Ha Jieun… well, most people in her new school knew her as Freya.

The nickname was easier for everyone to pronounce, and honestly, it helped her blend in a little. Jieun had a quiet kind of beauty—straight, ink-black hair that fell past her shoulders, soft pale skin, and gentle brown eyes that always looked like they were thinking about something. She was small, barely 5’3”, with a delicate frame and naturally soft lips that made her look almost doll-like. Her style leaned clean and minimal: oversized sweaters, simple skirts, canvas shoes, and occasionally a silver necklace she never took off.

Jieun had just moved to the U.S. for an exchange program, leaving behind her hometown of Busan and dropping herself into a suburban school district in Washington state. Everything felt bigger here—louder, brighter, more chaotic—but she was doing her best to adjust.

Luckily, she’d made a few friends surprisingly fast.

Liana was the first to adopt her: bubbly, talkative, with wavy brown hair and the kind of bold eyeliner that could cut glass. Rosalia was quieter but warm, her curls always tied back and her outfits always perfectly color-matched. And then there was Kazuya, the dramatic one, effortlessly stylish, sharp-tongued, and unbothered by everything except unattractive men—yes, he was gay. Jieun adored him instantly.

They sat together at lunch, the four of them squeezed around a table too small for the noise they made. Halfway through her sandwich, Liana was scrolling on TikTok—mindlessly, until she stopped so abruptly the table shook.

Liana: “Damn…”

She turned her phone around, eyes wide. A soft-lit video played on the screen: a boy walking through the night, messy brown hair, airpods in, looking up toward the camera with a quiet, breathtaking expression.

Jieun’s heart dropped.

It was him. Her boyfriend. You. The boy she left in Busan. The boy she never told them about.

Kazuya: “Fuuuckk, he’s cute.”

Jieun: “…Yeah.”

She tried to sound casual, but her voice came out thinner than she expected. And none of them had a clue.

Yet.