Frozen Memories➔ps.ff

Chapter 27

_

A week had passed since he saw her.

Yet, no matter how much he tried to push the memory aside, it kept resurfacing, uninvited, at the worst times. During rehearsals, interviews, even while eating—she was always there, lingering in his mind like a ghost from his past that refused to be forgotten.

Sunghoon was exhausted. Physically, from the back-to-back schedules, but more than that, mentally—because no matter what he did, he couldn't stop thinking about her.

"Sunghoon. Sunghoon."

A hand waved in front of his face, snapping him out of his daze. He blinked and looked up.

It was Heeseung. His hyung was staring at him with an unimpressed expression, arms crossed as he leaned against the practice room mirror.

"You good?" Heeseung asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Sunghoon cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. "Why?"

Heeseung let out a breath, shaking his head. 

"Because we've been calling your name for like a whole minute, and you're just sitting there like a statue."

The other members were watching now too. Jay, sitting beside him, gave him a nudge with his elbow. 

"Seriously, man. You've been spacing out a lot lately."

Sunghoon forced a chuckle, trying to brush it off. "I'm just tired."

"Yeah, we're all tired," Heeseung shot back. 

"But you? You've been in another world all week." He tilted his head, studying Sunghoon's face. "Something on your mind?"

Sunghoon's jaw tensed. He hated how observant Heeseung could be sometimes. But he just shook his head, picking up his water bottle. 

"It's nothing."

Jay and Heeseung exchanged a glance. Neither of them looked convinced, but they didn't push further.

"Alright," Heeseung finally said, clapping his hands together. 

"Break's over. Let's get back to practice before the choreographer kills us."

As everyone got back into position, Sunghoon took a deep breath. Focus. That was what he needed to do.

But no matter how hard he tried, the weight in his chest refused to disappear.

_

Sunghoon stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, his hands resting on his stomach as he lay in bed. The room was dark except for the faint glow of the city lights filtering through his curtains.

Sleep wasn't coming to him tonight. Just like every night since that day.

Lying in bed, he found himself staring blankly at the ceiling, his thoughts a tangled mess.

His fingers twitched, itching to grab his phone, to search her name, to find out more about her. But he stopped himself. He wouldn't do it.

Instead, he sighed and rolled out of bed, heading to the small keyboard in the corner of his room. His fingers found the keys automatically, pressing down on a soft melody. The same one he had been playing for days now.

A song that had no lyrics yet.

A song that carried too much emotion for him to name.

Music had always been his escape, yet tonight, even the notes felt suffocating.