The air was thick with music and laughter, the dim glow of fairy lights casting a soft haze over the party. You weren’t sure why you came—maybe because your friends had insisted, or maybe because deep down, you wanted to prove something to yourself. That you were fine. That you could be here, in the same room as him, and feel nothing.

But then you saw him.

Jungwon stood near the balcony, drink in hand, nodding along to whatever conversation was happening around him. His face was unreadable, but you knew him too well. He wasn’t really listening.

And then, as if sensing your gaze, he looked up.

For a split second, neither of you moved. The noise around you faded into the background, the space between you feeling impossibly small despite the crowded room.