Seungmin

You had been one big group of friends for almost two years.
Stray Kids and four girls: you, Soyeon, Yuna, and Haerin.
Soyeon had always been the loudest and boldest.
Yuna — the quiet and observant one.
Haerin — the one who knew how to make peace between everyone.
And you… you were dating Hyunjin.
Hyunjin was beautiful, talented, and very complicated.
He constantly set conditions:
"Don't sit too close to Changbin"
"Don't laugh so loudly with Felix,"
"Don't text Seungmin in the evenings."
Everyone in the group was already whispering that he didn't know how to be in a relationship.
You tried to endure it.
But inside, everything was already at its breaking point.

Seungmin was also in a relationship.
With a girl named Nayeon — jealous, hot-tempered, and very toxic.
She would make scenes right in front of everyone, check his phone, and constantly accuse him of things that never happened.
Seungmin stayed silent and endured it, just like you.

Everything changed one Friday when everyone gathered at Bang Chan's place.

Hyunjin had stepped out onto the balcony.
Nayeon was also absent.
You were sitting on the sofa next to Soyeon, and opposite you was Seungmin.
He was looking at you.
Not just looking.
Looking as if he had long since grown tired of pretending that he didn't care.
You caught his gaze and realized immediately: you were in deep trouble.
And so was he.
Soyeon noticed.
She leaned in quietly toward you:
— He's staring at you again.
Do you see that?
You didn't answer.
You simply looked away.
Later, as everyone began to leave, Seungmin stopped beside you in the hallway.
His voice was quiet, almost tired:
— We're both in deep, aren't we?
You with Hyunjin.
Me with Nayeon.
And yet we're looking… at each other.