The cafe is a lot quieter at this hour. The customers are busy with their drinks and food and there aren't any new customers. The employees are occupied with their respective tasks, but they're taking it easy themselves.

At such times, Somin relaxes behind the counter and checks her social media feed. During that time, a customer enters. The others have their own work, so Somin puts her phone away to greet the customer.

The man is rather imposing that Somin is slightly taken aback. He had this hardened, 'stay five feet away from me' aura that is almost frightening. Yet his polite smile shows he can be approachable if he wants to.

"Hi..." the man gives her a crumpled piece of paper. “I'm looking for this but I have no clue what it is. And I was told to specifically come here because there's always a ‘nice sugar aroma’ from here."

"Oh...okay(?)" If Somin is weirded out she doesn't say. She takes the paper and unravels it to read its contents. "Umm... we don't have strawberry lemon shortcake. But we do have strawberry shortcake. And there's also lemon bars and lemon tarts."

"Well, I was told I have to get something from here and nowhere else. So I'll take one of all three." Somin packs the three pastries and after the man pays for it and leaves, she's hoping that she doesn't have to meet the scary weirdo again. But she also wants to see the interesting handsome man again.

~~~

Somin's prayer of a dilemma is answered two days later. The guy is back, but he's not in a dark suit this time. He's looking a little less overwhelming in a casual shirt and jeans but still scary.

"Were you the one who took my order last time?..." he looks at her name tag, "Somin-ssi."

"Yes. The strawberry and lemon pastry combo right?"

"Yup. Your recommendations were a big hit. This time I've been told to have the very smart girl from last time recommend a pastry." Somin is afraid this man is flirting with her till he says the next sentence. "What do you recommend for a pregnant woman with a sweet tooth?"

Oh, that makes sense now. "So, pregnancy cravings?"

"Big time. We pass by this place on the way to the lamaze classes and it's tempting my wife."

Somin goes to the display of pastries with the man following on the other side. "Our bestseller is the tiramisu. But I'm not sure about the coffee for a pregnant woman. Instead, I'd recommend the mini trifles or a selection of petit fours."

"I don't really know. So I'll take both." Somin once again packs the desserts and sends off the man. Although this time she's not dreading another visit from him.

 ~~~

A week later, Somin is slacking off on her phone instead of cleaning the tables. She hears the bell of an incoming customer but doesn't budge. Her colleague can handle it.

"I need a cheesecake." Oh, that husky voice.

Somin looks at the counter and indeed that scary man with a pregnant wife is back. She must have been staring too obviously because he turns and looks at her. His senses appear to be very sharp.

"Oh Somin-ssi, I need your help again. It's a bigger list this time." The man gives her the list and both Somin and her colleague get his order.

"It says cheesecake here. Does your wife want a specific flavour?"

"There are flavours?" In response, Somin points at five different cheesecakes in the display case. "Wow… I’m not much of a sweet tooth, so I don’t much about sweets beyond chocolate. My wife likes strawberry. So can't go wrong with that."

Somin gets a slice of strawberry cheesecake for him. "If it's not too inconvenient, you should bring your wife along next time to pick whatever she wants." The man looks at her blankly and for a moment Somin wonders if she said something wrong. But the man just breaks into a sheepish chuckle.

"She doesn't eat any of this." He looks away in embarrassment and it's uncharacteristically cute. "She only likes to smell them. Our friends eat it later."

Somin knows it's rude to stare owlishly at a customer but she can't help it. Is pregnancy really that weird? Well, who is she to judge a pregnant woman. Somin can only pack his order to go and save him further embarrassment.

~~~

Today her Instagram feed is a mess. Apparently it's been a year since some idol got married to some career military man.

Somin is nowhere up to date with the entertainment world between university and her job. She uses social media only to keep in touch with friends. A couple of her friends are fans of some idol named Youngwoong and are blasting news about her wedding anniversary.

From what she gathers, this Youngwoong has been off the radar for a while. There are all sorts of theories about her disappearance because of it. Most have to do with an incident at a fanmeet a few weeks before she went radio silent.

Somin checks a video her friend just posted about said fanmeet her friend attended. She recorded that moment from a distance. But it's hazy though she can make out the back of a man in a large furry jacket over his shoulders. His movements are barely visible but the woman on the other side of the table, this Youngwoong Somin assumes, is sobbing. She suddenly disappears under the table and the video shakes. When it's back to focusing on the stage again it's empty. And that's where it ends.

Well that's unsatisfying. It's like an open-ended movie and she doesn't like an open-ended movie.

She looks through the comments for more information but there's more alien language than she can understand. So she looks at other videos through tags.

All she can gather is the idol and that man ducked under the table. The ones who took the videos didn't get a proper look at the mystery guy but the few who did don't recognize the battered face.

The interesting incident has Somin enraptured. She now wants every detail about it. She's about to look up articles on it when a hard smack lands on her crown.

"Yah!" Somin winces at her manager’s voice. "Why are you nose deep in your phone instead of working?" Somin can only laugh sheepishly. The older woman points to the front lf the shop. "Your regular customer is here and he needs your help."

"Oh! Broody guy with the preggy wife?"

"Don't say that in front of him." The woman nudges Somin to the front where that customer is waiting.

"Hello!" Somin greets cheerfully. "It's been a while."

The man agrees, "We were in a very fragrant durian phase for a few days. Anyway, what was that cheesecake thing you gave last time?"

Somin points at the three-fourths of a strawberry cheesecake in the display. "This one?"

"Yeah. It was a big hit. My wife didn't stop at just sniffing it. She wants to eat it again."

"That's nice. Let me just pack it for you." Somin picks up a slice of cheesecake but the customer stops her. "Umm... we need a whole cake this time. One slice won't cut it."

Somin is slightly surprised but she understands. She excuses herself and goes to the kitchen. A minute later she's back with a whole cheesecake. The decoration of strawberries slightly different on this one. "This'll do?"

"Wait!" He asks for the cake to be placed on the countertop and runs to the nearest table. Somin gasps in horror when he returns with the jar of chilli flakes. "I know. But the wife had a very specific demand." He says and proceeds to sprinkle chilli flakes all over the cheesecake. When half the jar is emptied on to it the man lets out a satisfied sound. "All done. Please make it to go."

Somin takes the cake almost fearfully and puts it in a box. By the time she's handing him the box her colleague handles the payment.

After he's gone with the chilli- covered cheesecake Somin learns that he gave extra cash and didn't take