Ji-na
I felt his eyes on me as I disappeared into the crowd.
I tried not to look back at him. I really did.
I failed.
Our eyes met—just briefly—and he looked at me in disbelief.
I made mental notes. American. Marine. Oblivious. Handsome. His name… his name was Logan. His friend mentioned it.
I hadn't meant to sit next to him, let alone let the conversation drag out as long as it had.
Though conversation is a bit of a stretch. He talked. I listened.
Still, something about him—the way he carried himself, the way he talked to me like I was just some random woman in an airport—had kept me there.
And now?
Now he knew exactly who I was.
I could still hear his stunned "shit" ringing in my ears.
It made me smile.
Ahead of me, my group was watching me approach, clearly waiting. As soon as I reached them, Hye-won, always the most excitable, practically bounced over, her eyes flicking past me to where I'd just been.
"Unnie, who was that?"
I sighed, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Just some American."
Jisoo snorted. "Some ridiculously hot American. Are his eyes as blue as they look from here?"
I waved her off, but I didn't deny it.
Because yeah—he was hot. In a very annoying, completely unfair, rugged, broad-shouldered, military-trained kind of way.
He said I was made in a lab. Has he looked in a mirror??
Hye-won was practically buzzing with curiosity. "Why were you talking to him? Did he recognize you?"
"No," I said smoothly, adjusting my bag. "He had no idea who I was."
Jisoo looked offended on my behalf. "How?"
I shrugged. "Not everyone watches K-pop."
Min-ji, our main dancer and arguably the most chill out of all of us, gave me a knowing look. "You looked like you were having fun."
I didn't answer right away.
Because… well.
I had been.
But why?
I had no business sitting next to a stranger and letting him talk to me like that. Not in a bad way—he had been borderline shameless, but there had been nothing creepy about it.
If anything, he had been too honest.
Too direct.
And somehow, too accurate.
You feel alone anyway.
I hadn't expected that.
I had thought I would throw him off with my silence. Let him spiral a little, then leave. But instead, he had read me.
And I had let him.
Min-ji was still watching me.
I needed a cover story before they started assuming things.
I took a slow breath, choosing my words carefully. "Honestly? I was just going to ask if I could look at his magazine when he was done with it."
Hye-won tilted her head. "His magazine?"
"Yeah." I waved a hand, trying to sound casual. "I was waiting for him to put it down, but then I accidentally asked in Korean and, well…" I sighed dramatically. "He was cute, so I just let him talk."
Jisoo snorted. "He was cute, so you let him talk? That's cold."
I smirked. "Yeah. A bit."
Min-ji eyed me suspiciously. "What magazine?"
I hesitated.
And this was where I needed to be careful.
Because the real answer?
A gun magazine.
And no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, idols weren't supposed to be into guns.
Not publicly.
Not in interviews.
And definitely not in an international airport where anyone could see me drooling over the specs of the new KS-90 Rail Rifle—an absolute beast of a weapon with next-gen recoil compensation, custom porting, and a hybrid thermal-optic scope.
I bit my lip.
I wanted to see that article.
Badly.
But I could already imagine the scandal that would follow.
"Jia of NOVA secretly obsessed with deadly firearms?!"
Yeah. No thanks.
I needed a different answer.
"…It was a travel magazine," I lied smoothly. "There was an article about Australia. You know, childhood nostalgia and all that."
Min-ji narrowed her eyes. "Mmmhmm."
I shot her my most innocent look. "What?"
She held up her hands in surrender. "Nothing. Just… it's been a long time since I've seen you voluntarily start a conversation with a guy."
I scoffed. "*Conversation* is probably a stretch. I sat down, said the wrong thing, and then he just… kept talking. I did answer him in Korean a couple of times."
Jisoo shook her head, still looking amused. "So you let a hot American flirt with you for twenty minutes because you were too embarrassed to ask for a magazine?"
"…Yes."
Hye-won grinned. "I kind of love that. Our Unnie has grown up!"
Min-ji was still looking at me. Not in a judgmental way—just thoughtful.
I ignored it.
"Anyway," I said briskly. "It's not like it matters. He knows who I am now. So it's over."
Jisoo chuckled. "He looked like his soul left his body when his friend showed him that magazine."
I smirked. "Yeah. That was fun."
Hye-won sighed dramatically. "I wish I had that kind of luck. Attractive men never randomly flirt with me in airports."
"Maybe because you don't give them a chance," Min-ji pointed out. "You always have your headphones in."
Hye-won gasped. "Excuse me, music is my priority!"
Jisoo laughed, linking arms with her. "Come on, let's get to our gate before we miss this flight."
We started walking again, but I didn't immediately follow.
I glanced back toward the waiting area—just for a second.
Logan was still sitting there, staring at the magazine like he was trying to process his entire life.
David, meanwhile, looked like he was in actual pain from laughing so hard.
I smirked.
Then turned and walked away.
I didn't know if I'd ever see Logan Carter again.
But I kind of hoped I would.I felt his eyes on me as I disappeared into the crowd.
