︲ 还是你 〢 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔
︲ 还是你 〢 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔
╱ ❛ 𝖶𝖧𝖠𝖳 𝖨𝖲 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝖳𝖮 𝖬𝖤? … 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖠𝖭𝖲𝖶𝖤𝖱
𝖨𝖲 𝖠𝖫𝖶𝖠𝖸𝖲 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗬𝗢𝗨 ❜ ╲
˚ ★₊˚﹟💐' , .
﹙ context. SET DURiNG ‘ORANGE BLOOD’ ERA ; SEE MiLA iN ‘ORANGE BLOOD’ TRAiLER﹚
' ˚. ✦ ˑ ִֶ ┆ now playing … ❝ 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 ❞
━━ 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗎𝗇 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗋𝗂𝗌𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗈𝗇 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗐𝖺𝗑 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝖾, 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾.
𖥔 ݁ ˖ ˚ . ┃ SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGED. Mila would dare say that the boys were one such thing — and so was she. Not in the sense that they were stagnant, but in the sense that their hearts were steady in their passion, their kindness, and their unfaltering love. One year, two years, three years going on to four… And after all this time, they were still them.
So it was no surprise that Mila could accurately predict their reaction to her role in the trailer for their new comeback.
The board meeting for ‘Orange Blood’ was one that Mila looked forward to as much as she did any meeting discussing the future of the group. Though their schedules were busy with their upcoming Fate Tour, there was no denying the anticipation of releasing new songs, and the relief of knowing they were still very much in the race. (She considered herself fortunate that they weren’t one of the mistreated artists she’d often heard of, whose comebacks ranged around once a year — if at all.)
The concept was an unexpectedly bright and hopeful one compared to ‘Dark Blood’. Or perhaps, ‘nostalgic’ was the better word — yes, indeed, nostalgia was a perfect word for the concept. And all members of Enhypen were pleased with the proposed title track, B-sides (including Mila and Kiara’s subunit song), and overall aesthetic of the new album. It seemed as if it would be a carefree and fun era free of the drama of its predecessor.
Except, of course, that wasn’t exactly the case.
When the time came for the discussion of the concept trailer, the air of nostalgia surrounding ‘Orange Blood’ instead became replaced by déjà vu.
“Mila has a special part to play,” the director of the concept trailer said. “If you remember from the ‘Dark Blood’ trailer, she was the only one of you nine who survived everything.”
“Right!” Sunoo exclaimed excitedly. “It was one of the things all the Engenes kept making theories about.”
Mila smiled. Amidst all the drama of her jealousy for Sunghoon, Jay and the boys’ interactions with Park Jiwon, she didn’t give much attention to her own role as she should have. But it was still a very intriguing point in the concept trailer for all who watched it.
The director nodded. “That goes to say that means she won’t be with the rest of you for the majority of the trailer.”
A wave of surprise washed over the Enhypen members. Their eyes widened collectively, giving the impression of nine bewildered children who had just learnt Santa wasn’t real.
“And before you ask— yes, she’s still going to be in the trailer. She’ll just have different scenes from everyone else.” Mila smiled when the tension in the others’ shoulders relaxed. She knew they would be the first to jump to her defence if, for some reason, she was excluded.
“After being separated, their paths are obviously going different ways. While Mila is still unaware, you boys and Kiara will be reincarnated as humans…”
The director began to explain the first part of the trailer, which consisted of the boys being taken out of the ocean by Jiwon, followed by the next couple of scenes. Mila became sceptical at one particular scene involving Sunoo’s neck being bitten, but figured it wouldn’t be anything new — after all, Jay had his neck bitten in the trailer for ‘Dark Blood’. (She didn’t want to admit she was a little bothered by it… though she would ignore that feeling for now.)
Then it came to the part where Mila would make her appearance.
“Now, after all this, we finally see what Mila has been up to this entire time. And since she no longer has her friends with her, she is living a pretty lonely life.”
The others made noises of sympathy.
“…But then she finds a handsome young man who falls in love with her, and they live happily with each other as a seemingly loving couple—”
The sound of Kiara choking on her water echoed through the now silent room.
“What’s wrong?” The director asked cluelessly as he observed the group’s reactions. He blinked when he received no response. “Was it something I said?”
Kiara was alternating between laughing, struggling to swallow her water, and shaking her head in denial. Mila supposed it was good that at least one of them seemed amused by the situation — because the other eight of them were certainly not.
Sunghoon — who had been lost in his own daydream the whole time as he stared at a random spot on the table in front of him — suddenly snapped his head towards the director, eyebrows raised and eyes wide as if he had heard something incredibly offensive.
Sunoo’s jaw dropped in a slacked ‘oh’, while he side-eyed Mila beside him, and then slowly looked back towards the director, looking a lot like he did in his iconic reaction towards Seon in the first episode of I-Land.
Jungwon, whose eyes looked devoid of all life, said, “No… Not at all. Please — do go on.”
If his words could convince anyone that he was fine, they would have to be both blind and deaf— because anyone could hear the soulless conviction he spoke with, or the obviously forced smile on his face.
Mila glanced at him before smiling at the director and drawing his attention to her. “So, I’m guessing my scenes will be with the actor then?”
The director cleared his throat. “Well, like I was saying — Mila, you’re looking for love to fill the gap left behind by seeing the others die, and you decide to court this young man as a way of moving on. So your scenes together will be pretty romantic.”
Mila blinked. “I see…”
That was probably the last thing the boys wanted to hear. And honestly, she didn’t feel too comfortable with the idea of acting romantically with another male, even if it was for work. It was awkward to try and replicate the chemistry of two lovers with someone that wasn’t the boys — let alone someone she hadn’t met.
Heeseung had visibly tensed, before rolling his shoulders to avoid seeming too affected. However, the way he pursed his lips and sat forward in his seat gave him away.
Jake’s eyebrows raised as he licked the inside of his cheek, fidgeting nervously by cracking his knuckles while he declined back in his chair. He didn’t take his eyes, instead staring at the sheet of paper in front of him.
Jay hadn’t said or done anything of note, but the set in his jaw and the subtle flex of his hand ok the table served as enough of a sign.
At that moment, Mila felt a hand on her knee, and looked beside her to see Riki with a carefully stoic expression. The only sign that he was bothered was the gentle squeeze he gave her.
Mila discretely reached out under the table to squeeze his hand reassuringly.
Looking for a way to comfort them, she asked, “But we won’t be overly touchy, will we? I mean — we won’t be kissing or anything.”
The director laughed, as if Mila had told him a funny joke. “Of course not! We’d never ask you to do such a thing.”
The boys took this as a good sign, and the air around them immediately became more relaxed. Mila smiled. She thought that would be the end of it until the director continued.
“You’ll just be very close to each other, instead — oh, and you might have to bite his neck.”
Mila, the boys, Kiara, and the manager who had just bought in coffee for the nine of them fell quiet. No one said a word as the director beamed innocently. They were too stunned to speak.
“I’M SURE IT WON’T BE THAT BAD.”
Mila didn’t know who she was trying to convince, but it didn’t seem like it worked on any of the boys — or herself, for that matter. As soon as they had gotten back to the dorms from the meeting, the boys were spread across the living room with silly expressions. (Kiara had, as usual, disappeared to visit the TXT dorms as soon as she could.)
“It will be just like you and Jiwon in the ‘Dark Blood’ trailer,” Mila said, “It’s all professional.”
“But you still got jealous,” Sunoo pointed out.
Mila scrunched her nose. “You really had to bring that back up…”
Heeseung laughed and pinched her cheek. “Don’t mind us, we’re just jealous that you get to act all romantic with someone else. But at the end of the day, we know it’s part of our job. We’ll be okay.”
Jake laughed. “This kinda feels familiar, doesn’t it?”
There was a silent agreement among everyone. Some things really didn’t change…
“Anyway, it doesn’t really make sense for us to mope about it when nothing has happened yet,” Jungwon claimed. “I don’t know about you, but I just wanna appreciate now first.” With that, the leader stood up and held his arms out towards Mila. “Come here.”
Mila giggled and launched herself into his arms. The younger immediately wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek against the top of her head, inhaling her scent. He closed his eyes and the other members chuckled around them.
“Hey, don’t forget me!” Jake said, before adding himself to the hug.
The others followed soon after, crowding around together in the middle of the living room.
“To be honest, I think I’d rather not be there to watch you film,” Jay said quietly. The first day of Mila’s filming happened to be the last day of filming for the boys, so they would all be on set with her when she would be filming with the actor. “I don’t think I’d be able to control my emotions…”
Mila hummed. “I get it. You can’t help it. But at the end of the day, I’m always only yours.” She smiled slyly. “And if you ever feel like reminding, you can always try and sneak a kiss on set.”
“Ayyyyy,” the boys chorused.
Sunghoon chuckled and patted the top of her head. “That’s my girl.”
“You mean ‘our’ girl, right?” Sunoo asked with a raised eyebrow. Everyone laughed, causing Sunoo to smile. With a smug expression, he said, “Well, just for the record— I’m the only one here who gets to film a scene with Mimi. And we get to hug.”
“That’s not fair!” Riki whined. “Why do you only get to film a scene with her?”
Sunoo shrugged sassily. “I guess we’re just destined to be together.”
“Then what about the rest of us?” Jay asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You tell me,” Sunoo said. “I was her first boyfriend and her first kiss, you know. You guys were just add-ons to our relationship.”
“What are you saying?!” Riki exclaimed. “I was the closest to her during I-Land. All of you tried to vote her out of I-Land in the first elimination.”
“I didn’t!” Sunghoon protested with a raised hand. “I liked her better than all of you.”
“Yeah, well, me and Mila were like—!” (Jake crossed his index and middle finger.) “—THIS!”
Heeseung crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I was her first love. So technically, I beat all of you.”
“Are you sure you want to bring THAT up, Hyung?” Jungwon asked the older male with a glint in his eyes. “You know how that went down…”
The others gasped in shock at the young leader’s bold attack. Mila laughed, watching the way Sunoo dramatically put both hands over his mouth with wide eyes.
As bickering started to ensue between the members, Mila shook her head in fond exasperation. She didn’t say anything as they made shots at each other, instead choosing to enjoy watching their bonding moment.
There was something beautiful about these little moments they shared together. The moments that — while fleeting, and easily faded from memory — showed just how well they melded together. How much they belonged.
And she wished more than anything that they would be just as they always had. That this thing they had would never change.
Mila smiled as she rested her chin on her hand. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Later on that night, Kiara — who had been asked for lyrical input for one of the side tracks of the album — had thought to ask Mila for some ideas. She would be one of the few people who knew just how profound the younger female’s thoughts could be, even on the smallest of topics.
“What do you think about the saying, ‘Some things never change?” Kiara had asked.
“I think even though humans change, there are some things they are so connected to that they can’t do things any differently,” Mila said to her.
Ironically enough, Mila’s sentiment was the exact antithesis of the ephemerality romanticised in ‘Orange Blood’. There was no guessing what Mila could be thinking — she always managed to surprise people with her unpredictability. But it was for that reason that Kiara admired her mind so much.
“For example, you and Yeonjunnie-oppa love each other a lot, right? And whether it’s today or tomorrow, if there’s ever a time where you’re not together, you’ll still miss each other. No matter how many times you do it, it doesn’t hurt any less. And as long as you guys love each other, nothing will change, because your reactions and emotions come from the same place each and every time — in this case, your feelings for each other.”
Kiara blinked. She stared for a few seconds before she broke out of her awed state and started nodding.
“Okay… Damn.” She lowered her head as she stared at the paper in front of her, on which she had scribbled notes onto for inspiration. “I like that… I like that a lot.”
Mila beamed. “Is that enough to help you out? Or do you want some more to go off?”
Kiara looked at the younger female with a glint in her eye. Mila tilted her head in confusion, as Kiara smiled — the type one would give their student when they accomplished something significant in their studies.
“How about this?” Kiara asked. “I think you have a better grasp of this than me — so what about you write down lyrics for this that you can pitch to the PD? I don’t think I resonate with this song as much as you do, so it’s for the best. And I feel like you have a lot of good ideas for it.”
Mila furrowed her eyebrows. “But I’ve never written lyrics before… And what if he doesn’t like them?” Mila shook her head. “It would be better if you wrote them.”
Kiara kissed her teeth. “Yah. Aren’t you the one who always says to Engenes that there’s no harm in trying? If you don’t have anything, that’s fine. I’ll just hand in something. But if you do, then why not share it? I’m just saying, it’s not like you to throw away a chance before trying.”
Mila couldn’t deny the logic of Kiara’s words. She would be a hypocrite if she didn’t the didn’t do as she always said — and that wasn’t a standard she wanted to hold herself to. She nodded.
“Fine,” she said with a determined smile. “I’ll give it a try… Just don’t expect too much, okay?“
Kiara laughed. “Okay, okay.”
As she stared at the computer in front of Kiara, where the demo of the track was playing, Mila found her eyes settling on the title, letting it ingrain itself into her brain like a tattoo.
‘Still Monster’, huh?
IT WAS LATE IN THE NIGHT.
Mila found herself at the kitchen table, eating a snack as she scribbled mindlessly on the notepad in front of her. She had her AirPods in, repeatedly playing the demo of ‘Still Monster’ as she wrote whatever came to mind. It had been a day since she was given the task of writing some lyrics for ‘Still Monster’, and ideas flooded her brain like a river — the struggle, however, was finding a way to express them all.
“Noona?” Mila looked up from her notepad for the first time in the past few minutes to see Riki standing there, half-asleep as he rubbed at his eyes sleepily. “What are you doing?”
Mila smiled, internally cooing at how adorable he looked. “I’m just writing something…”
Riki tilted his head curiously. He slowly padded his way over to the table and pulled out a seat next to Mila. Mila watched as he rested his head on her shoulder, while groggily reading the contents of Mila’s notepad.
“‘Still Monster’? That’s one of our tracks, isn’t it?” Riki asked.
Mila hummed. She hadn’t told the boys about it yet because she didn’t want to disappoint them if the pitching didn’t go well, so she decided to keep it to herself until she received good feedback.
But Riki had always been someone she let her guard down with. It was one of the reasons she called him her ‘Peter Pan’: if she was Wendy, he was the one around whom she could always be carefree. As much as they bickered, as much as they fought, as long as it was him, she knew she didn’t have to fear being judged.
“I’m writing some lyrics for it.” She sighed. “But as you can see it’s not really going anywhere at the moment.”
There was a few seconds of silence, before Riki suddenly shot up in his seat. “You’re writing a song?!” he asked, his eyes wide with awe. “That’s amazing!”
Mila laughed as she brushed his hair away from his face. “Thank you… But like I said, it’s not really going anywhere at the moment. I have ideas — I just don’t know how to put them into words.”
Riki tilted his head. “Why not? You’re usually good at talking.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mila narrowed her eyes playfully. “Are you saying I’m too talkative?”
Riki shook his head vigorously. “No, it’s not that… I just mean, you always know what to say.” Riki lowered his head, once again resting it on Mila’s shoulder. The strands of his hair tickled her neck, causing her to giggle when he nuzzled his cheek against her. “Remember during I-Land, when I was feeling down after I kept losing battles?”
Mila hummed and nodded. Those days weren’t ones he often reminisced on, but she knew they stuck with them even today — because how could it not? All of them, in some way, were affected by the wreck that was I-Land. Even if they didn’t show it. And for Mila and Riki — who had left everything behind to move to a foreign country where nothing was guaranteed — that trauma only increased twofold.
When the two of them were in Ground, losing chance after chance to go back into I-Land, they had finally reached their breaking point. And by the time the last test of Part One had begun to air, they had to do everything in their power to make sure they would be debuting.
“Do you remember what you said to me when I told you I didn’t think I was good enough?” Riki let out a small chuckle. His hand made its way to Mila’s, his fingers intertwining with hers like two pieces of a puzzle. “You said that people who always see ways to improve will never stop getting better. So, I was good enough — but part of me knew I was meant to be so much more.”
Mila let a smile break through. “That was such a long time ago… You still remember that?”
Riki nodded. “Of course,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I was so close to giving up, but as soon as you said that I realised I didn’t want to stop there.” He sighed as he breathed in Mila’s comforting scent. “You always said the right thing to make me feel better when I was sad… It didn’t matter if your Korean was still kinda bad—”
“Yah!” Mila let out a strangled laugh in her surprise, slapping Riki’s shoulder indignantly.
Riki laughed, before catching Mila’s hand in his own and placing a soft kiss on the back of it as an apology. “I’m just saying — it’s the message that I remember the most, not the words.”
Mila blinked. “That… actually makes a lot of sense.” She looked down at Riki with feigned shock. “When did you become so smart?”
Riki scoffed. “You didn’t even know how to order anything other than jjajangmyeon from restaurants until I taught you — and you’ve been living in Korea for longer than I have.”
Mila gasped. But before Mila could say anything, Riki looked up at her through his lashes. His eyes were like pools of pure water, containing nothing but clear international and sincerity. Mila faltered, watching the way his eyes held hers, the space between them both too far and too close for her heart to handle.
“Just write whatever comes to you. If it’s from you, there’s no way it won’t be beautiful.”
Mila smiled. And without another second wasted, she pressed her lips to his.
That night, the lyrics came as effortlessly to her as breathing. And at the centre of it all was them — the ones who, like the stars in the night sky, brought the light into her otherwise pitch black night.
“These lyrics are really good!” The producer praised as he looked over the final draft that Mila presented to them. “We’ll change some of it to fit the vampire concept — but otherwise it’s perfect.” The producer smiled. “I didn’t know you were this good at writing lyrics.”
Mila smiled. “Thank you… But I had help.”
I owe Riki some bunggeoppang.
The producer shook his head with a chuckle. “Regardless, this is a very good result. If you keep up the good work, you could even be doing songwriting on the side. Good work.”
Mila smiled sheepishly at the praise.
“We’ll make sure to add your name to the credits. After some tweaking, it should be ready for the boys to record the vocals.”
Mila nodded. Since it was a subunit song for the boys — the same way Mila and Kiara had their own subunit — she unfortunately wouldn’t be able to be able to sing it herself. But somehow, Mila didn’t mind it so much. After all, there was something about the boys singing a song that she wrote for them that made her feel giddy inside. The fact that she also asked Riki to keep quiet (in case the feedback wasn’t good) also meant it would be a surprise to them.
She hummed as she left the producer’s office, looking like a giddy high school girl as she walked through the halls, greeting staff with a smile.
Mila couldn’t wait to see the boys’ reaction when they found out. Maybe she would even play a little prank on them, and wait until after everything to reveal the secret…
Mila giggled mischeviously. She was just full of good ideas, wasn’t she?
THE FIRST DAY OF MILA’S FILMING FINALLY CAME, and it couldn’t have been any sooner. The past few days, she had to watch the boys leave without her to go filming, and she had become the personification of a drowned puppy as a result.
Enhypen had already finished recording the singles for the album and the choreography, so the next step was to film the concept trailer. Since she was the only one who didn’t have a role in the first few days of filming, she would stay behind for them — something which she obviously didn’t take well to. The whole time while the boys were preparing to leave, she would follow them around the house with a cloud of gloom hovering over her head.
“Has anyone seen my charger?” Jay asked, while searching through his things.
