Stolen Moments | Yang Jeongin

Thirty-Three

The next day, I gathered the boys in the practice room. They looked nervous—maybe because I wasn't my usual self. I wore a serious expression, trying to keep the grin from breaking through. They deserved a bit of suspense after all they had been through.

"Guys," I started, pacing a little. "We need to talk about your performance last night. There are... some things we need to go over."

The room went quiet, and I could feel the tension rising. Taejin shifted uncomfortably, and Jisuk was biting his lip, like he was bracing for bad news. Dohyun, always the anxious one, was already wringing his hands.

"You know the album dropped right after the performance, right?" I continued, keeping my voice steady and serious. "Well, I've been monitoring everything closely, and..."

I could see Seongyu trying to meet my eyes, waiting for the hammer to drop.

"Well, the feedback's been coming in," I said, trailing off for dramatic effect.

"What's wrong?" Kyungho asked, his voice small.

I couldn't hold it any longer. A grin broke across my face as I whipped out my phone and waved it in front of them. "What's wrong? Nothing's wrong! You guys have nearly 1.5 million streams on your debut song already! And the feedback? Everyone loves the music video! They can't believe you filmed it yourselves. The response is insane!"

For a moment, the boys just blinked, like they couldn't quite process what I was saying.

"Wait, what?" Dohyun blurted out, eyes wide.

"1.5 million streams?" Taejin repeated, sounding like he might faint.

"Everyone loves it?" Jisuk echoed, his hand flying to his mouth in shock.

"YES!" I laughed, feeling their energy shift from anxiety to disbelief, and then to pure joy. "The debut song is blowing up, the whole album is trending and people are talking about how authentic and fresh the music video feels. You guys... you did it!"

There was a beat of silence, and then the room erupted. The boys tackled me and each other in a mess of hugs and shouts, laughing and jumping around. Dohyun picked Jisuk up and spun him around, while Taejin and Seongyu high-fived so hard I thought their hands might bruise. Kyungho was grinning ear to ear, not even bothering to hide his excitement. It was pure chaos, the kind I loved.

I let them have their moment before finally stepping forward. "And there's more," I said, raising my voice to get their attention again. "I know you guys have been working like crazy. So, I've scheduled some interviews and appearances for next week, but before that... we're taking the rest of the week off."

"Three whole days off?" Taejin asked, eyes wide. "Really?"

"Yup," I nodded. "You've earned it. So go home, visit your families, rest, do whatever you want, and then we'll pick things up when you're fresh. Trust me, after all this buzz, you're going to need your energy."

The boys erupted into cheers again, more high-fives and pats on the back flying around. I smiled, watching them enjoy their moment, knowing that they deserved every bit of this happiness. It felt good—seeing them like this after everything we'd been through.

"Okay, okay," I laughed, waving them off. "Go enjoy yourselves. I've got somewhere to be."

Before they could ask any more questions, I grabbed my bag and slipped out of the practice room. I had a train to catch.

***

At the station, Jeongin was waiting for me, leaning casually against a pillar, his ever-present smile lighting up his face the moment he saw me. A sense of relief washed over me as I walked up to him. We hadn't had much time together lately, and I was looking forward to this.

"Ready to go visit family?" he asked, pulling me into a hug.

"More than ready," I sighed, leaning into him. "I feel like I haven't seen Busan in forever."

Jeongin chuckled, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. "You've been working so hard. It's about time you got a break."

"Yeah, well... I wouldn't have survived it without you," I admitted, giving him a grateful smile. He had been my rock through all of this, even when I didn't realize I needed him.

We boarded the train, settling into our seats as the scenery of the city blurred by outside the window. I felt the weight of the past few months lift from my shoulders as we left Seoul behind. For the first time in a long time, I could breathe.

The rhythmic hum of the train was soothing, and Jeongin had his arm draped around me, our fingers laced together. I leaned my head on his shoulder, feeling the exhaustion of the past few days finally catch up to me, but it was a good kind of tired—the kind that comes after accomplishing something big.

"So," Jeongin began, breaking the comfortable silence. "Three whole days off, huh? What are you going to do with all that free time?"

I chuckled softly. "Honestly? Sleep. Maybe eat some good food. And... spend time with you and our families, if that's okay."

Jeongin smiled down at me, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "More than okay."

We fell into a comfortable silence again, watching the countryside roll by. I could feel the stress melting away, replaced by a quiet sense of contentment.

Busan was home, and so was Jeongin.

For the next three days, I didn't have to worry about anything else. No schedules, no meetings, no deadlines. Just us.

And for the first time in a long time, that was enough.