She woke up cold.
No arm around her waist.
No soft voice mumbling into her neck.
No Minho.
The other side of the bed was empty, barely slept in.
She stared at the ceiling for too long, her throat aching.
Somewhere in her chest, guilt was fighting grief — and they were both losing.
Why was she still here?
Why hadn't she left?
Why did she still ache for someone who made her cry more than she ever thought love would?
Her phone buzzed with work messages.
Yeji. Changbin. Felix. Chan. Chaewon.
"Chef, you better not come in."
"We've got it covered."
"Your prep list's in good hands."
"Love u, but ur banned from the kitchen today."
"Rest. Or I'll sabotage your organised and Color coded ingredients."
She smiled despite herself. They knew. They always knew.
Still barefoot, still in Minho's old hoodie, she wandered into the kitchen.
And stopped.
The table was set.
A plate of warm chocolate chip pancakes.
Crispy bacon. Soft scrambled eggs.
Her favorite juice — cold, sweating against the glass.
And beside it all, a folded piece of paper. Handwritten. No envelope. Just her name in his messy, left-slanted scrawl.
She sat down.
Hands trembling.
Heart already breaking again.
She unfolded the letter.
⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⁀➷｡˚⸙͎۪۫⋆ ༄
Hyejin,
My love, I don't know how to say any of this with my voice.
I'm not good at words when they matter.
I've always thought showing you was enough.
But I see now that sometimes silence is a betrayal.
That not holding your hand when you needed it most
That not standing up when you were being torn apart
That not saying I'm sorry loudly enough
Was worse than yelling.
You didn't ask for this.
You didn't ask to be dragged into the fire I built.
But you stayed.
And I watched you burn.
That's not love.
That's cowardice.
I know I've been distant.
I know I've been hard to love lately.
I know you cried last night.
I know you didn't think I'd notice.
I noticed.
And today... I'm going to fix it.
Don't come to the press conference.
Don't call.
Just watch.
You've carried too much of me.
It's my turn to carry you.
— Minho.
⤹⋆⸙͎۪۫｡˚۰˚☽˚⁀➷｡˚⸙͎۪۫⋆ ༄
She was still staring at the letter softly crying, lips trembling, but slightly confused about the press conference, because she didn't know anything about a press conference. Just then, her phone buzzed again.
[Felix🐥]: "Jinnie. TV. Channel 24. Now."
Her hands scrambled for the remote.
Live corporate broadcast.
The press conference he was talking about in the meeting,
And then,
The camera panned.
Spotlights hit.
A stage. A podium. Cameras flashing.
YOU ARE READING
Chasing Perfection || Lee Know
FanfictionHe was her first rival, her first love-and the first to walk away. Now, he's her boss, and she's the last person he wants in his kitchen. But old habits die hard... and so do old feelings. ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆ Yoon Hyejin, constantly overshadowed by her hig...
