A few days ago...
Outside the mosque, silence rested over everything.
It was around four in the morning.
The city was asleep, wrapped in darkness, while only a few distant streetlights fought against the night. Without informing anyone, Jeon.J had quietly taken one of the studio staff's cars and driven here alone.
He wasn't running away from anything.
He had simply reached a point where his own thoughts had become too loud to ignore.
Questions had been chasing him for weeks... questions he could no longer silence.
He had no idea why his heart had brought him to this place.
He only knew that it had.
"I apologize for coming here without informing you."
Jeon.J spoke politely as he took the chair opposite Mr. Donghyun.
Mr. Donghyun smiled with the warmth of someone welcoming an old acquaintance rather than a guest.
"You never need permission to come here."
He settled comfortably into his chair before continuing.
"The doors of this place remain open for everyone... no matter who they are."
Those simple words carried no formality.
No hesitation.
No curiosity about why a world-famous idol had suddenly appeared before dawn.
Only acceptance.
For a brief moment, Jeon.J forgot that people usually greeted him with cameras, excitement, or endless questions.
Here...
He was simply another visitor.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"What would you like?" Mr. Donghyun asked while standing up.
"Coffee... juice..."
Then a playful smile crossed his face.
"...or banana milk?"
Jeon.J couldn't stop himself from laughing.
"It means..."
He looked at him with amused surprise.
"...you've seen our concert?"
His sentence faded midway as if he himself wasn't sure how to ask.
Mr. Donghyun chuckled.
"You are one of us, Jeon.J."
His voice carried quiet pride.
"You all have taken our culture to every corner of the world. We don't need to attend your concerts to know you. We've watched your interviews."
He paused for a second.
"And besides..."
A fatherly smile spread across his face.
"My son is a huge fan of yours."
A smile found its way onto Jeon.J's face.
Somehow, he pictured a young boy excitedly watching his performances, collecting albums, and proudly telling everyone that Jeon.J was his favourite idol.
During their previous meeting, Mr. Donghyun had never mentioned having a son who admired him.
For some reason...
That tiny piece of information warmed him more than the compliment itself.
"I'll make coffee," Mr. Donghyun said.
"I'm sure you'll like it."
Jeon.J's eyes wandered around the office while Mr. Donghyun walked toward a coffee machine placed neatly in one corner.
The room was simple.
Nothing luxurious.
A modest bookshelf.
A wooden desk.
Two chairs.
A curtain gently covering part of the window.
Yesterday...
This place had echoed with voices and footsteps.
Tonight...
It almost felt sacred in its silence.
He watched quietly as Mr. Donghyun measured the coffee with practiced hands before pouring milk into two cups.
Every movement carried patience.
There was no rush.
No unnecessary motion.
It reminded Jeon.J of someone who had repeated the same routine thousands of times—not because he had to...
But because he genuinely enjoyed it.
Unable to stop himself, he stood and walked over.
Mr. Donghyun looked at him and smiled.
"Would you help me?"
He held out one of the cups.
"I'm getting old."
Jeon.J laughed softly.
"You don't look old."
Taking the cup from him, he added with a teasing smile,
"Actually... you're looking younger than me."
Both of them laughed.
The sound filled the quiet office with unexpected warmth.
As they worked together, Jeon.J carefully copied every step Mr. Donghyun made.
He noticed how naturally everything came to him.
Almost professionally.
"You're making coffee like an expert," Jeon.J said.
Mr. Donghyun laughed.
"I have to."
He continued stirring the coffee before looking at him.
"For many years, I ran a small coffee cart near my son's restaurant."
Jeon.J looked genuinely surprised.
"You used to run a coffee cart?"
"Yes."
Mr. Donghyun nodded proudly.
"But after Ji-ho established his restaurant..."
He sighed dramatically.
"...he took my cart away."
Jeon.J frowned in confusion.
He blinked in surprised.
"Ji-ho?"
"Yes."
Mr. Donghyun smiled.
"My son."
Realization slowly crossed Jeon.J's face.
"Ji-ho is your son?"
"He is."
His smile became even softer.
"My health wasn't very good."
"So Ji-ho became stricter than any father could ever be."
