Chapter Text
"Do you know what people call you?"
Kang Minjae didn't look up from his blueprint.
"No."
Seo Hyunwoo dropped into the chair beside him with all the grace of a falling building.
"They call you the Ghost of Architecture."
Minjae continued drawing.
"Personally," Hyunwoo continued, "I voted for Architecture's Final Boss."
Silence.
A ruler slid across the paper.
A pencil moved.
Hyunwoo gasped dramatically.
"You don't even care?"
"No."
"You're ruining this conversation."
"You started it."
"Exactly."
Hyunwoo leaned back in his chair.
"You know, one day you'll fall in love and it'll be the funniest day of my life."
Minjae finally looked up.
"Leave."
"See? That's exactly why it'll be funny."
The bell rang.
Students began packing up.
Hyunwoo stood and stretched.
"Anyway, don't stay too late in the studio."
Minjae raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because people already think you're a ghost."
"Get out."
"Love you too."
Minjae threw an eraser.
Hyunwoo barely dodged it before disappearing through the door.
Idiot.
The thought came automatically.
So did the small smile that followed.
It vanished before anyone could see it.
By midnight, the architecture studio was almost empty.
Rain tapped softly against the glass walls.
The city beyond the windows blurred into streaks of light.
Minjae sat alone beneath a desk lamp.
Blueprints.
Measurements.
Straight lines.
Things that made sense.
Things that stayed where they belonged.
Thunder rolled in the distance.
His pencil tapped once against the desk.
Then again.
Then stopped.
A habit he didn't realize he had.
The studio door suddenly flew open.
"Wait-don't lock it!"
A boy stumbled inside, slightly out of breath and completely soaked from the rain.
His hair dripped onto the floor.
A tube of rolled-up sketches was tucked beneath one arm.
Minjae looked up.
The stranger looked around.
Then spotted him.
"Oh."
The boy blinked.
"So you're Kang Minjae."
Not a question.
Recognition.
Minjae returned to his blueprint.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing."
The boy smiled.
"I just wanted to see if the rumors were true."
"And?"
"They were."
Minjae sighed.
"Which rumor?"
"The one about your personality."
A pause.
Then-
"You look less scary than people said."
Minjae stared.
The stranger smiled wider.
Definitely annoying.
"Who are you?"
"Yoo Taehyun."
He sat across from Minjae without being invited.
Interior design.
First year.
Singer.
Popular.
Everyone knew who he was.
Minjae wished he didn't.
"You know," Taehyun said casually, "people told me not to talk to you."
"Smart people."
"I ignored them."
"Clearly."
Taehyun laughed.
And annoyingly-
it wasn't irritating.
Not completely.
Rain continued falling outside.
Minutes passed.
Neither left.
Somehow.
"You always stay this late?" Taehyun asked.
"Yes."
"Voluntarily?"
"Yes."
"That's concerning."
"It's called studying."
"It's called avoiding people."
Minjae looked up.
Taehyun looked entirely too pleased with himself.
"Do you always make assumptions?"
"Only accurate ones."
Minjae rolled his eyes.
Taehyun grinned like he'd won something.
A little later, Taehyun reached into his pocket.
He placed a white earbud on the desk.
It slid across the wood and stopped near Minjae's hand.
"What is this?"
"My earbud."
"Congratulations."
Taehyun laughed.
"No, seriously."
Minjae picked it up.
A black wave-like symbol curved across the side.
Not a scratch.
A design.
Something about it felt strangely familiar.
His fingers paused.
Just for a second.
A strange feeling stirred inside him.
Then disappeared.
Across the desk, Taehyun was watching.
Too carefully.
Like he was waiting.
For what?
Minjae didn't know.
"You don't like storms."
Minjae frowned.
"I don't care about storms."
Taehyun nodded toward the desk.
Minjae followed his gaze.
His pencil was tapping again.
Once.
Twice.
The same rhythm.
He immediately stopped.
"...Coincidence."
"Sure."
Taehyun leaned slightly forward.
Too close.
Minjae instinctively leaned back.
The movement was small.
But Taehyun noticed.
Of course he did.
"You don't like people in your space."
"I don't like people who talk too much."
"Ouch."
"You asked."
Taehyun placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
"I think that hurt my feelings."
Minjae stared.
Taehyun laughed again.
And somehow the room felt less quiet than before.
Eventually-
Taehyun tapped his fingers against the desk.
Once.
Twice.
Exactly.
The same rhythm.
Minjae froze.
His eyes snapped up.
"How do you know that?"
For the first time all night-
Taehyun didn't smile.
Something changed in his expression.
Something softer.
Something almost sad.
"You really don't remember me?"
The words landed harder than they should have.
Minjae's grip tightened around the earbud.
"What are you talking about?"
Silence.
Rain.
Thunder.
Then-
Taehyun smiled again.
But it didn't reach his eyes.
"Nothing."
He stood.
Gathered his things.
And walked towards the door.
Before leaving, he paused.
Just once.
"Goodnight, Minjae."
The way he said his name felt wrong.
Not unfamiliar.
The opposite.
As if he'd said it many times before.
The door closed.
The studio became quiet again.
But it didn't feel the same.
Minjae stared at the earbud resting in his palm.
The black wave symbol caught the light.
Rain.
A computer screen.
A voice.
Someone laughing.
"...seriously, who burns instant noodles twice?"
The memory flashed through his mind.
Gone before he could catch it.
Minjae frowned.
His heart was beating strangely fast.
Why?
He didn't even know that guy.
Did he?
The thought lingered.
Unwelcome.
Persistent.
His eyes drifted toward the closed door.
The room was empty.
Yet the feeling remained.
Not familiarity.
Something deeper.
Something unfinished.
A voice.
A memory.
A name.
Almost within reach.
Minjae looked down at the earbud again.
Then whispered something he didn't understand himself.
"...Who are you?"
The question should have felt simple.
Instead-
it felt like he was asking about a person he'd already lost.
Outside, the rain finally stopped.
Inside, Kang Minjae remained seated long after midnight.
Because for the first time in years-
he wasn't thinking about architecture.
He was thinking about a stranger.
And why it felt like forgetting him had been a mistake.