Chih En's POV:
It was a memory he often revisited, one that felt like it had been imprinted in his mind.
It was the first day of school registration, and Chih En had to make one of the biggest decisions of his life. He had applied to three schools: Rhythm High, Beat Music High, and Groove Institute. As the day approached, his heart raced. But it was the entrance exam at Rhythm High that had left the deepest mark.
Chih En remembered the morning like it was yesterday. He stood nervously outside the exam hall, trying to calm his beating heart. As he entered, he collided with someone in the hallway, almost losing his balance. The moment their bodies connected, everything around him seemed to freeze.
It was JL.
For a brief second, the world seemed to slow. Chih En couldn't take his eyes off JL's face - his smile, his bouncy hair, the way his eyes sparkled even in that split moment of surprise. There was something magnetic about him, something that made Chih En forget the chaos around him.
That brief collision had left Chih En mesmerized, and ever since, he couldn't get JL out of his mind. He'd researched Rhythm High, read about their students, their performances, and every time the entrance exam came around, he tried again and again to pass, hoping one day he would be able to walk through those same doors JL had.
And then one semester, it happened. He passed.
The relief and joy were overwhelming. He was finally a part of Rhythm High, a part of the world that had always seemed just out of reach. But no matter how many times he told himself it wasn't just about JL, he couldn't shake the feeling that his life had become forever intertwined with this boy.
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Back to Present:
Chih En stood, frozen in place, staring at JL and Juwon walking ahead. He had been so absorbed in following them, so lost in his own thoughts about JL, that he had forgotten the earring he had dropped. The earring glinted on the pavement just as Dongyun, another classmate, walked by. He was too distracted by his phone and headphones to notice the small object in his path.
In the next instant, Dongyun kicked the earring as he walked past, sending it tumbling into the middle of the road. Chih En's eyes widened in panic as he sprinted forward to grab it, forgetting the danger of the speeding car approaching in the distance.
His breath hitched, and his heart pounded harder. There was no time left. He was almost there, but the car was too close.
A loud shout from Dongyun snapped him back to reality. "Ahhhhh! Chih En!" he yelled, his voice frantic as he realized what was happening. The car was barely an arm's length away from hitting Chih En.
JL and Juwon heard Dongyun's scream. Without a second thought, JL turned around, his heart leaping into his throat when he saw Chih En standing in the middle of the street.
"Chih En!"
Before the words could even fully register, JL broke into a sprint. His feet pounded against the pavement, adrenaline rushing through him as he reached for Chih En.
He grabbed Chih En's arm, pulling him back onto the sidewalk just in time. The car zoomed past, its tires screeching as it narrowly missed them. JL stumbled, the momentum of the sudden pull causing him to fall back.
As he lost his balance, Chih En fell with him, landing on top of JL. For a moment, they both lay there, stunned by the sheer intensity of the near-miss. Their eyes locked, a shared silence enveloping them. It felt like time had stopped once again.
Chih En's breath hitched as he quickly pushed himself off of JL, his face flushed from the sudden closeness. His heart raced, but not just from the scare - it was from the unexpected vulnerability he'd just shared with JL, and the way their eyes had met in that split second.
And just like that... the moment was over, but the feelings lingered.