She officially hated her phone now.
Every time it vibrated, her heartbeat reacted before her brain could.
And honestly?
That was embarrassing.
Very embarrassing.
Saloni were currently sitting in her college library pretending to study while secretly staring at the same notification for the last twenty minutes.
Liked by: @Kairo.97
Still there.
Still ruining from her mental stability.
Her friend snatched your phone dramatically from across the table.
“Oh my God, MOVE ON.”
“I am moved on.”
“You’ve reread the notification more times than your syllabus.”
She glared at her quietly.
“That’s not true.”
“You zoomed in.”
“…Leave me alone.”
She laughed loudly enough to make the librarian glare at both of them instantly.
“Sorry,” she whispered awkwardly.
The silence returned again.
She tried focusing on her notes this time.
Really tried.
But unfortunately her brain had other plans.
Because now another dangerous thought had started forming quietly inside her head.
Why had he liked it?
Not the post itself.
The words.
Her fingers tapped nervously against the table.
You weren’t famous.
You weren’t an influencer.
Your account wasn’t even public before that repost happened.
So out of thousands of posts…
why yours?
Her chest tightened slightly.
“No expectations,” she reminded herself again.
That sentence had basically become her emotional support system recently.
Her friend leaned toward her suddenly.
“You know what I think?”
“That you need hobbies?”
“I think he liked your post because it felt honest.”
Saloni looked at her quietly.
And annoyingly…
that possibility scared her more than anything else.
Because honesty created connection.
And connection created attachment.
And attachment?
Attachment ruined people like you.
People who cared too deeply.
Saloni looked down at her notebook again.
Blank page.
Blank mind.
The library suddenly felt warmer than before.
Maybe because her overthinking had officially reached dangerous levels.
“I need coffee,” she muttered dramatically before standing up.
“You need therapy.”
“Also true.”
The campus café smelled like vanilla and exhaustion.
Students sat everywhere with tired faces and unfinished assignments while soft music played quietly in the background.
She waited near the counter absentmindedly scrolling through comments under her post again.
Most were sweet.
Some emotional.
Some people related deeply to her words.
And strangely…
that comforted her.
Maybe everyone was secretly more tired than they admitted.
“Large iced coffee for Saloni?”
She grabbed the cup quickly before moving toward the empty corner table near the window.
Rain had started again outside.
Of course.
She stared outside quietly while sipping her coffee slowly.
The weather matched our thoughts too well lately.
Her phone vibrated softly again.
Instagram notification.
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Another like?
Probably.
But the moment she opened the app—
Her entire body froze.
Because this time…
it wasn’t a like.
It was a reply.
From him.
Your breathing stopped instantly.
@Kairo.97:
> *”Sometimes strong people just need someone who notices they’re tired too.”*
Her mind went completely blank.
No thoughts.
Absolutely none.
She stared at the screen so long that it almost stopped feeling real.
Then suddenly— panic hit.
She locked her phone instantly and placed it face down against the table like the screen had personally attacked on her.
“Nope.”
Her heart was beating way too fast now.
This was becoming dangerously real.
A like was one thing.
But this?
This felt personal.
Her fingers slowly moved toward the phone again.
Then away.
Then back again.
“Get a grip,” she whispered aggressively to herself.
A group of girls nearby glanced toward her weirdly.
She smiled awkwardly.
Now she looked insane publicly too.
After mentally preparing herself for emotional damage, she finally unlocked the phone again.
The comment was still there.
Simple.
Soft.
Honest.
And somehow…
it sounded lonely.
Her chest hurt unexpectedly.
Because suddenly she could picture him reading those words late at night while feeling exhausted himself.
And for the first time— the distance between “idol” and “human” disappeared slightly in her mind.
That terrified her more than excitement did.
Because humans could hurt each other emotionally.
Idols felt safer from far away.
But this?
This felt dangerously close to real.
Meanwhile.
Inside HYBE’s practice room—
Yahon almost dropped his drink after reading the screen.
“KAIRO.”
Kairo instantly grabbed his phone back.
“Why are you so loud?!”
“YOU REPLIED?”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?” Yahon stared at him dramatically.
“You barely reply to US.”
Jiwoo laughed softly from the couch.
“He has a point.”
Kairo rolled his eyes while sitting down again.
“It was just a comment.”
But even while saying it— his thoughts drifted back toward her words again.
And strangely…
he realized something uncomfortable.
Most people looked at him like a celebrity.
But your words?
They looked at him like a person.
And maybe that’s why he kept returning to them.
Back inside the café, she stared at the rain quietly again.
Her coffee had gone cold now.
But her heartbeat still hadn’t calmed properly.
Because deep down— one terrifying realization had started forming slowly inside her chest.
Maybe this story was no longer staying one-sided anymore.
And maybe…
that was exactly what scared her most.
✨
> *”The most dangerous connections are the ones that start feeling real before you’re emotionally ready for them.”* 🌙