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Aera & Heeseung
Aera lay awake in her cabin, staring at the ceiling. The room was dark, save for the faint light from the moon that seeped through the curtains. Her mind was spinning, replaying every word of the argument she had with Heeseung. She couldn't shake the rawness of it, the way her feelings had spilled out before she could stop them. She had confessed that she cared about him deeply, and now she was stuck in the endless loop of wondering what might have happened if she hadn't said it at all.
Across the ship, Heeseung was lying in bed, wide awake. His head was pounding, not from drinking but from the mess of thoughts swirling around. He couldn't stop thinking about Aera. About what she said. About how everything had spiraled out of control so quickly. She had told him she cared about him—really cared about him—and instead of responding, he'd just shut her down.
Heeseung sighed, rubbing his eyes in frustration. "Fuck," he muttered to himself. He felt torn, confused, and guilty as hell. He had no idea what he was doing, and the more he thought about it, the worse it got. Aera's words kept echoing in his mind, the hurt in her voice when she told him she wanted him to care about her the way she cared about him.
He cared about her. Of course, he cared about her. But this whole thing with Bitna had thrown him off. Seeing Bitna again after all these years had stirred up old feelings, and suddenly, everything he thought he knew about his relationship with Aera felt uncertain.
Aera, on the other hand, was spiraling in her thoughts. She hated herself for being so vulnerable, for letting her guard down. She had sworn to herself that she wouldn't get too involved, that this thing with Heeseung was just a game—an experiment. But somewhere along the way, her feelings had grown, and now she was paying the price for it.
She rolled over, clutching her pillow tightly, her chest aching with regret. She hadn't meant to tell him, hadn't meant for the night to end in a fight. But when she saw him getting closer to Bitna, laughing with her, talking to her like she didn't even exist—it had all been too much. Jealousy had eaten away at her until she couldn't hold it in anymore.
She sat up, running a hand through her messy hair, her mind buzzing with questions. Did he really like Bitna? Did he even care about me at all? Or was I just some distraction?
It was impossible to know. All she knew was that their friendship, or whatever it was, felt broken now. She had pushed too far, and maybe Heeseung had already made his choice.
Heeseung, meanwhile, was tossing and turning in his bed. He had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do now. Bitna was his past, a nostalgic memory of something he once thought he wanted. But Aera... Aera was different. She had come into his life in such an unexpected way, and somehow, without him even realizing it, she had become important.
But is it too late? he wondered, staring up at the ceiling.
The next morning, Aera sat at the edge of her bed, exhausted. She hadn't slept a wink. Her eyes were red, her mind foggy. She felt numb. She didn't know how to face Heeseung after what happened, but she knew she'd have to see him eventually. They were stuck on this ship together, after all.
She dragged herself to the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face, trying to shake off the lingering emotions from the night before. But no matter what she did, the weight in her chest remained.
On the other side of the ship, Heeseung was in the same state. He had barely slept, his mind racing all night. He knew he needed to talk to Aera, to explain himself, to fix things. But he wasn't sure if it was even possible after everything that had been said. He had hurt her—he could see that now. And the worst part was, he wasn't sure if he could make it right.
Heeseung got dressed slowly, his movements sluggish. He wasn't ready to face her, but he couldn't avoid her forever. The whole group was supposed to meet for breakfast, and the last thing he wanted was for everyone to start asking questions. He wasn't in the mood to deal with their teasing or their bullshit. Not today.
When Aera finally made her way to the dining area, she spotted the group already gathered at their usual table. Her stomach churned when she saw Heeseung sitting there, looking just as miserable as she felt. He caught her eye for a split second before looking away, and that one glance was enough to send a jolt of pain through her chest.
She sat down next to Minju, forcing a smile as the group greeted her. But her mind was somewhere else entirely. She couldn't focus on the conversation, couldn't even pretend to care about what they were talking about. All she could think about was the tension between her and Heeseung, and how fucking awkward everything felt now.
"Yo, Aera, you good?" Jungwon asked, his voice breaking through her haze.
She blinked, realizing everyone was looking at her. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just... tired," she mumbled, trying to play it off.
Sunghoon raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "You look like shit," he said bluntly.
"Thanks, asshole," Aera shot back, rolling her eyes.
"I mean, I could say you look worse, but I'm trying to be nice," Sunghoon added with a smirk, earning a chuckle from Jay and Jake.
Aera forced a laugh, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Fuck off, Sunghoon."
Sunoo, always the one to notice when something was wrong, leaned in a little closer to her. "You sure you're okay, though? You seem... off."
"I'm fine," Aera lied, quickly changing the subject. "So, what's on the agenda for today? Another pool day?"
"Hell yeah!" Ni-ki chimed in, excited. "I'm ready to destroy everyone in volleyball again."
"You're not that good, Ni-ki," Jungwon teased. "Last time, you almost tripped over your own feet."
"Shut the fuck up, Won. I still won, didn't I?"
The group dissolved into laughter, and for a moment, Aera managed to distract herself from the tension gnawing at her. But it was short-lived. She could feel Heeseung's presence next to her, could feel the weight of everything they hadn't said pressing down on her.
Heeseung, on the other hand, was barely listening to the conversation. He was hyper-aware of Aera sitting so close, yet so far away. He wanted to say something, but he didn't even know where to start. Apologizing felt useless. What was he even supposed to apologize for? For being confused? For not knowing what he wanted?
The breakfast dragged on, every minute feeling like an eternity. Aera couldn't take it anymore. She needed to get out of there, away from the awkwardness, away from Heeseung.
