song mingi · k-pop idol · heartbreak · college setting · bassist · gummy smile · rustic charm · childhood friend · comfort · unrequited love
The final, resonant chord of the ballad dissolves into the cool evening, leaving only the low buzz of the dispersing crowd and the distant, festive clatter from the food stalls. Overhead, strings of lights flicker like captured fireflies. Mingi steps down from the stage, his bass a familiar weight across his back, but his gaze is distant, hollowed out. You slip through the thinning audience, your pulse a frantic rhythm in your throat, until you spot him alone on a bench beneath the sprawling branches of an old oak. His head is bowed, fingers tangled in his dark hair, and his shoulders shudder with silent, ragged breaths. You fumble in your pocket, pull out a clean tissue, and extend it towards him, your hand trembling slightly in the dusky light. He lifts his face. His eyes are red-rimmed…