"He made me stop working completely."
There wasn't even a trace of complaint in his voice.
Only affection.
"But..."
His eyes brightened.
"He made me a promise."
"Whenever I feel like making coffee..."
"I can simply walk into his restaurant and serve it to his customers."
Jeon.J smiled.
He could almost picture the scene in his mind.
An old father happily making coffee...
While an overprotective son secretly kept an eye on him.
It made him wonder what that kind of care felt like.
"But life became busy."
Mr. Donghyun looked around the mosque with peaceful eyes.
"Allah entrusted me with another responsibility."
"And somewhere along the way..."
"I forgot about everything else."
There was complete contentment in his voice.
"I found peace here."
His words weren't spoken to impress anyone.
They were spoken by someone who had already found the answer many people spend their whole lives searching for.
Before Jeon.J realized it, Mr. Donghyun gently took the cup from his hands.
"You've done enough."
He poured the milk himself before handing the finished cup back with a smile.
"Come."
"The coffee is ready."
They returned to their seats with steaming cups in their hands.
Jeon.J carefully placed his coffee on the table.
Mr. Donghyun took the very first sip with visible satisfaction before looking at him expectantly.
Jeon.J, however, remained lost somewhere else.
His fingers rested around the warm cup, but he made no attempt to drink.
The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable.
It simply felt... patient.
Mr. Donghyun believed that every heart carried its own weight, and every person spoke only when they were ready.
Still...
When he noticed the untouched coffee, concern replaced his smile.
"You don't like coffee?"
Before Jeon.J could answer, he continued apologetically.
"Oh... I should have asked first."
"I got excited."
"I finally had someone to make coffee for after such a long time."
"If you'd rather have juice... or something else..."
He was already half-rising from his chair.
Jeon.J immediately shook his head.
"No, no."
A genuine smile finally appeared.
"I do like coffee."
He picked up the cup.
"And honestly..."
He looked at him warmly.
"...I'm happy that I'm the lucky guest you made it for."
Mr. Donghyun laughed.
A deep, heartfelt laugh.
"Guests are gifts from Allah."
His voice softened.
"When we welcome them with sincerity..."
"Allah places blessings in our sustenance."
Jeon.J lowered his eyes toward the cup.
Nobody had ever described a guest like that before.
Not as a responsibility.
Not as a burden.
A blessing.
For reasons he couldn't explain...
Those words settled quietly somewhere inside him.
He finally lifted the cup.
The warmth spread through his hands before the aroma reached him.
He took a small sip.
The coffee wasn't extraordinary.
Yet somehow...
It felt comforting.
Maybe because kindness always changed the taste of ordinary things.
For a while...
Neither of them spoke.
They simply enjoyed the peaceful silence between them.
Unlike the silence Jeon.J had been living with lately...
This one didn't suffocate him.
It healed him.
A knock echoed softly from outside.
Mr. Donghyun excused himself and stepped out of the office.
Left alone, Jeon.J gently shifted his chair toward the open doorway.
From there...
He could clearly see the courtyard outside.
People were arriving one after another.
Some were elderly.
Some were young.
A few children walked quietly beside their fathers.
Every person greeted Mr. Donghyun with warmth.
And every greeting was returned with the same smile.
Near the entrance...
A row of water taps caught Jeon.J's attention.
People stood there washing themselves.
At first...
He thought they were simply washing their hands.
But after watching carefully, he realized it was much more than that.
They washed their hands.
Their mouths.
Their noses.
Their faces.
Their arms.
Then they gently wiped over their heads.
Finally...
They washed their feet.
No one seemed hurried.
Every movement carried care...
Almost devotion.
His brows slowly furrowed.
Why are they washing like this?
Is it some kind of ritual?
Why does everyone look so... peaceful afterward?
He noticed something else.
When they finished...
Their clothes hadn't changed.
Nothing around them had changed.
Yet...
Their faces somehow looked lighter.
Almost as if they had washed away something invisible.
He couldn't understand it.
But he couldn't stop watching either.
A strange curiosity quietly settled inside him.
The office door opened again.
Mr. Donghyun returned with the same gentle smile.
"So..."
