Our Old Manager.

Care can look like control.

The café smelled like burnt espresso and sugar syrup, the familiar kind of chaos that usually grounded Y/N. She stood behind the counter with her arms crossed, eyes unfocused, staring at absolutely nothing while the grinder screamed like it was fighting for its life.

Nayeon noticed first. She always did. Cousins radar, unfortunately very real.

Kwangjoo leaned over the pastry case, lowering his voice like they were plotting a crime. "She has been like that since morning. Has not yelled at Jinho once."

"That is how you know something's wrong," Jinho muttered while wiping the counter for the third time. "Should we ask?"

The men slowly turned to Nayeon who was already sighing and asking why it should be her.

"You are her family," Kwangjoo said, immediately absolving himself of responsibility. "And you won't die," Jinho added. Nayeon shot them a look, then slid beside Y/N, bumping her shoulder lightly.

Casual.
Normal.
Nothing to see here.

"So," she said, dragging the word out. "How's life?" Y/N blinked, like she'd just been pulled back into her body. "Sorry, what?"

"Are you okay, Y/N?" Nayeon asked. "Just tired." Y/N answered after a beat. Nayeon studied her face, searching for cracks. "Work tired or life tired? How did the meeting with the girls went?"

Yes, of course, Y/N's three closest friends knew about the supposed meeting.

Y/N shrugged, grabbing a cloth and pretending the counter desperately needed wiping. "Life, I guess? The meeting did not happen but nothing bad. Just a lot of noise."

Y/N did not mentioned the way the girls had looked at her like she belonged somewhere she hadn't agreed to. She didn't mentioned the way guilt had been placed in her hands so neatly it almost felt reasonable.

To her, none of it was wrong. Intense, sure. Dramatic. But wrong? Not yet.

Nayeon hummed, unconvinced but backing off. "Okay. Just checking. You know I am nosy by profession."

Behind them, Kwangjoo mouthed nothing? and Nayeon subtly shook her head.

The bell chimed, bright and stupidly cheerful. "Hey, you two!" Jinho greeted. The cousins looked to who it could be.

Daniela stepped in like she hadn't rehearsed this in her head a dozen times already. Yoonchae trailed behind her, eyes lighting up at the café, immediately distracted by the pastry case like this was a fun little outing and not emotionally loaded at all.

Y/N felt it before she moved. Her shoulder tightened and her hands stilled mid-wipe.

It has been two days. Not two hours. Not dramatic overnight silence. A whole two days of unread messages, half-typed apologies, and that strange agreement where neither of them wanted to be the first to reopen the wound.

Daniela then spotted her.

Their eyes met, and for half a second, both of them smiled out of habit.

Then it faded.

Not sharply. Just awkwardly. Like they both remembered at the exact same time.

Daniela hesitated near the door, shifting her weight. Y/N nodded once, polite. Professional. The kind of nod you give to your regular customers, not someone who had stood in your living room while your voices rose and the air turned heavy.

Yoonchae bowed then waved, "Hi!"

"Hey," Y/N replied, a beat too late.

Nayeon clocked it instantly. The pause. The stiffness. The way Y/N did not move closer like she normally would. But from the outside, it still looked normal enough. Two adults who just hadn't seen each other in a whi;e. Nothing scandalous. Nothing worth asking about.