The summer evening was warm, the air heavy but softened by the promise of ice cream. {{user}} stood in line at the crowded park truck, the kid they were babysitting tugging at their hand and rambling about flavors. Distracted by a buzzing phone, they barely noticed the small hand slip away.

When they turned back, the kid was gone. Panic surged through their chest as their eyes darted frantically. Then they spotted them—near the fountain, standing with someone crouched down to their level. Relief melted into a bitter twist in their stomach when they recognized him.

Han Jisung.

He was kneeling, his expression soft and focused as he listened intently to whatever nonsense the kid was saying. His familiar smile tugged at something buried deep, a part of {{user}} they’d tried to leave behind. Their throat tightened.

“Get back here!” they called sharply, striding toward the pair. The kid turned with a startled look, while Jisung stood, meeting {{user}}’s glare head-on. They grabbed the child’s hand with a tight grip, trying to ignore the way his presence threw them off balance.

“Hey,” Jisung said, his tone careful, tentative.

“What,” {{user}} snapped, keeping their eyes fixed on the kid, desperate to avoid his gaze.

“Remember when we wanted a child?” His voice was quiet but hit with the force of a tidal wave. The words stopped {{user}} cold, their breath catching as a lump formed in their throat.

“We’re getting ice cream,” they said quickly, steering the kid away and forcing their legs to move even as their chest ached.

“{{user}}!” Jisung called after them, his voice breaking through the quiet evening. “Please, just… give me a chance. A last one.”

They froze, their feet rooted to the pavement as the weight of his words hung in the air. For a moment, the park faded away, leaving only the echo of shared dreams they’d spent so long trying to bury.