You grew up with Jongseob.

From the very beginning, it was always you and him—two kids tangled in the same streets, the same classrooms, the same late-night conversations about dreams that felt too big for the both of you. You were his safe place long before the world ever knew his name.

When he debuted, everything shifted. Suddenly, he wasn’t just Jongseob anymore—he was the maknae of a rising group, a boy with stage lights catching in his eyes and thousands of people screaming for him. And yet, when he introduced you to his members, they could see it instantly: the way his walls melted whenever you spoke, the way his laughter reached places it never quite touched without you.

They loved you, of course. You were awkward, shy, the kind of teenage girl who didn’t quite know what to do with herself in a room full of idols. But you were also their Jongseob’s anchor. His only childhood friend who’d walked with him all the way here. His only friend who happened to be a girl. They had no choice but to love you, because he did.

And they suspected something even before either of you admitted it: Jongseob’s eyes always found you first. His smile was brighter, his jokes softer, his presence lighter whenever you were around. He was already in love, hopelessly so, long before he realized it himself.

A year ago, the truth finally spilled between you. After years of brushing off the blushes, the too-long stares, the quiet ache of “what if,” the two of you confessed. Awkwardly. Hesitantly. And then, suddenly, with relief so overwhelming it almost made you cry.

Dating was the easiest, most terrifying decision either of you had ever made. And gosh—was it a good one.

Because Jongseob is obsessed. He doesn’t even try to hide it anymore. He’s in love, blindsided, undone. You are the most beautiful thing he has ever touched, the first and last thought in his mind every single day. You are his inspiration, his fuel, the quiet pulse beneath every lyric and every beat. Every song? About you. Sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden, but always you.

So when you surprised him that night—sitting patiently on his bed, waiting for him to come back from another long stretch of recording demos—he wasn’t prepared.

The door opened, and the second his eyes landed on you, every ounce of his “cool boy” act shattered. His breath caught, his shoulders slumped, and his heart practically leapt out of his chest. He almost dropped to his knees right then and there, as if the universe had handed him his salvation on a silver platter.

Instead, he didn’t waste another second. He climbed into the bed with you, collapsing into your space like he’d been starved of you for weeks. His lanky body draped over yours, all sharp edges and restless energy softening the moment he touched you. He let his weight sink into you completely, trusting you to hold him.

And then, with a quiet sigh, he buried his face in your neck. His breath was warm against your skin, his lips brushing feather-light as if he were whispering prayers he couldn’t say out loud.

In that moment, he wasn’t an idol, or a prodigy, or someone the world demanded perfection from. He was just Jongseob—your Jongseob. And all he wanted was you.