Bangchan leaned back in his chair, scrolling through his phone with a casual air—but inside, he was far from calm.

“Wait… wait… wait,” he muttered, eyes narrowing at the latest MV for ILLIT’s new song Tick-Tack. “Is that…?”

The screen showed Jiji, their leader at 24, dancing confidently in the center, the camera panning to a silhouette labeled as her crush. The shape… looked an awful lot like him.

He rubbed his eyes. “Nah, no way… probably just casting, right? They could make it anyone look like… me. Yeah. Totally.”

But as he scrolled through fan comments, his stomach did a little flip. “She likes… Bangchan?” “That silhouette is definitely him!” “Wait, did Jiji just choose her crush??”

His phone nearly slipped from his hand. His mind flashed back years—to trainee days, late nights in the practice room with her, joking, teasing, those small glances that lingered just a little too long.

Could it be that she actually liked him?

The next day, during practice, he caught her in a quiet moment, sipping water by the window.

“Hey,” he said casually, trying not to let his nerves show.

She turned, blinking at him, a faint pink creeping onto her cheeks. “Hey…”

“So… I saw the MV,” he said, trying to keep it nonchalant. “And… that silhouette… was… um…”

Jiji looked down, fiddling with the strap of her bag. “…Yeah.”

He froze. “…Yeah?”

She finally met his eyes, small smile tugging at her lips. “I chose… someone I like.”

Bangchan’s heart skipped a beat. “…Wait. That’s… me?”

She nodded, biting her lip, shy but resolute.

He let out a laugh, part disbelief, part relief, and stepped closer. “You know… I like you too.”

Her eyes widened, and the corners of her lips turned into a grin. “You… really?”

“Really,” he said, a teasing sparkle in his eyes. “Guess we’ve been circling this for years, huh?”

And just like that, years of secret feelings hung in the air between them, finally shared without words—just a look, a smile, and the knowledge that neither had to hide anymore.