1st☀

The freshly made bread that came out of the oven smelled heavenly that my stomach was caught grumbling in response. Due to that, the man who grabbed his blue mittens and pulled another tray of bread out of the oven smiled at me as I sat by the high, white stool and continued observing what he was doing.

"See that, Sarang? That's how you do it. And the smell..." The man put down the hot tray and snatched a piece of bread from it and sniffed it. "It smells heavenly. Here, have one."

He grabbed a plate nearby and put a piece of bread on top. After he did, he pushed it towards me on the white, marbled table and waited for me to eat it. Since it was still piping hot, I blew it with all my energy, eager to eat it. My stomach was rumbling like a thunder in a thunderstorm. After taking a bite, felt like fireworks were exploding in my head and mouth.

"Wah! It tastes really good!" I said, holding up other hand up to touch my lower lip. The flavour lingered around in my mouth and the more you chew the bread, the more flavorful it becomes. "It came out perfect once again, appa."

Dad was all smiles when he heard my praise. He began packing up the bread into transparent, plastic containers. "Of course it'll taste the best. I wouldn't be a baker if it didn't."

"You're right, appa. Can you make me some of those red velvet cupcakes? They just taste so good!" I said, eating up the remaining bits of the bread Dad made. "What is your secret, o'master?"

"High quality ingredients, skills and tons and tons ofㅡ"

"Love!"

"I was going to say decorative items but, yeah, love works too," said Dad as he decided to start cleaning up. He handed me a piece of bread that was nicely put into the plastic bag. "Here, go give this to your mom."

I took it from his hands and smiled. "Nae, appa. What about you? Aren't you going to follow me home?"

"I have to stay in the bakery to do some paper works and check on the ingredients stock, pastry popularity and see how's everything doing. I also need to work on promotion sales for the upcoming season and work on how to attract more customers. There's also a need to sell more recipes and I could go on all day about this, Sarang. It's a lot of work," Dad explained to me, letting out a heavy sigh. "You should run back home. It's almost dark."

I looked out of the rectangular window and saw the skies slowly turning darker. The orange coloured played along well with the dark blue that was painting across the sky. "Yeah, you're right." I leaned in closer and gave Dad a kiss. "Well, I better go, appa. See you at home. Don't overwork yourself, okay? Bye!"

"Oh, bye!" Dad waved back, watching me enter the small elevator the staff usually used for when they needed to bring the freshly made bread downstairs to the bakery. Dad's bakery was three storeys highㅡthe first floor was the bakery that was crowded with customers purchasing Dad's delicious delicacies. The second floor was the bakery which the breads and other recipes were being made. Dad's office and little bakery area was on the third, where I just left a moment ago.

I love coming by to Dad's bakery. The staffs are so friendly and it always smells good. The scent of bread, cupcakes and other delicacies are always roaming around the store to fill your nostrils and cause your stomach to grumble in hunger.

"Have a nice day, agasshi," the cashier greeted as I headed out the double glass door that opens when you press the button.

Outside, I could see students roaming around in some areas, probably having a late hangout before going back home to call it a night. I came back from school hours ago and went straight to the bakery afterwards.

I finally reached home when the sun went down and the stars came up to play. I arranged my shoes and said, "I'm home, Mom!"

The kitchen was empty, from what I saw, as well as the living room. I walked up the stairs to get to my parents' master bedroom and opened the door to see Mom lying in bed, watching a drama being played on the TV.

"Mom?" I called, entering the room. I sat down down on her bed and handed her the bread Dad handed to me at the bakery. "Hi, Mom. Dad gave this to you."

Mom weakly smiled at me. "Where's your dad?"

"He's still in his office back at the bakery," I answered, helping her reach her pills that were on the bedside table. "He said he has a lot of work to do."

"Ah," she answered weakly, slowly sitting up on her bed. I handed her the pills and she ate them together with a glass of water. "Thank you."

"Mom, how are you feeling these days?" I asked her, concerned.

Mom gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry so much about me. I'm fine. I'm taking medicines so I can get better."

"I know that..." I still worry about her, though. It was only natural to. "Your doctor checkup is in two days, remember?"

She nodded. "Of course I do."

