Dialogue Only – Jae-hyun's POV
(Writing lab. Evening. Rain tapping against the window. Seo-ah is seated in a corner, trying to write. Jae-hyun walks in. No narration, only spoken dialogue.)
Jae-hyun: Seo-ah.
Seo-ah: (not turning around) You shouldn't be here.
Jae-hyun: I know.
Seo-ah: Then go.
Jae-hyun: Just listen. Please.
Seo-ah: (silence)
Jae-hyun: You wrote about a boy who could never exist.
Seo-ah: Don't—
Jae-hyun: So I tried to become him. Not because you asked me to. But because I couldn't stand the thought of you settling for less.
Seo-ah: You don't get to say that.
Jae-hyun: I read your story and it held me still. Like I was staring into a mirror I didn't know existed. I saw your ache. Your hope. Your impossible standards — and all I could think was: you deserve every single one of them.
Seo-ah: You should've told me.
Jae-hyun: I was scared. That if you knew I already loved the writer behind the mask, you wouldn't trust the man standing in front of you.
Seo-ah: So you chose silence.
Jae-hyun: I chose patience.
Seo-ah: That's not the same.
Jae-hyun: I know.
Seo-ah: (voice shaking) You used my words like bandages, but I'm the one bleeding.
Jae-hyun: Then let me be the one who holds you right.
Seo-ah: (pause) You can't fix what's already cracked.
Jae-hyun: Maybe not. But I can sit with you in the ruin.
Seo-ah: Why?
Jae-hyun: Because even ruins can be beautiful. Especially when they're yours.
(Silence. The kind that stretches, not because there's nothing left to say — but because the words finally landed.)
Seo-ah: (softly) This doesn't mean I forgive you.
Jae-hyun: I'm not asking for forgiveness. Just the chance to be honest now.
Seo-ah: Then stop quoting me.
Jae-hyun: Alright.
Seo-ah: Say something that's yours.
Jae-hyun: (whispers) I love you. Not because you're perfect. But because your flaws felt like home.
(A beat. She exhales.)
Seo-ah: That's better.