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The next morning, Jungwon sat on the edge of his bed, scrolling mindlessly through his phone. He couldn't shake the conversation with Jay from the night before. It played on a loop in his mind, tugging at emotions he didn't fully understand.

Unable to sit with his thoughts any longer, Jungwon called Sunoo, who picked up almost immediately.

"Good morning!" Sunoo chirped on the other end. "What's up? You sound... off."

Jungwon sighed, leaning back against his headboard. "Jay called off the bet last night."

There was a brief pause before Sunoo's voice returned, laced with curiosity. "Really? Well, that's a good thing, right? You were dreading the whole deal in the first place."

"Yeah, I guess..." Jungwon mumbled, his voice trailing off.

Sunoo, ever perceptive, caught the subtle drop in his tone. "Hold on," he said, his voice shifting to something more serious. "You guess? Weren't you the one who said you weren't going to care about him? That this whole thing was just annoying?"

Jungwon groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. "I don't know, Sunoo. I mean, yeah, I should be happy. The bet's off, he's going to leave me alone, and now I can focus on dance and school without his interruptions. But... I don't feel happy. I feel... I don't know, weird?"

Sunoo hummed, clearly intrigued. "Weird how?"

"Like... I can't stop thinking about him," Jungwon admitted reluctantly. "And when he said he didn't want to hurt me, he sounded so genuine. It just—" He cut himself off, frustrated with his inability to articulate his feelings.

"You care," Sunoo said bluntly, cutting through Jungwon's rambling.

Jungwon blinked, startled by the straightforwardness. "What? No, I don't. I just—"

"Don't even try to deny it," Sunoo interrupted, his tone teasing but firm. "You're sitting here, sulking about a guy who said he was going to leave you alone. You should be over the moon, but instead, you're all mopey. Admit it, Jungwon—you care."

Jungwon groaned again, flopping onto his back. "Okay, fine. Maybe I care a little. But it doesn't mean anything. It's just... he's been so persistent and annoying, and now that he's not, it feels... empty."

"Exactly," Sunoo said, his voice triumphant. "You got used to him being around. And maybe—just maybe—you kind of like it."

Jungwon's face flushed at the suggestion. "I don't like him!"

"Sure you don't," Sunoo said, clearly unconvinced. "Anyway, what are you going to do about it?"

"Do about it?" Jungwon repeated, sitting up. "I'm not going to do anything! The bet's off, and he said he'd leave me alone. That's it."

"If you say so," Sunoo said, a smirk evident in his tone. "But if you keep acting like this, I might just have to meddle."

"Don't you dare," Jungwon warned, but his voice lacked any real bite.

"Relax, I won't do anything... for now," Sunoo said. "But seriously, think about what you really want, Jungwon. Because if you don't, you might miss your chance."

Jungwon hung up the call with a groan, burying his face in his hands. Sunoo's words lingered in his mind, annoying but undeniably true.

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Jay had always been good at wearing masks. Smiles, smirks, and careless laughter—he wielded them like shields, keeping everyone at a safe distance from the chaos inside. But ever since he called off the bet with Jungwon, something inside him felt... off. Empty, even.

He tried to distract himself by focusing on his classes, being kinder to people, and keeping a low profile. Gone were the days of teasing and pranks. He was polite, held doors open for classmates, and even started helping Jake with his fashion projects.

To everyone else, Jay seemed like he was turning over a new leaf. Professors praised his focus, and students whispered about his surprising change in demeanor. But no one saw what happened when Jay went home.

The moment he stepped into his empty apartment, the facade crumbled.

The first thing he did was head to the kitchen, grabbing the bottle of vodka he kept hidden at the back of the cabinet. It had become a ritual—pour a glass, take a sip, and let the sting burn away the ache in his chest.

One glass turned into two, then three, until Jay abandoned the glass entirely and drank straight from the bottle. The warmth of the alcohol dulled the edges of his thoughts, but it couldn't silence them.

Sinking onto the couch, Jay stared at the ceiling, the bottle dangling from his hand. Images of Jungwon flooded his mind—the way his eyes sparkled when he was teasing Sunoo, the soft blush that crept up his neck whenever Jay got too close.

Jay laughed bitterly, the sound hollow in the empty room. "You really messed me up, huh?" he muttered to no one in particular.

The laughter quickly turned to sobs, and Jay buried his face in his hands, the vodka bottle forgotten on the floor. He cried until his throat hurt and his chest ached, the weight of everything crashing down on him.

His father's cruel words echoed in his mind, a constant reminder of the impossible expectations he could never meet. And now, there was Jungwon—a boy who had unknowingly broken through Jay's defenses, only to make him feel more vulnerable than ever.

"I'm such a mess," Jay whispered to himself, his voice cracking.

The next morning, Jay woke up on the couch, his head pounding and the empty vodka bottle rolling across the floor. He groaned, forcing himself upright.

He couldn't keep doing this. But every time he thought about stopping—about facing his feelings—he froze. It was easier to drown them out, to pretend everything was fine.

For now, he'd keep wearing his mask. It was the only way he knew how to survive.

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