𓇢𓆸

It had started during your Japan promotions, when your group and nct dream had overlapped in Seoul for a total of… two hours. Just enough time to exchange glances, and realize how much harder it would be to stay away now that you’d debuted. You weren’t supposed to get close. But somewhere between music shows, award season, and late-night hallway conversations, you had.

And when you left, he’d started sending those tiny, casual, clumsy voice notes. Never more than thirty seconds. Never too much. But always enough to make your heart skip.

That night, you stared out the window at the full moon hanging low over Madrid’s skyline, pale and gentle. Then your phone buzzed.

Jisung <3 | 1 Voice Message — 0:24

You smiled before even playing it.

“Hey. I just finished eating. The chicken was mid. I don’t know why I’m telling you that.”

He paused.

“Anyway. Look at the moon when you get a chance. It’s really big tonight. It reminded me of you.”

That last part was whispered, like maybe he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

You held your breath and replayed the message three more times.

Then sent one back.

“Stop eating chicken without me. You’re gonna ruin your stomach, Park.”

A breathy laugh.

“And the moon’s prettier where I am. Just saying.”

Beat.

“I miss you.”

You didn’t usually say things like that. But tonight, the moonlight made it easier.

His reply didn’t come until two days later. You assumed it was just because of the schedule.

But then, late at night, long after your members had fallen asleep, your phone buzzed again.

Jisung <3 | 1 Voice Message — 4:32

Your chest tightened.

Four minutes? He’d never sent one that long before.

Your hands were suddenly cold, thumb hovering over the play button.

You pressed it.

“Okay… don’t freak out. But I might be slightly drunk.”

Your eyes widened.

“Like—not blackout drunk, just… comfortably tipsy. The hyungs took me out after our last stage. And, I don’t know… I don’t usually drink. But they were celebrating, and I didn’t wanna be the boring one. You’d probably laugh if you saw me.”

He chuckled softly.

“You always say I act cold, right? But I think being around you makes it harder to pretend. And alcohol kind of makes that worse. Or better. Depending on how you look at it.”

Your heart was racing. You pulled the covers up to your chest, like they could calm the chaos building in your ribs.

“I miss you.”

The words were sudden. Honest. Not dressed up or hidden.

“I miss the way you say my name like you’re scolding me, but you’re not really mad. I miss the way your face lights up when you’re excited about stupid things. I even miss you yelling at me about eating too much meat.”

You laughed quietly into the dark.

“I know we’re not supposed to say these things. But I don’t really care tonight. Haechan kept teasing me, said I get affectionate when I drink. He’s not wrong.”

Pause.

“I hugged Renjun-hyung and tried to kiss Jaemin’s forehead, and they were both like, ‘Jisung, stop it!’”

He laughed again, shy and warm.

“But all I could think about was you. Like, if you were here, I’d probably just… pull you into my arms and not let go.”

You didn’t know how to breathe.

“Sometimes, I wonder if this is all in my head. If I’m just being stupid. But then I hear your voice, or read one of your messages, or see the moon and remember that we’re under the same sky… and it doesn’t feel stupid anymore.”

There was a long pause.

Then, softer:

“I think I really like you. Like—more than I should. And I think if we were normal people, I would’ve told you that already. Maybe kissed you in some parking lot after a concert or held your hand on a bus ride without worrying about cameras.”

The voice note went quiet for a moment, like he was debating whether to finish.

Then—

“You don’t have to say anything back. I just… wanted you to know. I’m going to sleep now. Hopefully I won’t delete this in the morning.”

And that was it.

The screen went still. The moonlight painted the walls in pale silver. Your hands shook a little.

He said it.

No more hints. No more safe silences. He’d said it.

And he was probably already asleep. Or passed out. Or both.

You stared at the blinking cursor on your reply screen for what felt like an hour.

Then finally hit record.

“You’re lucky I’m not there, Park. I’d have smacked your arm for saying all that while tipsy. But also…”

You sighed, smiling to yourself.

“You’re also lucky you’re not here. Because I’d definitely kiss you right now.”

A pause.

“I like you too. More than I should.”

You sent it. No overthinking. No rewriting.

And for once, the silence afterward wasn’t heavy.

It felt peaceful. Soft. Full of something unspoken but understood.

You looked up at the moon one last time and whispered to it like a secret:

“Please don’t let him regret saying it.”

⸻

The sunlight that pulled Jisung out of sleep wasn’t kind. It didn’t ease in through the curtains or warm his skin gently — it pierced, unforgiving, through the gap in the blackout drapes, landing harshly across his face like judgment. His eyes blinked open slowly, crusted at the corners, the rest of his body unwilling to follow. His limbs ached, not from dancing, but from something heavier, something deeper.

The air in the room was stale. That kind of heavy, post-midnight-hotel-silence stale. The kind that made it hard to tell what time it was without checking your phone — which, by the way, wasn’t anywhere in sight.

For a long time, he didn’t move. Just laid there, eyes half-open, heart unsettled by something he couldn’t yet name. He felt… weird. Like he was forgetting something important. Or maybe like he’d remembered something he wasn’t supposed to.

Then his fingers brushed against his phone, tangled somewhere in the sheets. He pulled it close, screen lighting up the moment it recognized his face. The brightness made him wince.

9:42 AM. Two missed messages from Haechan. One “where r u” and one long string of skull emojis.

