Fishing out a bill from his wallet, Baekhyun handed it out to the driver, telling him to keep the change after. Shutting the door of the vehicle behind him, he marched towards the glass doors of the coffee shop quickly, feeling himself shivering a little from the sudden loss of warmth from the cab’s heater. But as soon as he entered, he caught himself sighing quietly, contented with how the warmth of the shop welcomed and enveloped around him the moment he got inside.

The shop was still empty, except from the staff who were walking around, checking and cleaning things on the last minute before people could even barge in soon. Exploring his eyes through the white walls, dark ceiling, and the wooden style floor, and furnitures, though years have passed since they started, Baekhyun still felt proud of himself—themselves for creating such place; a place which people admired to stay in, especially now that winter has arrived, people are opting for coffee shops instead of other places to spend their time, preferring the idea of having a cup of coffee to savor the warmth from their mugs with both of their hands against the relatively cold weather that the season has brought.

Dragging his feet away from his stance, he started removing his coat, politely giving the staff who acknowledged his presence and greeted him, a nod and a small smile, before walking his way to the room behind for the employees.

“Oh—hi Baekhyun! Good morning!” Minseok, the resident barista of the shop greeted, obviously startled by the sudden presence again of their boss.

“Not busy with the other branches?” He asked, giving the man a smile as he fixed his uniform.

Baekhyun greeted the employee a good morning, placing his coat on the empty extra locker which apparently became his already. At least whenever he is around. “No, not really. All branches are doing good, especially now that it’s winter.”

Minseok was older than him but only by a few years and he’d much prefer that he addresses him without formalities. They also happen to be in the same circle of friends and it was uncomfortable for him to hear his hyung address him as sir. It does not only apply to Minseok. In fact, his staff was very well-informed that he doesn’t want to be called sir. But of course, there are a few people who don’t always follow. Three persons to be exact. Two of them were younger than him and it was quite understandable. And he really appreciated that they would address him as their older brother whenever their shift ended or when they were out of the shop. As for the other person… Baekhyun guessed, they were just that…

...unfamiliar?

No.

Awkward?

Maybe.

The two exchanged no more words after and proceeded on putting on their uniforms respectively. Baekhyun, despite being the co-owner of the shop, worked together with the staff in all of their branches. Of course, given the fact that he was the owner, he doesn’t necessarily need to work further than behind the scene, just like how his co-owner, Junmyeon does. But what people doesn’t know—or at least that’s what he thought—is that the young owner, has other reasons for doing it.        

Snow was softly pouring outdoors again. Everything was nearly white outside and the windows were slightly beginning to fog with the warmth indoors. The ringing of bells from the door signaled their first customer of the day. A man dressed in black from his beanie and down to his shoes entered the shop. Baekhyun was busy wiping a few glasses on the side and so Minseok came to greet him when the man came up to the counter to get his order.

Not five minutes later, he turned his gaze to the door when he heard its melodious ring once more and his lips curled upwards when he saw her. She stomped her feet a little on the welcome mat to get rid of the snow on her shoes. Baekhyun saw the way she removed her mittens and rubbed her hands for warmth. He didn’t notice he was staring until she lifted her head up to meet his gaze.

Oh . His mind screamed. As much as he wanted to look away for being caught, he simply gave her a small nod and a smile, to which she returned back with a polite greeting.

“I apologize for being late, sir. The bus I rode was slow because of the snowmobile ahead of us.” he heard her say. He finished wiping the glasses and at the same time, Minseok was done with the Americano he made for their customer.

“Don’t worry Taeyeon, you’re not that late. How about you check in first and get ready while I serve this to our customer.” He sent her a nod before she ran behind the counter and into the kitchen.

Doing as he said, he quickly attended to the customer, trying so hard to push his lingering thoughts now that he is in the same place with Taeyeon. He felt like all of his senses were with how he suddenly became conscious of everything and himself. More so, this consciousness in him jumped a few steps higher when she joined them behind the counter to finally get on work.

Taeyeon was the shop’s baker. She was in charge of the shop’s delicious treats, varying from cookies with its different kinds, to brownies, and many more than one could think of. Her treats are loved by many, and it was one of the many reasons why people kept on coming back to the shop.

