"And you can leave the story over here and move this scene to the next issue. I feel like this part will be a better cliffhanger than the original plan," Hakyeon told her.

Nayoung nodded. "That makes sense," she agreed, looking up with a smile. "You're the best Hakyeon-ah! You've really helped me these past few days."

He grinned widely. "I should be getting paid for being your second editor."

She matched his grin. "Really, thanks so much," she said, gratefully. "Can we do this more?" she asked.

"Do what?" he asked.

"I want you to help me more often with my stories," she told him. "I feel like you can find small intricacies even my editor misses. So can you help me?" 

"Aw shucks," he grinned, rubbing the nape of his neck. "Do you really mean it?"

She nodded. "I do, Hakyeon. With your help, 'Last Breath' might actually rank as one of the bestsellers."

"I-I don't think I'm that good..."

"You don't give yourself the credit you deserve," she informed him. "You have an eye for detail, for picking out loopholes in the plot. Hell, if you weren't a barista, I wouldn't be surprised to see you in a publishing house."

"Thanks," he said.

"So what do you say?" she asked. "Will you help me?"

He nodded. "I think I'd like that."

They met up more and more often over the next few weeks, her bringing the scripts and him scrutinizing them thoroughly and pointing out problems. He had to admit, he was finding a certain joy in this, almost as much as baking.

But he'd still pick baking in a heartbeat.

Nevertheless, he was beginning to enjoy his time with Nayoung; he was learning a lot, about himself as well as her. As they continued meeting up, he got to know many details about her, like how she wasn't originally from Seoul, but moved with her parents, how she gave up her major halfway through the semester and decided to pursue writing, how she was picked up by the publishing house, and her desires of seeing her story on the bestsellers list. 

Like wise, he shared with her the reason he gravitated towards baking.

"I always had a strange interest towards baking," he explained to her one day over lunch. "It was strange, but when I found recipes online for easy treats and would bake them, my mother used to always compliment me."

"Does she still?" she asked.

Hakyeon cat his eyes down. "She-she passed away three years ago."

Her eyes grew wide. "Oh my god, what happened?"

He lifted his shoulders a bit. "Stomach cancer," he explained. "She had a bout with it when I was a kid, survived. I thought she was a hero. Then she began to show signs of it again, and it took its toll on her this time around."

"I-I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Don't be," he told her. "It was years ago. I guess, the universe just had plans for her," he sighed.

Silence descended over them like a cloud, the only sound being the chattering of the other patrons and Sanghyuk's friendly greetings in the background. Nayoung cleared in order to break the ice. "So...uh...what made you pursue baking as a career?"

"I guess...it was when my cousin urged me to do it," Hakyeon replied.

"Your cousin?" she asked.

Hakyeon nodded. "I remember we were both enrolled to study business," he recalled. "He was a natural, but I was struggling. I wanted to make my mother proud, but I was having trouble studying something I had no interest in."

"Ah, you're one of those one-mind types," she exclaimed.

He nodded. "My cousin...he saw that I was having trouble keeping up with the others, and he convinced me to change my major. I was worried my mother would be disappointed, but she was ecstatic."

"So then what happened?"

"I had so much fun I excelled. Then I graduated, bought this little area on rent with what little I had, and set up shop. I've been going strong since then."

"So I guess we all have your cousin to thank for giving the world your abilities," she chuckled.

He grinned. "Don't say that."

"Why not?" she asked, putting the spoon in . "Are you going to stop baking if I say that?"

No, but if you continue to say that, I may fall for you.

She called him out of the blue to a restaurant in the city.

"What's this about?" he asked when he saw her outside the place.

She pointed to a large building on the opposite side of the road. "That's where I work," she told him.

He looked up at the ginormous building. "You work there?"

She nodded. "And I have had absolutely nothing to eat all day, and I just got done with another manuscript that I wanted you to go over."

"Then why not just come over to the cafe?" he wondered.

"Because I've got a meeting with the artist to get to after lunch," she happily replied. "And I knew you were just lounging around."

"What?" he indignantly asked. "Why would I lounge around in my own cafe?"

"Because its slow hour and you have nothing to do but scold your part timers?" 

He threatened to fling whatever he had in his hand at her, which sadly was nothing but a pen. Why he was carrying around a pen he had absolutely no idea. 

She laughed, mockingly ducking. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry."

"You better be," Hakyeon mockingly huffed. "I'm going to have you buy me lunch for that."

"I was going to anyway."

"You were?" His eyes widened.

"Yeah, you can't afford it anyways."

This time he really did throw the pen at her, which she surprisingly caught.

He pursed his lips in admiration. "Nice catch."

"Yeah," she said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal "Let's go inside."

Goddamn, I think I really am in love.

"So are you still courting that beautiful young woman?" his mother asked.

Taekwoon turned around to see her standing there. She came over to help him with the dishes. "Mother, I told you I'd do them," he softly urged her.

"I don't mind, Woonie," she replied. "And you still haven't answered my question."

He looked down at the soap covered plates. "Y-yeah."

"She gave any notice?"

"Why are you so desperate to get me married?"

"Because I'm getting old and want grandchildren."

"Mother!"

The older woman laughed, making Taekwoon sigh. "I was just joking," she said, patting him on the arm. "I'm just...curious. It's unusual that you'd like anyone you could carve out time for."

"Is it that strange that I'm dating?" he asked.

"Yes," his mother promptly replied.

Taekwoon had a snarky response in mind when his phone went off, signalling a message. "Get that, I'll finish up," his mother told him, stepping forth and picking up another plate to wash.

Quickly rinsing off the plate he had in his hand, Taekwoon peeled off the latex gloves, laying them on the counter. He then walked over to the dinner table where his bag lay on a chair. Digging inside, he pulled out his phone, expecting to see a message from one of his teammates regarding the current project.

What he saw however, made his eyes go wide.

"Taekwoon?" his mother asked. "What happened?"

He looked up at her. "S-she said yes."