Walking back to his place, Jin-ho glanced at the photos he had taken earlier.
A faint smile formed on his face as he looked through them, still slightly unable to believe what had just happened.
It was a small regret that he did not manage to get their autographs.
But even so, a picture with them was more than enough for him.
He then sent the photos to Ji-min, curious about how she would react.
After that, he continued walking home, checking his phone for a reply later at home.
At aespa’s dorm, all four members were in the living room after finishing their schedule for the day.
Winter sat comfortably on the sofa beside Giselle, while Ningning and Ji-min were seated on the floor.
Ji-min was casually scrolling through her phone, checking the reception of their latest comeback.
Seeing the mostly positive reactions, she let out a small, satisfied smile.
No one wanted a comeback to fail.
As she continued scrolling, her phone suddenly buzzed with a notification.
The sound caught everyone’s attention.
All three pairs of eyes shifted toward Ji-min.
Ji-min paused, feeling their gaze on her.
Ningning, with a playful spark in her eyes, suddenly leaned over and snatched the phone from her hands before bolting away.
It did not even seem like she intended to check it, just to cause trouble.
“Yah!
Give it back!” Ji-min shouted as she immediately got up and chased after her.
Winter and Giselle only watched, staying out of it.
“Yah!
Ning Yizhou!” Ji-min called out, using her full name.
Ningning stopped the moment she heard it.
For a second, she considered returning the phone.
But then she changed her mind.
In one quick motion, she threw it toward Winter and Giselle instead.
Both of them reacted quickly and caught it safely.
Winter ended up holding the phone.
She hesitated for a moment, then unlocked the message Ji-min had received.
The moment she saw it, she froze.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Giselle leaned forward first, taking a closer look at the phone.
Her expression shifted slightly as she processed what she was seeing.
It surprised her.
None of them had expected that Ji-min even had contact with Jin-ho.
She looked at the screen again, more carefully this time, her eyes narrowing slightly as recognition slowly returned.
Then it clicked.
They had seen him before.
Not online, and not just as a passing face in a crowd.
But in person.
During that outdoor stage performance.
All three of them had been on stage that day, interacting with the audience, when he was chosen as the “lucky audience” member.
At the time, he had just been another face under bright lights and noise.
A brief interaction.
A passing moment.
Something that should have been forgotten easily.
But it did not stay that way.
The moment between Ji-min and that audience member had later spread online and gone viral, replayed and discussed across social media clips.
And now, seeing his face again in Ji-min’s message, tied directly to her personal contact, made that memory resurface in a completely different light.
More personal.
More connected than it had ever seemed before.
Ji-min noticed their reactions shifting.
“…You know him?” Giselle asked slowly.
No one answered right away.
The silence deepened.
Ji-min frowned slightly.
Something felt off.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward and quickly took her phone back from Winter’s hand.
She opened the message herself.
It was from Jin-ho.
Attached was an image.
In it, he stood between Won-young and Yu-jin.
A simple photo, taken casually.
Below it was a short message.
“Look who I met today.”
Ji-min’s brows slowly tightened.
She stared at the screen for a moment longer than necessary.
An unfamiliar feeling settled in her chest, subtle and uncomfortable, something she could not immediately name.
The room went quiet.
Winter, Giselle, and Ningning exchanged uncertain glances, unsure how to react.
Ningning eventually broke the silence, walking closer.
“…What did it say?”
No one answered.
Ji-min let out a small, barely audible “tch,” still looking at the screen.
Ningning leaned in anyway.
The moment she saw the image, she blinked.
Then, without thinking, she blurted out:
“…What is this?”
Ningning looked at the image first and immediately recognized Jin-ho.
After all, he was that handsome “lucky audience” member from their outdoor promotion stage.
The one whose interaction with Ji-min had ended up spreading online afterward.
But what surprised her even more were the people standing beside him.
IVE’s Won-young and Yu-jin.
Ningning blinked once.
Then twice.
Before looking back at Ji-min.
“…Wait.”
A pause.
“Is this your boyfriend?”
The room instantly fell silent.
Ji-min did not answer.
Not because she wanted to avoid it.
Her mind had simply stopped for a moment.
Ningning stared at her.
Then slowly reached out and poked her cheek.
“Oi.”
Only then did Ji-min snap back to reality.
“No!
He’s not!”
She answered so quickly that it almost sounded like a reflex.
“I don’t even have a boyfriend yet!
I’m not trying to violate my contract!”
Her voice rose slightly.
Almost too quickly.
Almost too defensively.
The three looked at her.
Silently.
Ji-min immediately continued.
