Isla paced around her small apartment, the evening light filtering through the blinds as the city outside hummed with life. Her mind was spinning in circles, replaying the conversation with Jin Woo on the rooftop over and over again. His words, his eyes, his presence—they were all too much. It was like the solid ground beneath her feet had been pulled away, leaving her unmoored.
How could she let herself get so wrapped up in this? In him? He was her competition. They weren't supposed to connect like this, and yet… there was something undeniably real between them. And that was terrifying.
The sound of her phone buzzing on the counter broke through her thoughts, making her jump. She glanced at the screen, her heart leaping into her throat when she saw Jin Woo's name flashing on the display.
She hesitated. Was she ready for this? Could she even handle talking to him right now? Before she could make a decision, her fingers had already swiped to answer.
"Hello?" she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Isla," Jin Woo's voice came through the line, low and calm. "Can we meet?"
Her pulse quickened at the question. "Now?"
"Yes," he replied, not missing a beat. "There's something we need to talk about."
Isla closed her eyes, leaning against the kitchen counter as she tried to steady herself. She knew what he wanted to talk about. She had been avoiding it all day, but she couldn't keep running forever. Not when everything between them was already teetering on the edge of something neither of them could ignore.
"Okay," she said after a long pause. "Where?"
---
Twenty minutes later, Isla found herself standing outside a quiet café, tucked away in a small alley that only locals seemed to know about. She had been here before, but somehow tonight the place felt different—heavier, as if the air was charged with anticipation.
Jin Woo was already sitting at a table near the back, his eyes tracking her every movement as she approached. The intensity in his gaze made her stomach flip, and for a second, she almost turned and walked away. But something inside her refused to let her run this time.
She sat down across from him, her fingers twisting nervously in her lap. Neither of them spoke at first, the silence between them thick with unspoken words.
"Thanks for coming," Jin Woo said, breaking the silence. His voice was soft, but there was a tension beneath it.
Isla nodded, not trusting herself to speak just yet.
For a long moment, they just looked at each other, the weight of everything unsaid pressing down on them. Isla could feel her heart beating in her throat, the nerves and uncertainty swirling in her chest.
"I don't know what to say," she finally admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jin Woo's eyes softened, a small sigh escaping his lips. "Neither do I."
She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Then why are we here?"
"Because…" Jin Woo hesitated, his gaze dropping to the table. "Because we can't keep pretending. Not anymore."
Isla swallowed hard, her throat tight. "What are you saying?"
Jin Woo met her eyes again, and the raw vulnerability in his expression sent a shiver down her spine. "I'm saying that whatever this is between us, it's not going away. And we need to face it."
The words hung in the air between them, heavy and terrifying. Isla's chest tightened as a thousand thoughts raced through her mind. She had spent so long building walls around herself, convincing herself that their rivalry was all that mattered, that Jin Woo was nothing more than an obstacle in her path. But now… now she wasn't sure what was real anymore.
"I don't know if I can do this," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Jin Woo reached across the table, his hand hovering over hers for a moment before gently resting on top of it. His touch was warm, grounding her in the chaos of her thoughts.
"You don't have to decide right now," he said softly. "But I needed to tell you. I needed you to know that this isn't just in your head. It's not just in mine, either."
Isla's breath caught in her throat, her eyes stinging as she tried to hold back the overwhelming flood of emotions. She wasn't ready for this—wasn't ready to confront the truth of what she was feeling. But deep down, she knew Jin Woo was right. This thing between them, whatever it was, wasn't going away.
"I'm scared," she admitted, her voice barely audible.
Jin Woo's grip on her hand tightened slightly, his thumb brushing gently against her skin. "So am I."
They sat in silence for a long moment, the weight of everything they were feeling settling around them like a heavy blanket. Isla couldn't remember the last time she had felt this vulnerable, this exposed. It was terrifying, but at the same time… it was freeing.
When she finally spoke again, her voice was quiet but steady. "What happens now?"
Jin Woo's eyes met hers, a small, tentative smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I don't know," he admitted. "But maybe we don't have to figure it all out tonight."
Isla nodded, feeling a strange sense of relief wash over her. She wasn't ready to dive headfirst into whatever this was, but maybe she didn't need to. Maybe it was enough, for now, to just acknowledge that something had changed. That they had both been affected by it.
As they sat together in the dimly lit café, the sounds of the city fading into the background, Isla felt a flicker of hope. Things between them weren't simple, and they probably never would be. But for the first time in weeks, she felt like maybe—just maybe—they could figure it out. Together.
---
The following days were a blur of emotions. Isla tried to focus on work, throwing herself into her tasks, but her mind kept wandering back to Jin Woo. It was impossible to keep the thoughts of him at bay, especially now that they had acknowledged what had been simmering between them for weeks.
She found herself watching him more closely during meetings, noticing the small, subtle shifts in his demeanor. The way his gaze lingered on her a little too long, the way his voice softened when they spoke. And despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop herself from feeling the same pull—the same magnetic connection that had drawn them together in the first place.
But with every stolen glance, every unspoken moment between them, the tension only grew. They had opened a door that couldn't be closed, and now they were both standing on the edge of something neither of them knew how to navigate.