Mila pouted from behind him and raised a finger to point to the door. “It’s in the living room, on the coffee table.”
“Ah— thanks, Angel.” Jay patted her on the head and left the room to find his charger. Mila sighed and trailed behind him, tugging on the ends of her (or rather, Sunghoon’s) shirt. When Jay found his charger, he packed it in his bag and put his hands on his hips. “Okay, that’s all for me. I’m done now.”
“Same here!” Jake replied as he slung his bag over his shoulder and placed a cap on his head.
Mila continued to sulk silently as the boys announced their readiness one by one. And when they got ready to leave the dorm, she stood at the door, giving each of them a hug before they walked out.
“See you later,” she said sadly as she wrapped her arms around Sunoo’s waist. “Love you…”
Sunoo laughed as he returned her hug, the sound like chiming bells with its gentle tone. He gently stroked the back of her head while pressing his lips to her forehead. And with a caress of her cheek, he pulled away while smiling, eyes dripping with honey.
“Love you too, Byeol-ah. Don’t miss us too much, okay? We’ll be back before you know it.”
“That’s right.” Jungwon latched onto Mila’s waist in a side hug. He rested his cheek against her shoulder and closed his eyes as Mila reached up to pay his head. “We’ll bring snacks with us.”
Mila nodded weakly, sparing a small smile. “Okay…”
Heeseung pressed a firm kiss against her cheek, making a slight smacking noise as he parted. “Love you saurrrr much.”
With that, Mila burst out into laughter.
The other boys gave her sweet goodbye kisses as they walked out the door, before eventually Mila was left alone. And the only thing she could say was sigh and trudge her way to her bed, where she would lie down scrolling through social media to see Engenes’ reactions to her new red hair.
And that process continued until today, the final day of the boys’ and Kiara’s filming, before Mila would film her parts, along with her scene with Sunoo. Since they were relatively simple scenes, they would be able to finish in one day. (According to the director, that was.)
They look like they’re having fun…
Mila smiled as she watched Kiara and the boys running through the field of flowers. Since all the scenes with Sooha were already shot, Park Jiwon wasn’t on the set today, so Mila didn’t get the chance to greet her.
Mila wouldn’t admit that she still thought a lot about the potential bite scene between Jiwon and Sunoo after reading over the script so many times. But in the end, the girl had proven to be very hardworking and talented. It was hard not to like her.
That’s too bad, Mila thought. Maybe next time.
With that Mila smiled and continued to get ready with the help of her staff.
Mila had just finished changing into her dress — a long, white number with spaghetti straps — when she ran into the assistant director, who was standing with someone she had never met before. He was tall and handsome, as well as rather young (he didn’t look much older than herself), and was standing before a makeup artist who seemed to be placing finishing touches on his face.
Mila immediately connected the dots and realised that he was, in fact, the actor she would be partnered with for the trailer.
“Ah, Mila!” The assistant director smiled when he took note of Mila standing there. Mila bowed as he ushered her to come closer. “Just the girl I was looking for! Come here for a second!”
Mila hiked up her skirt and made her way over. By now, the actor finished having his makeup done and made eye contact with Mila when he turned around. The two subconsciously bowed their heads in greeting, while the assistant director smiled and nodded in approval.
“You wanted to see me?” Mila asked.
The assistant said, “That’s right. I wanted to introduce you.” He gestured to the younger man beside him. “This is Park Hajoon, he’s been a model and actor under Hybe for the past two years. He’ll be your partner for today. Hajoon, you know Mila already. Greet your senior.”
Hajoon bowed to show respect before smiling widely. “Nice to meet you, Sunbaenim. I’ve been a big fan of yours since I-Land. I’m looking forward to today.”
Mila flashed a friendly smile. “Oh, really? Nice to meet you too; I’m lucky to have such a dedicated fan. Let’s work hard together, okay?”
Hajoon beamed enthusiastically, his eyes lit up in clear admiration. Mila lowered her head, avoiding looking into his eyes. She couldn’t help but feel bashful — every time she met a fan who looked at her with the same respect that Hajoon did, she never really knew how to react.
The assistant director chuckled and pat the younger male on the shoulder. “Well, since you’re familiar now, why don’t you two start discussing your scene together while the others wrap up their final scene?”
Mila nodded. “Okay, sounds good to me.” She turned to Hajoon with a smile and gestured to the tent not far away. “Shall we?”
“Yes, Sunbaenim!” he responded passionately.
Mila laughed. If he kept up the energy for the entirety of the shoot, he would be able to rival Mila for the title of the set moodmaker. And she couldn’t have that, could she?
“Let’s go!” Mila exclaimed equally as enthusiastically.
With that, the two laughed and walked away. They arrived at the tent, where the staff had already set chairs out for Mila and the rest of the group to rest in when the others were done with their shoot. But Mila and Hajoon would be leaving as soon as they were finished to head towards a cottage not far from where they currently had their equipment set up.
“How much experience do you have with acting?” Mila asked as she read through the script.
“I’ve had small roles in web dramas before,” he replied.
Mila ‘ooh’ed. “That’s impressive.” Hajoon lowered his head and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “In that case, we should be done in under three takes, right?”
Mila said it as a joke. She definitely wasn’t expecting Hajoon to suddenly get all fired up, eyes burning with determination as he held up a fist. “Respectfully, Sunbaenim — but I believe we can do it one!”
Mila’s eyes widened. He really was a bold one, wasn’t he? But that wasn’t a bad thing — not at all. She admired that sort of confidence more than anything. So, at that moment she knew she had gotten lucky with her partner.
“I like it! Okay, let’s aim for one take then!” she said with a smile. Mila then put the script on the table between them and pointed to an outlined scene, where Hajoon would be standing over Mila as she awoke from a nightmare. “For this scene here, I was thinking….”
And just like that, the two became absorbed in their work.
“IS THAT THE GUY?”
The remaining members of Enhypen had just finished filming their final scene together for the trailer and were heading back to the tent while the staff prepared the equipment for moving. They had originally been in high springs, considering they finally finished — but some certain members were immediately cast into a bitter mood as they spotted Mila waiting for them under the tent with an unfamiliar male.
The two of them were peering over paper together, their heads almost touching as they conversed with each other, unaware of the eyes on them.
Sunghoon was the first to propose who the unknown male was. Immediately, the others followed with dejected realisation that he was in fact the man who would be filming very romantic scenes with their girlfriend.
Jungwon pouted as he continued to walk towards them. “Come on,” he said to the others. “We should greet him.”
Regardless of their own feelings, the man hadn’t done anything wrong, so there was no reason to host any animosity toward him. Not to mention, when the positions were switched during the ‘Dark Blood’ trailer, Mila was also expected to be polite with Jiwon, even knowing that the latter would be biting Jay’s neck and very nearly sharing a kiss with Sunghoon.
“Now I know why Mila was so bitter about the ‘Dark Blood’ trailer,” Jake said as he watched Mila and her partner look at each other.
The latter lifted a hand as if to brush a strand of hair out of his face. Logically, Jake already knew it was to practise a scene in the script. But it still irked him nonetheless when he watched the unnamed actor tenderly stroke Mila’s hair, the way he often did.
Jay clenched his jaw. “He’s barely done anything, and I already feel defensive.”
“Why don’t you guys smile a little?” Kiara said with an amused smile. “You can’t scare the poor boy away.”
“Why not?” Heeseung immediately replied. With his doe eyes, one would think he was genuinely asking — though his co-members knew better.
Kiara rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You guys…”
At that moment, as if sensing them approaching, Mila looked up from the script she was sharing with her partner. The boys could practically picture bunny ears standing to attention on the top of her head. Her eyes brightened in recognition and a wide smile crossed her face as she waved enthusiastically.
The boys immediately fixed smiles on their faces, not wanting to worry Mila with their feelings when she was preparing for work. They joined both her and her partner under the tent, causing them both to stand to their feet.
“Congrats on finishing!” Mila applauded the boys with genuine pride. “I was watching you before — you did good. I think the shots will come out nicely.”
The boys become visibly lightened at the praise.
Heeseung reached out and patted Mila’s head, smiling softly at her. “Thank you,” he cooed, eyes full of adoration as Mila giggled under his touch.
The mood completely broke when Sunoo looked at the male beside Mila and said, “I don’t think we’ve met properly.”
Taking the cue, the male actor bowed formally towards the members with a smile. As soon as he straightened his back, he introduced himself confidently. “My name is Park Hajoon. I’m a model and actor under Hybe. It’s nice to meet you all.”
Jungwon was the first to greet him back. “Nice to meet you.”
The other followed suit, leaving Mila to smile brightly on the side. So far, she would say they were doing very well in putting aside their personal feelings — it looked like they didn’t have to worry about much at all. She cleared her throat as she gestured to the script.
“We were just practising for our scene together,” she announced. “Hajoon here thinks we can get it done in one take.”
“That’s good,” Sunghoon immediately responded. By his logic, one take meant that they would be done as soon as possible, meaning that he, Mila, and the other members would be free to go back to the dorms sooner. Hopefully he would be able to steal Mila for some cuddles before the others got to her…
“How’s it going so far?” Jay asked. “Anything you’re struggling with?”
Instead of Mila, Hajoon was the one who replied.
“Not at all,” he said happily. “Mila-sunbaenim is really good at acting, so we already have a good idea of what we’re supposed to be doing.” Hajoon held a thumbs up as he smiled at Mila. “She’s really awesome.”
Sunoo eyed Hajoon suspiciously. He could pinpoint admiration when he saw it, and from the way this Hajoon person looked at Mila, the youngest knew for a fact that he held a lot of it for Mila — and dare he say, perhaps a little more than that…
Mila noticed this and explained, “Hajoon here has been a fan of mine since I-Land. Isn’t that great?”
“Ah, really?” Kiara asked with wide eyes. “Wah, how cute! You must be really happy to be working beside someone you’ve been a fan of for so long, right?” Kiara’s eyes had a hint of sly calculation when Hajoon nodded enthusiastically. She then asked, “What do you think? Is she prettier in person?”
Jake and Jay, who were standing next to Kiara, immediately threw a glare towards the older female, who grinned smugly. The others had their attention pointed towards the male in question, who had suddenly turned redder than a tomato under the sudden scrutiny of everyone.
Mila’s eyes widened as Hajoon dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Eung… She’s really beautiful.”
Kiara laughed light-heartedly and patted the flustered Hajoon on the shoulder. “Well, you’re lucky to be able to act as her boyfriend for one day. Make sure to cherish it while it lasts.”
“Ah— o-okay,” Hajoon stuttered out, turning even redder than before. And this of course, did not go unnoticed.
Kiara hummed, pleased by his reaction. With that, the elder female sauntered off towards her seat, escaping the inevitable fallout that would follow her controversial statement. As soon as she was gone, Hajoon found himself under the scrutiny of seven males who eyed him as if they were predators and he was a rival who appeared randomly in the wilderness.
He supposed he expected this. After all, having followed Mila’s journey for so long, he also got to know her members fairly well. And anyone who knew Enhypen knew that to get to the Princess, they would have to get past her seven knights first.
“So…” Heeseung crossed his arms over his chest. “You must be really happy that you get to act as Mila’s lover, right?”
Before Hajoon could reply, Mila rolled her eyes and gently tugged in Heeseung’s arms to uncross them. “Oppa, stop. You’re intimidating him. People might think you’re having a power-trip over your juniors!”
For good measure, Mila added a pout and used her eyes to plead at him. And just like always, Heeseung’s resolve immediately faltered.
“Okay, okay…” Heeseung turned to Hajoon. The latter immediately noticed that the light in Heeseung’s eyes from when he was looking upon Mila immediately flickered out as soon as they landed on him. Nonetheless, the elder offered a civil smile. “Sorry about that. I’m not trying to scare you.”
“That’s right.” Jungwon immediately followed up the elder’s statement with his own excuses. “The older members just worry a lot — don’t mind them.”
Despite the reassuring words he spoke, the smile on his face didn’t quite reach them.
Hajoon nodded and cleared his throat. “No, it’s okay! I already know that you’re quite protective — but don’t worry, I don’t plan on taking advantage of my role in the trailer today to satisfy my own selfishness. I admire Mila-sunbaenim a lot, but I respect her enough to maintain a professional boundary. I’m here to do my job and nothing more.”
Jay would be the first to admit he was pretty impressed with the actor’s initiative. He was sceptical at first of his obvious infatuation with Mila (call it a man’s intuition), but he did feel a little better seeing his conviction.
The rest of the boys — though some more begrudging than the others — would agree: Even if they were still very much jealous, they could tell the actor was sincere and had a pure soul. There was no reason to dislike him. They slowly started to lose some tension in their bodies.
“Okay, now that we got that cleared up, do you mind giving me and Hajoon some peace and quiet?”
Mila crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow, challenging the boys to keep them any longer from doing their job. The boys, being wise, immediately heeded the silent warning in her voice, which was perhaps the most polite form of ‘Play nice’ that they would get from her if they didn’t act right away.
“Yes, ma’am!”
Mila sighed as the boys scurried away. Shaking her head, she immediately gestured for Hajoon to take a seat. “Sorry about them, they can be a bit much.”
Hajoon shook his head. “No, it’s fine. If anything, I find it sweet that they openly show how much they care about you.”
Mila failed to hold back a smile as she replayed the boys’ reactions to Hajoon’s admiration for her. Even if she didn’t admit it, she did feel a bit giddy seeing them act so protective of her — even if she had to scold them a bit for being too intimidating.
“You know — you’re not wrong there…”
NOT TO BE OVERLY DRAMATIC, but Jungwon felt as if he was kicked in the stomach.
The staff had moved all the equipment to the cottage set for Mila and Hajoon’s scene together, with the cameramen and director being inside to film while the other Enhypen members and staff remained camped outside with monitoring screens. The scene between Mila and Hajoon was only a couple of seconds long, and so wasn’t prolonged agony by any means — but it didn’t make it any less painful to watch.
Jay, Jake and Sunghoon were smart enough not to watch it at all — however the others found themselves huddled around the monitoring screen, eyes fixated on the scene playing out before them.
Jungwon pouted as Hajoon caressed Mila’s face tenderly, the same way he would when they were in the privacy of their homes. (It was at times like this when he wished they didn’t have to hide their relationship from the public eye — so that he could unapologetically show off just how much he loved her.) Mila looked up at Hajoon with glassy eyes, letting him wipe freshly fallen tears from her face with a gentle swipe of his thumb.
At that moment, Heeseung wordlessly turned around and left, leaving the three youngest members alone in front of the scene. Jungwon bit his lip as Hajoon leaned down, his face impossibly close to Mila’s. Riki scoffed, before turning away and following after the eldest of the group. And just like that, only Sunoo and Jungwon remained.
Hajoon’s eyes flickered down to Mila’s lips. Almost reflexively, Jungwon’s hand clenched into a fist. He didn’t even know why he was still standing there — and yet he couldn’t look away, either, even as Mila’s lips slowly drifted towards the crook of Hajoon’s neck.
“CUT!”
The sound of the director’s voice couldn’t have been anything but intervention from the universe — otherwise how could he have known to stop the scene as soon as Jungwon had reached his limit?
“They have pretty good chemistry…”
Jungwon turned to Sunoo in confusion. When he did, he was surprised to see the expression on his face — nothing like the ray of sunshine that fans knew him to be, but one that resembled the sly fox hidden beneath his sweet smiles. Sharp eyes, and a cool expression, complete with a sharp twist of his lips.
Jungwon blinked, but didn’t get to say anything as Sunoo walked away. This hyung…
Jungwon shook his head and turned to the cottage, where he could just make out Mila and Hajoon bowing to the staff through the window. He immediately ran towards the currently empty gazebo, awaiting the moment when Mila would walk out. And as soon as she appeared, he threw himself onto her, pulling her into a hidden corner from prying eyes and clinging onto her like she would disappear if he didn’t.
“Oh— Wonie?” Mila laughed as soon as she realised who had unexpectedly jumped on her, a fond smile breaking out onto her face as she reciprocated the younger male’s hug. “What’s this all of a sudden?”
Jungwon didn’t respond, instead opting to bury his face deeper into her hair. He was too embarrassed to admit he was feeling this jealous over something meaningless, so he could only stay silent and hope Mila didn’t think of him as too clingy when he did.
Mila hummed. “Are you feeling jealous, by any chance?”
Jungwon felt his face heat up at being caught so quickly. But then again, Mila had always been the perceptive type. He gave a nod, causing Mila to giggle softly. Her fingers made their way to the top of Jungwon’s head, threading their way through his soft hair and filling Jungwon’s being with comfort.
“It’s okay to feel that way, Wonie,” she said gently. “When it’s just the two of us, you don’t have to be pressured to feel like a leader, remember? You don’t need to hide how you feel.”
“I know that, but…” Jungwon’s hands travelled down Mila’s sides before they settled around her waist. Jungwon frowned as he pulled away, before eating his forehead against Mila. “Can I have a kiss, please?”
Mila’s eyes widened. “A kiss?”
Jungwon hummed. “You said if I needed reminding that you were still mine, I could steal kisses from you on set… There’s no one here — so it should be fine, right?”
Mila blinked. “It’s fine…”
“Then kiss me,” Jungwon whispered, his eyes glassy and vulnerable as they stared into hers. Mila swallowed nervously as they travelled downwards, landing on her parted lips. Jungwon’s hands tightened their grip on her, his broad shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath. “I think I’ll go crazy if you don’t…”
Mila didn’t have to be told twice. As if possessed by his command, she pulled him down by the neck, so that his lips would find hers. The moment they met was like the collision of stars, forming something far brighter, far hotter than what they were on their own, consuming all others around them until there was nothing but the two of them left.
Milan’s hands wandered to Jungwon’s shoulders, smoothing down the length of them with trembling touch. She let out a stuttering breath when his lips parted from hers, taking in a gulp of fresh air — only to come crashing back towards hers once more. This time, more fiercely than before. His hands tightened their grip on their waist for a final time, before he parted for the final time, painting softly for air.
Jungwon let the final tendrils of the flame within him simmer down so that only ashes of his bitterness remained, completely doused by the sweetness of Mila’s mouth. Her face was flushed as she gazed up at him, eyes glazed over, as if lost in a trance — and Jungwon didn’t know if that was her own feelings, or if he was just looking at the reflection of his own eyes. For even if he couldn’t see his own face at that moment, he knew he had fallen far deeper than she had.
“‘How dare you, baby? My heart craves you…” Mila’s eyes widened as Jungwon began to softly sing all-too familiar words, his smooth and sultry voice sending a rush of electricity through her veins. “Even though I’m still a monster…”
“That’s…”
Jungwon chuckled softly. “It’s from one of our songs. ‘Still Monster.’ I don’t know why I thought of it all of a sudden… For some reason it just reminded me of you.”
Mila’s inhaled sharply, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. “Sing more for me,” she whispered. “What else about it reminds you of me?”
Jungwon began to smirk, an all-too familiar glint in the depths of his Cheshire eyes. His hand wonders down the beck of her neck, fingers brushing gently against her pulse. And with a voice all too alluring, he began to sing.
