It was a Saturday night when Lily called him out for drinks.The place? That low-lit jazz bar he kept dragging her to—hidden behind an old vinyl store and always smelling faintly of bourbon and forgotten dreams.She hated how much he liked it. He loved how much she pretended not to.
When he walked in, he was his usual mess—oversized cream shirt half tucked in, baggy slacks, and glasses pushed up on his head like he had a second pair of eyes growing out the back.He scanned the room and spotted her instantly.
What he didn't miss was the trail of glances that followed him in.A few women practically melted as he passed their table.Lily rolled her eyes like it was just another episode of "Women Simping for My Best Friend: Jazz Bar Edition."
He slid into the booth across from her, grabbing the menu like it had personally wronged him."What's up?"
Lily didn't answer right away. Instead, she lifted her bottle—her third, he noted—and took a long swig.Then, she dropped the bomb."Sean and I broke up."
Tae froze mid-menu flip. His fingers stiffened, his eyes flicking to her face, scanning for damage.She didn't look shattered. Just... done. Like a thread finally snipped.
"About damn time," he muttered, resting the menu on the table. "What was it this time? He cheat? Pull that 'you're not enough' garbage again?"
He tried to sound nonchalant, but spite clung to his voice like smoke. He had never liked that guy. Josh had always looked at Lily like she was almost perfect—as if she'd eventually shape herself into something more palatable. As if loving her came with a checklist.
She scoffed. "Worse. He said he's moving overseas and 'doesn't believe in long-distance.'"Then, under her breath, with just enough bitterness to sting:"Oh, fuck you."
Tae let out a laugh. Not at her. Never at her. Just at the absurdity of it."That's his excuse? That coward couldn't even try?"
Lily shrugged, suddenly hyperfocused on peeling the label off her beer."He said he doesn't want to make me wait. That I deserve more."She said the words like they were someone else's. Like even she didn't buy them.
"You do deserve more," Tae said quietly. "Just... not in the way he means."
Lily took another slow sip, then glanced at him sideways. "You wanna know what I said when he brought you up?"
Tae leaned back slightly, eyebrow raised. "What did you say?"
She smirked like she was about to ruin him and knew it."I said, 'Yes. Maybe Tae deserves me more.' Then I turned and walked away. Sorry—but you know how jealous he was of you."
For a moment, Tae just blinked.
Deserves me more.Those words clanged around his head like a dropped cymbal.
He opened his mouth, then closed it.Was that a joke? A jab? A confession disguised as petty revenge?Either way, it hit him somewhere weird and warm.
His fingers curled around the glass, tighter than before.His chest felt like it skipped—no, stumbled—right over a beat.
And damn her, she was looking at him like she knew.
"Ew." was all he said in disgust while Lily swats him.
There was a pause. A long one. The kind that settles between two people who know too much about each other. Five years of friendship—laughing, bickering, showing up at 2AM with takeout, watching each other's lives unravel and reweave. And yet, this was the first time it felt like something shifted. Like the weight between them had changed shape.
He looked at her, like really looked. The soft lighting made her skin glow, her eyes glassy from the alcohol but clear in a way that pierced through him.
"Why didn't you text me when it happened?" he asked.
She gave him a half-smile. "Because I knew you'd say 'I told you so.'"
"I did tell you so."
"There it is."
They laughed.
She leaned forward, her elbows on the table, eyes locking with his. "You know, it sucks. Not the breakup--just… feeling like I keep getting it wrong."
He wanted to reach across the table, wanted to grab her hand and squeeze it, but he didn't. Instead, he said, "You didn't get it wrong. He just wasn't built to handle someone like you."
She tilted her head. "Someone like me?"
"You're... a lot, Lil. I mean that in the best way. You're stubborn. You speak your mind. You take up space. Guys like him want someone quieter. Easier."
"And you?"
"What about me?"
"What do you want?" she asked, eyes narrowing, like maybe she wasn't just asking for the sake of conversation.
Tae hesitated. "I don't know," he admitted. "But it's probably not someone easy either."
The air between them grew electric, like jazz before the downbeat. Neither of them said anything. The music hummed in the background. A low trumpet cry. A piano whisper.
Then, Lily raised her bottle. "To breakups."
Tae clinked his glass with hers. "To upgrades."
Their eyes lingered for just a second too long and just like that, something began.