He sat back down.
"How is the coffee?"
Jeon.J looked at him mischievously.
"You just want me to praise it."
Mr. Donghyun laughed so loudly that even Jeon.J couldn't help smiling.
"Of course!"
"If you don't..."
He pointed dramatically toward himself.
"Ji-ho might ban me from making coffee forever."
Both of them laughed.
Jeon.J slowly shook his head.
"In that case..."
"I definitely can't praise it."
Mr. Donghyun blinked.
"Oh?"
"I agree with Ji-ho."
Jeon.J smiled while lifting another sip.
"You should take care of your health."
For a brief second...
Mr. Donghyun simply looked at him.
Then his eyes softened with affection.
"One son can afford to be strict..."
He smiled gently.
"But the other son..."
"...should be a little kinder."
"So sometimes..."
"We can secretly make coffee together."
"And drink it too."
The words were spoken playfully.
Yet they carried something much deeper.
For a moment...
Jeon.J forgot to smile.
His eyes remained fixed on the elderly man.
No one had called him son like that.
Not with such effortless affection.
Not expecting anything in return.
Something warm tightened quietly inside his chest.
His smile returned.
This time...
It reached his eyes.
"Then..."
He leaned back comfortably.
"We'll only cheat the strict son..."
"...as much as he can forgive."
Mr. Donghyun laughed again.
"So it's settled."
They shared another quiet laugh before the room slowly returned to silence once more.
But this silence was different now.
It no longer belonged to two strangers.
Somewhere between a cup of coffee...
A few simple jokes...
And an unexpected word—
Son.
The distance between them had quietly disappeared.
The last few drops of coffee disappeared in comfortable silence.
Neither of them felt the need to fill the room with unnecessary words.
Sometimes...
Peace itself became a conversation.
Jeon.J glanced at his phone before slowly standing up.
"I should leave now."
"A lot of work is waiting for me."
Mr. Donghyun looked at him for a brief moment before placing his empty cup on the table.
"So soon?"
There wasn't disappointment in his voice.
Only the warmth of someone who genuinely wished the meeting had lasted a little longer.
Jeon.J smiled apologetically.
"I wish I could stay."
"But I really have to go."
Mr. Donghyun nodded in understanding and stood as well.
"I'll walk you outside."
The corridor was just as quiet as before.
The first light of dawn had not yet appeared, but the darkness no longer felt heavy.
As they stepped outside, Jeon.J adjusted his cap and pulled his mask into place.
The cool morning breeze brushed against his face.
He instinctively looked toward the courtyard.
This time...
More people had gathered.
Around twenty or thirty sat peacefully in neat rows on the carpets.
Some quietly recited verses.
Others listened with lowered heads.
Occasionally, voices answered one another in perfect rhythm.
Jeon.J couldn't understand a single word.
Yet...
The sound carried an indescribable calm.
It wasn't music.
But somehow...
It reached the same place inside his heart.
Without realizing it...
He slowed his footsteps.
His eyes wandered across every face.
No one looked restless.
No one appeared hurried.
Each expression carried the same strange peace he had noticed earlier.
It was unfamiliar.
Yet strangely comforting.
Mr. Donghyun noticed him observing everyone.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"I'll wait here."
He said it softly, giving Jeon.J time instead of asking questions.
Jeon.J simply smiled in return.
Then he turned toward the gate.
He had taken only a few steps...
When his feet suddenly stopped.
For a long moment...
He remained completely still.
As though something inside him had gently called his name.
Slowly...
He turned back.
Mr. Donghyun was still standing exactly where he had been.
Watching him with the same patient smile.
Jeon.J walked back.
He stopped right in front of him.
For a brief second...
Neither of them spoke.
Then...
In a calm, almost unconscious voice...
Words left Jeon.J's lips.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِهِ وَاغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ وَاجْعَلِ الإِيمَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ نُورًا وَهُدًى
"Allahumma ihdihi, waghfir lahu, warhamhu, waj'alil imana fi qalbihi nooran wa hudan."
"O Allah, guide him, forgive him, have mercy upon him, and make faith (Iman) in his heart a light and a source of guidance"
The words echoed gently through the quiet morning.
