There’s a specific girl that always came to the bakery after school but never bought anything. She only spent a considerably long amount of time browsing all the pastries and then left with a small “thank you.”

 

Chaewon was the new employee they hired for the afternoon shift and right when she clocks in, she saw the beautiful, tall girl with long, gorgeous dark hair walk in every weekday without fail. She spent about ten minutes looking at all the cakes, breads, tarts, cookies, and all other sweets carefully, without getting any and simply walked out the door. 

 

Chaewon recognized the uniform she wore as it was from the rival school they always competed against, BlockBerry High. That school was a lot more laid-back and carefree than Chaewon’s prestigious and strict private academy; Hence the mystery girl’s plain dark uniform, tennis shoes, and let-down hair, which were a big contrast to Chaewon’s white dress shirt, yellow checkered skirt with a matching blazer, white tights, and polished black shoes. Chaewon's uniform had to be spotless, free of wrinkles and stains, and even her hair had to be styled with a bow and couldn’t be let down. 

 

The only freedom they had was that they were (surprisingly) allowed to dye their hair- as long as they were natural colors- so Chaewon went all out and decided on blonde hair (blonde was technically a natural color, just not hers. And administration bought her weak reasoning). That other school, to Chaewon’s knowledge at least, was known to be an art school while her own specialized in math and sciences and other academics. They were famous for their stellar grades with flying colors that many parents did the impossible to get their kids accepted.

 

It really wasn’t all it was hyped to be. They barely had any free time since they always had their noses stuck in their textbooks. If anything, this job was what the prep and posh girl saw as a breath of fresh air. Sure, she’s working and not actually out jumping fences and vandalizing private property, but Chaewon genuinely enjoyed working at the bakery. Even more so when she got to see the pretty girl (who she didn’t have a name for yet) almost everyday.

 

The newbie worker never dared speak to her other than a “Hello, welcome to My Melody!” as she walked in, and a belated “Have a good day!” when she caught her retreating back without having purchased anything. Chaewon tended to the shop alone as it’s never busy to the point where needed an extra hand. She worked for three hours and left as soon as the person for the next shift comes in (which is always the bakery owner's oldest daughter).

 

Finally, after two weeks, Chaewon gathered the courage to walk from behind the counter and approach the pretty girl (her gaze seemed to twinkle over the chocolate-filled croissants and she was so fixated to the point she almost drooled). Chaewon wondered if maybe the girl didn't have enough money to buy the pastries and what’s why she always left without getting anything.

 

“Anything I can help you with?” The blonde asked her from behind and the taller girl, being caught off-guard, jumped from her skin.

 

She had been so concentrated on the bread that she hadn’t even heard the smaller girl approaching. She cleared awkwardly. “No thank you. I’m just looking.”

 

“You’re always just looking. I see indecisive customers all the time but you currently hold the record,” Chaewon joked.

 

The girl didn’t return the smile. Chaewon wasn’t phased. She could tell the girl was introverted, her quiet and soft speaking voice was proof enough.

 

“Would you like any recommendations?” Chaewon kept trying.

 

“Uhh...”

 

“I noticed you stare longer at the breads than anything else. Our strawberry cheesecake Danish pastries are the most popular.” Chaewon naturally pointed with her hand and brought the girl over to the section where she would find all their popular items.

 

“I personally like the fruit tarts and cakes more. My favorite is the pineapple cake. It's to die for, I have to control myself whenever I’m on shift. They already caught me once eating more sweets than I should. Of course everything I paid for but still, there’s a certain rule about no eating during working hours.” Chaewon crossed her arms as she rambled on about her job.

 

The girl finally let out some sign of emotion. It was a closed smile, and although small and insignificant, Chaewon would take it. Even though it wasn’t a blinding grin with sparkling pearly whites, the blonde could tell it was a genuine reaction.

 

Finally the other girl spoke. “You do seem to have gained a little more weight than last week.”

 

Chaewon was horrified. “I did not! I weigh the same thing as I did seven days ago!”

 

Now a grin had made it’s way on the girl’s face and even though it was at her own expense, Chaewon was glad she was getting the girl to open up.

 

“Are you sure? What’s this?” She teasingly poked her side and Chaewon jumped back with a squeal.

 

“That tickles!”

 

The girl laughed and Chaewon felt it was unfair how the sound was so pretty.

 

“Lay off the sweets,” the girl chuckled.

