The next morning, the twelve I-Lander's gathered downstairs to hear about their next mission. "Chemistry test?" Sunoo read aloud.
There were two songs: 'Flicker', and 'Dive Into You'. Heeseung, being in first place got to choose not only the song, but the six members who would join him.
"I'll choose...K hyung, Jake, Jungwon, Sunghoon, and Daisy."
She nodded in acceptance—she had a feeling he would choose her. After an eventful bout of Rock Paper Scissors, team Flicker was given the large practice room and began discussing parts.
"I personally want part two," K stated. "I think Heeseung would fit part one well."
"Ah...okay," Heeseung replied uncomfortably. Daisy pursed her lips, feeling the tension in the room. K essentially assigned everyone's parts without much say from everyone else, who found themselves intimidated by the eldest I-Lander.
Well, except for Daisy. She'd already butted heads with him before, so she was less afraid of speaking her mind. She didn't want to cause issues though, so she remained quiet as they began practice.
They began learning the choreography with K remaining in the lead, everyone else following closely behind even when they had disagreements about moves.
"Oppa, the windows aren't quite right. Can you move to the left a bit?" K glanced back at Daisy and then in the mirror, adjusting slightly.
"Here?"
"Yeah, that's better."
She felt the other boys' eyes on her and shrugged in their direction. When they finally took a break, Jake and Jungwon approached her. "How can you talk to hyung so easily?" Daisy hummed in response to Jungwon's question, tapping her finger to her chin.
"When we were in the 'DNA' team, there was some conflict with K oppa and Niki. I helped defend Niki and talked to oppa about his tone when speaking to us." She turned back to them, running a hand through her hair. "You kinda have to just say what you think, as long as you say it respectfully."
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"You're still here?"
Jake turned to his girlfriend's voice from his place in the center of the practice room. "It's nearly 3am, you should rest." He shook his head, taking a sip of water and slightly forcing a smile.
"I'm alright. I wanna make sure I don't hold our team back." Daisy frowned, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"No one thinks you're holding us back. Heeseung oppa chose you because he knows you're capable, just like the rest of us do too."
Jake's smile dropped as he leaned his head into the crook of her neck, her arms wrapping around his waist as he did so. He'd felt pressured lately as he became more and more aware that others had more training than he did.
"I'm really worried," he admitted. "And I miss home. I miss my mom. I don't wanna let her down."
She squeezed his shirt in her hands, pulling him closer. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I wish I could take your pain away or say I know what it's like, but I don't." She pulled away to cup his cheeks in her hands.
"But what I do know is that you won't let anyone down, Jake. I've only known you for a few months and I care so much about you, so I know for a fact your mom must love you more than you can comprehend. You've gotta take care of yourself, though. Neither of us wants our Jake to collapse in exhaustion, so let's go to bed okay?"
He smiled just a bit, making her smile back. "Okay," he agreed, walking hand in hand with her toward the staircase. "Why did you come down here anyway?"
"To look for you," she stated as though it was obvious. He paused, staring at her deep brown eyes with a small blush. "What? You thought I'd leave my boyfriend down here alone until sunrise?"
He bit his lip to hold back a grin. "Call me that again."
"Call you what? My boyfriend?"
Jake's smile widened as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. By the time she processed what was happening, he'd pulled away, leaving her surprised and flustered.
"What was that?" she mumbled, averting her gaze.
"Just a kiss from your boyfriend."
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"Do I look alright?" Daisy asked, turning to Sunghoon. He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You look as amazing as always," he assured with a peck to her cheek. Sunghoon, Daisy, Jungwon, and Heeseung had been awarded a day out of the I-Land to celebrate their top four spots. It was the first time she had gone out in months, making Daisy feel a bit more nervous than usual about her appearance.
She ultimately decided on a white crop top, green cardigan, and khaki pants.
Jay and Jake came in at that moment, both pouting a bit. "It's so unfair," Jay whined. "He gets a whole date with you and we don't."
"It not a date, Jungwon and Heeseung will be there too."
"If we define dates as only being one on one, then what we do isn't dates either."
"It's not about it being one on one," Jake countered. "It's about it being people you're interested in romantically."
"All of which is beside the point," Daisy cut in, chuckling. "Once we debut, we'll have plenty of time together, okay? So don't worry." Jake nodded, wrapping her in a warm hug and placing his chin on her head.
