[Kei]
The message was sent.
and wear something nice.
Kei stared at the screen.
Then immediately regretted every decision that had led him to that moment.
"..."
What.
Exactly.
Was that?
Across the room, his manager glanced up from a tablet.
"Why do you look like you just committed a crime?"
"I didn't."
A pause.
"...Probably."
His manager slowly lowered the tablet.
"That's not reassuring."
Kei ignored him.
Instead, he looked back at the conversation.
No-Ah had left him on read.
Again.
Which somehow felt worse.
His eyes drifted to his last message.
and wear something nice.
Why had he typed that?
Why?
What possible reason had there been?
The concert already had a dress code.
A perfectly reasonable dress code.
There had been absolutely no need to send an additional message.
Yet he had.
Because apparently his brain had stopped functioning.
Fantastic.
Kei dropped his phone onto the couch beside him and leaned back.
For some reason, his face felt warm.
Annoyingly warm.
Like he'd just finished running.
Which was ridiculous.
He performed in front of thousands of people.
He appeared on television.
He handled interviews.
Yet one volunteer with a permanent talent for insulting him somehow had him questioning a text message.
"This is stupid."
"What is?" his manager asked.
"Nothing."
"That usually means something."
"It's not something."
His manager raised an eyebrow.
Kei looked away.
Because unfortunately—
The moment No-Ah had immediately hung up after his question replayed in his head.
Then her reaction.
Then her voice.
Then the fact she'd smiled during the call.
His manager slowly sat forward.
"Oh."
Kei narrowed his eyes.
"Oh what?"
"You like bothering her."
Kei scoffed.
"Everyone likes bothering her."
"That's not what I said."
"You're being weird."
"I'm not the one staring at a phone."
Kei grabbed a cushion and threw it.
His manager dodged easily.
"Wow."
"Stop talking."
"Wow."
"Seriously."
His manager laughed.
Kei groaned and covered his face.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then—
"You know, Kei."
Kei looked up.
His manager hesitated.
"Mrs. Yoon told you to keep as much distance as possible from tha—"
"I know."
The words came out sharper than he intended.
Silence settled between them.
His manager studied him for a moment before sighing.
"...Right."
That tone.
The one that meant the conversation was over before it had even started.
So he didn't push.
Didn't remind Kei why the rule existed.
Didn't point out that he was already breaking it.
Instead, he leaned back in his chair.
"Then I assume there's a reason you invited her."
Kei stared at the message on his screen.
and wear something nice.
A beat passed.
"...I don't know."
Which was a terrible answer.
Because if there was one thing Kei hated, it was not knowing why he'd done something.
☆ ☆ ☆
[No-Ah]
The moment Yun-Ra saw the tickets, she screamed.
Not loudly.
Not a little.
A full-volume, soul-leaving-her-body scream.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Yun-Ra grabbed the tickets from her hands.
Her eyes widened.
Then widened even more.
"THESE ARE REAL."
"They would be very strange fake tickets."
"VIP."
"I can read."
"VIP."
"You already said that."
"VIP!"
Several students turned to stare.
No-Ah immediately lowered Yun-Ra's arm.
"Stop yelling."
"I CAN'T STOP YELLING."
"Clearly."
Yun-Ra was already pacing.
"What am I supposed to wear?"
"It's a concert."
"I know it's a concert."
"You sound like you're attending a royal wedding."
"This is more important."
No-Ah sighed.
Yun-Ra clutched the tickets dramatically against her chest.
Then paused.
"Wait."
The single word sent a chill down No-Ah's spine.
Because nothing good ever followed a wait.
Yun-Ra pulled out her phone.
Opened her calendar.
And froze.
The color drained from her face.
"No."
No-Ah frowned.
"What?"
"No."
"Yun-Ra."
"NO."
The tickets lowered slowly.
"My aunt's engagement dinner."
No-Ah blinked.
"...What?"
"My aunt's engagement dinner."
"You can still—"
"I can't."
"You can't?"
"I can't."
The look on Yun-Ra's face suggested she had just been informed of a national tragedy.
