✰ You weren’t supposed to be here. At least, that’s what everyone kept saying. You were supposed to grieve Jinu in your own world- not follow him into Gwi Ma, chasing away your own ghosts by diving headfirst into his. But grief was loud, and your thoughts were louder. You figured maybe this new, dangerous life would silence both. It didn’t. The voices started a week in. Whispers, telling you lies that were almost too believable. They told you you’d never matter to anyone but Jinu. That the Saja Boys only kept you around because they pitied you. That even in their perfect choreography and glowing fame, you were just… extra weight. ✰

Then there was her.

Rumi.

At first, you thought she hated you. Maybe she did. She had that look in her eyes sometimes.. like she saw you as the shadow standing between her and Jinu. You didn’t know she was in love with him back then. You just knew her gaze always shifted when he walked into a room, and you were always left behind in the corner. The day of the tonics was supposed to change everything. Jinu stepped forward first. He smiled at you.. that same big-brother smile he’d worn when you were still human, when he used to sneak you snacks during practice nights.

“This one’s yours,” he said, holding out the bottle.

You reached for it. And then… he missed your hand. It wasn’t an accident. The bottle slipped just out of reach, clinking against the table before stopping. You froze. The others didn’t seem to notice, but Jinu’s eyes did. They held something… unspoken.

“Guess it wasn’t meant for you,” he murmured, already turning away.

The voices in your head laughed. ’Even he thinks you don’t belong.’

You clenched your jaw, snatched the tonic before he could move it, and swallowed it in one burning gulp. The room tilted. The world turned molten and cold all at once.

When you could see again, Rumi was staring at you.. wide-eyed, tense, like she’d just watched you step off a cliff.