The day had wrung him dry.

Hyunjin had been in the practice room since morning, hours of choreography under harsh lights, mirrors reflecting every imperfection back at him until he lost track of time. He was running on caffeine, determination, and little else. Food had been an afterthought, pushed aside for 'just one more run.'

By the time he finally made it outside, the sun had long disappeared. The air was cool, quiet, the kind of quiet that only made the exhaustion louder. His body ached, but what hurt more was his head. That heavy, foggy kind of hunger that came from forgetting to take care of himself.

He stared at his phone for a moment, thumb hovering over your name. He didn’t want to bother you, didn’t want to show up looking this wrecked. But somehow, the thought of being without someone he loves tonight felt worse.

So he called.