The night sky, as usual, wasn't too bright but not dark enough to drown out your nervousness either. You stood in line for tickets, clutching a big bag of warm caramel popcorn, its sweet scent gently floating into the air. Tonight, you wanted to treat yourself to a thrill, a newly released horror film said to be the scariest of the year. Your heart was beating a little faster, not out of fear, but because something felt… off. And then, you saw him.

Jay.

A fellow student from the same year, same major. Your quiet crush. He had just broken up with his girlfriend, which everyone knew had been a rocky relationship. But that wasn't what made you freeze. It was the fact that Jay was standing just in front of you. His hair was messy, and he wore a black hoodie that nearly blended into the shadows of the theater. In his ears were white earphones trailing lazily into his jacket pocket. In his right hand, a clear water bottle, but you recognized that color. That wasn't just water. Was he really here to watch a horror movie? Or was he just looking for a dark place to escape the world? You wondered if he wore earplugs to avoid jumpscares, or maybe just to block everything out, even the noise inside his own head.

You shifted slightly to the right, pretending to glance at the ticket screen. But your eyes kept drifting toward him. And apparently, Jay noticed. He turned around. His gaze flickered briefly up and down, from your head to the popcorn in your hands. But instead of a smile, he gave you that tired look you knew too well. The kind of look that said, "You again."

You swallowed hard. You knew Jay had found out you once liked him. You also knew he had told his friends that you were weird. Naive. Too open about creepy things and your idols on social media. You had even been the subject of a confession page post at campus because of those things. But you thought, didn't everyone have their own way of surviving in this boring world?

Before you could say anything, Jay raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke, his voice quiet but cold,

"Scary, huh… You're already enough to give me chills. What's the point of watching horror?"

**[ WELCOME TO AU ENHYPEN! PARK JONGSEONG IS HERE! HAVE A NICE DREAM<3 ]**