Out of all the employees, Taeyeon was the last one to join the crew. Given that, it explains why Taeyeon and Baekhyun were quite awkward and timid around each other, especially with how Baekhyun initially developed feelings for the woman in a short span of time.

Taeyeon had a warm and loving personality and Baekhyun was certain that those were the reasons why he found himself falling for the woman. He was thankful for those traits as well as it counted as one of the many reasons why people opted to come back and visit their shop once more. He found it endearing how the customers seemed to be attracted to Taeyeon given her personality; not to mention that it was also what brought him to be attracted to the woman.

He remembered the first time they met, when she was applying to be one of the bakers in the shop. Baekhyun found it impossible to keep his eyes away from her with how beautiful she looked. He thought it was a mere attraction that he had for the lady, but as time ticked and days passed with him working alongside with her, he figured out it was way more than that. He could feel himself smiling at the little things she does, even when she smiles or laughs. Heck even when she simply talks or speaks. He could feel his insides twisting, as if a flock of flapping geese found their new home on his stomach. More often, he found himself stealing glances at her whenever he could, and eventually, he knew he was falling madly for the angel-like lady.      

It was not long ago when Baekhyun found some confidence in him to make small gestures of affection towards her. He wanted her to know, that someone was looking out for her and cared for her deeply. Small gestures of affection, like opening the door for her on some days when they arrive at the same time, reaching for the flour when Haechan and Wendy decided to prank her by putting all her ingredients on topmost shelf of the cupboard, and pretending that he had to do work until midnight on days when she had to wait for her brother to pick her up. He doesn’t do it regularly because he wanted it to look casual. It wasn’t for everyone to know and he hoped with all his might that she was getting all those signals correctly. That he likes her.

But after months of being subtle about it he was getting no response. He wanted to make it obvious this time and he already decided that he would be confessing to her this holiday season. Baekhyun was planning to work full-time on the branch for the whole season so he could time it right. His feelings were kept hidden for quite some time and he figured that it was about time that he gathered all his guts to finally let her know. Sure, seeing and working with her on the shop is fun, but he wanted to at least try and see if things would change for the good between the. If not, then at least he couldn’t say that he was a coward for doing nothing.

“The man wants some donuts, do we have any fresh ones?” Baekhyun inquired, making sure he was from a safe distance. It’s not like she would cause him harm or vice versa, but he could feel his insides tingle and his hands were getting clammy. This is not good.

She was carefully removing the lone slice of red velvet from the display case, replacing it with the round blueberry cake she made before closing last night.

“I have yet to make the donuts today, sir. How about we offer him some of our muffins instead? These were made last night.” Taeyeon asked, taking a small peek at their customer who was seated at the far end of the cafe next to the potted plant by the foggy windows. Baekhyun saw how her eyes darted from the display case to the man without moving her head and found it extremely adorable. Taking her suggestion, he took a huge muffin for their customer to enjoy with his cup of coffee.

He didn’t bother going back to the counter since there was not much to do around given the time and circumstance. And so, he found himself seated in one of the tables near the counter where one could have a clear view of the kitchen. Well at least when the door was open. He even had a few props for himself. On the table in front of him were a few papers and a pen. Not even important documents or receipts, just some papers he found in one of the magazine racks.

Baekhyun was drawing doodles on it while stealing glances to the kitchen. From where he was seated, he could see the donuts being put in the oven by Wendy and Taeyeon mixing some batter for the first batch of cookies this morning. From the distance, he could see how her hair was tied loosely in a bun, her bangs framing her face. As if she was reading his thoughts, she paused with her work and placed down the mixer and bowl down on the table. She walked by the door and removed her hair tie, letting her long light brown hair fall on her shoulders. She slightly combed her hair with her fingers before pulling it up into a better ponytail. His heart skipped a beat when she fixed her fringes and checked her reflection on the glass window of the kitchen’s door.

She disappeared from his view just as the entrance doors rang its melodious bell once more, signaling the arrival of customers in search of warmth and caffeine. He saw her back as she faced the sink to wash her hands again. Whenever he would observe her from afar, he couldn’t help but adore her even more. He would notice the slight dance she makes whenever she finishes molding the cookies on the trays and moves them to the oven. He would notice the way she wrinkles her nose and furrows her brows in concentration whenever she puts the icing and decorates the cakes. But as much as he wanted to keep watching her while she works in the kitchen, he had to help Minseok on the counter as more people found their way in their humble coffee shop.

