POV: Ryu Minho
It started innocently enough—a quiet moment on the movie set where I first noticed something shift between us.
We were recording a drama scene for the OST collaboration. The room was dimly lit, soft lights highlighting Ara's profile as she sang into the microphone. The director fussed over angles, the crew whispered instructions, and I stood a few feet away, watching.
Her voice… it wasn't just technically perfect—it was raw, emotional, touching something inside me I didn't know existed.
When I stepped up to record my lines, our voices intertwined effortlessly, harmonizing like they had always been meant to. And then, during a break, we laughed at an awkward cue, shared a small joke, and something clicked.
It was in the way her eyes softened when she looked at me. The way she tilted her head slightly, shyly, when I complimented her voice. The warmth in her laugh that echoed long after the cameras stopped rolling.
I didn't realize it at first, but I was falling for her. Slowly, dangerously.
---
POV: Han Ara
I had never expected to feel this way. Minho—the new boy, naive, raw, and full of fire—had somehow seeped into my thoughts. On the movie set, away from the pressures of paparazzi and agency oversight, he was… genuine. Vulnerable in a way no one else in my world could be.
I caught myself staring when he wasn't looking. When he complimented my singing, I felt my chest tighten. When he laughed at something small, I felt a thrill I couldn't explain.
And one night, after an extended recording session, I found myself lingering by the studio doorway, watching him carefully tune his microphone. He looked up and smiled, that small, shy grin he never showed on stage.
My heart stuttered. I wanted to tell him, I like you. But the words never left my lips. Instead, we simply shared a quiet smile. And in that moment, unspoken but undeniable, something passed between us.
We had fallen for each other—not in public, not in headlines—but in the music, in the laughter, in the stolen moments where no one was watching.
---
POV: Ryu Minho
From that moment, everything changed. Rehearsals became charged, our voices alive with secret meaning. Every glance, every small touch during the OST recording carried weight. I wanted to tell her everything, but I didn't dare. Not with CEO Park manipulating, not with Hyunwoo's eyes always on me, not with APEX lurking in the background.
And yet… I couldn't stop thinking about her.
---
POV: Han Ara
It wasn't just the music. It was the way he made me feel safe in a world that never allowed me to be anything but polished perfection. It was the quiet moments on set, the small smiles, the way his presence made my chest flutter without warning.
I knew falling for him was dangerous. Forbidden. Reckless. But I couldn't help it. Every note we sang together, every laugh we shared, it only pulled me deeper.
---
POV: Ryu Minho – Present Day
But now, all of that joy was under threat. Rumors were spreading, Hyunwoo was watching, and the very thing that had made us close—the duet, the movie set moments, the unspoken love—was now the wedge between us.
"Minho," Hyunwoo said, his gaze sharp, dangerous. "What's going on with you and Ara?"
I froze. My chest tightened. I wanted to tell him the truth—but the truth could destroy everything. Syndicate was my family now.
"It's… nothing," I said, voice faltering.
Hyunwoo's eyes narrowed. "Nothing? Or you're lying to protect your little secret?"
---
POV: Han Ara – Present Day
When I received Minho's text—Hyunwoo knows. I have to protect the group. I can't tell you what happens next—my heart broke.
The stolen smiles, the late-night recording, the quiet moments on the movie set… it all seemed like a dream now.
I wanted to be angry, to scream, to demand he fight for us. But I couldn't. His choice was already made. He had put Syndicate first.
And I… I had no choice but to wait, to hope, and to remember that first night on the set when we had fallen for each other.
---
Ending Scene:
That night, both of us lay in our separate apartments, haunted by memories of the movie set, haunted by our stolen glances, haunted by a love we couldn't fully embrace.
The melody we had created together—the one that had made our hearts align—was alive, dangerous, and forbidden.
Neither of us could sleep. Neither of us could stop thinking about the other. And deep inside, we knew one undeniable truth: our love—and our music—wasn't finished.