Xuanye's alarm rang sharply at 6:30 a.m., jerking her awake like she had just escaped a nightmare. She blinked around in confusion, caught her breath, and groaned, "Why is this alarm so loud?"
Grumbling, she fished her phone out from under her pillow and checked the time. A bright smile spread across her face. She quickly turned to nudge Nian.
Nian groaned under her blanket. "Ye~ why are you tapping me? Let me sleep..."
Xuanye rolled her eyes. "Yay~ did you forget? Today's the day Seventeen releases their concert tickets!"
Nian's eyes shot open. She bolted upright in bed, panicking. "Haa~ right! I totally forgot! But it's still early, right? They only open at 7:30 a.m..." She yawned and lay back down, mumbling, "Let's sleep for a few more minutes..."
Xuanye smacked her with a pillow. "It's already 6:30! If we get up now, we might actually get tickets. Or do you want to miss this concert too?"
Nian shot up like she'd been splashed with hot water. "I'm going to wash up right now!" She ran for the door. Xuanye shook her head and burst into laughter.
---
After freshening up, the girls sat on the sofa, fully focused on their phones. They logged in to the ticketing site and waited like soldiers in battle formation.
By 7:10 a.m., Boo, Vernon, Joshua, and Woozi walked out of their rooms, still half-asleep. They saw the girls glued to their phones.
Boo raised a hand lazily. "Good morning."
No response.
He frowned. "I said, good morning!"
Still no reply. Boo narrowed his eyes. "Joshua, are they... blind now?"
Joshua chuckled. "No, Boo. They're just extremely focused. Don't disturb them."
The boys shook their heads and headed to the kitchen.
---
At exactly 7:28 a.m., Nian and Xuanye tapped each other in excitement.
"There's only two minutes left!" Nian whispered.
Xuanye nodded confidently, her fingers ready.
Just then, Woozi and Vernon brought them cups of coffee, but the girls didn't even look up.
"Um... here?" Woozi said.
"Just leave it on the table," Nian muttered without breaking eye contact from her phone.
Woozi and Vernon blinked at each other in confusion, placed the cups down, and sat quietly.
---
7:30 a.m. — the battle began.
The ticketing site opened.
The girls clicked the Seventeen concert link in a heartbeat.
The wind blew through the open windows. It felt as if their very souls had lifted into the air.
Their phones vibrated. A message popped up:
"Congratulations! You've secured your Seventeen concert tickets."
They froze. Trembled. Then looked at each other in absolute disbelief.
Their eyes sparkled like diamonds in the morning light.
Then—
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
They screamed in unison, jumped up, and started kicking their feet in the air like children who just got into Hogwarts.
Boo, Vernon, Joshua, and Woozi, who had been sipping coffee, choked and coughed in sync. Woozi nearly spilled his drink.
---
The rest of the members, still groggy, stumbled out of their rooms.
"What happened?" Dk asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Why the screaming?" Hoshi mumbled.
Nian and Xuanye turned around and spotted the entire group in front of them. Without hesitation, they ran toward their boyfriends—
—and jumped into their arms, hugging them tightly.
The members were completely stunned. Dk and Minghao instinctively caught them but stared at each other in confusion.