Standing up from his seat, he collected the papers that he got as his props and walked back to the counter to attend to the customers who were in queue in front of the counter to get their hot drinks for the morning. Together with Minseok, they made mugs after mugs of different types of coffee for their customers. It was morning, and it was understandable why there were a lot of people. Most of them would be dropping by to get their drinks on their way to their respective works, and others would just really want to have a good coffee to start their day.

Both Baekhyun and Minseok are occupied completing and finishing the pending orders of coffees. He was about to call in someone from the kitchen to take charge of the counter for a moment, when Taeyeon voluntarily and willingly stepped out and went to the counter by herself without any orders and instructions given.

One more thing which drew him to develop feelings for her, she was the kind of person who was diligent and responsible. He found her as a very reliable person to have around work. Taeyeon doesn't have to be told or ordered what to do because she knows what she has to do and what she can contribute. She had also never been late and absent without proper and acceptable reasons. With those traits alone, who wouldn’t develop admiration and respect towards a very admirable lady? Right from the beginning, she picked up Baekhyun’s interest already with her simple and selfless self.

As he busied himself completing several orders of coffee, he remained silent, and managed to listen to how Taeyeon converses with their customers, who was just a foot away behind him on the counter.

“Good morning! What would you like to have this morning?” Through her cheerful voice, Baekhyun could picture her smiling widely at the customer, just like how she had always been whenever she takes charge of the counter from time to time.

“Good morning too! I would like to have a cup of Americano, two shots, and two loaves of banana bread please.” The customer, which seemed like an old lady, basing from her voice answered.

“Two shots? Wow halmeoni, I guess you like your coffee strong, huh?” Taeyeon commented, and he could feel her grinning at the same time.

The customer then emitted a laugh. “That’s what happens when you spent nearly your entire life having coffee as your water.”

Taeyeon laughed together with the old lady after, her laughter sounding like some kind of music as it played through his ears.“I’ll quickly have your orders ready and serve it to you in awhile.”

He heard the old lady saying a cheerful thank you to Taeyeon before she attended to the next customers with the same amount of enthusiasm she gave to the old lady.

Baekhyun managed to quickly finish the orders that he can so he could help Taeyeon in serving the orders to the customers. When he did, he quickly turned away from the coffee machine and looked through the small screen where the orders were placed accordingly.

Turning around, he saw that the trays were lined up already, and Taeyeon was placing the orders, one by one. He started to walk towards the pile of trays to serve the complete ones to the customers already when Taeyeon accidentally bumped into him after placing a plate of sliced New York cheesecake on one of the trays.

“Oh my—” she yelped in surprise, and Baekhyun was quick to hold her by her waist with one hand, and the other on her arm to keep her from going out of balance; with Taeyeon tightly holding onto his toned arms, afraid of falling on the floor due to her clumsiness.

“Woah there.” He said and steadied Taeyeon who was still struggling on her stance. “Be careful.” He uttered, finally looking down at her, who was also looking down at her feet on the ground at the moment.

He kept his gaze fixated on her as she slowly looked up to him, probably realizing what had just happened. He held her gaze on him, as she stared at him in utter shock. Baekhyun could feel his stomach getting ripped and all—at least that’s how he felt it—with how close they were at the moment. They were not that close like how scenes like this are portrayed in cliché dramas and movies, there was still a gap between them; but it was the closest they’ve been with each other ever since they got to work together.

It was as if everything around them stopped for a second as they continued to stare at each other. It’s as if Baekhyun was dreaming, but he couldn’t be wrong in seeing Taeyeon’s cheeks getting a shade redder than her usual tone as they stayed in that rather close proximity together.

If it wasn’t for the melodious bell ringing, indicating that a new customer has found their way to their shop once again, none of them would snap into reality. The two quickly pulled away from each other and straightened the invisible creases on their aprons and uniforms after, their eyes averting away from each other.

Scanning the customers lined up before the counter, Baekhyun was thankful that everyone was busy going through the display case to choose their orders, Minseok was still occupied in making some more coffees, and the other staff were away in the kitchen to even witness the scene.

“I’ll take those orders to the customers.” Baekhyun hurriedly uttered and cleared his throat before he sprinted away in front of Taeyeon to do what he said so.