And then...
Silence.
Complete silence.
Mr. Donghyun froze.
The smile disappeared from his face.
His eyes widened.
For one impossible moment...
He simply stared at Jeon.J.
As though the world around him had stopped moving.
Even the distant recitation faded into the background.
Only those words remained.
Those sacred words.
His lips parted.
But no sound came out.
Jeon.J noticed the shock in his eyes.
The warmth on his own face slowly faded.
A quiet sadness replaced it.
Finally...
Mr. Donghyun managed to whisper,
"Jeon.J..."
His voice trembled.
"...these words..."
He couldn't finish the sentence.
A faint smile appeared on Jeon.J's lips.
It wasn't a happy smile.
It was the smile of someone carrying a burden too heavy to explain.
Seeing Mr. Donghyun's expression...
He quietly asked,
"That means..."
"You know what these words mean."
Mr. Donghyun looked at him in complete disbelief.
"How..."
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"...how do you know them?"
Jeon.J lowered his eyes for a brief moment.
When he spoke again...
His voice had become unusually calm.
"I've been hearing these words..."
"...in my dreams."
He looked somewhere beyond the mosque walls.
As though watching memories only he could see.
"For a long time."
"At first..."
"They haunted me."
His fingers tightened unconsciously around his phone.
"Then..."
"They frightened me."
"I stopped sleeping peacefully."
A long silence followed.
"But with time..."
His expression softened.
"...something changed."
"The fear slowly disappeared."
"And these words..."
He smiled faintly.
"...became the only thing that gave me peace."
He paused.
Searching for words.
"If I don't hear them in my dreams now..."
"I wake up..."
"...and read them myself."
Almost embarrassed, he let out a quiet laugh.
"As if..."
"They've become my companions."
His eyes dropped to the ground.
"Companions..."
"...for loneliness."
He said it so naturally.
So simply.
Completely unaware...
That every word he spoke was shaking the heart of the man standing before him.
"But..."
His voice grew quieter.
"They're troubling me again."
Mr. Donghyun's brows drew together.
Jeon.J looked back at him.
"This time..."
"I heard them..."
"...in reality."
Another silence settled between them.
Only the distant recitation continued.
"I heard someone recite these exact words."
His gaze remained fixed on Mr. Donghyun.
"And judging by your reaction..."
"You know who that person is."
He smiled gently.
"But don't worry."
"I'm not going to ask."
Mr. Donghyun couldn't move.
Couldn't answer.
His heart was caught somewhere between shock...
And a truth he wasn't prepared to reveal.
Jeon.J gave a small shrug.
Almost as if he had accepted that some questions simply remained unanswered.
Then he turned once again toward the gate.
After taking a few steps...
He stopped without looking back.
Softly...
Almost to himself...
He said,
"Maybe..."
"Some answers find us..."
"When the time is right."
Then he quietly walked away.
His figure slowly disappeared beyond the mosque gate.
Mr. Donghyun remained standing exactly where he was.
His eyes never left the empty gate.
The morning breeze gently moved the edge of his shawl.
But he didn't notice.
His mind echoed with only one thought.
"These words..."
He whispered under his breath.
"...are not ordinary."
"They are not ordinary for the one who recites them."
"Nor for the one..."
"...for whom they are recited."
He slowly closed his eyes.
A deep breath escaped him.
"You both stand on the shores of different rivers..."
He whispered.
"But..."
A peaceful smile returned to his face.
"There is a power that even rivers cannot stop."
"The power of sincere du'a."
Just then...
The call for Salah approached.
Mr. Donghyun lifted his eyes toward the mosque.
It was time.
Time to call the servants of Allah...
Back to Him.
_________________________
A long silence settled between Jinhun and Jeon.J.
It felt as though Jeon.J had finally emptied the burden he had been carrying for so long... and with it, he had run out of words.
Neither of them spoke.
The memories Jeon.J had just shared lingered heavily between them.
Jinhun slowly walked over and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
Jeon.J had been standing by the window the entire time. Feeling the touch, he turned to look at him and offered a faint smile.
"You must be thinking..." he let out a quiet, tired laugh. "...what kind of filmy things I've started saying now."
