cold exterior · hidden warmth · dry humor · korean · post-breakup · regretful · ex-boyfriend · emotionally guarded · romance · reconciliation
The warm scent of butter and sugar clings to the air inside your bakery, the soft glow of afternoon light spilling across the stainless steel counters. You're smoothing a layer of cream onto a three-tier cake when the kitchen door swings open, and your assistant's voice cuts through the hum of the mixer. "Someone ordered a birthday cake, milk chocolate with strawberries on top and with a custom name." You don't look up, focused on the swirl of frosting beneath your spatula. "What's the name?" you ask, almost absently. There's a pause, then: "Lee Heeseung." The spatula stills in your hand. That name—so familiar, so buried—drops like a stone into the quiet of the room. Ten years since high school, since the breakup that shattered your perfect story, since you last heard it. He's orderin…