He tried so hard to divert his attention and to focus on the work on hand but he couldn’t just ignore his heart beating wildly inside his chest and his insides tingling like there’s no tomorrow. This is definitely not good.

Though he was attentively serving the customers, his mind couldn’t seem to get away from what had transpired earlier between him and Taeyeon. The way his hands touched her waist and her arm, the way she held onto him, gripping his arms through his sleeves. The way her hands felt on his skin. He felt like he was committing a crime just by simply thinking of those. But the lingering feeling of how they made contact, a huge skin to skin contact compared to the accidental ones they had in the past, and the way he felt satisfied having her in his arms in that simple manner, and how he felt contented and at the same time anxious being that close to her, were quite of a load to grasp.

He was then thankful for the loads of customers who arrived after, for utterly distracting his mind from his thoughts. If it weren’t for them he would probably still be internally suffering from that incident.

+ + + + +

The ticking of the clock seemed to harmonize with the holiday jingles singing from the speakers, the ringing of the bells on the door as customers paraded in and out of the shop and the constant chatter of people as they sit and enjoy their warm cups of coffee. The mid-afternoon sun battled with the clouds that loomed over the city, creating a grey palette in the sky that somehow contrasted the white blanket of snow beneath. Everything seemed peaceful as the day progressed. It didn’t really show, but Baekhyun’s mind wasn’t.

The shop was packed.

The tables were already filled and there were people who were still lining up to the counter, probably ordering for takeout. He was short on staff today and he didn’t expect the people to flock when Christmas was only two days away.

Originally, there were nine pairs of hands that were supposed to be on duty today. Including him, there would be ten. Unfortunately, two of them asked to leave for the holidays as they would be spending it with their families who lived in the outskirts of Seoul. He couldn’t really say no to them as it was the season where families get together to celebrate; and given their case, it has probably been months since they last saw their relatives.

There were so many things to be done aside from serving the customers and helping out in the kitchen. The paychecks needed to be signed and delivered, the accounting needs to be reviewed and the delivery failed to arrive today and they were nearly short on some supplies.

He kind of regretted sending Yuri off to the bank to settle the checks before they close for the holidays. The said woman was in charge of the sink today. That meant washing the dishes. And even though it wasn’t her official task, Yuri does the job excellently.

He could have sent Taeyeon since she was nearly through the task of shaping the newly made cookie dough into Christmas-related objects like a snowman, a Christmas tree, a reindeer, a mistletoe and the like. But seeing that the skies threatened to snow quite a bit more than the day before and the temperature dropped two degrees in the past hour, he chose Yuri to do the job instead. She seemed to be more athletic anyway, so trudging in the snow wouldn’t be too hard for her.

Baekhyun was out in the counter, making coffee with Minseok. But about half an hour later, the older barista pushed him into the kitchen to wash the plates and cups that were piling on the sink.

“But why me? I think you should do it. It’s a lot easier than here you know.” he suggested not wanting to leave the counter because of all the chores that is needed to be done, he hated washing. Instead of complaining furthermore, he unwillingly obliged as there was not enough time to argue with the said male.

“You owe me for this.” he said before disappearing into the kitchen.

His unwillingness to wash soon faded when he saw Taeyeon taking over the job that was supposed to be done by him. She was simply washing the dishes over the sink, but he still found her endearing. Would there ever be a thing about her that he wouldn’t find lovely?

Walking towards her who was engrossed with the task, he stood beside her, leaving an enough distance between them, and spoke. “Leave that all to me and take a quick break if you need to.”

Taeyeon looked up to him, her brows quirked. “I’m all good in here, sir. No worries.” She offered him a small smile after, that was enough for Baekhyun’s heart to beat faster than the usual.

If it was any of the other employees doing it, Baekhyun wouldn't have insisted and would just let it go and proceed with whatever task he needed to do next with a happy heart since he disliked doing the dishes. But this case was different.

Instead of uttering any words back, he simply grabbed the plate that she was washing at the moment and slightly and carefully pushed her away with his other hand. “Let me do this.” He simply uttered, now taking over the task completely. The simple contact between them sent little shivers on his spine, and made his inside tingle, but he ignored all of it.

As he continued on the task that Taeyeon started, he was still very much aware of her presence beside him. She has yet to move or walk away from where she was standing after he pushed her and he could feel her eyes darting from the him, to the dishes, and back to him. Washing dishes should be easy. But not with her anywhere near me.

