Our Old Manager.

She's Dangerous, But She Calls It Love.

The café stayed quiet. The kind of quiet that made every small sound feel louder.

The hum of the fridge.

The soft music playing overhead.

The faint sound of cars passing outside.

Y/N stood behind the counter, looking at Jennie. Daniela was still beside her, the unopened papers sitting carefully on the table. Nobody moved. Nobody knew what to say. Jennie had walked in expecting something.

Maybe Y/N to ask why she knew. Maybe Y/N to get upset and maybe demand answers.

But instead, she just stood there. Calm. And somehow, that was worse.

"You're really thinking about it," Jennie said quietly. Y/N's eyebrows pulled together. "Thinking about what?" Jennie's eyes moved briefly toward the envelope then back to Y/N.

"Leaving."

The word sat between them.

Daniela looked uncomfortable. Not guilty. Just aware.

Jennie didn't look away from Y/N. "You didn't even deny it." Y/N stared at her. "Why should I?" That answer caught Jennie off guard. Only slightly but Y/N noticed.

She noticed everything now.

A few months ago, she would've tried to soften her words. She would've worried about hurting Jennie.

Now? She was tired.

"I'm not saying I'm leaving," Y/N continued. Her voice was calm. "I'm saying I thought about it." Jennie swallowed. "And that's enough?"

Y/N frowned. "What?"

Jennie blurted. "That you can just decide that?"

The second the words left her mouth, Jennie realized how they sounded. Y/N's expression changed. Not anger. Something worse.

Disappointment.

"Decide what?"

Jennie went silent. Y/N stepped away from the counter.

"Decide that I want a break?" Her voice lowered. "Decide that I want to be somewhere I don't feel like I'm constantly being-?"

The café felt smaller. Jennie looked away. For once, she didn't have an answer ready. "I never wanted you to feel that way." Y/N laughed softly, no, sadly actually. "I know." There was no hiding. Y/N knows.

Jennie looked back at her. She was hurt as it wasn't an accusation anymore. Y/N wasn't saying she didn't believe her. She did, and that somehow made it harder.

"I know you care about me," Y/N said. A pause. "But I don't know if you know how to care about me without controlling everything."

The words landed. Hard. Daniela looked down slightly. Y/N switched to English at the last moment so Daniela would know.

Jennie stood there. For a few seconds, she looked like she wanted to say something. Something honest.

But then, "I just don't want you to disappear." That came out from the younger Korean.

Y/N blinked. Jennie's voice was softer now. "You don't understand." Her eyes dropped. "We spent so much time trying to keep you safe."

Y/N looked at her. "And now?"

Jennie looked back. "Now you're trying to leave and I don't know what to do with that."

The café closed later than usual. Jennie had left eventually.

She did not seemed angry. Just quiet and that somehow stayed with Y/N more. She had seen something in Jennie's expression.

Fear but not the fear of being caught. It was the fear of losing Y/N... again.