“‘The purity of her neck makes me crazy,’” he began, “‘Throws me into a desire I cannot cope with…”
Just like that, Mila’s lips collided with his once more.
IT WAS TIME FOR MILA AND SUNOO TO FILM THE FINAL SCENE OF THE CONCEPT TRAILER. The moment which Sunoo had been anxiously anticipating — and admittedly, so was Mila.
She hadn’t gotten to see the others after her small rendezvous with Jungwon, and had to go straight into filming again before the sun went down. By now, she had finished filming the opening part of their scene, where Mila was running towards the remains of the burning house, and was now standing there, awaiting the next scene — where Mila would sense Sunoo standing behind her and run up to him to hug him.
As the two waited for the camera crew to get ready for filming, they stood side by side, chatting carefreely.
“You did a good job filming with Hajoon earlier,” Sunoo suddenly said, with a petty undertone in his voice. “It was reallyyyyy believable.”
Mila scoffed. “Yah, are you being petty right now?”
Sunoo raised his eyebrows. “No. Why would I? It’s not like I had to watch you act so lovingly with some other man and make it look so real. I have no reason to be petty.”
Mila huffed and turned her head away, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. “I’m not the one who had some woman’s lips on my neck,” she muttered.
She didn’t want to think about it too much, but she knew that the scene between Jiwon and Sunoo would likely bother her when she eventually watched it. But she already had a dash of bitterness about it after hearing Kiara’s account of the scene, which supposedly was very intense. So Mila figured why not get the pettiness out of her before then. After all, Sunoo was the one who started it.
“What was that?” Sunoo asked.
“Nothing,” Mila replied.
Before anyone could say anything, the director suddenly called for everyone to get into positions. Mila turned away and walked to her starting position, leaving Sunoo to narrow his eyes at her from behind.
He had heard exactly what Mila had said — he just didn’t know it was that big of a deal for her. After all, it was nowhere near the level of what Jay and Sunghoon had with Jiwon in the previous concept trailer. But then again, Mila had always been somewhat possessive in her own way — even if she didn’t admit it.
Sunoo let out a small chuckle as he watched her stamp her way to her spot. Even if she was acting a little bratty, he still found her cute. And what sort of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t comfort her?
Better yet: What sort of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t upstage the performance between Mila and Hajoon with his own? After all, he couldn’t have anyone thinking a random male was a better fit for Mila than him, could he? His pride as a man wouldn’t let that happen. He formulated his own plan in his head and gave himself a satisfied smile when he decided what to do.
Not long after, the director finally signalled for the filming to begin.
Mila turned around to face Sunoo and had a shocked expression on her face. Sunoo internally admired her acting as her shock morphed into unadulterated joy, a wide smile breaking out on her face as he held out a bouquet of flowers. The familiar chime of Mila’s laughter flooded Sunoo’s ears as she ran towards him, before throwing herself into his arms.
The next part came as naturally as it could have. One could say, Mila and Sunoo didn’t need a script for it. Sunoo lowered his head to bury his nose into her hair. His hand with the bouquet wrapped around her waist while the other found its way to the back of her head.
That was supposed to be it. But of course, it wasn’t. Sunoo’s lips brushed against the shell of Mila’s ear, causing the girl’s figure to freeze in his arms.
Wait, Mila thought. This isn’t part of the script.
Mila stood there frozen as she felt Sunoo’s lips travel down to her earlobe, and then further until it found itself on the bare skin of Mila’s neck. She felt her breath hitch in her throat as his plush lips sneakily found the most sensitive part of her neck — a spot he was very familiar with. Her pulse quickened, and her face started to feel when she suddenly felt his lips part, as if ready to kiss the spot then and there.
The other members, who were watching from the monitor screen a distance away, were immediately taken aback when Sunoo looked at the camera with a sharp glare. He looked like a fox warning anyone who came close to stay away from both him and the woman in his arms — challenging and possessive.
The staff could only watch in awe at the electricity in the air. The tension between the two young people whose seemingly unidentified embrace became something more possessive — more carnal. And at that moment they accepted that, as expected, the chemistry between members of the same group was unmatched…
“AAAAND CUT!” The director yelled.
Mila barely heard his voice, or the following praises that he yelled at Mila and Sunoo, claiming that they were ‘perfect’ together. Instead, she could only shakily part from the hug between her and Sunoo, before searching his face for some sign of what had happened.
“Still jealous of Jiwon?” he asked teasingly.
Mila swallowed and shook her head. Every time she saw Sunoo like this — so assertive and, dare she say, masculine — she was never able to form words. Just his presence alone made her speechless. “N-no…”
After all, Jiwon wasn’t the woman who felt Sunoo’s lips on her neck in front of so many spectators. She would be foolish to still hold any jealousy towards the female after that bold display on Sunoo’s end.
“Man, this is so not fair!” Jake complained as he watched the pair stare into each other’s eyes, unplaced by the amount of people around them.
“I want to film a scene with Mila,” Sunghoon said sulkily.
“Next time we choose a concept we should ask about the concept trailers first,” Riki proposed. “Why does only Sunoo-hyung get to film with her?”
“YAH!” Jay yelled. His voice was loud enough that it carried to where Sunoo and Mila were standing together, causing them to break apart in surprise. “The shoot is over — stop hugging each other already!”
Sunoo and Mila shared a look. Their laughter was so loud the others could hear it perfectly, despite the distance between them.
THAT NIGHT, the members of Enhypen congratulated themselves on a job well done.
They still had a few more things to do for their comeback, but at the very least, they had made it through the concept trailer… Even if it was just barely. They (minus Kiara) had gathered in the living room to both enjoy each other’s company and to rid themselves of the bitterness from today’s shoot. Namely, their jealousy towards Mila and Hajoon’s scenes together.
“I’m so glad that’s over with,” Jake said. “I don’t ever want to see that kind of thing again. Never again, man.”
Mila laughed. “It wasn’t THAT bad.”
“‘Wasn’t THAT bad?’” Sunghoon raised his eyebrows. “The two of you looked like you would have kissed if the director didn’t say ‘cut’.”
Mila tilted her head. “I thought you didn’t watch me while filming?”
“He wasn’t,” Heeseung replied. “But later on, he asked the cameraman if he could watch the scene again, because he wanted to see how bad it was. His logic was that if he didn’t see it in real time, he could control his emotions better — but he still got jealous.”
“You’re one to talk, hyung.” Sunoo crossed his legs on the couch. “You’re the one who scared Hajoon the most.”
The other boys immediately nodded in agreement, convicting the eldest member for his actions.
“But you know… I was kind of embarrassed today,” Jay admitted. “Even though I know it doesn’t mean anything, I still get jealous over it.” Jay sighed. “I wish I had better control over my feelings… Then things would be easier for all of us.”
A thick silence fell over the eight of them. None of them knew what to say, but it was clear that Jay wasn’t alone in his feelings. If Mila was honest, she herself had thought similar things before. And it was because of that she was able to find the words to comfort him.
“Me too,” she said. All eyes turned to her. “We’re only human, so it’s natural that we can’t control how we feel…” She smiled. “That’s why I wrote those lyrics.”
The boys became puzzled. Only Riki — who was there with her though the whole process — knew what she was talking about and smiled conspiratorially. He had been wondering when she was going to tell the others about her contribution. It seemed that she was saving it for this moment.
In truth, Mila had a feeling the boys would react this way. That they would struggle to come to terms with the fact that, for some reason, they were reliving the same memories over and over again. And so, she thought that perhaps this would give them comfort in some way.
“‘It’s as if nothing happened, you look at me with shadowless eyes…’” The boys’ (with the exception of Riki) eyes widened as Mila sang the opening lyrics to ‘Still Monster’. Realisation slowly sank in as she continued to sing, “‘I’m the one who’s been forgive countless times, but I’m still a monster…””
Mila laughed at the shocked expressions on their faces. She shared a smile with Riki before ending her serenade there.
“Obviously the lyrics are a bit more dramatic to suit the concept… but the meaning is practically the same,” she said.
“You wrote that?” Jake asked in awe. “For us?”
“Angel, why didn’t you say anything?” Jay added with a wide smile, amazement and pride all to clear on his features. “That’s amazing!”
Mila smiled sheepishly as the boys began to shower her with praises.
“I didn’t know you could write lyrics… Good job,” Sunghoon said as he patted Mila’s hair. “I’m proud of you.”
Heeseung smiled. “We all are.” He then hummed as he remembers the lyrics to the song, now seeing each line in a new light. “So that’s what they meant… If I knew it then, I probably would have given a better performance.”
Mila laughed. “I doubt you could have done better than you already did. But anyway— those lyrics were basically my feelings about you guys… I mess up a lot, and sometimes I let my emotions get the better of me. But each time you help me become better. And by the end of it, I know that you’re the only ones I’d want to be with.”
“‘What is love to me? Teaching love…’”
Sunoo began part of the chorus, immediately followed by the others who joined in.
“‘In the end, the answer is always, only you.’”
Mila laughed as realisation spread over their faces. “So? What do you think?” she asked. “Do you know what I’m trying to tell you?”
“Awwww, Baby…” Jake sprung into Mila and pulled her into his chest, smothering her with love. “I’m not jealous anymore! I’m just really happy…”
Heeseung giggled like a giddy lovesick teenager. “I’ve never had someone write a song about me.”
“Me too!” Sunoo was beaming so widely, his eyes became descents.
“You did so good, Angel,” Jay praised. “You always know what to say, don’t you?”
Riki gave Mila a smug look that said, ‘Told you so.’ Mila laughed and shook her head, causing both Riki and Jungwon (who was next to him) to smile at her with all the fondness and adoration that a man could afford their lover.
Sunghoon, who was still in awe, was zoned out, staring blankly at a distant spot in the wall. After a few seconds, Jay lightly nudged his shoulder, completely breaking his trance.
“Yah, are you still there?” Jay asked.
“Huh?” Sunghoon shook his head. “Uh, yeah… I’m just still in shock. It’s hard to believe you wrote it for us… I’m touched. I think I might cry.”
Everyone laughed. Jay roughly pat Sunghoon on the back, and the previous tension in the air became infinitely lightened. After the revelation of Mila’s hidden talents, the boys — curious about hr work — continued to barrage her with questions, while simultaneously praising her to the heavens and back.
But one question in particular had Mila incapable of responding coherently.
“Wait a minute…” Jungwon tilted his head. “Does that mean you also wrote that line?”
Mila hummed. “Which one?”
Jungwon smirked. “You know… The one I sang to you before: ‘The purity of your neck—’”
“Ah!” Mila suddenly shot in from her seat was standing completely still as seven curious eyes turned to her. “No— you see— the thing is… they had to adjust the lyrics a bit to fit the vampire concept! So they… Well… Uh…”
“Ayyyyy,” Sunghoon teased. “Don’t tell me…”
“Wait so you have a thing for our necks?” Jake asked with a tilted head.
“NO!” Mila shouted.
Sunoo raised his eyebrow. “But then what about the lyrics, then?”
“You know, now that I think about it…” Jay pretended to be in deep thought, stroking his chin like a sage would his beard. “She does seem to like neck kisses a lot—“
Mila’s face almost exploded from how hot it was. “SHUT UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN!”
The room was filled with laughter as the busy observed Mila’s flustered state. And really — what else did she expect from them? Of course they had to tease her right after giving her so many compliments….
Indeed, some things never changed.
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DiA READERS
ahhh it’s so good to be back 😭 sorry for the wait guys but finally a full length chapter for you guys after my very long break🤭 (a very long chapter too— almost 10k wowza 🤯) i figured that we had so many hyung like focused fics that the maknae line should have time to shine - which is why this one focused a lot on their interactions with mila 😌 the ending was a bit meh bc i ran out of brain juice so sorry about that — but hopefully you enjoyed it nonetheless!! 🫶🫶🫶
but thank you guys for all your patience though the break and for being sl understanding! love you guys sm you’re the best readers na author could ask for and my break just made me appreciate you all the more MWAH MWAH MWAH 🩷🩷🩷
P.S. obv mila didn’t actually write still monster and credit goes to the actually writer, but let’s pretend 😆 also! for the anonnie who made this request for manly sunoo - hope this satisfied the requirements! 🫶
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PREMISE 𓃊 ❝ a love tested by silence and distance, where sunghoon’s presence is all you need to heal, but is it enough to mend what’s broken? ❞
박성훈 x fem reader ꣑୧ angst, unrequited love wc 3.5k
୨୧ when you love someone, you hold on — you fight, you stay, you endure. at least, that’s what you always believed. being with sunghoon felt like second nature, something you never had to question. but somewhere along the way, love turned into something quieter, something heavier. he started slipping through your fingers like sand, and no matter how hard you tried to hold on, he wasn’t reaching back. when does love stop being worth the fight? and more importantly, when is it okay to let go?
the thing about falling in love is that no one ever tells you how much it hurts when it starts slipping away.
you and sunghoon were never the type to have explosive fights. there was no dramatic screaming, no shattered glass, no slammed doors. instead, your love unraveled quietly — like a favorite sweater slowly coming apart at the seams, thread by thread.
you noticed it first in the way he held you. his arms used to be your safest place, warm and steady, but now they felt hesitant, almost reluctant. when you leaned into him, he didn’t lean back as much. when you kissed him, he still kissed you, but the passion felt… different.
less.
at first, you brushed it off. maybe he was stressed. maybe he was just tired. maybe you were overthinking.
but love wasn’t supposed to make you feel like you were begging to be wanted.
the change was gradual, like the slow fade of a once-vivid photograph. he started coming home later, staying out longer, answering texts with half-hearted responses.
“practice ran late”
“got caught up with the guys”
“too tired, maybe tomorrow”
excuses that tasted like lies, even if they weren’t.
you missed him. even when he was right next to you, you missed him.
but no matter how much you ached for him to hold you like he used to, to look at you like you were the best thing in his world, he never did.
one night, you tried. really, really tried.
you made his favorite dinner, set up a movie night, even put on the hoodie he once said you looked cutest in. you wanted to remind him — remind yourself — that you were still here, still fighting.
when he walked in, he barely spared you a glance.
“you’re home late,” you said, forcing your voice to stay light.
“yeah,” he mumbled, toeing off his shoes.
he didn’t ask about the dinner. he didn’t notice the way you had set up the couch just the way he liked it. he didn’t even kiss you hello, like how he used to.
you swallowed the lump in your throat. “i thought we could watch something together.”
sunghoon sighed, rubbing his eyes. “i’m really tired, y/n. can we do this another time?”
another time.
but another time never came.
you stayed for weeks, maybe months, in the limbo of waiting. waiting for him to come back to you, waiting for him to say i love you first, waiting for the ache in your chest to fade.
but one night, as you lay in bed beside him, staring at the ceiling while he faced away from you, it hit you.
you weren’t waiting for him.
you were waiting for the version of him that used to love you properly. the sunghoon who held your hand just because, who sent you texts filled with hearts and dumb jokes, who made you feel like you were the best thing to ever happen to him.
that sunghoon wasn’t coming back.
and loving someone shouldn’t feel like convincing them to love you back.
packing was the hardest part.
not because you had too much to take with you, but because everything in this space had traces of him. the hoodie draped over the chair, the half-used bottle of his cologne on the dresser, the polaroids of the two of you stuck to the mirror.
you stared at them for a long time.
then, carefully, you pulled them down.
“where are you going?” his voice was groggy with sleep, but the moment he saw the bag in your hand, he sat up.
your throat tightened, but you forced yourself to meet his gaze. “i can’t do this anymore, sunghoon.”
his brows furrowed. “what do you mean?”
you let out a breathy laugh, but there was no humor in it. “you know exactly what i mean.”
he didn’t say anything.
because he did know.
you waited. you waited for him to tell you to stay, to promise he’d fix things, to reach for you the way you had been reaching for him all this time.
but all he did was stare, lips slightly parted, eyes filled with something you couldn’t quite name.
guilt? regret? relief?
whatever it was, it wasn’t love.
you nodded to yourself.
that was your answer.
walking out of that apartment, out of him, was the hardest thing you’d ever done.
but as the cold air kissed your cheeks and the weight of waiting was finally lifted from your shoulders, you realized something.
it hurt like hell. but for the first time in a long time—
you could finally breathe.
k: i hope this doesn’t flop TT
xoeus 𓂃 TheXoeusArchive
Oml pls 😍angst😍 don’t edge us like that 😡
would anyone read an au about mila and the boys having a huge fallout or her getting kicked out of the group?? just for research purposes yknow 👀
devoted f.toji
pairings: fushiguro toji x fem! reader
cw: angst, divorce, mentions of bullying, death, mentions of abuse, starvation, bruises (megumi got into a fight), timeskip, not proofread
a/n: an alternative angst ending. enjoy :)
would everything be different if toji did not sign the divorce papers 7 years ago? everything would but everyone knew that it was already too late for that.
happy ending | alternate angst ending
"i'm back, my love." toji muttered as he wiped his hand on a certain graveyard showing a certain name as he placed white roses above it. today marked the death anniversary of toji's wife, megumi's mother. he didn't brought megumi with him though. he went alone.
"megumi's turning 6." he mumbled as if someone was around to listen to him. "i couldn't do it alone. before. i-" toji paused, gathering the courage to spill out the words he didn't want to utter. "i almost sold megumi.." he said as he sucked in a breath.
"i'm sorry i couldn't visit you for the past weeks." toji caressed the name with his thumb. he recalled the day he didn't leave the grave, even if it rained, he stayed there.
"i miss you." toji muttered. "so much." he added. "i don't know if i am doing things right." doing things right? but what exactly?
"i couldn't stop thinking of you in her." he mumbled as he balled his fist. "ahh, i'm so stupid."
toji leaned his back on the tombstone as he looked at the grass.
would you forgive him if he said the truth? that up until now, he still couldn't move on with his deceased wife.
he didn't even noticed the time as toji stood up from the ground, the sky turning dark when he came home.
-
"where have you been, toji?" you worriedly asked as you approached him but he stopped you by your shoulders. "i'm sorry about what i said last night." you said as you lowered your head. "i didn't mean to involve her again."
"can we talk about something?" he asked, dismissing your apologies as he looked at you.
"uh, sure?" you asked, chills running down your spine at the unfamiliar tone of his voice. it was— sad?
he sat from the couch as you followed.
"(name). you know that i love you right?" he said and you couldn't help but be nervous as you weakly nod. he loves you? you didn't know. "forgive me, (name)." he said as he intertwined his hands together. "because after all this time, i realized that—" he paused as he looked at you. and he just hoped he didn't. "i still couldn't move on." he mumbled, enough for you to hear it.
you gulped the lump in your throat as you sat beside him, placing a comforting hand on his back.
"it's okay and— i know." you said as you forced a smile.
"i'll let you go if you want." he said, but do you really want to?
"mh, maybe it's for the best, right?" you said as hummed.
"i'm sorry."
"don't be." you said as you stood up from the couch. "it'll be fine." if it is for your happiness. then it'll be. "well, i guess we'll push through the divorce?" you said.
it was a harsh decision. you both knew that, but maybe it was really for the best.
"you can come visit megumi. i'm sure he'll be glad to see you." he said as he smiled lightly.
"that would be good." you said, returning his smile.
