Recap

They already agreed on cutting their ties with them but here they are, coming back to cause trouble. In the midst of the crowd, Jongup saw their leader Minho trying his best to stop the fighting. Jongup couldn’t stand still any longer. He made his way through fists and objects thrown across the room until he reached their opponents leader, Sungyeol. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jongup separated one of his crew mates from Sungyeol and grabbed him by the collar. He cornered him against a nearby wall, trapping Sungyeol from escape.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Jongup asked through gritted teeth.

Seungyeol scoffed, whipped his dark hair out of his face and smirked. “What does it look light like I’m doing? I’m giving my boys some exercise.”

“Hey, look. I don’t want to fight you Sungyeol. So stop tempting me, my patience is cutting short.”

Sungyeol rolled his eyes. “Jongup, Jongup, Jongup. Do you remember that time when your stupid gang went against us? We were a team!  Now look at you, hiding behind some bakery acting like everything your gang did in the past will be wiped from history.”

Jongup released Sungyeol and punched him across the face, his anger almost reaching his peak.

“What ever happened then occurred way before the both of us were even born. Don’t you think the past was why we stopped doing all those horrible things?”

Sungyeol spat out some blood that accumulated in his mouth. Piercing sirens suddenly sounded and a group of police rushed in the room pointing guns towards the people inside.

“Stop what you’re doing now!” One of the policemen demanded.

Everyone froze. Placed both of their hands in the air and separated from each other.The members of Fire moved over to the right and made a path for the police to walk between the two gangs.

Hailey came in clutching her cell phone and scanned the room. If there weren’t bruises, there were cuts, no one was wound free. Hailey gave a defiant stare at the members of Fire. What could have triggered them to act this way? Whatever it was, it definitely couldn’t possibly have been just for exercise.

The police approached Fire and began to take out hand cuffs when a blast of thick smoke escaped from a hidden smoke bomb in the corner of the room. The area was filled with white and everyone fanned their hands to clear the view. When the thick fume had evaporated, the members of Fire had already disappeared without a trace.

The police cursed and raced out to chase after them but Minho blocked their path.

“Let them go, we kind of owe them.”

The policemen looked at each other in confusion.

“You know if you weren’t working with us, you would’ve been arrested too.” One of them warned and walked off with the rest of his teammates.

Minho and his gang have been working under the police for almost eight years now. You could say they did stuff behind-the-scenes to assist in capturing criminals.

After the policeman’s warning, Hailey rushed over to Jongup and examined his body.

“Jongup, you’re not hurt are you?”

“I’m fine. Go help the others.” He replied and walked over to the grab the first aid kit.

Hailey grabbed some ice and started distributing it to everyone that needed it. If those Fire guys came again, Hailey was convinced that this time she wouldn’t get the police involved and just kick their herself.

“Who was the guy that Jongup punched? The leader?” Hailey asked as Minho came closer.

Minho scratched the back of his head and replied, “That would be Sungyeol. He’s not really the leader, just the person in charge of the group that ambushed us.”

Hailey knitted her eyebrows and shrugged. She took a glance at Jongup and saw that he was bandaging someone. Hailey stared at him in admiration, he's amazing, she thought as she continued to aid the other injured gang members.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

During that afternoon, Hailey served countless customers and almost sold out all the bread they baked in the morning. Jongup was supposed to help her but he was busy fixing broken furniture with the others.

Hailey went back behind the counter and opened the cash register.

“This should be enough to pay off the damage today,” she said triumphantly as she checked the profits. 

Since no one was coming in, Hailey decided to clean the place up a bit. She grabbed a damp towel and began to clean the glass display cases.

The heavy door creaked open and the chimes that hanged beside the window tinkled to signal the arrival of a customer. Hailey immediately stood up and turned around. She dropped the towel and hung slightly open, it was a male customer and the first thing that caught Hailey’s attention was his hair.

It was golden and had the same shade of blonde as the boy who helped her when she ran away from home. Hailey couldn’t take her eyes off him. Although she never saw the boy’s face, their eyes were strikingly similar.

Hailey was so mesmerised by the customer, she had forgotten that they were in a bakery. He waved his hand in front of her face and she quickly snapped out of it.

“Oh, how can I help you?” Hailey asked but couldn’t hide the nervousness in her voice.

