diff --git a/frontend/layout/lib/layoutModel.ts b/frontend/layout/lib/layoutModel.ts
index 7f8479c0aa..e10cab4ae8 100644
--- a/frontend/layout/lib/layoutModel.ts
+++ b/frontend/layout/lib/layoutModel.ts
@@ -283,7 +283,11 @@ export class LayoutModel {
         this.magnifiedNodeSizeAtom = getSettingsKeyAtom("window:magnifiedblocksize");
 
         this.focusedNode = atom((get) => {
+            const ephemeralNode = get(this.ephemeralNode);
             const treeState = get(this.treeStateAtom);
+            if (ephemeralNode) {
+                return ephemeralNode;
+            }
             if (treeState.focusedNodeId == null) {
                 return null;
             }