I

 

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Kyungsoo.

The 20 year-old was a big fan of Nutella and couldn’t go a day without at least 3 spoonfuls of the yummy treat. (Call it unhealthy, but really, he can’t eat as much of it when he gets old and becomes prone to every possible sickness.) Nutella had been the love of his life in all of his existence, and it even caused his recent break up with his first boyfriend. It had been a terrible 2 weeks since then, but of course, Nutella was with Kyungsoo through all the pain.

Unfortunately, the boy had finished his last jar of Nutella (-clean too) and needed to get more. Thus he put on his sneakers, tied on his headband which said “Nutella 4 lifeu ♥”, grabbed his wallet and headed for the mall.

However, as he was making his journey, Kyungsoo spotted a strange store he had never seen before.

It was colored purple, and decorated with hanging golden stars and crescent moons. The roof was in a shimmering shade of red, and had a chimney spouting out pink puffs of smoke. The door was unusually shaped like a circle, while the shop windows were shaped like triangles. It was such a weird place, and really, it was in the middle of a vacant lot Kyungsoo was sure wasn’t supposed to be there. He was pretty certain that Mr. Woo’s quaint bakery was stationed there. He would know, because he had been buying bags of bread from Mr. Woo ever since he was a kid (to put his Nutella on, of course). There was no way the bakery would have just moved without him knowing.

Kyungsoo’s instincts told him to just pass by the strange shop and continue to the mall. He made up his mind to do just that, however he spotted a Nutella jar behind the store window with his superb Nutella-seeking skills. His mouth instantly salivated at the thought of getting to his precious sweet sooner, and against better judgment, trudged towards the shop and entered.

 

His jaw dropped in awe at the store’s interior. The walls were in a luminous shade of silver at the top, then a dark blue in the middle, splitting into rainbow at the bottom. The bright chandelier above had numerous little clocks hanging from it, tick-tocking different times of the day. The floor was carpeted with fine fur, and the table tops of goods dressed in lavender lace table cloths covered in tiny pearls. There were 4 portraits on the walls, one more bizarre than the other. There was a portrait of a unicorn having dinner with a panda, and another of a winter wonderland surrounded by fire. There was also one with a dragon sleeping inside a cave made of water, and lastly, one where lightning and hurricanes came out of a teapot. And perhaps the strangest thing of them all was despite such eccentric décor, all of the items being sold in this shop were ordinary things you’d find in a store.

Nope. There is no way he’s falling for that.

Kyungsoo gulped and took a step back, forgetting about the Nutella he so loved. He was about to turn around and high-tail it out of there, when he heard voices. Suddenly two people came out of a door from the wall (where did that come from?), and made their way to the store counter without noticing Kyungsoo yet.

 

“Baekhyun, for goodness’ sake, I don’t need to hear about how you and Chanyeol get it on.”

“Oh please Luhan hyung, I know you want to on the inside~ It’ll help spark some fire into your night time activities.”

“No thanks, I’m not interested in hearing the bed adventures of a light fairy and a half-phoenix.”

“Well, beats the severe lack of adventures between a dimension guardian and Jack Frost.”

“Hey! My baby Xiumin just doesn’t have a lot of stamina, okay? I mean he’s busy bringing winter to every portion of the world, which probably explains why his little Xiumun takes time to heat up, but cools down too fast. It’s not a severe lack, but rather healthy moderation. ”

 

The two men stopped their bickering when they faced front, and noticed the small figure with wide eyes frozen in place, staring at them. And honestly, Kyungsoo didn’t mean to stare, but those guys were really pretty. One of them had honey-blond hair and the face of a doll. The other had coffee-brown hair and delicate puppy features. They were both wearing navy blue suits with crystals adorning the shoulders until the sleeves.

Acknowledging his presence, they both smiled at him sweetly in their ethereal beauty.

Kyungsoo just blushed a spectrum of reds and pinks.

