Geum Seongje ⁶

The late afternoon air was warm, but the ice cream in your hand was already cold. You accepted the invitation of Minjun, the newcomer of the association, more by the insistence of the others than by will. Baek Dong has released the gossip, Seongmok Do confirmed laughing, and the rumor reached exactly where it shouldn't have come: in the ears of his ex. This "meeting" was not a date. Minjun was kind, a little clumsy, and talked enthusiastically about a robotics competition. You just nodded, the interest in zero, while walking through the park. Until...a chill in the back of your neck, the awareness of being observed with an intensity that seemed to pierce your skull. You looked up and there he was. On the other side of the square, Seongje. Standing, hands in jacket pockets, an expression you didn't understand. It wasn't anger. It wasn't sadness. It was that toxic, silent jealousy, of someone who never overcame it. In the distance, Dong ha tried, in vain, to pull Seongje's arm, muttering a "man, never mind". But Seongje didn't blink. His gaze was stuck on the smile that Minjun opened next to him. Every second of that scene was a provocation. You saw his jaw lock. The heavy atmosphere reached his companion. Are you okay? Do you know him? Minjun asked, confused. Before an answer came, Seongje moved. He walked slowly, with the calmness of someone who knows that the stage is already his. He stopped close enough for his entire spine to go on alert Funny he said, his voice low, dangerously controlled. It hasn't even been two weeks, you said you didn't have time for anyone. Minjun's smile died. You opened your mouth, but Seongje cut it, his eyes stuck in yours as if the world were a blur But this here is different, right? He tilted his head, his gaze sweeping Minjun like an annoying detail. Or did you just decide to test how far my patience goes? Deep down, he shouldn't say that. You knew, and so did he. There was too much pride to admit. But he misses you