Baekhyun fished his keys out of his bag and unlocked the door to the bright blue bakery on the corner of the street, that was hidden under the darkness of sky that had yet to meet the dawn. It was terribly early, as usual, and it wouldn’t be until about half an hour or so before his assistant baker would come in and help him prepare the first batches of bread and pastries of the day. Before then, it was up to him to begin setting up.

 

He’d opened the shop up about two years ago, when he was 25 years old. Before then he’d gone to college, like his parents wanted him to, and to culinary school, where he received formal training, and spent a year abroad in France, to study along the best of the best. Sugarbox was his baby, and it was the result of all his years of hard work, and a little luck, that made it well-known in the neighborhood. Of course, it helped that everything was delicious as well. 

 

The unlit soft blue and white bakery welcomed him as he stepped inside. He the lights, revealing the full beauty of his spotless space—he made sure to clean it thoroughly before he left each day—and took out the pad of paper from his bag containing today’s menu. There were the usual assortments of breads (baguettes, sourdough, as well as a few flavored loaves), pastries (danishes, muffins, chocolate croissants, apple strudel), and the special of the day, a cinnamon crumble coffee cake, taken by loaf or slice, as an excellent way to start customers’ mornings. 

 

After writing up the special on the little board that would later be hung outside, Baekhyun went to the kitchen behind the counter, and set out the ingredients that would be needed for baking that day. All kinds of flour and sugar, eggs, milk, and baking powders covered the metal island, and by the time he had taken the bowls and mixers from the shelves, the little entrance bell above the door twinkled lightly, signifying Sehun had arrived. 

 

“Hey, Boss,” Sehun said as he walked in, grabbing an apron off the hook near the entrance and tying it on. 

 

“Hey,” Baekhyun greeted, not taking his eyes off the task at hand. He handed Sehun his notepad with the items they’d be selling that day, and without another word, the two got to work. During the year and a half that Sehun had been working with Baekhyun at Sugarbox, ever since the clientele had grown enough that Baekhyun thought he would need an extra hand, he had been quick to pick up the basic recipes and had proved an invaluable hand in the kitchen. Over the next two hours, the kitchen was a steady flurry of flour and sugar, kneading and mixing. There were some doughs that had been ready from the day before, and those were swiftly put in the oven, taken out when the timer rang, and moved to the display case in the store. Just before 7:30, when the bakery opened, the final member of their team came in. 

 

“Jongin!” Sehun called out as the familiar bell rung again. “Help me put out these coffee cakes and then we’ll be ready to open. He reached for a large tray with perfect little loaves hiding a yummy swirl of cinnamon on the inside and hailing a scrumptious crumble on top when Baekhyun stopped him. 

 

“Wait!” Baekhyun reached for one of the loaves and set it aside. “This is a special delivery,” he said, trying to hide the smile that was trying to creep onto his face. Sehun rolled his eyes with a laugh and took the remaining coffee cakes. There he goes again. 

 

“You know, Baekhyun-hyung,” Sehun said on his way out, “every free special delivery that you give out is a loss for Sugarbox. Another customer that comes in without a delicious coffee cake. Now that’s not right,” he says wistfully.

 

Baekhyun paid him no mind and instead carefully wrapped the coffee cake in a blue cloth and tied it with a bow. This special delivery could not be ignored, no matter what. And it’s not like it was an everyday thing. He made sure the ovens were often and then helped Jongin and Sehun put the last of the bread in the display case. Towards the middle of the day he’d make his way back to the kitchen with Sehun to make some more dessert-type pastries, but for now it was time to open. Baekhyun the neon “open” sign before grabbing his coat, bag, and the bundle of coffee cake he had wrapped up earlier. 

 

“Bye guys,” he told Sehun and Jongin. “I’ll be back in a jiff, you know the drill. Sehun take care of the customers and Jongin make sure the coffee’s on point as always. Help yourselves to one too, I know it’s an early start. I’ll be back soon.” He waved and was out the door just as customers began trailing into the bakery.  

 

It’s become a habit. Every so often, maybe twice a week, Baekhyun would walk fifteen minutes to the tall building where his favorite person was working. He hummed as he walked, enjoying the exercise. He was always worried that one day he’d eat a little too much of the new recipes he tried and gain a little too much extra weight—although whenever he’d told Sehun and Jongin that they’d scoffed at his “excuse” — so this walk was vital to his week. 

 

Because it was so early, the streets were quiet. Every now and then there would be a car that passed by, but most people were still getting ready for work, only just eating their breakfast or doing their hair before they went out the door. 

 

Finally, Baekhyun reached the impeccable blue glass high-rise. He strode in through the revolving doors, greeting the security guard by name with a friendly smile as they let him through the check-in, walked to the elevator and pushed the button for floor 26. Once the doors opened to the floor, he was once again greeted with nothing but smiles all around, and Baekhyun reciprocated, though not letting the faces made familiar over time stop him from walking purposefully towards the biggest office on the floor. 

 

“Hello again, Baekhyun!” 

 

Baekhyun paused his determined steps for an instant. 

 

“Hi Jongdae, how are you?” Kim Jongdae was the only person in the huge building that Baekhyun had really ended up building any semblance of a relationship with, besides the CEO, of course. The chatty secretary was exactly the kind of person liked to talk to—incredibly kind, smart, witty, and with the loud ringing laughter that infected everyone around him. Each time Baekhyun had visited he’d have the chance to chat with him, and was more than happy to do so, even though it delayed his special delivery. 

 

“Same old, same old. It’s work, you know? But I can’t complain,” Jongdae shot Baekhyun a smile from his endless supply before suddenly taking a deep whiff. “Oh my God, Baekhyun, please tell me you brought me some too. Please? What did you make this time?” 

 

Baekhyun chuckled taking a peek into the bag over his shoulder. “It’s coffee cake, and I’m sorry, but you’ll only get some if Chanyeol decides to share with you. I didn’t bring extra this time. Or if you come around after work I’ll try to save you one, my treat!” 

 

In the back of his mind Baekhyun could hear Sehun nagging about giving away free food yet again, store profits, and whatever else, but Baekhyun couldn’t care less.

 

“Okay, okay maybe I will. But I’ll pay for it! You do too much already bringing Mr. CEO over there so many sweets,” Jongdae nodded towards the closed door leading to the office before picking up the phone on his desk, “Mr. Park, you have a visitor~” He winked at Baekhyun before mouthing the words “Go in,” and Baekhyun happily obliged after a small wave in Jongdae’s direction. 

 

Baekhyun slowly pushed open the door to the office, not being able to maintain his smile. Sitting, already hard at work although it was early, was Chanyeol. Upon hearing the door open, Chanyeol looked away from his computer and the stacks of papers strewn across his desk and stood up, striding towards Baekhyun, arms open for a hug. 

 

It’s always been like this. Even when Chanyeol shot up like a tree during their middle school years, towering almost full head over Baekhyun, he never lost the habit of wanting to snuggle into his best friends arms when they were hugging, acting like he was still the same little ki