-
was it really the right choice?
toji was vulnerable that night he came home. he didn't know if he really did made the right choice. now he had to deal with megumi's tantrums as they watch you leave.
"mama!" megumi cried as toji held him by his shoulders, restraining him from following you as you walked out of your home.
"mama will visit, 'gumi." you said as you waved him a goodbye.
"mama, don't leave please!" megumi yelled, trying to remove his father grip but it was useless. "mama!" he cried.
was it a coincidence that it started to rain heavily too? maybe the universe was crying with you.
megumi was already turning 13, but ever since you left, not a single day you payed him a visit. he barely remember your face, your voice as you lull him to sleep, you cookings. he missed it. he had to learn cooking at a very young age because you weren't around anymore.
at his age, he finally understood what happened to his father and his step-mother. it was a marriage where there was no love in it.
he was fooled by the people he loved the most.
megumi became distant to his father, and he believes you were a liar for promising that you'll visit him. he waited, and waited until he couldn't anymore.
everyone lied to him. his father did, you did and he thinks he couldn't just forgive you, not until you'll show yourself again.
-
toji was restless on their living room. megumi is still wasn't home. it was around 9pm in the clock when he heard a knock on the door, and once he opened it, instead of seeing his grumpy son, he was met with.. your youngest sister.
"toji zenin?" she asked as toji frowned.
"toji fushiguro." he corrected.
"well that's still the same. can i go inside?" she asked and toji hesitantly let her inside.
-
"here." your sister said, handing him a paper bag.
"what's this?" toji's asked with a raised eyebrow as he took the paper on his hand.
"my sister's belongings. you can keep it."
"why?"
"she wanted your son to have it. she said it's a gift from the birthdays she missed."
"why don't she give it herself?"
"could a dead person do that?" sarcasm was evident on your sisters voice when she said those words. "she—" your sister paused as she cleared her throat. "—died of heart failure." she continued.
he doesn't know what to say, not when your sister was on the verge of tears but she concealed it with a heavy sigh.
after several minutes, your sister took toji silence as the sign to go out but before she could leave the house she faced him again.
"i hope my sister's been good to your family." she said with now a sad tone, only to be met with a younger version of toji who was frozen at the door, band aids decorating his bruised face. she bowed at megumi and walked past him.
-
megumi took out all of the things inside the paper bag. there was a book with a dried purple rose in it, a polaroid, a picture frame of you and him when he was still in elementary and a two knitted scarfs with his and toji's name embroidered on it.
megumi failed to notice a certain birthday card on it. not until it flew down on the ground.
'happy birthday my 'gumi.'
it said on the front page.
"happy birthday megumi! i'm sorry i missed a lot of your birthdays. knowing you, you hate mama now, don't you? i'm sorry i couldn't keep my promise to visit. mama's been busy with a lot lot of things but don't worry, mama will visit you as soon as she can! i love you my baby."
love,
mama <3
-
toji heared loud footsteps from the stairs as he caught the scarf megumi just threw at him before it could hit his face.
"are you happy now?" megumi said as he clutched the dark blue knitted scarf on his hand, identical to ones he threw at his father a minute ago. "mama's dead now!" megumi exclaimed.
"this is all your fault." megumi said, his voice breaking as he clutched the scarf close to his chest. "if only.. if only you stopped mama from leaving."
and toji could only stay quiet, taking his son's anger all by himself.
-
"abused, isolated and was left starved. they didn't feed her for days until her body gave up." the police said.
"i thought she died from heart failure?"
"no. they kept her death a secret and it's been 2 years since mr. fushiguro, how did you found out about this case?"
"(name)'s my ex-wife. i only found out when her sister visited."
"i see. well that's understandable knowing that her death was kept from the public. but worry not, her parents was already in jail. that's the only information i could give you, mister."
-
"what did you want to talk about?" your sister said as she leaned her back on a wall.
"you lied, you said she died from a heart failure."
"that's what she wanted me to tell you." she sighed, placing her hands inside her pocket. both was quiet, none wanted to start speaking but both has a lot to say.
"i was very close to my sister and it hurts me to see her defend you from our parents." she said as she continues. "she suddenly came home saying that you wanted a divorce and our parents got mad. she was treated like a maid in our home. i couldn't do anything. i wanted to help her but she didn't want me to be in danger."
"my parents were furious because your family removed all of the connections they had together with my family and they blame my sister for it. did you found out?" your sister asked.
"found out what?"
"the only reason my parents asked your family to marry my sister was because of your company's money." toji kept quiet and your sister took this as the chance to continue. "my sister didn't want it but suddenly, she told me she was excited for the marriage. she told me that you were the boy she was looking for." she smiled as she recalled that day. "i don't think my sister agreed to marry you because of your company's money. my sister genuinely loved you, mr. zenin."
that was your parent's plan all along? he didn't even knew it because he thinks your sister was right, you really did loved him genuinely.
"i don't blame you for it, mr. zenin. but i just hoped that you didn't let my sister go home that night. maybe her fate would be different, maybe.. she's still alive until now. i didn't even know she was suffering from a heart disease." she said, muttering the last sentence as she chuckled bitterly.
"why didn't she reach out at me?" toji said, mainly asking himself.
"that's what i told her but my sister doesn't want to force herself to someone who threw her away." that sure hit a vein on his heart because in reality, he did threw you away.
"where was she buried?" toji asked.
"you wouldn't find it. she was cremated and i don't know where my parents took her ashes. maybe they even threw it somewhere."
-
toji went home with an aching body as he fell down on the couch.
your parents was already sent at the jail 3 months ago already. your sister was brave enough to tell the police after 2 years of your death.
he didn't know how many hours has it been as he went to his room, walking past his son's room but his instinct tells that something was wrong so he went to open the door of megumi's room, only to see shattered glasses everywhere, his study table and chair was destroyed, his computer also, as he find his son laying on the bed, with a scarf around him. the scarf you made him.
"megumi." toji called as he slightly shake his son and megumi jolted awake as he pushed his father.
"what are you doing here?" megumi rasped. "leave." he said, pointing at the door.
"i got a call from your school. you were bullying someone. is that true?"
"why does it matter to you?"
"megumi—"
"dad, i said leave."
"i'm sorry, son." toji said as he placed his palm on megumi's head, only for megumi to push it away. "papa— dad will take all the blame."
"you should." megumi said but his voice betrayed him. "i hate you."
"i know, i hate myself too." toji said as megumi looked up at him. "i regret everything 'gumi."
"stop calling me that, i'm not a kid anymore."
"yeah, sorry." toji said as he stood up from megumi's bed as he made his way at the door of his room.
" 'say sorry to your papa.' that's what would mama tell me if she's here right now." megumi said.
toji sighed as he finally opened the door.
"i'm sorry. i was just mad. i'm sorry, i didn't mean it. i don't blame you." megumi said but toji was already outside of his room as he closed the door.
he didn't deserve his son's apologies, he even deserved to be blamed because in the first place, all of this could've been prevented if he did not signed the divorce 7 years ago.
"what should i do, (name)?" he asked as if you were around as he fall on the ground as he leaned on the wall.
what should he do to make his son trust him again, he wanted to have the closure he had with his son when you were still living with them.
toji doesn't know what to do at this point, and instead of thinking about his first wife, he just hoped that you were beside him right now, telling him the things he should and shouldn't so megumi wouldn't hate him like how it was now.
he just hoped that you were beside him..
taglist: @xllizs
127 😝
𝓡𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗥, 𝕲𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗣 ❳ 𑁍 𓄹 𝙿𝚂𝙷 ; 𝙻𝙷𝚂
概括 › 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗒 ﹕─┈ AESPA has a collaboration with ENHYPEN… Only this time, it’s not with MiLA.
﹟ 𝘄𝖺𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀𝘀 ፡ ፡ lots of talk about shipping idols romantically, but take not that i don’t actually support the idea of it, nor is this supposed to reflect their actual relationships irl
part i. | part ii.
RUMOURS AND GOSSIP WERE A STAPLE OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. But more often than not, it left one wondering: What was a lie? What was the truth?
Mila would never know everything for sure. What she did know, however, was that something very interesting was going on with PR at SM and HYBE at the moment. Otherwise, there was no reason for them to pair the Aespa girls with anyone other Mila and Kiara for TikToks — that is, considering the influx of dating rumours that surfaced at the beginning of 2023.
And yet, here Mila was, standing on the side as she watched Karina and Winter film TikToks with Heeseung and Sunghoon for both respective groups’ new title tracks.
Mila titled her head as they filmed. Indeed, it was a very surreal image to look at…
Why pair Karina-eonnie with Heeseungie-oppa of all people? she thought.
It wasn’t as if there was anything wrong with them filming a TikTok together. But after the shipping incident that blew up all over social media, Mila assumed the companies would have avoided pairing the two up for anything in order to avoid dating scandals. So why take the risk?
And why am I here?
Mila looked around, lips puckered. Everyone was occupied with filming the TikTok that she might as well not have been there at all. In fact, she herself didn’t even know why she was still standing there. After all, she had already greeted the older girls before the filming commenced — but for some strange reason, as soon as Winter and Karina were called to film the TikTok in a seperate location, Mila mindlessly said she would follow them.
“I’ll come and cheer you on,” Mila had said at the time.
To this, the older girls happily indulged her and allowed Mila to cling off their arms as they walked to the assigned venue together.
In Mila’s mind, it made sense for her to be there so she could be a bridge for the members of the two groups, lest it become awkward between them. But the more Mila stood there, the more she realised that she wasn’t needed at all.
There was a short break for the members as the prepared to film for ‘I’m the Drama’, allowing for the artists to chat among themselves briefly to fill in the gaps. And from Mila’s point of view, they were getting along pretty well without her.
Karina was nodding as she looked up at Heeseung, who was talking about something that was inaudible to Mila because of her distance. Heeseung’s back was facing Mila, so she didn’t get to read his lips. But what he said next must have been amusing, since Karina spared a pretty laugh to his comment, earning a smile from him in return. Mila had to physically fight the urge to get closer and get a better listen — as if there was a string pulling her back by the neck.
No, she internally scolded, You have to respect their privacy.
Mentally congratulating herself for resisting her curisoity, Mila turned her attention to the other pair.
Sunghoon and Winter were an even more curious duo than Heeseung and Karina. Sunghoon was speaking animatedly about something with Winter actively giving her own comments. His time as a Music Bank MC with Wonyoung did him good, seeing as his introverted self couldn’t hold a conversation with a female that wasn’t Mila, Kiara, or Wontoung on first try. Even when Mila and Sunghoon were first getting to know each other, he hadn’t been nearly so talkative. It struck a chord of pride in her heartstrings.
That’s good, Mila thought with a nod. He’s become more confident!
Neither pairs Mila observed were showing much of the awkwardness that Mila had been anticipating. Even though their first introductions were fairly uptight, they had loosened up a lot more. It seemed perhaps Mila was the only one who was worrying over nothing… It seemed the dating rumours weren’t much of a hindrance after all.
Of course, she thought. Why would they be? They’re not even true.
So why was she worrying so much about the possibility of dating rumours?
The cameramen had gotten ready to shoot again, indicating that the small break would be over soon. Mila scratched the top of her head before sighing. I’m overthinking again. Idiot.
Mila plastered a smile on her face as she turned to her manager beside her. “Eonnie, I’ll head off first.”
“Already?” Manager Kim asked, eyes widened in surprise. It was unusual for Mila to leave halfway through anything — especially when it concerned her beloved members. “Didn’t you say you wanted to wait here for them to finish so you could grab lunch together with Sunghoon and Heeseung?”
Mila shook her head and smiled weakly. “My shoes are starting to hurt my feet. I’ll wait for them in the changing rooms.”
Manager Kim hummed and nodded in understanding. “Okay. Get some rest, then. I’ll bring them over once they’re finished.”
Manager Kim patted Mila’s arm gently, exuding a maternal warmth. Mila smiled in return — this time, a little more genuine. She bowed before walking away, ensuring to give proper farewells to the staff who were working hard for the idols. With that, she started to walk off, slightly dragging her feet behind her.
Mila sighed. She felt defeated, and didn’t even know why. Perhaps it was true when people said one’s greatest enemy was the one inside their mind.
‿︵‿︵‿୨ ୧‿︵‿︵‿
MILA REGRETTED GOING TO THE BATHROOM AS SOON AS SHE GOT THERE. She had only opened the door just the slightest bit, ready to walk inside, when she suddenly heard two voices speaking inside. Mila recognised one of them immediately as one of the boys’ stylists. The other happened to be one of hers.
“Did you see Karina and Winter with Heeseung and Sunghoon earlier?” The boys’ stylist asked. “Their visuals are insane.”
“Right!” Mila’s stylist said. “Especially Karina — she looks like AI, seriously.”
There was immediate agreement from the boys’ stylist and the two continued to fawn over the beautiful members of Aespa. It was harmless, and Mila found herself smiling at the well-earned praise that her friends were receiving.
But of course, it didn’t stop there.
“You know, I was thinking,” the boys’ stylist began, “don’t you think Karina and Heeseung look really good together?”
Mila froze.
“Really?” Mila’s stylist asked. There was a small silence before she hummed in agreement. “Actually now that you think about it… They kinda do.”
“That’s what I’m saying!” The boys’ stylist exclaimed excitedly. “As soon as I saw them standing side by side I was like, ‘Wah, that’s a power couple right there.’”
Mila’s stylist made an uncertain noise. “I don’t know— Heeseung and Mila are so cute together, though.”
Mila didn’t cry, but she would admit she was touched by her stylist’s words. You’re my favourite from now on!
Unfortunately, the boys’ stylist didn’t seem to agree.
“I don’t know— they’re cute and all… But for some reason I feel like he would be into older girls? You know, someone more chic elegant. Karina would be perfect,” she reasoned.
As much as Mila hated to admit it, the boys’ stylist did have a point — Heeseung did seem a lot like someone to be into older females, considering the amount of Noona fans he had shamelessly flirted with… But still! Mila could be elegant and chic, too, if she wanted — it was just not the image that was commonly associated with her.
The boys stylist then hummed thoughtfully. “Do you think there’s a chance for something to happen between them? I mean, they didn’t know each other before, but now that they’re filming together…”
Mila let the bathroom door shut, not wanting to listen to any more of what they had to say.
These kind of speculative whispers weren’t new to Mila. The entertainment industry was full of it. Idols like her were often the talk of the town — for better or for worse. But while Mila had learnt to let baseless words remain exactly that, it was one thing to hear about herself, and another to hear about her men with someone else. And from staff who actually worked with her, nonetheless!
The Enhypen staff witnessed firsthand the level of intimacy between Mila and the boys — on a daily basis, at that. The makeup artists and stylists learnt to expect Mila sleeping soundly on one of their laps in the changing rooms. The cameramen had developed a sixth sense for when they needed to turn the camera away in order to avoid capturing her having her cheeks being pecked or caressed by one of them. And the managers had become professionals at damage control when the boys got too rowdy while bickering for Mila’s attention.
Mila sighed. Now she was not only feeling terrible for being wary of her own friends being involved in scandals with her men, she was also feeling like a complete ‘pick me’ for thinking of all the ways it made no sense for people to ship them with anyone but herself.
When did I become so petty? Mila thought bitterly. She practically stomped her way to the next closest bathroom. How annoying. I was having such a good day today, too...
It was like history was repeating itself. She was practically reliving the memory of the Aespa and Enhypen shipping incident earlier this year — only this time, it was in the flesh. And just like before, it was really bringing out the ugliest side of her.
Thankfully, by the time Mila returned to the girls’ changing room, she was glad to find that she managed to find her happy place again, thereby escaping all the negative thoughts that were plaguing her. (This was, in part, thanks to a Snickers bar she purchased from a vending machine on the way back. Truly, no one was themself when they were hungry.)
Kiara was sprawled out on one of the lounges when she walked inside, snacking on a sausage stick while scrolling mindlessly on her phone. Seeing the younger female, Kiara immediately asked about the TikTok filming.
“How was it?” Kiara asked after swallowing her mouthful of food.
Mila hummed absentmindedly. “Good,” she said. “They should be finishing up soon.”
Kiara raised her eyebrows as she took another bite of her sausage snack. “You didn’t wait for them?”
Mila shrugged and took a seat next to Kiara. “I didn’t need to be there.” Kiara looked at Mila sceptically, sensing that she wasn’t quite telling the entire story. Mila took a packet of chips from the middle of the table and changed the subject. “Where did all these come from?”
Kiara scratched her eyebrow. “Manager Seo brought them,” she said, “and he told me to tell you not to overdo it with the snacks, and eat a proper meal.”
Mila let out a little laugh. “Okay, okay…” Mila opened the packet and brought a chip to her mouth. “Tastes good.”
Mila smiled and pretended nothing was wrong. As such Kiara pretended it was true. It was for the best. After all, the people who would be able to comfort Mila the most in this situation wasn’t her. And so, both girls continued eating in silence — letting the younger believe in her own white lie.
‿︵‿︵‿୨ ୧‿︵‿︵‿
“WHERE DID MILA GO?”
Sunghoon and Heeseung had just bid goodbye to Karina and Winter after a successful filming, ready to be greeted by Mila’s warm smile and congratulations, after standing on the sideline waiting for them to finish. However, their dreams were cut short when they arrived at her previous spot only to find she was no longer there.
“She said her feet were hurting,” Manager Kim said, “so she went to wait inside the changing room.”
“She did?” Sunghoon asked. He whipped out his phone, trying to find a text from her that she was feeling ill. However, there was nothing there. He frowned.
“Did she look like she was in a lot of pain?” Heeseung’s eyebrows were furrowed in concern.
Manager Kim laughed and shook her head. “No, she just seemed really tired. Otherwise, she definitely would have stayed for the rest of the shoot — you know how she is.”
Indeed, Sunghoon and Heeseung knew exactly what kind of person she was. And she wasn’t the type to leave without a word. Call it their Mila senses, but they had a nagging suspicion that something was going on with their precious girlfriend.
“That’s okay,” Heeseung replied. “You said she was in the girls’ changing room, right? Me and Sunghoon can go pick her up — you should go get lunch. You worked hard today.”
Knowing how stubborn the boys could be, Manager Kim agreed to their suggestion. With that, the older woman left. As soon as she was out of sigh, the two young men looked at each other, before sharing the same exact goal.
When they arrived at the girls’ changing room, Mila was lying down on the couch, supporting her head with her outfit jacket. She was typing something away on her phone and didn’t notice the two’s arrival until Sunghoon walked up behind her and placed a gentle hand on top of her head. She looked up with a confused expression. But after seeing Heeseung’s and Sunghoon’s faces, she immediately broke out into smile and stood from her seat.
“You’re finished?” Mila asked cheerily. “How did it go?”
Heeseung nodded, sparing a small smile as he patted her head. “It went okay. Were you waiting long?”
Mila shook her head vigorously. “Not at all.” She then smiled up at Sunghoon and Heeseung, before linking their arms. “Should we get some food now?”
“Before that— How are your feet?” Sunghoon asked. “Manager Kim told us they were sore.”
“Huh?” Mila looked down at her feet, which were still in the same shoes that she claimed to hurt her. She had completely forgotten about the lie she had told her manager before now. Mila “oh”ed awkwardly. “Well… They’re not hurting at the moment?”
