Namjoon took a sharp breath as he caught up with Yoongi. They were neck to neck. The door was only a couple feet away. Namjoon could feel the free food sitting in his stomach. Namjoon turned sharply, trying to get in front of the older. He could see the glass doors, they were so close. The salmon haired turned his head, trying to spot Jungkook, only to find empty air behind them. Where the heck was he? He shook his head slightly. They could worry about that after Namjoon won his free food. Jungkook was a grown man, he could fend for himself for a good minute or two, right? His head turned back to looking at his opponent who had taken advantage of Namjoon being distracted and was now a considerable amount ahead. There was no hope that he was going to win. The door was already upon them. Yoongi slowed down as his hand smacked the door's glass, scaring the kid with his hood up who had been sitting on the step. 

"Ha! Look who's wallet isn't going to be paying for your food!" Yoongi laughed.

Namjoon growled slightly.

"Jungkook isn't here either, so I guess that means-"

"Hyung, I won," The boy in the hood commented, looking up at Yoongi.

"Jungkook? What? How? You were right behind us," Yoongi said.

Jungkook shrugged as he stood and pulled off his hood, "I ran home a lot from school."

"I just don't get it. How'd you get passed us without us seeing?" Namjoon questioned.

"I took the alleys," Jungkook gestured to one of the narrow gaps between the bakery and the flower shop next to it.

"Dude, you have to be a ninja," Yoongi shook his head as he entered the door that Namjoon was holding open for the other two. 

Jungkook laughed, "Thank you, hyung."

"Thanks, Joon," Yoongi said after Jungkook did, seeing as he hadn't before.

The bakery had one of those refrigerated glass display cases that was full of aesthetically pleasing pastries on a white plate with a piece of lace as extra decoration. There were four maybe five tables meant for two to four people scattered about the small space. A couple tables sat outside as well, orange umbrellas opened in the center. There was a yellow wall siphoning off the dining area and the kitchen. Exposed brick covered the other walls around the yellow one. There was a certain smell in here, a smell that Namjoon couldn't quite place but knew he disliked. A young man with a baseball cap and yellow apron stood behind the counter with an unwavering smile and a nametag that read, 'Jackson'. 

"Welcome to Never Ever Bakery! My name's Jackson. Our menu is inside of this case here if you'd like to take a few minutes to look over everything," Jackson said, gesturing to the display case.

"Thank you," Yoongi said as the group headed to the case.

Namjoon's eyes scanned over the items. Cupcakes, cheesecakes, cookies- Who was he kidding? He couldn't focus on anything. That smell was too much, far too much for him. It was a warm, sugary scent mixed with, what was that? Lavender. Yes, lavender. It was bothering him, causing his nose to twitch slightly. The smell kept closing in on him, surrounding him like flood waters. It was choking him, making his eyes water as he gasped for a breath that didn't smell of lavender and sugar. 

"I'm going to sit outside while you guys finish up," Namjoon said to the boys.

"Are you sure, Joon?" Yoongi asked.

"Yeah, don't worry."

"Well, come inside if you get cold," Jungkook said.

"Alright, Kook," Namjoon smiled.

Namjoon slipped out of the bakery door and sat down at one of the picnic benches. He took a deep breath, glad to be smelling car fumes over the bakery's scent. That scent sent him back way too far. It smelled way too much like his apartment in the old days. Late in the afternoon, the sun just having set. The sky coated in pinks and oranges with little bits of purple dotting the edges. The tall buildings surrounding his own lit only by the lights in the windows. Dinner on the stove. Ramen noodles. Spicy broth if he was feeling extra. The oak table all set. Two bowls with two sets of chopsticks. Two pairs of shoes sat by the door. Two coats rested on the coat rack. Two pairs of keys placed on the hall table. More than one voice audible over the boiling of the broth. More than one person's things occupying the apartment. Two people's scents mixed together to form a fusion of lavender and sugar. A lavender scent that belonged to a young, pink haired, soon-to-be Café co-owner. The sugar belonging to the white haired who had only been there for at least a month. 

As one month became two and two became six, the lavender was met with more scents than just sugar. It was mixed with the scents of all those that the sugar dabbled with and in return brought home for the lavender to be shoved in the face with. Two places were set on the table, only one was dirtied. Only one pair of shoes set by the door, waiting for the other pair to be thrown down. One coat rested on the coat rack, waiting for the other to be sloppily placed next to it. One pair of keys was placed on the hall table, waiting for the other to be slammed down. Only one worried voice frantically wondering when the other slurred voice would return could be heard. In the end, only one person's things occupied the apartment and only the lavender scent remained.

