CHAPTER 23: The Tape, the Talk, and the Tease

The next day, Nian woke up with a yawn, stretching as sunlight peeked into the room. She flinched and turned to see Xuanye still sound asleep — like a log. No matter how much she nudged her, Xuanye didn't budge.

Nian stood up and stretched again when she suddenly heard a laughing sound. She turned around, only to see Xuanye giggling in her sleep, her mouth wide open.

Nian smirked and squatted down beside her. "What is she dreaming about?" she murmured. "Her bunny teeth are on full display. Is she dreaming about escaping from Professor Xi?"

She leaned forward and gently patched Xuanye's mouth with her hand. But Xuanye just kept grinning. Nian, unable to hold back her mischief, scanned the shelf, spotted some tape — and without a second thought, carefully plastered it across Xuanye's mouth.

"Leaning back, she admired her masterpiece and stifled a laugh". "Much better," she whispered to herself and tiptoed out of the room.

---

In the hall, Vernon, Jun, Wonwoo, Woozi, and Joshua were sitting on the couch, casually scrolling through their phones. As Nian stepped in, they noticed her and waved.

"Good morning," Woozi said.

"Morning!" Nian waved back and smiled, walking toward the couch. "Where are the others?" she asked, pouring herself a glass of water.

"They went to practice early," Woozi replied.

Nian raised a brow. "Then why are you all still here?"

Joshua chuckled. "You wouldn't believe what happened this morning."

Nian took a sip. "Try me."

"Hoshi got into one of his leader moods," Joshua began with a grin. "He said we needed a fun break before practice and came up with another game."

"Oh no," Nian said, lowering her glass.

"He asked for a pen and paper," Woozi continued. "Jeonghan brought it. Hoshi wrote all our names down, folded the papers, and told Scoups to pick eight."

"When we realized what he was doing," Joshua said, laughing, "Boo literally tried to slap him."

Nian choked on her water. "Wait—what?!"

Jun sighed. "It gets worse. Hoshi's face lit up when Scoups handed over the names. And guess what? The ones left out of practice were us."

Nian's eyes widened. "So he... randomly chose who gets to rest today?"

Vernon slumped back."He pulls stunts like this whenever the mood strikes."

Jun added dramatically, "One time, we were exhausted after rehearsals. Hoshi insisted we still practice, and when no one moved, he made us all line up and do his Horanghae pose... and act like each other."

Nian leaned in, laughing. "Then what happened?"

Wonwoo groaned. "We just gave up and went to the practice room to escape his chaos."

Nian clutched her stomach, laughing until her eyes watered. The boys smiled, amused by her reaction.

---

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Xuanye finally stirred. She reached for her phone, still half-asleep, and the moment she saw a new notification — she gasped.

Or rather, she tried to gasp — only to realize her mouth was sealed shut with tape.

Her eyes bulged. She flailed around, hands flying to her face as she peeled off the tape. "What the—!?"

"Once the shock wore off, she glanced at her phone again — and her mood did a complete 180."

"OH. MY. GOD." she whispered.

The notification read: "SEVENTEEN: Unseen Moments Compilation — Just Released."

Her face lit up. She jumped off the bed and sprinted into the hall.

"Nian!!" she yelled.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"What happened?" Nian asked, startled.

"They released it!" Xuanye shouted, waving her phone wildly.

Nian's eyes widened. "Really?!"

Xuanye nodded with childlike excitement, nearly hopping in place.

The boys glanced at each other, already guessing what was coming.