~ the next day ~

as said the day before, all of the trainees arrived at the warehouse. they all hugged each other and walked into the place together, hand in hand and arm around shoulders.

a big feast was prepared for them, which made them shocked. hyungwon spotted them and walked towards them.

"congratulations, trainees, you deserve it, so dig in!" he encouraged them to eat all they wanted. the boys couldn't refuse the deal, and they immediately went for the food.

while they ate, kihyun looked at the warehouse; it was completely different than the day before, which surprised him. the staff worked too hard. i feel a little sorry for them. he thought to himself, looking at all the staff who attended.

he also looked for y/n, and he was sad to see that she wasn't there. hyungwon noticed and walked towards him.

"it seems like you're looking for something or someone. is everything alright?" he asked.

kihyun looked at him, his eyes widening. "a-ah no hyungnim, i'm fine, i was looking around. i'm impressed by how much it has changed in less than a day."

"you sure you aren't looking for someone?"

"nope."

"okay. just let me know if you are."

hyungwon walked off, going to the other staff members. kihyun sighed, knowing that he can't confess that he liked his daughter. this is a time for celebration, not to think about her. he told himself, eating the food that was on his plate.

~ time skips ~

after the feast, the boys went to the dorms. shownu and his group went for the couch in the living room and plopped down.

"that was awesome." minhyuk said, smiling. "i don't think i've eaten that much in a long time."

"i think i'll sleep now. i feel tired for some reason." kihyun told the others, heading to his bunk.

as he sat down on his bed, he noticed an envelope that was under his lamp on his nightstand. he grabbed it and read the front.

to: kihyun

(read after the big day!)

he remembered that y/n made a fuss about him opening the envelope after the evaluation. he flipped it to the back and started to open it.

"hmm, hyung, what is that?" jooheon walked towards kihyun, sitting next to him on his bed.

"it's from y/n. she told me to open it after the post-evaluation on my birthday, but i guess i've been so distracted, i forgot about this."

he found a white card and decided to open it; in it, there were words handwritten by her in black ink. jooheon wanted to read it as well, but he got pushed away by kihyun.

"i'll show you after; let me be the first one to read this." kihyun shooed him away. jooheon pouted and walked to the living room, and kihyun began to read the card.

yoo kihyun,

first of all, happy belated birthday! this is probably like a week late? haha, i'm sorry.

anyway, this isn't a birthday letter; it's something i've been thinking of telling you for the past month or so. first, i would like to apologize if i acted mean or offended you in any way, i never meant it at all.

this is so unexpected, but i think i like you. you probably don't have the same feelings, but i just wanted to put it out there.

i'm sorry for making you wait this long to read this stupid thing. i wanted you to know after the whole filming ended.

after you read this, i would like for you to come to my house. i want to talk more about this since this is just the gist of it.

— chae y/n

kihyun couldn't believe what he was reading. this has to be a dream. he thought to himself, reading the letter over and over again. chae y/n likes me, chae y/n likes me!

he then screamed for feeling so thrilled. he scared the others, who looked at him with a concerned look.

"hyung, what happened?" changkyun asked.

"i don't believe this." kihyun kept on repeating to himself.

"what?" jooheon questioned, confused.

"this letter, she wrote me a letter to say that she likes me."

their eyes widened, surprised by what he just said.

"she likes you back?" minhyuk asked, shocked. "oh, come on now. you have to do something now!"

"she told me to meet her at her house after i read this." kihyun told them.

"then what are you waiting for; go to her!" minhyuk exclaimed, pointing to the door. a smile started to form on kihyun's face, and he quickly grabbed his phone and ran out of the dorm.