Chasing Perfection || Lee Know

The Things We Never Said

2:22 am

It was late.

But was Hyejin asleep?

No.

She lay on the couch, her phone in hand, scrolling absentmindedly. Every few minutes, her thumb hovered over Minho's contact. Not to call him—she wasn't the type to demand check-ins—but just to see it. To remind herself that he was just a call away.

But tonight felt different.

She had known from the start that his job was demanding. There were nights he wouldn't return until the early hours, sometimes not at all. That was just who he was and she knew who she had fallen for—a man dedicated to his work, his responsibilities, his company.

And yet... the way he had left tonight gnawed at her.

The slight hesitation before he kissed her. The weight in his eyes.

It wasn't business. At least, not just business.

And the photo.

The photo of him and Hana.

Hyejin wasn't jealous. Well at least she wouldn't call it jealousy, more like curiosity.  She didn't fear Minho still loved Hana, not after everything he had told her about her, not after knowing the way she had manipulated and betrayed him.

But the timeline... bothered her, and the worst part? The worst part was that she didn't know why it bothered her so much. Like Minho had said, it was all in the past now. She shouldn't care, at least not this much.

He and Hana had dated after he left for higher studies, but before that? Before he left? What were they?

What was Hana to him before she became his biggest mistake? And what was Hyejin to him before he left, or even after he left? 

Her mind flashed back to that rainy day, how she felt her world collapse when the screen at the airport read that his flight had already departed, how he had kissed her the night before at the graduation party, how his lips had felt against hers, how he had held her in his arms like she was the most fragile thing in the world.

Did he really forget all of this—forget her—after he left for his studies? Or was there something else, something Minho didn't want to share

It was a question she hadn't thought to ask before. But tonight, it lingered in the back of her mind, refusing to leave.

She had always wondered why he never reached her again, why - even after coming back to Korea - he never once searched for her? 

Her phone screen dimmed, and she sighed, pressing it lightly to her chest.

She didn't even realize when her eyes fluttered shut, exhaustion finally pulling her under.

2:43 am

The soft beep of the penthouse pin unlocking filled the silence.

Minho stepped inside, his sharp gaze sweeping across the dimly lit living room. His tie was loosened, his coat draped over his arm, exhaustion clinging to his posture. But the moment he saw her—curled up on the couch, phone still in hand, body slightly tense even in sleep—something inside him turned, and he smiled, a real - genuine one.

He set his coat down and quietly walked over, crouching beside her.

She looked so small like this, so unguarded.

His fingers brushed against her cheek, pushing a stray strand of hair away. She stirred lightly but didn't wake, her breathing slow and steady.

Minho sighed, a mix of fondness and guilt pressing into his chest.

She had been waiting for him.
She always did.
She always had been, and that tore him from the inside.

Carefully, he slipped his arms under her, lifting her with ease. Her body instinctively curled against his warmth as he carried her to the bedroom, her phone slipping from her grasp onto the bed as he set her carefully on the bed. 

And that's when he saw it.

The photo.

It was no longer in the box where he had tossed it. Instead, it sat on the nearby table—like someone had been examining it and then forgotten to put it away.

Or maybe, just maybe, they hadn't known where to put it.

Minho's jaw tensed.

He knew it was her.

He knew it bugged her.

For a moment, he just stared at it, at the frozen image of himself from years ago—smiling beside someone who no longer had a place in his life, someone who he didn't want to have a place in his life even back then.

It should've been simple, even if he didn't want it.

But It wasn't.

His grip on Hyejin tightened slightly before he exhaled, pushing the thought aside. Right now, she was his priority. 

Minho gently adjusted the covers over her. She stirred, her lashes fluttering as she slowly woke.

Her drowsy gaze met his, still hazy from sleep, but in that moment, Minho saw it.

How much she cared.

How much she had been waiting.

How much she deserved to know the truth.

"You're back," she murmured, her voice laced with drowsiness.

Minho hummed in response, brushing his thumb over her cheek.

He sat beside her, brushing his fingers through her hair before murmuring, "You should've just asked me."

Hyejin blinked, confusion flickering in her eyes. "What?"

Minho glanced toward the table, toward the photo.

"I know it's been on your mind," he said, voice quieter now. "Hana. Me. Everything."

Hyejin stiffened slightly. She wasn't expecting him to bring it up, not now.

Minho tilted his head, his expression unreadable.

"If you want to know..." he exhaled, finally looking her in the eye. "Then I'll tell you."

--------------------------------------

OKAY SO I KNOW THIS IS NOT A NEW CHAPTER, BUT I WAS REREADING THE CHAPTER AND I THOUGHT IT WAS EXCRUCIATINGLY LONG, SO I MADE SOME CHANGES AND BROKE THIS INTO 2 CHAPTERS EHEHEHEHEHE HOPE YOU GUYS DONT MIND :>  but genuinely please tell me your thoughts on how this story is going, honestly I had thought of ending it here, but it's not a fan fiction without a very cliché and predictable ending.