Chapter Text
Third Person's POV
Maeve was the kind of person who felt everything too deeply and said nothing about it. She noticed details-how people fidgeted when they lied, how laughter sometimes hid exhaustion, how love, more often than not, arrived too late. At twenty, she had already mastered the art of pretending. Smiling through deadlines, carrying heartbreak like an accessory, and laughing at things that no longer made her laugh. People liked her because she was kind, quiet, and breathtakingly gorgeous. They just didn't notice how heavy her kindness sometimes felt. She believed in timing, in slow miracles, in love that stayed even when it shouldn't.
But lately, even she was starting to wonder if love was just another thing people romanticized to survive the week. Her life wasn't falling apart, it was simply outgrowing its shape. Maeve never liked goodbyes. They always felt too final for things that never really began.
She sat at her desk, the glow of her computer screen washing her face in pale light. Her resignation email was open, short, polite, and painfully professional. The kind of message that hides everything you actually want to say. She hovered over the send button for a full minute. Her chest ached, but her hand didn't move.
It wasn't the job she'd miss. It was him.
The almost.
The man who made late-night coffee runs and shared playlists like promises. The one who made her think maybe she was finally being seen. But one morning, he stopped replying. And by the next week, he was smiling at someone else in the pantry. Same company, same walls, same air. Different heart.
Her phone buzzed.
Selene: you sent it?
Mara: if not, do it now before you change your mind again.
Maeve smiled weakly. Her two best friends, always playing good cop-bad cop. Selene, loud and playful, never knew when to stop teasing. Mara, calm and thoughtful, always the voice of reason.
She typed back.
Maeve: not yet. give me a dramatic moment first.
Within seconds, Selene replied:
Selene: girl, you're not in a movie. hit send before your boss walks in.
Maeve laughed quietly to herself. Sometimes, Selene and Mara made it easy to forget how tired she was of pretending to be okay.
With a deep breath, she pressed send.
It was done.
A small, clean ending to a chapter she never wanted to write. By the time she walked out of the office, the sun was setting-orange and soft, like it didn't know how to say goodbye either.
Mara was waiting for her by the lobby doors, coffee in hand. "You did it?"
Maeve nodded. "Finally."
Selene appeared from behind, grinning. "Freedom looks good on you, babe."
Maeve chuckled, though her eyes stayed distant. "Freedom feels like heartbreak with better lighting."
Selene laughed, Mara sighed, and Maeve forced another smile.
She didn't know it yet, but this was how it always started for her, by losing something first.
Café des Cœurs Brisés
The café was half-empty, the kind of quiet place where broken hearts could speak freely without anyone turning their heads. She slumped into the seat across from Selene and Mara, her fingers still trembling from the message she couldn't stop rereading.
"I'm sorry, Maeve. I think it's better if we stop talking for a while."
She almost laughed at that—for a while. As if it didn't already sound like forever.
Mara pushed a cup of iced latte toward her. "You look like someone just got promoted instead of you."
"Worse," Maeve muttered, taking a sip she didn't even taste. "He said he needed space."
Selene raised an eyebrow. "Space? You weren't even official."
"That's the thing!" Maeve groaned, dropping her head on the table. "I was literally trying to make us official! I was ready to- I don't know-court him or whatever. Who does that?"
Her voice cracked with frustration, not tears. Maeve didn't cry easily—she burned instead.
Mara bit her straw to hide a smile. "You were gonna court him? Like... full on? Flowers and good mornings?"
Maeve glared at her. "Don't make it sound pathetic."
"It's not pathetic," Selene said softly. "It's just... you gave too much."
Maeve leaned back and stared at the raindrops streaking down the window. "I just thought if I showed him how serious I was, he'd stay. I liked him so much, you know? The kind of stupid, dangerous 'so much' that makes you ignore every red flag just to keep the good parts."
Her words hung in the air, raw and trembling.
For a moment, none of them spoke. Even the café music seemed to fade out, replaced by the dull hum of rain.
Then Mara broke the silence. "So what now? You gonna keep working in the same company as him? That's torture."
Maeve sighed. "No. I already filed my resignation."
Selene blinked. "Wait, what? You did? Seriously?"
"Yeah," Maeve said quietly. "I can't stand seeing him every day, pretending I'm okay. I'd rather start over somewhere else."
Mara exchanged a look with Selene before smirking. "Funny you said that. Because NOVA Entertainment might be hiring. Right, Selene?"
Selene smiled, eyes glinting. "They are. And maybe it's time you tried something different. Something bigger."
Maeve laughed weakly. "What, like the entertainment industry? Please, I can barely survive an office romance."
Selene grinned. "Then maybe it's time to try a stage one."
Maeve rolled her eyes, but deep down, the thought lingered.
A new start. A new place. A new chance to forget. Her fingers traced lazy circles on her cup, the ice melting faster than her resolve.
Selene leaned forward, her tone suddenly serious.
"You know, I wasn't kidding," she said. "NOVA really is preparing something big. Word is, they're planning to debut a new girl group by next year. They've started scouting already."
Maeve blinked. "And you think I can just... waltz in and become an idol?"