But it wasn’t Haechan’s name that made the nausea crawl up his spine. It was yours.

You | Voice Message — 0:26

He stared.

For a second, he didn’t breathe.

And then he scrolled up. And froze.

—‘s played Jisung’s voice message — 4:32

Four minutes.

His thumb hovered over the audio like it was a live wire. He didn’t remember sending anything that long. And if he didn’t remember…

Oh no.

His chest was tight. He tapped play.

And there he was.

“Okay… don’t freak out. But I might be slightly drunk—”

He stopped the message immediately.

His stomach dropped out. His head fell back against the pillow. He stared up at the ceiling, eyes wide, mouth slightly open like he’d just witnessed a car crash in slow motion.

He had.

He’d told you.

Everything.

He sat up, limbs slow, phone still clutched in one hand. His other hand dragged through his hair, pulling at the roots, as if that could rewind time.

He scrubbed his face once. Twice. Then hit play again. Forced himself to listen. Every word made his spine curve in embarrassment. Every laugh he heard from his own mouth made him wince.

But it was honest.

Unfiltered.

It was exactly what he’d been thinking for months — whispered between managers’ backs, buried under every stolen glance, choked down during every midnight walk where he saw the moon and wished he could share it with you.

And now it was out there.

He didn’t even remember pressing send.

He stayed like that for a long time — just sitting on the edge of the hotel bed, elbows on his knees, phone limp in his hand. He couldn’t decide if he was relieved or terrified. Maybe both.

Eventually, when he felt like he could physically handle it, he tapped on your message.

The sound of your voice hit him like cool air on sunburned skin.

“You’re lucky I’m not there, Park. I’d have smacked your arm for saying all that while tipsy…”

He huffed out a laugh — one of those chest-deep ones that you don’t fully control.

“…but also… you’re lucky you’re not here. Because I’d definitely kiss you right now.”

He closed his eyes.

“I like you too. More than I should.”

It echoed. Not just in the room, not just in his phone, but somewhere inside him. In that place where he’d kept the hope hidden like a fragile thing, not trusting it to live too long in daylight.

And now… it wasn’t hope anymore. It was real. It was words. It was you.

He didn’t move for hours.

The day passed him by like a movie in another language — familiar rhythms, but none of the meaning registering. He showed up to rehearsal late, with no explanation. Barely danced. Barely spoke.

Chenle asked if he’d been crying. Haechan kept throwing him suspicious glances. Even Mark, who usually stayed out of emotional territory unless invited, hovered near him at lunch but didn’t press.

Everyone could tell something had changed. But none of them asked.

He was grateful for that.

Because how could he explain that his entire inner world had just shifted? That something between them — between you and him — had cracked open gently, quietly, and the light was still pouring in, slow and sacred?

There was no way to explain it. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic.

It was… full.

⸻

That night, after practice, he sat by the window in his room. Didn’t bother turning on the lights. The moon was out again — a little dimmer than before, but still there. Still pulling on something inside his chest.

He held his phone again. Jisung stared at the glowing screen of his phone, his thumb frozen just above the call button. The quiet of the room was heavy, like it was holding its breath with him. His mind raced through every possible outcome, every way this could go wrong. What if he sounded foolish? What if he ruined the fragile trust you’d both quietly built over late-night voice notes and stolen glances across crowded rooms?

But then his thoughts shifted to your voice—the way it had softened when you said you liked him too, the gentle sincerity that made his chest ache with something he didn’t want to name but couldn’t ignore. That tiny spark of hope, delicate and bright, pulled him forward.

With a shaky breath, he pressed the call button.

The line rang once, twice. Each ring echoed louder in the silent room, reverberating in his heart like a countdown.

And then—

“…Hello?”

Your voice was soft. Tentative. But there.

Jisung blinked like he hadn’t expected it to actually connect. His throat tightened, but he forced the words out before fear could pull them back.

“It’s me,” he said. “I mean—yeah. It’s Jisung.”

A pause.

“Hi,” you whispered.

And that broke something in him. Because he could hear it — the warmth, the shyness, the tiny trace of a smile. You weren’t mad. You weren’t avoiding him.

You were there. Just like before.

“I wasn’t sure if I should call,” he admitted, rubbing his palm against his knee. “I didn’t wanna make things weird. I know that message was… a lot.”

“It wasn’t too much,” you said quietly.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“I remember all of it,” he said. “The things I said. I meant them.”

“I know.”

Another pause stretched between you. But it didn’t feel empty. It felt like both of you were trying to let it settle — the truth of it, the quietness, the weight.

“I meant what I said too,” you added. “I didn’t think you’d feel the same. But I’m glad you do.”

Jisung leaned back against the wall.

Silence stretched. But it wasn’t empty.

“I wanted to hear your voice,” he said quietly.

“I’m not tipsy now,” he added. “So if I say it again, it’ll be worse. Because I’ll remember it.”

You let out a breath that sounded like a smile.

“Then say it.”

His voice broke just slightly as he did.

“I like you.”

There was no panic now. No fear. Just truth.

And your reply came almost instantly.

“I like you too, park jisung.”

Neither of you said anything more after that. The line stayed open — not because you had more to say, but because not saying anything suddenly meant everything.

No rushing. No planning. No labels.

Just two people, under the same sky, finally admitting what the moon had known all along.