INK AND SHADOWS [???]

Jay gestured for Hara to follow him to the living room, carrying a bowl of snacks in one hand and balancing two glasses of juice in the other.

He set them down on the coffee table before motioning for her to sit on the couch.

"Figured this would be more comfortable," he said with a faint smile as he plopped down next to her.

Hara nodded, her hands fidgeting nervously on her lap.

She wasn't sure what to expect from Jay's story. After hearing Heeseung's past, she had been bracing herself for something heartbreaking.

But a part of her hoped it would be a normal story—just a simple, happy one.

Jay leaned back against the couch, running a hand through his messy hair. "You ready?"

Hara straightened up, nodding firmly. "I'm ready."

He let out a deep sigh before starting.

"I live alone most of the time. My parents... they're always busy. Business trips overseas, meetings, deals—whatever keeps them away from home. It's been like that since I was a kid."

Hara stayed quiet, giving him space to continue.

"When I was younger, they hired a maid to take care of me. She basically raised me. She knew everything about me—what I liked, what I didn't, my habits, my fears. More than my parents ever did." He laughed bitterly.

"Imagine that—the person who's supposed to be temporary ends up knowing you better than the people who brought you into this world."

Hara's heart clenched as she watched him speak.

"I've tried convincing myself that they're just working hard to give me a comfortable life. And I get it. I really do. But... it doesn't stop me from feeling like I'm invisible to them." His voice grew softer, laced with pain.

"I used to try so hard. Back in elementary school, I was a straight-A student. I even got an award once for being the best student in my grade. I was so proud, you know? I thought, 'This is it. They'll notice me now.'"

Jay paused, his eyes staring at the table as if the memory was replaying vividly in his mind.

"But they didn't show up to the ceremony. Not even a phone call to say 'congrats.'" He let out a shaky breath.

"That day, something inside me just... snapped. I stopped trying. Stopped studying. I started skipping school, acting out—doing whatever I could to make them notice me. I thought maybe if I was bad enough, they'd have to care."

Hara's chest tightened. The pain in his voice was palpable.

Jay gestured toward the kitchen.

"You saw the medications and instant food, right? That's their way of taking care of me. Pre-labeled bottles and ready-to-eat meals so I can handle myself while they're away. Efficient, right?" His words dripped with sarcasm, but his expression remained heartbreakingly neutral.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"When I started going to the nightclub, drinking, being reckless... it was the first time I felt alive. For a moment, I could forget how empty my life was. But then I'd come home, and the silence would remind me that nothing had really changed. I'd still be alone."

Hara bit her lip, her hands clenched tightly on her lap.

The sadness in his voice, the emptiness in his eyes—it was overwhelming.

Jay chuckled softly, though there was no humor in it.

"Honestly? I don't even know what I'm doing with my life. It's like... I'm just floating, waiting for something to change, but it never does."

Hara reached out instinctively, wrapping her arms around him in a firm hug. Jay stiffened at first, caught off guard, but then his body relaxed into her embrace.

"You're not alone, Jay," she said softly, her voice trembling with emotion.

"You have Jake and Sunghoon. They care about you. And... you have me. I'm here. And I understand those lonely feelings more than you think."

Jay didn't say anything, but his arms slowly came up to wrap around her as well.

Her warmth seeped into him, melting the icy walls he had built around himself.

In that moment, something shifted inside him.

For the first time in years, he felt safe—like he could finally let go of the facade he'd been holding onto.

Hara's words, her hug, her presence... they gave him a kind of comfort he didn't even realize he'd been craving.

"I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hara pulled back slightly to look at him, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. "You don't have to deserve anything, Jay. You're enough just as you are."

Jay stared at her, his guard completely down.

In that moment, he wanted to show her every part of him—the raw, vulnerable, and broken pieces he usually kept hidden. Because for the first time, he felt like someone truly saw him.