“Sir, are you sure? I can finish this by myself.” Taeyeon muttered moments after. There were only a few times wherein Baekhyun washed the dishes himself in the shop, and he thought maybe it was evident enough to everyone that he wasn’t fond of doing the job; hence, the bewildered look Taeyeon was giving him at the moment.

Turning his head to her, he gave her a reassuring smile and nod. “You’re done with your job and the shop would probably need more treats after some time, so take it all easy and leave this to me.” Like he said, Taeyeon has always been responsible, and would, without a fail, attend to the tasks that is needed to be done whenever her hands are free, and he knew that because of this, she has barely taken a break most of the time, unlike the other staff. And also, there was no way in the world that he would admit that it was Minseok who told him to do the dishes, at least not to her.

It didn’t take her long to sprint away from him after that. She was always like that. She would always walk away from him with a rather shy and cute expression on her face whenever he would talk in such manner towards her. The manner where he only get to show his interest in her even in the slightest way possible. He was used to it, even though he wished for her to stop walking away from him whenever he does that. But instead of being disappointed, his gaze momentarily followed her and a smile formed on his lips as he watched her adorably walking away.

He expected to be alone in the kitchen until he finished everything, but moments after, not long since Taeyeon left him, she came back, a white cloth placed in her hands as she walked back to her previous place, standing now a little closer to him than she did earlier, and started wiping the cutleries that Baekhyun finished washing.

Baekhyun stared at her, briefly stopping on his task as he curiously eyed her. When Taeyeon turned her head to look at him, that’s when he knew he had been foolishly and shamelessly staring at her again for too long. But with how her eyes looked enchanting as they bored into his, he found it impossible to avert his eyes away.

As if her eyes weren’t enough to make his heart skip, she then smiled to him, the dimples on her chin showing—the smile that he loved the most from her—and he felt like his heart literally stopped beating for a moment there. Oh, please stop. But still, he couldn’t find himself looking away from her.

“Aren’t you going to rest even for a while?” He found himself asking after a few moments of being lost in her eyes.

The smile on Taeyeon’s face grew a little wider after. “You are not fond of doing the dishes.” She muttered in a low yet shy voice before she turned away to continue on wiping the newly washed cutleries.

He was taken by surprise. He didn’t know what she actually meant by that, but with how sure she was when she uttered those words to him as if she knew him too well, with how she said it as if it was a fact she knew very well, it was enough to drive him insane. As if Kim Taeyeon herself wasn’t enough to make him crazy, here she was, making more reasons for him to fall deeply for her. This is totally not good.

“What makes you say that?” He asked after clearing his throat loudly, going back to the dishes left in the sink before him. The growing smile on his face was quite hard for him to hide and he felt like Taeyeon, despite of not looking, could feel that he was smiling like a dumb man on her side. Oh well, she wouldn’t go wrong with that I guess.

Instead of answering, Taeyeon just shyly chuckled, and turned her head upwards, looking at him once again, grinning at him as she flashed out her perfect white teeth.

Baekhyun didn’t bother to ask her further but instead intently looked at her, tracing every feature in her face that he could without being too obvious; as if the days he spent staring at her weren’t enough to memorize every single detail about her.

“Knock, knock,” a sudden voice rang out across the kitchen, interrupting the two instantly. Searching for the voice, Baekhyun immediately found the owner of it, who was standing by the door frame of the kitchen’s door, and had a rather knowingly small smirk plastered on her face.

It was Yuri.

“You guys seemed to have your own little world there. I’ve been knocking for about a minute or so now.” The intruder uttered, finally entering the kitchen, keeping the smirk on her face as she looked at the two teasingly.

“What—what are you saying?” Taeyeon asked, stuttering a little before she turned away from the intruder, which happened to be her friend as well, and went back on her task.

Yuri laughed. “I see you guys are quite getting close now, huh?” She teased once again, wiggling her eyebrows a little at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun slightly shook his head at Yuri and looked down at Taeyeon after. Though he didn’t want to admit, he found it adorable when he saw the light tint of pink flushing on her cheeks with her brows furrowed in the middle as she ignored her friend’s teasing. But that would be really funny to say for him for he himself was quite flushed with how Yuri was teasing them at the moment.

