The sunset light painted the sky with shades of orange and pink as Minji stood in the penthouse living room, getting ready for the evening. Her heart pounding in her chest, she looked at herself in the mirror, trying to look calm, even as the tension inside her grew by the second. She had everything planned down to the smallest detail: the entire port would be reserved for the two of them, and a private yacht would set sail with a Michelin-starred chef ready to prepare an exclusive dinner. It wasn't just a meeting. It was a desperate attempt to turn back time, to rekindle that spark that, perhaps, had never really existed. Or at least not as Minji had imagined it.
The sound of the intercom made her jump. A shiver of hope ran down her spine. When the door opened for him, Hanni was already arriving, with her usual elegant but uncertain step. He looked at her with a kind of detachment that Minji could no longer ignore, yet there was something in his gaze that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
"Minji..." Hanni began, her voice cold but not harsh. "I know you planned all of this. But do you really think it could work? Another dinner, another attempt to... fix something that's already over?"
Minji smiled softly, but the weight of rejection was still there in her heart. "I don't want to fix everything, Hanni. I don't think we can go back, but I want you to see that I really care. I want to show you that what I did, what I continue to do, isn't to 'have' you at all costs. It's just... for you. For us, even if only in a corner of my heart, we can still be together."
Hanni looked at her in silence, her face impassive, but Minji noticed a slight tremor in her hands. A hint of doubt?
"Do you remember what you told me that time?" Minji continued, approaching with a slow but steady step. "That you were tired of feeling like a desire? I gave you everything I had, Hanni. But not to force you to feel something you didn't, just to make you know that I loved you. I love you."
Hanni looked away, trying to hide the emotions that were stirring. In those usually impassive eyes, Minji now saw an uncertainty she had never seen before. Her heart skipped a beat. Would she really understand, Hanni?
"Minji..." Hanni whispered, but her voice sounded uncertain. "I don't want to... make any more promises. I can't tell you that this will change anything. But... how did you book the entire marina? An entire yacht... and a Michelin chef? What are you trying to do?"
Minji smiled, but her smile wasn't triumphant. It was just... hope, pure and simple. "I want you to know how much I care. This isn't just dinner. This is... a possibility. For me, for us."
Hanni didn't answer right away. She took a step back, as if she needed to think it all through. "I don't understand what you're hoping to get out of this, Minji. I never wanted you to feel like you had to do this for me."
But her voice, while trying to maintain a tone of disinterest, was more shaky than ever. And Minji knew it. She knew there was still something that connected their souls, but Hanni wasn't ready to acknowledge it yet.
The silence grew heavy between them, but Minji didn't let it scare her. She approached Hanni, not with anger, but with a gentleness that seemed to enter the woman's heart, like a breath of wind slowly shaking a tree.
"You can still change your mind," Minji said, her voice soft but confident. "You don't have to answer right away. But for once, don't think about what you 'should' do or how you feel obligated. Just feel what's between us, without fear. Please."
Minji's words were like a caress on Hanni's heart. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the weight of the situation fall on her. **What was going on inside her?** She felt confused, more than she'd ever wanted to admit. Minji had never forced anything on her. She had never made her feel the weight of a choice, other than that of following her. Yet, in her mind, the relationship with Minji had always had a sort of pressure, a constant need to respond to something she couldn't understand.
*And now, with this gesture, Minji had broken down every barrier.* Hanni's words pierced her like blades, but Minji's, on the other hand, made her falter. **The truth is, she had never really understood how she felt**. She had never wanted to look inside herself for fear of discovering that everything she felt for Minji was not true love. But now, more than ever, she wondered if it was she who had created that wall, who had not given space to what was truly there, for fear of losing her, of loving her too much.
The scent of the flowers that Minji had brought with her filled the room, pungent and sweet. The simple but meaningful gesture seemed
to enter Hanni's heart more than anything else. And yet, there was still a part of her that feared losing control of her life, giving in to something she couldn't define.
"Minji..." Hanni started, but the words stopped on the tip of her tongue. *She couldn't say no*. Minji's sweetness overwhelmed her, but she still didn't know if she had enough courage to give in completely.
Minji didn't say anything. There was no need to say anything else. She just smiled, once again with that smile that could warm even the coldest heart. "Come with me tonight," she finally said. "Let's see where it takes us. I don't have to make promises, Hanni. I just want you to know that you'll always be by my side, if even a corner of your heart wants to be there."
Hanni looked at her, undecided, but a part of her—perhaps the most authentic one—was calling her. She didn't know what would happen tonight, but she felt that it would be an important step. Not to right the wrongs, but to finally see if their bond still had a chance.
Taking a deep breath, Hanni nodded slowly, knowing that this evening would mean so much more than she could have imagined.
The car ride was a work of luxury and comfort. Minji had chosen a car that not only reflected her state of mind, but also her position in the world. The soft leather of the seats, the smell of fine wood, and the muffled sound of soft music that wafted through the cabin created an atmosphere of intimacy. The car glided along the streets under the city lights, but Hanni, unfortunately, couldn't fully relax. Her body tensed every time Minji looked her way, but Minji didn't seem the least bit disturbed.
