Chapter 55 — After He Left
The sound of the door closing was almost sacred.
Soft. Final. Like the turning of a page only one person was meant to read.
For a long moment, no one moved.
The AUREUS dorm — usually loud, chaotic, and full of banter — was frozen in a silence that felt too heavy for such a small apartment.
Minjae slowly sat down on the edge of the armrest, his elbows on his knees, eyes still locked on the now-empty doorway. "…He didn't even say bye."
Rin flopped onto the floor, surrounded by half a billion won in fabric and gems, and whispered, "He didn't have to."
They all looked like people who had just watched someone walk through a door they weren't allowed to follow.
The living room was still a mess. Suits draped like fallen monarchs. Glittering brooches caught the light and shimmered like stars long dead. The sapphire-stained invitation rested on the coffee table, untouched since Jaeheon put it down to change — glowing faintly, like it still carried heat.
It didn't look like an invitation anymore.
It looked like a threshold.
And he had crossed it.
"He was glowing," Sungchan said finally. His voice was quiet, not in awe — but reverent. "Did you guys see it? His face. His eyes. He was… different."
"Not different," Hyunjae said. He leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. "He was himself. Just… the version of him none of us ever get to see."
Minjae looked down at the cufflinks still on the floor — real platinum, unmistakably heavy. "It's the third time," he muttered.
"The third what?" Rin asked.
Hyunjae gave a small nod. "He said… this would be the third time he saw her. Whoever she is."
They all fell silent again.
Her.
That word had started to sound like myth in their dorm. A presence never named, never questioned, never mocked — only respected.
The first time they heard Jaeheon say he loved someone, it was during the variety show.
Since then, that silent reverence had only grown.
Not because they knew who she was.
But because they knew what she meant to him.
Sungchan walked to the window. The black luxury car was still waiting out front, its sleek silhouette parked like a shadow of another world. A world Jaeheon had always belonged to, whether he acknowledged it or not.
As the car pulled away, vanishing into the city night, he whispered, "It's not that we're not good enough to know."
"…It's that she's too important for even a name."
The manager finally broke the silence.
He was still sitting on the floor, hands folded in his lap, his usual fiery stress now replaced with something softer. Thoughtful.
"You know, I've managed idols for over a decade," he said quietly. "I've seen people fall in love, get broken, get back up… but I've never seen someone prepare to meet someone with that kind of—"
He paused, searching for the word.
"—devotion."
Rin tilted his head. "Do you think he's told her?"
"Told her what?"
"That he loves her."
The manager gave a small smile. "He doesn't have to. People like him… don't use words. His whole existence is the confession."
A quiet buzz from a nearby phone broke the moment.
A fan comment flashing across a notification:
"Jaeheon's silence has always been louder than most people's love songs."
Minjae picked up the phone, read it, and showed the others.
They didn't reply. But they all nodded.
Because that fan had no idea how right they were.
As the night deepened, they stayed there. No one turned on the TV. No one cleaned up the clothes. No one even checked their schedules for tomorrow.
They sat in the echo of his absence.
In the scent of rare cologne lingering in the air.
In the knowledge that somewhere, behind marble pillars and diamond chandeliers, Jaeheon Kang was standing in front of her.
And though they'd never know what happened next—
They knew it would change everything.