A couple of dishes are spread out on the table, including egg rolls, stir fried octopus, beansprout side dish, etc. Yet, Yookyung is still busy stirring her other dish, prawn fried rice. Why was she cooking so much? The only occasion when she’ll be cooking a feast is when Baekhyun will be visiting. She always felt in debt and thankful at the same time towards him, thus cooking is the only way for her to show her gratitude. All the ingredients, well, at least most of it, were bought by him, anyway.

Hoon, trying to distract himself from stealing the foods, sat in front of the TV where Pororo is playing. In case you haven’t notice, Pororo is Hoon’s favourite character. Thanks to uncle Baekhyun, he had collected tons of Pororo items, from cutleries to puzzles.

Slowly he wiggled his way to his mom in the kitchen and tugged on her apron. “What’s wrong, Hoon-ah?” she looked down to her son who was pouting.

“Umma, when will Baekhyun hyung come? I’m hungry,” he whined.

Yookyung smiled at the kid’s adorable action. She turned off the stove, transferred the fried rice to a serving dish and brought it to the table, with Hoon trailing behind her. Once she placed the fried rice safely on the table, she took off her apron and took her phone.

“Let’s call uncle Baekhyun and ask, shall we?” she sat on the dining chair and brought Hoon up to sit on her lap. She quickly dialed Baekhyun’s number while Hoon just curiously starred at the phone. Handphone was still a magical item for the little boy. “That thing is so wonderful, mom. You can call everyone, play games and even take pictures,” he once said to his mom.

After waiting for a while, Baekhyun finally picked up. Yookyung quickly gave the phone to Hoon. “Baekhyun hyung!” Hoon exclaimed, excitement in his voice, as usual.

“Hoon Hoon! Anything wrong?” Baekhyun asked curiously.

“Yes, I’m hungry…” he trailed. Yookyung giggled at her son’s witty answer. She could also hear Baekhyun laughing across the phone.

“Aww~ My baby is hungry? Is mom not giving you any food?” he asked again.

“She cooked a lot. But, mom said we should wait for hyung to come before we eat. Hurry come, hyung~” Yookyung smiled and brushed the top of her son’s head.

Baekhyun laughed before answering, “Okay, okay. Hyung is just going to buy a cake for dessert and I’ll be there as soon as possible. You like fresh cream cake, right?”

Hoon nodded his head to himself, “Yes! Buy the big one, hyung!”

“Got that. I’ll see you soon, Hoon-ie,” Baekhyun said.

“Ok, hyung. Bye~” Hoon said before hanging up and giving the phone back to his mom. He got off his mom’s lap and sat back in front of the TV.

Knock Knock~

“Hoon-ah, hyung is here,” Hoon quickly dashed towards the door and opened it. “Hyung!” he shouted, excited that he’s finally going to eat.

Baekhyun ruffled the boy’s head before giving him the big box, which the kid carefully took inside and gave to his mom. Baekhyun took off his jacket and hung it at the back of the door before taking of his shoes and went inside.

“Wow, you cooked a lot, Yookyung-ah,” he was amazed by the arrays of food on the table. It smells and looks very appetizing that his stomach grumbled a little.

“Let’s eat!” Hoon, who was ready on his place, excitedly clapped his hands. Both adults laughed at the kid’s excitement and quickly washed their hands before sitting on their places and began their meals. Small chats and laughter accompanied their lunchtime.

After done with their meals, Yookyung brew some tea for Baekhyun and herself and pour some apple juice for Hoon to go with their cakes. They sat on the floor with cakes, tea and apple juice, for Hoon, in front of them. By now, Pororo was done and ‘Bread Clouds’ (a famous Korean cartoon) is playing on the TV. Hoon was too focused on both his cake and the TV that he didn’t even bother listening to the adults’ conversation.

“What if I tell you that Hoon has a chance to go to school?” Baekhyun suddenly started.

Yookyung sighed before putting her cup down, “For the last time, I will never allow you to pay for Hoon’s education. You helped us more than enough. Almost everything in this house is given by you,” she said.

“No, no. I know you wouldn’t. My friend told me that some big company is going to award scholarships for any level of educations for those who are eligible. There will be no test whatsoever. All you need to do…” he took out something from his back pocket before giving it to Yookyung, “… is just fill out that form and send it to the address at the bottom. They’ll get back to you if you’re eligible,” he explained.

Yookyung couldn’t hide her excitement. Finally, her baby will have a chance to go to school. Her eyes started to get teary while the form in her hand shook with her body. She slowly faced Baekhyun and hugged him. He, in turn, rubbed her back slowly. He understood her feelings right now. He had always wanted Hoon to go to school, too. But, she wouldn’t allow him to pay for it.

“Thank you, oppa. Really. Without you, I don’t even know what both of us might have become today,” she whispered, sincerity clouded every single word of it.

“It’s ok, I’m more than willing to do so,” Baekhyun whispered back.

“Yes, Mr. Jung. You don’t have to worry. We, SS Group promise to supply you bakery only with the finest ingredients. Don’t worry, sir. Yes. Thank you for trusting us,” Joonmyeon smiled before hanging up the phone and taking a deep breath. He just succeeded in sealing a contract with Paris Baguette, one of the top bakery franchises in South Korea. Happiness is an understatement to what he is feeling right now.

Knock Knock~

He looked at the door, “come in,” he ordered.

Jongdae, his trusty assistant, came in. “Sir, we have announced the scholarship event to the public. Short listed applications will be ready for you to go through in 5 months,” he said.

The boss nodded to himself, smiling in content. “That’s good. Nice job, Jongdae-ah. I knew I can always depend on you,” he praised.

The latter just nodded and mouthed the word thank you before exiting the room.

Joonmyeon, turned his chair and faced the window behind him, starring and the lovely city landscape… wondering if the unfortunate employee that he slept with last time is living well…

Next Chapter Preview:

"This Kim Joonhoon... His dad has the same name as me and his mom's name sounds very familiar," Joonmyeon whispered to himself. His forehead crumpled, he was trying to to recall the name.

Lee Yookyung...

Lee Yookyung...

His eyes bulged, "Jongdae!" he shouted. 

"Yes, sir?" Jongdae burst into the office. 

"Bring me all our former employees' information, quick!"