Soft music wafted through the kitchen, and a low voice accompanied it, following the rise and fall of the melody. It was early morning, and as usual, Nam Woohyun was alone, baking up a storm. He glanced over at the chair across from him. Bonnie had only been with him for one morning, and her company wasn't even that great as she was practically asleep. But Woohyun found himself missing it, just the warmth of an other human body next to him. But now all he could do was bake and wait for Dongwoo to come crashing down the stairs a couple hours later. 

Woohyun was busy kneading the dough with his knuckles, when he heard a knock at the side door. He jumped up, slightly startled at the obtrusive noise. He glanced upwards at the clock. It was 4 in the morning. He frowned in thought as he wiped the flour from his hands and made his way to the door.

"Woohyun-ssi! I'm sorry that I'm late," Bonnie apologized as soon as he opened the door.

"Tokki-ssi," he spoke in shock. "I didn't expect to see you until this afternoon." He stepped aside and allowed her in.

She put a tray with some cups of coffee onto a countertop. "I owe Sungyeol an Americano, so I just decided to get one for everyone," she explained when she caught Woohyun staring at it. She plucked one from the tray and handed it to him.

Woohyun showed his natural smile and accepted the cup with two hands. "Thank you, Tokki-ssi. But," he started but paused a bit before starting again. "If you're just interviewing the customers today, why did you come in so early?" He saw Bonnie immediately freeze as if she did something wrong. "Ah! No! Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the company. I really do. It's just...I didn't expect to see you so early."

Bonnie bit her lower lip. Why did she come again so early in the morning? Was it to get out of the office? Was it because she found herself wide awake at 3 am with nothing else better to do? Was it because she felt guilty because it seemed Woohyun spent every morning alone for the most part? Maybe. But another reason could be that she liked watching him bake. Bonnie found it somewhat relaxing to watch him rhythmically stir, roll, chop, and pour. It was like he was creating his own music. But perhaps one reason trumped them all. "I like to be thorough," she answered while casually sipping her own coffee.

Woohyun chuckled before drinking his own coffee, recalling the moment they first met, when she first spoke those words to him. He wouldn't have been able to predict feeling so comfortable at her side now after her icy and standoff-ish demeanor back then. Maybe this was a sign that Bonnie started to dip her toe into the side of 'like,' no longer teetering on the edge. He felt his old smile creep onto his face.

"I was thinking," Bonnie began. Woohyun looked up from the dough and saw apprehension drawn all over her face. 

"That I'm handsome," Woohyun tried to fill in the blank for her.

"No."

"That...I'm amazing. Didn't you say that last time you saw me baking?" 

Bonnie scoffed. "No!" she defended. Then she waved her hand, dismissing the entire conversation. "Just forget it."

Woohyun pouted. "Tell me," he begged. Bonnie smiled into her cup and shook her head. "Tell me. Tell me. T-t-t-tell me!" he sang while shimming his shoulders.

"No!" Bonnie yelled with a laugh. "Just get back to baking and pretend that I'm not here," she said, twirling the cup in her hands. What she was actually considering was to offer him her services as a food tester. Who else better than a food critic to offer feedback about the product and what the people wanted? But after Woohyun opened his mouth, singing his own praises, she shoved the offer back down . She wouldn't want Woohyun to form some silly notion that she actually liked him. No that's silly. Bonnie didn't like guys like Woohyun, guys who thought deception was okay, whose honeyed words were empty. 

"No offense, Tokki-ssi, but you're pretty hard to ignore," Woohyun said. Bonnie looked up at him and cocked her head. "Especially when you snore. It's impossible to ignore that," he added. Bonnie narrowed her eyes, focusing a death glare on the baker as she drank from her cup of coffee, but his eyes didn't fall onto hers. They were instead focused on the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. It was odd. For a girl who valued things that were real, honest, and natural, she tried really hard to conceal her freckles under thick layers of make-up. 

"Can I sit with you?" Bonnie asked with a charming smile at a table of 3 teenage girls being waited on by Sungjong (who, much to her surprise, finally softened his gaze on her and even apologized for drawing on her face). The girls looked up at her with blank stares, wondering why a woman her age wanted to sit with them. "I'm with the newspaper, writing an article about the place. I was wondering if I could have an interview with some of the customers."

The girls all looked at each other for a few moments, exchanging words telepathically. "Sure," one of them final spoke with a shrug and scooted over, giving Bonnie a chance to sit.

"Just as long as it's better than that last article about this place," a girl in pigtails huffed. "That bitter old woman."

"Yea, who is she to criticize our Oppas like that?" a girl with a short bob demanded, clenching her fist. Bonnie shifted awkwardly in her seat.

