Jin x Cherry

After Jini walked off, Cherry stayed.

Still scrolling. Still smirking like it didn't matter.

But Jin was watching — not with curiosity.

With something colder.

Cherry (without looking):

"You're staring again."

Jin (quiet):"You're still trying too hard."

She turned slowly, meeting his eyes like she was used to reading every version of him.

Cherry:"I'm not the one pretending we never happened."

Jin:"We didn't happen."

That made her blink. Just once. Then she laughed — soft and sharp, like glass cracking.

Cherry: Right.

She stepped closer, eyes locked on his.

Cherry (whisper):"If I don't matter anymore... then why do you always react when I talk"

I didn't mean to hear it.

I was just passing by the old hallway near the back stairs — the one that always smelled like dust and secrets. But when I heard Cherry's voice, low and sharp, I stopped walking.

Cherry:"You don't get to act like I'm the one who ruined it."

Jin:"You did."

Ouch.

I peeked around the corner — just enough to see them, not enough to be seen.

Cherry:"Right. Of course. I forgot. Jin Marcos is never wrong."

He didn't say anything. He just stood there, hands in his pockets like they were holding something back.

Cherry (softer):"Why'd you even start something with me... if you planned to run the second things got real?"

Still nothing.

Cherry:"You know what's funny? People think I'm the loud one. But you're the one who disappears."

My chest tightened, and I didn't know why. I shouldn't have been here. This wasn't my moment.

But I couldn't look away.

Jin (quiet):"You're still talking like it matters."

She laughed. That kind of laugh you let out when you're done pretending it doesn't hurt.

Cherry:"If it didn't matter, you wouldn't be this mad."

She walked past him — and for a second, I thought she might cry.

But she didn't.

And Jin?

He didn't stop her.

He didn't look back.

But his hand curled again — just like it did before.

Scene 2

I walked away before I could hear any more.

Their voices faded behind me, but the tension stayed stuck in my chest like a knot I couldn't untangle. I didn't know why it affected me — maybe because it was the first time I saw my brother feel something. Or maybe… because Cherry's pain reminded me of mine.

I kept walking.

Didn't look up. Didn't think.

Until I heard a familiar voice.

Jack:"You always walk like you're running from something."

I stopped.

He was leaning against the wall near the lockers, hands in his pockets like always — quiet, unreadable, but watching me.

Jini:"You always appear out of nowhere."

Jack:"Maybe I'm just good at finding things that try to disappear."

My heart skipped. I hated that.

Jini:"You're not funny, you know."

He tilted his head slightly.

Jack:"I'm not trying to be."

I looked at him — really looked.

There was something about Jack in this moment that felt... different. Not cold. Not arrogant. Just tired. Like he was holding something he didn't want anyone else to carry.

Jini:"Why are you even here?"

Jack:"Same reason you are."

Jini:"And what's that?"

He didn't answer. Just looked away for a second before saying, softly:

Jack:"To breathe."

Silence.

But this time, it didn't hurt.

It felt like maybe... I wasn't the only one suffocating quietly.

We stood there — just for a while — saying nothing.

And for the first time in a long time, I didn't want to be alone.