The Love We Hide, The Love We Hold

Soo Yeon’s Point of View

The fans were screaming.

Thousands of voices colliding in a storm of devotion, high-pitched and unrelenting as the lights hit our faces. I adjusted the in-ear monitor, nodded to Shin on my left, and forced the kind of smile I’d rehearsed for years. Not fake. Just carefully constructed.

But behind the showmanship — the charming wink, the practiced wave, the choreographed steps — was a heartbeat off-rhythm.

Because she was here.

Somewhere behind the curtain, in the folds of stage black and shadow.

Dora.

My Dora.

It had been less than 48 hours since she returned. Since I held her again and told her I still loved her, and she didn’t run.

But this stage, this life… it always pulled me in like a tide.

Would she still want to be here when the waves got rough?

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“Soo Yeon, your mic,” Jemmy nudged me, half-laughing. “You’re zoning out.”

“Right. Sorry.”