 

Chaewon shook her head. “Never. Maybe someday I’ll get you to eat the pastries with me.”

 

“Oh? I thought you couldn’t eat during working hours?” The girl had a glint of mischief in her eyes.

 

Chaewon wasn’t backing down. “Then we can just eat after hours.”

 

The blonde didn’t realize the implication of her statement and the no-buying customer took this to her advantage. “Are you asking me out on a date?” Her tone was playful and flirty.

 

Chaewon was taken aback by the blunt question for two reasons. One: that was not what she had been intending at all. And two: well, would she really say yes if that were the case? Luckily, although not often, the blonde still knew a few things about flirting back.

 

“Only if you want it to be. But I’m going to need a name for the pretty girl I’m supposedly taking out.” 

 

Oof that was smooth.

 

You did well Park Chaewon, she mentally patted herself on the back. She can already see Jiwoo losing her once she tells her later today about her interesting day at work. Certainly a lot more interesting than past accounts.

 

It was the taller girl's turn to look surprised. She really was not expecting Chaewon to tug back. Usually, once she hinted at the possibility of being interested in a girl romantically, they would turn the other way and leave her alone. That was what she intended to be the case here. Who would’ve thought that the cute blonde bakery worker would be an exception? She messed up.

 

“I...” Suddenly all her confidence from earlier vanished into nothing. She swallowed dry, “I gotta go. Sorry.”

 

And just like that she ran away, almost hitting her forehead on the glass door that said “pull” instead of “push.”

 

Chaewon was left stunned. Did she do something wrong? Had she read the cues wrong? Or could it be that the girl was just playing and actually wasn’t into girls at all?

 

Well, that certainly was a twist she wasn’t expecting. Thankfully, a group of rowdy middle-schoolers walked through the door at the exact moment the girl left. Chaewon quickly got back to her professional work persona and the weird exchange with the girl she still didn’t have a name for was left forgotten.

 

— — —

 

For a whole week the girl hadn’t even taken a peek through the window (Chaewon had been very alert so she could catch her but nada). She was beginning to think it was her fault for making things awkward but when Chaewon thought rationally about the situation, nothing about it was her fault.

 

With a long sigh, she forced herself to stop thinking about it. Instead, she decided to focus on the fun evening she would have tonight. There was an important basketball game as it was the very first one of the season, so she had planned to attend for sure (as had the entire student body of her school). She was getting ready to clock out as the game would start at seven sharp and she hated not being punctual.

 

They were against BlockBerry High School- the school that was rival to Chaewon’s very own Garden of Eden Preparatory Academy (or Eden Prep for short). Neither were actually particularly keen on sports (that title belonged to Polaris High) but that’s what made them more competitive to win against each other in the first place, being so mediocrely matched.

 

Her friend showed up at the bakery at 6:30 (she was big on punctuality too) so they could head to their school were the match would be held. It was a home game, which meant they had all right to show off and emphasize how much better their school was in comparison. With everything in order and the bakery owner's daughter coming in for the night shift, Chaewon was free to go.

 

“Hey, maybe your crush will be there!” Her friend bumped her shoulder with hers as they walked to the bus stop.

 

Meet Kim Jiwoo, her best friend since they both entered Eden and they knew absolutely no one. Both of them just clicked during orientation (and at the fact that they both were loners). After talking for about five minutes, they realized that they had a lot in common than only being small, cute, and bright, and they’ve been inseparable since.

 

“What crush?” Chaewon looked at her utterly puzzled.

 

“Bread Girl!” Jiwoo said too enthusiastically.

 

“Oh my gosh,” Chaewon smacked her on the shoulder. “I’m never telling you anything again!”

 

Jiwoo squealed at the sudden attack but recovered quickly. “Chaewon and Bread Girl sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N—“

 

“You’re a child,” Chaewon rolled her eyes.

 

Jiwoo wasn’t done with her just yet. “At least I have the guts to confess, unlike you.”

 

At this Chaewon grew an offense to. Especially since Jiwoo wasn’t that better off either. She would have her revenge.

 

“Oh yeah? And how did that end up? Did Sooyoung ever accept your friend request after the lame DM you sent her?”

 

“Shut up!” This time it was Jiwoo who shoved Chaewon back. “That was a stupid freshman crush I had years ago! Let it go already! She's in college and last I heard, she's dating some famous Instagram model from China. Vivian-something.”