She pecked his lips before saying her goodbyes to Jay, who secretly stuck his tongue out at Sunghoon as she hugged him. Jake giggled at the playful rivalry between the two. "Ready?" she asked. Sunghoon nodded, intertwining their hands together as they left the room.
She ended up in the back with Sunghoon, Jungwon in front of her and Heeseung in front of Sunghoon. "I don't know if I'm more excited for the dogs or the coffee," Daisy honestly stated as they headed to the dog cafe.
"Who in here has a dog?" Jungwon asked. Sunghoon immediately began talking about his dog, Daisy beginning to daydream as she stared out the window.
Before she could stop herself, she found herself feeling guilty about the others who were left behind while she had a day to relax. "Hey," Sunghoon quietly said. She turned to him in question. "No guilt," he reminded, placing a hand on her thigh. She nodded slowly, placing her hand over his and squeezing gently.
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"I found Jake and Jay!" Daisy cheered, pointing at a golden retriever and a dachshund with a giggle. "Ah, I miss them now."
"They'll be there waiting for you," Heeseung assured. She nodded, glancing at Jungwon who was playing with a dog named Doobu.
The youngest of the four eventually saw her eyes and smiled, walking over. "They're all so cute. I'm glad we came." She returned his smile, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
"It's good for you especially to relax." He turned to her, brows furrowed. "Because you're so young," she clarified. "I don't like all the stress on your shoulders, honestly."
"I'm only a year younger than you."
She shrugged, sighing slightly. "A lot can happen in a year."
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"No way," Sunghoon immediately declined.
"You can't come here and not play!" his girlfriend protested, trying to drag him toward the headset. "You're really gonna waste the staff's money like that?"
Heeseung and Jungwon were laughing mischievously at the scene as she eventually convinced him. As soon as she made eye contact with them, she grinned devilishly, advising them to step back quite a bit.
Ultimately, Sunghoon is kind of a coward. This resulted in all four dying of laughter, the ice prince on the ground in exhaustion. It's fine in Daisy's eyes, though. For he is bold when it matters most.
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"Why are you so good at this?" Jungwon shouted as Daisy skated easily beside Sunghoon, though he wasn't going his full speed.
"Wonie," she started with a pointed look. "You don't really date an ice skater without going ice skating at least once or twice." He sighed in defeat. "I'm not nearly as good as Hoon though."
Sunghoon smiled at the indirect compliment. "Let's learn a partner skate together one day." She nodded, laughing slightly. Heeseung felt his heart twinge with jealousy at the love they shared—when would it be his turn?
Brushing off the thought, he let Daisy help him off of the rink as they finished skating, Sunghoon guiding Jungwon. "Are you cold?" he asked, immediately realizing how thin her clothing was.
"I'll be fine," she insisted, though her shivering suggested otherwise. He frowned, grabbing Sunghoon and pulling him toward her.
"Warm your girlfriend up."
His eyes immediately became concerned.
"You're cold?"
"I'm fine-"
"Lies!" Jungwon exclaimed dramatically. Sunghoon pulled her into a hug, Jungwon and Heeseung following to trap her in their warmth. She flushed at their attentiveness toward her, thanking them quietly.
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The next morning, Daisy awoke to a heavy feeling on her stomach and shoulder. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal Jake and Jay, semi-awake.
"What are you guys doing in here?" she groggily asked. Jake sat up slowly from his place on her stomach, moving to her free shoulder instead.
"We missed you," he mumbled, wrapping a leg and arm around her torso. "We also saw the stuff you got us."
Jay opened his eyes just in time to see the small smile that spread across her lips. "Did you like them?" The four had gotten gifts for the other trainees the day before, Daisy picking out a dog plushie that looked suspiciously like Layla for Jake and a button-up shirt from one of Jay's favorite brands for Jay.
"We loved them," Jay responded, Jake nodding with a grin.
"It looks so much like Layla, I almost started crying," Jake confessed. Daisy pecked his forehead, rubbing both of their backs. After a few more minutes of enjoying each others' presence, the other I-Landers began filing in and waking Sunghoon, Heeseung, and Jungwon up.
Daisy snorted at sleepy Sunghoon's slight glare toward Sunoo who had jumped onto his bed.
"Thank you guys for all the gifts!"