Maze of the Heart

6- Aftermath

That night neither Yonghwa nor Minho could sleep well, both of them riddled with emotions that kept them up—rolling in their beds, unable to rest properly. The whole day of the event felt heavy and left them exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

In the morning, Minho got up earlier than he usually did on the weekends, grunting softly as he lifted his body off the bed and stretched his sore neck after a poor night of sleep.

He rubbed his face tiredly and made his way out of his bedroom to the still quiet and faintly illuminated apartment, with no signs Yonghwa had left her room since the previous night.

Glancing at her bedroom door he felt the urge to open it, to peek inside and check on her, but decided not to—wanting to give her a bit of privacy as it was clear she needed some time to process everything that happened.

So he instead proceeded towards the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, getting ready to start his day. In an effort to begin his demonstration of sorrow and regret for his actions, he moved to the kitchen, determined to make Yonghwa her favorite breakfast.

He measured the ingredients carefully as the sun slowly started to rise in the sky, bathing the kitchen in warm sunlight. It was a beautiful morning, the sky was perfectly clear and a mesmerizing blue color.

The birds sang and everything seemed warm and peaceful, but that warmth didn't quite reach inside the apartment. For the people inside had storms brewing inside their minds.

Their apartment was located in a privileged place when it came to sunlight, it was always bathed in a gentle glow from early morning to late afternoon. Never too hot and never too cold.

The space always felt so comfortable and welcoming, a true gem amongst real estate that the both of them were so glad to stumble upon.

But for the first time, it felt frigid and devoid of any love. The atmosphere was awkward and tense, like a prickling feeling at the back of your neck that made you squirm uncomfortably and want to run away.

Minho tried his best to shake the feeling off, focusing on the food in front of him, carefully assembling the meal so it looked perfectly appetizing.

Maybe if Yonghwa was greeted by something beautiful and delicious she would be able to smile at him. He already missed her smile—her true smile—not the fake forced one she gave him the previous night.

He wished he could get her new flowers since she gave Serin hers, she liked flowers and he felt he should get them for her more often. This would be the perfect opportunity but he was afraid to leave and have her wake up to find him gone.

Unable to bear the thought of her searching for him to perhaps talk and not being able to find him. So he stuck to just the food, putting all his culinary knowledge behind it, taking three times longer than usual for this recipe because he wanted it to be perfect.

He wanted her to see how genuinely he wanted to make it up to her, how willing he was to do whatever it took for her to forgive him. Because he loved her immensely. She was his best friend, had been for years, he could not see himself without her in his life.

And knowing she was upset because of something he did, made his heart feel tight and his shoulders feel heavy. He only wanted to bring her joy, he only ever wanted to make her smile and laugh and clap her hands in that adorable way she did when she was excited.

It was something she did without realizing, he didn't think she knew at all that she did that and it only made it more special. He couldn't help but smile just thinking about it as he began frying the French toast he had prepared for her.