Beneath The spotlight

Chapter 12: The Weight of the Past

Dunk stood frozen for a moment longer, the familiar ache of confusion and frustration gnawing at him. The sight of Joong, sitting there so effortlessly like nothing had ever changed, made everything inside him stir. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the feeling of Joong’s presence—how much he still cared, even after everything.

But Joong didn’t look up. He didn’t even seem to acknowledge that Dunk was standing just feet away, and that small, quiet gesture hurt more than Dunk expected. It was as though Joong had completely erased their past, their battles, their tension. Everything they’d been through, all the fire and rage they’d shared, now felt like a distant memory, one that was locked away behind a door Joong had thrown away the key to.

Dunk wasn’t sure what hurt more: Joong's silence or the fact that Joong seemed to be living a life without him in it.

With a heavy sigh, Dunk turned away from the café door. He didn’t know what he expected to happen, but this... this wasn’t it. It wasn’t a confrontation. It wasn’t an apology. It wasn’t even a question answered. Joong’s silence spoke volumes, but Dunk had no idea what it meant. Did Joong even want to speak to him? Or had he truly left it all behind? Was Dunk still a part of Joong’s story, or had he become a forgotten chapter?

Walking briskly away from the café, Dunk tried to push down the emotions that had risen inside him. He couldn’t afford to linger in the past. His career was thriving. He was respected, admired, successful in ways he had never imagined when he had been at Joong's side. But somehow, success didn’t fill the void Joong had left.

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Joong’s Heartache

Inside the café, Joong finally allowed himself to glance up, his eyes briefly catching the door through the corner of his vision. Dunk had gone.

For a second, Joong’s heart skipped, the fleeting connection they’d almost had lingering like a whisper in the air. He wanted to chase after him. He wanted to call out, to apologize, to explain—something, anything—but the words refused to come.

Joong wasn’t prepared for this. He wasn’t prepared to confront the past, to confront Dunk.

For six years, Joong had kept his distance from everything he once knew—especially Dunk. It had been a way of surviving, of not falling back into old patterns, old conflicts, old feelings that were easier to bury than to face. Joong had convinced himself that avoiding Dunk was the right thing to do, that staying hidden was the only way to protect his new life. The life he had built with Kian, far away from the noise and pressure of his former world.

But seeing Dunk, so close yet so far away, had cracked something open inside him. He had thought that time would heal the wound—that the passing years would erase the tension between them. But it hadn’t. It was still there. The fire, the confusion, the need for something Joong couldn’t explain.

He knew he had been avoiding Dunk, avoiding the questions he knew would come. Joong hadn’t been ready to face him—not without risking everything. He had kept the secret of his son, kept his new life shielded, but seeing Dunk again stirred something deep inside him.

Joong didn’t want to let Dunk in again. He couldn’t. The pain of their past was too sharp, too raw, and Kian... Kian couldn’t know about Dunk. Joong wasn’t sure he was ready to let anyone into the world he had worked so hard to create.

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Dunk’s Reflection

By the time Dunk reached his car, the initial shock of the encounter had worn off, but the confusion remained, lingering like a heavy fog. He leaned against the side of the car, staring at the ground, trying to process what had just happened.

Why hadn’t Joong acknowledged him? Why hadn’t he even looked up? After everything they had been through, was that it? Dunk had thought, maybe foolishly, that if he ever saw Joong again, they could have some kind of closure. A conversation. An explanation. Something. But instead, Joong had ignored him, acting as though they were strangers.

Dunk clenched his fists, frustration bubbling beneath the surface. He had come so far, built a career, surrounded himself with people who adored him. And yet, Joong’s absence—Joong’s silence—still haunted him. It was as if Dunk had been waiting for a chapter of his life to close, but Joong never let him.

He shook his head, pushing his feelings down. There was no use in dwelling on it. Joong had clearly moved on—he’d disappeared for a reason, and Dunk wasn’t going to waste his time chasing a ghost. He wasn’t going to beg for answers that Joong didn’t want to give.

But why did it still hurt? Why couldn’t Dunk stop thinking about him?

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Joong's Regret

Back at his quiet house, Joong sat at the kitchen table, staring at the cup of tea in front of him. He hadn’t even realized he had made it until the steam started to rise. His mind was elsewhere, his thoughts tangled. Dunk’s face, Dunk’s eyes, still lingered in his mind. The way Dunk had looked at him—like he still cared, still had questions.

Joong rubbed his temples. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He had planned for this moment, prepared for it in every way he could. He had convinced himself that walking away from Dunk would solve everything. But now, the ghost of the past refused to let him go.

He didn’t want to face the truth. He didn’t want to confront the feelings he had buried deep inside. Not now. Not when there was so much at stake. Joong had made his choice. He had chosen peace. He had chosen his son. He had chosen a life where Dunk didn’t get to come back into the picture.

But the truth lingered, like a shadow that wouldn’t disappear. The more he tried to push Dunk out of his mind, the more Dunk seemed to consume his thoughts. And the more Joong tried to keep his son a secret, the more he questioned if he could keep living in this silence.

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