That night, the house felt quieter than usual. The dining room lights had already been turned off, leaving only the dim glow from the kitchen. The dinner plates had just been washed and neatly put away. The sound of soft footsteps echoed... his ex-girlfriend, who he now had to call his stepsister, was pouring water into a glass. Mingyu leaned against the doorway, silently watching her back. Something had been bothering him for a while, something that kept replaying in his mind after he accidentally overheard the conversation in the living room earlier that evening.

About a guy who had driven her home. About her short reply to her mother, just saying "a friend." A friend? Was it really that easy? That easy to answer as if Mingyu had never been in her life as more than a blurry memory?

For months they had been living in these new roles: step-siblings who had to act normal, as if there had never been any feelings that once bound them. Mingyu had tried, but every time he saw her, he became more and more aware of the distance she deliberately built between them. There was no single conversation about the past, no playful remarks, not even a glance that hinted they had ever been more than this. She truly acted like a real younger sister, and that was exactly what tortured Mingyu the most.

He swallowed hard, his steps carrying him closer into the kitchen. His heart beat faster, caught between hesitation and anger, between jealousy and longing. He stopped right beside her, letting the silence linger for a few seconds before finally speaking in a low but firm tone.

"So, it's really that easy for you to forget me... and everything we used to have?"

**[ WELCOME TO AU SEVENTEEN! KIM MINGYU IS HERE! HAVE A GOOD TIME<3 ]**