Joohyun should have seen this coming, he really should, it’s really his own fault that he didn’t, he got distracted with the new softner his mom had brought home, left Seungwan unsupervised for too long, he wandered off, and now trouble has already arised. It wasn’t Dahyun nor their dad’s fault either, they had just commented they would like some brownies, no demands, just a wishful thought, and that was enough.

Seungwan had been sitting in the varanda with them, enjoying the breeze and waiting for Joohyun to come back from his run around the neighborhood, nothing about the situation could have told them what was to come. The small baker jumped to his feet, got inside and asked mrs Bae if he could use her kitchen. The woman was happy to allow him to do as he wished, she too was a fan of the boy’s baked goods. Not much later, the Baes had about a brownie, five cupcakes, a cake, and a bowl of cookies….. EACH.

Joohyun wasn’t very pleased when he got back from his run, he knew his boyfriend always got excited about baking and never seemed to be able to stop on his own, when his mom told him she had let Seungwan loose on her kitchen, the only thing left to do was accept their fate and share a lot with their neighbours later. Seungwan looked so happy and giddy that the older boy couldn’t help but melt instantly at the sight, he just kissed him dearly, helped with the cleanup and they cuddled the rest of the morning before they had lunch and Seungwan left for Seulgi’s house, they were due to finish a class project that afternoon and far it be from Joohyun to keep his boyfriend away from his studies. That, and he wanted to use the new fabric softener.

Arriving at the Kangs, Seulgi was already waiting, having claimed the living room and already spread out the books and notes they were going to use, Seungwan greeted mr Kang, who was finishing with the lunch dishes, mrs Kang had gone out to the market so the boys just got to work. Seulgi, despite being the lord’s peace incarnate, would get very invested whenever his studies were involved, so they embarked in a frantic and slightly blind mission to perfect their project and have it ready to submit by the end of that afternoon. 

They did finish, and with some time to spare also, Seulgi commented, without a single pretense, that he would love to have something sweet after their hard work. Seungwan got to his feet and said he’d handle it, the small boy strutted into the kitchen with a mission, mr Kang was by the breakfast bar, working on something in his laptop, and when asked about using the kitchen, Seungwan was told he didn’t need to ask anymore, but was welcome to do as he pleased. And by the time mrs Kang had entered her kitchen to make dinner, she found six casseroles, trays upon trays of biscuits, her entire breakfast bar taken over by tarts, a three-story chocolate cake and two carrot cakes. 

The Kangs ended up ordering dinner, as there was no way they could manage to make anything with the kitchen taken over by treats. Their neighbors and close family members would be gifted some baked goods the next morning. The thing with the Kangs was that Seulgi’s patience had to come from somewhere, and his parents could very well have been monks with their peacefulness, That, and the twinkle of joy in Seungwan’s eyes as he baked was something none of them could bring themselves to break.

The small boy went home merrily right after dinner, his mother had come to pick him up and politely apologised for her son’s lack of control, and said they were also stocked up on baked goods. It seemed like Seungwan had been on a streak those days, and the Sons had already run out of people to take some treats out of their hands. The next day Seungwan was going to spend the morning with Jihyo, they didn’t really have anything to do, but the Baes were known to never wake up early on sundays and the Parks were early risers, not to mention chronic insomniacs, so Jihyo was early to bed, late to sleep and early to rise. Eight in the morning, Seungwan was greeted with the Parks already full steam into their day.

Jihyo was freshly out of the shower, most likely had already gone and exercised that morning, mr Park was finishing putting the laundry up to dry and mrs Park passed them by with her hands full with cleaning products, on her way to the cupboard. He was quickly ushered in and they headed to the kitchen, it was the family’s favorite place, first mistake. Seungwan was very excited, and asked if he could do some baking, as they were already all in the kitchen and he felt inspired, mrs Park said she didn’t mind, as long as he didn’t make much of a mess, but she knew the boy wouldn’t. That was the second mistake, the third mistake was having mama Park join in on the baking, she wasn’t really allowed to cook at home and baking with her second son, as they considered Seungwan, would be great.

With all that, the Parks ended their morning with too many pastries, mama Park just took them with her to the restaurant to demand all her employees take some home. On her way to work, she dropped Seungwan at the Baes and went on her way. Monday rolled around, and football training got tight again, they were two weeks away from their second game and Joohyun got busy, along with Seulgi and Sooyoung, that left our serial baker with Yeri, who was unaware of how to proceed or even identify when Seungwan was in one of his frenzies. 

The small Kim was asked if he wanted to hang out, since the two were pretty much just idling around, Yeri agreed and invited Seungwan over to his house, obviously, our baker suggested it would be a good idea to make some treats and Yeri and mr Kim’s bottomless pits called stomachs were very enthusiastic about the idea, they regretted it a little but were happy enough with the visual of endless treats taking over their dining table, kitchen counters and the coffee table at the living room. Once Seungwan got home that evening was the moment his father saw he needed to intervene, he had already managed to give away everything his older boy had made at their house, then he had received a bundle from his boss as well.

“Wannie, son, can you come here for a moment?” Mr Son called after he had sent Chaeyoung to his room.

“What’s up, dad?”

“Sit with me for a moment.” He pats the couch beside him.

Seungwan moves warily, but sits down and lets his father side-hug him. “How much trouble am I in?”

“No trouble at all, I just want to know what’s wrong.”

“What do you mean, dad?”

“Son, you’re not well. You’ve been stress baking for the entirety of last week.” The man starts, tightening his hold a little. “Don’t look so surprised, of course we knew, your mother is worried too.”

“I don’t really know, dad.” The boy gives up. “I’m just- I don’t even know how to explain it.”

“Son, your mother and I talked, and we wanted to talk to you about that.” Mr Son sighs, they had been worried about their sons, Chaeyoung wasn’t doing that well either. “I’m sure she wanted to be here for it, but would you like to go to therapy?”

“Not really, but I think it will be better if I do.”

“Do you want us to look for one?”

“Can you, dad? I’d really appreciate it.”

“Sure thing, I’ll talk to your mom when she gets home and we’ll find you one.”

“Thanks, dad.”

“No problem, kiddo.” Mr Son hugs his kid and sends him away.

The Son children hadn’t been in their best shape lately, Chaeyoung had told his mother it was love troubles, the woman told him to talk to them about anything and mama and papa Son just kept a closer look on him. Seungwan, by nature, was more reserved, and harder to open up to anyone, somehow, he seemed to be more comfortable with talking to his father, the main reason the parents decided to ask him if he wanted to talk to someone. Very glad that the boy accepted, mr Son went to work on it right away, making some calls and asking the people he trusted if they had a therapist to recommend. 

Turned out, mrs Park, his boss and best friend, told him Jihyo’s therapist was great, specialized in teenagers, and gave him the number. Seungwan agreed to see the woman and they scheduled his first visit for that very week.