Dance Partners || N.NK ||

Part 54/S2

One midnight, not being able to fall asleep, you had decided to go to the nearest convenience store to buy yourself a midnight snack.

Your face hid under the hood of your hoodie, your identity completely hidden from the rest of the world.
But still, you could feel the gazes of the few people around you lingering on you.
No matter where you went, you always felt watched.

"Is this the kind of life i used to live?" you mumbled to yourself, scoffing, while making your way to the door of the convenience store.

"Is that really her?" the faint whispers of the customers talking to eachother lingered in the open air—immediately reaching your ears.

You sighed, not really thinking much of the gossiping.
You picked a bag of gummies up from the shelves, before heading toward the cashier to check out.

The cashier quietly scanned the item before putting it inside a small plastic bag.
"That will be 200Yen" the cashier spoke, finally looking up at the customer infront of her.
The young lady gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock—making you raise an eyebrow at her reaction.

"What's wrong?" you mumbled the question, not wanting to make a scene by speaking loud.
"How can you ask that so casually?" the cashier said, her eyes still widened.
"What do you mean?" you asked, swiping your black card to pay.

The moment the payment went through, the cashier leaned slightly forward, her hands trembling as she whispered, "You're... Yn, right? From ENAURA?"
Your body tensed.

It was a name you hadn't heard in what felt like forever.

"I—sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, I just—" she laughed nervously.
"I was such a huge fan. I went to your debut showcase, I still have the signed album in my room. You were my bias."

You blinked, the words slowly sinking in.

You had forgotten what that felt like—To be recognized—To be remembered.

You laughed nervously wanting to say something in return but couldn't think of a reply as fast.
"Really?...since debut?" you asked softly, almost as if confirming for yourself.
"Mhm" the cashier nodded her head as she handed you the plastic bag with the purchased gummies.
"That's—i gotta go" you were about to say something else but immediately excused yourself and hurriedly left the store the moment you noticed how many people in the store had recognised you.
The cashier was left behind the counter with a smile of disbelief planted on her face.

"Being famous is f*cking crazy..." you mumbled to yourself, pulling the hood of your hoodie tightly around your face while heading back to Ni-ki's place—the place you now called home.

Click.

The sharp click of a camera shutter echoed through the open air, cutting into the silence like a whisper you couldn't ignore.

Click.

Your body stiffened at the next one.
Then again—

Click. Click.

The clicks of the camera shutter only multiplied, slowly forming a small crowd of people behind you.
It was past 12, and you were walking down the streets of a small city.
So from where did the people even come at this hour?

Were they your fans... or just onlookers feeding off your spotlight?

You took a deep breath—shaken.
Your steps quickened everytime you heard the sound of a photo being captured—it haunted you.

Lost under the preying eyes of the people far in the distance, the time went by slower than usual.
Your heart pounded faster than a clock ever could tick.
Your mind raced with thoughts of how to escape the preying eyes and the shutter of cameras.
It was the life you grew up to live—the life that used to be yours, but not anymore.
You weren't used to that kind of life anymore—the life with countless hours of dance practices—with paparazzi following you on every step you took.
You were just not ready to step back into your old life—not yet.
It felt suffocating.

Clutching tightly on the small plastic bag around your fingers, you suddenly made a run for it.
You ran as fast as you could—faster than ever before.

The moment you started running, fatigue set in—the lack of sleep catching up to you rather quickly.
You felt exhausted almost immediately, but the thought of being followed for any longer taunted you.

You gradually came to a stop as you reached the front door of Ni-ki's house.

You quickly unlocked the door to the house while taking a slight peek behind your shoulders to make sure nobody was around and slipped in.
The door shut behind you with a thud so loud that it could wake anyone up.
"That was...scary" you panted, the bag of gummies slipping from your fingers as you tried to steady your breathing.

The sound of a knob being twisted filled the air, making you flinch slightly.
You weren't expecting him to be awake at this hour.

"What's...going..on..?" Ni-Ki's deep sleepy voice echoed across the long stretched hallway as he rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up.
"N-Nothing" you replied, your voice still not steady enough due to the lack of oxygen.

There was a moment of silence.

Before you decided to break it.

"Go back to sleep" you said, walking towards the kitchen.

You opened the fridge—the hum of it filling the silence.
You then grabbed a bottle of water, shut the door behind you, and turned around as you took a sip—almost spitting the liquid out just moments later.

"The f*ck" you cursed under your breath, putting the bottle aside onto the kitchen counter.
"Tell me, what's going on?" Ni-ki asked, concern laced all over his face despite the tiredness.
"I told you to go back to sleep" you said, not wanting to keep him awake for any longer.
"How can i sleep, when you won't even tell me why the hell you were out at this hour, coming back breathless and shaken?" he suddenly spoke, his voice rough laced with worry and something else you couldn't quite place.

You stared down at the floor tiles, a quiet sigh leaving your lips.
You wanted to talk, to share what had happened at the store and on your way back home, but the thought of disturbing his rest made you stay silent.

"What's stopping you, Yn? Are you okay?" he questioned, stepping forward as you took a few steps back.
"Y-Yeah" you stuttered without realising.
You hated yourself for that.

"Well...the paparazzi" you eventually decided to tell him, your voice hesitant.
The closer he came, the more your heart pounded—its rhythm, which had just begun to settle, now picking up speed once more.

"What? Did you run into the paparazzi?!?" he asked, the calm tone of his voice now frantic.
You nodded, your gaze not leaving the floor.
"I was scared..." you admitted.
Although you had experienced it a hundred times before, the feeling of being recognised and then being followed...it felt undeniably suffocating, as if someone was choking the breath out of you—crushing you from the inside out.

The silence that followed was heavy, but not empty.

Then, without another word, Ni-ki stepped forward, closing the last bit of distance between you—wrapping his arms around you.
Your breath hitched at the sudden closeness between you two.
There was no hesitation in his hug, just warmth, steady and grounding.
But it was something you weren't really used to since your memory loss.
You didn't know whether to hug him back or not, you were reluctant.

"It's ok" Ni-ki whispered in your ear—like he somehow knew exactly what was on your mind.

At first you still held back, unsure, but eventually leaned into his embrace, hugging him back.
The echo of each heartbeat between them filled the silence,the world around them fading into a blur.
In that moment, there was no chaos, no cameras, no fear.
Just the warmth of his arms, and the quiet understanding that—no matter what—having each other was enough.

—THE END

I genuinely can't believe this book has come to an end already.
It feels like I just started writing it last month...and now here we are—at the final chapter.
This story, these characters, their love, their pain... everything has meant so much to me.
I poured my heart into every word, and seeing your support, your comments, and your theories has meant the world.

Thank you for staying with me on this journey.

...

SIKEEEEEE
You really thought I'd let it end like that?
Nah.
Get ready.
Chapter 58 drops soon.
And trust me—things are far from over.