Mah-e-Tanha 

Between Two Hearts

Sherri was never meant to be part of the story.

At 31, she leaves behind a life of routines and expectations, boarding a one-way flight to Seoul with nothing but a suitcase and a dream — not of stardom, but of proximity. To the stages, the music, the voices that once lifted her through the darkest seasons of her life. Seoul, she believes, will be her sanctuary. A quiet chapter where she can finally breathe, finally feel, finally live.

But fate, as always, has other plans.

It begins with a chance internship at SKY Entertainment, the powerhouse behind global sensation Slay Kids — eight young idols lighting up the world with synchronized perfection and smiles that hide more than they reveal. Sherri keeps her head down, grateful just to be close to the music. Until a late night in the practice room changes everything.

There, beneath flickering fluorescent lights and trembling breaths, she meets Hyunjin — the group’s most magnetic performer. Beautiful, intense, unknowable. He sees her, really sees her, in a way that startles them both. And behind Hyunjin stands YoungBok, steady and observant. A soft-spoken soul who watches every move Hyunjin makes like it could be their last.

As days turn to weeks, the truth begins to shimmer at the edges of her reality. There’s something between Hyunjin and YoungBok — something old, something sacred, something the world isn’t meant to see. A touch too lingering. A gaze too charged. Sherri feels the weight of it long before she understands it. And when Hyunjin starts looking at her the same way… she knows she's stepped into something dangerous.

She never meant to be the reason Hyunjin hesitates.

She never meant to stir the still waters between two people bound by more than just music.



Between the hearts

The living room was bright with the soft glow of the midday sun. Pale light streamed in through gauzy curtains, casting gentle shadows across the wooden floor. The three of them sat cross-legged around the low dining table, their lunch plates only half-touched — too much excitement buzzing in the air for anyone to focus on food. 


Sherri passed a spoonful of rice to Hyunjin’s plate, her fingers brushing his for just a moment. He smiled at her before taking a bite, but even then, his eyes flicked toward the other end of the table, where YoungBok was unusually quiet, picking at his salad with the kind of detached focus that usually meant his mind was miles away. 


“What’s with that face?” he asked, narrowing his eyes and leaning forward suspiciously. “You look like you're about to drop some kind of schedule bomb.” 


Sherri smirked, following his gaze. “He does have that look.” 


Chapter 26: Secrets Folded in Ribbon