Jinhun looked at him with quiet sorrow.
There was no judgment in his eyes.
Only concern.
Only helplessness.
"But I'm fine now."
Jeon.J looked away before roughly running a hand through his hair.
"I'll live like an idol..."
His voice grew firmer.
"...and I should remain an idol."
The words sounded confident.
But to Jinhun...
They felt more like a wall Jeon.J was desperately trying to build around his own heart.
Jinhun searched for something to say.
Anything.
A reassurance.
An answer.
But nothing felt right.
Sometimes...
Silence was kinder than words.
He gently removed his hand from Jeon.J's shoulder.
Without saying anything...
He quietly walked out of the room.
The soft click of the closing door echoed through the silence.
Jeon.J watched him leave.
Only after the door had closed did he slowly turn back toward the window.
He placed both hands on the sliding frame and pushed the glass open.
A cool breeze slipped quietly into the room.
He stared into the darkness outside.
"Who are you...?"
he whispered to himself.
"Why does your connection keep tying itself to me..."
"...even when I don't want it?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
His expression slowly hardened.
He looked at his own reflection in the glass.
"But you should remember this..."
His voice was low.
Steady.
"From today..."
"I am an idol."
He wasn't saying it to anyone else.
He was reminding himself.
Repeating it like a rule...
One his own heart was no longer willing to obey.
After standing there for another moment...
He quietly turned away.
Then he walked toward the washroom to freshen up.
The living area had grown unusually quiet.
Most of the lights had been dimmed, and the conversations that had filled the house earlier had slowly faded into silence.
Zoya picked up the small notepad lying beside her.
She lowered her eyes and quietly wrote a few words before holding it out to Minji.
"Minji, we should go home."
Minji read the note, then leaned closer so only Zoya could hear her.
"Zoya... we'll leave in the morning."
She smiled reassuringly.
"It's already late."
Zoya looked at her in surprise.
Tomorrow morning...?
Her eyes instinctively wandered around the unfamiliar house.
Staying the night...
In someone else's home...
A boy's home...
The thought alone felt unfamiliar.
Back home...
Something like this would've been unthinkable.
But she said nothing.
Perhaps because Minji was here.
The others were here.
And somehow...
That made this unfamiliar place feel a little less unfamiliar.
Seeing the hesitation on her face, Minji smiled softly.
"You must be tired."
She stood up and gently held Zoya's hand.
"Come."
"I'll take you to the room."
"You should get some rest."
"You've been sitting in the same position ever since we got here."
A teasing smile appeared on her face.
"You're unbelievably stubborn."
A faint smile touched Zoya's lips.
She slowly tried to stand.
Just then...
The sound of a door opening broke the silence.
Jeon.J stepped out of his room.
His face was calm.
Unreadable.
As though nothing in the world had disturbed him.
Yet only moments earlier...
He had been fighting a battle no one else knew about.
His eyes briefly swept across the living area.
"Where is everyone?"
he asked, noticing the empty space.
Before Minji could answer...
Zoya shifted her weight onto her injured foot.
A sharp pain shot through her leg.
A soft gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it.
Minji immediately looked down.
"Zoya!"
At the same moment...
Jeon.J's eyes instinctively moved toward her.
For a split second...
Concern flickered across his face.
But it disappeared just as quickly.
He looked away before anyone could notice.
"What happened?"
Minji asked anxiously.
"My leg is injured..."
Zoya answered quietly.
"And... the soles of my feet suddenly started hurting."
"How will you walk?"
Minji asked, her worry growing.
She was just about to ask Jeon.J for help...
Just about to request that he support Zoya to the room—
But Zoya spoke first.
"Minji..."
She gently slipped her hand free.
"I can walk."
Her voice was soft.
But firm.
Jeon.J, who had been standing a few steps behind them with both hands tucked into his pockets, simply shrugged.
Without saying anything, he walked past them and sat down on the sofa.
"Minji."
His tone remained casual.
"Take your friend to the room."
Then he looked at Minji.
"I need to talk to you afterward."
Zoya looked at him.
Surprised.
He had barely spoken to her since they had met.
He usually avoided even looking at her.