Mila blinked as Sunghoon and Heeseung gave her knowing stares. They didn’t buy her excuse at all, and it showed. Of course they knew something was wrong — they knew her better than anyone else. Even if Mila pretended to be fine, they had seen her pretend enough to be able to tell.
Sunghoon walked past Mila and took a seat on the couch. He leaned forward, with his elbows on his thighs and his fingers intertwined. “Sit down.”
Mila sighed and did as he said, taking a seat next to him, with Heeseung sitting down on her right. She looked down at the floor, her eyes trained on a random spot in the carpet beneath her feet, which she hadn’t even noticed until now. Heeseung sighed on her right.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly, using the back of his hand to gently caressing her cheek. “What’s bothering you?”
“Was it about the TikTok?” Sunghoon asked. He placed a hand on her thigh and gave it a slight squeeze, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to read her expression.
Mila sighed. She supposed it was useless to try and run away from the problem, especially when the two of them were determined to get answers from her. She grabbed Sunghoon’s hand and fiddled with his fingers absent-mindedly.
“It wasn’t that— well, not entirely,” Mila replied, causing Sunghoon to frown. “I’m glad you guys were getting along with my friends… So it didn’t bother me you guys were filming a TikTok together. But as I was walking by the bathroom, I overheard some of our stylists talking about how good you guys would look as couples…”
Heeseung and Sunghoon exchanged glances. From what they knew, careless gossip like that in a public space by their staff shouldn’t have even been allowed: If their own staff were saying things like that, it would cause a huge problem. This time, they happened to be overheard by Mila — but imagine how much worse it would be if someone who didn’t know the truth were to use the stylist’s proximity to Enhypen to justify a dating rumour.
They would have to talk to the managers about this later. But for now, they focused entirely on their baby, and what was bothering her.
Mila sighed, subconsciously pouting her lips as she sulked. “I guess I was just jealous that after it gets posted, all I’ll be seeing and hearing for the next few months is people saying how good you guys look together. Or even worse, people thinking that you’re already together.”
Heeseung hummed in understanding. “That’s only natural, baby,” he said gently, bringing her closer to him so he could press a kiss to her temple. “I’d be upset too if I kept hearing people talking about how good you look dating someone that wasn’t us…”
Sunghoon could definitely agree to that. Mila had yet to have a dating speculation as major as the Enhypen boys and Aespa shipping incident — but she was still the Milana Bai, K-pop’s Princess. There was no shortage of romantic ships that she had become involved with for even sharing eye contact with someone. Those were already enough to strike a nerve in Sunghoon — he couldn’t imagine if she was involved in something like Heeseung was with Karina earlier in the year.
“But you do know we love you, right?” Heeseung asked.
Mila looked up at him and nodded fervently. “Of course! I know that.” She smiled brightly. “So don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. After all — I know the truth.”
Sunghoon smiled proudly, his vampire fang flashing. He placed a finger under Mila’s chin and turned her head to face him, before leaning in for a short but sweet kiss to her soft lips. Sunghoon hummed as he briefly swiped his tongue across her lips, tasting a bit of her peach-flavoured gloss. Mila giggled as she leant away, only for Sunghoon to bring her back using a grip to the back of her neck.
“One more,” he mumbled against her lips, his eyelids fluttering shut as he swiped his tongue out for another taste. “You taste so good…”
“Okay, okay. That’s enough.” Heeseung reached behind Mila and gently pushed Sunghoon’s shoulder away, before pulling Mila to his chest. “We were meant to get lunch, not eat her,” he joked while laughing.
Heeseung looked down at Mila and placed a kiss to her nose, giggling at the way it scrunched, making her look like a bunny when paired with her round, innocent eyes. He couldn’t resist the urge anymore and grabbed her face in his large, warm palms, before pecking every inch of skin available.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered. “Love you so much…”
Mila giggled at the affectionate attack. When Heeseung was done, Sunghoon nuzzled his face into her neck, placing a loving peck against her pulse. “I’m all yours. So don’t worry, okay?” He placed another lasting kiss to the corner her lips. “Love you,” he whispered. “My princess...”
Mila hummed pleasantly, resting her head against Sunghoon’s to rub her cheek against his. “Love you too. Both of you.”
After the two men showered Mila in enough affection and care to get her mind off what she heard earlier, they carefully questioned her about the exact words of the stylists she had overheard earlier. Needless to say, the next time the boys saw her, they went above and beyond to (not so) subtly show her just how wrong she had been about what she had said.
If anyone noticed the way Heeseung and Sunghoon suddenly dialled up their affection with Mila whenever the stylist was around — doting on Mila every second, with their honeyed gazes; talking in a sweet tone to her as they called her their “baby” and “princess”; and constantly spoiling her with warm hugs and pecks to the cheek and forehead — they didn’t say a word about it in front of them. But one day, when Mila went to the bathroom, she was happy to hear the same voice that claimed Karina and Heeseung to be a ‘power couple’ singing a completely different tune from before.
“When I think about it… Mila looks better with the two of them than anyone else I can think of,” the stylist said. “I ship it.”
TAGLiST ! @lanamoonroh @3amstarlight @nikitopia @one16core @onlyuyu @xinikons @clar-iii @shinrjj @nee-issaire @elizalabs3 @lol6sposts @cyberpunksunwoo @woonkies @alaezasmystery235 @haechansbbg @jiyeons-closet @wonsctz @euniceruiz11 @curly-fr13s
divider by v6que !
the tummy…i just woke up…im gonna go into hibernation atp
A Quiet Goodbye
tw:ANGSTTTTT, I love making people cry. it's my favorite hobby. enjoyyyy.
Imagine you and Sukuna were once best friends, long before his acting career took off and he became one of the most famous actors known for playing evil characters. He had other friends, plenty of them, but somehow he always managed to find his way back to you. It was a pattern—whenever he found a new girl, he would stop talking to you. You would pull away, not wanting to make the girls uncomfortable or give them the wrong idea. And each time, he would block you without a second thought.
You were always alone. You didn’t have many friends, and most people didn’t know much about you. But you had always loved him, harbored a quiet, aching crush that never seemed to go away. Once, you’d even gathered the courage to tell him, only for him to reject you outright, coldly saying he had never thought you were pretty or special in any way.
And then, one day, he introduced you to one of his friends, Naoya Zenin. At first, Naoya seemed nice, even charming, though he’d occasionally say things that made your stomach twist. You brushed it off, thinking he was just another one of those "red pill" guys—annoying but harmless. You went on two dates with him before things took a dark turn.
Without warning, his mood shifted. His anger flared over something you couldn't even understand, and he raised his hand against you. The hit came so fast, so hard, that for a moment you thought you might die. When you finally managed to escape, battered and broken, you went to Sukuna, desperate for some kind of support, some validation that what you went through was real.
But he looked at you, stunned. He couldn’t believe it—couldn't comprehend how someone could be so cruel, how anyone could leave you looking like this, with your skin bruised and spirit crushed.
That was when everything began to change between you and Sukuna. Suddenly, he started giving mixed signals, confusing hints that he might like you after all. You didn't see it—you couldn't. Not after he’d told you so bluntly that he would never be with someone like you, that you were ugly, unworthy of his affection.
But now, he was being… different. Kinder, gentler. He stopped talking to other girls, his focus shifting entirely to you. Yet you still couldn’t put two and two together until the day he confessed.
And so, the relationship began.
What Sukuna hadn’t told you was how much he actually valued your friendship. There had always been this inexplicable pull toward you, something he could never quite resist, even when he wanted to. His friends would often tease him for hanging out with you, mocking him for being seen with someone they deemed so ordinary. But he couldn’t help it—being near you brought him a strange sense of peace, a quiet he couldn’t find anywhere else.
He had never looked at you and thought, Yes, she’s beautiful, she’s hot. He’d never felt that kind of attraction to you, nothing like what he felt with other girls. But after seeing what Naoya had done to you—the bruises on your face, the purple marks on your neck—something in him broke. Guilt gnawed at his insides, sharp and unrelenting. It was his fault for introducing you to Naoya, knowing the kind of person he was, aware of his violent tendencies and twisted beliefs. He’d nearly killed Naoya that night in his fury, and yet, he felt no regret for what he’d done.
Seeing you like that, broken and bruised, Sukuna’s heart felt like it was in pieces. How could anyone hurt you like that? Why would they? His guilt, his confusion—they all merged into something he could hardly understand. And that’s when he thought, Maybe we should start dating. Maybe I can make it up to her somehow.
He didn’t mind putting on an act for you, pretending to be something he wasn’t, if it meant you’d be happy. Hell, he’d even marry you if it brought you some peace. His life would be calmer, more grounded, maybe even bearable. But love? No, he wasn’t sure if it was love—at least not the kind he was used to.
He did care for you, maybe even more than he wanted to admit. But it wasn’t the passionate, fiery love he’d experienced before. It was a tangled mess of guilt, pity, and confusion, something he couldn’t quite name or understand. And yet, here he was, telling himself that this was the right thing to do, that somehow he could make it work.
He didn't love you… or maybe he did. It just wasn’t the love he recognized, and in his mind, that meant it wasn't real love at all. But he was here, and you were here, and maybe, just maybe, that was enough for now.
The relationship lasted two months. In those two months, Sukuna managed to do the exact thing he had never wanted—to destroy the friendship that had somehow always managed to survive. It happened in the heat of a petty argument, one he had started out of jealousy, and before he knew it, he said the words he had sworn he’d never say.
He could almost hear your heart breaking in the silence that followed.
What he hated most about himself was that you just sat there and took it. He’d said something irreversible, something so damaging that it severed whatever fragile thread had been holding you two together. The cheap, promise ring he’d given you, a half-hearted attempt at making things feel real, suddenly seemed to mean more to you than your entire life did to him. You didn’t scream, you didn’t ask questions, you didn’t even breathe. You just… went quiet.
"I'm sorry, Sukuna. You will never see me again," you said, your voice calm, almost resigned. Those were the last words he heard from you. And true to your promise, he never saw or heard from you again.
So stupid of him, not to take any photos, not to have any memories. Nothing to look back on. Nothing at all. How could someone not even have a single picture of their own girlfriend?
He had nothing.
Until one day, years later, on this show. It was one of those lighthearted segments where they rummaged through celebrities' old phones or cameras, searching for funny or embarrassing moments from their past. It was supposed to be harmless fun—the worst they could find were pictures of his reckless teenage years, a drunken escapade or two.
But as they scrolled through the content, they stumbled upon a photo. His cocky, confident smile faltered instantly.
It was a picture of you and him, taken just when you two were dating. The photo was blurry, almost out of focus, and it looked like it had been taken in the winter. The angle was awkward, low—his little brother must have snapped it. Snowflakes clung to your hair, your cheeks flushed from the cold, and he could see himself standing close beside you, his arm draped around your shoulder. he was looking at you with this lovestruck look and he didn't even notice. The image screamed of nostalgia, of a time when things were simpler, before everything had fallen apart.
He felt his throat tighten, a sharp ache spreading through his chest. He was done with this show, done with the stupid games, done with all of it.
He just stared at the photograph, and it all came rushing back—the memories, the regrets, the questions that had haunted him for years. Why did he let that happen? Why did his feelings always have to be so complicated? He could feel himself unraveling, trying desperately to pull himself together as he fidgeted with the ring on his pinky—the cheap, matching promise ring. He still had it. The once bright color had faded, the metal tarnished and worn, but he had never taken it off.
“Can we skip this, if you don’t mind?” he asked, his voice calm but strained.
The host, sensing the shift in the air, nodded quickly. "Of course," they said, attempting to change the subject, to bring the mood back to something light and fun. But the damage was done. The audience sensed it too—a weight, a heaviness that hadn’t been there before.
After that, the clip went viral, plastered across every media outlet and social media platform. People watched and rewatched how his smile had vanished, how his demeanor had changed so suddenly. It sparked a frenzy of curiosity. Who was she? Who were you?
Rumors began to swirl. Speculation filled the tabloids and gossip columns, the internet buzzing with theories. Was it a lost love? A tragic breakup? Why had a simple photograph caused such a reaction from someone like him, someone known for his confidence and charm?
People began to dig.
They dug for the reason why a man who seemingly had it all felt so hollow. They looked for the woman who had left him feeling empty. They searched for the pieces of a story they didn’t even know was missing, hoping to find something—anything—that would explain why the man who had everything seemed to be missing the one thing he needed most.
The search grew relentless. Every day, new articles emerged, headlines screaming with intrigue: "Who is the Woman Behind Sukuna’s Silence?" and "The Mystery Girl That Broke the Unbreakable Heart."
Fans combed through his old interviews, scrutinizing every word, every expression, every hint of a hidden past. They poured over his social media, dissected every photo, every caption, looking for a clue—a name, a face, something that could connect the dots. The more they searched, the more the mystery deepened.
Some claimed to know you, throwing out names that didn't match. Others insisted you were just a figment of imagination, a constructed narrative to create drama. But those who had seen the clip, who had witnessed that fleeting moment of vulnerability, knew better. There was something real there—something raw and unspoken that lingered in his eyes.
Sukuna watched it all unfold from the sidelines, his irritation growing with every passing day. He’d wanted to move on, to bury the past in the deepest recesses of his mind, but now it was out there, and the world wouldn’t let it go.
His publicist and manager urged him to address it, to release a statement and quell the rumors. But what could he say? That he’d lost someone who meant more to him than he ever realized? That he’d driven you away with his own stubborn pride and fear? That he’d been living in the shadow of that mistake ever since?
And then, one day, there was a breakthrough.
A fan account managed to unearth an old college photo, a group shot with Sukuna laughing at the center, and there you were, standing quietly on the edge. It was grainy and low-quality, but it was enough. The caption beneath read: "Found her?"
Suddenly, everyone wanted to know your name, your story, why you had vanished from his life without a trace. The internet roared to life with theories and searches, names tossed around like confetti, your image dissected and magnified.
But despite the frenzy, there was nothing—no name, no background, no concrete information. Just those two blurry photos, and sad eyes.
True to your word, you had managed to remain a ghost, a presence without substance.
Then, one day, a sudden and stark revelation came to light. Your younger sister, who had been silent all these years, stepped forward with a written statement. The message was simple, direct, and deeply poignant:
“To whom it may concern,
The woman in the photos you have been searching for is my sister,Y/N. She passed away five years ago in a tragic accident—a drunk driver hit her car. Our family has chosen to grieve privately and respectfully, and we ask that you do the same. Please stop trying to find her. She is no longer here, and continuing to search will only add to the pain her loved ones have endured.
Thank you,
Y/S/N”
----
no part two. suffer hehe. crying is the new cardio
went to find the brocedes cap throw clip for a friend. Got the jumpscare of my LIFE
LN4 + MERCEDES DRIVER!READER — the rivalry between you and lando is no secret. hell—there’s an entire drive to survive episode dedicated to exploring and exploiting that animosity that exists between the two of you. pointed remarks on the radio during races, snide comments during media interviews. “where do you think you lost the podium?” one of those grating journalists would ask. adrenaline high. sweat on your back. mercedes cap on your head. your hands would grip the railing, feeling members of your pr team eyeing you carefully. “gosh, i don’t know, maybe when lando tried to ram me into a wall at turn 6?” media interviews are promptly cut short after that. clip compilations of the two of you. camera lenses that seem to sharpen whenever you walk near each other. you’re representing mercedes and picking fights like this is unprofessional. you’ve had it drilled into your head by one too many people. you get it. formula one is not just about racing—it’s about public image. and so, the next time an interviewer tries to get you to make a comment about lando, you take them in stride. no unprofessional behavior, no rude reply, no swears aimed at the mclaren driver. because you’re professional. you can handle it. even if it makes you wanna tear your eyes out. and, well, if you must find a silver lining to it, you happen to enjoy just how much it seems to be throwing off lando. puzzled looks. furrowed brows. taking a moment too long to answer a question after you. and if any fans point out that you seem to grin at just how utterly thrown off lando looks… well, then they’re surely reading too much into it.
Wait I have a neck too so does that mean that milana likes me aswell 😍😍
︲ 还是你 〢 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔
╱ ❛ 𝖶𝖧𝖠𝖳 𝖨𝖲 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝖳𝖮 𝖬𝖤? … 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖠𝖭𝖲𝖶𝖤𝖱
𝖨𝖲 𝖠𝖫𝖶𝖠𝖸𝖲 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗬𝗢𝗨 ❜ ╲
˚ ★₊˚﹟💐' , .
﹙ context. SET DURiNG ‘ORANGE BLOOD’ ERA ; SEE MiLA iN ‘ORANGE BLOOD’ TRAiLER﹚
' ˚. ✦ ˑ ִֶ ┆ now playing … ❝ 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 ❞
━━ 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗎𝗇 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗋𝗂𝗌𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗈𝗇 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗐𝖺𝗑 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝖾, 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾.
𖥔 ݁ ˖ ˚ . ┃ SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGED. Mila would dare say that the boys were one such thing — and so was she. Not in the sense that they were stagnant, but in the sense that their hearts were steady in their passion, their kindness, and their unfaltering love. One year, two years, three years going on to four… And after all this time, they were still them.
So it was no surprise that Mila could accurately predict their reaction to her role in the trailer for their new comeback.
The board meeting for ‘Orange Blood’ was one that Mila looked forward to as much as she did any meeting discussing the future of the group. Though their schedules were busy with their upcoming Fate Tour, there was no denying the anticipation of releasing new songs, and the relief of knowing they were still very much in the race. (She considered herself fortunate that they weren’t one of the mistreated artists she’d often heard of, whose comebacks ranged around once a year — if at all.)
The concept was an unexpectedly bright and hopeful one compared to ‘Dark Blood’. Or perhaps, ‘nostalgic’ was the better word — yes, indeed, nostalgia was a perfect word for the concept. And all members of Enhypen were pleased with the proposed title track, B-sides (including Mila and Kiara’s subunit song, ‘Sweet Juice’), and overall aesthetic of the new album. It seemed as if it would be a carefree and fun era free of the drama of its predecessor.
Except, of course, that wasn’t exactly the case.
When the time came for the discussion of the concept trailer, the air of nostalgia surrounding ‘Orange Blood’ instead became replaced by déjà vu.
“Mila has a special part to play,” the director of the concept trailer said. “If you remember from the ‘Dark Blood’ trailer, she was the only one of you nine who survived everything.”
“Right!” Sunoo exclaimed excitedly. “It was one of the things all the Engenes kept making theories about.”
Mila smiled. Amidst all the drama of her jealousy for Sunghoon, Jay and the boys’ interactions with Park Jiwon, she didn’t give much attention to her own role as she should have. But it was still a very intriguing point in the concept trailer for all who watched it.
The director nodded. “That goes to say that means she won’t be with the rest of you for the majority of the trailer.”
A wave of surprise washed over the Enhypen members. Their eyes widened collectively, giving the impression of nine bewildered children who had just learnt Santa wasn’t real.
“And before you ask— yes, she’s still going to be in the trailer. She’ll just have different scenes from everyone else.” Mila smiled when the tension in the others’ shoulders relaxed. She knew they would be the first to jump to her defence if, for some reason, she was excluded.
