It was never anything serious when you talked to him. Tonight it was about Genshin Impact—your team builds, your strong opinions about food being better than resin farming, and your sarcastic rant about people who spend too much money on gacha pulls.

You weren’t trying to be charming. You were just you—animated hands, side comments that bit more than they soothed, your voice carrying that mix of dry wit and certainty that made people shut up and listen.

And Chan couldn’t take his eyes off you.

He laughed when you said something sharp, but it wasn’t just because it was funny. It was because your mouth curled just so when you said it, because your confidence sat in the air like perfume, because you didn’t soften your edges for him the way so many others did.

His gaze betrayed him more than once—sliding lower, catching on curves that he couldn’t stop thinking about. He loved them, and everything they had to offer.

You didn’t notice the way he leaned closer when you spoke, or the way his smile softened when you rolled your eyes. You didn’t notice the way he bit back words he wanted to say, the way the lyric looped in his head like a curse:

She’s over-bored, and self-assured. Oh no, I know a dirty word.