Hanni, sitting in the passenger seat, tried to remain impassive, but she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by Minji's silent attentions. Every now and then, Minji would give her a look that, even in her dark eyes, seemed to want to read something that Hanni couldn't hide. In those moments, Hanni could feel her heart beating faster, but she couldn't tell if it was a feeling of fear or something else.
"You're a little tense, Hanni," Minji observed gently, without seeming invasive, but with an awareness that left no escape. "I apologize if I make you uncomfortable, it wasn't my intention. But I understand that it's difficult for you to accept all of this."
Minji's words seemed to weigh on the air, delicate but strong. Minji's voice, so soft, slipped into Hanni's mind like a caress. "You don't have to feel obligated to stay here. I don't want to force you to do anything, I just want you next to me, if that's what you want too."
Hanni looked out the window, trying to look away from Minji, but the intensity of her words prevented her from ignoring them. "It's not that I don't want to be with you," he finally said, his voice lower than usual. "It's just confusing, Minji. Every time I try to figure out what I feel, something inside me becomes more uncertain."
Minji nodded, knowing that every word Hanni said was a step toward a truth they were both perhaps afraid to face. "I don't want you to have to explain everything to me right away," Minji said with a serenity that almost seemed out of place. "But maybe it's important for you to know something. What I'm trying to tell you tonight isn't that I want to force myself on you, or that I want you to love me the way I love you. I just want you to understand that I respect you. I respect you enough to let you decide, to give you the space you need."
Hanni looked down, as if Minji's words were hitting her in a way she'd never expected. She'd never felt such sincerity, such openness, from anyone. Minji wasn't asking for anything, wasn't trying to manipulate her like other people in her life did. But there was something deeper, a connection that, sadly, she couldn't ignore.
"I feel like you've always found a way to make me feel safe, Minji. But it scares me... because I don't know if I can respond to this in a way that's right for both of us." Hanni looked up at Minji, as if trying to read her intentions, to see how far she could go without losing herself.
Minji was smiling, but there was no superiority in her smile. There was just a quiet serenity, one that allowed her to look at Hanni patiently. "I understand. But sometimes, Hanni, it's not so much about whether you're right or wrong. It's just about being honest with yourself. And maybe today, for the first time, I'm asking you to be honest with yourself. Just this once."
Minji's words felt like light, steady blows. Each word created a small hole in the wall Hanni had built around her feelings.
nti. But the closer they got to the port, the more Hanni felt the need to deal with herself, with her confusion. She couldn't give herself an answer, but her mind was starting to bring out something she had tried to stifle: maybe the truth was that, as much as she had tried to distance herself, Minji had made her feel something she could no longer deny.
When they finally arrived at the port, the immense yacht that awaited them shone under the evening lights, like a promise of an unattainable dream. Minji didn't seem surprised, but rather calm, as if that were the natural evolution of the evening. Hanni, on the other hand, couldn't help but be speechless. Not because of the grandeur of the place, but because of the intensity of that gesture.
"Minji, this is... too much," she whispered, as they approached the gangway. "I don't know what to say."
"There's no need to say anything," Minji replied softly, looking at Hanni with a smile that suddenly made her feel closer. "It's not to impress you, Hanni. It's just that I want you to see how much I care. And I want you to know that even though things have changed, even though we can't go back, there's something I've never stopped wanting: your happiness."
Minji's words were a sweet melody to Hanni. She looked at her carefully, trying to decipher the lack of deceit, the purity that hovered around her. What Minji was trying to tell her wasn't just an invitation to dinner. It was an invitation to see if there was a chance to rewrite their story, a story that might have gone wrong, but could still be changed.
The Michelin chef prepared the dishes with a mastery that Hanni couldn't help but appreciate, but her mind was elsewhere. Minji's words still echoed in her head. There was something special about her, something Hanni couldn't put her finger on, but it made her feel lighter, like she could finally put her fears to rest.
Dinner went slowly, but Hanni couldn't stop thinking about what Minji had said. Each dish was like a sign that things could really change. Minji looked at her with a sweetness that made Hanni feel loved, not for what she could offer, but for who she was. Minji's vulnerability, her openness, made Hanni see her strength, the same strength she had always tried to protect, but that was now revealing itself.
"Hanni," Minji said, breaking the silence between the two. "I'm not asking you to love me the way I do. I'm just asking you not to push away what we can be together. Even if it's never perfect, even if it's not what you thought it would be, we can still find a way to be happy. Not with expectations, but with sincerity."
Hanni remained silent, her heart filled with a mixture of emotions. *She wasn't ready to love her the way Minji wanted,* but she was starting to understand something deeper. Minji had never forced her to do anything. She had loved her freely, and maybe, only now, Hanni was realizing that that freedom was what she wanted most of all.
I know Hanni is like a villain in this story, but I am feeling like a bitch if I don't make the things frustrating 🥹🫶