“After being separated, their paths are obviously going different ways. While Mila is still unaware, you boys and Kiara will be reincarnated as humans…”
The director began to explain the first part of the trailer, which consisted of the boys being taken out of the ocean by Jiwon, followed by the next couple of scenes. Mila became sceptical at one particular scene involving Sunoo’s neck being bitten, but figured it wouldn’t be anything new — after all, Jay had his neck bitten in the trailer for ‘Dark Blood’. (She didn’t want to admit she was a little bothered by it… though she would ignore that feeling for now.)
Then it came to the part where Mila would make her appearance.
“Now, after all this, we finally see what Mila has been up to this entire time. And since she no longer has her friends with her, she is living a pretty lonely life.”
The others made noises of sympathy.
“…But then she finds a handsome young man who falls in love with her, and they live happily with each other as a seemingly loving couple—”
The sound of Kiara choking on her water echoed through the now silent room.
“What’s wrong?” The director asked cluelessly as he observed the group’s reactions. He blinked when he received no response. “Was it something I said?”
Kiara was alternating between laughing, struggling to swallow her water, and shaking her head in denial. Mila supposed it was good that at least one of them seemed amused by the situation — because the other eight of them were certainly not.
Sunghoon — who had been lost in his own daydream the whole time as he stared at a random spot on the table in front of him — suddenly snapped his head towards the director, eyebrows raised and eyes wide as if he had heard something incredibly offensive.
Sunoo’s jaw dropped in a slacked ‘oh’, while he side-eyed Mila beside him, and then slowly looked back towards the director, looking a lot like he did in his iconic reaction towards Seon in the first episode of I-Land.
Jungwon, whose eyes looked devoid of all life, said, “No… Not at all. Please — do go on.”
If his words could convince anyone that he was fine, they would have to be both blind and deaf— because anyone could hear the soulless conviction he spoke with, or the obviously forced smile on his face.
Mila glanced at him before smiling at the director and drawing his attention to her. “So, I’m guessing my scenes will be with the actor then?”
The director cleared his throat. “Well, like I was saying — Mila, you’re looking for love to fill the gap left behind by seeing the others die, and you decide to court this young man as a way of moving on. So your scenes together will be pretty romantic.”
Mila blinked. “I see…”
That was probably the last thing the boys wanted to hear. And honestly, she didn’t feel too comfortable with the idea of acting romantically with another male, even if it was for work. It was awkward to try and replicate the chemistry of two lovers with someone that wasn’t the boys — let alone someone she hadn’t met.
Heeseung had visibly tensed, before rolling his shoulders to avoid seeming too affected. However, the way he pursed his lips and sat forward in his seat gave him away.
Jake’s eyebrows raised as he licked the inside of his cheek, fidgeting nervously by cracking his knuckles while he declined back in his chair. He didn’t take his eyes, instead staring at the sheet of paper in front of him.
Jay hadn’t said or done anything of note, but the set in his jaw and the subtle flex of his hand ok the table served as enough of a sign.
At that moment, Mila felt a hand on her knee, and looked beside her to see Riki with a carefully stoic expression. The only sign that he was bothered was the gentle squeeze he gave her.
Mila discretely reached out under the table to squeeze his hand reassuringly.
Looking for a way to comfort them, she asked, “But we won’t be overly touchy, will we? I mean — we won’t be kissing or anything.”
The director laughed, as if Mila had told him a funny joke. “Of course not! We’d never ask you to do such a thing.”
The boys took this as a good sign, and the air around them immediately became more relaxed. Mila smiled. She thought that would be the end of it until the director continued.
“You’ll just be very close to each other, instead — oh, and you might have to bite his neck.”
Mila, the boys, Kiara, and the manager who had just bought in coffee for the nine of them fell quiet. No one said a word as the director beamed innocently. They were too stunned to speak.
“I’M SURE IT WON’T BE THAT BAD.”
Mila didn’t know who she was trying to convince, but it didn’t seem like it worked on any of the boys — or herself, for that matter. As soon as they had gotten back to the dorms from the meeting, the boys were spread across the living room with silly expressions. (Kiara had, as usual, disappeared to visit the TXT dorms as soon as she could.)
“It will be just like you and Jiwon in the ‘Dark Blood’ trailer,” Mila said, “It’s all professional.”
“But you still got jealous,” Sunoo pointed out.
Mila scrunched her nose. “You really had to bring that back up…”
Heeseung laughed and pinched her cheek. “Don’t mind us, we’re just jealous that you get to act all romantic with someone else. But at the end of the day, we know it’s part of our job. We’ll be okay.”
Jake laughed. “This kinda feels familiar, doesn’t it?”
There was a silent agreement among everyone. Some things really didn’t change…
“Anyway, it doesn’t really make sense for us to mope about it when nothing has happened yet,” Jungwon claimed. “I don’t know about you, but I just wanna appreciate now first.” With that, the leader stood up and held his arms out towards Mila. “Come here.”
Mila giggled and launched herself into his arms. The younger immediately wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek against the top of her head, inhaling her scent. He closed his eyes and the other members chuckled around them.
“Hey, don’t forget me!” Jake said, before adding himself to the hug.
The others followed soon after, crowding around together in the middle of the living room.
“To be honest, I think I’d rather not be there to watch you film,” Jay said quietly. The first day of Mila’s filming happened to be the last day of filming for the boys, so they would all be on set with her when she would be filming with the actor. “I don’t think I’d be able to control my emotions…”
Mila hummed. “I get it. You can’t help it. But at the end of the day, I’m always only yours.” She smiled slyly. “And if you ever feel like reminding, you can always try and sneak a kiss on set.”
“Ayyyyy,” the boys chorused.
Sunghoon chuckled and patted the top of her head. “That’s my girl.”
“You mean ‘our’ girl, right?” Sunoo asked with a raised eyebrow. Everyone laughed, causing Sunoo to smile. With a smug expression, he said, “Well, just for the record— I’m the only one here who gets to film a scene with Mimi. And we get to hug.”
“That’s not fair!” Riki whined. “Why do you only get to film a scene with her?”
Sunoo shrugged sassily. “I guess we’re just destined to be together.”
“Then what about the rest of us?” Jay asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You tell me,” Sunoo said. “I was her first boyfriend and her first kiss, you know. You guys were just add-ons to our relationship.”
“What are you saying?!” Riki exclaimed. “I was the closest to her during I-Land. All of you tried to vote her out of I-Land in the first elimination.”
“I didn’t!” Sunghoon protested with a raised hand. “I liked her better than all of you.”
“Yeah, well, me and Mila were like—!” (Jake crossed his index and middle finger.) “—THIS!”
Heeseung crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I was her first love. So technically, I beat all of you.”
“Are you sure you want to bring THAT up, Hyung?” Jungwon asked the older male with a glint in his eyes. “You know how that went down…”
The others gasped in shock at the young leader’s bold attack. Mila laughed, watching the way Sunoo dramatically put both hands over his mouth with wide eyes.
As bickering started to ensue between the members, Mila shook her head in fond exasperation. She didn’t say anything as they made shots at each other, instead choosing to enjoy watching their bonding moment.
There was something beautiful about these little moments they shared together. The moments that — while fleeting, and easily faded from memory — showed just how well they melded together. How much they belonged.
And she wished more than anything that they would be just as they always had. That this thing they had would never change.
Mila smiled as she rested her chin on her hand. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Later on that night, Kiara — who had been asked for lyrical input for one of the side tracks of the album — had thought to ask Mila for some ideas. She would be one of the few people who knew just how profound the younger female’s thoughts could be, even on the smallest of topics.
“What do you think about the saying, ‘Some things never change?” Kiara had asked.
“I think even though humans change, there are some things they are so connected to that they can’t do things any differently,” Mila said to her.
Ironically enough, Mila’s sentiment was the exact antithesis of the ephemerality romanticised in ‘Orange Blood’. There was no guessing what Mila could be thinking — she always managed to surprise people with her unpredictability. But it was for that reason that Kiara admired her mind so much.
“For example, you and Yeonjunnie-oppa love each other a lot, right? And whether it’s today or tomorrow, if there’s ever a time where you’re not together, you’ll still miss each other. No matter how many times you do it, it doesn’t hurt any less. And as long as you guys love each other, nothing will change, because your reactions and emotions come from the same place each and every time — in this case, your feelings for each other.”
Kiara blinked. She stared for a few seconds before she broke out of her awed state and started nodding.
“Okay… Damn.” She lowered her head as she stared at the paper in front of her, on which she had scribbled notes onto for inspiration. “I like that… I like that a lot.”
Mila beamed. “Is that enough to help you out? Or do you want some more to go off?”
Kiara looked at the younger female with a glint in her eye. Mila tilted her head in confusion, as Kiara smiled — the type one would give their student when they accomplished something significant in their studies.
“How about this?” Kiara asked. “I think you have a better grasp of this than me — so what about you write down lyrics for this that you can pitch to the PD? I don’t think I resonate with this song as much as you do, so it’s for the best. And I feel like you have a lot of good ideas for it.”
Mila furrowed her eyebrows. “But I’ve never written lyrics before… And what if he doesn’t like them?” Mila shook her head. “It would be better if you wrote them.”
Kiara kissed her teeth. “Yah. Aren’t you the one who always says to Engenes that there’s no harm in trying? If you don’t have anything, that’s fine. I’ll just hand in something. But if you do, then why not share it? I’m just saying, it’s not like you to throw away a chance before trying.”
Mila couldn’t deny the logic of Kiara’s words. She would be a hypocrite if she didn’t the didn’t do as she always said — and that wasn’t a standard she wanted to hold herself to. She nodded.
“Fine,” she said with a determined smile. “I’ll give it a try… Just don’t expect too much, okay?“
Kiara laughed. “Okay, okay.”
As she stared at the computer in front of Kiara, where the demo of the track was playing, Mila found her eyes settling on the title, letting it ingrain itself into her brain like a tattoo.
‘Still Monster’, huh?
IT WAS LATE IN THE NIGHT.
Mila found herself at the kitchen table, eating a snack as she scribbled mindlessly on the notepad in front of her. She had her AirPods in, repeatedly playing the demo of ‘Still Monster’ as she wrote whatever came to mind. It had been a day since she was given the task of writing some lyrics for ‘Still Monster’, and ideas flooded her brain like a river — the struggle, however, was finding a way to express them all.
“Noona?” Mila looked up from her notepad for the first time in the past few minutes to see Riki standing there, half-asleep as he rubbed at his eyes sleepily. “What are you doing?”
Mila smiled, internally cooing at how adorable he looked. “I’m just writing something…”
Riki tilted his head curiously. He slowly padded his way over to the table and pulled out a seat next to Mila. Mila watched as he rested his head on her shoulder, while groggily reading the contents of Mila’s notepad.
“‘Still Monster’? That’s one of our tracks, isn’t it?” Riki asked.
Mila hummed. She hadn’t told the boys about it yet because she didn’t want to disappoint them if the pitching didn’t go well, so she decided to keep it to herself until she received good feedback.
But Riki had always been someone she let her guard down with. It was one of the reasons she called him her ‘Peter Pan’: if she was Wendy, he was the one around whom she could always be carefree. As much as they bickered, as much as they fought, as long as it was him, she knew she didn’t have to fear being judged.
“I’m writing some lyrics for it.” She sighed. “But as you can see it’s not really going anywhere at the moment.”
There was a few seconds of silence, before Riki suddenly shot up in his seat. “You’re writing a song?!” he asked, his eyes wide with awe. “That’s amazing!”
Mila laughed as she brushed his hair away from his face. “Thank you… But like I said, it’s not really going anywhere at the moment. I have ideas — I just don’t know how to put them into words.”
Riki tilted his head. “Why not? You’re usually good at talking.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mila narrowed her eyes playfully. “Are you saying I’m too talkative?”
Riki shook his head vigorously. “No, it’s not that… I just mean, you always know what to say.” Riki lowered his head, once again resting it on Mila’s shoulder. The strands of his hair tickled her neck, causing her to giggle when he nuzzled his cheek against her. “Remember during I-Land, when I was feeling down after I kept losing battles?”
Mila hummed and nodded. Those days weren’t ones he often reminisced on, but she knew they stuck with them even today — because how could it not? All of them, in some way, were affected by the wreck that was I-Land. Even if they didn’t show it. And for Mila and Riki — who had left everything behind to move to a foreign country where nothing was guaranteed — that trauma only increased twofold.
When the two of them were in Ground, losing chance after chance to go back into I-Land, they had finally reached their breaking point. And by the time the last test of Part One had begun to air, they had to do everything in their power to make sure they would be debuting.
“Do you remember what you said to me when I told you I didn’t think I was good enough?” Riki let out a small chuckle. His hand made its way to Mila’s, his fingers intertwining with hers like two pieces of a puzzle. “You said that people who always see ways to improve will never stop getting better. So, I was good enough — but part of me knew I was meant to be so much more.”
Mila let a smile break through. “That was such a long time ago… You still remember that?”
Riki nodded. “Of course,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I was so close to giving up, but as soon as you said that I realised I didn’t want to stop there.” He sighed as he breathed in Mila’s comforting scent. “You always said the right thing to make me feel better when I was sad… It didn’t matter if your Korean was still kinda bad—”
“Yah!” Mila let out a strangled laugh in her surprise, slapping Riki’s shoulder indignantly.
Riki laughed, before catching Mila’s hand in his own and placing a soft kiss on the back of it as an apology. “I’m just saying — it’s the message that I remember the most, not the words.”
Mila blinked. “That… actually makes a lot of sense.” She looked down at Riki with feigned shock. “When did you become so smart?”
Riki scoffed. “You didn’t even know how to order anything other than jjajangmyeon from restaurants until I taught you — and you’ve been living in Korea for longer than I have.”
Mila gasped. But before Mila could say anything, Riki looked up at her through his lashes. His eyes were like pools of pure water, containing nothing but clear international and sincerity. Mila faltered, watching the way his eyes held hers, the space between them both too far and too close for her heart to handle.
“Just write whatever comes to you. If it’s from you, there’s no way it won’t be beautiful.”
Mila smiled. And without another second wasted, she pressed her lips to his.
That night, the lyrics came as effortlessly to her as breathing. And at the centre of it all was them — the ones who, like the stars in the night sky, brought the light into her otherwise pitch black night.
“These lyrics are really good!” The producer praised as he looked over the final draft that Mila presented to them. “We’ll change some of it to fit the vampire concept — but otherwise it’s perfect.” The producer smiled. “I didn’t know you were this good at writing lyrics.”
Mila smiled. “Thank you… But I had help.”
I owe Riki some bunggeoppang.
The producer shook his head with a chuckle. “Regardless, this is a very good result. If you keep up the good work, you could even be doing songwriting on the side. Good work.”
Mila smiled sheepishly at the praise.
“We’ll make sure to add your name to the credits. After some tweaking, it should be ready for the boys to record the vocals.”
Mila nodded. Since it was a subunit song for the boys — the same way Mila and Kiara had their own subunit — she unfortunately wouldn’t be able to be able to sing it herself. But somehow, Mila didn’t mind it so much. After all, there was something about the boys singing a song that she wrote for them that made her feel giddy inside. The fact that she also asked Riki to keep quiet (in case the feedback wasn’t good) also meant it would be a surprise to them.
She hummed as she left the producer’s office, looking like a giddy high school girl as she walked through the halls, greeting staff with a smile.
Mila couldn’t wait to see the boys’ reaction when they found out. Maybe she would even play a little prank on them, and wait until after everything to reveal the secret…
Mila giggled mischeviously. She was just full of good ideas, wasn’t she?
THE FIRST DAY OF MILA’S FILMING FINALLY CAME, and it couldn’t have been any sooner. The past few days, she had to watch the boys leave without her to go filming, and she had become the personification of a drowned puppy as a result.
Enhypen had already finished recording the singles for the album and the choreography, so the next step was to film the concept trailer. Since she was the only one who didn’t have a role in the first few days of filming, she would stay behind for them — something which she obviously didn’t take well to. The whole time while the boys were preparing to leave, she would follow them around the house with a cloud of gloom hovering over her head.
“Has anyone seen my charger?” Jay asked, while searching through his things.
Mila pouted from behind him and raised a finger to point to the door. “It’s in the living room, on the coffee table.”
“Ah— thanks, Angel.” Jay patted her on the head and left the room to find his charger. Mila sighed and trailed behind him, tugging on the ends of her (or rather, Sunghoon’s) shirt. When Jay found his charger, he packed it in his bag and put his hands on his hips. “Okay, that’s all for me. I’m done now.”
“Same here!” Jake replied as he slung his bag over his shoulder and placed a cap on his head.
Mila continued to sulk silently as the boys announced their readiness one by one. And when they got ready to leave the dorm, she stood at the door, giving each of them a hug before they walked out.
“See you later,” she said sadly as she wrapped her arms around Sunoo’s waist. “Love you…”
Sunoo laughed as he returned her hug, the sound like chiming bells with its gentle tone. He gently stroked the back of her head while pressing his lips to her forehead. And with a caress of her cheek, he pulled away while smiling, eyes dripping with honey.
“Love you too, Byeol-ah. Don’t miss us too much, okay? We’ll be back before you know it.”
“That’s right.” Jungwon latched onto Mila’s waist in a side hug. He rested his cheek against her shoulder and closed his eyes as Mila reached up to pay his head. “We’ll bring snacks with us.”
Mila nodded weakly, sparing a small smile. “Okay…”
Heeseung pressed a firm kiss against her cheek, making a slight smacking noise as he parted. “Love you saurrrr much.”
With that, Mila burst out into laughter.
The other boys gave her sweet goodbye kisses as they walked out the door, before eventually Mila was left alone. And the only thing she could say was sigh and trudge her way to her bed, where she would lie down scrolling through social media to see Engenes’ reactions to her new red hair.
And that process continued until today, the final day of the boys’ and Kiara’s filming, before Mila would film her parts, along with her scene with Sunoo. Since they were relatively simple scenes, they would be able to finish in one day. (According to the director, that was.)
They look like they’re having fun…
Mila smiled as she watched Kiara and the boys running through the field of flowers. Since all the scenes with Sooha were already shot, Park Jiwon wasn’t on the set today, so Mila didn’t get the chance to greet her.
Mila wouldn’t admit that she still thought a lot about the potential bite scene between Jiwon and Sunoo after reading over the script so many times. But in the end, the girl had proven to be very hardworking and talented. It was hard not to like her.
That’s too bad, Mila thought. Maybe next time.
With that Mila smiled and continued to get ready with the help of her staff.
Mila had just finished changing into her dress — a long, white number with spaghetti straps — when she ran into the assistant director, who was standing with someone she had never met before. He was tall and handsome, as well as rather young (he didn’t look much older than herself), and was standing before a makeup artist who seemed to be placing finishing touches on his face.
Mila immediately connected the dots and realised that he was, in fact, the actor she would be partnered with for the trailer.
“Ah, Mila!” The assistant director smiled when he took note of Mila standing there. Mila bowed as he ushered her to come closer. “Just the girl I was looking for! Come here for a second!”
Mila hiked up her skirt and made her way over. By now, the actor finished having his makeup done and made eye contact with Mila when he turned around. The two subconsciously bowed their heads in greeting, while the assistant director smiled and nodded in approval.
