She flinched when Jihoon's voice gently broke through the silence, like a whisper carried on the wind.
Startled by his words, she immediately wiped her tears in a flurry, trying to compose herself with shaky hands. The attempt was futile, her eyes remained red, and her shoulders trembled from the sobs she had yet to bury.
"I'm okay, Jihoon sunbae… really," she said, shaking her head faintly, her voice so small it barely reached him.
It was the kind of response people gave when they weren't ready to talk, but needed someone to believe them anyway.
Jihoon didn't argue. He didn't press on it. He simply offered a quiet smile, understanding and patient.
Then he gently patted the step beside him.
"Come," he said softly.
She hesitated, her gaze dropping.
This was only the second time they'd met, and yet… something in his tone—calm, warm, free of expectation—made her legs move before she could overthink it.
She sat beside him on the cold steps, knees pulled in, leaving a polite space between them.
He reached over and gently ruffled her hair, not as a senior or a director, but as someone who saw her—truly saw her.
"Sulli-ah," Jihoon began, voice low and kind, "sometimes... living isn't about just enduring. Or chasing things that were never really yours to begin with, just because the world told you to."
She didn't say anything, but her breath hitched.
Jihoon continued, the words falling like rain—slow and steady.
"Maybe... maybe living is about giving yourself permission to be happy. Even if it's not what others expect. Even if it doesn't make perfect sense to anyone else."
At that, her composure cracked. She didn't wail. She didn't sob. But a single tear slipped down from a face that should have been busy enjoying her childhood.
She drew in a shaky breath, her voice breaking as she spoke, "I never wanted to be an idol, sunbae…"
Jihoon turned to look at her, his eyes soft and attentive, as if encouraging her to let go of the frustration and burdens weighing her down.
"I wanted to be an actress. Ever since I was a kid." She laughed bitterly, wiping at her cheek.
"But after I started acting in dramas and people started recognizing me," Sulli said, her voice barely above a whisper, "my mom thought… maybe if I trained at SM, it would secure a better future. That it'd help her too."
She paused. Her hands twisted in her lap, fingers curling into her palms.
The silence between them wasn't awkward—it was gentle, fragile, like they were both afraid of shattering something unspoken.
"We were never well-off. Just my mom, my older brother, and me. And she worked so hard—really hard. Part-time jobs, night shifts… always trying to make ends meet."
She blinked quickly, as if trying to hold back more tears.
"So when I started bringing in a little money from acting, it was the first time I saw her breathe easier."
A smile tugged at her lips, but it didn't last.
"I think she looked at SM like a safety net. A big company, a clear path, a steady career. She thought… maybe if I debuted, I wouldn't struggle the way she did."
Sulli exhaled slowly, the breath trembling in her chest.
"But I never really wanted to be an idol," she admitted.
"I wanted to lose myself in stories. To become characters. Not to learn dance routines or force a smile when my heart wasn't in it."
"But I couldn't tell her that. Not when she already had so much on her shoulders—especially with my brother."
She looked over at Jihoon, her eyes glassy but unwavering.
"I didn't want to disappoint her. I thought if I endured a little longer, maybe it'd get easier. Maybe I'd start wanting it. But it didn't. It just got heavier."
Sulli's voice dropped to a whisper, nearly lost in the hollow stairwell.
"I thought maybe if I worked hard enough, smiled enough, danced and sang and did what they told me to… maybe my mom would smile again too."
She paused, biting her lower lip.
"I'm tired, sunbae. I don't know who I'm supposed to be anymore. I'm either too loud, or too quiet."
"Too soft, or too strange. I just… I feel like I'm breaking into pieces trying to be the version everyone wants me to be."
Jihoon's chest tightened.
She was only thirteen, just a child. And yet, the weight she carried was heavier than most adults could bear.
She shouldn't have known this kind of exhaustion at an age meant for wonder and play.
She shouldn't have had to wear strength like armor, to protect herself.
Her eyes—once full of curiosity and light—looked tired now, dimmed by too many held-back tears and too many unspoken worries.
She didn't need saving.
She just needed someone to believe her.
To give her space to breathe.
To remind her that it was okay to be unsure, to be messy, to still be finding her way.
And in that quiet moment, something shifted inside Jihoon.
He had always promised himself to stay at a distance—to let fate play out.
It was safer that way. With knowledge of what was to come, he could stay in control.
Just like he had with Jieun. He knew her debut was going to fail—but he didn't stop her.
Not because he didn't care, but because he believed in the process. It was something she had to go through to reach the same heights she had in his previous life.
Although some things had changed in this life, the major timelines of each individual remained mostly untouched.
Jihoon believed that personal growth was tied to destiny—as if each path was already etched into the broader timeline.
But with Sulli... it felt different.
For once, Jihoon didn't care if it interfered with his plans. He didn't care if it shifted the course of the future he had carefully calculated.
Because watching someone slowly collapse under the same weight he already knew would break them—was something he couldn't turn away from.
And if he had the chance to change even one part of that story…
Why wouldn't he?
So with that in mind, jihoon said to her, "Sulli do you trust me?"
Sulli whom still weeping look up at jihoon and saw his sicenre face, altough she didnt know him well, but that face told her that jihoon worth her trust, so unkownighly nod her head.
Jihoon saw her response, smiled warmly, and gently ruffled her hair.
"Then why don't you start calling me oppa?" he said with a soft grin. "Treat me like your brother. I'll be that for you—the one who looks out for you and has your back, always."
Sulli was surprised—not because Jihoon request, but because of how calm and reassuring he sounded.
It wasn't the question that shook her.
It was the feeling behind it. The safety. The care.
She didn't realize until now how much she had been missing that.
It's ture that she had an older brother, but they weren't close.
He was four years older, always getting into trouble, and causing their mom a lot of stress.
Their home life wasn't easy. Their family felt broken.
Her mom worked nonstop just to keep things going, and as a single parent, she didn't have much time or energy left to tend to the family.
So since young Sulli never really had someone to lean on.
What she wanted wasn't anything big—just someone older who could look out for her.
Someone who'd say, "It's okay, you're doing your best."
A father figure, or maybe a big brother.
But she knew that wasn't possible in her family.
What she didn't realize until later was that this longing shaped how she saw love.
It's why she ended up dating someone much older. She thought what she needed was love, but what she was really missing was comfort and protection. She had confused care with romance.
And when that relationship ended, it hurt more than she expected. It left her confused, and made her feel even more lost.
After that, she started acting differently in front of people—putting on a smile even when she wasn't okay.
But Jihoon was different. What he gave her now wasn't love, but something softer—something that asked for nothing back.
And for someone who'd been carrying so much alone, it was enough to feel like maybe, just maybe, she wasn't alone anymore.
"Oppa..." she repeated softly, murmuring under her breath, testing the word on her tongue like it was something unfamiliar—yet strangely familiar.
And then she smiled—a small, hesitant smile, but genuine.
This time, she didn't hesitate to say it again.
"Thank you, oppa."
[Author's Note: Heartfelt thanks to Wandererlithe, JiangXiu, Night_Adam, BigBoobs and Daoistadj for bestowing the power stone!]