Chapter 1

The morning light slipped through my hotel window, soft and warm, brushing across the pale fabric of my dress.

I blinked slowly, still half asleep, my heart already beating a little too fast– not because of the wedding... But because of who might be there.

Dong min.

We never spoke back in school. I'm sure he doesn't remember me.

But, I remember him.

I always have – from the boy who loved music ... to the idol standing under a thousand lights.

He's never known, but I've been following his journey ever since.

I just never expected our path to cross again.

Not like this.

Not today.

"Yuri", called So young, that's when I snapped out of my thoughts. She looked at me and said, "I'm the one getting married, but why are you the one who looks so nervous." and that's when I realized– it wasn't just the idea of seeing him. It was the fact that, after all this time ... I still cared.

Even now, I was still the girl who looked at him from a distance.

"You okay?" Soyoung asked, softening her tone.

I nodded, trying to smile." Yeah. Just a little overwhelmed. " She didn't push. She never did.

I looked at her as she was putting on her veil, she looked genuinely happy– the kind of happiness that will light up the room. And somehow, seeing her like that made my heart feel lighter too.

We've been friends since middle school. The kind of friendship where words aren't always needed– we just... understand each other.

She's seen me at my quietest,

I've seen her at her loudest.

And today, she was about to marry someone she's loved since high school – Park Junghwan.

I remember the day Soyoung told me she had a crush on him. It was just before summer break.

"He smiled at me today", she whispered, clutching her notebook like it held secrets." I think I'm doomed."

I smiled back. I was the quiet one– the kid who only talked to her. She is the only one who saw my extrovert side.

She was the bridge between me and everything else.

Including him.

"Dong min asked Junghwan to hang out this weekend, so I'm free", she'd say casually, pulling me into her stories.

Or

"Dong min is so musically talented. I sat behind him for the music class, and he was so good at playing guitar." she always said his name easily. Dong min.

Me? I couldn't even look at him without my heart skipping.

"You're really hopeless," Soyoung used to tease.

" You like him so much, but you freeze when he's even five feet away." And she wasn't wrong.

I was the girl who liked him quietly, gathering every little update through her,

and smiled at the name he never knew was about him.

Funny how memories linger like perfume– light at first, then clinging to your skin when you least expect them to.

"You're spacing out again."

her voice came softly, pulling me out of the past.

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