Part 5

“but time moves faster, replaying your laughter, disaster”

_______

The message replying to hers comes an hour later.

[8:01pm] short king
i bet i could cheer you up better if i were there bc im awesome and amazing

Seri thinks of the way Baekhyun had listened attentively to her rambling and told her that he enjoyed talking to her. She’s half certain she dreamed up that interaction—she probably would’ve been convinced that were the case if Sehun and Jieun hadn’t been eavesdropping and confirmed for a fact that she hadn’t hallucinated the entire thing.

[8:05pm] seri
mmmm yea no that’s a high bar to beat there

[8:06pm] short king
thats okay i’m a professional at getting over high bars

[8:07pm] seri
ok mr 5’4

[8:09] short king
this is precisely why i don’t trust people anymore

A snort escapes her. Sore loser, she types back, grinning to herself.

***

Baekhyun does not come to the bakery the next day. Seri doesn’t want to admit, but she'd spent the entire hour from quarter to eight to quarter to nine waiting to spot his now-familiar figure outside the store. Customers come and go; Sehun starts wiping windows because there’s nothing to do; Jieun counts the cash in the till. There is no Baekhyun. By the time it’s nearing ten thirty, she’s met with the very unfortunate fact that he is apparently not going to show up today.

“Baekhyun didn’t come today,” Jieun notes casually at around lunchtime.

“He’s a model,” Seri replies in her levelest voice possible. “He’s probably busy.”

“How does it feel having a celebrity as a friend?” Jieun continues, completely disregarding what Seri had previously said. “Do you feel famous too?”

“World renowned model Byun Baekhyun and the Baker Girl,” Sehun narrates in a monotone. “Wow, Seri, you made it big.”

She shoots him a glare. “I should fire you.”

“Maybe see if Baekhyun would like to be hired in my place.”

“You two are insufferable,” she tells them pointedly.

It’s only after work, when Jieun and Sehun have left and Seri does the final clean-ups, that she looks out the window again and into the busy street outside. She’s been ignoring the possibility the entire day, but she wonders if somehow, she’s done something to offend Baekhyun, or he’s annoyed by her, or simply doesn’t find any reason to return to the bakery. Seri tries to tell herself the same thing she told Sehun and Jieun: he’s busy, very clearly. But it's harder telling herself than telling someone else. 

Seri packs all the boxes in record time. She’s done with closing the bakery surprisingly early. Then Seri heads back to her apartment and lies face-down on her couch instead of cooking dinner like a productive adult and laments over the fact that Byun Baekhyun had not shown up as if she has any right to be upset about that.

She’s about given up on the thought of having to make a meal when her phone lets out a chime. Seri lifts her face from the cushion and raises the screen to her face.

[7:58pm] short king
how’s the shampoo?

[7:58pm] seri
actually really nice
i guess you do take hair care seriously huh

[7:59pm] short king
still holding a grudge against you since u thought i used 3 in 1
the 5’4 i can accept, the 3 in 1 i can’t

[8:00pm] seri
glad my ploy for getting you to accept the 5’4 worked

[8:01pm] short king
i really hate u
anwyays i just wanted to say: i also hate my boss, but its hate (derogatory) rather than my hate (affectionate) for u

[8:01pm] seri
what he’d do this time?
and thanks but you’re still on the hate (jury’s out) stage

[8:02pm] short king
i can’t rly explain the details but basically finally made me do smtg i really did not want to do and now my entire life is a disaster
AND RUDE. TELL THE JURY TO HURRY

[8:02pm] seri
not at all vague and completely understandable
is this another one of your ‘i wish i could quit’ days?

[8:05pm] short king
no bc want to quit everyday /ᐠ ._. ᐟ\ﾉ

[8:05pm] seri
don’t lie. you spent 3 minutes tryna find that emoji

[8:06pm] short king
um two minutes actually
but in full seriousness it does feel like everyday is an i wish i could quit day except i know i cant really quit so im kinda just stuc with it
why quit a stable and good job just to try something that i can’t even guarantee i’ll be able to keep up??? people say you regret the things u don’t do but honestly i think that sayings plain wrong

[8:07pm] seri
you and me both lmao
i hear all the bull about chasing your dreams and maybe im being cynical but im not in elementary anymore it just feels depressing

At this point, Seri manages to haul herself off the couch and drag her body unenthusiastically into the kitchen, aware of the fact that her stomach is growling and she really needs to eat if she doesn’t want to die an early death.

The water for her instant ramen is finally boiling when Seri’s phone chimes again.

In the preview text, she can see:

[8:18pm] short king
idk how intrusive this question is but what did YOU want to do instead of like whatever ur…

“Is there something I want to do instead of whatever I’m doing right now,” Seri mutters aloud to herself. She tosses the ramen in and begins to rip apart the flavoring packet. Great question, I don’t know. It’s not like managing the bakery is horrid—there are some nice parts in its own rights, it’s just that she doesn’t particularly feel much about it. It’s just… a job. One that she doesn’t hate (okay, sometimes she does), but one that she doesn’t love either.

[8:19pm] seri
nothing really special. like 70% of all confused undergraduates in the world, i did business and then have a job in that sector now LMAO at least they didn’t lie that it was a useful degree?? but i always wanted was really into interior design
but its kinda too late for that and now i just sadly sketch in my room on the off days that i have time to
and tbh when ppl told me it was too late trying to chase a completely diff degree they were right

[8:20pm] short king
interior design sounds really cool actually

[8:21pm] seri
you don’t need to say that to make me feel better lol i know its dumb to want to switch from business to that esp when i have a stable job
dont even need anyone to tell me that i already know

[8:22pm] short king
no no really i mean it i just wasn’t done typing
i really like looking at room designs and imagine what my apartment would look like if i could customize like that bec