The night stretched wide above Rhythm High's rooftop, the sky a deep velvet with stars scattered like shattered glass. Below them, the school was still alive with energy. Faint music and laughter drifted up from the celebration - a chaotic contrast to the quiet sanctuary JL and Chih En had found above it all.
JL leaned against the railing, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze tracing the constellations. Beside him, Chih En sat with his knees drawn up, fingers absently tapping against his shin. Neither of them had spoken for a while, but Chih En finally broke the silence.
"That night…" Chih En's voice was quiet, almost hesitant. "The night before I started avoiding you… do you remember what I said?"
JL glanced at him, head tilting slightly. The memory was there, blurred at the edges, but clear enough.
Flashback.
Chih En had been standing close - too close - his usual unreadable expression making it impossible to predict what he was about to do. His voice had been barely above a whisper when he said it:
"You should stop doing this to me."
Before JL could ask what he meant, before he could even react, Chih En had leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Then, just as quickly, he stepped back, hands stuffed in his pockets, his face unreadable as always.
JL had stood frozen in place, confused, startled, unsure. And before he could process it - Chih En was gone.
Back to the present.
JL blinked. "Yeah. I do."
Chih En let out a small breath, as if relieved JL hadn't forgotten. He turned his head slightly, eyes still fixed on the stars.
"I meant it," he said. "If you keep looking at me like that… giving me all your attention, your trust… I'll fall harder. I might go crazy."
JL exhaled softly, the words sinking in. So that's what he meant.
Chih En chuckled - just a quiet breath of laughter. "I was embarrassed after that night," he admitted. "I didn't know what to do, so I just… avoided you."
JL studied him, the way his usual expressionless face didn't change much, but his fingers were fidgeting. He had never really thought about how Chih En dealt with emotions. He always seemed so composed.
"You don't look embarrassed," JL said, teasing, but there was warmth in his voice.
Chih En huffed. "That's what makes it worse."
JL let out a small laugh, but the lightness didn't last. Because Chih En's next words made his heart twist.
"What about you?" Chih En asked, turning slightly. "Do you… ever think about us?"
JL hesitated.
He wanted to answer. He wanted to give Chih En something certain.
But his mind - it wasn't there.
His dreams, his goals, the future - everything was moving too fast. He was overwhelmed, still processing everything that had happened today, everything that was still to come.
His silence stretched too long.
Chih En shifted beside him, unreadable again. His fingers curled slightly against the fabric of his pants. "You don't have to answer now," he muttered, voice quieter. "I just… wanted to say it."
JL felt the weight of it - the quiet frustration Chih En wasn't voicing.
He wanted to say something, anything. But instead, his eyes drifted back to the sky.
"I used to look at the stars like this when I was a kid," JL murmured.
Chih En glanced at him.
JL continued, voice softer now, almost wistful. "I thought they were fixed in place. But the truth is, they're always moving, burning, changing." He let out a quiet breath. "I feel like that right now. Like I'm supposed to be still, but everything around me is shifting too fast."
He stopped, fingers tightening slightly against the railing.
Because suddenly, his mind wasn't on the stars anymore.
It was... on Park Han.
The first time they had talked on this rooftop.
Park Han had spoken about stars, too. About reaching for them. About how far away they felt.
Why was he thinking about that now?
Chih En just confessed to him. Chih En was sitting right beside him, waiting for a response.
He likes Chih En. Right?
Why, then, was Park Han's voice echoing in his head?
He stayed quiet for too long.
Chih En noticed.
"…JL?"
JL blinked, snapping back to reality. "Huh?"
Chih En studied him for a moment, then shook his head. "Never mind."
But JL could feel it. That tiny shift. The unspoken frustration.
---
Downstairs.
Steven hummed happily to himself as he climbed the stairs, balancing two bottles of soda and a plate of cake.
The celebration below was still loud, but he knew where JL would be. The rooftop was JL's favorite place to escape.
He pushed open the door, grinning.
"Hey, 3-p - "
His voice caught in his throat.
JL's arm was wrapped around Chih En. Chih En's head rested against JL's shoulder, eyes closed.
Steven's usual sharp, fox-like gaze dimmed. His grip on the soda bottles loosened slightly, the familiar nickname dying in his throat.
His expression - usually bright, teasing - shifted into something quieter. Sadder.
For the first time, his fierce fox-like eyes softened into something more fragile.
Like an abandoned cat.
Without a word, he slowly closed the door and left.
---
Miles away, in a quiet house, Park Han dropped his bag in the living room.
The remnants of a victory party still lingered - half-eaten cake on the table, deflated balloons in the corner. His family had celebrated hard tonight.
Park Han won.
He should be happy. He was happy.
After all, this was the start of something big.
He would be training for the global supergroup. No longer just a top student, no longer just a performer on school stages - he was finally going to become an idol.
But as he sat down on the couch, staring at the balloons, a strange heaviness settled in his chest.
Was it because he was leaving Groove Institute soon? Because he would miss his friends?
Maybe.
…Or maybe it was because of JL.
His fingers curled slightly.
JL seemed to like Chih En.
So what?
It shouldn't matter.
It didn't matter.
And yet, as his head rested against the couch, as his eyes drifted shut, the dull ache in his chest didn't go away.
Even in sleep, it was still there...