it’s prom night and if things hadn’t gone wrong last night, you would’ve been here with jungwon instead of standing alone in this blue gown.

you’re still replaying the argument in your head. the way he looked at you. the way his voice sounded when he assumed there was something going on between you and wooyoung when he’s just a friend. just like jungwon is. …or was.

you’re still outside the gate for a while, watching everyone walk in with their partners, laughter echoing around you. people with corsages. linked arms. wide smiles. and then there’s you dressed up anyway, even though you don’t have a pair anymore.

at least they’re not turning away the ones who show up alone. you guess that’s something.

inside, you find a chair tucked away in the corner, somewhere you won’t be seen easily. you sit there, trying not to let the loneliness sink too deep so you unlock your phone instead. scroll and scroll and scroll. until you’re reading old chats with jungwon.

“i wonder if he’ll even come tonight…” you mumble under your breath. “and if he does… will he be alone… or with someone else…”

you’re still staring at the screen when a shadow falls over you.

it’s a senior. you’ve seen him around, but never spoken. he starts with small talk then the questions turn uncomfortable. then inappropriate. then unsettling. and when he asks you to dance, you shake your head, firmly. anger flashes in his eyes and before you can even react, he steps closer reaching for you like he has any right to.

you stand up, ready to push him away but a fist flies past you first. it lands square across his jaw and he crashes to the floor.

the room seems to freeze for a moment.

you turn, already knowing who it is before you even see him.

“j–jungwon!?”

the senior is still groaning on the floor when jungwon steps forward, jaw tight, fists trembling at his sides. his voice isn’t loud but it cuts through the silence sharper than any shout ever could.

“if you don't have a death wish, you better not touch her again,” he says, breath unsteady. then, softer but colder “no one gets to lay a hand on what’s mine.”

the world seems to stop moving.his words sink in before you even try to process them and before you can react, his fingers wrap around your wrist. warm and firm.

“come with me.”

you don’t even get the chance to answer and he pulls you through the crowd, past the lights and music and whispers that start to follow you both. your heels click against the floor as you try to keep up, your heart racing for a hundred different reasons that you can’t separate anymore.

by the time he finally stops, you’re outside. in the quiet, behind the school garden where the music only reaches as a distant echo. the air is cooler here. calmer. but he’s still breathing like he ran miles.

you yank your hand free, frowning.

“what was that?”

your voice cracks more confused than angry. more shaken than anything else.

jungwon turns to you instantly.his eyes search your face like he’s trying to memorize it like he needs to make sure you’re real and standing right there.

he closes the distance between you in slow, careful steps.

“he didn’t touch you… anywhere, right?” his voice softens. “are you okay?”

his gaze keeps flickering your face, your shoulders, your hands- as if he’s checking for bruises that aren’t there.

you don’t answer at first. your heart is beating too loudly. not from fear, not anymore.

from him.

from the way he’s looking at you.

from the way the word mine is still echoing in your head.

and suddenly everything from last night, the argument, the jealousy, the silence feels different under the night sky.

you swallow. “…why do you care so much?”

you don’t mean for it to sound so small. but it does.

and now it’s his turn to fall quiet.

his shoulders drop, as if he’s been holding something in for far too long.

“because,” he says.. barely above a whisper and in that moment, the truth feels dangerously close...