Hey, my kdrama lovers.. This one is for us (save to your collection)
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The late afternoon sky was a pale, indifferent gray, the kind that made Ha-eun wish she could fade into it and disappear. She shuffled along the cracked sidewalk, her hands buried deep in the sleeves of an oversized sweater she'd borrowed from her cousin, Rina-Minji. It hung awkwardly off her shoulders, swallowing her thin frame, but it was warm and smelled faintly of lavender, better than the damp chill that clung to the Seoul streets.
Beside her, Minji practically bounced with excitement, a flash of sunshine against Ha-eun's drizzle. "Come on, Ha-eun! It's just one concert. One night. You might actually enjoy yourself."
Ha-eun didn't answer. She hated crowds. Hated noise. Hated being expected to care about things that didn't matter to her. Most of all, she hated how Minji treated her like someone in need of saving, as if she were trapped in some invisible box of sadness.
Minji tugged at her sleeve. "You've been cooped up in your room for days. You never hang out anymore. Besides..." She leaned in, lowering her voice dramatically. "Front row seats. Han Seo-jun."
Ha-eun blinked. "Front row? That's—" She caught herself, trying to sound indifferent. "—basically impossible. His fans would sell their souls for that."
Minji beamed. "Exactly. And guess who I know?"
Ha-eun rolled her eyes, but curiosity cracked through her apathy. Han Seo-jun was everywhere , Seoul's golden boy. Billboards, music stores, phones, dreams. To Ha-eun, he was just part of the background noise. She preferred quiet corners, not flashing cameras and screaming fans.
They turned the corner. The concert hall loomed ahead, massive, pulsing with neon light and thudding bass. A wave of bodies swarmed the entrance, all decked in Seo-jun merchandise, buzzing with anticipation.
Minji grabbed her hand. "This is going to be amazing."
Ha-eun let herself be pulled forward, her pulse ticking louder with each step. She hated this noise, this chaos, but something deep inside her stirred. Maybe, just maybe, something could change.
Inside, the air buzzed with electric heat. Lightsticks glowed. Fans screamed. Ha-eun found her seat — E14 — front and center. The stage was close enough to touch. It looked like a dream.
She sank into the seat, pulling her hoodie tight around her face. Minji was already bouncing beside her. "You're going to love this."
Ha-eun wasn't so sure.
Then the lights dropped, and the arena fell into darkness.
A hush swept over the crowd , a single breath drawn in unison.
Then: a blinding burst of light.
Han Seo-jun appeared, sharp and radiant beneath the spotlight. Dark hair glinting violet, sleek black jacket glittering at every move. The crowd erupted.
"Oh my God," Minji screamed, nearly in tears. "He looks even better in person!"
Seo-jun launched into his latest hit. His voice slipped through the stadium like silk , effortless, pure. The crowd sang with him, their voices a wave. Minji clutched Ha-eun's hand, eyes wet with joy.
"That's Midnight Bloom," she whispered. "My favorite."
Ha-eun watched, quietly. There was something about him , the way he moved, the way he looked out into the sea of faces and somehow seemed alone. Controlled. Fragile.
Three songs in, it happened.
Seo-jun paused. He scanned the crowd with sharp, searching eyes.
Then , he looked directly at her.
Ha-eun froze.
The spotlight shifted.
Seat E14 was bathed in sudden light.
"You," he said clearly, over the silence.
"Don't leave."
The stadium exploded.
Cameras flashed. Screams shattered the air. The big screen zoomed in on Ha-eun's stunned face. She wanted to vanish.
Minji shrieked, grabbing her shoulders. "He saw you! Ha-eun, he saw you!"
Seo-jun kept singing , louder, more focused. As if the words were for her alone.
The rest of the concert passed in a blur of music, light, and disbelief. Seo-jun danced like fire, smiled like he meant it, winked at the crowd, but kept returning , again and again , to her.
At the final bow, he looked her way one last time.
Minji whispered, breathless, "I think he's going to find you."
Ha-eun didn't know what to think.
But as the lights dimmed and the noise faded, she realized something:
She wasn't the same girl who had walked into that arena.
**********
The morning sunlight filtered softly through the gauzy curtains of Ha-eun's apartment, a warm glow over the breakfast table. The scent of spicy pork and steaming noodles clung to the air, mingling with the low murmur of a news broadcast humming from the television.
Her mother bustled between stove and sink, refilling side dishes. Her father sat quietly, newspaper folded just so, the room wrapped in the calm of routine.
Usually, Ha-eun cherished mornings like this , simple, familiar. But today, her chopsticks hovered over her plate, untouched. Her body sat at the table, but her mind was still in the concert hall, reliving a single impossible moment: Han Seo-jun pointing directly at her. You. Don't leave.
Her phone buzzed, shattering the quiet. A message from Jiyoung lit up her screen:
"Ha-eun... have you seen this? You're everywhere right now!"
She tapped the link. A five-second video clip played: Seo-jun on stage, scanning the crowd , then pointing. The camera jolted to her stunned face, caught under a spotlight. It was unmistakable.
The comment section scrolled endlessly.
"Who is she?"
"E14 girl!"
"Seo-jun's muse???"
"They made eye contact. I swear!"
The clip was viral. Trending. Spreading faster than she could blink.
Her hand trembled as she set the phone down. Chopsticks slipped from her fingers and clattered onto the plate.
"Ha-eun!" Minji burst into the kitchen, waving her own phone. "You're famous! Look at the comments, they're obsessed with you!"
She shoved the screen toward their mother. "Mom, Dad, look! It's her!"
Their mother paused mid-stir, blinking at the video. A surprised smile tugged at her lips. Her father lowered his paper slowly, frowning , not with anger, but with quiet awe.
Ha-eun could barely hear them. Her body felt too light, like she might float straight out of the room.
"It's just a clip," she managed to say. Her voice was thin, stretched tight.
Minji shook her head, eyes glassy. "It's more than a clip. It's everything. You don't have to be invisible anymore."
Ha-eun looked at her, startled.
Their mother gently touched her shoulder. "No matter what happens next," she said, "we're proud of you."
Ha-eun said nothing. She wasn't sure what to feel.
Outside the window, the city buzzed on, unaware that something quiet had cracked wide open.
(Read my novel Five Brutal: Kings . Save this to your collection)