If he wouldn’t speak now, they would both drown in more teasing from the uninvited guest. So he cleared his throat before speaking, “So, did you finish the tasks I gave you?”

Yuri gasped with her hand on her chest as if she was offended. “You belittle me, Byun.” She pulled out a small plastic envelope from the tote bag she carried and waved it in the air.

“Everything went smoothly except when I got to the bank. It was crowded with people and it took me some time, but I had my ways.” she shrugged her shoulders and posed victoriously and proudly with one hand on her hip.

“Well, good for you missy and that’s great to hear. Now, why don’t you distribute the cheques already. There’s a paper in that envelope where you all should sign.”

Yuri nodded and was about to say something, when Minseok’s voice rang from the counter, calling out his name. “I need a hand here, Byun!” He sounded like he was pleading for help, so he immediately dropped the dishes and the sponge with a groan and handed the task over to Yuri. She was the one in charge of it anyway.

“You know, I could pitch in and work in the counter too, Byun! You’ve been denying me of my rights on the coffee machine. We all know you wanted to be stuck in the sink ever since day one!” Yuri teased once more with a smug look on her face.

Baekhyun could only heave a sigh. He didn’t want Taeyeon to think that others could easily pick on him, even though that seemed to be what’s happening.

“Hey, watch it! I’m still the boss around here. Tsk, this is why people mistake Minseok and you as the managers.” he scrunched his nose as he pouted unconsciously and made his way to Minseok who was becoming more impatient.

+ + + + +

The christmas lights strewn on the walls seem to grow brighter as the night went on. The busy hours of the afternoon had already passed, but there were still two customers inside with hot mugs of caffeine. Baekhyun was busy helping the other staff clear the tables. He was already worn out and wanted the day to end already.

“Hey,” the rather familiar male voice came from behind him, right away stealing his attention.

Turning around, he came face to face with Junmyeon, who was dressed in a pair of dark jeans, and a beige colored coat, his hair was covered with some droplets of snow from the outside. “Hey,” he greeted back. “What are you doing here?” He asked, putting the used cups and plates on the tray he was holding before welcoming his friend who was also the co-owner of their coffee shop.

“You know I don’t really get why you’re always keeping in check with our shops when you could be relaxing.” Junmyeon said, taking off his coat.

“What’s important is I can monitor the shops and the employees whenever I do this so leave me alone.” He uttered. “What brought you here at this time of night?” He added. He was still holding on to the tray and so, he excused himself for a moment and quickly ran to the kitchen to have those washed.

Baekhyun made sure to wash his hands before he led the other to a table that was slightly secluded from the rest. Junmyeon followed and sat down opposite of him. “Well, I wanted to discuss something with you.” He loosened up the buttons of his coat as he answered.

Quirking a brow, Baekhyun looked at him curiously and asked. “What is it about?”

“But first, why don’t you make us two cups of cappuccino before we get started?” Junmyeon said, playfully smiling at him.

Baekhyun rolled his eyes at him before pulling himself up from his seat. “Can’t you see we’re nearly closing? And why don’t you make it yourself? Jerk.” he commented before he walked towards the counter.

“A handsome jerk!” He heard Junmyeon answering back before he went to make the unwanted customer’s order.

The counter was already clear of people except for Minseok who was now clearing up the utensils. He checked the time on his watch and it was already half past ten. Three of the staff already left which included Yuri. So it was only him, Minseok and the other staff, Haechan, who was youngest among them and, the apple of his eye, Taeyeon.

            Baekhyun took a quick peek in the kitchen and saw that Haechan was already washing the new pile of dirty dishes in the sink. He was about to ask where his favorite baker went when he saw her sitting in front of the oven with her head resting on one arm. His heart clenched at the sight. It was a tough day for all of them and he knew she worked the hardest. From baking cookies and making cakes to serving customers and washing dishes, she did all of it without any form of complain.

Not wanting to startle her, he knocked three times on the table before calling her name softly, “Taeyeon?”

“Yes sir?” she asked. She flitted her eyelids for a few seconds and stifled a yawn that begged to come out.

“It’s already late. You should start packing up your stuff. I’ll ask Haechan to clean up for you here.” he suggested. Then he saw that there were four trays of star shaped doughs that were on the table.

