The next morning, Coco and I went live on Instagram to announce our breakup. It went as well as we could have hoped. We wanted the fans to hear it from us directly, cutting off any chance for the media to twist the narrative into something unrecognizable.

Afterward, I couldn’t stop wondering if Song had seen it. During some quiet moments the night before, I’d come to accept that I couldn’t force a relationship where one didn’t exist. If he wanted to be with someone else, that was his choice—no matter how much I loved him.

Not that Song had ever explicitly said he wanted to be with me, either. Breaking up with Coco had been the right decision, though. Knowing she loved me tipped the balance of our arrangement, and continuing would have been unfair to her. She was my friend, and I intended to keep it that way, but only in private.

Still, the thought of losing Song entirely was a constant source of anxiety. If staying friends was the only way to keep him in my life, I had to make it work, even if it meant watching him with her.

Honestly, didn’t she seem too perfect? No one was that flawless—it was suspicious. I wasn’t jealous, of course. I just wanted to protect him from someone who seemed... shady.

“You should’ve warned us first,” God’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. We were in the practice room, rehearsing the new choreography. With the album launch just a few months away, followed by music show promotions and a long tour, everything had to be perfect. Practice couldn’t wait, even though we’d just returned from a mini-tour yesterday.

“What happened?” Ice asked, leaning casually against the wall, studying me.

I sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by God, Day, and King, who was pacing restlessly. Lately, King had been like a live wire, as if something was weighing on him or he was itching to say something but couldn’t. It was exhausting to watch.

Rubbing my temples, I debated whether to explain the situation with Coco. At this point, it didn’t matter if they knew; the relationship was over, so there was nothing for them to lie about. As for Song... well, that was a different story. I wasn’t about to bring him into this.

“The relationship was fake from the start,” I began.

“Let him talk,” God warned, cutting off any reaction from the others. I kept my eyes on the floor, but judging by God’s tone, they’d been about to lose it.

“We made a deal when we debuted to fake a relationship,” I continued. “It kept us from dealing with dating scandals or messy situations. But lately, it’s been too hard to keep up, so we decided to end it publicly. We’ve only ever been friends.”

The loud sound of the door closing made us all jump. I looked up to see Song standing there, his expression a mix of surprise and discomfort. Good, I thought smugly.

“Sorry,” he muttered, his voice soft. His ears flushed pink. “I didn’t mean to listen in. I was just looking for Milk.”

“No worries. Milk is coming in later,” I replied, smirking. “Pink called to say she overslept.” It was rare for Milk to be late, let alone oversleep. Something told me she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.

“Oh.” Song hesitated, as if he had more to say, but then turned toward the door.

“Wait,” I called after him. He stopped mid-step. Glancing at the guys, I added, “Can you give us a moment?”

“Sure,” God nodded, motioning for the others to follow. “We’ll grab something to eat before practice resumes.”

Once the door closed behind them, I turned my attention back to Song. He was staring at the floor, unusually timid. Was he still shaken from yesterday, when I’d lost control and hit the wall?

“Come here,” I said gently. “I’m not going to bite. Unless you want me to,” I added with a teasing grin.

That brought out the old Song. He shot me a glare and rolled his eyes.

“What do you want?” he asked, stepping closer, hands buried in his pockets.

“You saw the news?” I asked. I kept telling myself the breakup wasn’t for him, but it mattered that he’d seen it.

“I did,” he replied with a nod.

Good. At least I still had his attention. Maybe there was hope we could stay close.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” I said. “I went too far. We weren’t dating, and it’s your choice who you’re with. I had no right to act that possessive. I just don’t want things to be awkward between us. With how intertwined our friends and work lives are, we’re bound to see each other. Can we just... be friends?”

My heart was pounding, but I kept my voice steady. Song seemed deep in thought, which only made me more nervous.

“You’re okay with me being in a relationship with Gift?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said firmly.

“You won’t... try anything?”

“I won’t.”

He studied me for a moment longer. Then, finally, he nodded.

“Okay,” he said.

I blinked, caught off guard. “Okay?”

He nodded again, and a grin broke across my face. He shook his head in amusement.

Relief flooded me. Thank God. How had I become so addicted to his presence that the thought of losing him terrified me? It didn’t matter—we weren’t parting ways.

“Are you two done making up?” God’s head poked through the door. He took one look at my grin and Song’s flushed ears and didn’t wait for an answer. “Milk just got here, Song. If you want to talk to her, now’s your chance. She’s a little stressed about being late.”

“Thanks,” Song said, giving me a small nod before heading out. God stepped into the room as Song disappeared through the door.

“Are you sure about this?” God asked, scanning my face. “You weren’t exactly calm about it yesterday.”

“It’ll be fine,” I assured him. “I know what I’m doing.”

God let out a sarcastic chuckle. “You said the same thing a few months ago. Then you punched a wall.”

“Dramatic much?” I scoffed. “By the way, Coco sends her love.”

He grimaced. “How can you still be friends with that vixen?”

“You of all people should know not to trust first impressions,” I said, patting his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go eat.”