Taemin leaned down, pressing his forehead against Ji-Hoon’s. The height difference was negated by Ji-Hoon sitting, making them eye-to-eye in the cramped, golden light of the trailer.
"When you caught me today..." Taemin whispered, his breath warm against Ji-Hoon’s lips. "For the first time in five years, I didn't feel like a 'product.' I felt like a person. Why are you the only one who makes me feel that way?"
Ji-Hoon’s resolve, the wall he had built out of professional ethics and self-preservation, didn't just crack—it demolished. He reached up, his large, calloused hands cupping Taemin’s face. His thumbs traced the delicate skin under Taemin's eyes, wiping away a stray tear that the idol hadn't even realized had fallen.
"Because I'm a fool," Ji-Hoon rasped. "A professional fool who fell for the one person he was supposed to protect from a distance."
