trip?" Daiyu asks politely as she is shoved into a seat at the kitchen table, a plate of steaming soup placed right in front of her.

The elderly woman smiles wistfully and replies with a dismissive, "It was tiring." Daiyu wonders if the reason her grandmother stares so softly at her face is because she looks far too much like her daughter.

"Eat up, child. You'll need strength to make it through the day." Her grandfather pipes in as Daiyu gingerly stirs the soup with her spoon.

The teen raises a confused brow, and upon the look on her face, the man elaborates.

"Didn't Seyeon-ah tell you? He has an audition today with a friend. I thought he'd take you along, to calm his nerves and whatnot." The old man shrugs.

"Oh, that!" Daiyu snaps her fingers in remembrance. It had been one of the first things Seyeon had told her about when they first met. "I totally forgot it was today, Of course I'm going."

"That's good. Seyeon is awfully shy when it comes to these things. It's good you're here to give him strength, Daiyu-yah." The elderly woman hums.

A small smile eases on Daiyu's face, until it grows so wide the apples of her cheeks ache.

As quickly as she could, Daiyu finishes her food, thanking the two elders before heading to wake her half-brother so he could prepare.

Upon walking into the room, the teen smiles softly at the sight of a curled-up Seyeon, his hands wrapped around a spare decorative pillow. Daiyu shakes his shoulder slightly, and leans down to whisper her good mornings.

"Hey, wake up. It's audition day, remember?"

The boy cracks open one eye groggily, blinking the light away from his face. Incoherent mumbles leave his lips as he tosses to the other side of the bed.

It takes a few more seconds for the realization to sink in, and soon Seyeon is scrambling out of his bedsheets and searching for his clothes.

"Oh no! I forgot — I'm gonna be late!" He cries as he slams the door to his bathroom shut, clothes in hand.

He comes tumbling out in a few short minutes, freshly bathed and changed, bolting out the front door with speed that could rival a car.

Daiyu follows after him, half amused and half worried. Especially once he starts scarfing down his breakfast, trying to get everything down in one bite.

"Slow down, jeez," She mutters as the brown-haired boy almost chokes on his soup.

"No time!" He dismisses, springing from the chair as though it is on fire before running out the door, yelling behind his shoulder, "Hurry up, Da-yah!"

"I'm going, damn." She replies, no bite to her bark, grabbing her wallet and a pair of sunglasses.

She deserves a raise for babysitting this boy.

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SEOJUN WAITS IMPATIENTLY, as always, outside their front door by the time both Daiyu and Seyeon are finally ready. He has a hand on his hip, and Daiyu catches sight of a small young girl hidden behind his tall frame.

The Chinese-Korean girl grins at the boy, offering her fist briefly, and he bumps it with his own as if it's the most natural thing ever.

"Never in a million years would I have imagined the Han Seojun being interested in a career as an idol." She snorts, pushing her sunglasses up to the top of her head.

The taller teen rolls his eyes, but a grin dances on his face. "Fuck off."

Daiyu peers down at the rather quiet girl beside Seojun, giving her a smile that softens around the corners.

"Who's your friend?" Daiyu asks curiously.

"This is my little sister, Han Gowoon. Gowoon, this is Zhao Daiyu and Jeong Seyeon." he explains, and Daiyu takes notice of how his tone considerably softens when speaking to his younger sister.

"Nice to meet you!" Seyeon chirps from behind Daiyu's shoulder.

"You too . . ." The younger girl trails off. She suddenly feels subconscious about her height and looks, being surrounded by so many tall, good-looking people.

Seojun takes their interaction as a moment to study the other's outfits. Seyeon wears a simple white shirt layered with a zip-up jacket and a pair of dark jeans, his hair still messy from waking up late. A headband holds his hair out of his face.

Daiyu wears a pair of loose black straight-legged jeans, matched with a dark blue oversized hoodie. Her pants are splattered in paint and ripped around one knee, but it suits her well. As always, her hair is as wild as ever, held out of her face by the sunglasses resting on the top of her head.

Seojun looks down at his own clothes. His trusty leather jacket, a pair of old dark jeans, and a white t-shirt.