 

Chaewon gave her an evil smile. This was Jiwoo's karma for being an to her.

 

Okay, so they both weren’t the best when it came to confessing their feelings to pretty girls. Big whoop. They couldn’t be the only ones that went into complete panic mode when a girl so much as breathed in their direction and accidentally locked eyes with them. 

 

"Anyways," Jiwoo decided to change the topic before she got too caught up on her first high school crush that ended pitifully, “who do you think is gonna win tonight?”

 

“It better be us. We already have the brains. Can you imagine if we were better than them at sports too? The Blockberry Badgers would lose their minds.” Chaewon laughed gleefully at the thought. So she was a little too into school rivalry, but it was all in good fun.

 

Ironically, the one that ended up losing her mind were was her because what were the chances of Bread Girl (Chaewon can’t believe the name stuck) really did end up being present at the game like Jiwoo said? And not just as an spectator. No, destiny really had to go full-cliché. The girl actually ended up being the captain of the basketball team.

 

What the hell? This wasn’t fair! She was pretty and athletic!? God had favorites and it showed!

 

Jiwoo was wriggling right next to her when Chaewon explained to her why her jaw was on the floor.

 

“OH MY GOD, CHAEWON YOU’RE SUCH A LUCKY LOSER! I SWEAR TO GOD, WHAT ARE THE FREAKING CHANCES?! HOLY CRAP I CAN'T BELIEVE BREAD GIRL IS HERE!”

 

Jiwoo had no filter when she was excited and Chaewon lowered her head in embarrassment at the scene her best friend was causing. Everyone present had turned to look their way at the commotion. She could practically feel the glares from a teacher behind them ready to kick them out. The red-haired girl didn’t care though, she kept yelling her lungs out. Can the earth open up and swallow her, please?

 

“THE ANNOUNCER SAID HER NAME IS KIM HYUNJIN! YOU HAVE A NAME TO THE FACE NOW. GO ASK FOR HER NUMBER! ASK HER OUT ON A DATE CHAEWON! GO NOW. GO!”

 

“JIWOO. SHUT. UP!” Chaewon shouted back. It was to the point that it was louder than Jiwoo’s booming voice which was an amazing feat. Now the people around them weren't just staring but they had morphed to throwing glares their way as well.

 

And because Jiwoo decided that they should sit on the front row so they would have the best view of the game, her shouts not only caught the attention of those around her, but also the players on the court. And guess who heard the name Kim Hyunjin being screamed? The girl herself. The opposing team's basketball captain turned as soon as she heard someone shouting her name and managed to catch the last sentence of all the commotion.

 

That’s when Hyunjin saw an unknown girl with red hair that looked like she was high on sugar but also someone very familiar sitting next to her. Hyunjin would be able to recognize those golden locks of hair anywhere, even in her sleep. When Hyunjin's eyes landed on her she was coincidentally looking her way as well so they naturally locked eyes. The girl instantly turned a bright shade of crimson and she sprung up from her seat and ran out the gym. Even though her head had been down and her hair had been covering most of her face, the basketball player was sure she saw a few tears.

 

Now Hyunjin felt bad because she knew all of this was her fault. She shouldn’t have ran out the bakery that day and not gone back since. Hyunjin shouldn’t have flirted with the girl and given her hope that she was interested, because she wasn’t. Throughout the whole game Hyunjin was distracted, fully due to the fact that the cute blonde bakery worker never came back. Hyunjin knew she deserved it. The girl ran away and left her with nothing just like she had done to her.

 

— — —

 

Chaewon was completely humiliated. She didn’t care about strangers or other people from their school, but Hyunjin had heard. That was enough for the blonde to take off running in tears from the embarrassment. She couldn’t go back there. She couldn’t go back to the game and pretend the BlockBerry student was a stranger to her. Instead, she decided to take a walk around the campus to calm down and think.

 

Jiwoo sent her a string of messages, profusely apologizing for having messed up and Chaewon sent her a single reply saying it’s okay. And it was. She wasn't mad at her. If anything she felt more mad at herself. Now Hyunjin really would never show up at the bakery and she would never have the chance to talk to her again. Chaewon didn’t even realize how hard she had fallen for the girl until she saw the possibility of her feelings being returned.

 

It was like her heart had been a door that was closed with a lock and key until Hyunjin unlocked the seal, and Chaewon herself threw the key far away and now couldn't close it back no matter how much she tried. While lost in her thoughts, she concluded that there was no point in staying at school any longer if she wasn’t going to watch the game so she walked off.