Mara smirked. "Please, don't act humble. You dance like it's second nature, and you've been singing since high school. Remember that open mic? The one where the crowd wouldn't shut up about you?"
Maeve groaned. "That was, what, three years ago?"
"Talent doesn't expire," Selene countered. "And you've always wanted something more than paperwork and deadlines."
Maeve looked at her friends, both of them glowing with that quiet conviction she couldn't muster for herself. Selene and Mara had been with NOVA Entertainment for almost a year now. Mara as a choreographer's assistant, Selene as a trainee coordinator. They'd seen people rise, fall, and get rebuilt from scratch.
"Look," Mara said, leaning in. "They're looking for trainees with presence, not perfection. You've got both. And honestly, Maeve, you're wasting that spark behind a desk."
Maeve let out a tired laugh. "You two are impossible."
"No," Selene said softly, smiling. "We just see what you can't yet."
For a long moment, Maeve stared at them, their faith, their warmth, and something in her chest stirred. Not hope, exactly. Just the faint, hesitant thought that maybe, maybe, she could start again.
She took a deep breath. "So... what do I have to do?"
Mara's grin was instant. "Audition. We'll talk to the training director, see if we can get you a slot."
Maeve shook her head, still half in disbelief. "You're serious about this?"
"As serious as your resignation letter," Selene teased.
That finally made Maeve laugh-a real one this time, light and unguarded. Maybe it was the caffeine, maybe it was the rain clearing outside, or maybe she was just tired of being scared.
When she glanced out the window, the café sign caught her eye:
Café des Cœurs Brisés.
The Café of Broken Hearts.
How fitting, she thought. Maybe that's where broken hearts were supposed to be-at the starting line of something new. They stayed in the café until the rain had completely stopped, the sky fading into a faint, bruised pink. When Maeve finally stood to leave, Selene and Mara walked her out to the street, their laughter echoing against the wet pavement.
"I'll message you about the audition," Selene said, adjusting her umbrella. "Don't back out, okay?"
"I won't," Maeve promised - though a small, uncertain voice in her chest whispered maybe you will.
They parted ways at the corner near the subway station. Maeve lingered a little longer, her reflection faint in a puddle that mirrored the city lights. She hugged herself against the chill and started walking.
Her phone buzzed. A new notification. She almost didn't look, but curiosity won.
A post from NOVA Entertainment's official account:
[NOVA INSIDER] Rumors say the company's planning a new girl group under the working title "SYNCE."
Concept: unity, rhythm, and truth through music.
Maeve smiled faintly. SYNCE. Something about the name felt warm. Alive.
She was still staring at the post when she bumped into someone near the crosswalk.
"Oh my- I'm so sorry!" she blurted, nearly dropping her phone.
"It's okay," the girl said, her voice calm, melodic.
She was wearing a cap and a mask, but her eyes were striking dark, steady, and kind in that way that made people want to tell her everything.
Maeve apologized again, flustered, but the girl only smiled.
"You look like you've had a long day."
Maeve huffed out a laugh. "That obvious, huh?"
"Just a little," the stranger said. "But... sometimes bad days mean good things are about to happen."
Maeve blinked, taken aback by the warmth in her tone.
When she looked up again, the pedestrian light turned green, and the girl was already walking away, blending into the crowd before Maeve could even ask her name.
Maeve pocketed her phone, heart strangely lighter.
Maybe bad days really did mean better things were coming.
Maeve's Residence
Maeve arrived home just past nine.
The house was quiet, save for the faint hum of the city outside. She slipped off her shoes and tossed her bag onto the couch, feeling that familiar heaviness settle in again, the one that came after pretending she was fine all day.
Her phone vibrated on the table.
Selene: Don't forget - I'll send the audition details tomorrow morning. Rest, okay? You'll need your voice soon.
Maeve smiled weakly. Voice. She hadn't used it for anything other than work calls and late-night rants in months.
She typed back a simple 'Okay. Thanks,' then placed the phone face down.
But the thought of the girl from earlier wouldn't leave her mind - the calm tone, the steady eyes, the warmth that lingered even after she was gone.
She didn't even know her name, yet something about that brief moment felt like it was waiting for her somewhere down the line.
Maeve walked to the window and pulled the curtains open.
The rain had stopped completely. The sky was clearer now, stars scattered like pieces of quiet light above the city skyline.
She whispered to herself, "Bad days mean good things are coming, huh?"
Her reflection in the glass smiled faintly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Still, for the first time in a long while, her chest didn't feel so tight. There was fear, yes, but also a strange flicker of excitement. Maybe quitting wasn't the end of something. Maybe it was the start. She leaned back against the wall, her gaze drifting to her phone again.
The NOVA Entertainment post was still open, glowing faintly in the dark.
SYNCE: A new girl group project representing connection, rhythm, and truth. Derived from synchronize - representing individuals moving as one heartbeat, one rhythm, and one destiny.
Maeve traced the word with her thumb. She sighed, turned off the lights, and let the city's glow fill her room.
Tomorrow could wait.
Tonight, she would simply breathe, in the quiet place between endings and beginnings.