Guilty As Sin ► Y.JH

06

Jeonghan sat in the studio, the low hum of the keyboard filling the space around him. It was late, and the Minho and soleil already gone home for the night. He stared at the keys, his mind in turmoil, the weight of what he had just confessed lingering heavily in the air. The words had spilled out before he could stop them, and now that they were out in the open, there was no turning back.

"I like her," Jeonghan had said earlier that evening, his voice quieter than usual, as if confessing to a secret he had been carrying for too long. "Soleil. I... I think I like her."

The band had fallen into a stunned silence. It wasn't a secret that Jeonghan had grown close to Soleil over the past few months. Her bubbly energy, the way she understood them without needing to try, had made her an integral part of their lives. But to admit he had feelings for her... that was different. It was dangerous.

"Jeonghan, you can't be serious," Joshua had finally said, his usually calm demeanor now tinged with concern. "You know how close she is to all of us. She's basically family. And she's Minho's younger sister. "

Jeonghan looked down at his hands, his fingers playing absentmindedly with the strings of his guitar. His bandmates were right. Soleil had become a part of their world-more than just a friend. They'd laughed together, cried together, and celebrated countless milestones together. But what they didn't know was how his heart had started to shift, how he had begun to see her in a way that felt different from the friendship they had always shared.

"That's the problem," Jeonghan admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's because she's a part of all of us that I can't stop thinking about her."

Wonwoo, ever the youngest but one of the most perceptive, shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "But isn't it... dangerous? What if things go wrong? What if-"

"What if it ruins everything?" Mingyu interrupted, his tone sharp. "We all know how fragile things are when it comes to the people we let into our lives. And Soleil... she's different."

Jeonghan sighed, his chest tightening. He knew they weren't wrong. His thoughts had already spiraled into the worst-case scenarios-what if things turned awkward between them? What if Soleil didn't feel the same? Or worse, what if their bond with her became strained, or worse, broken?

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Jeonghan murmured, running a hand through his hair. "I can't stop thinking about her, but I don't want to destroy everything we have."

The room fell silent, each of his bandmates lost in thought. It was Joshua who spoke next, his voice gentle but firm. "Jeonghan, you have to think about this carefully. Not just with your heart, but with your head. Soleil's a part of this family, and if you're going to take this step, you need to be sure that you're ready to deal with whatever comes next."

Jeonghan nodded, though his mind was far from settled. He had always trusted his bandmates' advice, but this time, the situation felt different. He couldn't just shut off his feelings like they had asked. Soleil had already found her way into his heart, and now it was a question of whether he could bear the consequences of acting on those feelings.

---

Meanwhile, Soleil was beginning to notice the change in Jeonghan's behavior. It wasn't just the subtle shifts, like him canceling plans last minute or becoming distant when she tried to talk to him. No, it was the way he seemed to avoid her gaze altogether. The way his usual warm smile had become stiff, forced even. There were times when she'd catch him staring at her, only for him to quickly look away when she noticed.

At first, she brushed it off as him being busy, maybe stressed about the upcoming tour or some new music they were working on. But it didn't take long for the nagging feeling in her chest to grow. Why was he suddenly acting so distant? Had she said something to upset him? She didn't think so, but still, the uncertainty gnawed at her.

She tried to talk to him about it, during a quiet dinner at the studio. She had made a joke about how they hadn't hung out in a while, but Jeonghan had barely responded, his mind seemingly elsewhere as he picked at his food.

"Jeonghan, are you okay?" she had asked, her voice laced with concern.

His eyes had met hers for just a moment, but the warmth she had always seen in them was missing. Instead, there was something unreadable-something distant.

"I'm fine," he had said, his voice a little too sharp, a little too cold.

It wasn't like him. Soleil's heart sank, and she had excused herself from the table, unsure of what to make of it. She tried to tell herself that it was probably just a phase, that he'd be back to his usual self soon, but the gnawing feeling in her gut refused to leave.

She had spent the rest of the evening pacing in her room, wondering if maybe, just maybe, he was upset with her. Had she done something to make him uncomfortable? Or had he just grown tired of her company?

---

As the days passed, Jeonghan's internal battle only deepened. He found himself constantly torn between his feelings for Soleil and his loyalty to the band. Every time he saw her, his heart would race, but so would the voices in his head-reminding him of the risks, the dangers of taking things any further. What if they hurt her? What if she got hurt? What if he hurt their friendship?

He couldn't bear to think about it, but the distance he had put between them was becoming unbearable. Every glance, every quiet moment between them, felt like a void that grew larger with each passing day. He hated the way things were now, but he didn't know how to fix it without causing even more damage.

One evening, Jeonghan found himself standing at the edge of the studio, staring out at the city lights below. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see a message from Soleil.

"Hey, are you free tomorrow? I was thinking we could grab dinner, just the two of us, like old times."

He stared at the message for a long time, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to see her, to talk to her, to fix whatever had gone wrong. But the fear-the fear of what would happen if he let his guard down-was too much.

So, he didn't reply.

And in that moment, the distance between them grew even more.

---

Soleil sat in her room, staring at her phone, waiting for a reply that never came. She had tried to convince herself that Jeonghan was just busy or tired, but deep down, she knew something was wrong. The shift in his behavior wasn't normal.. She tried bringing everything back to normal, that's the only solution she knowd,

Her thoughts raced as she thought back to the past few days-the moments where his eyes had lingered too long before quickly darting away, the times he had seemed more withdrawn than usual, the coldness in his words. It was as if the warm, easygoing Jeonghan she had always known had suddenly disappeared, replaced by someone she couldn't quite reach.

But why? Is it because i distance myself from everyone.

Soleil's heart ached, and she felt a rising sense of frustration, mingled with the sting of rejection. She didn't understand what had happened, but she knew one thing for sure-something had shifted, and she wasn't sure if she could fix it.

As she stared at her phone, wondering if she should send another message, the door to her room creaked open. She glanced up to see Jeonghan standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable.

For a moment, they simply stared at each other, the silence hanging thick between them. Finally, Jeonghan spoke, his voice low and strained.

"We need to talk."

---

Soleil's heart raced as she nodded, her stomach tightening with a mix of hope and dread. This was it. The moment where they would finally address what had been building between them for days.

But neither of them could have anticipated just how complicated the truth would be.