SEBASTIAN POV:
She wasn't wearing a hoodie today.
Not that i cared.
Okay—maybe i did.
She looked... different.
Not loud.
Not overly styled.
Just put together in that understated, Margaux Imperial kind of way. A soft beige coat, clean-cut trousers, her hair tied back like she hadn't tried, but you know she did. That kind of elegance.
Effortless, but calculated.
The same kind i saw that day in Paris.
Well, not Paris exactly. It was a studio built to look like it. White-washed walls, marble accents, the whole "classic European aesthetic" thing Lueur liked to push. It was during her ambassador shoot, one i wasn't even supposed to be present for.
I had just wrapped my own campaign in the studio across the hall.
I remember standing by the monitor. Not mine. Hers.
She was posing, her face completely unreadable in one frame, then breathtaking in the next.
Her eyes moved like they knew the camera wasn't enough for her, like it would never really capture what she was and for some reason, I couldn't look away.
I asked someone who she was.
They laughed.
"Margaux Serene Imperial. Don't you know her?"
The scandal queen.
The banking heiress.
The actress with too many second chances.
That's what everyone said.
But what i saw was… quiet.
Not the kind of quiet that begs to be noticed.
The kind that dares you to look away first.
Since then, i'd… checked in.
Quietly.
Passively.
Okay, maybe obsessively.
When she was inside Pinoy Big Brother, I watched clips in the car between rehearsals.
When she trended for being caught at a bar alone with the actor, I read the threads and when she disappeared, I noticed.
I always noticed.
And now here she was.
Not on a screen.
Not in a headline.
But in front of me.
Breathing the same air.
Stepping into the same elevator.
That night, she didn't recognize me.
Which was... nice. Strange, but nice.
Because most people looked at me and saw "Sebastian from SOLSTICE."
But she just looked.
Like she didn't need a name to know if she liked someone or not.
And i think i liked that more than i should.
-
Today was quiet.
We had rehearsals in the morning, a shoot that wrapped earlier than expected, and now i had the rest of the day off.
Which was rare.
Days off made me nervous.
I walked into the café downstairs with a hoodie on ironically and black mask, but of course, the staff knew.
The barista tried not to stare.
A few customers paused mid-sip.
I just kept my head down and ordered an Americano.
That's when i saw her again.
Sitting by the window.
One hand curled around a warm drink, the other flipping through a book she clearly wasn't reading.
Margaux.
I almost turned around.
Almost.
But Jungwoo's voice echoed in my head: "Dude. Grow a spine. She's not gonna bite you."
I could already imagine what he'd say if he saw me now.
"Go. Say hi. Or take a damn picture again like a creep."
Yes, I had one photo.
A screen grab from a behind-the-scenes clip she didn't even know existed. It was stupid.
I know. But at 3 a.m. after a world tour stop in Germany, it had kept me company more than i liked to admit.
I stood by the counter longer than i needed to. Watching her.
Pretending not to.
She shifted in her seat.
Crossed her legs.
Looked out the window like the world wasn't watching her too.
She didn't look like someone who used to be famous.
She looked like someone who wanted to disappear on purpose.
I understood that more than i should.
I finally sat two tables away.
Not beside her.
Not across.
Just... near enough.
It was dumb. I wasn't going to say anything.
But she looked up.
Not at me, but in my direction.
Our eyes met.
Just for a second.
And for some reason, I panicked.
I looked away.
What the hell, Sebastian.
This was so unlike me.
On stage, I could command entire stadiums. I could speak six languages if the fans screamed loud enough.
I could dance in perfect synchronicity with five other people without missing a beat.
But here? Across from one girl who didn't even know she had my attention? I couldn't even blink correctly.
My phone buzzed.
Jungwoo: What are you doing rn
Jungwoo: Hyung says u disappeared again
Jungwoo: Also, tell her you like her or i will
I didn't answer.
I just glanced at her again.
She had gone back to her book.
It wasn't until she stood up that i realized i might never get a moment like this again.
She was leaving.
Just like that.
No drama.
No fanfare.
And i was still sitting like a statue, fingers wrapped around a lukewarm cup of coffee i didn't even want anymore.
I moved.
Instinct, maybe or cowardice dressed as courage.
She was heading to the exit.
I followed a few steps behind, trying not to look like a stalker.
Which was ironic.
Because i kind of was.
When we reached the building lobby, she stopped.
She was checking something on her phone, brows furrowed.
It was now or never.
I adjusted my hoodie. Took a breath. Then—
"Margaux?"
She turned.
And this time, she recognized me.
Her eyes blinked slowly.
That same unreadable expression.
The one i saw on set, months ago, behind the monitor I wasn't supposed to be watching.
"Hi," I said. My voice cracked.
Polite.
No panic.
Just pure, composed curiosity.
She didn't say more.
She didn't need to.
The silence between us stretched, not awkward, but expectant.
Like the next few seconds mattered.
She looked like she was about to leave again.
So i blurted the first thing that came to mind.
"You looked beautiful that day. At the Lueur shoot."
That made her freeze.
Barely.
But i saw it.
Her lips parted, just slightly.
She studied me for a second, like i'd said something wrong.
Or maybe something right.
"I didn't know you were there," she said.
"I wasn't supposed to be," I admitted. "But i stayed."
Pause.
Silence settled between us again, too familiar by now.
The kind that doesn't demand to be filled just felt.
It was stupid.
Reckless, even.
Every step of this was wrong.
This wasn't what idols did.
We kept things clean.
Untouchable.
No attachments.
No hints.
No room for misinterpretation.
But then there she was standing in front of me. Someone the world kept talking about like she was a headline instead of a human.
And i couldn't look away.
"You're not like they say," I said, voice low, careful.
She raised a brow. "And what exactly do they say?"
"Things that aren't true."
That was all i offered.
She held my gaze for a moment longer than necessary.
Then looked down, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
Still guarded, still half-armored… but softer now.
"You're strange today," she muttered, almost amused.
I allowed a smile. "Takes one to know one."
That made her crack the faintest grin, barely there, but real. And if you weren't looking, you'd miss it.
She tucked her phone into her pocket and adjusted the cuff of her coat.
"I should go," she said.
I didn't stop her.
I couldn't.
Not here.
Not in this life.
"Take care, Margaux."
She started walking toward the glass doors, heels clicking lightly against the marble floor.
I watched her quiet, still, just… watching.
But right before she stepped out, she turned slightly, her voice drifting back like it wasn't meant to be heard.
"Your music," she said. "It's good. Don't lose yourself in the noise."
And just like that, she was gone.
No names exchanged.
No promises made.
No rules broken at least not out loud.
But something shifted.
It wasn't a confession.
It wasn't a beginning.
It wasn't anything the world would notice.
But i did.
And for now, that was enough.
In silence, in shadows… she saw me. And maybe, just maybe, I saw her too.