"Are there any other problems happening these days?" I asked her. "Loss of appetite? Sleep loss? Weak limbs? Anything?"

Mom looked at me weirdly. "You're my daughter, but you nag more than I do?"

"Well, someone's gotta do the job," I sheepishly said to her. "But you're avoiding my questions."

Mom gave me, once again, another reassuring smile and answered, "I can't lose appetite. Your father's a baker, so he's always making me something delicious. I sleep well and I feel my limbs well so no need to worry."

I hoped I could trust her words. Because there are always times when you lie to loved ones so they wouldn't worry. "Okay. I'm going to my room now. I have homework to do."

"Okay, take care, Sarang," Mom told me before I left the master bedroom and headed into my own room.

I first took a warm shower before I did my homework. It was a quick homework so I was able to do it within two hours and immediately crashed on my soft bed, scrolling through the messages of my phone.

There was a message from Kwon Mijoo, my best friend in the entire school.

Mijoo: sarang-a! you'll bring some bread tomorrow, right? i really really really really really reallyyyyyyyyy like the bear one that your dad makes ^o^

Sarang: sorry, i didn't get some bread from my dad today :( i'll probably get it next time

Mijoo: arasso, you better remember! hehehe

Sarang: i will, i will gosh

Mijoo: okay hehehe

Smiling to myself, I locked my phone and got ready for bed. I didn't get any rest today since I was mostly at the bakery so I was really tired. I switched the lights off and finally got some sleep. 

☀

The next day at school, I met with my friend Mijoo. She was as hyper as she could be—that was how she was. I usually envied her since she was usually the happy one. It was as if nothing could ever go wrong for her.

"Kyaaa! Sarang!" Mijoo squealed, giving me a tight hug.

"What is it?" I asked her, feeling her weight on me. "Gosh, you're loud early in the morning. At this rate, everyone in Hanseong will hear you."

"Oh, you're exaggerating," Mijoo told me, gushing. "But I feel really happy."

"And why's that?" See what I meant by the fact that she was always happy? It's as if she was born at the end of a rainbow with unicorns prancing around.

"I don't know. I think it was what I ate this morning—my mom's homemade tteokbokki! It tastes too good!" Mijoo happily told me, still hugging me tightly as we walked to the large building, where our classes were located.

"Gosh, Mijoo," I said, laughing. "You're happy because of that? I'll never get you."

"What?" Mijoo asked, oblivious. "Food makes me happy, okay? Don't judge me for it!"

"I won't and I wasn't judging you," I protested, pushing the classroom door open for the both of us to enter. The first person I noticed was my boyfriend, Kang Sang Hyuk. He's been my crush for three years and finally, after I confessed, we got together.

After settling down in my seat, he came over to where I was and gave me a quick hug, making me feel all warm on the inside. He greeted, "Good morning, Sarang."

I was probably smiling like an idiot by now. "Good morning."

Mijoo had probably noticed that the two of us were together now and had moved seats and sat next to her guy best friend, Wonwoo. She wasn't a fan of couples and their mushy mushy act, as she calls it. So she was always somewhere else whenever I was with Sang Hyuk.

"Have you eaten?" Sang Hyuk asked. It was the usual question boyfriends usually asked their girlfriends.

I nodded. "Of course I did."

But Sang Hyuk liked to continue and did the entire act as if it was his ritual. "You haven't? Why didn't you eat? It's bad if you haven't ate."

I wanted to face palm but I found him so adorable that I couldn't find the heart to do it. Instead, I brushed his fringe away from his forehead and noticed how soft his hair was. Mijoo must have noticed it because I heard her fake coughing, alongside Wonwoo.

Gosh, these two were best friends, weren't they? Teasers in crime, I like to call them. Whenever they had the chance, they always found the time to tease me with Sang Hyuk.

Sang Hyuk usually didn't mind them. He was chill about everything. But when it came to me... Gosh, it was always my cheeks that made me their victim. They were always red.

Sang Hyuk was smiling at me. Mijoo was my seatmate and since she wasn't sitting there now, Sang Hyuk occupied that seat and rested his head on my shoulder. That made me blush even more but I still enjoyed it.

