Morning came quietly. Almost too quietly. Snow had settled over the lake during the night, turning the world outside the windows into something soft and unreal. The old house creaked awake one beam at a time, as though even it was reluctant to disturb the fragile peace inside. Eira woke first. For a few seconds, she didn't know where she was. Then she felt warmth beside her.
Ares.
Her eyes slowly opened. He was still asleep, one arm resting loosely around her waist, his face half-buried in the pillow. His hair was a complete disaster, falling across his forehead in soft, uneven curls. Eira stared. Then smiled. And then remembered. The porch. The snow. His hands against her face and the kiss. Her cheeks immediately heated.
"Oh my God," she whispered.
Ares's eyes opened.
"Morning."
She nearly jumped.
"You were awake?"
"About thirty seconds."
"You were pretending to sleep?"
"Maybe."
Eira narrowed her eyes. "You're annoying."
He smiled lazily. "You kissed me anyway."
She pulled the blanket over her face. Ares laughed. It was quiet and warm, nothing like the laugh the world knew from interviews or concerts. Just his. And somehow that made her heart hurt in the nicest possible way. He gently tugged the blanket down.
"Hey."
She peeked out.
"Yeah?"
His expression softened.
"Last night was real, right?"
She looked at him for a moment.
Then smiled.
"Unfortunately."
He gasped dramatically.
"Unfortunately?"
"Terrible mistake. Probably irreversible."
"Good."
He pulled her a little closer. She laughed into his chest. For a few minutes, there was no world outside. No music industry. No cameras. No expectations. Just the warmth of the blanket and the quiet rhythm of two people who had finally stopped pretending they weren't falling for each other. Downstairs, however, Jun hadn't slept. He sat at the kitchen table with both hands wrapped around a mug that had gone cold. He had spent most of the night staring at nothing. Not because he hated Eira. He didn't. That was the problem. He liked her. He trusted her. He understood why Ares had fallen for her. She was everything Jun wasn't. Soft where he was guarded. And when she looked at Ares, Jun saw something he'd spent years pretending he didn't want. He wanted Ares to look at him like that. Just once. That was all. Jun closed his eyes.
"Stupid," he whispered.
The word barely made it past his lips. A floorboard creaked. He looked up. Eira stood at the top of the stairs. She was wearing an oversized sweater, her hair messy from sleep. She smiled when she saw him.
"Morning."
Jun forced one back.
"Morning."
She walked into the kitchen.
"Did you sleep?"
"Eventually."
It was a lie. She didn't know. Not yet. Ares appeared behind her a moment later. Barefoot. Hair still messy. Sleepy. Happy. Jun looked at him. And something inside his chest tightened. Ares noticed.
"You okay?"
Jun looked away.
"Yeah."
A beat. Then he stood.
"I'm going to get some air."
Eira frowned.
"Jun—"
"I'll be back."
He grabbed his jacket and walked out. Ares watched the door close. Eira looked at him.
"He's acting strange."
Ares was quiet for a moment.
"He's carrying something."
"What?"
"I don't know."
But perhaps he did. Not entirely. Not consciously. Just enough to know that whatever Jun was feeling had something to do with him. Neither of them had time to think about it. Because Eira's phone buzzed.
Once.
Twice.
Then again.
She glanced at the screen.Three notifications. Then seven. Then twelve.
"What the—"
Ares looked over.
"Everything okay?"
"I don't know."
Her phone buzzed again. And again. Eira unlocked it. The first message was from Maya.
MAYA: EIRA.
Another.
MAYA: CALL ME.
Another.
MAYA: RIGHT NOW.
Eira blinked.
"What happened?"
Ares leaned closer. Then his own phone began vibrating.
Once.
Twice.
Then continuously. He pulled it from his pocket. His expression changed.
"What?"
He turned the screen toward her. A photograph. It wasn't professional. It wasn't staged. It wasn't even particularly clear. It had been taken from across the lakeside path the previous evening. Eira and Ares were standing beneath the golden porchlight of the house. Snow falling around them. Her hands in his coat. His hand against her cheek. And just as the photograph had been captured. They were kissing. The caption was simple.
"Okay, I don't know who this guy is, but whoever he is, Lake Bled apparently has a main-character couple."
Eira stared. Ares didn't speak. She scrolled. The post had been shared thousands of times. Then tens of thousands. Then more. People were asking who they were. Others were trying to identify the location. Someone had zoomed into Ares's face. Someone else had brightened the photograph. Someone had posted a second image from the same evening. And then a comment appeared at the top.
"WAIT. IS THAT ARES VALE?"
Eira's stomach dropped. Another comment appeared.
"THAT'S ABSOLUTELY ARES."
Then:
"ARES VALE IS IN SLOVENIA????"
Then:
"WHO IS THE GIRL?"
Ares took the phone from her. His face had gone completely still.
"Eira..."
"What?"