"No-Ah."
"What?"
"I'm going to cry."
"You are not."
"I am."
"You are absolutely not."
Yun-Ra collapsed onto the nearest chair.
"This is the worst day of my life."
"That's dramatic."
"I WAS GOING TO SEE KEI."
"You're still being dramatic."
For the next five minutes, Yun-Ra listed every reason the universe was cruel.
No-Ah listened patiently.
Mostly because she found it funny.
Eventually, Yun-Ra went quiet.
Then slowly turned her head.
Toward the café counter.
No-Ah followed her gaze.
And immediately knew she wasn't going to like whatever came next.
Behind the counter, Min-Ji was wiping down a machine.
Completely unaware.
Yun-Ra pointed.
"Take him."
"No."
"Take him."
"No."
"Take him."
"No."
Min-Ji looked up.
"I feel like I'm being discussed."
"You are."
"That's never good."
Yun-Ra stood.
Marched across the café.
And slapped both hands onto the counter.
Min-Ji stared.
Yun-Ra stared back.
"No-Ah has an extra VIP ticket to Kei's concert."
Min-Ji blinked.
"...Okay."
"You should go with her."
"No."
No-Ah pointed at him immediately.
"See?"
"I wasn't finished."
Min-Ji looked between them.
Then shrugged.
"How good are the seats?"
Yun-Ra gasped.
"No loyalty."
"I have loyalty."
"Not enough."
"Apparently not."
For the first time, Min-Ji looked genuinely curious.
His gaze shifted to No-Ah.
Then to the tickets.
Then back to No-Ah.
A slow grin appeared.
"Oh."
No-Ah immediately narrowed her eyes.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing."
"It absolutely means something."
Min-Ji leaned against the counter.
"Sure. I'll go."
Yun-Ra cheered.
No-Ah groaned.
And somehow, she got the feeling this was going to be a terrible idea.
☆ ☆ ☆
[No-Ah]
Bringing Choi Min-Ji had been a mistake.
A massive mistake.
A catastrophic mistake.
The concert hadn't even properly started yet.
And he was already annoying her.
"These seats are ridiculous."
"They're VIP seats."
"I know."
Min-Ji looked around the venue.
Then at the stage.
Then at the massive crowd filling the arena.
Then back at No-Ah.
"Your life is weird."
"My life was normal until recently."
"Sure."
The lights suddenly dimmed.
The crowd erupted.
Thousands of voices filled the arena.
And then—
Kei appeared.
The screaming somehow got louder.
Which No-Ah hadn't thought was physically possible.
Beside her, Min-Ji looked impressed despite himself.
"Huh."
"What?"
"He's actually good."
No-Ah rolled her eyes and smiled sarcastically.
The performance began.
Song after song.
The energy never dropped.
The crowd sang along.
Fans screamed.
Lights flashed across the arena.
Everything was normal.
Until Kei looked directly toward their section.
No-Ah didn't think much of it.
There were thousands of people.
He was probably looking at everyone.
Then he smiled.
Directly at her.
Her stomach dropped.
No.
No, no, no.
Not here.
Not now.
Beside her, Min-Ji slowly lowered the lightstick in his hand.
"..."
No-Ah pretended not to notice.
Onstage, Kei continued performing.
Like absolutely nothing had happened.
Five minutes later—
It happened again.
This time there was no doubt.
Kei looked straight toward the VIP section.
Straight toward No-Ah.
Then—
Winked.
Min-Ji nearly choked.
No-Ah froze.
The crowd exploded.
Several fans around them screamed.
Completely unaware of what had just happened.
Min-Ji slowly turned his head.
Very slowly.
Toward No-Ah.
"No."
"What?"
"No."
"What?"
"Explain."
"There's nothing to explain."
"He winked at you."
"He did not."
"He absolutely did."
"He was looking at the crowd."
"There are twelve thousand people here."
"Exactly."
"He picked you."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
Min-Ji stared at her.
Then looked back toward the stage.
Kei was singing.
Completely normal.
