Wendy is greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread, when she opens the door to the bakery. The little bell rings and the man behind the counter looks up. 

"Ah Wendy! Good morning", the man smiles. 

Wendy waves and gives the man a big smile back. 

"Good morning to you too, dad. I hope you've rested well. I apologize for coming in late today. I over slept and yesterday was a very hectic and busy day", Wendy bows a few times.

Mr Kim, worried that the girl is going to give herself a concussion, quickly forgives her, shaking his head and hands rapidly.

"Oh no, don't worry about it! I'm glad you slept in today, we need our best baker in top form", Wendy giggles and walks towards the counter, grabbing her orange apron from behind it and puts it on. 

She heads to the back of the building, tying up her short blonde hair and stops at the big wooden table in the middle of the kitchen. With her hands on her hips, the blonde huffs. She is still tired from yesterday and her muscles still ache a little.

Wendy looks up when she hears a door open and sees a young man enter. 

He's wearing light brown pants that reach his knees and a white button up shirt, tucked neatly in his pants. He turns around and takes off his hat, revealing silver coloured hair that is parted unevenly. His eyes widen a little, when he notices the young woman by the wooden table and gives her a small bow.

"Wendy, good morning", he says with a smile, that formed two little dimples. 

"Good morning, Namjoon. How is your leg? Dad told me that it looked pretty bad", Wendy's brows furrow as she looks at Namjoon, who chuckles awkwardly in response. 

"Aha it's fine. I promise. It hurt like hell at first, but it healed pretty quickly. I even managed to deliver my last order on time!"

Wendy sighs, closing her eyes.

"You should be careful. You're our only delivery guy and Yerim's too young to drive that motorcycle, so she can't stand in for you"

"I know Wendy, but don't worry about me. You're the most important person in this bakery and yesterday you looked like you would faint on the spot" 

Namjoon walks towards the blonde haired girl and stops in front of her. 

"You should take it easy. I know how much working means to you - as a workaholic myself, but please... don't work too much", he gives Wendy's head a little pat before leaving through the door she came from. 

Wendy leans against the wooden table, putting her arms on it as she supports her head with her left hand.

He is kind of right... god I hate it when he's right

Wendy sighs and rolls her head. She stand up straight and stretches her fingers, satisfied when she hears them crack. 

Slowly but surely, Wendy starts her routine again. Like every other day. She makes her infamous blueberry and chocolate cupcakes, refills the supply of sweets and bread in the glass shelves by the counter etc. etc.

Little did Wendy know, that today was going to be a little different from her usual work day. The day that would change the woman's entire life.

                                                    ☆ ☆ ☆ 

"UNNIE UNNIE, GET OVER HERE"

Wendy jumps in surprise when the door slams open, revealing a young girl, who looked like she just ran a marathon. 

"What do you want Yerim--",

"You HAVE to come with me RIGHT NOW"

Before Wendy could ask the younger girl why, she got grabbed by her wrist and practically dragged out of the kitchen and to the front of the bakery, where at least 10 men were standing in two neat, straight lines on either side of the entrance. They're wearing dark purple - almost black, attire. Wendy assumes that it's armour, because of the many thick pads surrounding the men's bodies.

The blonde girl watches curiously, wondering which important person would visit such a small shabby bakery like theirs. 

A lady walks in. She doesn't look any older than Wendy, with long dark brown hair that is tied up in a ponytail, her bangs hanging messily around her face. Her piercing eyes meet Wendy's and the latter looks away immediately. 

Scary...

Unlike the other people, instead of the dark purple, she is wearing dark blue armour. 

She walks past the men and stops right at the end of the line and raises her head slightly, standing straight with her hands behind her back. 

Wendy tilts her head and furrows her eyebrows in confusion. 

That is, until the answer to all of Wendy's questions enters the small bakery. 

A beautiful woman, accompanied by a man in a black suit, steps onto the wooden floor. She's wearing a dark red dress, that hugged her figure just right, accompanied with a pair of black heels, Wendy wished she could afford. The diamond necklace around the lady's neck shines brightly, as well as the familiar golden ring on her ring finger and it is then that a lightbulb inside Wendy's head turns on. 

