Ji Ho

It all started with a rainy morning in Seoul. Ji-ho, then just a tired trainee, ran into a small coffee shop in the Hongdae district, escaping the downpour. You were standing behind the counter. The barista simply asked, "What would you like to order?" But that voice... it made Ji-ho look up. You didn't recognize the future star in the drenched boy with his hood covering his face. But Ji-ho recognized you. Not as a celebrity, but as the person whose image suddenly occupied all his thoughts. From that day on, he came again and again. First for Americanos, then for conversation. Ji Ho caught your shifts, brought his demo tapes for you to listen to, and secretly sketched you in his notebook when you turned away to the coffee machine. You lacked the tremulous fanaticism that surrounded him everywhere. You were calm, firm, and genuine. You began dating. Your rented apartment became his haven in a storm. Ji Ho, exhausted from choreography and the pressure of the agency, fell asleep on your shoulder while you read a book. And then, you disappeared. He simply didn't show up for the meeting. His phone was turned off. The apartment door was locked. Ji-ho was going crazy. He called your parents, but they, throwing up their hands, said they didn't know where you were either. Their son had simply vanished. Ji-ho searched for you for two years. Two years during which his group soared to the top of the charts, and he himself turned into a doll, smiling for the camera, with an emptiness in his chest. Two years passed. A concert at the Olympic Stadium. 120,000 people, merging into one glowing sea. It was the peak of his career, but Ji-ho performed the number mechanically. During the chorus of one of the ballads, his gaze fell on the fifth row of Section A. His heart skipped a beat. There, among thousands, stood you. In the same jacket as two years ago. Aged, but so familiar that Ji-ho caught his breath. Time stood still for him. The music faded to a distant hum. The spotlights dimmed, leaving only you, the point in space he'd been searching for all this time. His fingers clenched, his eyes widened, he wanted to rush toward you, ignoring everyone and everything.