Mijoo and Wonwoo didn't stop their coughing though. Gosh, at this rate, they might get a sore throat.

Sang Hyuk got comfortable in his position and simply stayed there. Wonwoo and Mijoo probably found something better to do together and when I glanced back to check, they were talking to each other and probably joking around. Mijoo and her randomness, as usual.

When I sensed a teacher was going to enter soon, I immediately shrugged Sang Hyuk off my shoulder. He wasn't happy with that and frowned at me. I immediately shooed him from Mijoo's seat and told him to get back to his seat.

"Fine," Sang Hyuk hesitantly agreed. Before he left, he whispered something only I could here, "I love you. You're my world."

As much as I love him, words like that usually gave me mixed feelings. Either I would have cringed or fangirled about it. As of now, it was slightly slipping onto the cringe end.

The teacher had already entered the class so there was no time for me to finish the ensemble of ours. Mijoo had returned to her seat next to me as well and with the command of our class president, we greeted our class teacher, Ms. Ryu.

Mijoo whispered next to me, "We're going to your dad's bakery after school, aren't we?"

I grinned back. "Yes we are. You're coming, right?"

"Yes," Mijoo answered, grinning back. "Wonwoo's coming too. Bring your Sang Hyuk if you want to."

Mijoo wasn't that fond of Sang Hyuk, if I had to be honest. The reason is because her friend who schooled here for a year before transferring out—I wasn't here around that time since I had to live in Japan for a year—dated him before and from what I heard, things ended... real bad.

Mijoo concluded and marked him as a hard-to-deal-with kind of boy. Her and Wonwoo weren't exactly friends with Sang Hyuk, but they were more of acquaintances. I was the bridge between them, everyone.

"He's busy today," I whispered back to her. "He has football practice."

"Wonwoo says basketball's better," Mijoo told me.

"What do you think about them?" I wanted to hear her opinion since I like both football and basketball.

"Me?" Mijoo looked at me. "I don't like sports, so I pick lying down."

"Tsk, typical Mijoo," I said, lightly laughing.

"What did you expect me to say? I wouldn't pick any," Mijoo ended our conversation at that.

"Yet, you still watch Wonwoo's matches," I knowingly brought up.

"It's to support the dork," she answered, writing down the things Ms. Ryu was writing on the board. "I don't even know what happens during the game. I just know that if he loses in the end, I have to buy him strawberry milk to cheer him up and if he wins, I'll still have to buy him strawberry milk as a reward."

"You two are best friends, indeed," I commented, laughing. Secretly, in my head, I shipped the both of them. They acted like a couple at times but it was sad that Mijoo only saw him as a friend. I had a feeling Wonwoo had some sort of feelings for Mijoo. But that was all in my head.

"Blame the dork," she whispered, noticing the teacher scanning across the room before she continued writing on the board, "he's always forcing me to watch him. As if he's that great."

"He scored half of the points on our school's team once," I told her as a matter of fact.

"Once," she emphasized back.

"Don't be so harsh on him," I advised her.

"I have to."

"Why?"

She paused from writing to meet my eyes then grinned. "Because if I'm not mean to him everyday, that means we're not close."

"You and your way of thinking." I silently laughed, in case Ms. Ryu would scold me for laughing too loudly.

"You and your boyfriend," Mijoo said in reply, obviously teasing me again.

I swear, Wonwoo was an innocent boy before he started hanging out with Mijoo. She must have influenced me in the matter of a year before I came back from Japan.

We became quiet once again and the entire school hours went by normally—just as it usually is and following the usual routine.

Once the school bell rang, I greeted Sang Hyuk goodbye before I followed Mijoo and Wonwoo. We were all talking about Wonwoo's new puppy and thinking about names to name his pet and shortly, before we all knew it, we arrived at the bakery.

The staffs greeted me and I asked them where my dad was.

"He's in his office," Myeong, the cashier, replied with a sweet smile. "Shall I tell him you're here?"

"Ah, no, that's okay. He's probably busy if he's still in the office," I said, telling Mijoo and Wonwoo to sit in the seats area of the bakery.

They nodded and went ahead.

"Seojoon oppa," I called to the guy who was standing near the cakes casing.

