Her fingers slid down his cheek, and she slowly (and reluctantly), pulled away from him. Her eyes widened at all the beautiful feelings rushing through her during this moment. Her cheeks had reddened, and the smile that grew on her face reached her honey-brown eyes with sincerity. 

He didn't say anything, only staring at her wistfully, deeply wishing she hadn't pulled away from their embrace and feeling the cold of not having her so close anymore. 

"Jumin..." She astonished herself by calling him by his first name for the first time ever. But the name felt surprisingly pleasant as it slid off her tounge.

Jumin felt his heart leap momentarily hearing her say his name so sweetly. 

But he still looked at her silently, with the same longing expression, waiting for Jaehee to speak again.

"I... I want this," she said softly, smiling at him warmly. "But..."

"But...?" he continued after her silence, confused and admittedly fearful of what she may say next.

Had she regretted her decision? Did she actually not like him this way after all...?

Her smile didn't falter, and she shook her head slightly. "I like you."

Jumin felt relief flood him once again, and his shoulders relaxed, but she wasn't finished yet. 

"But I don't think we should date... not yet." Seeing his dejected expression, she quickly explained herself, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "We still work in the same company... and, well... I don't think it would feel right if we dated right now and still kept being assistant and boss as well."

Jumin's silver eyes widened a bit and he finally understood what she meant. "You're right... as unpleasant as it is." It wouldn't be right to date each other considering the positions they were in at the moment. 

But he still couldn't help but feel distressed at the fact, and he noticed Jaehee having the same afflicted expression, even though she tried to hide it.

The two now remained silent for a while, looking down and unable to make eye contact; both unsure of how to continue the uncomfortable conversation.

Eventually, Jaehee raised her head once again, giving him a small, comforting smile. "But I don't think it will be a problem for very long."

Jumin looked at her bemusedly, not comphrending what she meant.

Jaehee couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her seeing his obliviousness. "Soon I'll be leaving the company, remember?" she reminded him, laughing slightly.

"Oh... right," he murmured. How had things ended like this...? 

As far as he knew, the whole reason he had proposed to Jaehee, why he began to know her better, how he discovered what a beautiful and amazing person she was truly and grew to love her... 

Was because he wanted to keep her by his side at the company. He wanted to keep her flawless work, her perfect leadership skills when it came to teaching and leading her subordinates, her exceptional loyalty. 

And yet she was still as determined of leaving as she had been the first time she declared it to him and basically threw her resignation papers on his desk. 

Only now, she seemed happier. 

Looking at her bright smile, her brown eyes glimmering, and remembering the feeling of her lips against his, of the warmth her hug brought, her long, glossy brown hair curled up between his fingers, her sweet but faint scent of coffee...

Of being loved by her and being able to love her...

He decided he did not care any longer. Losing her as his assistant meant gaining her as something greater, as what he truly wanted.

And even though she would be eternally irreplaceable for him, he loved her too much to try to stop her from following her dreams anymore. He wouldn't be selfish anymore. 

He smiled sincerely at her, softly holding her hands in his. "You're someone worth waiting for," he said. 

Jaehee smiled back, feeling her heart becoming warmer again. This was an unexpected turn of events, but one she welcomed greatly.
--

Various days afterwards, Jaehee put a harder effort in training Mi-Cha, and she felt it was finally paying off.

The younger girl was starting to catch the gist of being a secretary. 

And though she had to admit she did feel melancholic knowing she would be replaced as Jumin's assistant, she was more than glad it was her friend, who she could trust to responsibly take the position.

She and Jumin tried their best to not let their feelings for each other interfere in their daily work, though they still couldn't help the occasional gazes (where one of them caught the other staring) and the fond smiles that unconsciously grew on their faces when the other was involved. 

After a long and tiring day of work, Jaehee was planning to go home and throw herself on her bed to hopefully recover all the lost energy she had used at the office.

At least that was her plan, but the sweet and fresh smell coming from the lovely bakery she passed by was too much to resist.

She slowly opened the door to the café, almost timidly, and the small, golden bell on the doorframe rang a  pleasant chime. 

She saw the coffee shop was quite full, various people sat in the comfortable chairs surrounding her while tasting their cakes and lattes. 

She smiled at the sight, and her eyes began sparkling ever so slightly. She walked across the cafe, thankfully the line wasn't long and the barista attended her immediately. 

She ordered a piece of coffee cake and a cappuccino, which then was brought to her table as she sat down. She grabbed her fork and took a piece of the pastry, silently gushing over how tasty it was and instantly wishing Jumin was there to enjoy it with her.

She sighed sadly, knowing such a thing wasn't possible just yet, and staring out the crystal window at the beautiful scenery outside.

As soon as they were able to be together... there were so many things she wanted to do with him. 

Just like they've been doing these days, simply hanging out together, relaxing and going to any place they wanted and being able to enjoy each other's company...

Jaehee smiled yearningly. She didn't want to cause a scandal that would trouble Jumin, or anything that could harm him.

She had come to discover the person Jumin Han really was: undeniable softness kept hidden under the apparent unemotional mask, warmth underneath the cold, kindness and loyalty he only showed to the few people he came to trust, and even a tinge of (adorable) awkwardness when it came to expressing his emotions and affection towards others. 

And Jaehee had come to know that she loved who he was.
--

After she finished her coffee, having spent a longer time at the little but nice café than she had planned, she stepped out of the shop while actually wanting to stay a while longer.

It was surprising how much she enjoyed coffee, making it, drinking it, anything that had to do with it.

And this coffee shop was basically a dream come true for her.

She was still staring at the cafe, not wishing to walk away yet, when she heard a familiar voice that brought her back to reality.

"Jaehee!" shouted a feminine voice from her side.

"MC?" She called her friend by her nickname, turning around to be met with a friendly hug.

"Oh, you were coming to this shop, too?" she asked curiously while pulling away from her. "Remember when we came here for the first time?"

Jaehee was confused at first, but thinking deeply, she remembered what Mi-Cha was referring to. "You mean when we came here and you tricked me into writing out what I would like for an ideal date, then gave the information to Mr. Han, who then took me to an amusement park as I wanted?"

Mi-Cha chuckled nervously, she felt bad all of the sudden. "Should I apologize for that? I thought you enjoyed yourself..."

MC was taken by surprise when Jaehee smiled at her instead of getting angry as she half-expected.

"No, I did enjoy myself," the brown-haired woman admitted, glancing away with a nearly unnoticeable blush. 

"But you should still ask before you do something like that again," Jaehee nagged the younger girl, who laughed slightly and nodded in agreement.

"I will!" she said. "But still, this cafe was really nice, wasn't it?"

"It was..." And still is.

"Actually, I noticed that you really seem to like cafés, Jaehee, no?"

"Yeah, you're right..." the assistant told her, glancing at her suspiciously.

"It's a really pretty place, no?"

"Yes..."

Her friend hummed, grinning. "I wonder... would you like to have your own café, Jaehee?"