The Phase I Never Admitted
At thirteen, Anshu didn’t fall in love.
She fell into a phase.
It started with a random reel. A soft smile. A few seconds of comfort from a boy band member named Seo Juhan from AURORA7. She didn’t know all the songs. She couldn’t afford concerts. She never followed him publicly. But slowly, quietly, he became her escape.
For two years, he lived in her imagination — in late-night scenarios, in silent classroom daydreams, in the small space between reality and hope.
He never knew she existed.
And that was the hardest part.
As Anshu grows older, reality replaces fantasy. Distance becomes clearer. Attachment becomes self-awareness. And one night, after sending a message she knows will never be read, she realizes something life-changing:
It was never about him.
It was about wanting to be seen.
This is not a love story.
It’s a coming-of-age story about parasocial attachment, quiet obsession, financial limits, growing up, and learning that you don’t need to exist in someone else’s world to build your own.
If you’ve ever loved someone from far away,
if you’ve ever replayed a clip more times than you’d admit,
if you’ve ever whispered “what if” before sleeping—
This story is for you.