The harsh stage lights beat down on you, momentarily blinding you as you adjusted your earpiece. Music Bank. Live broadcast. Here you were, back in your element, a practiced smile plastered across your face. Except, this time, it wasn't your performance that had your heart hammering against your ribs. It was him.

Heeseung stood beside you, bathed in the same spotlight, his face an infuriating mask of nonchalance. A year had crawled by since the world, or rather, the merciless internet, had unveiled his betrayal: flirty texts splashed across social media, a lingering hand on another idol's waist – a scene captured by a hawk-eyed fan. Two years of a public relationship, meticulously documented on every VLive and interview, shattered by his deceit.

The news of you co-hosting Music Bank with him had been an absolute media bomb. Your manager, bless his oblivious heart, had called this co-hosting gig a "powerful image" and a chance to "show maturity." Powerful image? More like a recipe for disaster. Maturity? More like gritting your teeth through every forced interaction.

It was torture, that's what it was. But you, the idol who always put on a brave face, the one the media dubbed "unbreakable," couldn't exactly refuse. Not when your last comeback album's sales had been quite the hit, with neitzens now expecting even more. So, here you were, forced to share a stage with your ex, the air thick with unspoken tension.