"Hey, nice glasses." Daiyu nods to the frames adorning the younger girl's face.

She blushes slightly, the apples of her cheeks dusting pink. "Thank you."

"Let's hurry or we're gonna be late!" Seyeon complains, already a few feet away from the group.

"We're going!" Seojun rolls his eyes, tilting his head over to where the shorter boy is. "Come on, he's getting antsy."

"I don't know why," Daiyu shakes her head. "He's got all the qualities of an idol."

Seojun spares the Chinese-Korean girl a more serious look, and both of them silently agree that Seyeon could shine brightly if he truly wants to.

"Try telling him that." Seojun snorts, digging his hands into his jacket pockets. "He always gets nervous when it comes down to it."

"What an idiot." Daiyu rolls her eyes, no hint of malice in tone, but rather an underlying fondness. She nudges Seojun playfully on the shoulder."By the way, I can't wait to hear the oh-so-grand Han Seojun sing. I'm looking forward to that."

"Trust me, by the end of the day, all you'll be able to do is say how amazing I am," He scoffs, straightening his shoulders.

His younger sister rolls her eyes, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "Your head's big enough as it is."

Daiyu laughs loudly, nodding to Gowoon's words. "I like her!" She turns to Seojun and swings her arm over his shoulder with a sly grin.

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AS ARROGANT AND full of himself as Seojun is, Daiyu has to admit that his singing skills are nowhere near as lacking as she thought they'd be.

He sings like the ocean waves, calming and deep. She finds herself rocking to his melodic voice, and hates that it's so warm and full.

Daiyu does him the honor of being truthful, and grins at him as he exits the audition room, hands tucked coolly into the pockets of his jacket.

His eyes twinkle as he approaches the Chinese-Korean girl, who stands from her seat in the waiting room.

"You should've seen!" He says, with all the air of a child opening his Christmas gifts. "We were the best there!"

Daiyu smiles. "I heard. You sing great."

The taller's smile falls in shock, freezing into place. Zhao Daiyu, aka Miss 'I-don't-give-two-shits-about-anything-you-say-or-do' is grinning up at him, genuinely happy and proud. He feels his heart stutter in his chest.

( She looks less evil-looking, now that he can get a good look at her. She looks . . . nice ).

"You just said I was great." He backtracks, pedaling the conversation to an awkward stop.

"I said your singing is great," She corrects, but shrugs nonetheless. "Can't a friend compliment another friend?"

Seojun stares at the girl for a long time. He never thought she considered anyone other than Seyeon human. To Daiyu, everyone else is like an animal. She will care for it, but they're never good company.

"You just called me your friend." He repeats dumbly, and Daiyu grows irritated.

"Well, if you don't wanna be friends, I don't care — " She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What? No, we're friends." Seojun says rapidly. He quite prefers having the luxury of not getting sucker punched every time he and Daiyu talk.

She grins. "Ok then."

"Da-yah! Seojun!" The loud voice of none other than Seyeon pierces the air, and the two turn to find him running towards them, an awkward Gowoon trailing behind.

The youngest girl runs up to her brother, giving him a hug. Seyeon barrels straight for Daiyu, who catches him in her arms and smothers him in a big bear hug.

Daiyu has never known warmth like Seyeon, who only ties to her life halfway yet fills every crevice of her heart with honey-like sweetness.

"How did it go?" She asks when he lets go of her, his cheeks pink and hair slightly wet from the dance auditions.

"Amazing!" Is all Seyeon can choke out through his fatigued lungs, a hand on his hip as he regains his breath.

Daiyu pats Seyeon roughly on the shoulder, sending him lurching forward. She flashes him an apologetic grin when he turns to glare softly at her.

"Should we go out to celebrate?" Seojun asks, glancing around at the others for approval.

Seyeon turns to Daiyu with his biggest puppy eyes.

"What's that damn look for?" She crosses her arms over her chest, staring down at the boy.

"Halmeoni said to ask your opinion before anyone else's. You're more responsible." He smiles, and Daiyu gives him a look.

Zhao Daiyu and responsible are not very adjacent synonyms, in her opinion. Nonetheless, she brings up a hand to mess up Seyeon's hair and grins.

