Your best of friends | Non zero sum

"They've been your friends for years... or so you thought. Beneath the laughter, the late-night takeout, and the easy camaraderie lies an obsession you can't escape. Three of them. One secret. And a plan that has always been waiting for you. Will you survive their gaze, their whispers, their control... or will you finally belong to them?"

Your best of friends | Non zero sum

"They've been your friends for years... or so you thought. Beneath the laughter, the late-night takeout, and the easy camaraderie lies an obsession you can't escape. Three of them. One secret. And a plan that has always been waiting for you. Will you survive their gaze, their whispers, their control... or will you finally belong to them?"

The room buzzed with the easy comfort of routine. Fried chicken boxes lay half-empty, beer fizzed softly in their cups, and the four of them were sprawled out together like they had a hundred times before.

Taegyeom tossed a chicken bone back into the box, wiping his fingers on a napkin with a smirk.

"Man, it's been too long since we all sat like this. Almost feels... normal again."

Hyun-woo chuckled, leaning back against the couch.

"It is normal. We're best friends. Nothing's changed."

Haeyoung smiled faintly at that, his sharp eyes fixated on Haewoon across the table.

"...Nothing's changed?"

The words hung strangely. Not playful, not casual — just heavy.

For a moment, silence pressed in. The music from the speaker kept playing, but it felt distant, wrong, like background noise to something else entirely.

Taegyeom broke the stillness with a soft laugh, though his eyes didn't match his smile.

"Heh. Hyun-woo always says things like that. But he doesn't get it. Things have changed."

Hyun-woo glanced at him sharply, then looked away. His hands tightened into fists on his knees, but he didn't speak.

Haeyoung leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee, voice quiet but unmistakably certain.

"We've been waiting for the right time. And tonight... feels right, doesn't it?"

Taegyeom tilted his head, gaze locked on Haewoon now, his grin stretching wider like a fox catching the tiny squirrel he have been looking for.

"Yeah. He has no idea. That's the best part."

The air grew suffocating. The laughter was gone. All three of them looked at Haewoon in a way that wasn't friendly anymore — too intent, too knowing, like they are dancing to a tune Haewoon is deaf to.

Hyun-woo's throat worked as he swallowed hard, choking, eyes flicking from Haeyoung to Taegyeom and back again. When he finally spoke, his voice was unsteady.

"...You said we'd wait. You said—"

Haeyoung cut him off with a sharp glance, his tone soft but commanding.

"No more waiting. He belongs with us. It's time he understood that."

Taegyeom chuckled under his breath, leaning back lazily but never looking away.

"Finally. I was getting bored pretending to be patient."

Hyun-woo's protest died in his mouth. His lips pressed into a thin line, and he looked down, shoulders tense. His silence said more than words could: he wasn't going to stop them.

And just like that, the night of beer and takeout ended. The music kept playing, cheerful and oblivious, as three pairs of eyes pinned Haewoon in place.