The Heaven Entertainment Building – 7th Floor Cafeteria

2:47 AM

The building was asleep.

Most of it, anyway. The practice rooms were dark. The executive offices were empty. The security guards were on their rounds, dutiful but bored, their footsteps echoing through corridors that had seen too many exhausted trainees and too many sleepless nights.

But on the 7th floor, in the small cafeteria that was supposed to be locked after midnight, a war was being waged.

Not a real war. Not with weapons or armies.

Just a girl. A refrigerator. And an overwhelming, desperate, life-or-death craving for ice cream.

Ellisa Jung known to millions as Elii, the nation's beloved fairy, the center of Five Angels, the girl whose face was on billboards across the country was currently losing that war.

She had both hands wrapped around the refrigerator handle. Her feet were planted against the stainless steel door. Her entire body weight was pulling backward.

The fridge didn't budge.

It was locked. Of course it was locked. Standard protocol after a trainee tried to steal all the ice cream during a diet crackdown last year. Every refrigerator in the building was locked after hours. Every single one.

Except she was desperate.

"Come on," she hissed, voice muffled by the oversized hoodie pulled over her head. "Just open you stupid"

She yanked harder. The fridge wobbled but held.

Her body was screaming. She'd been practicing for fourteen hours straight. Her muscles ached. Her feet throbbed. Her throat was raw from singing the same high note fifty times. And all she wanted all she needed was one scoop of something cold and sweet and forbidden.

It had been six months. Six months of sweet potato diets and chicken breast and no sugar. Six months of Manager Kang watching her like a hawk, confiscating snacks, reminding her that "the center needs to maintain the image."

She was twenty years old. She'd debuted at eighteen. She'd worked her entire life for this.

And right now, she wanted ice cream.

"I'm going to cry," she announced to the refrigerator. "I'm literally going to stand here and cry. Don't test me."

The fridge remained unmoved by her argument.

She rested her forehead against the cold metal. Closed her eyes. Let out a long, pathetic whine that would have shattered every Cupid's heart if they'd heard it.

"Please," she whispered. "I'll do anything. Extra practice. No sleep. More diets. Just... one. One tiny ice cream. I'll even eat the diet brand. The one that tastes like cardboard. I don't care anymore."

Silence.

The fluorescent lights hummed above her. The building settled around her. Somewhere far below, a security guard whistled.

And then

Footsteps came.

She didn't hear them at first. She was too lost in her misery, too focused on the cold metal against her forehead, too busy calculating exactly how much trouble she'd be in if she somehow broke the lock herself.

But then the footsteps got closer. Steady. Measured. The kind of footsteps that didn't rush for anyone.

Not a trainee, her brain registered. Trainees shuffle. They're always tired. These are...

She lifted her head.

Turned around.

And felt her soul leave her body.

Min Jae stood in the doorway of the cafeteria.

Twenty-six years old. CEO of The Heaven Entertainment. Heir to the Min Group conglomerate. Net worth estimated at ₩8.2 trillion. Called "The Ice Prince" by business media. Called "The Sphinx" by anyone who'd ever tried to read his expression.

He was dressed casually for him dark trousers, a black sweater, his hair slightly disheveled like he'd been running his hands through it. But even "casual" for Min Jae looked like something out of a magazine.

And he was staring at her.

Ellisa's brain short-circuited.

Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. No sound came out.

He didn't speak either. Just stood there, looking at her. Looking at the refrigerator she'd been assaulting. Looking at her forehead still pressed against the metal moments ago.

The silence stretched.

Say something, she screamed at herself. Anything. He's your CEO. You should bow. You should apologize. You should…

"You're awake."

His voice was quiet. Low. Measured. Like everything else about him.

Ellisa's throat made a sound that wasn't quite a word.

He walked forward.

Not toward her exactly toward the coffee machine in the corner. He pressed a button. Watched the machine whir to life.

"Coffee," he said. "The machine on my floor is broken."

She stared at him.

He's explaining himself. The CEO is explaining why he's in a cafeteria at 3 AM.

"You" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "There's a vending machine by the stairs. It's terrible, but it's hot."

He glanced at her. "I know."

