Chapter 73 — Unsaid, Unseen, Undone
1:08 PM — Hour Thirteen of the Broadcast
AUREUS Dorm — Living Room Cam
The group was gathered on the living room floor. Minjae and Hyunjae were halfway through a card game, Rin and Sungchan were competing in a mini arm-wrestling tournament, and the chat was flooding with comments like:
"RIN IS TOO STRONG???"
"JAEHEON IS TOO QUIET OMG SOMEONE CHECK ON HIM"
"Why is no one talking about how good he looks even sitting in silence???"
"Does Jaeheon even blink?? 💀💀"
The camera panned slightly to where Jaeheon sat cross-legged on the carpet.
Phone face down. Hands resting on his knees. Eyes distant.
There was no visible change.
Nothing to betray the storm in his chest.
But internally, time had fractured.
Her reply—those two words—had altered something fundamental.
It was like breathing in gold dust.
Every cell in his body buzzed with restraint.
Rin's POV
Rin wasn't watching the game anymore.
He wasn't watching the chat either.
He was watching Jaeheon.
From the outside, Jaeheon looked like always—composed, indifferent, aloof in the way that made people lean in closer.
But Rin had been there the night Jaeheon left for the ball.
He remembered the silence that followed.
He remembered the shift.
He didn't know what had happened that night. No one did.
But Jaeheon had come back different.
Quieter. Sharper. Colder around the edges but blazing somewhere deep beneath them.
And now?
Now something had just changed again.
Rin didn't ask.
He wouldn't.
Because there were lines you didn't cross.
Fan Chat (Selected Highlights)
"Why is it so tense all of a sudden???"
"Jaeheon blinked. Once. I counted."
"He's thinking about HER again isn't he 😭😭"
"HE'S BEEN SO SILENT ALL DAY BRO JUST SAY U MISS HER"
But the truth was—they didn't know.
No one did.
Not the fans.
Not the members.
Not even the staff.
Jaeheon's Internal Monologue
"She saw."
The words wouldn't leave his mind.
She didn't say she liked what she saw.
She didn't say she missed him.
She didn't say anything more.
But she saw.
That was enough.
It meant his world had touched hers.
Even if only for a second.
Even if only from behind glass.
He wanted to write again.
To say something.
To tell her everything he hadn't been able to in that garden.
But instead, he sat in silence.
And let the weight of those two words settle into him like gravity.
1:42 PM — Kitchen Cam
Minjae tried to sneak ice cream before dinner and got caught on camera. Rin dragged him back to the table like a strict older sibling while the fans roared with laughter.
Sungchan put on a giraffe headband and started narrating his day in dramatic wildlife documentary fashion.
Jaeheon?
He quietly opened his Notes app.
And typed:
"You replied. You watched. So I'll wait again. For whatever comes next."
He didn't send it.
He never would.
Some things weren't meant to be replies.
Some things were just meant to be felt.