𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 | 𝐥𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐱

ten.

You and Chan chat for a bit longer, before the other team finishes and Felix is back at your side wearing a look that almost seems nervous. "... So you and Chan?"

You shrug. "I don't think it's like that. I think we're definitely flirting, but I don't think it's going further than that. I wouldn't want to be the ex of not only my boss, but also my competition judge." You laugh at your own joke, Felix giving an awkward chuckle at the joke.

He never wanted to be in the same category as Chan in your eyes.

"So, since we have some time... can we talk now?" He asks, his voice deep and quiet, like if he was mumbling, except he pronounced every syllable clearly. You sigh, nodding, and he proceeds. "I never meant for things to get like... this. I just saw you crying the day after, and I panicked. I didn't want everyone knowing we had broken up, but they did know, and I snapped—at you. I shouldn't have ever done that."

"Damn right," you mutter. "The thing I never got was... why did you break up with me? Was it something I did? Or did you get tired of me?" Pain, both new and old, seeps into your voice in the form of tone cracks and soft speaking. "I think I deserve an explanation."

He sweats. Even with his earlier conclusion, he didn't feel confident in telling you he was "just scared your relationship would only go downhill". He knits his brows, the shadow they cast over his eyes making the light brown reflections of light even more prominent. "I thought... I just thought it was time to end it..." His sentences drag out oddly, as if he has more to say.

You nod, deciding that maybe that was a good enough reason for you. You light up with another question soon after, tapping the table absentmindedly as you continue your interrogation. "What made you want to make amends?"

His heart aches because he doesn't know. It wasn't like he had just started missing you out of nowhere, right? He didn't even realize he was being a jerk until you pointed it out. His eyes trail over to the other team, and he sees Chan, which makes him feel sick. Maybe Chan wasn't the entire reason he wanted to get you back, but he was certainly part of it. If you started liking, maybe even dating him, Felix couldn't pretend like he was okay without you. He'd have to let you go completely.

But hadn't he already done that?

Felix's mind darts back to the first day, when he'd been reteaching you his mixing technique—how he'd held you and how close you two had been, how it made him feel. It was just like when you two would bake together as a couple.

No, he'd been holding onto you by a thread this entire time.

He needed to win you back before you were done with him for good—if you weren't already. He needed to fix all his mistakes and, maybe, he'd get the chance to love you again.

He tries not to smile at the resolution, and it becomes easier after a second when he remembers you still thought he hated you, and you hated him. He had dug himself a six-foot deep hole, and now he had to climb out of it. Fantastic.

He notices your confused staring, which baffles him for a moment. Oh, right, you asked him a question. "I... I just realized how much of a jerk I've been, and I felt bad..." He lies through his teeth, scratching his neck nervously as he hopes you'll believe him. "Again, I'm so sorry about all that."

"Yeah... okay," you mutter the last word, looking down as if you were thinking. Was he being genuine? Or was this so that you wouldn't bail on him for the competition? If that was the case, he could stop, because you loved baking too much to throw in the towel this early in your life.

He frowns. You didn't believe him, did you?

Your conversation is put on hold when Chan steps on stage, holding a small card in his hands to read off of. "I just want to say, you've both impressed me with your outstanding baking. But, we can't choose a winner based on the one round, so we'll be starting round two in fifteen minutes. To give you time to prepare, we've decided to tell you the next challenge."

"The next round will be... different," Yeji starts, a slight difference in her voice when she utters the last word. "You will be tied to your partner with one hand and will have to bake a summer theme pastry of your choice. Exciting, right?"

Hyunjin nods beside her. "You will be able to choose what side you're tied on, but you will have to be tied at the wrists, no higher. Anyone caught slipping out of the binds will be disqualified immediately."

You all nod, and you turn to Felix, less than excited to be attached at the wrists with him. "So, what side do you want?"

He almost does a double-take at your tone, upset at how it had gone from the slightly personal and almost casual timbre to the harsh and distant one you used now. He deserved it, he supposed, but it was still disappointing. "I want to be on your right, I'm awful with my left hand," he chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

You nod, "I know," and the words make his heart flutter. At least you still remembered some little things about him, he muses. "So, I was thinking of making a strawberry tart, with toffee strawberries."

Felix's eyes launch to yours in recollection, "Like the one you made for our anniversary?" He says before he can stop himself, the words spilling from his lips naturally. He feels his stomach twist when your face drops, and curses himself for blurting that out. Why was he so awkward now? This wasn't what he meant when he wanted to be a teenager again.

"Yeah, one of those. I think Mina attempted one with you last week, right?" you furrow your brows, irritated. You were contemplating forgiving him, and he just had to hit a sensitive spot, didn't he?

You note how his face contorts into something you can't quite put your finger on. Felix still baffled you, as he had for the past several months. This competition has only confused you further. What baffled you more was the prospect that perhaps, he had wanted you back, and maybe you wanted him too.

No, Felix can't happen again, you reason with yourself, biting your cheek. As much as your heart yearned for him, it could never beat with him again. He'd hurt you too much, and even if you did decide to forgive him, you could never fall back into his hold. The risk of getting hurt again was too high. Never again...