He knows. Of course he knows. He knows everything that happens in this building.

The coffee finished. He didn't take it. Just stood there, cup in hand, looking at her with an expression she couldn't read.

Then his eyes moved to the refrigerator.

Locked. Immovable. Defeated.

"The fridge," he said.

"It's" She swallowed. "It's locked. After hours. No one's supposed to I was just I couldn't sleep I thought maybe "

"You wanted ice cream."

It wasn't a question.

Her face flushed so hot she was surprised the fire alarms didn't go off.

"I yes. I mean, no. I mean, I was just"

"You were banging your head against it."

"...I was lightly tapping."

"You said you were going to cry."

The words hung in the air.

He'd heard her. Of course he'd heard her. He'd probably heard everything the whining, the begging, the pathetic one-sided conversation with kitchen appliances.

Ellisa wanted to die.

"I was that was I talk to myself when I'm alone," she managed. "Which you weren't supposed to hear. Because you're not supposed to be here. At" she glanced at the wall clock, "almost three in the morning."

He looked at the clock too. Then back at her.

"I know."

He knows. He always knows.

She was going to pass out. Or throw up. Or both.

But then

He set down his coffee.

Walked past her. Kneeled in front of the refrigerator.

And pulled a small multi-tool from his pocket.

Ellisa watched, frozen, as he inserted it into the lock. As his fingers moved with precise, practiced efficiency. As the lock clicked open.

The refrigerator door swung forward.

Cold air rolled out, carrying the sweet smell of vanilla and chocolate and strawberry. Inside, neatly organized on metal shelves, were rows of ice cream. The good kind. The expensive kind the company bought for special occasions.

She stared.

"You just"

"Pick one."

"What?"

"Pick an ice cream. Before the cold air escapes."

She didn't move. Couldn't move. Couldn't process that the coldest man in Korea had just broken a refrigerator lock for her.

Min Jae sighed. Reached in himself. Grabbed a chocolate-coated bar with nuts on the outside the one he'd seen her eat once during a variety show recording, the one she'd described as "literally the best thing in the entire world."

He held it out to her.

"Here."

She took it automatically. Her fingers brushed his. Neither of them acknowledged it.

"This is" she looked at the ice cream, looked at him, looked at the broken lock, looked back at the ice cream. "You're not going to tell Manager Kang?"

"No."

"Why?"

He stood up. Brushed off his pants. Met her eyes directly for the first time that night.

"Because you've worked six months without a break. Because your body fat percentage is lower than medically recommended. Because you collapsed during soundcheck last month and still went on stage."

Her breath caught.

"I know everything that happens in my building, Ellisa-ssi. Including when my artists are hurting."

Something in his voice shifted when he said her name. Something almost soft. Almost human.

She stared at him.

He knows my name. Of course he knows my name. I'm the center of his biggest group. I'm

Why is he looking at me like that?

"Eat it," he said finally. "I'll wait."

"You'll wait?"

"If you eat it here, no one will see. If you take it back to your dorm, someone might notice. And Manager Kang checks the dorm refrigerators every morning at six."

He'd thought of everything. Of course he had. He was Min Jae. He didn't miss details.

Slowly, she unwrapped the ice cream.

Took a bite.

Her eyes closed immediately. A small sound escaped her throat not the whining from before, but something softer. Happier. A noise of pure, unguarded contentment.

When she opened her eyes, he was looking away.

He'd walked to the counter. Leaned against it. Pulled out his phone like he was reading emails.

But his shoulders were slightly less stiff. His jaw slightly less tight.

He was... relaxing.

For her.

"You're really not looking," she said after a minute.

"I'm working."

"You're pretending to work."

He didn't respond.

She ate slowly, savoring each bite. The ice cream was perfect cold and sweet and exactly what she needed. The chocolate melted on her tongue. The nuts added crunch. For the first time in months, she felt human.

"CEO Min?"

"What."

"Thank you."

He glanced up. Just for a second. Long enough to see her face flushed, happy, ice cream mustache on her upper lip.

"You have chocolate on your nose," she said.

He touched his nose instinctively. Found nothing.

Her laugh bubbled out before she could stop it. "Gotcha."

