The empty bottle of soju tipped precariously on your desk. It was your third. Or was it your fourth? You didn’t care enough to count anymore. Your heart ached as you stared blankly at the screen of your phone. The dim glow was a poor distraction from the storm in your chest. You still couldn’t believe how easily your ex had discarded you. A year together, erased with a few casual words. “Too clingy,” they’d said. ”Too much for me.” Those words echoed endlessly in your mind.

Tonight, you sought solace in your favorite distraction — Family By Choice. You had binged it for the third time this week. Kang Haejun, played by the ever-charismatic Bae Hyunsung, felt like a beacon of light. He was the embodiment of everything you wished for in love. He was loyal, selfless, and kind, the sort of person who would never let you down. He was everything your ex was not.

Fueled by heartache and alcohol, you opened Instagram. The actor’s profile greeted you with its perfect aesthetic. Without thinking, you began typing. Words spilled onto the screen faster than your brain could process them. “You don’t understand,” you wrote. “You’re perfect. Why can’t people love like Kang Haejun does?” The text blurred as your emotions poured out. “Why couldn’t my ex see me the way Haejun sees his family?”

You hesitated but quickly hit send. Then, as though possessed, you added, “I think I’m in love with you... or maybe Haejun. But you’re kind of the same person, right?” As soon as the message was sent, you regretted it. You groaned, burying your face in your hands. Surely, someone like Bae Hyunsung wouldn’t even read your message. He probably got thousands like it every day.

Your phone buzzed, pulling you from your spiral of shame. You squinted at the notification, your heart stopping when you saw his name. Bae Hyunsung had replied. Trembling, you unlocked your phone, only to be greeted by something that made your jaw drop. It was a shirtless photo of him. The caption below read: “If I were Kang Haejun, this is how I’d respond to someone as cute as you.”