Suho woke up reluctantly, struggling to open his eyes for a few minutes even after his alarm went off. He wanted to pull the covers over his head and not think about how much he had to do after noon. But as sleep finally started to fade, an image flashed through his mind like a bright spark — the girl smiling against the backdrop of the night lights. Suho's eyes flew open.
He reached for his phone and opened a search engine. His fingers typed the name on their own, and what appeared on the screen the next moment shocked Suho so much that the last traces of sleep vanished in under a second.
There were too many posts to count. Yoon Jia was a top Korean model and an ambassador for Saint Laurent. Last night, listening to his friends talk about the "famous freshman," Suho hadn't realized just how big her popularity really was.
He started scrolling through the feed, still not believing his eyes.
Recently, Jia had attended some big event in Europe. Users were posting photos of her in batches, and the number of comments was just insane. Picking one of the latest posts — Jia posing in front of the YSL logo — Suho opened the comment section and started reading.
"This is insane," Suho thought after a while, closing the comments. "This is pure insanity."
In his opinion, she must have nerves of steel to keep living calmly in a world where a whole crowd of people lost their minds over just the thought that under her buttoned blazer, she wasn't wearing a shirt.
Suho rubbed his eyes before studying a close-up photo of Jia. In it, she looked like a work of art. From her hairstyle and the delicate bracelets on her wrists to her captivating smile. Suho was so absorbed in studying the expression on her face that he didn't immediately notice — the shirt really was missing.
But the longer he stared at the screen, the more he felt something was off. On the billboard outside his window and in these professional photos, Jia's gaze was distant, her features flawless but almost frighteningly cold. A perfect image, impossible to reach. But yesterday at the restaurant, when she laughed at something, awkwardly tucked her hair behind her ear, and avoided eye contact after that drunk girl's loud comments… then her beauty had seemed different. Alive. Warm. The thought stirred a strange, aching feeling in his chest.
"How dare those creeps turn everything into something so vulgar," Suho thought indignantly as he saved the photo to his phone.
The next moment, feeling like he'd become one of those people drooling over photos online, Suho squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head back onto the pillow. A nervous laugh escaped his chest. The puppy-like joy he'd felt remembering the previous evening was ruthlessly crushed by the reality that had emerged in the light of day.
In reality, even Mercury and Mars were closer to each other than he and Jia. At least those two were in the same solar system.
What could Suho — who until now had only ever been interested in training, camping, and motorcycles — have in common with someone like Yoon Jia? His chest tightened. It was hard to imagine how their paths would ever cross again. He didn't understand why he wanted it so badly. To the point where his stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot, and in his head, he was already rushing to do something.
Suho rolled onto his stomach, propped his chin on his hand, and kept scrolling nervously through the feed.
He'd always believed that standing at a crossroads wasn't his style. He'd never been indecisive, and he didn't understand why people complicated things. The world was complicated enough as it was, so Suho lived by a simple rule: if you want something, act.
He wasn't about to back down from what he wanted. After months spent first in the hospital and then in rehab, he was finally feeling an incredible surge of energy for the first time. And this growing interest felt like a gulp of much-needed air.
Putting his phone aside, Suho sat up in bed. Thoughts swirled in his head, racing past each other. He needed to figure out where and how they could meet. The university popped into his mind like an exclamation mark, and Suho almost felt relieved.
For a moment, he completely forgot that he was no longer the local star. In his current condition, there wasn't much he could do to impress anyone unless he wanted to rely on pity. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Why was it that when he finally had a chance to show his best side, Suho could do exactly nothing?
"First things first — I need to call Dr. Min," Suho decided, trying not to dwell on the negative thoughts. He wasn't going to give up without trying. But first, he really needed to complete another round of rehab.
Swinging his legs off the bed, Suho hissed as a wave of pain shot through his knee. He was supposed to massage it every morning. He used to, but the longer he went without seeing any improvement, the less enthusiasm he had left. But now, looking at the billboard outside his window, with Jia smiling down at him, Suho started working the muscles again.
Stretching, swimming, even breathing exercises — whatever Dr. Min thought was necessary, he'd do it.