Completely professional.
And somehow that made it worse.
Because every few minutes—
His gaze drifted back.
Toward No-Ah.
Toward their section.
Toward—
"No-Ah."
"What."
"Are you secretly dating a celebrity?"
No-Ah almost dropped her drink.
"WHAT?"
"That's not a no."
"THAT IS ABSOLUTELY A NO."
Min-Ji looked unconvinced.
Unfortunately, at that exact moment—
Kei glanced over again.
And smiled.
Min-Ji covered his face.
"Oh my God."
"No."
"Oh my God."
"Stop saying that."
"Oh my God."
The concert continued.
Min-Ji never recovered.
And by the end of the night—
He had approximately six hundred questions.
No-Ah intended to answer exactly none of them.
☆ ☆ ☆
[Kei]
Kei had expected Yun-Ra.
That was the problem.
The second he stepped onto the stage, his eyes automatically found the VIP section.
A habit.
Nothing more.
He'd given No-Ah two tickets.
Yun-Ra was obsessed with him.
Obviously she'd come.
Instead—
There was a guy.
Kei frowned.
A guy he'd never seen before.
Standing next to No-Ah.
Holding a lightstick.
Wearing what appeared to be a denim jacket over a hoodie.
Who layered a hoodie under a denim jacket?
Was that fashionable now?
Kei hoped not.
The guy said something.
No-Ah laughed.
Kei nearly missed his cue.
"..."
Weird.
Very weird.
Why was she here with him?
Had Yun-Ra sold her soul to a scheduling conflict?
Family emergency?
Kidnapping?
Academic disaster?
All possible.
The guy leaned closer to say something.
No-Ah rolled her eyes.
The guy grinned.
Kei felt something unpleasant settle in his chest.
Not anger.
Not exactly.
Just...
Annoyance.
A very specific annoyance.
The kind that appeared when someone cut in front of him in line.
Or spoiled the ending of a drama.
Or wore a hoodie under a denim jacket.
Probably that last one.
Definitely that last one.
Kei continued performing.
Professional.
Focused.
Perfect.
His manager would have been proud.
Unfortunately—
His eyes kept drifting back.
There.
VIP section.
No-Ah.
Bad Fashion Guy.
Bad Fashion Guy was still talking.
Why was he always talking?
The concert had started.
Shouldn't he be watching?
Kei finished a verse.
Moved across the stage.
Looked over again.
No-Ah was smiling.
At something the guy had said.
The annoying feeling returned.
Stronger this time.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
He didn't like it.
Naturally, he chose the mature response.
He made eye contact with her.
Directly.
Immediately.
No-Ah froze.
Success.
The annoyance lessened slightly.
Good.
That was normal.
Probably.
Then the guy noticed.
Kei watched the exact moment confusion appeared on his face.
Even from a distance, it was obvious.
The guy looked at No-Ah.
Then at Kei.
Then back at No-Ah.
Kei almost laughed.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
A few songs later, he did it again.
Another glance.
Another smile.
No-Ah immediately looked away.
The guy nearly dropped his lightstick.
Kei had to look down to hide his grin.
This was becoming entertaining.
By the middle of the concert, it had evolved into a game.
A very one-sided game.
Every time Kei looked toward their section—
No-Ah pretended not to notice.
The guy noticed enough for both of them.
And honestly?
That was the funniest part.
Then, during one of the final songs, Kei caught himself searching for them again.
The realization made him pause.
Why?
The question arrived without warning.
Why did he keep looking?
Why did it matter who she brought?
Why had he spent half the concert mentally criticizing a stranger's outfit?
The answers should have been obvious.
They weren't.
Kei stared out at the sea of lights.
Thousands of fans.
Thousands of faces.
And somehow—
His attention kept returning to the same one.
Weird.
Very weird.
He'd figure it out later.
Probably.
For now, he still needed to finish the concert.
And maybe—
Just maybe—
See if Bad Fashion Guy looked as confused as he had ten minutes ago.
For purely scientific reasons, of course.
☆ ☆ ☆