 

“Aww, isn’t he such a cute munchkin?” The blonde one chuckled. “Hello there, sweetie. My name is Luhan, and this one beside me is Baekhyun.”

“We’re supposing you came here for Nutella?” Baekhyun continued kindly.

“H-h-how did you know?” Kyungsoo’s eyes grew wider than their already large size. Can they read my mind?

 

The two men giggled and shook their heads.

“Oh darling, it’s written all over your headband,” Baekhyun pointed to Kyungsoo’s forehead.

The male completely forgot he was wearing his Nutella 4 lifeu  ♥ headband.

Kyungsoo face palmed in total embarrassment, looking dumb in front of such good-looking guys.

 

“Y-yeah, hehe... I forgot I was wearing it. I never go Nutella shopping without it,” he shyly replies.

“Ah, in that case, let’s not waste time,” Luhan smiled. “Good for you we restocked. So, would that be one Nutella?” He punches digits into the cash register.

“Yes please. Preferably the biggest jar of Nutella you have,” Kyungsoo excitedly bounded near the counter with twinkles in his eyes, forgetting his previous fear.

Baekhyun then disappeared under the counter, and resurfaced moments later with the biggest Nutella jar Kyungsoo had ever seen. It carried a whooping 3 liters of Nutella, Kyungsoo didn’t even know such a size existed in all his life of Nutella shopping.

 

“W-wow!” The wide eyed boy gaped. “That’s quite big! It’s the first time I’ve seen such a size.”

“Well dear, we get our stuff imported.” Baekhyun winked. “The best thing about this is that even though it’s big, it’s not heavy at all.”

“R-really?”

 

Before buying the Nutella, Kyungsoo had the opportunity to check the content and try carrying the jar. True to Baekhyun’s claim, the jar was definitely packed with its stated amount of Nutella, and it wasn’t heavy to carry at all.

After handing over the payment, Luhan then placed the treat in a paper bag and handed it over to Kyungsoo. The boy thanked Luhan and Baekhyun profusely, bowing and smiling widely, and then left the store on his merry way.

 

“Well, wasn’t he just a cup of sugar?” Luhan giggled. “People like him are what makes this job worthwhile.”

“Yeah, he’s an adorable little fellow.” Baekhyun nodded. “But seeing him live his life for Nutella... it really is quite sad. I hope he gets a love life instead. A nice caring boo who will show him life beyond hazelnut-cocoa spread.”

“Yeah... Who’s turn is it this time? Sehun or Jongdae?”

“I think it’s Sehun’s turn. Jongdae came back yesterday after he granted wishes for that kid in China, the one who bought legos in our store a week ago.”

“Jongdae’s back after just a week? Wow that was fast.”

“Yeah, apparently the kid wasted his wishes real quick on a truckload of candy bars, a pet snail, and the ability to make arm farts.”

Luhan had cracked up on the last one. “Hahaha, such a waste indeed. Gosh... the things we do for these humans. Oh well, so we’re done with South Korea. What country is next on the roster?”

“Next up, India.”

“The land of spicy curry! Let’s go!”

 

Kyungsoo had only gotten a few steps away from the weird store, when he thought he should give Luhan and Baekhyun tips. They were both so kind and friendly, and maybe they could exchange numbers and be friends as well.

But when Kyungsoo looked back, the shop was gone.

There in its place, was Mr. Woo’s quaint little bakery. Like nothing else had ever been there in the first place.

Kyungsoo felt goose bumps rise over his skin as a chill ran down his spine. He suddenly felt very creeped out at the moment. Looking at the paper bag in hand, he wondered if he should still keep his Nutella. It came from that strange shop after all... one that suddenly disappeared out of nowhere, as if being in it wasn’t a weird experience all by itself.

 

Foregoing better judgment yet again, Kyungsoo simply shook his head and continued home.

Nutella has never failed me before. No matter what kind of Nutella it is or where it came from, all Nutella are good for sure!

 

 

 

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Author's Note:

Halloooooooo~