the boy I knew | M.J

Everyone knows Michael Jackson.

His face is on magazine covers, billboards, television screens, and posters hanging in bedroom windows across the world.

But Y/N remembers the boy before all of that.

Before the sold-out concerts, before the screaming crowds, before the fame.

They grew up together. Best friends. Secret first loves. When Michael was just another kid trying to survive rehearsals, interviews, and a childhood that never truly felt like one, Y/N was the person who made him feel normal.

Then life pulled them apart.

Years later, Y/N owns a small beauty salon and watches from afar as her childhood best friend becomes the biggest star on the planet. Convinced he's forgotten her, she accepts a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work as a makeup stylist on Michael's team.

There's only one problem.

Michael doesn't recognize her.

Determined to keep her identity hidden, Y/N finds herself spending every day beside the boy she once loved-the boy who became a legend. As old memories begin resurfacing and an undeniable connection grows between them once more, Michael starts noticing something strangely familiar about the mysterious stylist who understands him better than anyone else.

But secrets never stay hidden forever.

And when the truth finally comes out, both of them will have to decide whether the bond they lost years ago can survive the spotlight that tore them apart.

A slow-burn friends-to-lovers story filled with childhood memories, stolen glances, second chances, and the kind of love that never truly fades.