After Baekhyun had left, Namjoon did everything he could to cleanse himself and the apartment of anything that had to do with that combination. He switched colognes to one that smelled of strawberries and brought home air fresheners, though he hated them. He washed everything he could with a new type of detergent. All to remove that nostalgic scent from his home. Somehow it had worked, but deep down, he knew it wasn't gone forever. He knew that instances like the one in the bakery were bound to happen. That he'd find that combination in an unexpected place and be forced to look back upon those once happy times. He hadn't been expecting it, wasn't prepared either. He'd always been too scared to think about the possibility of it happening. But here he was, outside a bakery, sitting at a picnic table, thinking about the cheating boyfriend that he loved so much, too much maybe, all because of one little smell.

The bakery door opened, bringing Namjoon back to the cold reality around him. Jungkook and Yoongi walked out, bakery bag in hand. The two seated themselves across from Namjoon and set the bag on the table's surface.

"What'd you get?" Namjoon asked curiously.

"I got a sugar cookie," Jungkook said, pulling his little, uniced cookie out of the bag. 

"Brownie. No nuts, too. I was very surprised." 

Namjoon hummed.

"We got something for you, too, Hyung."

"Really?"

Jungkook nodded.

Yoongi pulled a small wax paper bag out of the larger plastic bag and set it on the table in front of Namjoon. 

The pink haired picked up the waxy bag and pulled it open slightly. Inside was a sugar cookie, much like the one Jungkook was sneakily taking bites of, except his was shaped differently than the youngers. He reached his hand into the bag and pulled out a heart shaped cookie with pink icing smeared all over the top. It took him a second to fully realize that he had just received a heart shaped cookie from his two friends. His two friends that seemed to care about him a lot. 

Perhaps what Baekhyun had said, about the whole him not being worth anything wasn't exactly true. Maybe that's what Baekhyun wanted this whole goddamn time. For him to think less of himself. It hurt to think that way, especially since the male still held a place in his heart, but a piece of him couldn't help but think it was true. Maybe Baekhyun's intention was to ruin love for him and make him run between relationships. Make him believe that he always needed a heart to hold and cradle. But now, maybe the only heart he needed to receive was the one in front of him. The heart in the form of the cookie. The symbol that he had received from his friends. A symbol that meant they cared for him far more than Baekhyun ever could.

"Thank you both," Namjoon said as he looked away from the cookie. 

"Yoongi Hyung bought it, so you should be thanking him," Jungkook piped over his cookie.

"No, no, it was both our idea-"

"Thank you, hyung," Namjoon cut him off, a smile on his face.

"Well- I-" Yoongi sighed, "You're welcome."

Namjoon slid the cookie back into it's bag and put it back into the main bag, "I'm going to save it for later," He reassured the others.

Yoongi shivered, "Gosh, it's cold. How have you been out here this long, Joon?"

"I didn't notice it," Namjoon responded.

Namjoon had never really noticed the cold after a certain point of driving in it. It was as if it suddenly vanished the second he seated himself in that car and for hours after. Maybe it had been the way that the cold treated it's own love interest that he connected with and suddenly made the whole feeling of it vanish. After all, the cold was something that only came around for a few months before the warmth, who had gone on vacation, comes back and stifles the prior temperature. It kills off all the beautiful things about the world, puts the prettiest of creatures to sleep, all for the sake of making the warmth come back. To make the warmth a hero. Namjoon liked to believe that the cold loved the warm as much as we do, except on a higher level. It would give up being respected and enjoyed just so the warmth could be loved like it should be. The cold makes the ultimate sacrifice just so the warmth can look good. To be the bigger person for the person you love deserves the ultimate admiration, which Namjoon gave.

"Let's go someplace else. I don't want hyung out in the cold anymore," Jungkook said, placing his half eaten cookie in the bag.

"Alright, well, I think I saw some clothing places up the street," Yoongi said.

"That'd be nice," Jungkook looked at Namjoon, "How does that sound to you, Hyung?"

"I'd like that," Namjoon said.

"Alright, to the store!" Yoongi said, pointing in the direction of the stores.

"To the store!" Jungkook mimicked before following along.

Namjoon grinned as he started behind the two. Maybe that cookie really was the only heart he needed.

Word Count: 1842

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Sorry for the late update, may have forgotten about this :/
On the plus side, I've been writing a bit more recently so I got a couple more chapters done. I'm looking forward to the next one I have to write, it's a reflection on Namjoon's feelings and I personally think it'll be great.
Song recommendation: Tipsy by Kim Donghan - it perfectly represents Baekhyun :)
Thank you all for reading and I'll see you next week!