Hayoon had never truly belonged anywhere. She grew up in an orphanage, raised by a system that treated her like a file instead of a person. She was the result of a one-night encounter her parents never wanted to take responsibility for, and from the very beginning, life taught her she was something to be left behind. So she learned how to survive quietly, how to take up as little space as possible. In high school, she met Jungkook. He was just another boy at first, someone she never expected to matter. But Jungkook noticed things others didn’t—the way she always sat by the window without looking outside, the way she spoke only when necessary, the way she carried herself like someone expecting to disappear. He started talking to her anyway, slowly pulling her into his world without even realizing it. And somehow, they became inseparable friends. Years passed. Jungkook became a global idol, constantly surrounded by fame, schedules, and expectations, while Hayoon stayed in her quiet world, working at a small café and living alone. Despite the distance between their lives, they never drifted apart. She was close with his family, and he was close with her silence. Their bond never needed a name. But four years ago, something changed for Jungkook. It wasn’t sudden—it grew quietly, like something he couldn’t stop noticing. The way she smiled when she allowed herself to, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear, the way she existed so gently in a world that had never been gentle with her. Friendship stopped being enough, but he never confessed. Not because he didn’t know his feelings, but because he did. Because saying it out loud might destroy the only safe place she had ever known. So he stayed close, quiet, and protective. Tonight, with a lighter schedule, he invited her to his newly built mansion. It was modern, quiet, and too big, more like a statement than a home. He told her it was just a normal visit, like always. But for him, nothing about “just friends” had been simple for years. And as he waited for her to arrive, all he could think about was the fact that she would walk through that door again, completely unaware of everything he had been holding back.