At the Park estate, the night felt unusually heavy.
Juwon paced his room for the fifth time, tossing his phone onto the bed only to snatch it up again seconds later. Normally by now, Taemin would have sent some stupid, teasing message or shown up uninvited just to irritate him. But today? Nothing.
No "cute" nicknames. No smirking emojis. No annoying but secretly addictive presence.
Finally, Juwon gave in and dialed his number. It rang. And rang. No answer.
Meanwhile, across the city, the pounding bass of a club drowned out almost everything.
Taemin sat at the bar, a half-empty glass of whiskey in his hand, the dim neon lights painting his face in shifting shades of blue and red.
"Back here after so long, huh?" Mingyu, leaning casually beside him, tilted his drink toward him. "Didn't think I'd see you in this place again."
Taemin didn't respond. He just swirled the amber liquid in his glass, his mind far from the noise around him.
