You find out more about the competition

Later that night, as she slept with her head resting on my lap, her black hair cascading like silk over my legs, I found myself scrolling through the competition details on my phone. My stomach churned as I read the list of rules, the format of the show, and the roster of trainees. It wasn’t just a girls’ competition. It was co-ed.

The names of male contestants stared back at me, each one a potential threat. They would be training together, living together, sharing every waking moment in the pursuit of stardom. I imagined Haeun laughing with them, practicing routines, forming connections I could never be a part of.

I glanced down at her sleeping face, her long lashes brushing against her pale skin. Her lips were slightly parted, her breaths slow and steady. She was everything to me—my first love, my only love. The thought of losing her to someone else was unbearable.

But when I tried to voice my concerns the next morning, she silenced me with that same radiant smile. “You don’t have to worry,” she said, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I’ll only ever love you, Minjae. No one else.”

Her words should have been enough. They should have reassured me. But as the days passed, and the date of her departure drew closer, the gnawing sense of dread refused to leave me.