Park Bom dragged Minzy and Chae-Rin across the street.  The sign over the shop read Crème de la Crème French Bakery in fancy script.  As they tumbled through the door, the scent of freshly baked bread and ripe strawberries assaulted them.

Bom gasped excitedly and rushed forward towards the rows of tarts, éclairs, napoleons, chocolate and almond croissants, torts, crème puffs and other delectable looking treats. The three girls pointed and whispered among themselves, pressing their fingertips against the glass of the bakery case as a new confection caught their eye.

“Ohhh,” Park Bom moaned and fluttered her eyes.  “That one looks soooo good.”

“Look at that one!” Chae-Rin gushed pointing at a chocolate doused éclair.

The man behind the counter chuckled as he watched the three drool over the assortment of pastries. 

“Would you like to try a sample?” he asked Bom shyly.

Gaping, she looked at him as though he’d offered her the moon.  “Can I do that??”

“Of course,” he grinned and handed her a small slice of napoleon stuck on the end of a toothpick. “I’m a big fan of 2NE1,” he man confessed.  “It’s an honor to have you here.”

Bom studied him for a moment.  He was actually rather cute.

“Do you make these?” she asked inquisitively.

He nodded.  “I’m a pastry chef.  Actually, I own this shop.  I’m Song Min-Joon.” He bowed before offering her a grin.

Bom sighed.  “A pastry chef, that sounds like so much fun.”

Chae-Rin laughed and pointed to Bom, “She would have totally been one if she didn’t sing.”

“Do you think I could get one for Daesung oppa?” Minzy whispered quietly.  “I think he likes these ones.”

“You know … that’s how Noelle made Top fall in love with her,” Bom replied sagely.

Minzy looked up at her questioningly.

“She brought him those cookies she made, remember?  She said her grandmother told her that if you want a man to feed him sweets.”

Chae-Rin looked skeptical.  “That doesn’t work .. does it?”

Bom shrugged. 

She watched as Minzy and Chae-Rin ordered boxes to go.  “Those are for me .. right??”

Daesung was working out.  Minzy peeked inside the room .. but he wasn’t alone.

She backed into the hallway and leaned against the wall, the handles of the small box she carried trailing from her fingertips.  She sighed, then bit her lip.  “You can do this,” she told herself.  “Be brave Minzy, be brave.”

“Who are you talking to?”

Startled, she quickly looked up, only to find herself inches from Daesung’s chin.  With a tiny squeak, she hopped backwards.  He chuckled at her.

Minzy ducked her head and shuffled her feet awkwardly. “I brought you this.” She looked down at the toes of his shoes as she held out the box.

“What’s this?”  Daesung asked as he examined then sniffed.  “Smells like strawberries.”

“It’s a strawberry napoleon.”

He opened the lid and peered inside.  “Oh.  Wow.  Thank you.”

Minzy took a small step closer to him. “Daesung oppa,” she said timidly before looking upward into his eyes.  She put every ounce of adoration and sentiment she held inside into her imploring gaze as she whispered, “I know I’m not old enough yet …. but ………….. wait for me.”

Speechless with surprise, he watched her run away.  Then he turned, and with a soft smile he placed his hand over his heart.

Chae-Rin paced outside the studio door.  She hated feeling uncertain about herself.  It made her mad, and being mad made her cranky.  She started to walk away, then turned back and grabbed the door handle.  “You can do this,” she growled to herself.  Taking a deep breath, she yanked the door open and marched inside.

Teddy looked up.  “Hey CL, what’s up?” he greeting lightly before turning back to his screen.

“This,” she barked, “.. this is for you.”  She dropped the pastry box into his lap.

“Huh?” he picked it up and sniffed it.  “Oh wow, that smells good.  What is it?”

“It’s a tiramisu,” she mumbled, then turned and stormed out.

“Uh, thank you!” Teddy called out just before the door closed behind her.

She sat at a table across the cafeteria with her stylist.  They were whispering excitedly as Dara showed off her engagement ring.  She hadn’t spoken to him since his confession.  Not one word.

Ji-Yong’s heart was breaking.  The pieces felt like they were stuck in his throat.  He couldn’t tell if he wanted to cough or sob.  The pressure seemed to be growing inside him .. like a balloon stretched to its limits, he felt on the verge of exploding.

He gripped his pen.  Placing it on the paper in front of him he wrote one word so firmly it broke though the sheet …

obsession ….

As he stared at the word, he felt a tearing inside him.  It grew larger and larger, until the reservoir of emotions he’d pent up came pouring out.  The words swam in front of his eyes like schools of fish.

He began to write.