He turned around and when he saw it was me, he gave me a smile. "Yes? Do you need anything, Sarang?"

"Yeah, just wanted to order some cakes for me and my friends." I took my wallet out from my pockets. "Two chocolate cakes and a red velvet cupcake for me. How much would that be all together?"

"13, 800 won," Seojoon answered. Then he nodded to Myeong. "Just pay it to Myeong. I'll get your cakes."

"Okay. Thanks, oppa," I answered, handing the money to Myeong.

"Your friend's quite pretty," said Myeong, looking at Mijoo.

"Ew, I'll never set you up with her," I told him. "Plus, you don't meet her expectations."

"How old are you again?" Myeong teased.

"Sixteen," I answered, rolling my eyes. "We're just two years younger than you. But that doesn't mean I'll set my best friend up with you. Ha! In your dreams. Aren't you a little too old for us, too?"

"Age doesn't matter," Myeong told me, leaning against the counter table.

I shuddered. "I won't ever set you up with her. Do something about your hair first then I'll think about it."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Myeong ran a hand through his hair. "I think it's perfectly amazing. More amazing than yours. No, mine's awesome. Amazing doesn't suit it well enough."

I ended up rolling my eyes at him once again.

"Hello! Welcome to Love + Flour!" Myeong greeted the new customers that entered. Then, giving me a look, he said, "Go to your friends. Oppa has to work now."

"That's still a no," I said before going back to my friends. Once I sat down on the chair, I shuddered again. "Myeong oppa is such a creep."

"Why? What did he say?" Mijoo asked.

I looked at her then shuddered again. "He said you were pretty."

Immediately, silence took over us.

Mijoo looked horrified. "Who? Myeong oppa said I was pretty? Oh, I have goosebumps now."

"Well, I have to agree with Myeong hyung though," Wonwoo said, his blank face present on his face.

Mijoo turned to look at him, blinking her eyes several times. "I think you need your eyes checked, Jeon Wonwoo."

"What? I'm just saying the truth," Wonwoo said to his defense before he ate his chocolate cake.

Comparing Mijoo and Wonwoo's cake, Mijoo's one was already near finished. There was just a small piece left before it was finished. Unlike Wonwoo. He had half left.

"Stop lying to yourself, Jeon Wonwoo," Mijoo said, eating up her cake. And now it was done.

"No, you're lying to yourself. Why don't you agree with what I'm saying? With what Myeong hyung and I are saying?" Wonwoo asked.

At the reminder of Myeong, I shuddered again. "Let's not bring Myeong oppa up. Thinking about him being interested in Mijoo gives me creeps."

"Well, he isn't the first guy," Wonwoo knowingly said.

I had to agree with what he said so I nodded. "Yup, he sure isn't."

Mijoo laughed and said, "You guys are crazy. What other guys are there?"

"Remember that one time we hung out together? At the mall? There was this guy that kept looking at you," I said, eating up my red velvet cupcake.

"And another time we were at Han River. There was this guy that looked at you then smiled then he kept following us. He looked like he wanted to talk to you but never did," Wonwoo added.

"And remember when we followed Wonwoo's family on a trip to Busan? There was this other guy that also noticed you. He was with his group of friends and this guy in a grey t-shirt kept passing by us," I added as well. "See? A bunch of dudes noticed you."

Mijoo kept laughing. "Aw, come on guys. None of them were handsome."

"Actually, the guy at Han River was decent looking," I admitted. What? That didn't mean I loved Sang Hyuk less.

"No, I think the Busan dude was handsome," Wonwoo argued. "His fashion wasn't that great compared to Seojoon hyung but he has looks."

"I don't remember why I'm friends with you guys," Mijoo said, laughing again. "Look, none of them were good-looking to my eyes. Stop trying to set me up or something."

"That's because you're a hopeless girl who has her expectations up so high." Wonwoo lightly flicked Mijoo on her forehead. "We're doing this for your own good, don't you know?"

Warning. Warning. My ship's interacting with each other physically. Why can't my ship sail? Why must Mijoo friend zone him so much? Mijoo was really dense. I'll tell her that when we're alone.

Mijoo, you're so dense.