“He’s the person I told you about before.
The one I picked up last time.”
“We just hung out at his place.”
The moment the words left her mouth—
Silence.
Again.
Winter blinked.
Giselle slowly turned her head.
Ningning stared.
Ji-min froze.
Then realization hit.
“…Wait.”
Her eyes widened.
“No, not like that!”
She immediately pointed at all three of them.
“You three, don’t think weird things!”
“We’re not like that.”
She tried drawing a clear line between herself and Jin-ho.
Tried being firm.
Tried sounding convincing.
But somehow…
The more she explained, the less convincing she sounded.
The three only looked at her.
No one said anything.
But their expressions said enough.
Yeah, sure.
We totally believe you.
Ji-min looked back and immediately understood what those faces meant.
Her eyes narrowed.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
No one answered.
Which somehow made it even worse.
Ji-min stared at them for another second before deciding not to argue anymore.
She did not care what they thought.
Not right now.
Instead, her attention returned to her phone.
More specifically, to Jin-ho.
She was obviously curious.
How exactly did he end up meeting Won-young and Yu-jin?
Of all people.
Without another word, Ji-min stood up and walked toward her room.
“Where are you going?” Ningning asked.
Ji-min did not turn around.
“To ask him.”
Then she opened the door and quietly stepped inside.
Click.
The door closed.
The living room stayed silent for a moment.
Then the three looked at each other.
And smiled.
It was strangely amusing seeing their usually composed leader act like this.
She insisted they were just friends.
Repeated it several times, even.
Yet somehow, the atmosphere around the two of them never felt that simple.
Not enough to call it romance.
But not completely ordinary either.
Still, none of them said anything more.
Instead, they simply exchanged knowing looks.
Then silently agreed to let nature take its course.
Ji-min sat on the edge of her bed and stared at her phone for a few seconds.
Then she pressed call.
She was curious.
Very curious.
Out of all people, how did Jin-ho end up meeting those two?
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
As she waited, her thoughts drifted back to the image.
Jin-ho standing in the middle.
Won-young on one side.
Yu-jin on the other.
For some reason, the picture kept replaying in her head.
Before she could think about it any further—
Click.
The call connected.
“Want to ask how I met them?”
Jin-ho spoke immediately.
No greeting.
No “hello.”
Just straight to the point.
Ji-min blinked.
“…Yeah.”
“I want to know how you met them.”
Her voice sounded calm.
Perfectly normal.
But somehow, Jin-ho felt like she was holding something back.
Like there was something else she wanted to ask but chose not to.
Jin-ho did not think too deeply about it.
He simply started explaining.
But instead of beginning with the convenience store, he started from earlier.
The night Won-young had been surrounded by those drunk men.
From helping her.
To meeting her again.
To unexpectedly running into both her and Yu-jin tonight.
He told her everything.
There was nothing to hide.
And from his perspective, he had not done anything wrong.
Ji-min listened quietly from beginning to end.
But the more she listened, the stranger her feelings became.
Because if she thought about it logically…
She knew her reaction was too sensitive.
Too much.
Sensitive about what exactly?
Jin-ho meeting another girl?
No.
That should not matter.
Especially because she only saw him as a friend.
At least…
That was what she had always told herself.
But then another thought appeared.
Out of everyone, it had to be Won-young and Yu-jin.
Members of IVE.
A group Jin-ho openly liked.
Ji-min stared down at the blanket beside her.
She did not understand why she was feeling like this.
Before Jin-ho returned from military service, she had only missed him as a childhood friend.
Just a friend.
Now…
She did not know anymore.
Her mind kept telling her to focus on her career.
To focus on the group.
To focus on the path she had already chosen.
But somewhere deep inside.
A quieter feeling wanted something different.
Jin-ho finished explaining everything.
Currently, he was sitting in the living room, casually watching television.
A sports channel was playing on screen, the volume turned low enough to become background noise.
He picked up the drink he had bought from the convenience store and took a sip while waiting for Ji-min to respond.
Silence.
Then—
“…I see.”
Ji-min’s voice came from the other side of the call.
Jin-ho leaned back slightly.
Then she asked:
“…So you must be happy then?”
Jin-ho blinked.
“Of course.”
He answered naturally while reaching into the plastic bag beside him.
“I’m a fan of theirs after all.”
He pulled out one of the snacks he bought earlier.
On the other end, Ji-min stayed quiet for a second before asking again:
“Did you get their autograph?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
Jin-ho sounded a little disappointed.
“I didn’t have anything for them to sign.”
“So I asked for a picture instead.”
A brief pause followed.
