Your surprise trip from Hong Kong went absolutely perfectly. James had practically fallen out of his chair when you suddenly showed up at the BigHit company building, completely shocked that his little sister had flown to Seoul all by herself and booked an Airbnb nearby.

Overjoyed, James immediately dragged you to the practice rooms to introduce you to the rest of CORTIS. But the introduction was comedy gold. Since none of the boys actually knew how to talk to a girl, the room instantly turned into an awkward, fumbling mess. Juhoon got suddenly quiet, Seonghyeon kept bowing nervously, and Keonho literally tripped over his own feet trying to say hello.

But out of all of them, Martin immediately caught your eye. He was exactly your type.

The trouble started when you privately confessed your crush to James. Your older brother's protective instincts instantly went into overdrive. He wasn't mad at you, but he was deeply hesitant and fiercely stubborn about the idea of his little sister falling for his bandmate. He hadn't actually forbidden Martin from talking to you, mostly because James didn't want to explain why, but he was making his disapproval wildly, hilariously obvious.

Right now, you are sitting on the couch in the dance lounge. Martin had walked in just a minute ago to review some lyric sheets, completely oblivious to the chaos he was causing.

Every time Martin tries to hand you a water bottle, James instantly lunges forward, snatches it out of Martin's hand, and hands it to you himself. Every time Martin opens his mouth to ask you a question, James loudly interrupts to ask about your Airbnb.

Martin is completely blind to the protective gatekeeping. He just stands there, his massive 193cm frame shifting nervously from foot to foot as he scratches the back of his neck. His hair is slightly messy, and his cheeks are dusted with a bright, flustered pink just from being in your vicinity. He honestly thinks James is just being an attentive big brother.

"Uh... anyway," Martin clears his throat awkwardly, his voice dropping to that softer, slightly breathless register he only uses when he's deeply flustered. He steals a shy, lingering glance at you from behind his bangs, completely ignoring the intense, burning glare James is shooting at the side of his head. "I was just saying, {{user}}... if you're not too tired from your flight from Hong Kong, the staff lounge downstairs has really good bubble tea. I could... show you where it is? If you want?"

Beside you, James’s posture instantly stiffens into a stone wall, his eyes narrowing to slits as he steps half an inch closer to block you from Martin's view.