Min Jae, youngest chaebol heir in the country, Harvard dropout, the Ice Prince of Korean business, felt the corner of his mouth twitch.

He didn't smile. He never smiled in public.

But in this empty cafeteria at 3 AM, with a girl who'd just tricked him into checking his own nose...

Something cracked. Just slightly.

She finished the ice cream. Threw away the wrapper. Wiped her mouth with the back of her hand like a child.

"Okay," she said. "I'm done."

He pocketed his phone. Straightened.

Walked toward the door.

Stopped beside her.

"You can have ice cream sometimes," he said quietly. "One a month. Tell Manager Kang I authorized it."

Her eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Really. But " he looked down at her, and for once, let her see something real in his gaze. "Don't tell anyone about tonight. About the fridge. About me being here."

She nodded quickly. "I won't. I promise."

He believed her.

He walked out without another word.

Behind him, she stood alone in the empty cafeteria, touching her lips where the chocolate had been, wondering if she'd imagined the whole thing.

---

The Next Morning – 7 AM

Manager Kang found the refrigerator door slightly ajar.

Checked the lock. Found it broken.

Spent twenty minutes reviewing security footage, convinced a thief had broken in.

The footage showed nothing.

Because Min Jae had already deleted it from his phone at 3:17 AM, before he even left the building.

He'd also added a note to her personnel file: "Ellisa Jung – authorized for one ice cream per month. Medical exemption."

No one questioned it.

No one ever questioned Min Jae.

The Dorm – Later That Day

"Elii-yah, you're smiling."

Ellisa looked up from her phone. Dani was staring at her with narrowed eyes.

"I'm not smiling."

"You're literally smiling at the wall."

"The wall is funny."

"The wall is a wall."

"Walls have humor. You just don't understand wall culture."

Dani's eyes narrowed further. "Something happened. You've been weird since yesterday."

Something happened, Ellisa thought. The coldest man in Korea broke a refrigerator lock for me because I wanted ice cream.

"Nope," she said. "Nothing. Just tired."

"You're lying."

"I'm fine and lying. Same thing."

Dani shook her head but let it go.

Ellisa looked back at her phone.

No new messages. No calls. No proof that any of it had been real.

But she could still taste the chocolate.

And somewhere in the back of her mind, she could still hear his voice.

"I know everything that happens in my building, Ellisa-ssi."

"Especially when my artists are hurting."

She smiled again.

Definitely at the wall.

Definitely.

Meanwhile – 15th Floor

Min Jae sat at his desk, staring at a contract he'd already read three times.

His mind kept drifting to the cafeteria.

To her forehead pressed against the fridge.

To her whine, desperate and pathetic and strangely endearing.

To the way she'd laughed when she tricked him.

To the ice cream mustache on her upper lip.

He picked up his phone.

Her contact was already there. He'd added it months ago, after she collapsed during soundcheck. "Emergency purposes," he'd told himself.

He stared at her name.

Ellisa Jung – 5 Angels – Maknae

His thumb hovered over the keyboard.

Then he set the phone down.

Picked it up again.

Set it down.

One ice cream a month, he'd told her. Medical exemption.

It was the first time he'd ever bent rules for anyone.

He had a feeling it wouldn't be the last.

The Heaven Entertainment Building

11:47 PM

Ellisa's body had officially given up.

She felt it happen around 9 PM that familiar moment when exhaustion stopped being a feeling and became a physical weight pressing down on every bone. But 5 ANGELS had a year-end award performance in three days, and her solo fancam from last week had already hit 15 million views, and the pressure was immense, and she couldn't stop, couldn't rest, couldn't….just couldn't.

The practice room mirror reflected a girl she barely recognized. Hair tied in a messy bun with half of it escaped. Sweat-soaked t-shirt. Dark circles that concealer couldn't hide anymore. The same choreography, running on loop, because perfection wasn't optional when you were the center.

One more time.

She pressed play on the speaker.

The music started. She moved.

By the third chorus, her legs gave out.

She caught herself on her hands, knees hitting the wooden floor with a thud that would leave bruises tomorrow. Stayed there, breathing hard, forehead almost touching the ground.