“You wanted to see me?” Mila asked.
The assistant said, “That’s right. I wanted to introduce you.” He gestured to the younger man beside him. “This is Park Hajoon, he’s been a model and actor under Hybe for the past two years. He’ll be your partner for today. Hajoon, you know Mila already. Greet your senior.”
Hajoon bowed to show respect before smiling widely. “Nice to meet you, Sunbaenim. I’ve been a big fan of yours since I-Land. I’m looking forward to today.”
Mila flashed a friendly smile. “Oh, really? Nice to meet you too; I’m lucky to have such a dedicated fan. Let’s work hard together, okay?”
Hajoon beamed enthusiastically, his eyes lit up in clear admiration. Mila lowered her head, avoiding looking into his eyes. She couldn’t help but feel bashful — every time she met a fan who looked at her with the same respect that Hajoon did, she never really knew how to react.
The assistant director chuckled and pat the younger male on the shoulder. “Well, since you’re familiar now, why don’t you two start discussing your scene together while the others wrap up their final scene?”
Mila nodded. “Okay, sounds good to me.” She turned to Hajoon with a smile and gestured to the tent not far away. “Shall we?”
“Yes, Sunbaenim!” he responded passionately.
Mila laughed. If he kept up the energy for the entirety of the shoot, he would be able to rival Mila for the title of the set moodmaker. And she couldn’t have that, could she?
“Let’s go!” Mila exclaimed equally as enthusiastically.
With that, the two laughed and walked away. They arrived at the tent, where the staff had already set chairs out for Mila and the rest of the group to rest in when the others were done with their shoot. But Mila and Hajoon would be leaving as soon as they were finished to head towards a cottage not far from where they currently had their equipment set up.
“How much experience do you have with acting?” Mila asked as she read through the script.
“I’ve had small roles in web dramas before,” he replied.
Mila ‘ooh’ed. “That’s impressive.” Hajoon lowered his head and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “In that case, we should be done in under three takes, right?”
Mila said it as a joke. She definitely wasn’t expecting Hajoon to suddenly get all fired up, eyes burning with determination as he held up a fist. “Respectfully, Sunbaenim — but I believe we can do it one!”
Mila’s eyes widened. He really was a bold one, wasn’t he? But that wasn’t a bad thing — not at all. She admired that sort of confidence more than anything. So, at that moment she knew she had gotten lucky with her partner.
“I like it! Okay, let’s aim for one take then!” she said with a smile. Mila then put the script on the table between them and pointed to an outlined scene, where Hajoon would be standing over Mila as she awoke from a nightmare. “For this scene here, I was thinking….”
And just like that, the two became absorbed in their work.
“IS THAT THE GUY?”
The remaining members of Enhypen had just finished filming their final scene together for the trailer and were heading back to the tent while the staff prepared the equipment for moving. They had originally been in high springs, considering they finally finished — but some certain members were immediately cast into a bitter mood as they spotted Mila waiting for them under the tent with an unfamiliar male.
The two of them were peering over paper together, their heads almost touching as they conversed with each other, unaware of the eyes on them.
Sunghoon was the first to propose who the unknown male was. Immediately, the others followed with dejected realisation that he was in fact the man who would be filming very romantic scenes with their girlfriend.
Jungwon pouted as he continued to walk towards them. “Come on,” he said to the others. “We should greet him.”
Regardless of their own feelings, the man hadn’t done anything wrong, so there was no reason to host any animosity toward him. Not to mention, when the positions were switched during the ‘Dark Blood’ trailer, Mila was also expected to be polite with Jiwon, even knowing that the latter would be biting Jay’s neck and very nearly sharing a kiss with Sunghoon.
“Now I know why Mila was so bitter about the ‘Dark Blood’ trailer,” Jake said as he watched Mila and her partner look at each other.
The latter lifted a hand as if to brush a strand of hair out of his face. Logically, Jake already knew it was to practise a scene in the script. But it still irked him nonetheless when he watched the unnamed actor tenderly stroke Mila’s hair, the way he often did.
Jay clenched his jaw. “He’s barely done anything, and I already feel defensive.”
“Why don’t you guys smile a little?” Kiara said with an amused smile. “You can’t scare the poor boy away.”
“Why not?” Heeseung immediately replied. With his doe eyes, one would think he was genuinely asking — though his co-members knew better.
Kiara rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You guys…”
At that moment, as if sensing them approaching, Mila looked up from the script she was sharing with her partner. The boys could practically picture bunny ears standing to attention on the top of her head. Her eyes brightened in recognition and a wide smile crossed her face as she waved enthusiastically.
The boys immediately fixed smiles on their faces, not wanting to worry Mila with their feelings when she was preparing for work. They joined both her and her partner under the tent, causing them both to stand to their feet.
“Congrats on finishing!” Mila applauded the boys with genuine pride. “I was watching you before — you did good. I think the shots will come out nicely.”
The boys become visibly lightened at the praise.
Heeseung reached out and patted Mila’s head, smiling softly at her. “Thank you,” he cooed, eyes full of adoration as Mila giggled under his touch.
The mood completely broke when Sunoo looked at the male beside Mila and said, “I don’t think we’ve met properly.”
Taking the cue, the male actor bowed formally towards the members with a smile. As soon as he straightened his back, he introduced himself confidently. “My name is Park Hajoon. I’m a model and actor under Hybe. It’s nice to meet you all.”
Jungwon was the first to greet him back. “Nice to meet you.”
The other followed suit, leaving Mila to smile brightly on the side. So far, she would say they were doing very well in putting aside their personal feelings — it looked like they didn’t have to worry about much at all. She cleared her throat as she gestured to the script.
“We were just practising for our scene together,” she announced. “Hajoon here thinks we can get it done in one take.”
“That’s good,” Sunghoon immediately responded. By his logic, one take meant that they would be done as soon as possible, meaning that he, Mila, and the other members would be free to go back to the dorms sooner. Hopefully he would be able to steal Mila for some cuddles before the others got to her…
“How’s it going so far?” Jay asked. “Anything you’re struggling with?”
Instead of Mila, Hajoon was the one who replied.
“Not at all,” he said happily. “Mila-sunbaenim is really good at acting, so we already have a good idea of what we’re supposed to be doing.” Hajoon held a thumbs up as he smiled at Mila. “She’s really awesome.”
Sunoo eyed Hajoon suspiciously. He could pinpoint admiration when he saw it, and from the way this Hajoon person looked at Mila, the youngest knew for a fact that he held a lot of it for Mila — and dare he say, perhaps a little more than that…
Mila noticed this and explained, “Hajoon here has been a fan of mine since I-Land. Isn’t that great?”
“Ah, really?” Kiara asked with wide eyes. “Wah, how cute! You must be really happy to be working beside someone you’ve been a fan of for so long, right?” Kiara’s eyes had a hint of sly calculation when Hajoon nodded enthusiastically. She then asked, “What do you think? Is she prettier in person?”
Jake and Jay, who were standing next to Kiara, immediately threw a glare towards the older female, who grinned smugly. The others had their attention pointed towards the male in question, who had suddenly turned redder than a tomato under the sudden scrutiny of everyone.
Mila’s eyes widened as Hajoon dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Eung… She’s really beautiful.”
Kiara laughed light-heartedly and patted the flustered Hajoon on the shoulder. “Well, you’re lucky to be able to act as her boyfriend for one day. Make sure to cherish it while it lasts.”
“Ah— o-okay,” Hajoon stuttered out, turning even redder than before. And this of course, did not go unnoticed.
Kiara hummed, pleased by his reaction. With that, the elder female sauntered off towards her seat, escaping the inevitable fallout that would follow her controversial statement. As soon as she was gone, Hajoon found himself under the scrutiny of seven males who eyed him as if they were predators and he was a rival who appeared randomly in the wilderness.
He supposed he expected this. After all, having followed Mila’s journey for so long, he also got to know her members fairly well. And anyone who knew Enhypen knew that to get to the Princess, they would have to get past her seven knights first.
“So…” Heeseung crossed his arms over his chest. “You must be really happy that you get to act as Mila’s lover, right?”
Before Hajoon could reply, Mila rolled her eyes and gently tugged in Heeseung’s arms to uncross them. “Oppa, stop. You’re intimidating him. People might think you’re having a power-trip over your juniors!”
For good measure, Mila added a pout and used her eyes to plead at him. And just like always, Heeseung’s resolve immediately faltered.
“Okay, okay…” Heeseung turned to Hajoon. The latter immediately noticed that the light in Heeseung’s eyes from when he was looking upon Mila immediately flickered out as soon as they landed on him. Nonetheless, the elder offered a civil smile. “Sorry about that. I’m not trying to scare you.”
“That’s right.” Jungwon immediately followed up the elder’s statement with his own excuses. “The older members just worry a lot — don’t mind them.”
Despite the reassuring words he spoke, the smile on his face didn’t quite reach them.
Hajoon nodded and cleared his throat. “No, it’s okay! I already know that you’re quite protective — but don’t worry, I don’t plan on taking advantage of my role in the trailer today to satisfy my own selfishness. I admire Mila-sunbaenim a lot, but I respect her enough to maintain a professional boundary. I’m here to do my job and nothing more.”
Jay would be the first to admit he was pretty impressed with the actor’s initiative. He was sceptical at first of his obvious infatuation with Mila (call it a man’s intuition), but he did feel a little better seeing his conviction.
The rest of the boys — though some more begrudging than the others — would agree: Even if they were still very much jealous, they could tell the actor was sincere and had a pure soul. There was no reason to dislike him. They slowly started to lose some tension in their bodies.
“Okay, now that we got that cleared up, do you mind giving me and Hajoon some peace and quiet?”
Mila crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow, challenging the boys to keep them any longer from doing their job. The boys, being wise, immediately heeded the silent warning in her voice, which was perhaps the most polite form of ‘Play nice’ that they would get from her if they didn’t act right away.
“Yes, ma’am!”
Mila sighed as the boys scurried away. Shaking her head, she immediately gestured for Hajoon to take a seat. “Sorry about them, they can be a bit much.”
Hajoon shook his head. “No, it’s fine. If anything, I find it sweet that they openly show how much they care about you.”
Mila failed to hold back a smile as she replayed the boys’ reactions to Hajoon’s admiration for her. Even if she didn’t admit it, she did feel a bit giddy seeing them act so protective of her — even if she had to scold them a bit for being too intimidating.
“You know — you’re not wrong there…”
NOT TO BE OVERLY DRAMATIC, but Jungwon felt as if he was kicked in the stomach.
The staff had moved all the equipment to the cottage set for Mila and Hajoon’s scene together, with the cameramen and director being inside to film while the other Enhypen members and staff remained camped outside with monitoring screens. The scene between Mila and Hajoon was only a couple of seconds long, and so wasn’t prolonged agony by any means — but it didn’t make it any less painful to watch.
Jay, Jake and Sunghoon were smart enough not to watch it at all — however the others found themselves huddled around the monitoring screen, eyes fixated on the scene playing out before them.
Jungwon pouted as Hajoon caressed Mila’s face tenderly, the same way he would when they were in the privacy of their homes. (It was at times like this when he wished they didn’t have to hide their relationship from the public eye — so that he could unapologetically show off just how much he loved her.) Mila looked up at Hajoon with glassy eyes, letting him wipe freshly fallen tears from her face with a gentle swipe of his thumb.
At that moment, Heeseung wordlessly turned around and left, leaving the three youngest members alone in front of the scene. Jungwon bit his lip as Hajoon leaned down, his face impossibly close to Mila’s. Riki scoffed, before turning away and following after the eldest of the group. And just like that, only Sunoo and Jungwon remained.
Hajoon’s eyes flickered down to Mila’s lips. Almost reflexively, Jungwon’s hand clenched into a fist. He didn’t even know why he was still standing there — and yet he couldn’t look away, either, even as Mila’s lips slowly drifted towards the crook of Hajoon’s neck.
“CUT!”
The sound of the director’s voice couldn’t have been anything but intervention from the universe — otherwise how could he have known to stop the scene as soon as Jungwon had reached his limit?
“They have pretty good chemistry…”
Jungwon turned to Sunoo in confusion. When he did, he was surprised to see the expression on his face — nothing like the ray of sunshine that fans knew him to be, but one that resembled the sly fox hidden beneath his sweet smiles. Sharp eyes, and a cool expression, complete with a sharp twist of his lips.
Jungwon blinked, but didn’t get to say anything as Sunoo walked away. This hyung…
Jungwon shook his head and turned to the cottage, where he could just make out Mila and Hajoon bowing to the staff through the window. He immediately ran towards the currently empty gazebo, awaiting the moment when Mila would walk out. And as soon as she appeared, he threw himself onto her, pulling her into a hidden corner from prying eyes and clinging onto her like she would disappear if he didn’t.
“Oh— Wonie?” Mila laughed as soon as she realised who had unexpectedly jumped on her, a fond smile breaking out onto her face as she reciprocated the younger male’s hug. “What’s this all of a sudden?”
Jungwon didn’t respond, instead opting to bury his face deeper into her hair. He was too embarrassed to admit he was feeling this jealous over something meaningless, so he could only stay silent and hope Mila didn’t think of him as too clingy when he did.
Mila hummed. “Are you feeling jealous, by any chance?”
Jungwon felt his face heat up at being caught so quickly. But then again, Mila had always been the perceptive type. He gave a nod, causing Mila to giggle softly. Her fingers made their way to the top of Jungwon’s head, threading their way through his soft hair and filling Jungwon’s being with comfort.
“It’s okay to feel that way, Wonie,” she said gently. “When it’s just the two of us, you don’t have to be pressured to feel like a leader, remember? You don’t need to hide how you feel.”
“I know that, but…” Jungwon’s hands travelled down Mila’s sides before they settled around her waist. Jungwon frowned as he pulled away, before eating his forehead against Mila. “Can I have a kiss, please?”
Mila’s eyes widened. “A kiss?”
Jungwon hummed. “You said if I needed reminding that you were still mine, I could steal kisses from you on set… There’s no one here — so it should be fine, right?”
Mila blinked. “It’s fine…”
“Then kiss me,” Jungwon whispered, his eyes glassy and vulnerable as they stared into hers. Mila swallowed nervously as they travelled downwards, landing on her parted lips. Jungwon’s hands tightened their grip on her, his broad shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath. “I think I’ll go crazy if you don’t…”
Mila didn’t have to be told twice. As if possessed by his command, she pulled him down by the neck, so that his lips would find hers. The moment they met was like the collision of stars, forming something far brighter, far hotter than what they were on their own, consuming all others around them until there was nothing but the two of them left.
Milan’s hands wandered to Jungwon’s shoulders, smoothing down the length of them with trembling touch. She let out a stuttering breath when his lips parted from hers, taking in a gulp of fresh air — only to come crashing back towards hers once more. This time, more fiercely than before. His hands tightened their grip on their waist for a final time, before he parted for the final time, painting softly for air.
Jungwon let the final tendrils of the flame within him simmer down so that only ashes of his bitterness remained, completely doused by the sweetness of Mila’s mouth. Her face was flushed as she gazed up at him, eyes glazed over, as if lost in a trance — and Jungwon didn’t know if that was her own feelings, or if he was just looking at the reflection of his own eyes. For even if he couldn’t see his own face at that moment, he knew he had fallen far deeper than she had.
“‘How dare you, baby? My heart craves you…” Mila’s eyes widened as Jungwon began to softly sing all-too familiar words, his smooth and sultry voice sending a rush of electricity through her veins. “Even though I’m still a monster…”
“That’s…”
Jungwon chuckled softly. “It’s from one of our songs. ‘Still Monster.’ I don’t know why I thought of it all of a sudden… For some reason it just reminded me of you.”
Mila’s inhaled sharply, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. “Sing more for me,” she whispered. “What else about it reminds you of me?”
Jungwon began to smirk, an all-too familiar glint in the depths of his Cheshire eyes. His hand wonders down the beck of her neck, fingers brushing gently against her pulse. And with a voice all too alluring, he began to sing.
“‘The purity of her neck makes me crazy,’” he began, “‘Throws me into a desire I cannot cope with…”
Just like that, Mila’s lips collided with his once more.
IT WAS TIME FOR MILA AND SUNOO TO FILM THE FINAL SCENE OF THE CONCEPT TRAILER. The moment which Sunoo had been anxiously anticipating — and admittedly, so was Mila.
She hadn’t gotten to see the others after her small rendezvous with Jungwon, and had to go straight into filming again before the sun went down. By now, she had finished filming the opening part of their scene, where Mila was running towards the remains of the burning house, and was now standing there, awaiting the next scene — where Mila would sense Sunoo standing behind her and run up to him to hug him.
As the two waited for the camera crew to get ready for filming, they stood side by side, chatting carefreely.
“You did a good job filming with Hajoon earlier,” Sunoo suddenly said, with a petty undertone in his voice. “It was reallyyyyy believable.”
Mila scoffed. “Yah, are you being petty right now?”
Sunoo raised his eyebrows. “No. Why would I? It’s not like I had to watch you act so lovingly with some other man and make it look so real. I have no reason to be petty.”
Mila huffed and turned her head away, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. “I’m not the one who had some woman’s lips on my neck,” she muttered.
She didn’t want to think about it too much, but she knew that the scene between Jiwon and Sunoo would likely bother her when she eventually watched it. But she already had a dash of bitterness about it after hearing Kiara’s account of the scene, which supposedly was very intense. So Mila figured why not get the pettiness out of her before then. After all, Sunoo was the one who started it.
“What was that?” Sunoo asked.
“Nothing,” Mila replied.
Before anyone could say anything, the director suddenly called for everyone to get into positions. Mila turned away and walked to her starting position, leaving Sunoo to narrow his eyes at her from behind.
He had heard exactly what Mila had said — he just didn’t know it was that big of a deal for her. After all, it was nowhere near the level of what Jay and Sunghoon had with Jiwon in the previous concept trailer. But then again, Mila had always been somewhat possessive in her own way — even if she didn’t admit it.
Sunoo let out a small chuckle as he watched her stamp her way to her spot. Even if she was acting a little bratty, he still found her cute. And what sort of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t comfort her?
Better yet: What sort of boyfriend would he be if he didn’t upstage the performance between Mila and Hajoon with his own? After all, he couldn’t have anyone thinking a random male was a better fit for Mila than him, could he? His pride as a man wouldn’t let that happen. He formulated his own plan in his head and gave himself a satisfied smile when he decided what to do.
Not long after, the director finally signalled for the filming to begin.
Mila turned around to face Sunoo and had a shocked expression on her face. Sunoo internally admired her acting as her shock morphed into unadulterated joy, a wide smile breaking out on her face as he held out a bouquet of flowers. The familiar chime of Mila’s laughter flooded Sunoo’s ears as she ran towards him, before throwing herself into his arms.
The next part came as naturally as it could have. One could say, Mila and Sunoo didn’t need a script for it. Sunoo lowered his head to bury his nose into her hair. His hand with the bouquet wrapped around her waist while the other found its way to the back of her head.
That was supposed to be it. But of course, it wasn’t. Sunoo’s lips brushed against the shell of Mila’s ear, causing the girl’s figure to freeze in his arms.