I tried not to look back at him. I really did.
I failed.
Our eyes met—just briefly—and he looked at me in disbelief.
I made mental notes. American. Marine. Oblivious. Handsome. His name… his name was Logan. His friend mentioned it.
I hadn't meant to sit next to him, let alone let the conversation drag out as long as it had.
Though *conversation* is a bit of a stretch. He talked. I listened.
Still, something about him—the way he carried himself, the way he talked to me like I was just some random woman in an airport—had kept me there.
And now?
Now he knew exactly who I was.
I could still hear his stunned *"shit"* ringing in my ears.
It made me smile.
Ahead of me, my group was watching me approach, clearly waiting. As soon as I reached them, Hye-won, always the most excitable, practically bounced over, her eyes flicking past me to where I'd just been.
"Unnie, who was that?"
I sighed, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Just some American."
Jisoo snorted. "Some ridiculously hot American. Are his eyes as blue as they look from here?"
I waved her off, but I didn't deny it.
Because yeah—he *was* hot. In a very annoying, completely unfair, rugged, broad-shouldered, military-trained kind of way.
He said I was made in a lab. *Has he looked in a mirror??*
Hye-won was practically buzzing with curiosity. "Why were you talking to him? Did he recognize you?"
"No," I said smoothly, adjusting my bag. "He had no idea who I was."
Jisoo looked offended on my behalf. "How?"
I shrugged. "Not everyone watches K-pop."
Min-ji, our main dancer and arguably the most chill out of all of us, gave me a knowing look. "You looked like you were having fun."
I didn't answer right away.
Because… well.
I *had* been.
But why?
I had no business sitting next to a stranger and letting him talk to me like that. Not in a bad way—he had been borderline shameless, but there had been nothing creepy about it.
If anything, he had been too honest.
Too direct.
And somehow, too accurate.
*You feel alone anyway.*
I hadn't expected that.
I had thought I would throw him off with my silence. Let him spiral a little, then leave. But instead, he had read me.
And I had let him.
Min-ji was still watching me.
I needed a cover story before they started assuming things.
I took a slow breath, choosing my words carefully. "Honestly? I was just going to ask if I could look at his magazine when he was done with it."
Hye-won tilted her head. "His magazine?"
"Yeah." I waved a hand, trying to sound casual. "I was waiting for him to put it down, but then I accidentally asked in Korean and, well…" I sighed dramatically. "He was cute, so I just let him talk."
Jisoo snorted. "He was cute, so you let him talk? That's cold."
I smirked. "Yeah. A bit."
Min-ji eyed me suspiciously. "What magazine?"
I hesitated.
And this was where I needed to be careful.
Because the real answer?
A gun magazine.
And no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, idols weren't supposed to be into guns.
Not publicly.
Not in interviews.
And definitely not in an international airport where anyone could see me drooling over the specs of the new KS-90 Rail Rifle—an absolute beast of a weapon with next-gen recoil compensation, custom porting, and a hybrid thermal-optic scope.
I bit my lip.
I wanted to see that article.
Badly.
But I could already imagine the scandal that would follow.
**"Jia of NOVA secretly obsessed with deadly firearms?!"**
Yeah. No thanks.
I needed a different answer.
"…It was a travel magazine," I lied smoothly. "There was an article about Australia. You know, childhood nostalgia and all that."
Min-ji narrowed her eyes. "Mmmhmm."
I shot her my most innocent look. "What?"
She held up her hands in surrender. "Nothing. Just… it's been a long time since I've seen you voluntarily start a conversation with a guy."
I scoffed. "*Conversation* is probably a stretch. I sat down, said the wrong thing, and then he just… kept talking. I did answer him in Korean a couple of times."
Jisoo shook her head, still looking amused. "So you let a hot American flirt with you for twenty minutes because you were too embarrassed to ask for a magazine?"
"…Yes."
Hye-won grinned. "I kind of love that. Our *Unnie* has grown up!"
Min-ji was still looking at me. Not in a judgmental way—just *thoughtful*.
I ignored it.
"Anyway," I said briskly. "It's not like it matters. He knows who I am now. So it's over."
Jisoo chuckled. "He looked like his soul left his body when his friend showed him that magazine."
I smirked. "Yeah. That was fun."
Hye-won sighed dramatically. "I wish I had that kind of luck. Attractive men never randomly flirt with me in airports."
"Maybe because you don't give them a chance," Min-ji pointed out. "You always have your headphones in."
Hye-won gasped. "Excuse me, music is my priority!"
Jisoo laughed, linking arms with her. "Come on, let's get to our gate before we miss this flight."
We started walking again, but I didn't immediately follow.
I glanced back toward the waiting area—just for a second.
Logan was still sitting there, staring at the magazine like he was trying to process his entire life.
David, meanwhile, looked like he was in actual pain from laughing so hard.
I smirked.
Then turned and walked away.
I didn't know if I'd ever see Logan Carter again.
But I kind of hoped I would.