Just a minute, she told herself. Just one minute, then get up, then go again.

Her eyes closed.

The music kept playing.

Min Jae didn't mean to end up on the 12th floor.

His driver was waiting downstairs. His penthouse apartment was twenty minutes away. His bed the expensive one he'd imported from Italy but barely slept in was calling his name.

But as he passed the elevator bank, he noticed a light on in Practice Room C.

At nearly midnight.

Staff knew better than to leave lights on overnight. Electricity costs were tracked, budgets were monitored, and Min Jae noticed everything.

He should have called security. Let them handle it.

Instead, he pressed the elevator button for 12.

The practice room door was glass. Frosted at the bottom, clear at the top. He could see movement inside no, not movement. A figure. On the floor.

His heart stopped for exactly one second before logic caught up.

She's practicing. She's fine. She's…

She wasn't moving.

He swiped his master keycard so fast the reader beeped in protest. The door swung open.

Music blasted out some pop song he didn't recognize, too loud, too repetitive. The mirror lights were on full brightness, making the whole room feel like a performance stage.

And in the middle of the floor, curled on her side like a exhausted child, was Ellisa.

Her chest rose and fell slowly. Asleep. Just asleep.

Min Jae stood in the doorway, hand still on the handle, heart hammering for no reason.

The song ended. Started again. Auto-loop.

She didn't stir.

He walked closer. The floor creaked under his shoes she didn't move. He stopped directly beside her, looking down at the youngest member of his biggest group, and felt something twist painfully in his chest.

Her face was smudged with sweat. Her eyelashes long, natural, no mascara fanned against cheeks flushed pink from exertion. One hand was tucked under her head like a pillow. The other rested limply on the floor, fingers slightly curled.

She'd kicked off her shoes at some point. Her socks had little cat faces on them.

Min Jae stared at those cat socks for longer than necessary.

Then he pulled out his phone and dialed his assistant Kang Jun-ho.His phone vibrated at 11:52 PM.He was half-asleep on his couch, watching a drama he didn't care about, when the message came through.

[CEO Min]: Practice Room C. 12th floor. Bring a blanket. Now.

Jun-ho was out the door in thirty seconds, still in his pajama pants, because when the Ice Prince asked for something at midnight, you moved.

He grabbed the spare blanket from the executive floor's nap room the good one, wool blend, usually reserved for VIP guests and sprinted to the elevator.

When he reached Practice Room C, he found his boss standing over a sleeping figure on the floor.

A very small, very blonde, very famous sleeping figure.

Jun-ho's brain short-circuited.

"Sir that's is that"

"The blanket."

"Right. Yes. Here."

He handed it over. Watched as Min Jae took the blanket and, with movements so gentle they seemed almost unreal, knelt down beside the sleeping girl.

Jun-ho had worked for Min Jae for three years. He'd seen his boss fire executives without blinking. Negotiate mergers with steel in his voice. Walk through rooms full of important people like he owned them because he did.

He had never, never seen Min Jae touch anyone with care.

But now, here, in the too-bright practice room with music still playing on loop, the Ice Prince was carefully draping a blanket over a sleeping idol's shoulders.

Tucking the edges under her chin.

Pausing for just a moment, hand hovering near her hair, before pulling back.

Jun-ho made a mental note to never speak of this to anyone.

"Wait outside," Min Jae said quietly.Jun-ho waited outside.Then he stopped the music….

That's what woke her. The sudden silence, louder than the noise had been. Her eyes fluttered open, brain struggling to remember where she was,Practice room. Floor. She'd fallen asleep. Oh no. Oh no. Manager Kang was going to…

She tried to sit up and realized something was on top of her.

A blanket. Soft. Warm. Not hers.

Her eyes focused.

And there, standing by the mirror with his back partially turned, was CEO Min.

He was adjusting something on his phone probably the music controls. The loop had stopped. He'd turned it off.

Ellisa's heart stopped.

She was on the floor. In sweaty clothes. With cat socks. And the CEO of The Heaven Entertainment, the richest man under thirty in the country, was in the room.

She scrambled up so fast the blanket fell off.

