#riki microwaves strawberries like wha-

[nishinini]

♡ after the breakup au masterlist | scents that linger - food related his perspective

⤅ heeseung - coconuts

there was always so much pressure on heeseung to be the best at everything. the title of “ace” became one that gave more expectations than he initially expected. but despite all the stress, criticism, and constant questioning of whether or not he made the right choice, you were always there for him. your presence became the source of comfort the ace could let go in and he could just be lee heeseung. your hugs, those were his favorite. whenever he hugged you, he was instantly met with the scent of your coconut shampoo. whenever he kissed the top of your head, there was your coconut shampoo. before he went to sleep, he’d nuzzle his head in the crook of your neck, always met with your coconut shampoo. he never knew how much coconuts could mean to him. it was there when he woke up and there when he went to sleep. but today, he goes to sleep in a weight in his heart and thousands of thoughts running through his head. your coconut shampoo lingers on the fibers of his pillowcase but you weren’t here and he had no one to hug. 

⤅ jay - your favorite tea

the scent of your tea was one jay was all too familiar with. you needed it right when you woke up, a lesson he had learned early on during the beginning stages of the two of you living together. sometimes, you made a cup at 2 am needing it to function as you continued your work before falling asleep. the scent sometimes woke him up, causing him to ask you to come back to bed only for you to tell him that you were almost done. other times, despite the caffeine content, you’d make a cup before going to bed. one day, you had run out of the honey you typically used for your tea and asked jay if you could use him to which he responded, 

“you don’t need to ask, love. what’s mine is yours.” since then, you’d use his honey instead of the one you used to buy since it made the tea just a little sweeter. this led to constantly needing to make trips to the grocery store to refill that specific brand but neither of you quite minded. after moving out, you had left some of your tea bags behind. as much as he didn’t want to admit it, jay made a cup from time to time when he missed you. tonight, he uses the remaining drops of his honey on the last tea bag you left behind while closing his eyes as the scent hits his nose in hopes of feeling your presence with him.

⤅ jake - cookies in the oven 

you liked to bake, something that jake always supported. but you did it at the most weirdest and most random times. sometimes you’d bake right when you woke up and the two of you would have a savory pastry for breakfast. other times, you’d bake in the middle of the night instead of sleeping because you “felt like it.” jake loved the scent of cookies in the oven not caring if it woke him up because it was that good. but one night, he fell even more in love with you and he looked into the oven and saw something baking in the shape of bones.

“what are those?” he asked. 

“treats for layla. if she likes them, i'll bake more babe so we don't have to always buy them.” that night, the scent of cookies left an imprint on his heart upon the realization that you cared for layla just as much as he did, to the extent that you’d give her homemade dog treats. as layla eats the last treat you made just before leaving, jake can’t stop his tears slipping, can’t stop his mind clouding with thoughts of you, and can’t stop missing you. 

⤅ sunghoon - garlic 

garlic in the frying pan, a familiar scent for most people. it’s the first scent that hits you when you enter the kitchen, sometimes as early as your first step into the house. sunghoon has always loved the scent of garlic, reminding him of childhood meals and special dinners. when dating you, the scent of garlic took on a meaning different from his mother’s dishes and old home. the scent of garlic became accompanied with back hugs and constant teasing. it’d appear as a result of fried rice or sautéed vegetables, amongst other things in an effort to try and eat healthy for once. it became associated with endless laughter and failed attempts of trying new recipes since neither of you were actually chefs. he grew to love it more, found the scent reaching depths of his soul he was unaware even existed. the scent of garlic in the frying pan is lovely, but if neglected it can burn easily. 

⤅ sunoo - slightly burnt french toast 

french toast has always something sunoo’s enjoyed. one night, ingredients in the fridge were running low and ordering in wasn’t something that you didn’t want to do, so you decided to make french toast for you and sunoo’s dinner. while cooking, sunoo came into the kitchen. he distracted you through a multitude of ways which lead to burnt french toast filling the air. but while food was something sunoo held in high regards, he didn’t quite the slightly burnt french toast now in his stomach. french toast became a staple when you were around (typically for dinner) and he looked forward to it every time. tonight, he made french toast. he didn’t pay attention to it, too caught up in wondering what it’d be be like if you were here. the burnt smell filled the air, reminding him of how your love burned down and turned to ashes. 

⤅ jungwon - vanilla

for whatever reason, you loved vanilla. loved it in cakes. always chose it when going out for ice cream. tended to put just a little too much than you should’ve when baking cookies. the taste lingered on your lips when he’d kiss you, ice cream in the freezer and flavoring in the cupboard. he liked it, despite how vanilla was seen as boring, vanilla was uniquely you. jungwon learned that you were everything but vanilla. you were fun and spontaneous with a certain type of creativity he’d never seen in anyone else before. you were colorful and smiling, the better part of his day that he always looked forward to. but somewhere down the line, you started to see jungwon’s love as vanilla and there was nothing he could do to change it. 

⤅ ni-ki - strawberries

the scent of strawberries was on your lips since it was the flavor of the chapstick you always wore, one that he bought for you. but strawberries held a special place in his heart aside from that. you found it weird that ni-ki liked to microwave strawberries (as well as other things) and you didn’t hesitate to call him out or tease him about it. but despite your constant teasing, you’d always warm up a bowl of strawberries for him. when he heard the familiar sound of the microwave running and the scent of strawberries filling the air, his heart would beat a little faster and in the bottom of his stomach he could feel the same warmth a person felt while rested by a campfire. the scent of strawberries meant your presence was nearby. but today, as the scent of strawberries fills in the air mixed in with the sound of the microwave running, his heart sinks to the bottom of the pacific ocean while the bottom of his stomach feels as if it were in antarctica. the scent of strawberries now meant you were gone.

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