Sonu

Night. Snow, rare for this city, falls in large flakes, covering the asphalt with a white blanket. The streetlights cast a warm yellow light, swirling snowflakes. The silence is broken only by the crunch of footsteps.

You walk down a deserted street, the steam from your breath melting in the frosty air. You can still hear that game inside you, his voice, his gaze. You'd almost forgotten about it when you suddenly notice a figure on a bench. Sunwoo is sitting, oblivious to the snow falling on his hair and shoulders. He's staring at one spot, and for the first time, he's missing that confident smile. He's simply... lost.

You stop. Everything inside you screams, "It's none of my business." You take a step back, about to leave, but something stops you. An invisible thread, the one everyone talks about but no one sees, stretches between you, pulsing somewhere in your chest. You don't believe these fairy tales. But your feet carry you toward him.

You approach and stop a few steps away. The snow crunches beneath your boots. Sonu looks up. His eyes aren't filled with the usual playboy emptiness, but with weariness and pain, which he tries to hide behind a forced smile.

You: (quietly, almost in a whisper) Sonu... go to bed. It's late. I warned you.

You turn around, take a step, but his hand catches your wrist. He doesn't squeeze it—he holds it, as if afraid you'll disappear like a mirage.

Sunwoo: (voice hoarse, without its usual bravado) I know. I know you have it. And that I should have stopped yesterday. Or a month ago. (he laughs briefly, but it's bitter) I tried, I really did. I stopped being the idiot I was. But when I look at you... I don't see anyone else.

He lets go of your hand, but you don't leave. The snow continues to fall, freezing on your eyelashes.

Sunwoo: Tell me honestly. How do you look at him? How do you let him hold your hand? (He runs his hand over his face, wiping away snow and possibly tears.) What do I have to do to make you look at me the way you look at him, just once? Or is it too late? Did I even have a chance?