The sun had barely risen, but Seoul was already awake. News alerts pinged across phones, fan accounts posted theories, and Monarch's dorm was filled with the faint hum of voices from the TV in the background.
Jiwon hadn't slept.
He sat at the edge of his bed, hair damp from a shower, a hoodie pulled over his frame. The city outside his window glowed pale blue, but all he could see was Yul. The warmth of his lips. The way his hands had lingered. The dangerous sweetness of being wanted by something he was supposed to destroy.
His phone buzzed.
[1 new message – Unknown number]
Did you dream of me, hunter?
Jiwon's throat tightened. He didn't need a name to know who it was.
He started typing back, then stopped. He deleted the words, typed again, deleted again. His hands shook with the weight of everything he couldn't say.
A knock at the door broke his silence.
"Hyung?" It was Min. His voice was quiet, hesitant.
Jiwon tucked the phone under his pillow. "Come in."
Min entered, hoodie too big for his thin frame, hair messy from sleep. He looked troubled. "I… had another dream. The mirror one."
Jiwon stiffened. "What did you see this time?"
Min's hands twisted in the fabric of his sleeves. "Not claws. Not shadows. This time it was wings. Black wings. And… they were protecting me."
Jiwon's stomach dropped. He thought of the flash during the Stardive stage. Of Yul's golden gaze when he leaned close. Of the way their kiss had felt less like a sin and more like salvation.
"You're safe here," Jiwon said automatically, though the words tasted hollow.
Min studied him for a moment. "You don't believe that, do you?"
Before Jiwon could answer, Zayn's voice cut through the dorm. "Everyone up! Schedules dropped—we've got a fan signing in two hours."
The dorm became a storm of movement: Kai running around shirtless and loud, EO groaning dramatically into a pillow, Zayn barking orders to get dressed.
Jiwon lingered, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His lips still tingled from last night.
And when the glass flickered, just faintly, with the outline of a smile that wasn't his, he didn't look away.
Equinox – At the Same Hour
Yul reclined on the studio couch, one hand draped lazily over his face. Juno and Rien were arguing about setlists, but Yul wasn't listening. His mouth still tasted faintly of Jiwon, metallic and sweet, like blood on honey.
He smiled to himself, unbothered by the chaos.
"Why are you smiling?" Juno demanded, suspicious.
"Because," Yul said softly, golden eyes gleaming, "he kissed me back."
The day was just beginning.But for both Monarch and Equinox, nothing would ever be the same again.