While Wendy and Hyunjin were miles away in Japan — unraveling and rebuilding something far too complicated — back in Seoul, something else quietly bloomed.
Minho had been stuck in a loop. A beautiful, bitter loop named Seoyeon.
All his thoughts were haunted by her. Her laughter. Her perfume. Her ability to pull him in and then vanish without ever truly letting him in.
He still chased her. Like a fool. A heart-deep fool.
That week, he texted her every day.
She replied when she wanted something — tickets to a gallery, help with a project, a ride somewhere — and he gave it, every time.
Because love made you blind. And Seoyeon knew that.
She never said she loved him.
She never once looked at him like he was enough.
But she knew he would always show up.
And it drove Jessie mad.
"Minho," she snapped one night, storming into the living room (he had visited her) after reading yet another message Seoyeon had sent him, asking him to 'rescue' her from a boring party. "You need to stop."
He blinked, caught off guard. "Stop what?"
"This." Her voice cracked. "This... pathetic, painful orbit you've trapped yourself in. Chasing someone who doesn't even glance back."
"She needs me," he muttered.
Jessie laughed bitterly. "No, she needs attention. You? You just give and give, and she never even asks how you are."
He didn't reply. The silence dragged.
"I'm not saying this because I'm jealous," she added, softer now. "I'm saying it because... I care. You deserve someone who sees you."
Minho didn't say a word. He just got up and left.
But her words sat heavy in his chest for days.
~~
It wasn't until a few days later — after Seoyeon had ignored another text, after the high had finally worn off — that something cracked.
He realized Jessie was right.
That night, he went to find her.
The door to her apartment was unlocked, and the smell of rain lingered in the hallway. He stepped in quietly, unsure of what he was doing — only that he needed to see her.
In the balcony light, he saw her.
She stood barefoot, hair tied in a messy bun, humming under her breath while watering the plants she'd begged Wendy to let her adopt. She hadn't seen him yet.
And in that moment, it hit him.
She was always there.
The texts checking in. The laughs they shared. The way she noticed when he was quiet, tired, or sad. The way she remembered how he liked his coffee and always gave him the bigger slice of cake without saying a word.
She saw him.
Always had.
Something moved in him. Fierce. Grateful. Real.
When she finally turned and saw him, she froze.
His gaze was locked on her like she was gravity.
"Minho?"
He didn't answer. Just walked toward her.
Then without warning he cupped her face and kissed her hard. Like a dam breaking. Like the beginning and end of everything.
When he pulled back, she was breathless.
He touched her cheek gently. "Thank you," he whispered. "For seeing me. For being there... when she never was."
And that was how it began.
Not with fireworks, but with a kiss that said I'm finally home.
Seoyeon found out a few days later when Minho stopped texting her. When his smile didn't flicker for her anymore.
She confronted him in a quiet hallway on campus, eyes wide with disbelief. "You're with her?"
Minho met her gaze — calm, for once. Clear.
"Yes."
"But—Minho, I thought—"
"That I'd always wait?" he interrupted. "I did. I waited so long for you to look at me. Really look at me. You never did."
She flinched, but he didn't stop.
"I loved you," he said. "I would've given you the world. But you never wanted me... just the attention I gave."
"Minho—"
"And you need to stop getting in the way of Wendy and Hyunjin."
She stiffened.
"They're messy. Complicated. But if you're not going to support them, at least stay out of it. Let them figure it out without your poison."
With that, he walked away — not bitter, not angry.
Just done.
Jessie and Minho decided to keep it a secret at first.
Considering how fragile things were between Wendy and Hyunjin, they didn't want to throw their happiness into the chaos.
But secrets have a way of slipping out.
It was Wendy who caught them — Minho's hand lingering a little too long on Jessie's waist as they laughed over ramen.
She blinked. "Wait. Are you guys...?"
Jessie bit her lip. "Please don't be mad. We just didn't want to—"
Wendy broke into a grin. "Mad? Are you kidding?"
She pulled Jessie into a hug. "You swear to me right now that you'll never hide your happiness again. Not from me. Not for anyone."
Jessie nodded, eyes misty. "I swear."
Minho stood behind them, arms crossed, smiling like someone who'd finally found peace.
And for the first time in a long while, despite all the pain and confusion surrounding their messy little universe, something felt right.
