Chapter 4: The Memory That Didn't Let Go
Hana didn't go back to the café the next day.
She told herself it was because of work as the bookstore had deliveries that needed unpacking, and the art class for the children's center was preparing for their small end-of-month showcase. But even as she stood among boxes and colored paint jars, her thoughts kept drifting back to him.
Minji or "Joon," as he had softly offered.
There was something dangerous about remembering him. Not because he had done anything wrong but because of the way he made silence feel safe. And Hana had learned long ago that safety was usually the beginning of heartbreak.
She was taping up the last of the delivery boxes when her phone buzzed.
Mom: Hana-ya, come home for dinner tonight, okay? Your brother's bringing someone.
She blinked. Her older brother had been preparing for his wedding for months, and their parents had been excited maybe more excited than him. A small smile tugged at her lips.
She shoved her phone into her apron pocket and resumed sorting the books.
Hours later, she was sprinting toward the bus stop, breathless, tote bag thumping against her side. The evening sun had already dipped, painting the sky in soft oranges.
She slid into an empty seat near the back, letting her body sink into the cushion. Her phone buzzed again.
Mom: You're almost late. Don't forget it's dinner. Hurry! Followed by a heart emoji.
She chuckled softly.
But then, another notification appeared under it.
Trending Post — InstaNet Korea: Spotted: Minji of V1CE seen walking solo in Gangbuk. Fans speculate if he's dating. Mixed reactions flood social media. Some say he looked tired…
Hana stared at the post. A fuzzy photo showed him in the same hoodie he'd worn to the café, cap pulled low. The comment section was already wild:
@sunny_oppa_luv: Oppaaa, will you be my husband?? @Joonie_forever: Marry me Minji, I'll make you seaweed soup every day! @truthtea89: Why is he alone?? Something's off. Is he okay?? @sarangaeyo_minji: He still looks like a prince. Sarangaeyo!!
She bit her lip.
So much noise. So many opinions. And none of them really knew him.
What kind of life was that where even walking down the street invited this kind of storm?
She logged out, locked her phone, and let her head rest against the window as the bus sped toward her neighborhood.
---
Her house stood quietly on a corner street lined with cherry trees now shedding their last blossoms. The warmth of home greeted her as she stepped into the scent of ginger stew, the clatter of bowls, and her father's booming voice calling out, "Hana! You're late!"
Her mother emerged from the kitchen, apron on. "Go wash up! Your brother's fiancée is already here."
Her brother, sunwoo, grinned as he leaned in to nudge her arm. "Yah, still slow as ever, huh?"
"Still getting married before me," she teased back.
The dinner table was full of laughter and teasing, but Hana sat a little quieter than usual, her thoughts occasionally drifting. Her family was small just here, sunwoo and their parents but it had always been enough. Still, tonight, she felt something hollow curling under her ribs.
Maybe it was the weight of knowing someone out there didn't have this.
Later that night, in her bedroom, she stared at the ceiling while the muffled voices of her family floated through the walls. Her phone rested beside her, dark and silent.
She didn't check the internet again.
Because she already knew.
He'd be trending.
He'd be talked about.
But none of them would know the boy who once sat quietly by her side, needing nothing but peace.
And that thought ached deeper than anything she could explain.
Tomorrow, she would return to work.
And maybe, just maybe, she'd walk past that café again.
Minji sat in the corner of his suite, lights off, curtain drawn. The glow of his phone screen reflected faintly in his tired eyes.
The post had gone viral faster than expected. It always did.
A photo, probably taken by someone hiding behind a cafe menu or from across the street. It wasn't even a good picture. It was grainy, and off-center but it was enough.
"Spotted: Minji of Vice walking alone in Gangbuk."
Comments exploded like wildfire:
@sunny_oppa_luv: Oppaaa, will you be my husband?? @Joonie_forever: Marry me Minji, I'll make you seaweed soup every day! @truthtea89: Why is he alone?? Something's off. Is he okay?? @sarangaeyo_minji: He still looks like a prince. Sarangaeyo!!
He sighed, tossing the phone onto the table. It slid and came to rest near a crumpled sheet of lyrics he hadn't touched in days.
"So noisy," he muttered.
His manager's message sat unopened in his inbox. He didn't need to read it — he already knew the contents.
"Let's be careful, Minji. No more unplanned outings. It's starting to stir things again. This peace of yours — you know it can't last forever."
Minji stood slowly, crossing the room to the mirror. He stared.
His reflection didn't lie.
Pale. Tired. Eyes dulled from late rehearsals, press junkets, and now the weight of everyone else's fantasies clinging to him.
But what haunted him most was not the fans.
It was the memory of her.
Hana.
She had sat across from him in that tiny café, unbothered by who he might be. Her voice had been calm, her presence quiet, and the kind of quiet that echoed.
She hadn't begged for a selfie. She hadn't asked if he was really Minji. She just smiled, and let him be someone , anyone else.
And that had scared him more than anything.
Because for the first time in years, he had wanted to be known not by the world, but by one person.
He leaned his forehead against the mirror.
"Who am I when no one's watching?" he whispered.
The door buzzed — his manager, undoubtedly. Rehearsals were starting soon.
He straightened, put on his cap and mask, then pulled the hood up over his head.
All the things Hana hadn't needed that day.
But he wasn't in her world. And she wasn't part of his.
Still, as he stepped into the hallway, a quiet thought trailed him:
Would she remember him, if he never came back?
Or had he already disappeared like a whisper in spring?