Our Old Manager.

Between last night and today.

Yunjin.

She walked in as if she owned the room, her smirk lazy and dangerous. The silence turned sharp.

"Well," Yunjin drawled, eyes scanning the room until they landed on Y/N. "Looks like I am not the only one who missed you."

Nayeon's reaction was instant. She slammed the cash drawer shut. "You need to leave."

"Relax." Yunjin said, holding her hands up. "I just came to talk."

"Talk somewhere else," Jinho shot back, stepping forward. His voice was not loud, but it had weight.

Protective.
Warning.

Yujun, ever composed, moved subtly in front of Jennie and Y/N, following Kwangjoo who had already placed himself between them and Yunjin. It was Yujun first time meeting Yunjin. "Let's not make this into something messier," he said evenly.

"Who the hell are you?" Yunjin shot back at him. "Don't need to answer because I don't care but hey, I know you." Her eyes were now on Jennie.

Jennie did not hesitate. She gave an eye roll to the rude stranger and moved past Kwangjoo and Yujun, and closed the space between her and Y/N. The four years between them evaporating in the time it took for the idol to get closer.

Y/N still hadn't moved. Her pulse was chaos.

"Hey," Jennie murmured, even closer now but not touching. Y/N could smell her perfume, faint and familiar. "It's okay."

Y/N's throat worked, but no sound came out. She was not sure if she was terrified or relieved or both.

Yunjin laughed.
Low.
Humorless.

"Isn't this moment touching?"

That did it.

Nayeon grabbed Yunjin's arm, her tone cutting like glass. "Get. Out."

Jinho stepped beside her, every line of his posture protective. "You heard her."

Kwangjoo's voice was steady, almost too calm. "Not here, Yunjin."

The café that had been quiet and warm an hour ago now felt like a storm waiting to happen.

Jennie's eyes never left Y/N. "You don't have to say anything," she whispered. "I just needed to see you."

And for the first time, Y/N blinked.
Slow.
Fragile.

It felt like she was coming back to herself.

But before she could answer, Yunjin's voice cut through the silence again. "Guess I'll see you soon, then." Everyone knew who she was saying it too. She smirked as she turned toward the door, "Don't think this is over."

The door closed behind her with a hollow chime.

For a long time, no one spoke. The only sound was the rain, tapping faintly against the glass.

Then, Jennie exhaled, as if she'd been holding her breath for four years.

The bell above the door stopped ringing, but the sound still seemed to echo.

Yunjin was gone. Only the rain and the soft buzz of the café lights filled the silence now.

Jinho muttered something low to Nayeon. Kwangjoo and Yujun turned to each other. The rest blurred. It all fell away from Y/N's perception like sound underwater.

Because Jennie was still there.
Standing just a few steps away.

The last time Y/N had seen her, she was watching her disappear through her front door. That was four years ago. And now, Jennie was here. Looking like time has been cruel but gentle.