@anasthezia: pov: You don't remember the last time you laughed. Not a polite smile. Not the kind you forced whenever someone asked, "Are you okay?" A real laugh. These days, waking up felt heavier than sleeping. You answered messages hours late—sometimes days. Food lost its taste. Music became noise. Even your favorite places felt unfamiliar, like they belonged to someone else. People kept telling you it would get better. You wished you believed them. It happened on a quiet night. You found yourself sitting on a bench by the Han River, hugging your knees against the cold breeze. The city sparkled beautifully across the water. You couldn't feel any of it. "I come here whenever my head gets too loud." The unfamiliar voice made you glance sideways. A man in a black hoodie stood beside the bench, a cap pulled low over his eyes. You immediately scooted over. "Sorry." He chuckled softly. "I wasn't asking you to move." He sat down, leaving enough distance between you that it didn't feel uncomfortable. Silence settled between the two of you. For several minutes, neither of you spoke. "You don't have to pretend," he suddenly said. You frowned. "Pretend what?" "That you're watching the river." He looked ahead instead of at you. "People who actually come here to enjoy the view... don't look like they're trying not to cry." Your chest tightened. You quickly looked away. "I'm fine." "Okay." "..." "..." "I lied," you whispered. "So did I." You looked at him. "I'm not okay either." For the first time that night... You smiled. Just a little. The next morning, you almost convinced yourself you imagined everything. Until you found a cup of warm coffee sitting on the same bench. A sticky note was attached. You don't have to smile today. Just promise you'll see tomorrow. No name. No explanation. Just neat handwriting. You folded the note and slipped it into your pocket. You kept returning to that bench. Sometimes he was there. Sometimes he wasn't. When he was, the conversations were strangely... easy. You never asked what he did. He never asked why your eyes always looked tired. Instead... "Did you eat?" "...No." "Come on." "I said no." "I know. That's why we're eating." He dragged you to a convenience store. You watched him dramatically complain about choosing instant ramen for almost five minutes. "You look very passionate about noodles." "They're important." "They're noodles." "They're beautiful." You laughed. An actual laugh. Jake froze. "...There it is." "What?" "Your laugh." He smiled so warmly it almost hurt. "You should do that more." You looked down. "I forgot how." His smile softened. "Then we'll remember together." Weeks passed. Your meetings became a routine. He sent you pictures of sunsets without explanation. Clouds. Cats. Random flowers growing through cracks in the pavement. Every photo had a tiny caption. Still here. Thought you'd like this one. Look up. The sky's pretty today. Little things. Tiny reasons to keep looking outside. Tiny reasons to wake up. One afternoon... He never came. Or the next day. Or the day after. You stared at your phone. Nothing. No messages. No pictures. Nothing. Your chest sank. Maybe... He got tired too. Maybe everyone eventually leaves. Three days later... You heard footsteps running toward you. "I'm sorry!" You looked up. The man in the hoodie stood there... Without the hoodie. Your eyes widened. "...Jake?" He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Guess I can't hide forever." Jake. Jake Sim. From ENHYPEN. You stared at him in complete disbelief. "I had schedules overseas." "I thought..." You stopped yourself. "You thought I disappeared." He looked guilty. "I wanted to tell you." "You should've." "I know." For a long moment... Neither of you spoke. Then Jake reached into his backpack. "I bought these while I was away."

𝓐𝓷𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔃𝓲𝓪

Open In TikTok:

Region: PH

Monday 06 July 2026 07:53:51 GMT