“Why are you making more cookies when we’re closing already?” he added the question. He walked to one of the cupboards, pulled out a glass and went straight to the water dispenser behind the door. He saw her stretch for a moment before answering.

“The cookies were all sold out today. The only ones that are left are the mousse cake and some loaves from yesterday. I had to make a new batch for tomorrow in case people flock in early just like what happened today.” she explained.

He handed her the glass of water saying, “You work too hard. Here, drink this. You should have asked Wendy for help before she left.” Her eyes were weary and her ponytail was slightly loose from her hair tie, lying down its tail on her right shoulder. She looked worn out. Her apron and uniform were faintly covered with flour, chocolate powder, and streaks of batter, showing how much she worked hard for the day. It was probably the most exhausted Baekhyun saw Taeyeon, and right at the moment, he just wanted to take care of her in any way that he could to relieve her weariness.

She probably didn’t expect the kind gesture from her boss because Baekhyun saw a hint of surprise in her eyes. He received a small thank you and watched her drink from the glass. As much as he wanted to stay longer and engage with her more, he still had to make the cappuccinos that his unwanted customer for the evening asked.

Walking out of the kitchen, he saw Minseok who seemed to be making coffee. Is he making one for himself? There were no more customers because they already hung the ‘closed’ sign on the door. Baekhyun didn’t know.

But when he slid the drawer open to get a mug, the older barista spoke. “These are yours and Junmyeon’s.”

Confusion was etched on his face for a moment before it hit him. Minseok pushed the mugs of coffee on the counter and tilted his head to his other boss who was sitting by himself on the table, engrossed with his phone.

“Couldn’t wait for me so he asked you to make it instead?” Baekhyun asked in disbelief. Junmyeon could really be a brat sometimes but he didn’t know he’d be like this.

Minseok laughed and shook his head. “No, I just overheard and seeing that you were quite busy in the kitchen, I took the initiative.” he said, giving him a quick playful wink after.

He didn’t know what that wink was for so he decided to pretend that he didn’t see any of that. Minseok took off his apron and dashed to the locker rooms to get his coat and bag. He waved to Haechan and Taeyeon telling them to be safe in going home and bid his two bosses a goodbye before marching out of the establishment.

Taking another look at Junmyeon, he pulled his sleeves up to his elbows, walked towards the coffee machine and started it again, placing a good amount of coffee beans on the portafilter and attaching it to the grinder to make a new drink; latte in particular.

It was his favorite drink and although he already mastered the art of grinding, brewing, frothing, and making coffee, this particular latte made him question if he ever makes them in good quality. He was pressured with time because he couldn’t keep his friend waiting. But he also couldn’t afford to ruin this latte if he rushed it. This needs to be perfect.

Pulling the portafilter from the grinder, he packed all of the grounds with a coffee tamper, and attached it afterwards in the machine to create the shot, placing a mug underneath as it catches the freshly made espresso.

He then went to the refrigerator to grab a carton of milk and poured it in the frothing pitcher, placing the steam arm deep in the milk as it steamed the liquid after. Once the milk rose up inside the pitcher, he pulled it out and readied the mug with the espresso to make the latte.

Slowly, he poured the milk over the espresso, creating the usual three-heart pattern design of the foam since he was constricted of the time. He poured the entire of the milk delicately, and soon it was done.

He pulled a saucer out from the drawer and placed the cup on top of it. As he readied it to be served, the cup seemed to shake a bit when he held the saucer it was on. The hell am I feeling nervous?

All he needed to do now is to give the cup of latte to Taeyeon. As much as he wanted to give it to her personally, his friend had been waiting for him and his drink. He was then thankful that Haechan passed by, and so he asked him to do the favor of handing the drink to the baker. The boy heeded to his request and didn’t probe him with questions. Baekhyun was relieved because that would mean he avoided the risks of embarrassing himself to her but at the same time he kind of regretted not being able to personally hand it to her.

He waited until the boy delivered the latte and he swore he felt the burst of fireworks inside him when he saw Taeyeon’s smile.

Too bad it’s not directed at me. But a smile was a smile, and coming from her it was brighter than any of the Christmas lights in the shop.

Afraid that he might get caught staring at her, he took the mugs of cappuccino that Minseok made on his behalf and headed straight to where he left Junmyeon a while ago. He right away received a teasing smile when he felt his presence coming as he walked closer.

