**First Night**
"Hey."
Silence.
"Hey? Eun Byol."
More silence.
"Eun Byol. Are you awake?"
A sigh from below.
Then her voice.
Tired.
Annoyed.
"Now I am. What do you want?"
Ha Joon stared at the ceiling.
"I've been thinking. I know you love your second album. But something about your first album—it's been on my mind."
Pause.
"There's this song on the album. I don't know the name. It's good, but the music video... I remember there was a lot of dancing. It felt wrong to me. It should be still. You know what I'm trying to say?"
Silence.
Then:
"Look, I don't want to talk about this. I have my own problems. If you couldn't tell. As do you. Focus on your own problems. I need the sleep and the silence. Good night."
Ha Joon said nothing.
Just stared at the ceiling.
Breathing.
---
**Second Night**
"Eun Byol."
Silence.
"Hey. Hey. Eun Byol. Are you awake?"
"What?!" Her voice came sharp. Angry. "I thought I told you to stop doing this. Leave me alone."
"It's about today. I want to say thank you."
A pause.
Then:
"Okay. Good. No problem. Now leave me the fuck alone."
Ha Joon hesitated.
"Hey. Eun Byol. About the song—"
"Go to sleep!"
Silence.
---
**Third Night**
"Hey. Hey. Thanks again."
Silence.
No response.
Just the sound of breathing below.
"Good night, Eun Byol."
Silence.
---
**Fourth Night**
"Hey. Thank you again."
Silence.
"Good night."
Silence.
---
**Fifth Night**
"Hey. Hey. Eun Byol. Thanks again."
Silence.
"Good night."
Silence.
---
**Eighth Night**
"Hey. Eu—"
"Fuck!" Her voice exploded from below. "Stop! Please stop! You've been doing this thing for—who knows how long now! Please stop. What did I even do?"
Silence.
Ha Joon didn't answer.
Couldn't.
Eun Byol's breathing was fast.
Shaky.
Then:
"Okay." Ha Joon's voice came quiet. Broken. "I'll stop. Thanks for just being here. I think it would be more of a nightmare if you weren't here. I know it's wrong thinking about it like that. But it's the truth. Sorry again."
His voice cracked on the last word.
Tears came.
Slow.
Like snails crawling down his face.
Hot.
Silent.
He didn't wipe them.
Just let them fall.
Eun Byol said nothing.
Just lay there.
Listening.
---
**Eleventh Night**
"Hey."
Silence from above.
"Hey. Ha Joon."
A pause.
"Are you awake?"
Ha Joon's eyes opened.
"Yeah."
"I'd like to say thank you. For today."
Ha Joon stared at the ceiling.
His chest tightened.
"No problem. Thank you for today, Eun Byol."
Silence.
Then:
"I didn't—" She stopped. Started again. "No problem. Good night, Ha Joon."
"Good night, Eun Byol."
Silence settled between them.
Not heavy.
Not light.
Just there.
Two people in the dark
And for the first time in days—
The silence didn't feel like drowning.
It felt like breathing.