Wait, Mila thought. This isn’t part of the script.
Mila stood there frozen as she felt Sunoo’s lips travel down to her earlobe, and then further until it found itself on the bare skin of Mila’s neck. She felt her breath hitch in her throat as his plush lips sneakily found the most sensitive part of her neck — a spot he was very familiar with. Her pulse quickened, and her face started to feel when she suddenly felt his lips part, as if ready to kiss the spot then and there.
The other members, who were watching from the monitor screen a distance away, were immediately taken aback when Sunoo looked at the camera with a sharp glare. He looked like a fox warning anyone who came close to stay away from both him and the woman in his arms — challenging and possessive.
The staff could only watch in awe at the electricity in the air. The tension between the two young people whose seemingly unidentified embrace became something more possessive — more carnal. And at that moment they accepted that, as expected, the chemistry between members of the same group was unmatched…
“AAAAND CUT!” The director yelled.
Mila barely heard his voice, or the following praises that he yelled at Mila and Sunoo, claiming that they were ‘perfect’ together. Instead, she could only shakily part from the hug between her and Sunoo, before searching his face for some sign of what had happened.
She didn’t know what she expected. But it wasn’t for Sunoo to unshaded as she smirked casually at her.
“Still jealous of Jiwon?” he asked teasingly.
Mila swallowed and shook her head. Every time she saw Sunoo like this — so assertive and, dare she say, masculine — she was never able to form words. Just his presence alone made her speechless. “N-no…”
After all, Jiwon wasn’t the woman who felt Sunoo’s lips on her neck in front of so many spectators. She would be foolish to still hold any jealousy towards
the female after that bold display on Sunoo’s end.
“Man, this is so not fair!” Jake complained as he watched the pair stare into each other’s eyes, unplaced by the amount of people around them.
“I want to film a scene with Mila,” Sunghoon said sulkily.
“Next time we choose a concept we should ask about the concept trailers first,” Riki added. “Why does only Sunoo-hyung get to film with her?”
“YAH!” Jay yelled. His voice was loud enough that it carried to where Sunoo and Mila were standing together, causing them to break apart in surprise. “The shoot is over — stop hugging each other already!”
Sunoo and Mila shared a look. Their laughter was so loud the others could hear it perfectly, despite the distance between them.
THAT NIGHT, the members of Enhypen congratulated themselves on a job well done.
They still had a few more things to do for their comeback, but at the very least, they had made it through the concept trailer… Even if it was just barely. They (minus Kiara) had gathered in the living room to both enjoy each other’s company and to rid themselves of the bitterness from today’s shoot. Namely, their jealousy towards Mila and Hajoon’s scenes together.
“I’m so glad that’s over with,” Jake said. “I don’t ever want to see that kind of thing again. Never again, man.”
Mila laughed. “It wasn’t THAT bad.”
“‘Wasn’t THAT bad?’” Sunghoon raised his eyebrows. “The two of you looked like you would have kissed if the director didn’t say ‘cut’.”
Mila tilted her head. “I thought you didn’t watch me while filming?”
“He wasn’t,” Heeseung replied. “But later on, he asked the cameraman if he could watch the scene again, because he wanted to see how bad it was. His logic was that if he didn’t see it in real time, he could control his emotions better — but he still got jealous.”
“You’re one to talk, hyung.” Sunoo crossed his legs on the couch. “You’re the one who scared Hajoon the most.”
The other boys immediately nodded in agreement, convicting the eldest member for his actions.
“But you know… I was kind of embarrassed today,” Jay admitted. “Even though I know it doesn’t mean anything, I still get jealous over it.” Jay sighed. “I wish I had better control over my feelings… Then things would be easier for all of us.”
A thick silence fell over the eight of them. None of them knew what to say, but it was clear that Jay wasn’t alone in his feelings. If Mila was honest, she herself had thought similar things before. And it was because of that she was able to find the words to comfort him.
“Me too,” she said. All eyes turned to her. “We’re only human, so it’s natural that we can’t control how we feel…” She smiled. “That’s why I wrote those lyrics.”
The boys became puzzled. Only Riki — who was there with her though the whole process — knew what she was talking about and smiled conspiratorially. He had been wondering when she was going to tell the others about her contribution. It seemed that she was saving it for this moment.
In truth, Mila had a feeling the boys would react this way. That they would struggle to come to terms with the fact that, for some reason, they were reliving the same memories over and over again. And so, she thought that perhaps this would give them comfort in some way.
“‘It’s as if nothing happened, you look at me with shadowless eyes…’” The boys’ (with the exception of Riki) eyes widened as Mila sang the opening lyrics to ‘Still Monster’. Realisation slowly sank in as she continued to sing, “‘I’m the one who’s been forgive countless times, but I’m still a monster…””
Mila laughed at the shocked expressions on their faces. She shared a smile with Riki before ending her serenade there.
“Obviously the lyrics are a bit more dramatic to suit the concept… but the meaning is practically the same,” she said.
“You wrote that?” Jake asked in awe. “For us?”
“Angel, why didn’t you say anything?” Jay added with a wide smile, amazement and pride all to clear on his features. “That’s amazing!”
Mila smiled sheepishly as the boys began to shower her with praises.
“I didn’t know you could write lyrics… Good job,” Sunghoon said as he patted Mila’s hair. “I’m proud of you.”
Heeseung smiled. “We all are.” He then hummed as he remembers the lyrics to the song, now seeing each line in a new light. “So that’s what they meant… If I knew it then, I probably would have given a better performance.”
Mila laughed. “I doubt you could have done better than you already did. But anyway— those lyrics were basically my feelings about you guys… I mess up a lot, and sometimes I let my emotions get the better of me. But each time you help me become better. And by the end of it, I know that you’re the only ones I’d want to be with.”
“‘What is love to me? Teaching love…’”
Sunoo began part of the chorus, immediately followed by the others who joined in.
“‘In the end, the answer is always, only you.’”
Mila laughed as realisation spread over their faces. “So? What do you think?” she asked. “Do you know what I’m trying to tell you?”
“Awwww, Baby…” Jake sprung into Mila and pulled her into his chest, smothering her with love. “I’m not jealous anymore! I’m just really happy…”
Heeseung giggled like a giddy lovesick teenager. “I’ve never had someone write a song about me.”
“Me too!” Sunoo was beaming so widely, his eyes became descents.
“You did so good, Angel,” Jay praised. “You always know what to say, don’t you?”
Riki gave Mila a smug look that said, ‘Told you so.’ Mila laughed and shook her head, causing both Riki and Jungwon (who was next to him) to smile at her with all the fondness and adoration that a man could afford their lover.
Sunghoon, who was still in awe, was zoned out, staring blankly at a distant spot in the wall. After a few seconds, Jay lightly nudged his shoulder, completely breaking his trance.
“Yah, are you still there?” Jay asked.
“Huh?” Sunghoon shook his head. “Uh, yeah… I’m just still in shock. It’s hard to believe you wrote it for us… I’m touched. I think I might cry.”
Everyone laughed. Jay roughly pat Sunghoon on the back, and the previous tension in the air became infinitely lightened. After the revelation of Mila’s hidden talents, the boys — curious about hr work — continued to barrage her with questions, while simultaneously praising her to the heavens and back.
But one question in particular had Mila incapable of responding coherently.
“Wait a minute…” Jungwon tilted his head. “Does that mean you also wrote that line?”
Mila hummed. “Which one?”
Jungwon smirked. “You know… The one I sang to you before: ‘The purity of your neck—’”
“Ah!” Mila suddenly shot in from her seat was standing completely still as seven curious eyes turned to her. “No— you see— the thing is… they had to adjust the lyrics a bit to fit the vampire concept! So they… Well… Uh…”
“Ayyyyy,” Sunghoon teased. “Don’t tell me…”
“Wait so you have a thing for our necks?” Jake asked with a tilted head.
“NO!” Mila shouted.
Sunoo raised his eyebrow. “But then what about the lyrics, then?”
“You know, now that I think about it…” Jay pretended to be in deep thought, stroking his chin like a sage would his beard. “She does seem to like neck kisses a lot—“
Mila’s face almost exploded from how hot it was. “SHUT UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN!”
The room was filled with laughter as the busy observed Mila’s flustered state. And really — what else did she expect from them? Of course they had to tease her right after giving her so many compliments….
Indeed, some things never changed.
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DiA READERS
ahhh it’s so good to be back 😭 sorry for the wait guys but finally a full length chapter for you guys after my very long break🤭 (a very long chapter too— almost 10k wowza 🤯) i figured that we had so many hyung like focused fics that the maknae line should have time to shine - which is why this one focused a lot on their interactions with mila 😌 the ending was a bit meh bc i ran out of brain juice so sorry about that — but hopefully you enjoyed it nonetheless!! 🫶🫶🫶
but thank you guys for all your patience though the break and for being sl understanding! love you guys sm you’re the best readers na author could ask for and my break just made me appreciate you all the more MWAH MWAH MWAH 🩷🩷🩷
P.S. obv mila didn’t actually write still monster and credit goes to the actually writer, but let’s pretend 😆 also! for the anonnie who made this request for manly sunoo - hope this satisfied the requirements! 🫶
Sukuna is the type of boyfriend who tells you to shut up when you’re talking—and to talk when you’re silent.
He “hates” it when you cuddle him. He “hates” when you kiss him or show any kind of affection in public.
He “hates” saying “I love you,” and even mocks you for saying it. He says he hates it when you try to hold his hand. He just hates everything.
He says he hates it, hates you, and hates this relationship. That’s what he tells you—every single day.
At first, you thought maybe being mean was just his twisted way of showing he cared. It was weird, but you tried to be okay with it. But slowly, it started getting to you. When you reached for his hand, he would swat yours away. When you leaned in to kiss his cheek, he would push you back.
You weren’t a talkative person by nature—you only spoke when he asked you something. But even then, when you answered, he’d tell you to shut up or say, “Why are you talking so much?”
By the sixth month of your relationship, you had grown painfully quiet inside. You barely said anything, barely did anything. It felt like he had sucked the spark and life right out of you. You were constantly second-guessing yourself.
Every time you had a date with him, it felt like a chore—a heavy, anxiety-inducing task you had to get through. It wasn’t fun anymore. It made you lose sleep.
You started to doubt whether he even liked you as a person, let alone as a girlfriend.
Today was the fourth time you canceled a date on him. —The first time was because you were on your period and didn’t feel up to going out. He had grumbled, gone out to get takeout, then shoved the bag onto your chest and left without a word. —The second time, you had to babysit your cousins. —The third, you had to pick up your baby brother from a different state. —And now today, the fourth, you had a migraine.
For the past three weeks, you’d barely seen or spoken to each other. It seemed like life kept pulling you away—and honestly, you didn’t mind.
But he did.
He was already outside your house, waiting in his car when you texted him that you couldn’t come. He didn’t take it well.
Sukuna slammed his phone onto the passenger seat, got out, and slammed the car door behind him. Then he stormed up to your front door and started banging on it, hard.
You were lucky your parents weren’t home.
You flinched at the sound of his fists slamming against the wood. It wasn’t the first time he had gotten angry, but something about tonight felt worse. Maybe it was the pounding in your head, or maybe it was just the way your stomach dropped when you heard him yell your name through the door.
“Open the damn door, Y/N!” he barked.
You rushed to open it, heart racing—not because you wanted to see him, but because you didn’t want the neighbors hearing and calling your parents… or worse, the police.
His fist was mid-air when the door swung open.
He froze, standing in your doorway, chest heaving with fury. His eyes burned as they locked onto yours, and for a moment, you genuinely weren’t sure what he was going to do.
You looked away, unable to hold his gaze.
“I don’t feel well,” you said quietly. “You should go.”
He scoffed, stepping forward. Sometimes you wondered just how big he really was—how he seemed to fill the doorway with his presence alone. Broad shoulders brushing both sides, head nearly grazing the top. It was like he was built to block the exit, to make everything feel smaller when he entered.
He walked you backward into the house and slammed the door shut behind him.
“Are you serious right now? I’ve been waiting out there for an hour—again—and you’re gonna pull this shit?”
“I said I don’t feel well,” you repeated, your voice a little steadier this time.
He laughed, that same bitter, cutting sound that made your stomach turn. “Yeah, right. Another excuse.”
You went quiet, eyes dropping to your socks. You didn’t want to look at him. You couldn’t.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he snapped. “We haven’t gone on a date in weeks. You barely text or call. Spit it out—what the fuck is your issue?”
Your fingers nervously played with the hem of your t-shirt, tugging it slightly as if that could anchor you.
Then, softly—firmly—you said it:
“Let’s break up.”
Silence.
It was immediate and deafening. He went completely still. You could feel the shift in the air, like all the heat had been sucked from the room. You swore you couldn’t even hear him breathing.
But you still didn’t look up.
You stood there, staring at the floor, heart pounding in your chest like a warning drum.
You didn't want to see the look on his face. You didn’t want to see the moment he realized you meant it.
And you did.
You really meant it.
The silence didn’t last.
It cracked.
“What the fuck did you just say to me?”
His voice was low. Dangerous. Like the calm before a storm that you’d been caught in too many times before.
You still didn’t move. Didn’t respond.
“I said,” he growled, stepping closer, “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
You finally looked up. Just once. And what you saw made your chest tighten.
His eyes were wild—red with fury, disbelief twisting his face into something almost unrecognizable. His jaw clenched, vein ticking in his temple.
“Oh, I get it now,” he sneered, voice dripping venom. “There’s another guy, right? That’s why you’ve been so distant, so fucking weird lately.”
He stepped forward again, and you instinctively took a step back—until your back hit the wall.
He bent down slightly, crouching just enough to be level with your eyes. His face was so close, you could feel the heat of his breath, the way it shook with restrained anger.
“So tell me,” he whispered, voice low and mocking, “is that it? Is it because of some guy?”
You blinked rapidly, trying to fight off the tears burning your eyes. Your breath hitched, chest rising and falling with the effort to stay calm.
His red eyes searched yours. But this time, it wasn’t just rage in them—it was something else. He was looking at you like he was trying to memorize you. Like deep down, some part of him knew he was about to lose you for good.
“There’s no one else,” you said. “It’s just you. It’s only ever been you.”
He shook his head, his frustration growing by the second. His hands balled into fists at his sides, like he didn’t know where to put them, didn’t know what to do with the energy coiling in his chest.
“Then why?” he demanded, his voice cracking with desperation. “Why? You need to tell me. I need to know. Why?”
His breath came quicker now, but his eyes—they were wild, searching. As if you held the answers to a riddle he couldn’t solve, no matter how many times he asked.
And then, the question slipped out. The one you’d been too afraid to ask, too afraid to even let yourself think about.
“Sukuna,” you whispered, barely above a breath, “do you even like me?”
You didn’t want to ask it, but something in you had to know. Something inside you had to hear him admit it—whether he cared, whether this had ever been real, or whether it was all just a game to him.
You didn’t dare look at him directly, too scared to see the answer, whatever it was. You focused on the floor, trying to steady your breath, trying to hold yourself together.
There was a long pause.
And then, when he spoke again, it wasn’t with the anger or spite you’d grown accustomed to.
It was softer. Almost too soft.
“Of course, I fucking like you,” he muttered, though there was no confidence in it.
You shook your head, unable to believe a single word he said. “No, you don’t, Sukuna. No, you don’t. You hate me. You always say you find me annoying, and you hate this relationship. You don’t like me, let alone love me.”
The words tumbled out faster than you could stop them, like once you started, you couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Sukuna...” You took a shaky breath, voice breaking despite your best efforts. “I... I can’t even sleep. I don’t know how you feel about me or what we have. You’re so angry all the time. I get scared to talk to you or ask you anything...”
You almost felt like you were rambling, but the words were all that needed to be said, finally out in the open.
The truth, ugly and raw, spilled out of you like a dam breaking, everything you’d been bottling up for so long.
Sukuna stood there, staring at you with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t comprehend what you’d just said. For a moment, you could almost see the walls crashing down around him.
He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came. He was still processing, still trying to piece together the pieces of what you’d just revealed.
And then, his eyes softened—not in the way they usually did, filled with mockery or disdain—but with something far more terrifying: regret.
“I... didn’t mean for any of that to happen.” His voice was rough, hoarse, as if the words scraped against him.
“I didn’t know... I didn’t realize that it was like this for you.”
You looked up at him, your chest tight with emotion, heart pounding in your ears.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” he continued, his voice quieter now, almost defeated. “I was just—damn it, I…I do love you, Y/N. I love you so much I don't know what to do with it.”
You blinked, stunned, It felt surreal, like a dream or some twisted joke, but the look in his eyes—was undeniable.
For a second, you just stared at him, trying to piece it together. He loved you? After everything? After all the anger, the cruelty, the distance?
His eyes were searching yours desperately, as if he was afraid you wouldn’t believe him, afraid that you would push him away before he could prove it to you.
“I don’t know how to show it, okay?” he said, his voice cracking, frustration and fear bleeding through.
“I don’t want to be like this,” he whispered, his voice barely audible now. “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to make you feel scared or… or small.”
You swallowed hard, your heart a tangled mess of conflicting emotions. Was this just another lie? Another empty confession meant to keep you close, or was this the real thing?
Sukuna’s eyes bore into you, pleading, desperate for you to see past the anger, past the walls he’d built up over the years.
“Please,” he breathed, his voice rough. “Please don’t leave me like this. I can’t lose you. I know I fucked up, but I swear I’ll do anything to fix this”
You wanted to believe him. God, you did. But the fear still lingered. The fear that his words would fade, that the old habits would return, that the anger would drown out whatever this feeling was between you.
But... the way he was looking at you, the way he was fighting to keep you—maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for something different.
Your heart pounded in your chest as you slowly took his hand in yours. His fingers tightened around yours almost immediately, as if he were afraid you’d pull away again.
“We... we don’t need to break up, Sukuna,” you said softly, eyes still fixed on the floor. “But I need time. A break.”
You felt his body tense, his hand trembling in yours.
“A break?” he echoed, the word landing heavy between you both like a thunderclap. “What does that even mean?”
“It means I need space,” you said, more firmly now. “I need time to think. To breathe. I need to figure out if I can still be in this... if you really mean what you say.”
His jaw clenched again, but he didn’t pull away this time. His other hand ran through his hair, dragging it back with a frustrated sigh as he looked away from you.
“I don’t want space,” he muttered. “I want to fix this now.”
“But we can’t,” you said, stepping back a little, your fingers slipping from his hand. “Not all at once. You can’t just say the right words and expect it all to go back to normal. I’ve been walking on eggshells for months, Sukuna. I’m tired. I need to feel like I matter to you—not just when you’re scared I’ll leave.”
Silence settled like fog between you. He didn’t argue. He didn’t yell. He just stood there, staring at you with an expression you’d rarely seen on him—something close to remorse. Maybe even understanding.
“I’ll wait,” he said finally, his voice low and rough. “I don’t know how, and I’ll probably mess it up, but... I’ll wait. Just don’t disappear on me.”
You nodded slowly, swallowing hard. “I won’t.”
---//-----//-----//
i opened the doc thinking I was about to emotionally cripple and obliterate myself with some god-tier angst but no for some reason my brain and hand said....what if… love???
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