Baekhyun yawns widely as he makes the morning trudge to his bakery. It’s still dark out, and all he wants is to be in his bed, snuggled in the heat of his warm blankets fast asleep. Instead, he is making his way into work at an ungodly hour while Jongdae remains dreamland, not having to be at the bakery until the shop opens four hours from now.

He struggles with his keys as he tries to open the door, still half asleep. He had been doing the same routine for months now, yet he still can not get used to waking up so early every day. In a zombie-like trance, he closes and locks the door behind him before walking into the kitchen and switching on the lights. ‘Time to get to work, Byun Baekhyun!’ He mentally cheers himself on as he stretches his arms above his head, shaking the sleepiness away. ‘Fighting!’ With a quick clap of his hands, he gets to work to prepare for the day’s business.

Baekhyun stretches loudly after he puts the finishing touches on the day’s special – black forest cake. He smiles, content with his creation, before putting it into the display window along with the other cakes, breads, and pastries he had previously prepared. Stretching one last time, he glances at the clock on the wall. 8:45am. He walks out into the main shop, which is now flooded with sunlight, and unlocks the door just as Jongdae arrives with half-lidded eyes and cup of steaming coffee in each hand.

“Good morning,” Baekhyun greets, taking the cup the his still-sleepy friend hands to him. Jongdae grunts in reply as he collapses onto one of the chairs nearby. 

“Baek, why do we have to open so early? Can’t we open a little later? Like say…noon?” the raven-haired man grumbles as he sips his coffee. “Ah! Hot!” he yells not a second later.

Baekhyun chuckles, shaking his head at his friend. “Be happy that I don’t make you come in when I do to help me.”

“UGH. I think I would die!” Jongdae groans, blowing on his hot drink before cautiously taking another sip. 

“Don’t be so overdramatic,” Baekhyun says as he sits on the chair across from his friend.

“But that’s why you love me, Baekhyunnie!” Jongdae replies, reaching over to pinch the brunet’s cheek. “Honestly though, don’t you think it’s time we hire another baker? I mean, I know you like baking, and opening this shop was your dream, but you’re going to run yourself ragged if you keep working like this with no days off.”

Baekhyun sighs. This isn’t the first time his friend had brought up the subject of hiring someone else to help. “You know we can’t right now, Jongdae. We haven’t been open that long, and I don’t think I could afford to hire someone else right now… I’m not even paying you nearly enough for all of the help you’ve been giving me…”

Jongdae frowns at his friend’s response, but quickly smiles and punches Baekhyun lightly on the shoulder. “Ehh, you think I care about the money? What’s money between friends, right?”

“Thanks, Jongdae,” Baekhyun smiles. “You’re a good friend.”

The bell rings as the door opens. Baekhyun turns towards their first customer of the day, placing a big grin on his face. “Hello! Welcome to Byun’s Bakery!”

Chanyeol groans as he sits down on the couch with a freshly bathed Sehun next to him. It’s a Friday evening, and he had just spent a good part of the last hour wrestling his youngest into the bathtub. He looks down at his son when he hears a sniffle coming from the four-year-old boy.

“Sehun? What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asks, panic beginning to rise as he pulls the boy into his lap.

“Daddy, where is Nini hyung?” Sehun asks, lips trembling. “Hunnie miss hyung…”

Chanyeol sighs in relief before pulling Sehun into a hug. “Jongin will be home soon, Sehun. He’s still at his playdate with Taemin, but he will come home soon, alright?” Sehun nods and put his thumb into his mouth, snuggling up to Chanyeol. A knock at the door pulls the toddler’s attention away from his father. Sehun sits straight up in Chanyeol’s lap, mouth agape with thump still partially in his mouth, staring at the closed door. “That must be your hyung now,” Chanyeol said, getting up from the couch with Sehun in his arms. He walks over to the door and opens it, and is greeted with the smiling faces of his two good friends, Jonghyun and Kibum – or Key, as he likes to be called. Sehun starts wriggling in his arms, trying to get down to see Jongin, who was standing behind Key, giggling into his hands from something his friend had said. Chanyeol puts the small boy down before he falls, and Sehun immediately runs to Jongin, enveloping the other boy in a tight hug. “Hi!” Chanyeol greets, turning his attention to the two adults standing at the door. “Come in.” He moves aside as Key usheres the children into the house, followed by his husband. 