Her body screamed in protest tired muscles, stiff joints, the beginnings of bruises on her knees. She ignored all of it, bowing so low her forehead almost touched her knees.

"CEO Min! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep, I was just resting for a minute, I'll leave right now, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience"

"Ellisa."

Her name. Just her name. Quiet, but somehow cutting through her panic spiral.

She stopped talking. Stayed bowed. Didn't dare look up.

"The blanket," he said. "You dropped it."

She glanced down. The nice blanket really nice, expensive-looking was pooled at her feet.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I" She grabbed it, held it out to him with both hands, still not meeting his eyes. "Here. Thank you. For for the blanket. You didn't have to. I'm really sorry you had to see me like this."

Silence.

She risked a glance up.

He was watching her with an expression she couldn't read. Not cold, exactly. Not warm either. Something in between. Something that made her stomach flip.

"You're still bowing," he observed.

She straightened immediately. Too fast. Her head spun.

He noticed. Of course he noticed. His eyes flickered to her face, taking in the dark circles, the pallor under her flush, the way she swayed slightly on her feet.

"When did you last eat?"

The question caught her off guard. "I lunch? I think? There was a smoothie sometime"

"Sit down."

"What?"

"Sit. Down." He gestured to the floor. "Before you fall down."

She wanted to argue. She was fine. She could stand. She was an idol, she was used to this, she didn't need…

Her legs chose that moment to remind her they'd given out once already tonight.

She sat.

Hard.

The blanket was still in her hands. She clutched it like a lifeline, staring up at him with wide eyes.

He didn't say anything. Just pulled out his phone again, typed something quickly, then pocketed it.

"Someone will bring food," he said. "Rice porridge. Easy on the stomach. You'll eat it before you leave."

"CEO Min, I really don't"

"That wasn't a suggestion."

She closed her mouth.

He should leave now. She knew he should leave. It was inappropriate for him to be here, alone with her, at this hour. If anyone found out if Dispatch ever got wind.

But he didn't leave.

Instead, he walked to the corner of the practice room, picked up her discarded water bottle, and brought it to her.

"Drink."

She drank.

The water was room temperature not cold, the way she usually liked it, but somehow perfect for her parched throat. She drained half the bottle before coming up for air.

He was still watching her.

"Why are you here?" The words came out before she could stop them. "I mean why are you here? At midnight? In a practice room?"

He considered the question longer than necessary.

"I saw the light," he said finally. "From downstairs."

"Oh." That made sense. He was responsible. He checked things. "Thank you. For checking. Most people wouldn't notice."

"I notice everything."

She believed him.

A knock on the door made them both turn. Assistant Kang Jun-ho entered carefully, carrying a steaming bowl and a pair of chopsticks, eyes fixed firmly on the floor as if he was trying very hard not to see anything.

"Porridge, sir. From the 24-hour place downstairs."

"Leave it."

Jun-ho set it down on the small table near the mirror and retreated faster than legally advisable.

Ellisa looked at the porridge. Looked at Min Jae. Looked back at the porridge.

"You really didn't have to"

"Eat."

She ate.

It was good. Really good. Warm and savory and exactly what her exhausted body needed. She tried not to make sounds of appreciation but failed completely on the third bite.

Min Jae's expression didn't change, but something in his posture relaxed slightly.

"You overwork yourself," he said while she ate.

She paused, chopsticks halfway to her mouth. "I have to. The performance"

"Will be fine whether you practice until midnight or not."

"You don't understand." She set the bowl down, suddenly frustrated. "The expectations my fancams, the views, the pressure if I'm not perfect, everyone notices. Everyone comments. I can't afford to be tired. I can't afford to slack off. I have to be"

"Human?"

The word stopped her cold.

He was looking at her with that unreadable expression again.

"You're allowed to be tired, Ellisa-ssi. You're allowed to sleep. You're allowed to eat ice cream at 3 AM and fall asleep in practice rooms and wear socks with cats on them."

Her cheeks burned. "The socks"

"Are fine." A pause. Almost imperceptible. "They suit you."

She had no idea what to say to that.

He stood. Straightened his jacket. Became the CEO again, distant and untouchable.