 

Chaewon left and walked around the city for over an hour just trying to clear her head and come to terms with being rejected without actually having had the chance to properly confess. She walked around the neighborhood park three times. She walked around a store and didn’t buy anything. She walked through an empty church parking lot. She kept on walking until she subconsciously ended back at the bakery.

 

Thinking she had nothing better to do she went in. Haseul- the bakery owner’s oldest daughter in charge of always closing the shop at night- was surprised to see her.

 

“Chaewon? What are you doing here? I thought you had a game to go to?”

 

The blonde didn’t reply and instead took a seat by one of the small tables in the corner. She lowered her head to feel the cold wood on her skin and let out a pitiful sigh.

 

“Oh no. What’s wrong?” Haseul came over to her worriedly.

 

The bakery was currently empty and Haseul was simply cleaning little by little, getting ready to close soon.

 

Instead of a verbal reply, Chaewon whined in distress.

 

“Did something happen tonight?” Haseul tried to guess.

 

Chaewon gave her a short grunt.

 

“Something at the game?”

 

Another grunt.

 

“Something with a girl?”

 

Okay now this was getting way too accurate for Haseul to be luckily guessing everything right. The Eden Prep student raised her head and looked at the college girl with furrowed brows. Haseul's lips were formed into a thin line. Chaewon narrowed her eyes at her. She knew something.

 

“She told me,” Haseul confessed.

 

"Huh?!" Chaewon almost choked. “You know her?" She gasped.

 

Haseul nodded.

 

Wait. What? The newbie worker couldn't believe it. "Kim Hyunjin? Tall. Pretty. Athletic. Goes to BlockBerry High. Resembles a cat and sometimes makes accidental purrs when she looks at the chocolate croissants?”

 

Haseul laughed because that was definitely Hyunjin. “I don’t just know her. I’m friends with Hyunjin.”

 

Chaewon thought back on Jiwoo’s words. What are the freaking chances indeed. Her whole life seemed to be some sort of trite, coming-of-age movie. Now came the part where Chaewon felt like her whole world is about to crumble on her head.

 

“Then she also probably told you how everyone in the gym heard me getting exposed.” She wanted to forget the embarrassing moment of when Hyunjin turned her way and full recognition showed on her face. There was no doubt she heard everything and knew she was the bakery employee that flirted with her and she rejected.

 

Haseul raised a brow and went back to the counter to wrap the leftover pastries. If they didn't sell them by tomorrow they would have to throw them away.

 

“No, she didn’t tell me that part actually. All she said was that she wanted to talk to you and asked if I had your number,” Haseul told her truthfully the conversation she just had, literally seconds before Chaewon came in.

 

She finished putting the pastries on display away, but not before taking a few a putting them in a small pink box for Chaewon to take with her. Hopefully the sweet desserts would cheer her up. She also put some in a different box to take home for her younger sister. Yeojin really loved the vanilla-chocolate swirl cupcakes.

 

“But you don’t have my number,” Chaewon realized.

 

Haseul nodded. “You're right, I don’t.” She handed her the box with a gentle smile and then her phone. “Mind giving it to me so I can pass it on?”

 

— — —

 

Hyunjin decided she didn’t want to wait. She asked for Chaewon to meet her tonight which meant right after the game. It hadn’t taken longer than an hour since the match was over so Hyunjin simply asked if she would be willing to meet her at the park. Thankfully Chaewon said yes.

 

They messaged each other back and forth for a small while, Chaewon reassuring that whatever Hyunjin wanted to tell her she could do it through text, or call if she must, but the athlete refused. She insisted that it would be best for them to talk face to face (much to Chaewon’s dismay).

 

Chaewon was already out, there was no point in going home and coming back out, so she decided to kill some time at the bakery with Haseul until she closed and bid the older girl goodnight. Chaewon grasped the pink box in her hands tightly to stop them from shaking from being so nervous. Hyunjin didn’t tell her to meet at a specific spot so Chaewon simply picked the most obvious place, the middle of the park by the water fountain. It was a popular meeting place among many people since it was easy to find.

 

Chaewon reached the spot first and she sat at the edge of the fountain patiently with the pink box on her lap. She got a message a few minutes later, her heart leaping up to thinking it was Hyunjin but it was just Jiwoo.

