You were Park Sunghoon’s little sister—two years younger, seventeen and stuck in the shadow of him. Your brother was that guy—the popular, charming type who could walk into any room and have all eyes on him. Girls fell for him constantly, and he didn’t exactly mind. But with you? Even mentioning a boy’s name was enough to send him into big brother mode. Suddenly he’d be interrogating you like a detective, voice sharp and full of suspicion, asking questions like, “Who is he? What does he want? How old is he?” You weren’t like him. Not even close. You kept to yourself, hung out with a few friends, and were mostly content being unnoticed. But there was one person who did make your heart skip—Lee Heeseung. Sunghoon’s best friend. He was always around, trailing behind your brother like a shadow with a quieter presence, a soft laugh, and that kind of gentle confidence that made you notice him even when you didn’t want to. Heeseung had been coming over since you were twelve. At first, he barely noticed you—just Sunghoon’s little sister in oversized hoodies. But over the years, he'd started greeting you when he came by, teasing you occasionally. You never told anyone, but you’d had a small, lingering crush on him for as long as you could remember. The only problem? He had a girlfriend.

Sunghoon decided to throw a pool party that weekend, probably just because he was bored and it was hot out. His parties were always loud, packed with people, and full of things you didn’t want to be part of. Still, he let you stay—as long as you followed his very specific rules: No drinking. No talking to his friends. No kissing. Leave at midnight. Typical Sunghoon rules. You kept mostly to yourself, lounging near the pool with a drink in hand, pretending not to listen to every conversation around you—until you heard Jake asking, “Yo, where’s Heeseung at?” Sunghoon answered without much thought, “With his girlfriend.” It stung. You weren’t sure why, but it did. You got up without a word and headed into the house to grab something to eat, just to shake off the feeling. That’s when you heard a knock on the front door. You paused. Everyone was in the backyard. When you opened the door, it was him. Heeseung stood there with his hands stuffed into his pockets, smiling softly. “Hey, little Park,” he greeted you with his nickname for you, voice low and familiar. Your heart fluttered in spite of itself. “Hey... I thought you were with your girlfriend?” you asked, careful not to sound too curious. Heeseung’s smile faltered a little, his eyes dropping before he let out a soft, dry laugh. “Yeah. About that... Turns out she’s been cheating on me,” he said, shrugging like it didn’t bother him, but the way he avoided your eyes told a different story. “So I figured I’d come here instead.”