MIN YU – When Hearts Tremble
Min Yu never got used to waking up with anxiety sitting on his chest like a physical weight.
But today… today felt different.
He touched his lips with the tips of his fingers.
Warm.
Sensitive.
Still tingling.
I kissed him.
Or—
he kissed me.
Or maybe they had kissed each other, caught in that suspended moment where the world had stopped turning.
Whatever it had been, Min Yu felt it everywhere.
His heart beat differently.
His breath caught differently.
Even the morning light streaming through his curtains looked different.
Life shouldn't change from one kiss.
But it had.
And the worst part—the terrifying part—was that Min Yu wasn't sure whether the change was something he needed… or something that would break him.
A violent coughing fit from the next room wrenched him out of his spiraling thoughts.
Min Yu stumbled into his grandmother's room.
"Halmeoni—"
She shook as she coughed, her entire frail body trembling. Min Yu sat beside her, rubbing her back until the attack eased.
Finally, she sagged against her pillows.
"I'm… alright," she whispered.
But Min Yu felt the lie in his bones.
"Your breath sounded tight again."
He reached for the herbal packets he'd bought. "I'll get the decoction ready—"
"Yu-ah," she rasped, catching his wrist.
Her fingers were cold.
"You need to go to class."
"School can wait—"
"It can't." Her voice cracked. "Your life cannot revolve around my sickness."
Min Yu swallowed, throat tight.
He cupped her hand. "My life revolves around the people I care about."
"And who cares about you?"
The question struck too deeply.
Too painfully.
Min Yu forced a smile. "You do."
Her eyes softened—sad and knowing. "And who else?"
Before Min Yu could answer, he heard the faint creak of the building entrance from outside the window.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Too familiar.
Min Yu's heart stuttered.
…Hoa?
He shook the thought away.
Why would someone like Baek Hoa be outside his building before dawn?
Why would a man who commanded attention just by existing bother showing up in Min Yu's small, crumbling neighborhood?
Why… would he come for Min Yu?
But even after Min Yu gathered his bag and stepped outside, he felt a lingering gaze on his back.
Watching.
Waiting.
Pulling.
---
BAEK HOA – Control Cracks
Baek Hoa stood in the shadow of the old ginkgo tree across from Min Yu's building.
The yellow leaves rustled above him, brushing against his coat like quiet whispers.
He hadn't meant to come here.
Liar.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, jaw tight, sleeplessness stinging behind his temples.
The moment he heard Min Yu's grandmother coughing—that weak, rattling sound—every muscle in his body had stiffened painfully. He'd wanted—irrationally, instinctively—to go inside. To help. To hold Min Yu before the worry crushed him.
But he remained outside, hidden by instinct and pride.
He watched Min Yu walk out and pull the hood of his sweatshirt up against the morning chill.
Thin, tired, shoulders set in quiet determination.
Too vulnerable.
Too easy to break.
And for reasons he refused to name yet, that thought made something hot coil low in Hoa's stomach.
Min Yu paused at the end of the street, biting his lip as if debating something.
For a heartbeat, Hoa thought—hoped—Min Yu might turn around.
Look for him.
Want him.
But Min Yu didn't.
He walked away.
Hoa let out a soft, humorless laugh.
Pathetic. I'm pathetic.
He took a step forward—only to stop himself again.
This wasn't the time.
But he would see Min Yu soon.
And when he did…
There were things he needed to say.
Things he needed to demand.
Things he wasn't sure he could hold back anymore.
---
MIN YU – Eyes That Watch Too Closely
Campus was unusually lively.
That was normal.
What wasn't normal was the shift in energy that spread across the courtyard like a ripple.
Students whispered.
Looked around.
Straightened their clothes.
Some even quickened their steps as if fleeing imminent danger.
Min Yu glanced around, confused—
And then his entire body froze.
Baek Hoa was crossing the courtyard.
Not walking.
Striding.
Commanding the space without even trying.
His black coat swept behind him.
His expression was cold, unreadable, but his eyes—
those dark, unrelenting eyes—
were fixed directly, dangerously, on Min Yu.
Min Yu's heart slammed into his ribs.
"H–Hoa…?"
He wasn't supposed to be here.
Not on this part of campus.
Not like this.
Not looking at Min Yu with an expression that felt like possession barely masked as concern.
Hoa stopped right in front of him.
"Walk with me."
It wasn't a request.
It wasn't even a command.
It was inevitability.
Min Yu hesitated. "People are—staring."
"I don't care," Hoa said quietly. "Come."
He brushed Min Yu's wrist.
Barely a touch.
But Min Yu felt it like an electric shock that ran up his arm and straight to his heart.
He let himself be guided.
He didn't know whether that was foolish…
or fated.
---
HOA – Mine, Even If You Don't Know It Yet
Hoa hated the way people looked at Min Yu.
Pity.
Curiosity.
Dismissal.
They didn't see him.
Not the way Hoa did.
Not with the clarity—
and hunger—
and fear—
that clenched in his chest every time Min Yu breathed too softly.
He led him behind the lecture hall, where ivy climbed the old stone wall and the bench sat unused.