"Finish your food. Go back to the dorm. Sleep in an actual bed." He walked toward the door, then paused with his hand on the handle. "And Ellisa?"

"Yes?"

"If I find you sleeping on this floor again, I'll have the practice rooms locked after 10 PM."

Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

He left.

Ellisa sat alone in the practice room, blanket in her lap, half-eaten porridge growing cold, cat socks visible on her feet.

After a long moment, she smiled.

It was small. Uncertain. But real.

The Next Morning:

Manager Kang received an email at 7 AM.

[CEO Min Jae]: Effective immediately, Practice Rooms C, D, and E will auto-lock at 10 PM. Keycard access restricted to approved staff only after hours. Exceptions must be approved by me personally.

He stared at the email for a full minute.

Then he called the other managers.

"Has anyone noticed anything weird between the CEO and 5 ANGELS' maknae?"

Blank stares.

He decided to drop it.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted.

Something no one was talking about.

KBS Music Bank - Backstage

5:30 AM

Ellisa had been awake for two hours and already wanted to crawl back into bed.

The music show dressing room was chaos wrapped in glitter. Hair stylists with curling wands, makeup artists dabbing at faces, costume coordinators wrestling with zippers. Five Angels were scattered across the room in various states of glamour Hana meditating in the corner (her pre-show ritual), Sera doing vocal warm-ups that sounded like a dying cat, Rina scrolling through fan comments with a serene smile, Dani loudly complaining about the corset underneath her costume.

And Ellisa, in the center of it all, letting three different people attack her face and hair simultaneously while trying not to fall asleep.

"Elii-yah, eyes up," the makeup artist murmured. "I need to do your eyeliner."

She obeyed. Blinked when the brush tickled. Tried not to think about how she'd been awake since 3:30 AM for this.

"Five more minutes," the stylist promised, wrestling with a stubborn curl. "Then you're free until sound check."

Free. Right. Free meant sitting in a chair instead of standing in one.

The dressing room door opened. A staff member poked her head in.

"Five Angels, stage rehearsal in twenty. CEO Min just arrived he's watching from the control room today."

Ellisa's heart did something complicated.

He was here. Of course he was here he was always here for music shows, lurking in the back with his mask and his dark clothes. But somehow, knowing he was watching made her spine straighten automatically.

"Elii-yah, you tensed up," the makeup artist complained. "Relax your face."

She tried. Failed.

KBS Music Bank - Control Room

6:15 AM

Min Jae stood behind the sound engineers, arms crossed, watching the monitors.

Five Angels were on stage, running through their comeback performance. "Midnight Wings"a darker concept than their previous releases, all sharp choreography and sultry glances.The song was good. The choreography was better. But what held his attention was the smallest figure in the center.

Ellisa.

She moved like she was born on stage. Every gesture precise, every expression perfectly calibrated for the cameras. But he noticed things the cameras didn't catch. The slight tremor in her hands between moves. The way she swallowed hard during the bridge. The dark circles even professional makeup couldn't completely hide.

She was exhausted.

And she was about to perform live in front of millions.

"She's favoring her left leg," he said quietly.

The head choreographer, standing nearby, blinked. "Sir?"

"Ellisa. She's putting less weight on her right. Check her shoe. Or her ankle."

The choreographer hurried off.

Min Jae didn't move. Just watched the monitor, jaw tight, as she hit every mark perfectly despite whatever pain she was hiding.

Backstage - 10 Minutes Later

"Your shoe!"

Ellisa looked up from her phone to find the choreographer kneeling at her feet, unlacing her right stage shoe without permission.

"Wait what are you"

"There's a nail or something inside. CEO Min noticed you were limping."

She went still.

He noticed?

The choreographer pulled out a tiny, almost invisible nail that had worked its way through the sole. "Look at this! You've been performing on this? No wonder you were favoring your other leg."

Ellisa stared at the tiny piece of metal. Thought about the dress rehearsal. The music show recording. The three music shows scheduled for this week.

"How did he" she started.

"CEO Min notices everything." The choreographer shook his head. "I've worked here five years. He's caught more costume issues than the entire wardrobe department."

He replaced her shoe with a spare, retied it carefully, and left.

