Chapter 7 – A Name He Doesn’t Give**

## **Chapter 7 – A Name He Doesn't Give**

The next morning, the air in Seoul was cold and crisp, the kind that wrapped around your breath like invisible fog.

Inside a small academy nestled between silent office buildings and quiet cafés, the boy sat by the window of an empty classroom.

His fingers turned the pages of a dense book written in three languages.

Calculus in Korean.

Notes in English.

Margin scribbles in Latin.

No one sat near him.

They never did.

Not because he was cruel or arrogant.

But because his presence was too heavy. Too distant. Too... unreachable.

---

Some called him "The Ice Sculpture."

Others whispered he was "too perfect to be real."

But no one knew his full name.

The teachers called him by the surname on his enrollment form—a name so plain it felt fake.

He didn't correct them.

---

At the same time, across the city, **Joon-seok** was losing sleep.

He replayed the dance in his mind over and over.

Not just the talent—but the silence.

The boy hadn't even asked for his card.

Didn't chase opportunity.

Didn't react like any desperate trainee would.

That made him dangerous.

That made him real.

> "I need to find him again," Joon-seok muttered, pouring his fourth coffee.

He grabbed his coat and left the office.

---

Back at the academy, the boy stood outside after class.

Snowflakes had started to fall—soft and weightless.

He stood still under the grey sky, watching them drift.

Then he began to walk.

No umbrella. No hat. Just his bag over one shoulder and earbuds in.

He walked past street corners and alley cafés, past neon signs and steaming vendors.

And as fate would have it...

Joon-seok was waiting again.

This time at the edge of the underground station, leaning against a pillar.

---

> "Hey," he called out.

The boy didn't stop.

> "You said to come back. So I did."

Still no response.

Joon-seok fell in step beside him.

> "At least tell me your name."

> "No."

> "Why not?"

> "Names make people curious."

---

They reached the escalator.

He stepped on. So did the scout.

Joon-seok laughed under his breath.

> "You're not easy."

> "Wasn't trying to be."

> "Look, I've scouted dozens of faces. I've seen idols born and broken. But you…"

> "I'm not them."

The boy turned slightly.

His hazel eyes burned golden under the station lights—so beautiful it made your chest hurt to look.

> "You'll regret it if you waste this," Joon-seok said.

Silence again.

The escalator reached the bottom.

The boy walked through the gate with a single swipe.

> "Maybe," he replied quietly.

> "But maybe not."

---

And he disappeared into the train like a ghost the world wasn't ready for.

---

**End of Chapter 7.**