"Do whatever you want." Daiyu shrugs.

He beams at her in reply.

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THE FOUR SETTLE on pizza and a movie. Seyeon's suggestion of inviting along Suho is quickly dismissed after the third time their call is forwarded to voicemail. He's always busy doing something.

Seojun and Gowoon share a bag of popcorn the same way Daiyu and Seyeon do, but only the youngest siblings seem immersed in the movie.

The background noises of soft conversation float in and out of Daiyu's ears, and she mindlessly shoves popcorn in her mouth.

She nudges the boy next to her — The one that's not practically drooling at the movie — And leans closer to whisper to him.

"This movie is so boring," She yawns, and Seojun nods his head dully in agreement.

"Seyeon picked it. It's a romance." With his free hand, Seojun brings his hand to his mouth and fakes throwing up.

"I can hear you, you know." Seyeon shoots them a dirty glare from his seat next to Daiyu, and she and Seojun share a look of mutual amusement.

Seyeon turns and ignores them again, his eyes widening by a fraction as he stares at the couple on screen. Daiyu shakes her head.

She yawns once more, sleep pulling at her eyelids.

"How long is this damn movie?" Seojun growls under his breath, stopping as he feels something warm and heavy hit his shoulder.

He sneaks a peek at the teen beside him, and feels the tickle of her hair on his chin. Daiyu has fallen asleep, leaning against his shoulder for support.

Seojun finds he can't breathe with her face so close, and he prays she is actually asleep, because his heart thumps dangerously loud in his ribcage.

Gowoon turns to look at the two for a short while. She turns her attention back to the movie, a small smile playing on her lips.

Daiyu never notices who it is she chooses to sleep on. When the ending credits roll around, she slurs awake, rubbing her eyes and pushing back her hair from her face. She yawns, wipes the small trail of saliva that's making its way down her lip, and grins.

"Great movie," She says enthusiastically. Seojun snorts out a laugh.

"You were snoring so loud I couldn't even hear the actors talk." He refutes, and Daiyu rolls her eyes.

"You weren't even paying attention." She crosses her arms indignantly.

"I liked the movie!" Seyeon pipes in, genuine admiration in his eyes. "But the second lead was so much better than the first one."

"I thought that too!" Gowoon adds in excitedly, pushing her glasses further up the slope of her nose.

The four talk about nothing in particular as they eat their full of pizza. Daiyu retells the story of how they all met, and Gowoon laughs so hard that soda dribbles down her nose. She slaps Seojun on the arm, and tells him that he will never live that day down.

The day soon fades into darkness, and it is time for the four of them to go back home. Gowoon shyly bids Daiyu goodnight with a hug, and Daiyu gives the young girl her phone number.

"To keep in touch," She says simply, and Gowoon beams brightly as she stares at her phone.

Seyeon and Daiyu bid Seojun with waves and grins, and they depart from the light of the lamppost, heading their own ways.

Seyeon is an energetic mess when they get home, telling their grandparents everything about his audition. Daiyu says her hello's and excuses herself to his room, where she plugs her phone in to charge.

The screen lights up with a text from an unknown number, reading, it's Han Gowoon! it was fun hanging out with you guys

Daiyu saves her number as 'The better Han' and scrolls through her other messages.

Seojun's name pops up, and she clicks on his text.

next time bring your own pillow if you're gonna fall asleep. my shoulder hurts

Daiyu rolls her eyes, but a smile graces her lips.

don't have to, you're pretty comfortable to sleep on

She falls asleep with her phone in her hand and a smile on her face.

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‎ ꩜ AUTHOR'S NOTE !

cute chapter yay !

idk what's been going on w me lately that i can't write for shit so here's this half assed chapter for u guys !!!

i wrote this while getting ready 4 school so idk how it turned out bc i don't have time to proofread 😢

idk when the next update is gonna be but hopefully soon !!!

other than that pls lmk if there are any mistakes in the spelling or anything so i can fix it !

also don't b afraid to vote or comment, i will probably (very likely) reply!!!! and if you don't understand something, plsplspls lmk!! i want yall to fully understand what's going on

happy reads!

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─── ANNIE