The next day when Youngsoon exited her flat, Jinyoung was naturally waiting for her. The male neighbour greeted her with a lop-sided grin and the two departed for the bus stop where Jinyoung would then bid goodbye and head towards the tube station.

During their short walk together, Jinyoung eyes naturally drifted towards the ground, following the rhythmic movements of Youngsoon’s feet, a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction swirling inside of him at the sight of the yellow Doc Martens. Seeing that, Jinyong’s smile only widened and Youngsoon’s face reflected a similar expression though her’s was more timid and contained smile.

“My bus is here,” Youngsoon noted in surprise.

They had just arrived and it was already time to part. Exchanging a quick wave, Youngsoon settled in a seat though her eyes were glued on Jinyoung who was still smiling at her.

Letting the bus increase the distance between them, Youngsoon thought to herself that today was going to be a good day.

・・・

When Youngsoon arrived at work and bid good morning to Irene in the changing room, she was humming a sweet tune to herself.

“Someone's in a good mood,” Irene chirped, eyeing Youngsoon with suspicion.

In doing so, she noticed the yellow Doc Martens that Youngsoon was discretely sliding into her locker, careful to not scratch it or get them dirty.

“New shoes?” Irene inquired.

“Hmmm.” Youngsoon nodded absent-mindedly.

“From Jinyoung?”

Silence followed and Irene bit back a chuckle for she knew the answer already. Deciding to not torment the girl any further just yet, Irene closed her locker and exited the changing room but not without sending a cheeky wink at Youngsoon along the way.

Sighing loudly, Youngsoon hurriedly wore her uniform and braided her hair in a side fishtail. Satisfied with her overall appearance, Youngsoon went out and greeted the other employees, ready to commence the day.

Since it was the week of Halloween, they had already started a series of themed desserts. Today's special were choux pastries with black sesame cream filling and green icing on top to make it look like tiny pumpkins. Paired with the spiced apple tea concocted by Irene, Gureum had produced the perfect food and drink combination to counter the cold and harsh autumn wind.

Needless to say it was a hit with the young female clientele, though Joy had a hand in that. She had come over to help out since she did not have class or work and decided to share a photo of the special of the day on her social media since — in her own words — it would be a crime not to. The post then spread like wild fire and the kitchen was in a mess now because Yoongi refused to allow the choux pastries to run out and was thus screaming orders at the kitchen staff to have more made.

Eventually the afternoon rush of customers simmered down which allowed Youngsoon to finally take a breather. Next to her, Joy had just seen off a group of customers who had sung praises at the staff of Gureum and promised to leave brilliant reviews online.

“Unnie, you look happy today.” Joy nudged Youngsoon. “You’re in a good mood.”

“Why is everyone saying that?” Youngsoon frowned, avoiding eye contact in an attempt to escape any further questioning.

“Something’s different about you today,” Yoongi interjected, popping out of the kitchen.

“It’s her smile.” Irene smirked, extending her hands to frame Youngsono’s mouth with her fingers. “It’s different.”

Joy and Yoongi stared at Youngsoon with scrutinising eyes, unconsciously inching closer and closer. Youngsoon cupped her cheeks in response though much to her dismay ended up blushing, and she knew that for certain because of the heat she felt against the palm of her hands.

“You’re right, it’s her smile!” Joy exclaimed while snapping her fingers.

“Yes.” Yoongi nodded in agreement and even approval at Youngsoon. “You should smile like that more often. It makes you look prettier.”

“Min Yoongi are you trying to flirt with our dear Youngsoon?” Joy gasped dramatically and purposefully stood between the two of them.

“What nonsense are you even sprouting?!?” Yoongi hissed with a threatening voice.

“Min Yoongi keep your hands off of our dear Youngsoon.” Irene stepped in, hooking arms with Joy to form a human barrier. “Go back to the kitchen now, shoo!”

Yoongi’s nostrils flared up, doubling in size. The vein on his forehead was threatening to explode and Youngsoon could only send him a sympathetic smile as she silently motioned him to give up on the battle for it was not worth the effort. Letting out a low snarl, Yoongi reigned in his rising annoyance towards the two girls and retreated within the safety of the kitchen. Meanwhile, Joy and Irene gave each other a high-five, feeling pride at coming out victorious over the ogre — nickname courtesy of Joy — that infested the kitchen known as Min Yoongi.

・・・

Inside the TF Group Seoul office, Jackson and Jinyoung were huddled in front of their computers, their eyes shining at the analytics of the online campaign they had launched yesterday. The c