Rain started pouring outside her window at exactly 2:17 AM.
Of course it did.
Because apparently the universe enjoyed making everything feel more dramatic than necessary.
She sighed softly while pulling her blanket closer around herself.
Sleep refused to come tonight.
Her migraine had finally calmed down a little, but her thoughts were still painfully awake.
Which was dangerous.
Because late nights and overthinking had never been a good combination for her.
Especially recently.
Saloni unlocked her phone again.
Big mistake.
The moment Instagram opened, her entire feed became flooded with concert edits.
Kairo smiling.
Kairo laughing.
Kairo performing under purple lights.
It honestly felt impossible to escape him now.
She stared at one particular edit quietly.
The comments underneath moved endlessly.
“He looked so happy tonight.”
“His smile healed me.”
“I’d do anything to protect him.”
Her thumb stopped scrolling slowly.
Protect him.
Funny.
People always talked about idols like they were untouchable.
But nobody really talked about how exhausting it must feel to constantly belong to millions of strangers.
To always smile correctly.
Speak carefully.
Act perfectly.
One mistake and the whole world judged them instantly.
Her chest felt weirdly heavy again.
Without thinking much, she opened her private account.
No followers.
No profile picture.
Just a safe little place where she sometimes wrote random thoughts she could never say out loud.
Her fingers moved slowly across the keyboard.
“I think people forget idols are humans before they become celebrities. Sometimes I look at Kairo and wonder how tired he must secretly feel while carrying everyone’s expectations so quietly.”
She paused.
Then added one last line.
“The saddest thing about strong people is that everyone assumes they don’t need protecting too.”
She stared at the screen for a second before pressing post.
Done.
Honestly, she didn’t think much of it after that.
She locked her phone and placed it beside her before finally closing our eyes.
The sound of rain slowly filled the silence around her room.
And eventually…
She fell asleep.
Meanwhile.
Miles away.
Another sleepless night existed quietly inside a hotel room.
Kairo leaned back against the couch tiredly while scrolling through his phone absentmindedly.
Schedules had been exhausting recently.
Concerts.
Travel.
Cameras.
Interviews.
Smiling constantly.
Normally he ignored most social media posts after performances.
But tonight his mind refused to settle properly.
And annoyingly— that girl from the concert still crossed his mind sometimes.
Not because she was loud.
Actually…
because she wasn’t.
She looked at him differently.
Not excited.
Not obsessed.
Just…
understanding.
It was strange.
His thumb moved across the screen lazily until a random post suddenly appeared on his timeline.
Anonymous account.
No profile picture.
But the words made him stop immediately.
> *”The saddest thing about strong people is that everyone assumes they don’t need protecting too.”*
Silence filled the room instantly.
His eyes moved upward slowly, rereading the entire post again.
Then again.
Something about those words felt painfully honest.
Not dramatic.
Not attention-seeking.
Just real.
And somehow…
it felt personal.
Kairo stared at the screen longer than necessary.
Because for the first time in weeks— someone’s words made him feel understood instead of admired.
A tired smile appeared briefly on his lips.
Small.
Almost invisible.
But real.
Jihoon walked past the living room before noticing him still awake.
“You should sleep,” he said softly.
“In a minute.”
Jihoon’s eyes moved toward the phone screen briefly before smirking slightly.
“What are you reading?”
Kairo locked the phone immediately.
“Nothing.”
Which obviously meant:
something.
Jihoon laughed quietly before walking away again.
But even after the room became silent
Kairo still remembered those words.
Especially that last line.
And strangely…
for the first time in a long while— he didn’t feel completely alone carrying his exhaustion.
The next morning, she woke up to nonstop phone vibrations.
Saloni groaned tiredly before reaching toward her phone blindly.
Then froze.
Her private account notifications had exploded overnight.
Hundreds.
Her eyes widened instantly.
“What—?”
Her heart started beating faster while opening the app quickly.
Likes.
Shares.
Comments.
Thousands.
Confused, her eyes moved toward the top of the screen.
And suddenly—
Her breath stopped completely.
Because somehow…
Her post had been reposted by a verified NOVA7 fan page.
And underneath it— one tiny interaction appeared quietly.
Liked by: kairo_97
Her mind went blank.
Completely blank.
“No way.”
She sat up too fast, instantly regretting it as dizziness hit her head.
“No no no no—”
Her hands started shaking.
Because there was absolutely no way—
Kairo had just liked your post.
Right?
…Right?
✨
> *”Sometimes the words we write for ourselves end up reaching the people we never thought would read them.”* 🌙