Part I

Message in a Bottle
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Part I

“it’s kinda frightening, standing here waiting”

_____

 

Kang Seri’s pretty sure her body is broken.

No other sane soul would wake up at 5am on a Sunday morning when they have the chance to sleep until one in the afternoon, but after three months of managing the bakery, getting up before the sun has become the norm. Her body is automatically awake at five, and Seri can’t even force herself back to sleep.

Well. If there’s one thing that hasn’t crashed and burned since Jimin broke up with her, it’s her ability to get up at uncanny hours and function a little bit better than a typical zombie.

So, at 5am on a Sunday morning, the bakery closed for a holiday, Seri rolls out of bed. She offers her reflection a wince, brushes her teeth, takes a shower, pats on moisturizer, folds her bed, puts on (probably) clean clothing and snatches her charged phone from the tangle of wires.

The screen is so blindly that it feels loud, and Seri must turn the brightness down before she can scroll through the notifications.

There’s news, texts from her mom reminding her to prepare various bakery items and some complaints from her sister about school, and then a stream of texts from the contact that she currently named short king. A day before, his contact had been named whiny little because Seri had beaten him five times in a row on iMessage archery and he’d taken it as a personal insult.

[yesterday] short king
i’m 5’9 i’ll have you know which i’ll have you know is taller than the national average

[yesterday] seri
my cousin always tells me he’s 5’10 but we all know he’s 5’8 and it’s also common knowledge men will add two inches onto their height so honestly i think you’re maybe 5’7 on a good day

 

[yesterday] short king
on a good day
oN A GOOD DAY?>??? miss maam what u tryna imply with that

Seri had attached a picture of his new contact name.

[yesterday] short king
will you change it back it back if i tell u my real height
please

[yesterday] seri
yes

[yesterday] short king
i’m 5’8.5

[yesterday] seri
LMAOOOOO NOT THE POINT FCKN FIVE
you give me 5’4 energy tbh

[yesterday] short king
YOU LITERALLY JUST SAID YOU THOUGHT I WAS 5’7 WHY AM I 5’4 NOW ???

[yesterday] seri
wEll i did say you would be 5’7 on a good day
and because i’m 5’4 and it just doesn’t seem right that you’re taller than me

She had gone to sleep when he hadn’t replied for twenty minutes, and now, opening her phone, Seri sees he had sent her an influx of texts.

[yesterday] short king
it’s because we click so well and are so similar. that’s the reason you want me to be ur height
glad to know i have such an important place in your heart
did you change it back
honey
sweetie
sugar
glucose
carbohydrate
come backkkkkkk my C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁
ok nvm pls change my name back when ur awake……….
sweet dreams!

Rolling her eyes, Seri sends him a text back assuring him that the new and improved contact name is staying for an indefinite amount of time before heading down to prepare for the bakery.

 

***

 

Seri’s not actually sure what she had been thinking that day. Or if she had been in the first place. Between embarrassingly low alcohol tolerance, hating loud crowded places and still crying over her ex two months after she’d been dumped, letting herself get dragged to the bar was a recipe for disaster. She had deleted Jimin’s contact from her phone, but unfortunately knew his number by heart, and two drinks in and she was ready to text him to beg him to get back together.

Awful. No sense of self-respect, really, when she sobered up and thought about it. An equally drunk Yerim had slapped her across the face when Seri informed her she texted Jimin, but the damage was done and the texts were irreversible and Yerim’s attempt to “hit sense back into Seri” was too little too late.

Except it hadn’t been. She’d punched a 4 instead of a 5, so the twenty-eight messages that should’ve reached Jimin reached a stranger instead. No less mortifying, but at least Seri was waking up with significantly less shame than she would’ve if Jimin had received those texts.

She did get a reply, though, but at that point Seri figured she deserved the embarrassed mortification that came with it.

[2:39AM] Unknown number
i’m going to assume this was sent to the wrong number, because i’ve been pathetically single for three years and also bc i’m always the one getting dumped
and excuse me because this probably isn’t my place to say but damn your ex sounds like an . don’t get back together with him you seriously deserve better

Seri had been so chagrined she had spent five minutes debating whether she should just block the number and go back to sleep. Then, against all common sense, she texted him back.

 

***

 

The bakery opens at 8:00am every morning, which means that Seri is up at five getting everything ready. At six, Jieun and Sehun turn up and start helping prepare.

Today isn’t a bad day, factoring out the fact that the coffee machine has broken down with a worrisome huff of smoke. The clock reads 7:49, and she and Jieun send Sehun to repair the thing because he’s the only one with some hope with tools. The machine spits out another cloud after he attempts to tinker with it.

“Okay,” Seri decides. “Let’s just unplug it before it explodes. No coffee today.”

She swears she hears Sehun mutter bless under his breath.

Her phone chimes. Giving the bakery one last look-over and deciding everything is perfect for now, Seri fishes it out of her pocket to glance at the screen.

[7:54am] short king
why do u always reject my requests. i don’t even ask that much of you,,,..

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Comments

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Baekkyoongja
#1
Me too waiting for this story perhaps will be continued ☺️🥹☺️
Purple_Phoenix #2
Chapter 7: <span class='smalltext text--lighter'>Comment on <a href='/story/view/1496356/7'>(NEW!) Part VII</a></span>
Just letting you know, that there’s still some one waiting! Fighting!
Baekkyoongja
#3
I miss this story 🥹🙏
Jcdfdc4BBh #4
Chapter 7: Hope you update this story
Blue_Parody
#5
Yay for the new stories!!!!!! I know they're considered older since they're not new new but I didn't have time to even open aff so I'm so blessed and excited by the update notification and seeing your stories on the list!!! And I love the descriptions already I'm definitely starting them and trying to keep reading while you're updating them. 🥰🥰
fffppp657 #6
Chapter 7: Love this story! I hope the author will continue it!
blushingmeh
#7
Chapter 7: I had subscribed the story since the beginning but only got the time to read it today....but can I just say...how much I am loving this....like it's just making me feel giddy and fuzzy and i don't even know if it's alright to have these feelings with such intensity...
I am excited to read the following chapters soon....
You did a great job!!!!
Good Luck!!!
Kyoko99
#8
Chapter 7: I miss the story 🥺 but take your sweet time to update ❤️ I'll be waiting ☺️
nemofuzzy #9
Chapter 7: Been really enjoying this fic! It's very sweet and refreshing, I adore Seri and Baek
gteafrapp #10
Chapter 7: is there a real life scenario of this fic? cuz honestly im jealous of seri & baekhyun :) so perfect for each other

im glad seri finally can stand up for herself from jimin cuz jimin's an as*hole loll & i think he's a passive aggressive kind of guy based on his words? idk but i hate how he makes seri insecuree & pls stop mention abt ur girlfriend fgs loll

thank you for the update!