Their kiss deepened, not in haste but in aching need to bridge the distance the silence had built. Minji's hand cupped her face, thumb brushing a tear she hadn't realized had fallen. Hana leaned into his touch like a flower seeking the sun.
"I missed you," he whispered, forehead resting against hers. "Even in a room full of people… I missed you."
Hana closed her eyes, pressing her hands over his heart. "you know.… somehow, I still only want to be with you."
He kissed her again tenderly, like an apology woven into affection.
They shifted to the couch, wrapped in each other like a secret they both vowed to protect. He held her tightly, arms around her waist, while she curled against him, her head resting on his shoulder. The rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her ear brought calm to the storm still lingering in her chest.
"Do you regret it?" she asked, voice low.
"Regret not telling the world about us?" he shook his head. "No. I regret not telling you first. I regret making you feel alone in this."
She exhaled, fingers playing with the hem of his sweater. "And now?"
"Now… I want to learn to love you better. With you, not just for you."
Silence filled the space again but it was a different kind of silence. One filled with comfort and not tension.
They stayed like that fingers entwined, legs tangled, breathing the same slow rhythm. Hana drifted into sleep sometime later, nestled into the warmth of Minji's chest. He looked down at her, brushing strands of hair from her face, awe softening every line of his.
She was his peace in chaos.
And tonight, he would protect that peace with everything he had.
________________________
"Eyes in the Shadows"
Seo Jin sat hunched over his laptop, the bluish glow of the screen highlighting the shadows beneath his eyes. A dozen tabs were open fan blogs, forums, livestream screenshots, anonymous tips. All leading to one mystery: Who is Minji's girlfriend?
Since the announcement, the entertainment world had exploded. Reporters were scrambling, fans were at war, and still no photo, no confirmation, no name.
"Still nothing?" came a voice behind him.
It was his boss, Editor-in-Chief Han, arms crossed, looking unimpressed.
"Nothing confirmed," Seo Jin said, rubbing his eyes. "A few blurry photos of him around a café. One girl spotted twice. No identity yet."
Han sighed, tossing a folder onto the desk. "Dispatch is breathing down our necks. I want an exclusive. Not recycled internet speculation. I want her name."
Seo Jin clicked through images again. One stuck out Hana, barely visible, gently guiding a child by the hand near the café's back entrance. Minji had walked out minutes later. There was something about the moment. Something unguarded. Almost… intimate.
"This girl," he muttered, zooming in. "She's careful. Really careful."
"You have a week," Han said. "Either we get the story, or someone else will. Don't let another paper beat us to it."
Seo Jin nodded, jaw tightening. He wasn't just chasing a story anymore. It had become personal. The thrill of the hunt. The obsession with the truth.
As his boss walked away, Seo Jin tapped his pen against the table, eyes locked on the image. He didn't know her name yet.
But he would.
______________'
Sunlight spilled gently into Minji's apartment, washing over the tangled sheets and the quiet rise and fall of two bodies at peace. Hana stirred first, blinking slowly as the warmth of the morning light danced across her skin. For a moment, she didn't move just listened to the steady rhythm of Minji's breath beside her, so calm, so unlike the chaos of the last few days.
He was facing her, eyes still closed, strands of hair falling gently over his brow. In that stillness, he looked so young. So unprotected. So hers.
She traced the air above his hand, resisting the urge to touch him and wake the fragile moment. Her heart felt like a quiet drum steady, but full.
Minji stirred then, his lashes fluttering open slowly, as if waking up to a dream he didn't want to leave.
"You're still here," he whispered, a small smile forming. "I thought maybe you disappeared again."
She gave a soft laugh, her voice husky from sleep. "You locked the door, remember?"
He reached for her hand without thinking, lacing their fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Still… I was afraid I'd wake up alone."
"I was afraid too," she murmured, staring at their joined hands.
There was a long, quiet pause — the kind that only felt warm when two people were safe in each other's silence.
"I wrote something," Minji said finally, voice low. "Yesterday… after you hung up."
Hana looked at him, brows raised.
"A song?" she asked.
He nodded, sheepish. "Do you want to hear it?"
She nodded back.
Minji stood, pulling a notepad from the desk near his guitar. Sitting back down cross-legged, he flipped through the pages, then cleared his throat.
"No music yet," he warned, "just words."
And then he began to read:
"If love had hands, it would look like yours.....
Quiet, calm, the kind that holds without shaking.
If fear had eyes, it would be mine,
Because I see you, and I'm afraid of losing something I never thought I'd find.
By the time he finished, Hana was staring at him like he had rewritten the world.
"I don't know what to say," she whispered.
He looked nervous. "Say something."
"I love you."
And with that, she leaned forward and kissed him. It wasn't rushed or desperate this time... it was slow and soft, as though they were both memorizing the shape of the moment.
Outside, the city roared with noise and judgment and flashing headlines. But inside Minji's apartment, there was only them.
A boy who had the world at his feet, and a girl who had stolen his heart.