The silence between them felt heavier than the night sky outside.
Kael's hand still rested on Klan's jaw, warm and steady, tilting his face just enough that their eyes locked—amber and gray-blue, two storms colliding in the quiet of the dorm.
Klan's heart hammered so hard he could barely breathe. His lips parted slightly, a trembling exhale escaping before he could stop it.
Kael's gaze dropped for a fraction of a second—to Klan's mouth.
The world seemed to slow. Every sound faded. There was only the heat of Kael's touch, the faint trace of his cologne, the sharp edge of his breath brushing against Klan's skin.
"Klan," Kael murmured, his voice low, deep, rough with something Klan had never heard before. "Tell me to stop."
Klan swallowed hard, his throat dry, his voice caught somewhere between fear and desire. "Kael… I—"
But Kael didn't wait for the answer that never came. He leaned in—slow, deliberate—until their foreheads almost touched, until Klan could feel the warmth of his breath ghosting over his lips.
Klan froze, his pulse thrumming like wildfire. His eyes fluttered shut.
And then—
BANG.
The dorm door slammed open so hard the walls shook.
"HYUNG! HYUNG! YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Tavi's voice exploded into the silence, followed by the sound of frantic footsteps.
Kael jerked back so fast it felt like the air had been ripped from the room. His jaw tightened, his chest rising and falling like a caged animal as Tavi came barreling in with his phone in hand.
"There's a trending article about us!" Tavi yelled, completely oblivious to the storm he'd just interrupted.
Klan scrambled to his feet, his face flushed crimson. His chest ached from the sudden loss of Kael's closeness, from the kiss that almost happened—but didn't.
Kael sat frozen, fists clenched on his knees, his amber eyes dark and unreadable.
"What—what article?" Klan stammered, his voice shaky as he tried to regain composure.
Tavi shoved the phone toward them, excitement lighting up his face. "We're trending on StarBuzz! Look—'LUMINA's Visual Line Captures Hearts During Broadcast.' There are fan edits of you two everywhere!"
Kael's head snapped up. "You two?"
Tavi grinned like he'd just spilled the juiciest gossip. "You and Klan, obviously. Fans are shipping you guys hard. #Kaelan is blowing up."
Klan's heart stopped. His stomach flipped violently.
Kael's jaw tightened, his gaze flicking to Klan for the briefest second—hot, sharp, something dangerous glinting there.
Tavi was still talking, but Klan couldn't hear a word. All he could feel was the ghost of Kael's breath on his lips, the weight of that almost-kiss hanging between them like a loaded gun.
And deep down, Klan knew something had changed tonight—something neither of them could take back.