Chapter Text
The first time they performed together, Haewon understood why people said chemistry could be seen before it was explained.
The stage itself was simple.
Just two microphones and a song about timing.
When the stage manager called places, everything moved quickly after that.
Lights dimmed.
Music swelled.
The audience disappeared behind the brightness on the stage.
And suddenly, they were standing beside each other under the heat of the stage lights.
She expected nerves.
She expected to panic.
Instead, the moment the first note started playing in her in-ear, something in her settled.
Because Seungkwan looked at her like she was a part of the performance instead of a mistake inside it.
No pressure.
No expectations.
Just trust.
And for the first time since debuting, Haewon stopped thinking about whether she deserved to be onstage.
Haewon leaned against the wall and closed her eyes briefly.
“Hey.”
His voice.
It sounded so close, and yet it still feels like he's miles away.
Haewon opened her eyes and discovered Seungkwan standing a few feet away, his expression softer than usual. "You disappeared," he said.
“I needed air.”
“You needed to stop pretending you were okay.”
That hit too accurately.
Haewon found herself looking away immediately, unable to withstand the reality behind Seungkwan's words. "I am okay."
Seungkwan didn’t answer right away. But when he did, the empty hallway suddenly felt too quiet.
The hallway suddenly felt too quiet.
Not knowing how to react, Haewon laughed weakly instead. “That sounds dramatic.”
“A little."
Seungkwan tried to downplay his theatrics with a small shrug, but then he followed up: “But I mean it.”
And that was the problem.
He always meant it.
Seungkwan stepped closer towards Haewon then, but not enough to crowd her. Just enough to make the distance feel intentional. Hesitation crossed his face, as if debating over his unsaid words. “You looked scared before the recording today,” he said quietly.
“I was.”
“Why?”
This time, Haewon was the one who hesitated. She lifted her head to check Seungkwan's reaction, only to see his eyes filled with complete understanding of her troubles, with no judgment filling his brown eyes.
She knew then that she was safe with him to give the answer she hated most because it was a hundred percent real.
So she did. “Because I always feel like I’m one mistake away from disappearing here.”
Seungkwan went still, but he wasn't shocked. There's something in his expression that Haewon could not name, but she knew that he was listening to her carefully as she laid out her doubts.
“I don’t think people disappear that easily.”
Haewon couldn't keep her eyes on Seungkwan after that. She was not able to hold herself back then from dropping these words: “That’s because you belong here.”
The silence after that stretched longer than expected.
Seungkwan straightened his stance, placing both of his hands inside his pockets. He leaned at the wall for support before casually dropping three words that shifted everything inside Haewon.
“So do you.”
It was immediate.
Certain.
Like there wasn’t even another option worth considering.
Something in her chest ached suddenly.
Because she realized he believed that.
Completely.