fifteen

"can we just go back to being us again?" -rain, the script.

——

misun couldn't focus on anything that day. the morning light spilled into her apartment, but her mind wasn't on her work, or her camera. every few minutes, she found herself unlocking her phone, scrolling back up through their messages—reading each line slowly, as if it might sound different the tenth time around.

she smiled softly at the screen, heart fluttering in a way she hadn't felt in years. stop it, misun, she told herself, tucking her phone under a notebook like that would stop her from thinking about him. it didn't.

chaewon noticed it right away when they met.

"you're quiet today," chaewon said, stirring her iced latte.

"just tired," misun lied easily, glancing at her phone again before realizing how obvious it looked.

chaewon smirked. "you've been smiling at your phone since you sat down. are you texting someone?"

misun's face warmed instantly. "no," she said too quickly, sipping her drink to hide her blush.

chaewon laughed. "sure, you're not." she didn't press, though, and misun was quietly thankful for that.

the rest of the day passed in slow motion. misun went home, edited some photos, and tried not to think about whether jihoon was busy or if he'd text her again.

she told herself not to wait for it—but she kept her phone nearby anyway.

on the other side of the city, jihoon was just as distracted.

he was in the studio with the others, laptop open in front of him, half-listening as seungkwan joked with hoshi about something. he smiled a little at their banter, but his thoughts kept drifting to the messages from misun.

he'd read her replies more times than he wanted to admit.

wonwoo looked over from his seat, eyebrows raised. "what's got you smiling like that?"

jihoon blinked, trying to look neutral. "nothing. just something funny i remembered."

hoshi laughed. "woozi smiling at nothing? that's suspicious."

he ignored them, but the corner of his mouth twitched again. he couldn't help it.

that night, misun sat by her window, scrolling through photos she'd taken earlier. the city lights blurred softly in the distance. she sighed, rubbing her tired eyes—and then her phone buzzed.

her heart skipped.

jihoon: hey. are you still awake?

she smiled before she could stop herself.

misun: yeah. just finishing up some editing. you?

jihoon: in the studio. i can't sleep.

misun: same.

a pause. then another message popped up.

jihoon: you always stayed up too late working. some things never change.

her chest tightened, warmth spreading through her at his words.

misun: maybe i learned that from someone.

he laughed, a soundless kind of smile hidden behind his screen.

jihoon: maybe.

their messages slowed after that—short, simple, comfortable.

jihoon: don't stay up too late.

misun: you either. goodnight, jihoon.

jihoon: goodnight, misun.

she set her phone down, the glow of the screen fading, and let out a quiet breath. the silence in her room didn't feel lonely anymore.

and somewhere across the city, jihoon stared at her last message, smiling to himself before finally closing his eyes.