“Sehunnie, let me go!” Jongin whines, trying to pry Sehun’s small arms off of his body. Jonghyun and Key’s son stands by and laughs at his friend’s failed attempt. After a while, Taemin seems to pity his friend and helps to untangle Sehun from his body. However, both boys don’t expect the youngest boy to start crying, and watch as the tears start to fall down his cheeks anxiously. “Aww, Sehunnie, don’t cry!” Jongin coos, rushing to pull his younger brother into a hug. “Hyung is sorry. Don’t cry, Sehunnie.”

Sehun wriggles out of his brother’s hug and runs to his Chanyeol, who scoops the toddler up and rubs his back. “It’s okay, Sehunnie. It’s okay…” Chanyeol whispers into the boy’s ear. Sehun’s crying quiets down, and Chanyeol looks down at Jongin, who is anxiously standing beside him looking up at his crying brother. He nods at the boy, letting him know that everything is going to be fine. Jongin breathes a sigh of relief before grabbing Taemin’s hand and going into the living room to play. Chanyeol looks at the two parents who give him a sympathetic look. “Sorry,” he whispers. “He’s a bit emotional today.”

Jonghyun smiles and Key nods at him in understanding. “Here, let me take him to his room,” Key offeres, taking the sniffling boy from Chanyeol’s arms.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol says, handing over his son to Key, who soothingly rubs the boy’s back and whispers in his ear softly as they make their way into the boys’ room. “And thanks for picking Jongin up today,” Chanyeol says to Jonghyun.

“It’s no problem. Plus, Taemin really wanted to hang out with Jongin today.”

Chanyeol nods. “He behaved?”

“As always,” Jonghyun replies, his smile growing when he sees Key reenter the room.

“He’s asleep,” Key says as he snakes his arm around Jonghyun’s waist. 

Chanyeol smiles gratefully to the pair. “So, what did you guys do today?”

“The boys played at the playground for a bit,” Key responds, moving over the chairs at the dining room table to sit next to Jonghyun. “Then we went to that new bakery…what was it called?”

“Byun’s Bakery,” Jonghyun offers, grabbing onto Key’s hands.

“Right! Jongin insisted that we go there, actually. He said he wanted to have Uncle Bacon’s cake…”

“Who exactly is this Uncle Bacon, anyway?” Jonghyun asks, slightly amused. “His baking skills could rival my Kibummie’s,” he says, snuggling into his husband’s neck.

“That tickles!” Key laughs, playfully pushing Jonghyun away.

Chanyeol furrows his brows, trying to remember if he knows anyone by the name of Bacon. “OH!” he finally exclaims, clapping his hands together. “Baekhyun! He’s the owner of the bakery,” Chanyeol explains, a smile creeping onto his face without his knowledge. 

The married couple exchange a knowing look before turning back to Chanyeol. “Just the owner of the bakery?” Key asks, brows raised. 

Chanyeol nods, confused. “We stopped there…was it last month? No, a couple months ago, I think,” Chanyeol says, choosing to ignore Key’s pointed look. “I’m surprised Jongin remembers, to be honest. I completely forgot…”

“Well, he sure left quite the impression on your son,” Jonghyun says.

“Or his cake did,” Chanyeol replies. “You know I’m not the greatest cook. The boys were probably just happy to eat something that wasn’t stir-fried sausages for a change.” His comment makes both adults burst into laughter. 

“Chanyeol, you should bring the boys over to our place mo