Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

Baek Jae-heon quickly turned his head.

“What?”

I couldn’t even understand why I had asked that question. But once the words were out, I couldn’t take them back. Regret flooded in immediately. My heart sank, wondering if it had sounded like I was implying he was someone without a mother. I knew better than anyone how deeply that kind of comment could cut, which only made me more flustered with myself.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean—”

Thud, thud.

Before I could finish speaking, Baek Jae-heon strode toward me. His eyes flashed sharply, and I flinched instinctively.

But before I could even think of avoiding him, his arms wrapped tightly around me.

“……”

My mind went blank at the unexpected hug. All the noises filling the room disappeared at once, leaving only the sound of a heartbeat pounding against my chest. Thump, thump. His heart and mine beat together in rhythm.

It felt like the world had stopped, leaving only that sound.

My heart was racing out of control, my arms and shoulders frozen stiff. His warmth spread through me like a wave, unfamiliar and overwhelming. Confusion tangled with panic; my body reacted before my mind could keep up.

“……Baek Jae-heon.”

Still held firmly in his arms, I managed to collect myself enough to speak.

“……Sorry. I didn’t mean what I said earlier.”

“……”

“It’s just, before—”

I wanted to apologize. I wanted to tell him that I had spoken without thinking because his shadow had overlapped with the boy I used to know. That I hadn’t meant to hurt him.

But then—

“Don’t.”

His low, firm voice brushed right against my ear.

“Don’t say another word.”

His tone was commanding, yet it wasn’t the indifferent tone he usually used. There was something desperate in it. His trembling breath brushed my ear, and I could feel the quiet plea behind it. A plea begging me not to bring up that topic.

The words that had been lingering on my lips vanished instantly. His voice cut through any chance to explain or defend myself. I couldn’t even breathe properly. I just kept my mouth shut as he said, trapped in his arms, listening to the sound of our hearts pounding together.

I didn’t know how long we stayed like that. Every time his breath touched my neck, my whole body shuddered, and his warmth spread through me like fire. My heart pounded violently. The dizziness that came with it made me feel like the floor was falling away, and my body grew unbearably hot. It wasn’t the same kind of heat that came with pain; this was something else entirely.

Why is it so… hot?

The unfamiliar heat crawled down my throat and settled in my chest.

The worst part was how that heat spread everywhere because of this unexpected embrace. Ah, no… I tried desperately to suppress the trembling that came as a natural reaction, but I couldn’t stop it, and the helplessness made it worse.

The thought that I needed to pull away flashed through my mind like lightning, but I couldn’t move. His arms held me too tightly, and besides, my strength had already left me.

Please, don’t notice…

I could feel the flush spreading across my cheeks. My ears burned, and the more I tried to control my breathing, the more obvious it became. My thoughts tangled into a mess until finally—

“W-wait…”

I pushed at Baek Jae-heon’s chest and stepped back. He let me go without resistance, but his eyes… they looked slightly red. For a moment, I wondered if he had cried, but no way—he wouldn’t have cried while holding me.

“I, uh…”

“……”

“Just… wait a second.”

He looked dissatisfied that I had pulled away, and for some reason, that expression felt strangely good. Still, if I’d stayed any longer, I would’ve ended up branded a pervert or kicked out of the group altogether.

“I’m just… going to the bathroom.”

I really wasn’t planning to do anything weird there. I just needed to splash some cold water on my face and calm down.

But then Baek Jae-heon’s eyebrow twitched slightly, and his gaze slipped downward.

“U-ugh—!”

Startled, I quickly turned around and crossed my legs. Behind me, I heard a faint, amused scoff from Baek Jae-heon. The embarrassment was unbearable—I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. I wanted to explain that it was just a natural reaction, that I couldn’t help it, but all I could think of was that old Arabic proverb echoing in my head.