Chapter three: The name everyone knows
1228 Words
The bookstore felt too quiet the next day.
Sienna noticed it the moment she unlocked the door.
Nothing had changed—the shelves were the same, the faint scent of paper and coffee still lingered, and the window seat sat exactly where it always had.
But it felt different.
Empty.
She set her bag down behind the counter and told herself not to think about it.
He said he’d come back.
That should have been enough.
---
The day passed slowly.
A few customers came and went. An older woman asked for a recommendation. A student stayed longer than necessary in the study section.
Normal.
Everything was normal.
Except for the way Sienna kept glancing at the door every time the bell chimed.
Except for the way her chest tightened every time it *wasn’t* him.
By evening, the sky had turned the same heavy grey as the night before.
Rain threatened, but hadn’t started yet.
Sienna sighed quietly, closing the book in her hands.
“Stop it,” she muttered to herself. “You barely know him.”
That didn’t stop her from looking at the door again.
---
The bell chimed.
Sienna’s head snapped up—
—and immediately dropped again.
Not him.
Two girls stepped inside, laughing softly between themselves, shaking rain from their jackets.
“Hi!” one of them said brightly.
“Hi,” Sienna replied, offering a small smile.
They wandered toward the back, voices hushed but excited.
“Wait, did you see the post?” one whispered.
“I know! They said he disappeared after rehearsal—”
Sienna tuned them out, reaching for another book behind the counter.
Until—
“—Seo Soohyun.”
Her hand stilled.
“…What?”
The name slipped out before she could stop it.
The girls looked up, surprised.
“Oh—sorry,” one of them said quickly. “We didn’t mean to be loud.”
Sienna shook her head slightly.
“No, it’s fine. I just—what did you say?”
They exchanged a glance.
“You don’t know?” the other asked.
Sienna frowned.
“Know what?”
The first girl stepped closer, lowering her voice like she was sharing something important.
“Seo Soohyun? He’s the leader of that group—Eclipse.”
The name meant nothing to Sienna.
But something in her chest tightened anyway.
“He’s kind of… a big deal,” the girl continued. “Like, *really* big.”
“He hasn’t been seen since yesterday,” the second girl added. “Fans are going crazy online. There are rumors he left the company building without security or anything.”
Sienna’s fingers curled slightly against the counter.
“That sounds… serious.”
“It is,” the first girl said. “People are saying he might be overwhelmed or something. He’s always taking care of everyone else, you know?”
Sienna’s heart skipped.
Taking care of everyone else.
Her mind drifted—
Unwanted.
—to a boy sitting quietly by her window, holding a mug of tea like it was the only thing keeping him grounded.
“You don’t happen to follow K-pop, do you?” the second girl asked.
Sienna shook her head.
“Not really.”
“Oh,” the girl smiled. “You should look him up. He’s—”
Her words cut off as she pulled out her phone, tapping quickly.
“Here.”
She turned the screen toward Sienna.
And just like that—
Everything stopped.
---
It was him.
The same eyes.
The same quiet expression.
The same tired look, hidden behind stage lights and a confident smile that didn’t quite reach all the way through.
But this version of him—
Was different.
Perfect.
Untouchable.
Surrounded by flashing lights and cameras.
“See?” the girl said excitedly. “That’s Seo Soohyun.”
Sienna couldn’t speak.
Couldn’t move.
Couldn’t breathe properly.
Because somehow—
Somehow—
The boy who sat in her bookstore, who didn’t want to answer his phone, who looked like he was running from something—
Was *him*.
“…You okay?” the girl asked gently.
Sienna blinked.
Forced herself to step back.
“Yeah,” she said quickly. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just—I didn’t expect that.”
“Right?” the girl laughed. “He looks even better in person, though. If I ever saw him, I think I’d actually pass out.”
Sienna swallowed.
If you saw him.
If.
Her hands felt cold.
Because she *had* seen him.
And she hadn’t recognized him at all.
---
After the girls left, the bookstore fell silent again.
But this time—
It wasn’t peaceful.
Sienna stared at the empty window seat.
The place where he always sat.
Where he closed his eyes.
Where he let his guard down, even just a little.
“You don’t belong here.”
Her own words echoed back at her.
And suddenly—
They felt different.
Not observational.
Not distant.
But real.
He really didn’t belong here.
Not in a small bookstore.
Not in a quiet corner where no one knew his name.
He belonged out there.
On stages.
In crowds.
In a world Sienna had never been a part of.
---
The bell chimed.
Sienna’s head snapped up.
Her heart jumped—
—and then dropped.
Not him.
Again.
She let out a quiet breath, pressing her hand lightly against her chest.
“Get it together,” she whispered.
But it was too late.
Because now she knew.
And knowing changed everything.
---
Hours passed.
The sky darkened.
The rain finally came.
Soft at first.
Then heavier.
The same rhythm as the night before.
Sienna closed the shop later than usual.
She didn’t know why.
Maybe she was waiting.
Maybe she hoped—
But deep down, she knew.
He wouldn’t come back.
Not now.
Not after—
---
The bell chimed.
Sienna froze.
Slowly—
Carefully—
She turned toward the door.
And there he was.
Soohyun.
Standing in the doorway, rain dripping from his hair, eyes searching the room like he was making sure it was still the same.
Like he was making sure *she* was still there.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then Sienna spoke.
“…You lied.”
The words came out quieter than she expected.
But they landed.
She saw it in the way his expression faltered.
“I didn’t lie,” he said.
“You didn’t tell me the truth.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Sienna let out a small, humorless laugh.
“You said that already.”
He stepped inside slowly, closing the door behind him.
The bell chimed again.
And suddenly—
The space between them felt smaller.
He looked different now.
Not because he had changed.
But because she had.
Because now she could see it.
The way he carried himself.
The way he watched everything.
The weight behind his silence.
“You know who I am,” he said quietly.
It wasn’t a question.
Sienna nodded.
“Apparently.”
A pause.
Then—
“Does it change anything?”
Sienna hesitated.
Because the answer was complicated.
Because the truth was—
“…I don’t know,” she admitted.
And for the first time since she met him—
Soohyun looked unsure too.
Like maybe—
Just maybe—
He had something to lose now.
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