The dozen of armoured men, guards. The fancy clothing and accessories. 

"Holy ..."

"Your highness, princess Bae Joohyun. Welcome to our bakery", The blonde haired girl turns her head and watches her father, who gives the woman in front of them - the princess - a small bow. "It is an honour to have you visit a small baker such as ours"

Wendy has never seen her father act like this. His hands are folded in front of him and he's standing just a little straighter than usual. 

"Stop frowning. It's disrespectful", Namjoon hits Wendy softly with his own arm and the latter almost scoffs, when she hears her name. 

She looks up and straight into the princess's piercing dark brown eyes. Panicked, she immediately looks down at the ground and holds her hands together the same way as her father. 

"Are you Wendy?", princess Joohyun asks. 

Wendy nods, unable to look the woman in front of her in the eyes. 

"Y-yes... your highness. That's me" 

She hears the princess let out a chuckle and looks up, noticing the fond smile on the lady's face. 

Pretty...

"I have come here to ask for a favour", Wendy raises her eyebrows a little, curious as to what a princess would want from a mere baker like her. 

"I want you, Wendy, to become my personal baker"

The blonde haired girl's eyes widen so much, they look like they're going to fall out of their sockets. She looks besides her. Her father is watching her with similar wide eyes, a big smile present on his face. Namjoon is smiling, a sense of pride takes over his entire mood as he crosses his arms. Yerim is vibrating besides her, her eyes big and sparkly and a smile so wide you could see all of her teeth. 

"I-I...", Wendy stutters. 

"I will pay you as much as you want"

She doesn't know what to say. There are a dozen thoughts swirling through her head in those seconds. What about the bakery? What about the customers? Her family? She can't just leave them. 

She takes a deep breath.

"I...", Wendy begins, fumbling with her apron. "I'm afraid I have to decline, your highness", she clears and stands a little straighter. "I can't just leave the bakery. I love this job, I love my family and I love my customers. Those muffins make our customers happy. I don't make them to profit off of them. I make them, because they make people happy. I don't need the money or anything of the sort. I just want to do what I love and share it with others"

By the time Wendy's finished, she's practically gasping for breath. Chest heaving as she looks straight into princess Joohyun's dark orbs. Wendy blinks a few times before realizing what she just said and to who she just said it. 

"OH" 

Her eyes get impossibly large as she rapidly looks between all the people in the small space. 

Yerim is fuming besides her, the younger girl's cheeks red like two tomatoes, while her father just stares at her bewildered. Namjoon shuffles with his feet and leans sideways, putting most of his weight on his left leg. He just looks at her with an unexplainable expression and Wendy gulps. 

"Why didn't you stop me?!", she half whispers, half yells at the silver haired man, who just shrugs with a smirk.

Suddenly a small chuckle could be heard and from that chuckle erupted laughter. A soft, sweet sound with a hint of amusement, that filled the space of small bakery. 

"You're really funny, you know?", the princess looks at the blonde haired girl, extremely amused by her. "I like you. There need to be more people like you"

Wendy knows she probably - no DEFINITELY - looks ridiculous right now, but everything this woman says is confusing her. So she just tilts her head and hopes the princess notices her confusion.

"I have heard many stories about you, Wendy. One of those, I remember, was about how loyal and selfless you are", princess Joohyun takes a step closer to the blonde woman. "They weren't lying after all. You're a very sweet and naive girl and you should stay that way", she smiles. "Since I can't have you as my personal baker. Could you make me some of those muffins? For me and my men? Since we've come all the way here" 

It takes a smack to the shoulder from Yerim to get Wendy out of her shocked trance.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah - sure I'll make them for you and your men... and woman", Wendy glances at the taller woman in blue, who looks back in response. The blonde quickly looks away and turns on her heels to head to the kitchen. 

Two years ago, she made pastries for fun and now, she's making muffins for a princess, who took the time to find her and personally ask Wendy to make those muffins for her. 

Wendy thinks her life can't get any weirder than this, but oh boy is she wrong.