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 sun filtered gently through the pale curtains, casting a golden warmth across the quiet kitchen. Sherri moved around with a practiced calm, still in her oversized shirt, sleeves rolled up as she whisked eggs in a glass bowl. The scent of melted butter already filled the space as she tilted the pan just right. 


Hyunjin walked in first, his hair disheveled and eyes still half-closed. He didn’t say a word as he approached — just let out a soft groan and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his cheek against her shoulder. 


“You didn’t have to get up,” he mumbled, voice hoarse with sleep. 


“I wanted to,” she replied, stirring gently with one hand while letting the other rest briefly on his arm. 


Right then, a second set of footsteps padded softly into the kitchen. 


YoungBok appeared in the doorway, yawning and rubbing his eyes, hair tousled into a soft halo of chaos. 


Chapter 30: Wild, Like Us