She’s seen so many blonde male customers before but none of them made her feel like they were the one who helped her. This customer on the other hand had a different effect, her mind was wiped from any other thoughts and she wasn’t even sure if she heard his order right.

“Can I please get a dozen French baguettes?”

“Sure,”

Hailey went over to the rack of fresh bread and picked out the desired amount. She handed the bread over to the customer but he lifted one of his eyebrows and stared at her weirdly.

He gave a small laugh, “This is tiger bread. You do work here don’t you?”

Hailey’s eyes widened in horror as she quickly apologised and returned to retrieve the French baguettes.

She heard the customer laugh at her clumsiness.

“Don’t worry about it. This will be fine.” He said and held the pack of bread in his arms.

He placed a twenty dollar note on the counter and began to walk out the bakery. “Keep the change.”

Hailey wanted to say something but the words were stuck in . She swallowed to get rid of the sticky feeling and raised her voice so the customer could hear her.

“Wait– may I know your name?”

The blonde customer turned around and smiled. “It’s Daehyun. I’ll see you soon, Hailey.”

Hailey watched his back as he walked out of the bakery and onto the streets. She couldn’t believe that she was so clumsy in front of him. What if that really was my saviour? She thought to herself and regretted producing such an unprofessional image.

Hailey then stopped. She hit the rewind button in her head and replayed what Daehyun last said. I’ll see you soon, Hailey.

“How did he know my name?” She asked herself quietly as a shiver ran down her spine. Could it really be that boy from ten years ago?

A female customer with a slightly long pixie cut came in which stopped Hailey’s train of thoughts. The customer rushed over and placed one hand on the counter and the other on her hip. She was panting slightly and looked like she had just completed a strenuous run.

“Can I get a meat pie?” She requested in-between breaths.

“Sorry but we’ve sold out,” Hailey replied apologetically.

The woman sighed in disappointment and ran her hand through her hair.

“Fudge!” she said angrily, “Do you have anything that might impress a bolding and sort of chubby policeman?”

Hailey was surprised at her question and responded slowly, “If that bold policeman likes sausage rolls…”

“I guess that will do. Can I get one?”

Considering the eagerness in her voice, Hailey quickly placed a sausage roll into a paper bag and handed it over to the pixie haired female.

“Thanks,” she said and paid for it. Her phone suddenly rang and she struggled to pull it out of her skinny jean pockets. When she finally did, she looked at the caller ID and was hesitant to pick up.

“Boss…?”She said softly.

“Chunhei! How long does it take for you to buy a meat pie? We’ve got work to do you know?”

Hailey could hear a male’s voice screeching from the phone. She assumed that it was the bolding, slightly chubby policeman.

“I’m sorry, I’m on my way right now.”

“Whatever. While you’re at it, can you ask around for this gang? Got pen and paper?”

The female looked around and Hailey couldn’t help but pass over some scrap paper and a writing tool. Chunhei nodded at Hailey as a sign of gratitude and started busily scribbling down some notes.

“Ok, F-i-r-e. I’ll be sure to ask around about them. Do you want me to bring you your-” She stopped at midsentence and stared at her phone in disbelief, “he hung up on me. Rude.”

Remembering her duties, she flipped out a badge in front of Hailey and began to speak. Hailey stared at the FBI title as it was the first time so was approached by one.

“Sorry for causing trouble but do you know a gang who goes by the name of Fire?”

Hailey paused, not sure whether to tell the truth or not.

The FBI sighed, “Actually, forget I asked. You look too innocent to know a bunch of rebellious citizens like them.”

She was about to leave when Hailey spoke up.

“Wait, you said Fire right? As a matter of fact yes I do know them,” she replied.

Chunhei turned around and her face brightened, “That’s fantastic! I’m Chunhei by the way, it means justice and grace. May I ask you a few questions about them?”

Before Hailey could answer, Jongup’s voice interrupted her.

“Hailey, can you pass me a slice of bread? I’m starving.”

He walked into the bakery covered in dirt and Hailey couldn’t help but think that it made him look even manlier. Chunhei suddenly became speechless as she took in the sight of the male standing in front of her.

“Jongup? Is that you?” 

Author's Note

Thank you so much for reading! Please vote, comment, subscribe and anticipate the next chapter. ^^

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xxx