Minji stepped out of the meeting room, her mind buzzing with the aftermath of the intense discussion. The project was moving forward, but the real challenge had only just begun—working with Minho again, and navigating whatever this unspoken tension between them was.
She was almost at the elevator when she heard footsteps behind her. The sound was familiar, even after all these years. Her heart skipped a beat, and she didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"Minji," Minho's voice called out, steady but with an edge she hadn't expected.
She stopped, the cool, polished surface of the elevator doors reflecting her own startled expression. Slowly, she turned around. There he was, standing at the end of the hallway, his tall frame silhouetted by the office lights behind him. The same man she had seen at the meeting table, but now, in the stillness of the corridor, there was something else in his gaze—something raw, unspoken.
She didn't say anything at first, her mind trying to catch up. "Minho," she finally replied, her voice calm, betraying none of the chaos swirling inside her.
He took a step forward, the soft click of his shoes on the floor the only sound between them. "I didn't expect to see you again. Not like this."
Her gaze dropped briefly to the floor, then back up to meet his. "I didn't expect it either."
There was a pause. The air felt thicker now, heavier, as if the space between them held a thousand unspoken things—words they both hadn't known how to say for the past fifteen years.
"How have you been?" Minho asked, his voice low, softer than she expected. There was a sincerity in his question, one that made her feel as if he was searching for something—answers, perhaps, or maybe just trying to bridge the gap between their two worlds.
She hesitated. "I've been good. Busy. You know, life."
He nodded, as if accepting her answer, though his eyes never left hers. "You've done well for yourself. CEO of a company like this... I wouldn't have imagined it when we were younger."
Minji chuckled softly, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Yeah, well. Life doesn't always go as planned, does it?"
"No," he agreed, his gaze flickering with something unreadable. "But sometimes, it brings us back to unexpected places."
Minji's pulse quickened. His words were too close to the truth. She knew they weren't just talking about the project anymore. "Minho, we shouldn't—"
"Shouldn't what?" he interrupted, his voice a mix of quiet challenge and something deeper, something more personal. "Talk? We've already crossed that line, haven't we? Or are you going to pretend like it's all just business now?"
She exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of his words, of the moment that was stretching between them. "I'm not pretending," she said, her voice steady despite the storm inside her. "But you know how this works. We've got our separate lives now. We've both changed."
Minho took another step closer, his eyes never leaving hers. "Maybe we've changed. But some things never really go away, Minji. You don't just forget the people who mattered."
She swallowed hard, her heartbeat loud in her ears. The old feelings, the memories they had once shared, stirred within her, threatening to resurface. "I didn't forget," she whispered. "But we've both moved on."
He paused, studying her face as if trying to find the right words. "You moved on. But I—" He broke off, clenching his jaw as though caught between saying too much or nothing at all. Finally, he spoke again, quieter now. "I never really did."
Minji felt the weight of his confession settle in the space between them. She looked up at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "Minho, you can't be serious. After all this time—"
"I am," he interrupted gently, his voice filled with quiet conviction. "It's been fifteen years, but some feelings... they don't fade away, no matter how much time passes. No matter how much we change."
The elevator dinged behind her, signaling its arrival. She took a step back, her chest tight, her breath shallow. "This isn't the place to have this conversation," she said, her words coming out a little more rushed than she intended. "I need to go."
Minho didn't move. Instead, his gaze softened just a fraction. "I know. But I'm not going anywhere, Minji. Not this time."
She stood there for a moment, caught between the past and the present. Then, with one final glance at him, she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.
The doors closed with a soft whoosh, but the tension remained, hanging in the air like a thread they both knew would eventually pull them back together.