Then Jin-ho asked:
“So?”
“Happy with the explanation?”
Ji-min quietly answered:
“…Yeah.”
Silence returned.
Neither of them spoke.
Not because they wanted to end the conversation.
But because neither of them knew what to say next.
The call remained connected.
Yet for some reason, both simply stayed there, listening to the quiet sounds from the other side.
The uncomfortable feeling from earlier had faded little by little.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough for her to understand that she had simply overthought things.
After hearing everything from beginning to end, there was not really anything to misunderstand.
Jin-ho had just unexpectedly met them.
That was all.
Nothing more.
“…Okay.”
She let out a small breath.
“I get it now.”
Jin-ho, still leaning back on the couch, smiled faintly.
“Good.”
Silence settled between them again, though this time it felt lighter.
Less awkward.
More familiar.
Jin-ho glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was getting late.
He looked toward the television for a moment before speaking.
“Anyway…”
Ji-min quietly listened.
“Take care of yourself.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard because of schedules.”
He paused briefly.
“And eat properly too.”
His voice remained casual, almost effortless.
Like it was something he said naturally.
Something he had probably said many times before.
On the other side, Ji-min stayed quiet for a second.
Then a small smile slowly appeared on her face.
“…You sound like an old man.”
She said softly.
Jin-ho snorted.
“And you still sound the same.”
Ji-min lowered her eyes slightly.
For some reason, hearing those simple words felt strangely nice.
“…You too.”
“Take care of yourself.”
A small pause.
Then quieter:
“…And don’t meet too many girl group members.”
Silence.
Ji-min froze.
Realization immediately hit.
“…Wait.”
“No, I didn’t mean—”
Meanwhile, in the living room, Jin-ho just stared ahead.
Then slowly smiled.
A brief silence followed.
Jin-ho leaned back against the couch, the corner of his lips slowly rising.
Then, with a small smile on his face, he asked:
“…Does that include your group too?
aespa?”
Silence.
For exactly one second.
Then two.
On the other side of the call, Ji-min froze.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Then her expression slowly changed.
“…What?”
Jin-ho could almost imagine her face through the phone.
He could already tell she was realizing what he meant.
“So aespa counts too?” he added casually.
“You want me to avoid your group too?”
Ji-min immediately sat up straighter on the bed.
“That’s not what I meant!”
She answered a little too quickly.
Jin-ho held back a laugh.
A little.
Only a little.
Because hearing her suddenly react like that was unexpectedly amusing.
Ji-min realized it immediately.
Realized he was teasing her.
Again.
Her cheeks slowly warmed.
“…Stop twisting my words.”
She frowned, slightly upset now.
Not genuinely angry.
Just enough to feel embarrassed.
Jin-ho, meanwhile, sat there smiling to himself.
For some reason, bothering Ji-min like this was still as easy as ever.
Hearing the slight frustration in her voice, Jin-ho finally let out a quiet laugh.
“Relax.”
He leaned back further into the couch.
“I’m just joking.”
The teasing tone disappeared from his voice, replaced by something softer.
Ji-min stayed quiet for a moment.
“…You’re annoying.”
She muttered under her breath.
But there was no real anger behind it.
Only embarrassment.
Jin-ho smiled faintly.
Some things really had not changed.
Not after all these years.
Not even after military service.
The two stayed on the call for a little longer, talking about random things.
Nothing important.
Small topics.
Things they normally would not even remember later.
Yet somehow, those conversations felt comfortable.
Natural.
Like returning to something familiar.
Eventually, the clock crept further into the night.
Jin-ho glanced at the time.
“You should sleep.”
Ji-min looked at the clock in her room as well.
“…You too.”
A brief silence followed.
Then:
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
Click.
The call ended.
On one side, Ji-min quietly lowered her phone and sat there for a moment.
For reasons she still did not understand completely.
Her mood felt a little better now.
On the other side, Jin-ho stared at the now-dark phone screen before placing it beside him.
The television continued playing in the background, but he was no longer watching it.
His thoughts lingered for a moment on the conversation he just had with Ji-min.
Her tone.
Her reactions.
The small pauses between her words.
He exhaled lightly.
Nothing unusual, he told himself.
Just a childhood friend checking in.
That was all.
He leaned back, gaze fixed loosely on the ceiling for a moment.
Then he shook his head slightly, as if clearing his thoughts.
“…Too much thinking.”
He reached for the remote and turned off the television.
The room went quiet at once.
Jin-ho stood up, stretched once, and glanced around the living room.
Then he walked toward his room without looking back.
A few moments later, he was already getting ready to sleep.