Episode 2: Fanservice and Flashbacks
The dorm was quiet at midnight. Everyone was asleep. Except Jaewon.
He sat on the kitchen floor with a cup of banana milk in hand, legs folded beneath him. The air was still, but his head wouldn't stop spinning. His phone was still buzzing on the table beside him. Mentions. Clips. Edits. Screencaps of the moment Seon had pulled him close.
#SEONWON had reached number two worldwide.
He should be thrilled.
Instead, he felt like throwing up.
The door creaked behind him. Footsteps.
Jaewon didn't have to look.
Seon.
Of course it was Seon.
The other boy didn't say anything as he opened the fridge, grabbed a water bottle, and leaned against the counter.
The silence between them was louder than any crowd.
"They want us to keep doing it," Jaewon finally said.
Seon raised an eyebrow.
"The fans. The manager. Everyone."
"And?"
Jaewon took a slow sip of his banana milk.
"Can you handle that? Pretending to like me again?"
Seon's jaw tightened. "I never pretended."
Jaewon froze. His fingers gripped the cup a little too tightly.
"You left," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "And you didn't come back."
Seon didn't deny it.
Instead, he walked closer, until he stood right above Jaewon.
"Do you really want to bring that up?" Seon asked, his voice low. "Here, now, when everything we've worked for is finally happening?"
"It already came up. On stage."
Another pause. Tension hung between them like a second skin.
Seon slowly crouched to Jaewon's level. Their faces were inches apart again. Familiar. Dangerous.
"You want to hate me, fine," Seon whispered. "But don't lie and say it didn't mean anything."
Jaewon stared into his eyes. For a second, he almost believed the words.
Almost.
He stood up abruptly. "I'll play the part," he said coldly. "But that's all it is. A part."
He walked away, leaving Seon crouched alone in the kitchen.
But Seon's voice stopped him at the doorway.
"You still drink banana milk when you can't sleep."
Jaewon didn't turn around.
"You still notice," he said.
Then he left.
---
FLASHBACK — ROOFTOP, 3 YEARS AGO
The city lights glowed below them. Seon leaned back against the railing, staring up at the stars.
"What if we make it?" Jaewon asked.
"Then we hide," Seon replied. "And we survive."
"Together?"
Seon had smiled. The rare, gentle one.
"Always."
---
BACK TO PRESENT
Always had ended.
But the cameras were just starting to roll.
And AX1's next fanmeeting was in two days.
Where they'd be sitting next to each other.
Smiling.
Touching.
Pretending.
For the fans.
For the cameras.
For everything but themselves.
To be continued...