In amongst the rows of cookie-cutter stores the tiny candy shop on the corner stood out simply because it didn't stand out. It wasn't flashy or fancy and it didn't advertise the "newest" or "best" of wares. It didn't carry candy that popped or fizzled or changed 14 colours before it melted away in your mouth. However, every person who walked into the shop walked out with a smile on his or her face and a bag of sweets that seemed better than any they'd ever tried before. How could chocolates taste so good?

Part of the reason for the shop's success lay in its owner, something of a legend to neighborhood children. He was often called Mr. Han and he didn't correct the moniker although he preferred to be called by his given name, Geng. Unlike what most expected, Geng wasn't an eccentric old man like Willy Wonka. He was young, handsome, and possessed a smile so warm that most who saw it couldn't resist entering the store. His Korean was flawed at its best, laughable at its worst, but the good-natured man didn't mind the teasing, his smile still warm and friendly. Perhaps that smile hid loneliness but you'd never hear Geng admit it.

The only time that smile frayed at the edges was when a tall man in a black suit walked by his shop every day on his way to work. Geng had heard that his name was Choi and that he was a very successful businessman, the owner of several lucrative ventures. However the man's expression never changed, stone-faced and solemn as he passed the shop every day, clutching a briefcase and never once looking in the window. Was there any joy in that man's life?

There were many children that visited Geng's candy shop throughout the span of a day, most accompanied by parents that indulged them whenever they said "I want this" or "I want that." Geng bit his tongue, smile still in place as he noticed the greed and indulgence. It wasn't his place to say...although if he ever had a son...

In amongst the many childish faces one little boy stood out. He often hung back from the crowds of others, watching the exchanges between father and son or mother and daughter with a wistfulness on his face, hands buried deep in the pockets of his overalls. His clothing had seen better days, patched in places and mended with mismatched bits of thread in others, and his shaggy black hair could have used a cutting.

Little boy, big eyes - eyes that only got wider when he gazed at the brightly coloured candies that filled the glass canisters on the shelf before him. Never once had Geng seen this little boy buy a single piece of chocolate or gumdrop. He simply hung back, watching - seeming to get pleasure just from seeing parents interacting with their children. The shopkeeper never asked the little boy's name and the boy seemed to sneak away every time Geng tried to approach him.

The weather gradually grew colder and purchases soon turned from taffy and licorice to homemade fudge and divinity, hot chocolate warming the hands of shoppers as a chubby-cheeked dancing Santa rang the bell at the street corner for donations for those less fortunate. Although the seasons changed, two things that remained constant in Geng's world were the black suit and the pair of overalls. Choi (and by this time Geng had learned his first name was Siwon) still walked by every day, still didn't look in his window, and still wore black, although a black greatcoat covered his suit now and Geng could have sworn the man's stride was just a hair slower.

The little boy still continued to come to the shop - and by this time, with a little help from a peppermint stick and a smile, Geng had learned his name was Donghae and he was six. His overalls were now covered by a patched and faded jacket that was too thin and ill-fitting. He still hung back behind the other children most of the time but Geng was able to coax him forward when the others left, often with the offer of trying a new candy. Donghae was still shy but the smile he gave Geng was payment enough and bit by bit the boy opened up to him. Geng soon learned that Donghae was an orphan, his parents "with the angels - and the aliens, since they are up in heaven too, you know." The man thought there was an orphanage nearby but why did they let Donghae come to the shop so often?

It was during one of Geng's busiest days, one right before Christmas, that Donghae seemed to linger even longer, watching the exchanges -and Geng - even more closely. The boy lingered even after Geng had cleaned up and the man poured both of them a cup of hot chocolate, adding a generous amount of marshmallows to the boy's cup. Donghae took a deep drink, the kind that left a chocolaty mustache on his upper lip, and tentatively asked the shop owner a question, his young voice earnest.

"You sell almost anything here, don't you?"

Geng paused, "Well, almost any kind of sweet, Donghae. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." And here Donghae paused, those large, dark eyes intently watching Geng. "Do you have any appas for sale?"

Geng blinked, not sure he had heard right. After all, his Korean wasn't the best. "Appas? I'm not sure I understand."

"Appas," Donghae insisted. "I mean, an umma would be nice too but I'd really like an appa. Maybe one like you. You aren't like my old appa but you are nice and you make everyone happy and maybe you could find me one since you make such good things. Maybe an appa with a smile as nice as yours..."

Geng found himself growing pale as the boy rambled. An appa? Donghae wanted Geng to find him a father? It was....impossible.

"I'll see what I can do," Geng gave the boy a strained smile, trying to think of some way to make the impossible possible.


The weather took a turn for the worst and Geng didn't see Donghae for several days, which was probably for the best. He simply didn't know how he could find the boy a father. He was a confectioner, not a detective - or a miracle worker. The snow began to pile up and business trickled to a standstill, the tiny shop quiet but for the soft humming from Geng's lips as he tried to keep himself busy - and tried not to worry about the little boy who seemed to have found a way to wiggle into a place in Geng's heart.

The ring of the door chime surprised Geng - but not as much as the sight of a black-coated Choi carrying a snowy bundle in his arms, crying out in a low voice for help. "I found him in the alley," the man said in a deep baritone Geng hadn't heard before. He turned from Choi to the bundle -

- and gasped when he recognized the frayed coat. "Donghae! Please, this way. I have rooms in the back. It's warmer there."

Without a word of protest Choi followed the confectioner, carrying the shivering boy into the back room and placing him gently on the bed. "I think he was living back there," the tall man said softly, worry breaking the usual taciturn expression on the businessman's face. "I've seen him on my way to work occasionally, always heading here."

Geng piled blankets onto the bed and turned up the heat, putting a kettle of water on to boil. "You've noticed this shop? You always seem like you have so much to do, Mr. Choi...that you don't have time for a place like mine."

"It's difficult to not notice this place, Han Geng," Choi replied with a smile, the first Geng had ever seen on the man. The stern business man had dimples. "I've noticed you for quite some time..and it's Siwon." He pressed his hand to Donghae's forehead, his expression softening. "He's warming up...I think he'll be okay." Siwon stood, a flash of regret crossing his face. "I should go.."

"Please stay. The weather isn't getting any better out there," Geng protested. "I'll make something to keep you warm."

The businessman started to protest, only to be stopped as the boy on the bed began to stir. As if of one mind, Siwon and Geng turned to Donghae and slowly encouraged the boy to sit up, the confectioner pressing a cup of hot chocolate to Donghae's lips as Siwon held him securely in his arms. The room was silent, the air almost palpable as they waited. One sip, then another. Soon the boy stopped shivering, his belly filling with the warmth he had lacked. The empty cup was gently pulled from Donghae's fingers, a happy sigh accompanying the gesture as the boy was gently laid back in bed. He looked up, his large eyes moving from Geng to Siwon and back again.

Suddenly a smile blossomed on the orphan's face, its brightness rivaling the flickering fire in the corner hearth. "You found him! His smile matches yours!"

Both men looked confused when Geng suddenly remembered. "Your appa?" he asked, turning to look at Siwon. The smile the man gave him nearly floored Geng - and so did Donghae's next words.

"Two appas for the price of one!"