“What?” he asked trying his best not to sound guilty that he was indeed probably caught. He didn’t see anything, did he?

“It’s nothing,” came the reply. Baekhyun could tell that he was fighting the urge to let out a laugh but he let it slide.

“I thought you will make a latte for yourself? That’s your favorite.” Junmyeon asked as Baekhyun placed down the drink in front of him.

“You told me to make cappuccino you dead .” He answered as he took his seat.

“Alright, geez. I was just asking, calm down your nose. And besides, it wasn’t you who made this.” Junmyeon laughed, teasing him as he wiggled his brows at the younger and Baekhyun just glared back at him in return.

“Go straight ahead and tell me what we should discuss.” He uttered, placing both of his elbows on the table.

“Hold up,” Junmyeon said, taking a sip of his drink and letting out a satisfied reaction after. “What do you think of opening a new branch?”

Baekhyun quirked his brows. “Of course, I think it’s a good idea.”

“Do you think we could handle more with three of our branches?” Junmyeon asked.

“All of our branches are doing good and are stable, so I don’t see any problem with that.” Baekhyun picked up his cup and took a quick sip after.

“Well, I was thinking of opening a new branch. Two branches to be exact.” He paused and Baekhyun gave him a nod, urging him to continue. “I already looked into several spaces that were for lease and I need you to check the place to finalize it. I also called an architecture for a particular shop since it would need more work on the interior if we happen to take on the place. I just need your word for this to continue.”

Baekhyun leaned back on his seat and nodded. “Well you already have my word for it. Where are we opening these branches up?” He inquired.

“I think I have to apologize to you with this one,” Junmyeon apologetically said, picking up his cup from the table, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Tell me,” Baekhyun uttered.

Taking his time to savor his drink, Junmyeon looked up at his friend and finally spoke moments after. “I was thinking of opening one in Busan and a small one in Jeju.”

Baekhyun shouldn’t be surprised and worried, because after all, it was part of their dream for their coffee shop. But regardless of that, he suddenly felt worried. But he showed none of it to his friend and instead kept his reaction and remained silent.

“I will be flying to Jeju in two days to visit a family friend with my mom, so I was thinking of starting there already. But we could switch up places after if you want to handle the one in Jeju.” Junmyeon added when Baekhyun said nothing after.

If Junmyeon was starting in a few days, Baekhyun figured out that in contrast of that, he should be starting on the other place, the same time as him. If Junmyeon will be taking Jeju, then that left him with Busan to handle.

“Oh.” was all he could utter. He was silent for a moment as his thoughts lingered to the only woman he could care and think of; Taeyeon. His holidays were already planned out.

And speaking of the angel, Taeyeon suddenly appeared in front of them from the counter, with a plate of muffins that Baekhyun recognized as the ones she made earlier this afternoon. “Excuse me for interrupting your discussion, but here’s a plate of blueberry muffins I made this afternoon.” She uttered through her soft and beautiful voice, politely placing down the plate on their table after.

“Tsk, tsk. Did Baekhyun tell you to do this? This man. How could you let a pretty lady work overtime at a cold night like this?” Junmyeon jokingly said and turned at his friend after, whose eyes were widely staring at him already.

“Hyung!” Baekhyun exclaimed. “You seriously need to learn how to keep your mouth shut at times. And besides, I already told her to go home earlier, but she insisted on finishing.”

“Uh, no sir. I was the one who decided to serve the treats and I really wanted to finish making the cookies for tomorrow afternoon.” Taeyeon answered, offering him a sheepish smile as she fidget her hands on her apron.

This act didn’t go unnoticed to Baekhyun. His eyes are so keen, especially when it comes to her that he would notice every single and small detail about her. Sometimes he would think it’s quite inappropriate to be that way, but he couldn’t help it. Especially since Taeyeon was that irresistible.

Junmyeon then let out a chuckle. “I was just kidding,” he uttered, looking up at the female baker after. “It was nice seeing you Taeyeon, and thank you for these muffins. I’m sure they are delicious, as always.”

Baekhyun looked up at her, a small smile playing across his lips as he stared at her who was smiling shyly at his friend. She made a deep bow to them, and excused herself after. But before she could leave, her eyes met with Baekhyun’s which were already fixate