But instead of sitting, Hoa stepped directly into Min Yu's space—close enough that Min Yu's back brushed the cool stone wall.
Min Yu inhaled sharply.
"Hoa… what's wrong?"
"You weren't answering your phone."
Hoa's eyes were darker today—storm-dark, restless. "You looked distressed. And I heard—"
He paused.
He wasn't supposed to say he'd heard the coughing through the window.
"…I heard something."
Min Yu blinked. "My grandmother had a rough morning. That's all."
Hoa's jaw clenched.
He hated that helplessness surged inside him again.
"I wanted to be there," he murmured.
Min Yu went still.
"Hoa… you don't have to—"
"I want to," he snapped—then forced himself to breathe.
"I want to," he repeated, softer.
Min Yu's expression changed—warmth, surprise, something like longing—
It undid Hoa.
It absolutely broke him.
"I didn't sleep," Hoa whispered, stepping closer.
"Not after last night."
Min Yu's breath faltered.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you."
And then—Min Yu made the mistake of touching him first.
Just a palm pressed lightly against Hoa's chest, directly over his racing heartbeat.
Hoa's breath left him in a rough exhale.
"Don't," he warned.
"I— I'm sorry—"
"I'm not telling you to stop."
Hoa grabbed Min Yu's wrist, pressing his hand more firmly against his chest.
"I'm telling you that if you keep doing that… I won't be able to think straight."
Min Yu's eyes widened—just a fraction.
And that was it.
That was the moment that broke the last of Hoa's restraint.
He cupped Min Yu's jaw, tilting his face up.
Min Yu trembled.
"Hoa…"
"Say it again," Hoa whispered. "Say my name like that."
"H…Hoa."
Hoa kissed him.
Hard.
Min Yu gasped—a sound that lit something dangerously alive inside Hoa—and his fingers curled into Hoa's coat.
Hoa kissed him again, deeper this time.
Min Yu melted.
Hoa pulled him close, their bodies meeting fully, heat flooding between them.
Min Yu gasped into the kiss, and Hoa swallowed the sound with a low, shuddering groan he didn't mean to let out.
"Tell me you feel this," Hoa breathed against Min Yu's lips.
"Tell me you want this too."
"I do," Min Yu whispered.
Hoa kissed him again, slow and consuming.
Min Yu arched slightly—just enough that Hoa's hand slid beneath the hem of his shirt—
just enough to feel the warmth of Min Yu's skin—
Right as a voice shattered everything.
---
JINWOO – The Moment He Shouldn't Have Seen
"MIN YU!"
Min Yu tore himself away so fast he nearly stumbled.
Hoa turned sharply, expression shifting instantly—
predator interrupted,
danger simmering beneath the surface.
Jinwoo stood a few meters away—face pale, eyes wide, chest heaving.
He looked like someone who had walked in on a crime.
Or a heartbreak.
Min Yu's heart plummeted.
"Jinwoo—I—this isn't—"
Jinwoo's gaze flicked between them—the closeness, the flushed faces, Min Yu's shirt hem still lifted slightly where Hoa's hand had just been.
His expression cracked.
"What… what's going on here?" Jinwoo managed.
Hoa stepped forward.
Possessive.
Cold.
Ready to tear down anyone who dared come between them.
Min Yu panicked and grabbed Hoa's sleeve.
"Hoa, don't—"
But Hoa's gaze never left Jinwoo.
"You're interrupting," he said softly—dangerously.
Jinwoo stiffened. "Min Yu doesn't need someone like you—"
"You don't decide what he needs," Hoa cut in.
Jinwoo's fists clenched. "I'm his friend. Where were you all the times he collapsed from exhaustion? Where were you when he couldn't afford textbooks? Where were you when—"
"I'm here now," Hoa said, stepping closer, voice sharp enough to wound.
"And I'm not leaving."
Min Yu stared between them, breath trembling.
"Hoa, please," he whispered. "Don't fight him."
Hoa finally looked at Min Yu.
Really looked.
Something in his expression faltered—
the first fracture.
He stepped back.
Not by much.
But enough.
Min Yu exhaled shakily.
"I need to… go to class," he murmured.
Hoa caught his wrist—gently, painfully gentle.
"This isn't over."
Min Yu swallowed. "I know."
Hoa let go.
But the heat of his grip stayed on Min Yu's skin like a brand.
---
MIN YU – The Break
Min Yu walked away with Jinwoo, head spinning.
Jinwoo finally spoke, voice small.
"Min Yu… you're getting involved with someone dangerous."
"I know."
"You could get hurt."
"I know."
"Then why—?"
Min Yu stopped walking.
Because he didn't know how to say—
Because he makes me feel alive.
Because he looks at me like I matter.
Because one kiss broke something inside me I didn't know was fragile.
Because I don't want him to stop.
Because I can't walk away anymore.
He whispered:
"…I don't know."
Jinwoo stared at him, heartbroken.
And from the shadows beneath the trees, Baek Hoa watched Min Yu walk away.
His fists were shaking.
His control was slipping.
And for the first time in years, he whispered something into the empty air that sounded almost like fear.
"I'm going to lose myself to him."