Yet today...
Something about him felt different.
Not angry.
Not rude.
Just...
Cold.
Distant.
As though he had deliberately built a wall between himself and everyone else.
Without another word, Zoya gently pulled her hand away from Minji's support.
"I'll go myself."
She lowered her eyes.
"Support makes people weak."
For a brief moment...
Silence.
Then Jeon.J's calm voice cut through it.
"Strange..."
He still wasn't looking directly at her.
"When you got out of the car..."
"...did you remember that support makes people weak?"
His eyes shifted ever so slightly.
Not toward Zoya...
But toward Ji-ho.
The meaning behind his words was unmistakable.
He was reminding her...
That only a little while ago, she had held Ji-ho's hand while getting out of the car.
His expression remained unreadable.
But something in his voice made it clear...
That the memory had stayed with him far longer than it should have.
Zoya understood exactly what he meant.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face.
Then...
It quietly disappeared.
Without saying another word, she pressed her injured foot against the floor.
Pain shot through her body.
Her fingers instinctively curled into her palm.
But this time...
She refused to show it.
If he had chosen distance...
Then so would she.
Slowly...
She began walking on her own.
Minji shot Jeon.J an annoyed look.
"What was the need to say that?"
She frowned.
"Seriously..."
Jeon.J ignored the complaint completely.
"You still didn't answer me."
He looked at Minji.
"Where did everyone go?"
"They're all upstairs on the terrace."
Minji sighed.
"Everyone wants to see the cherry blossoms tomorrow before they're gone."
She smiled.
"And since we're all together..."
"We thought we'd sit there for a while."
For the first time since the conversation had begun...
Jeon.J's eyes drifted downward.
They stopped at Zoya's feet.
Bare against the cold floor.
His gaze lingered there for only a second.
"We'll see."
he said quietly.
Then, without another word...
He turned...
And walked toward the terrace.
Minji immediately moved to support Zoya again.
This time...
Zoya didn't refuse.
Together...
They slowly walked toward the room.
_____________________________
A cool night breeze welcomed Jeon.J the moment he stepped onto the terrace.
The city stretched quietly beneath the dark sky, its lights glowing in the distance.
He looked around.
Everyone was sitting in a single line against the terrace wall.
Some leaned back comfortably.
Others gazed silently at the night sky.
For once...
The group that was usually impossible to keep quiet had fallen completely silent.
Jeon.J slipped both hands into his pockets and looked at them in amusement.
"Why is everyone so quiet?"
His voice broke the silence.
Several heads turned toward him.
Teahun looked at him dramatically.
"Oh?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"Should we start shouting so your neighbours know there are guests at Jeon.J's house?"
Jeon.J didn't even blink.
"As if they don't already know."
He shrugged casually.
"You're acting like this is your first time here."
A few quiet chuckles escaped the group.
Teahun immediately pointed toward the others.
"I'm not talking about myself."
He spread both hands dramatically.
"This whole Minji caravan is here for the first time."
Everyone laughed at the way he proudly referred to them as a caravan.
Then he sighed theatrically.
"Just wait until tomorrow morning."
He looked toward the sky as though reading tomorrow's headlines.
"The news will be..."
He cleared his throat.
"Global superstar Jeon.J spotted at home..."
He paused for effect.
"...with a girlfriend."
For exactly one second...
Silence.
Then—
"Girlfriend..."
Minjo corrected him with a completely straight face.
"Not girlfriends."
The terrace exploded with laughter.
Even Teahun covered his face.
"Oh, right!"
"My mistake."
"Thank you for saving my reputation."
Everyone laughed even harder.
Jeon.J slowly shook his head.
"You people seriously have too much free time."
"But at least we're using it creatively."
Teahun replied without missing a beat.
Another round of laughter echoed across the terrace.
For the first time that night...
A genuine smile appeared on Jeon.J's face.
Small.
Brief.
But real.
The cool breeze carried their laughter into the quiet night.
For a little while...
No one spoke about responsibilities.
No one spoke about injuries.
No one spoke about unanswered questions.
They simply laughed together.
And sometimes...
That was enough.
To be continued...
Regards,
ZK