Mijoo's phone began ringing and she went outside Love + Flour to answer the call. When Wonwoo and I were alone, we didn't really talk much. I guess we mostly depended on Mijoo to make conversations.

I was awkward with Wonwoo when Mijoo wasn't in the picture. I wasn't too close with Wonwoo, since we only met at the end of last year.

When Mijoo returned, I felt relieved but she said she was going home so I felt disheartened knowing she had to leave already.

Mijoo gave me a quick hug before saying, "I'll see you tomorrow at school. Thanks for the cake today! I'll bring some tteokbokki for you tomorrow as repayment."

"You don't have to," I told her. But I like Mijoo's mom's tteokbokki. They tasted really good.

"I still will anyway." Mijoo grabbed her bag.

Just as she was about to rush out of the door, Wonwoo also stood up and grabbed his bag. "I'm going to walk you to the bus station."

Mijoo looked confused for a second. "Why? Wonwoo, you live in the opposite direction of where I live. And your house is a walking distance from Love + Flour. Why would you need to walk me to the bus station?"

Oh, Mijoo. Always so dense. Or is this the way Wonwoo treats his close friends? I wouldn't know, since Wonwoo and I weren't as close as to compared to him and Mijoo.

"I want to do a good deed today," Wonwoo said.

Right, Wonwoo. Oh, geez. I'm making so many assumptions again. I was always like that. I've been secretly shipping these two so much that if they ever found out, Mijoo will start with her endorphin screams.

"Whatever you want, Wonwoo," Mijoo replied before waving at me. "Bye, Sarang! See you tomorrow at school!"

"Okay, bye!" I waved back.

"Bye, Sarang," Wonwoo said as well, giving me a nod.

I nodded back, but I was trying hard to suppress a laughter. Wonwoo looked like a good boyfriend right about now. Ah, if only they were dating.

Myeong was now standing by my side and asked me, "Is that her boyfriend?"

Since Myeong was going to be a creep if I said she was single, I answered him, "Yup. So you can't touch her. Don't even think about it, either."

"Oh, come on." Myeong ran a hand in his hair once again. "I'm flawless. I have a boyfriend's body material. I'm handsome and I can get girls to come into the store with a flash of my smile."

I gave him a fake smile. "Right. Totally. Don't even dare to think of breaking them apart."

"Come on, admit I look better with her than he does." Myeong nudged me.

"No." I shook my head. "I won't let my dad's staff date my best friend."

"What's wrong with that?" Myeong asked.

"No means no. Why do you keep asking?" I fixed my shirt properly. "Tsk, such a weirdo."

Myeong grinned one last time before he went back to his station.

What a weirdo.

☀

It was nearing the closing time of Love + Flour. It seemed like no one would come visit so I was about to flip the sign when someone suddenly ran in front of the glass door of the bakery. He looked like he was asking if the bakery was still open.

Dad wouldn't like it if I shooed away a potential customer so I smiled and opened the door for him. "We're open for a few more minutes."

The guy looked relieved and smiled. I noticed he was wearing a school uniform, but I didn't know what school it was from. He definitely not from Hanseong High, that's for sure.

The thing that caught my attention was the fact he looked foreign but had amazing Korean speaking skills. I only concluded he was a half Korean with American blood.

After purchasing what he had to, he smiled and finally left the bakery. I finally flipped the sign, officially closing the store. At that exact time, Dad had just gotten out of the elevator and gave me a smile.

"Shall we go home now?" Dad asked, linking arms with me. He greeted all his staffs goodnight as well as goodbye then we finally walked back home.

On the way, I received a text and noticed that it was from Sang Hyuk. I told my dad to go ahead first and that I'll be right behind him. I just needed to check the message first.

Sang Hyuk jagi~: if i ever somehow left the world... i hope you'll take care of yourself.

~Author's Notes~

✿DEDICATION✿

To those who just fell in love and think love is the most lovely thing. To the ones who believe there's some sort of magic in love. Also, my love SeungAhPark for inspiring to make this story ♡

Hope you'll enjoy the story :) This story is inspired from the song I Think I'm In Love by Juniel <3

xoxo

Byun Sang Kyung