 

‘hey ur mom just called me,’ it read.

 

‘where r u?’

 

‘i said u were still w me and we stopped to get sumthin to eat’

 

‘u better be home soon!’

 

A string of texts came one after another.

 

‘chaewon u better not be dead istg’

 

The blonde girl rolled her eyes at how paranoid Jiwoo could get.

 

"I’m fine. I’ll be home soon," Chaewon finally wrote back and and waited for a reply.

 

All she got was a thumbs up emoji and a string of different colored hearts. No matter how much Jiwoo embarrassed her in public, she was harmless. She could never stay mad at her and Jiwoo used that to her advantage way more than Chaewon would like.

 

She didn’t realize that someone had arrived and was standing in front of her until they cleared their throat. Chaewon looked up only to lock her eyes on the girl that had been making her mind a total mess this past week. Kim Hyunjin, hair slightly damp most likely from a shower and wearing something else that was not her usual school uniform or basketball uniform from tonight.

 

Chaewon then thought back on how she had looked at the game. The taller girl had wore her hair up in a ponytail for the first time that made her defined jaw more prominent. Her uniform consisted of a yellow and black colors with the number 02 on the back of her jersey. Her frame typically looked slim under her school uniform but with her sports gear on, one could easily notice her toned muscles.

 

The only reason Chaewon regretted not having gone back was to have more time to admire how good Hyunjin had looked a bit more. And now the blonde was staring off into space like an idiot that Hyunjin had to wave a hand in front of her face to bring her back to the earth plane.

 

When Chaewon snapped out of her trance, she took time to analyze at the current Hyunjin in front of her. She was wearing simple black jeans and a yellow flannel and Chaewon felt herself getting lightheaded. She wasn't wearing makeup but that didn’t deter her perfect complexion.

 

How was she so attractive doing the bare minimum? Life had no mercy when it decided to play with Chaewon’s heart and toss it towards Hyunjin to play with.

 

“You looked good out there,” Chaewon said the first thing that came to mind to break the awkwardness. 

 

All they had been doing was stare at each other, waiting for either to say anything. Clearing , Hyunjin slowly made her way over and settled next to the shorter girl, Chaewon taking notice of the distance Hyunjin left between them was of about a meter. She tried to not have her heart crumble.

 

“How would you know? You left.” Hyunjin looked at her with an expression Chaewon couldn’t figure out.

 

It didn’t look like she was upset, but she wasn’t joking either. Disappointment?

 

"Who won?" Chaewon tried again in hopes of lifting Hyunjin's mood somehow.

 

Hyunjin didn't say anything for a few moments until she decided to put Chaewon out of her misery. "We did."

 

Chaewon gave her a stiff nod of acknowledgement and resumed to stare down at her lap. This was so awkward. Chaewon wanted thunder to strike her just so she wouldn't have to deal with this.

 

Hyunjin took a deep breath before speaking again. "Why did you leave?" She looked hurt and her gaze was making Chaewon feel guilty.

 

“My friend was being embarrassing and I don't like being put on the spot. I'm sorry.”

 

Chaewon looked away from Hyunjin again to stare at literally anything else before she turned into a puddle of mush. Hyunjin's eyes resembled those of the cute googly eyes puss-in-boots did and they were tugging at Chaewon's heartstrings.

 

“Don’t be sorry. It’s okay.” Even if Hyunjin said that, it didn't sound genuine at all.

 

And that’s when Chaewon figured out the emotion Hyunjin was feeling from how detached she was from their conversation. Pity. Hyunjin felt sorry for her. She got made a fool of in front of everyone and Hyunjin wanted to let her down easy. She knew why she was here now. She was about to get rejected officially and the thought made her nauseous.

 

“It’s okay for me to have a crush on you?” Chaewon gathered all the scattered bits of courage in her and dared to look back at Hyunjin in the eyes.

 

Her eyes were glossy and her face looked pained, but she wasn't going to look away. This was something Hyunjin never wanted to elicit in her. If she cried again, the BlockBerry student wouldn’t know what to do. Chaewon looked like such a fragile little thing. Anyone that made her cry would no doubt face an eternity of remorse and a one-way ticket to hell. Hyunjin couldn't care less about going to the land of eternal damnation, but she did have a personal issue with hurting the doll-like girl who didn't ask for any of this.

 

Hyunjin swallowed nervously and this time she was the one to look away. Something about Chaewon was making something stir in h