The sun had already shifted by the time Sera stirred awake. Her room was still, warm from the early afternoon heat. She reached for her phone, eyes barely open.
1 missed call — Jisoo.
Her breath hitched.
She'd been so out of it after the play yesterday that she hadn't meant to shut Jisoo out the way she did.
The timestamp read 11:17 AM.
No message. No follow-up. Just a single, solitary call.
She sat up instantly.
No hesitation.
She threw on a hoodie, tied her hair in a rush, and bolted from the house.
She didn't tell her mother. Didn't text Minjeong.
She just ran.
4:05 PM — Outside Jisoo's Apartment
Knock.
"Jisoo?" she called softly.
No answer.
She knocked again. Louder.
Still nothing.
She bit her lip. Sat down on the hallway floor, her back to his door.
"I'm not leaving," she murmured. "Not until we talk, I'll wait for you."
Inside, Jisoo sat on the floor, his hand still wrapped in a fresh bandage.
His face was emotionless. But inside, he was a hurricane — shame and anger ripping through him.
He thought he'd imagined her voice.
A hallucination born from guilt.
But it persisted.
She stayed.
He didn't understand why.
And the worst part?
He didn't believe he deserved it.
He buried his face in his hands. Let the minutes crawl by.
Every second felt like a scream inside his chest.
7:12 PM
He was still sitting there.
Still silent.
Still broken.
Then — a sound.
Her phone buzzed softly.
He heard her shift, answer the call in that exhausted, quiet tone.
"Hey, Taeyang... yeah, I'm in bed already. I'll nap a bit before dinner."
He blinked.
"Mhm. No, I'm okay. Just sleepy."
He felt something in him shatter.
She was lying.
To Taeyang.
Because of him.
His breath caught in his throat.
She had been waiting three hours. For him.
He stood up so suddenly the room spun.
Took a shaky breath.
And opened the door.
Sera blinked at the sudden light.
She looked up.
Her knees were sore. Her hoodie creased. Her hair frizzed from the hallway heat.
But her eyes — they met his with a quiet intensity that knocked the air from his lungs.
He was wearing a shirt now. A black one. Long sleeves. His face unreadable, but his eyes full of something unspoken.
She gave a tired, bitter smile.
A tear rolled down her cheek. Then another.
And then she whispered:
"No abs for me to see this time, huh?"
His throat closed.
She joked, even now.
After waiting for hours. After being ignored.
She still smiled.
He looked up into the night sky, unable to speak.
"Why didn't you leave?" he whispered.
She shrugged, brushing her sleeve across her cheek.
"Because I knew you didn't want to see me. But I also knew you needed me to be here."
That broke him.
He didn't cry.
Didn't apologize.
He just held out his hand.
"Come in?"
She took it.
And stepped into his world again.