the smell hit him before the door even opened.

warm sugar, cinnamon, butter melting into flour. seonghwa stood outside for a moment, just breathing it in. his hands were stuffed in the pockets of his coat even though the morning was not particularly cold. he could hear the soft clinking of dishes from inside, the low hum of a song playing over the speakers.

he did not have the courage to go inside the shop a few days prior, but he decided it was time to stop in.

he glanced through the window. it was not too busy yet. a few customers seated by the far wall, sipping coffee, scrolling their phones. the front counter was manned by two figures, wooyoung, buzzing around with his usual theatrical energy, and yeosang, calm and focused, ringing up customers and arranging pastries in the display case like it was a kind of art.

but no hongjoong.

seonghwa felt something twist in his chest. disappointment? relief? maybe both. he was not sure what he had expected, only that the hollow in his stomach grew deeper when he did not see him.

still, he pushed the door open. the bell above it chimed, soft and familiar, like it remembered him.

wooyoung looked up first. his eyes widened a little in surprise, but not in a bad way. "hwa," he said, half a smile tugging at his lips. "look who decided to show up."

"hi," seonghwa said, quietly.

yeosang turned at the sound of his voice. his surprise was more subdued than wooyoung's, but still visible in the way his posture shifted. "hey," he said simply.

the door closed behind him with a small click. seonghwa stepped forward, cautiously, his gaze drifting across the counter, the pastry shelves, the espresso machine; the things he had once known like the back of his hand.

"place looks good," he said.

"thanks," wooyoung replied, pulling out a clean mug. "you want something to drink? on the house," wooyoung offered, already reaching for the espresso grinder.

"oh wow, thanks! yeah, i'll take a latte. oat milk, please," seonghwa said with a soft smile as he shoved his hands in his pocket.

"on it!" wooyoung cheered as he began brewing the coffee.

seonghwa leaned against the counter and watched the familiar rhythm of their work. it was strange, somehow comforting and distant all at once. like returning to a place that still remembered him, even if the people inside had moved on.

"so," wooyoung said, sliding the latte across the counter. "you just passing through, or...?"

seonghwa wrapped his hands around the warm mug. "i live next door, remember?"

"sure," wooyoung said, "but you haven't set foot in here in half a year."

seonghwa looked down at the swirled foam art, still perfect in his cup. "yeah. i guess i needed time."

yeosang glanced up at him then. not unkindly, just watching. waiting for what he would say next.

wooyoung folded his arms on the counter, chin resting on his hands. "you doing okay?"

seonghwa nodded. "trying to be. things feel... quieter now. like i can actually breathe again."

"that's good," yeosang said softly.

"yeah." he sipped the latte. it was excellent. creamy, strong, with the tiniest hint of vanilla. "you guys are doing well, huh?"

"we're managing," wooyoung said. "morning rush is a nightmare, but people love our pastries. i think someone came in just for the sweet potato chocolate scone yesterday. intentionally."

"that's horrifying," seonghwa said.

"i know, right?" wooyoung replied with humor in his voice.

they both laughed, and for a second, the air felt easy.

seonghwa tried to be subtle, his voice light. "so... hongjoong still doing morning shifts?"

wooyoung and yeosang exchanged the briefest of glances. the glances were barely there, but seonghwa caught it. it hung in the air between them like smoke.

yeosang was the one who answered. "not usually."

"oh?" he kept his tone casual.

"he's not full time anymore," wooyoung added, turning to rearrange some cookies that did not need rearranging.

"why not?" seonghwa asked.

he could hear the question for what it was: a little too pointed, a little too transparent. but he could not stop himself.

yeosang shrugged, reaching for a new tray. "he just needed to cut back."

"he okay?" seonghwa asked with curiosity.

another glance passed between them, this one longer.

"he's fine," wooyoung said. "just... figuring some stuff out."

it was not a lie, but it was not the truth either. seonghwa could feel it.

"you guys still see him a lot?" he asked, softer this time.

wooyoung hesitated. "yeah. here and there."

"does he—" seonghwa stopped himself. shook his head. "nevermind."

they did not push.

he sipped his latte again, the warmth doing little to ease the growing weight in his chest. he had not come here looking for a reunion. he had not even come expecting to talk. but now, standing in the place where it all started, he realized how badly he had wanted something, anything. a sign that hongjoong still thought of him. that he had not just closed the door and walked away without looking back.

but instead, there was silence. the kind that held things just out of reach.

he tried to think of something else to say. "you guys redecorated," he murmured, glancing toward the new framed artwork on the far wall. soft pastels, some abstract city scenes.

"yeosang's idea," wooyoung said. "we had a blank wall and too much time."

"they're beautiful," seonghwa said honestly.

"thanks," yeosang replied. "i wanted it to feel lighter in here."

seonghwa nodded, gaze lingering on the paintings, then the small bouquet in the window. everything felt a little different now. not bad, just different.

like the bakery had grown into something else while he was not looking.

he finished the last of his latte slowly, setting the empty mug back on the counter. wooyoung took it without a word, rinsing it in the sink.

there was a question still burning in seonghwa's chest, but he could not bring himself to ask it.

where is he?

but he did not ask it.

instead, he smiled again. this time it was smaller, wearier. "i should go."

"you don't have to," yeosang said quietly.

"i know. but i think i should."

wooyoung dried his hands on a towel, leaning his hip against the counter. "you sure you're okay?"

seonghwa nodded. "i felt like i was ready to come back, but maybe i wasn't."

wooyoung did not say anything to that. just offered a sad little smile.

seonghwa glanced toward the window one more time before stepping toward the door. he hesitated with his hand on the handle.

"tell him..." he paused, the words thick on his tongue. "never mind."

he pushed the door open. the bell chimed again, bright and light, like it had not noticed anything was missing.

outside, the morning had grown louder. cars rushing past, a delivery truck beeping down the block, someone yelling into a phone. he stood on the sidewalk for a long minute, looking back at the bakery.

the ache had not gone away.

he had come here hoping to find answers, but all he had left with was more questions. more emptiness. like he had reached out for something and caught only fog.

still, he did not regret coming.

maybe it was enough to know that hongjoong was not always here anymore. that something had shifted in his life, even if seonghwa was not allowed to see it.

maybe that was what hurt the most. not knowing what he was becoming, not being part of it. not being the one hongjoong turned to.

he looked up at the sky. the clouds were soft and low, the kind that promised rain in the late afternoon.

maybe he would walk for a while. get lost in the city. think.

maybe he would come back tomorrow.

but one thing was certain: he was not done yet.