Guilty As Sin ► Y.JH

12

The days after the kiss felt like a slow descent into chaos.

Soleil couldn't escape the weight of what had happened-the electric pull between them, the desperate longing that had ignited, only to burn out in the light of reality. Every time she closed her eyes, she could feel Jeonghan's lips against hers, the way he had held her, the way she had clung to him, as if they could outrun the consequences. But they couldn't. No matter how hard they tried to pretend, the truth was unavoidable, and the guilt was suffocating.

She had tried to keep her distance from him in the days following that night, knowing that whatever they had done, whatever emotions had been unleashed, could not go unnoticed. They couldn't hide forever. But somehow, every time she saw Jeonghan, the tension between them thickened, pulling them back toward each other. The silence was heavy-more uncomfortable than the words they hadn't said.

It was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down.

***

It started with a text.

Soleil had been at home, scrolling through her phone, lost in her thoughts when the message came in-an innocuous message from Joshua, asking if she was free to talk later. At first, she didn't think much of it. But when Joshua mentioned that he needed to meet with her, her stomach twisted with anxiety. The band had been quieter since Jeonghan returned, but Soleil had a feeling this wasn't just about practice or a new song. There was a tension hanging over them, a storm that was brewing.

When she arrived at the small café where Joshua asked her to meet, the mood was already tense. Joshua's face was grim, his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee, his eyes avoiding hers as she sat down across from him.

"You look like you've been through the ringer," he said, his voice low, trying to make light of the situation, though the concern in his eyes was unmistakable.

Soleil gave a forced smile, her heart pounding. "What's going on?"

Joshua hesitated for a moment, clearly weighing his words. "You know how Minho's been... off lately, right?"

Soleil's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah, he's been distant," she said quietly, her mind already racing toward what Joshua might be implying. "But-what does this have to do with me?"

Joshua shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "He knows about you and Jeonghan."

Soleil froze. Her world seemed to tilt, and she felt as if the air had been knocked from her lungs. Her mouth went dry, and she stared at Joshua, unable to process the gravity of his words. "What do you mean he knows?" she whispered.

"He saw you two-together," Joshua said, lowering his voice even further, glancing around the café as if to make sure no one was listening. "Minho knows about the kiss."

The room seemed to spin around her. Soleil's breath caught, her hands shaking as she tried to steady herself. The guilt that had been gnawing at her insides since that night suddenly surged to the surface. "How-how did he find out?" she managed to ask.

Joshua leaned in, his voice tight with concern. "He saw you two talking after practice, then... well, I'm not exactly sure of the details, but he figured it out. He confronted Jeonghan, and things got pretty heated. I don't know what's going to happen now, but... he's furious, Soleil. You have to know that."

Soleil's heart sank. She felt a rush of panic and regret sweep over her, like the tide pulling her under. She had always known that the moment they crossed that line, the consequences would be impossible to avoid. But she hadn't thought it would come to this-Minho, their friend, their bandmate, now knowing the truth. Now, with the weight of that knowledge hanging over all of them, she feared everything was about to fall apart.