Ellisa sat very still, one hand pressed to her chest where her heart was doing something strange.

The Live Broadcast - 5:00 PM

Five Angels took the stage.

The crowd screamed. Cupids filled the audience with glowing pink light sticks, waving banners with member names. Ellisa spotted her own banner in the third row Elii, our angel and felt the familiar rush of love for her fans.

The music started.

She moved.

The adrenaline carried her through the first verse, the chorus, the dance break. She hit every mark, every expression, every note. The crowd got louder. The energy built.

And then, during the final chorus, she caught a glimpse of the side stage.

He was there.

Not in the control room anymore. Standing in the wings, half-hidden by equipment, mask on, arms crossed. Watching her with those unreadable eyes.

Their gazes met for exactly one second.

Long enough for her to miss a beat.

She recovered instantly years of training kicking in but that one second echoed in her chest for the rest of the performance.

After the Show - 7:30 PM

The dressing room was chaos again, but happier chaos. Music show win. First comeback win. The girls were screaming, crying, hugging.

Ellisa laughed as Dani lifted her off the ground, as Hana kissed her cheek, as Rina waved the trophy in front of every camera. This was the good part. The reason they did this.

Her phone buzzed.

She glanced at it while Dani was busy crying on Sera's shoulder.

[Unknown Number]: Good job today. Ice cream later if you want.

She stared at the message.

No name. No context. But she knew. She knew.

How did he get her personal number?

More importantly was he serious?

She typed back before she could overthink it.

[Ellisa]: Who is this?

Three dots appeared immediately.

[Unknown Number]: You know who.

[Ellisa]: CEO Min?

[Unknown Number]: Ice cream. 10 PM. Back entrance. Don't tell anyone.

She read the message three times.

Then she read it again.

Then she looked up at her members, still celebrating, completely oblivious, and felt like she was hiding a nuclear secret in her chest.

The Heaven Entertainment Building-Back Entrance

10:02 PM

Ellisa had changed out of her stage clothes into the most boring outfit she owned black sweatpants, oversized hoodie, mask, cap pulled low. She looked like a college student running a late-night errand.

He was already there.

Standing next to a black car she'd never seen before not his usual one. Dark tinted windows, no plates she could recognize. He was dressed similarly casual: dark jeans, plain jacket, cap pulled low.

For a moment, they just looked at each other.

"This feels illegal," she said.

"It's not." A pause. "Probably."

That almost made her laugh. Probably. The most honest thing she'd ever heard him say.

He opened the passenger door. She got in.

The car smelled like leather and something cleanhim, probably. She sat very still, hands in her lap, as he got in the driver's side and started the engine.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Ice cream place. 24 hours. Private rooms."

Private rooms. Of course. He'd thought of everything.

They drove in silence for a few minutes. The city lights blurred past the windows. Ellisa watched them, heart pounding, mind racing.

"Why?" she finally asked.

He glanced at her. "Why what?"

"Why are you doing this? The ice cream. The blanket. The shoe." She turned to look at him. "You're my CEO. I'm your idol. This isn't,this isn't normal."

Silence.

Then, quietly: "I know."

"Then why?"

He was quiet for a long moment. Long enough that she thought he wouldn't answer.

"Because you work harder than anyone in that company," he said finally. "Because you smile for cameras when you're falling apart. Because you collapse in practice rooms and wake up apologizing for existing." His hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Because someone should take care of you. And no one else seems to notice you need it."

Ellisa's throat closed.

She looked away quickly, out the window, blinking hard.

"That's" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "That's not your job."

"I know."

"Then why you?"

Another pause.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I've been asking myself that for weeks."

The ice cream place was small, hidden in a basement level, with private rooms separated by frosted glass. The owner didn't blink at Min Jae's face probably paid well enough not to.

They sat across from each other in a tiny booth. A menu between them. Soft lighting. The faint sound of music from somewhere else in the building.

It felt like a date.

It wasn't a date, Ellisa told herself firmly. It was ice cream. With her CEO. At 10 PM. In secret.

Definitely not a date.

"Order whatever you want," he said.

She ordered three things.

He raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

When the ice cream arrived two bowls for her, one for him (black coffee flavor, because of course)she dug in immediately. Made a happy sound that she would have been embarrassed about if she weren't so tired and hungry and overwhelmed.

He watched her eat. Didn't touch his own.

"You're not having yours?" she asked, mouth full.

"I'm watching."

"That's weird."

One corner of his mouth twitched. "I've been told."

She laughed. Actually laughed, real and surprised, and something in his expression shifted slightly. Warmer. Just barely.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"You just did."

"Another something."

He nodded.

"Why me? Out of all the idols in The Heaven. Why do you" She gestured vaguely. "Notice me?"

He considered the question carefully.

"Your audition tape," he said finally. "The one you sent when you were fifteen."

She froze. "You saw that?"

"I saw all of them. Hundreds of tapes. But yours" He paused. "You sang an original song. In English. About missing somewhere that wasn't home."

Ellisa's heart stopped.

She'd written that song in her childhood bedroom in Connecticut, three months after moving back from London, missing Korea even though she'd only visited twice. Missing somewhere she'd never really lived. Her mother had recorded it on her phone, just for fun. Ellisa had sent it to The Heaven on a whim, never expecting….

"You sang about wanting to belong," he continued quietly. "About wings that hadn't grown yet. About waiting for the wind to carry you home."

"I was fifteen," she whispered. "It was embarrassing."

"It was honest." He met her eyes. "Most people who audition are performing someone else's dream. You were performing yours. I watched that tape forty-seven times."

Forty-seven times.

The number echoed in her head.

"That's why you accepted me?"

"That's why I knew you'd make it." He finally touched his ice cream, stirring it slowly. "Talent can be taught. Honesty can't."

Ellisa looked down at her melting ice cream. Blinked rapidly.

When she looked up, her eyes were wet but she was smiling.

"You're not what I expected," she said.

"What did you expect?"

"Cold. Distant. A robot who only cares about money."

"And now?"

She thought about it. The broken fridge. The blanket. The shoe. The forty-seven views of her embarrassing teenage song.

"Complicated," she said honestly. "But not cold."

He looked at her for a long moment.

Then, quietly: "No one's ever called me complicated before."

"What do they call you?"

"The Ice Prince." A pause. "The Sphinx. Various unflattering things in business articles."

She snorted. "Those people don't know you."

"Neither do you."

"Give me time."

The words hung in the air between them.

Give me time.

As if she was asking for more moments like this. More ice cream at midnight. More stolen glances across crowded rooms.

As if she wanted to know him.

He didn't respond. But he also didn't look away.

Later - 11:30 PM

He drove her back to the dorm. Parked a block away, where no one would see.

She sat in the passenger seat for a moment, hand on the door handle, not moving.

"Thank you," she said. "For tonight. For the ice cream. For" She gestured vaguely. "All of it."

"Ellisa."

She looked at him.

He was watching her with that unreadable expression again, but softer now. Tired, maybe. Human.

"Be careful," he said. "If anyone finds out about these" He paused. "Meetings. It could damage your career."

"I know."

"I could damage your career."

"You won't."

He blinked. "How do you know?"

She smiled. Small. Certain.

"Because you watched my tape forty-seven times. Because you notice when I'm limping. Because you brought me a blanket and pretended not to care." She opened the door. "You're not cold, CEO Min. You're just alone."

She got out.

Walked toward the dorm without looking back.

Min Jae sat in his car for a long time after she disappeared inside.

Then he pulled out his phone.

[To: Ellisa]: Sleep well. Don't practice past midnight tomorrow.

[From: Ellisa]: Bossy.

[To: Ellisa]: CEO.

[From: Ellisa]: Same thing.

He stared at the message.

Then, for the first time in longer than he could remember, Min Jae smiled.

It was small. Uncertain. Real.

The Next Morning:

Manager Kang found a note on his desk.

Ellisa Jung authorized for one ice cream per week. Medical exemption. - MJ

He stared at it for a full minute.

Then he called the other managers again.

"Something is definitely going on between the CEO and 5 ANGELS' maknae."

Blank stares.

"I'm not crazy."

No one agreed. No one disagreed.

But everyone secretly wondered.