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 Masjid was calm, almost sacred in its silence. 


The Nikkah had been completed quietly — just the group members, their manager hyungs, and Hyunjin’s family sitting in still reverence as the vows were exchanged. Sherri wore the elegant red shalwar kameez, YoungBok had chosen for her, the dupatta delicately pinned over her hair. Hyunjin stood beside her in the pristine white kurta, his eyes never leaving hers. 


There were no cameras, no flashes. Just prayers, quiet tears from Hyunjin’s mother, and a soft smile on YoungBok’s face — faint, distant, but genuine. 


They arrived home in the late afternoon, a quiet hush lingering in the air. Sherri went to her room to change and freshen up, while Hyunjin followed YoungBok into the bedroom they had shared for so long. 


YoungBok had already started packing — his open backpack on the bed, a small pile of chargers, earphones, USB drives, and skincare essentials next to it. 


Chapter 28: Touch Me Like We're Home