He scrolled. His name was everywhere now. Trending. Clips from his concerts were being reposted. Old interviews. Fan accounts. Screenshots. People were comparing the photograph to his old music videos. Someone had already identified the house. Someone else had identified the lakeside path. Ares stared at the screen.
"It's happening."
Eira swallowed.
"What is?"
He looked at her.
"The internet."
Her phone buzzed again.
MAYA CALLING.
Eira answered.
Maya didn't even say hello.
"Tell me you're seeing this."
Eira closed her eyes.
"Unfortunately."
"Oh my God."
"Maya—"
"Girl, you're viral."
"I know."
"No, you don't understand."
Maya sounded like she was simultaneously panicking and having the best day of her life.
"You're on three international entertainment pages already."
Eira's eyes widened.
"What?"
"And someone figured out who Ares is."
Ares muttered, "Someone figured out who I am?"
Maya heard him.
"Oh, good. He's there."
"Yes, Maya."
"Okay. Great. Wonderful. Nobody panic."
"Maya."
"Right. Panicking."
Eira rubbed her forehead.
"How bad is it?"
There was a pause.
Maya's voice lowered.
"Eira..."
"What?"
"You need to look at the comments."
"I already did."
"No."
Something in Maya's voice changed.
"This isn't just a random viral photo anymore."
Eira stared at her screen.
A new post had appeared.
BREAKING: ARES VALE SPOTTED IN SLOVENIA WITH MYSTERY WOMAN
Then another.
WHO IS ARES VALE'S MYSTERY GIRL?
Then another.
HAS ARES VALE SECRETLY BEEN IN A RELATIONSHIP?
Ares took a slow breath. Eira looked at him. He looked back. Neither of them knew what to say. Outside, somewhere beyond the windows, a car passed along the snowy road. Then another. Eira's phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number. Then another. Then another. Her face went pale. Ares noticed immediately.
"What?"
She turned the screen toward him. People had started asking for her name. Someone had found an old photograph of her. Someone had found her writing account. Someone had tagged her friends. And someone had posted:
"I THINK I KNOW WHO SHE IS."
Ares's expression hardened.
"Turn your phone off."
"What?"
"Now."
His voice wasn't frightened. It was something worse. Experienced. He knew exactly what the internet could do to a private life. Eira slowly locked her phone. For the first time since they had kissed, neither of them smiled.
Outside, Jun's phone had been vibrating for nearly twenty minutes. He ignored it. He walked farther down the road, hands buried deep inside his jacket, trying to put distance between himself and the house. He didn't want to hear their laughter. Didn't want to see them looking at each other. Didn't want to keep pretending that watching Ares fall in love was something he could simply swallow. His phone buzzed again. He stopped. Looked at it. A notification from a news account.
Then another.
Then another.
Jun sighed and finally unlocked the screen. The photograph loaded.
He froze.
Ares.
Eira.
Kissing beneath the snow. For several seconds, Jun didn't move. Then he scrolled. His expression changed. The post had exploded. He stared at the screen again. This wasn't just gossip anymore. This was the entire world suddenly reaching into something Ares had barely begun to understand himself. Jun immediately turned around.
He started walking.
Then faster.
Then practically ran.
By the time Jun reached the house, there was already a car parked outside. He slowed. He didn't recognize it. Inside, voices carried through the door. He opened it.
"Eira?"
Jun stepped inside. Then stopped. A woman he'd never seen before stood in the living room, phone in one hand and a laptop open on the table. Wild curls, Oversized hoodie. The same face he'd seen briefly on Eira's phone once before.
Maya.
She turned. Her eyes landed on him. For a second, neither said anything. Maya looked at Eira. Then at Ares. Then back at Jun. Eira broke the silence.
"Jun, this is Maya."
Maya's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
Jun gave a small nod.
"Hi."
"So you're Jun."
He hesitated.
"Yeah."
Maya studied him for half a second longer. Then she pointed toward the laptop.
"We have a problem."
Jun walked over. On the screen was the photograph. His jaw tightened.
"I know."
Maya looked at him.
"You saw it?"
"On the way back."
Ares stepped closer.
"Jun, I need you to tell me if anyone followed you."
Jun looked at him.
"No."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Ares nodded.
For a moment, the three of them stared at the screen. Eira stood beside Ares, fingers curled tightly around his hand.
Jun noticed.
He looked away.
Maya noticed that.
She didn't say anything.
Not yet.
Instead, she turned the laptop around. Eira swallowed.
"What do we do?"
Maya answered immediately.
"First, you don't post anything."
Maya pointed at him.
"And you."
"Me?"
"You're famous. Which means the internet will turn your breathing into a conspiracy theory by lunchtime."
Ares blinked.
"Fair."
Jun almost smiled.
Almost.
Maya noticed. Then her eyes moved between Jun and Ares. Something about the way Jun looked at him was strange. Something quieter. Something she couldn't name yet. Her expression softened for a fraction of a second. Then she returned her attention to the screen.
Eira went completely still. Ares's hand tightened around hers. And for the first time since he'd walked back into the house, his own heartbreak disappeared beneath something else.