Morning sunlight cuts through the curtains, sharp and gold, like paparazzi flashbulbs invading Yuna's dreams.
She groans, rolling over in bed, still in the fancy silk slip Mina insisted she wear "for vibes." Her phone buzzes so violently on the nightstand it nearly flings itself onto the floor.
Mina's voice screeches in from the living room. "WAKE UP, CELEBRITY GIRLFRIEND! THE INTERNET IS ON FIRE!"
Yuna fumbles for her phone with all the dexterity of a sleep-deprived sloth. Notifications flood her lock screen: social media tags, news alerts, ONARI™ fan edits and one text from J-Min that reads simply:
[J-Min]
Please still like me when you see the GIFs.
She sits up, pulse hammering. "Mina...what GIFs?!"
Mina barrels into the bedroom, phone waving like a sword. "This. THIS RIGHT HERE."
On Mina's screen is a loop of J-Min on stage last night, singing "Glow On You." Mid-verse, he turns, locks eyes with Yuna in the front row and gives a smile so lethal that half the internet has declared itself emotionally pregnant.
Mina slaps her shoulder. "HE WAS SINGING TO YOU. IN PUBLIC. I CAN'T BREATHE."
Yuna splutters, cheeks nuclear. "That's...he wasn't...it's just a song...he has sung it before countless times."
"Girl," Mina interrupts, deadpan. "He said 'I'll glow on you all night long.' While looking at you. The entire ONARI™ fandom now has spreadsheets calculating your wedding date."
Yuna buries her face in her hands.
Elsewhere in the city, Seo stares at his iPad with haunted eyes as headlines blare across entertainment sites:
J-MIN'S RED CARPET DATE REVEALED? YUMIN™ FANS IN MELTDOWN!
WHO IS YUNA AND HOW IS SHE STILL ALIVE AFTER THAT GAZE?
GLOW ON YOU: THE SEXIEST LIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR?
He scrolls down to a fan-made graph. "WHY does this exist?"
Raejin, sprawled upside down on a sofa, cranes his neck to look. "Looks like ONARI™ is charting how often J-Min stares at Yuna. I respect the hustle."
"WE ARE NOT ENCOURAGING THE HUSTLE," Seo yells. "I have twelve press calls today because of you people!"
"Not my fault Yumin™ is trending," Raejin sing-songs. "Hey, can we sell merch?"
Seo's eyelid twitches. "I'm going to become a monk."
Meanwhile...Back a Yuna's
Mina plops beside Yuna on the bed, pulling up an ONARI™ fan forum.
"Okay," Mina says. "So the fandom is split between wanting to protect you and wanting to be you. There's chaos. There's a trending hashtag #GlowOnYuna. And there's a fan account named MuffinsWithArms posting essays about your cosmic destiny."
Yuna whimpers into a pillow. "Why is my life a K-drama?!"
Mina scrolls. "Ooooh. There's also paparazzi shots from last night. You and J-Min arriving together. You in the dress. Him in that tux. He looks at you like he'd trade his entire career for a single forehead kiss."
Yuna shrieks. "STOP!"
Mina's grin is unrepentant. "I'm not saying you should marry him. I'm just saying I'll design the invitations."
Yuna's phone buzzes with an incoming call from her mother.
"NO," Yuna says, trying to swipe it away.
Mina answers it for her. "Hi Mrs. Han!"
Her mother's voice booms from the speaker. "YUN-AAAA! Are you eating enough? Are you getting enough sleep? Also, WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME YOU'RE THE STAR OF A CELEBRITY LOVE STORY?!"
"I am not a star..."
Her father yells in the background, "ASK J-MIN IF HE KNOWS HOW TO FIX A LEAKY FAUCET!"
Mina cackles. "Hi Mr. Han!"
Mrs. Han continues. "Everyone at my book club is sending me screenshots! Your father's barbershop friends think you're practically engaged!"
Yuna slaps the pillow over her head. "I'm moving to Antarctica."
A short while later, J-Min shows up at Yuna's apartment with a giant takeaway bag smelling like heaven.
"You didn't eat dinner," he murmurs, breezing past Mina, who shrieks and flails into the kitchen.
Yuna's jaw drops. "You shouldn't be here. There are paparazzi!"
J-Min sets out a tray of muffins, fruit and suspiciously fancy coffee. "Seo threatened to staple me to the studio, but I needed to see you."
Mina peeks in from behind the fridge door. "Were you singing 'Glow On You' to her or not?"
J-Min grins. "What do you think?"
Yuna tries to breathe. Fails.
He gently pushes her into a chair. "Eat. Please."
As Mina leaves to call Ari and Sori for a gossip session, Yuna and J-Min sit together at the tiny kitchen table.
Yuna pokes at a blueberry muffin. "Did I...ruin things for you last night?"
J-Min's expression softens. "No. You made it better."
She hesitates. "People are going insane. Your fans might hate me."
"They don't hate you," he murmurs. "Okay...some are confused. But most of them just want me to be happy. And you make me..." He trails off.
Her throat tightens. "What?"
J-Min's voice drops low. "Happy. And crazy. And a little terrified. But mostly...alive."
Yuna's eyes sting. "It's scary. Feeling this visible. Like people are staring into your soul."
J-Min takes her hand. "I know. I've felt invisible in crowds my whole life...even while performing. But when I'm with you, it's like the noise fades."
Raejin bursts through the door like the Kool-Aid Man. "I FOUND US A BEACH HOUSE!"
Mina yells from the couch, "OH MY GOD YES, GROUP TRIP!"
Seo's voice blares over Raejin's phone on speaker. "NO. TRIPS. I WILL FAKE MY OWN DEATH IF YOU LEAVE THE CITY RIGHT NOW."
Sori and Ari suddenly arrive, arms full of shopping bags.
Sori waves a swimsuit. "If we're going to the beach, we're getting matching outfits."
Ari adds, "I already booked surf lessons. Yuna, you in?"
Yuna's mouth drops open. "How did this escalate so fast?!"
J-Min laughs under his breath, leaning close. "I vote yes."
By late afternoon, everyone's piled onto Yuna's sofa, half on top of one another, chattering over beach house options. Mina's running a spreadsheet of costs. Raejin's practicing potential Instagram captions. Sori's arguing about color schemes for beach towels.
Yuna sits between J-Min's knees on the floor, leaning back into his chest. He wraps his arms around her like he's afraid she'll vanish.
"This is insane," Yuna says.
"This is family," J-Min counters.
She tilts her head up to meet his eyes. "So...we're really doing this? A trip together?"
J-Min brushes his lips across her temple. "We survived a gala. We can survive a beach vacation."
"Seo's going to explode."
"Seo needs a vacation."
The doorbell rings. It's Yuna's parents, bearing bags of side dishes, smiling like they're dropping off engagement gifts.
Mrs. Han looks at J-Min and Yuna, locked together on the couch. She clasps her hands. "My daughter deserves the best. And if that's you..." She eyes J-Min up and down. "Just make sure you eat more. You look too skinny on stage."
J-Min tries not to laugh. "Yes, ma'am."
Raejin leans forward. "So about this beach house. Are we talking about a private chef or nah?"
Seo yells through Raejin's phone again. "STOP. I NEED PEACE. I NEED..."
Raejin hangs up.
J-Min kisses Yuna's cheek, gentle and sure. "The next chapter starts at the beach, okay?"
Yuna's heart does a flip. "Okay."
Outside the apartment, the city glitters like the glow of stage lights, hinting at more chaos and love...to come.