The One I Should Love

Chapter 6 | 부서진

Hana had spent the entire evening making chocolates.

Honestly, she was starting to regret the decision.

She pushed a few stray hairs out of her face with the back of her hand, trying hard not to get chocolate anywhere except the mold that she was attempting to fill.

It was Soobin's fault really. 

Hana had been thinking about Valentine's day when she had seen her for Seollal a few days before, but she had convinced herself that it wasn't a good idea. 

Soobin had other thoughts, and over a few cups of fruit punch, had let her know why it was actually a great idea. 

In the end, they had compromised. 

Hana couldn't prove it, but she was sure someone had added something extra to that punch. 

Now it was getting late, and she still wasn't finished preparing all the handmade sweets.

Once again she had been too detail orientated, and had decided to make several varieties. Her small kitchen table was scattered with different sized bowls of fillings and toppings, and there were flecks of melted chocolate in places she didn't have time to investigate yet.

She had gone a little overboard, spending far too much on the supplies and breaking the modest budget she had left for the rest of the week, but she hoped the end result would be worth it. 

A few hours later, the chocolates were all set and she could finally go to bed. Hana placed the final bonbon in a pretty origami box and tied the ribbon, all ready to be gifted the next day.

She fell straight to sleep that night, feeling tired but accomplished.

It was a clear morning the next day as Hana came into work.

She had just hung up her coat and was getting ready to start work when she saw Seokjin coming down the hall. 

As usual, they were practically the only two people there at that time of day. 

She hadn't expected the opportunity to arrive so quickly, but it was almost a relief that it gave her no chance to chicken out. She pulled a small box out of her bag and held it behind her back.

"Good morning!" Hana called out as he approached.

"Hi Hana-nim," Seokjin replied with a smile, stopping in front of her.

He looked down in surprise as she handed him a pretty pink box.

"Ah, Happy Valentine's day!" she said. Self doubt was starting to set in, but she was trying to maintain an air of confidence while berating Soobin internally.

"Oh, thank you," he said, looking back and forth between the box and her face. "I didn't realise it was Valentine's," he said with an awkward laugh.

He began to pull the ribbon, and Hana felt nervous, not wanting to watch him unwrap it.

"Well, enjoy! I have to go check on something," she said quickly, running off before the heat rising to her face could betray her.

As she disappeared around the corner, she missed the light blush that coloured his cheeks as he opened the box.

Things got busy once the rest of the staff arrived. Having a three day break didn't mean there was less work to do, unfortunately. 

Hana had been running around for hours, doing various tasks for the team leaders, and only managed to check in with the group once they all started to come together for their afternoon practice.