The third girl twirled her curled hair around her finger. "I know! Did you guys sign that petition to get her canned?" she asked. The other two nodded. Bonnie's heart dropped. "Good. She deserves to get the boot for spreading rumors."

"No one with half a brain believes it anyways. True fans stay true, especially when nasty rumors and articles crop up," the bobbed girl spoke."What's your name again?" the she asked Bonnie.

Bonnie's throat clenched. These three girls were just talking murderously about her. She was afraid to reveal her identity lest the girls might leap over the table and attack her. The flower boys were very idol-like, and she wouldn't be surprised if they had some sasaeng fans in their midst. And it would be just her luck to pick the one table full of them.

She sighed (or whimpered) and was about to divulge her name when someone called to her, "Tokki-noona!" Sungjong cheerfully spoke. Bonnie jumped up, still not used to Sungjong quickly alternating from a cute prince to his normal some-what abrasive self.

"Yes, Sungjong-ssi," she responded.

"Noona," Sungjong said with a pout."I told you to drop the formalities, and be friends." She could hear the girls next to her whine, wanting him to say words like that to them. And Sungjong had told her earlier to drop the formalities, but Bonnie had thought it was an attempt to make the others jealous with their 'closeness' (which ultimately had worked because Sungyeol started to argue that she liked him better because she bought him an Americano, but then Dongwoo pointed out that she had bought coffee for all of them so she liked them equally, that's when Myungsoo pointed out he had one extra sugar in his coffee because Bonnie must've thought he was sweet...needless to say, endless bickering ensued, and Bonnie concluded that the boys really needed to hang out with more girls of their own age for a change).

"Ah right, Sungjong-ie. Sorry," she responded. The girls by her side now whispering to each other, speculating their relationship.

"Anyway," Sungjong started. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm not working this table anymore. I'm handing it over to our part-time worker. Bye," he said with a wink before he left. The girls started squealing.

"Oh okay, thank you," Bonnie said as she turned back around. Then a sudden realization struck her. Woohyun had never mentioned a part-time server before, and he had said that only friends and family worked there. Did she really not meet them all already? "Wait! What part-time worker?" she asked the young waiter, but he was already gathering orders from another table. She faced the girls who were fanning themselves and pulling out their mirrors to fix their hair and faces. Bonnie studied them. From their reaction, she wagered that the girls knew exactly who the mysterious flower boy was, and he appeared to be someone special to warrant fresh layer of make-up. "Who is this part-time guy?"

"He only works here on some weekends and holidays. I can't believe we actually caught him," the bobbed girl curtly replied, straightening her bangs perfectly.

"It's the Energy Prince," the girl with curly hair answered as she dabbed lipstick onto her lips. 

“Seriously?" Bonnie asked raising an eyebrow. She looked around behind her and saw what she was looking for. Dongwoo was in front of a table, erratically popping and locking as he put cakes unto the table. "There’s someone even more energetic than that?!" she said in shock, pointing at Dongwoo who was now bouncing like a kangaroo.

The girls put down their mirrors, looked at each other, and then burst into laughter. Now Bonnie was completely lost, staring at the girls who laughed at her like she just said the sky was green. She pursed her lips, searching for the right question.

“Hello friends, how are you doing today?” a familiar voice sounded from behind her. No, it couldn't be.

“Oppa!” the girls exclaimed in unison.

Bonnie slowly turned around in her chair and met face to face with the last person that she had expected to find. Her boss, her office crush, was standing right in front of her in a crisp white button down and a black apron. And his hair, it was styled in a way found in magazines and t.v. shows (he undoubtedly had stolen hair gel from Sungjong as well).“Sung-sungkyu-ssi?” she stuttered. 

“Oh, Bonnie-ssi!”

“So you help out Woohyun-ssi during the weekends,” Bonnie repeated what Sungkyu had just explained.

After finishing a short interview with the three girls, she and Sungkyu relocated to a booth in the corner of the dining room. And he immediately began divulging the truth, exposing that his friendship with Woohyun was more than your typical hyung-dongsaeng relationship; they were best friends. Now, Sungkyu's insistance that Bonnie redo the article made complete sense. Not only had she attacked his best friend, but the other flower boys were his close friends too. But she didn't blame him or accuse him of being biased any longer; she would've done the same for Aine or even Howon.

“And whenever he needs an extra hand, like Valentine’s Day," he said while crossing his arms. Bonnie looked up at him and cocked her head. She recalled Sungkyu taking off every Valentine's Day since she started at the newspaper, but Howon had told her it was probably because he was spending all day with his girlfriend(s). Little did they both know, that he was spending it with his best friends, delivering cakes to depressed girls without Valentines. Maybe I should come here this year?

“But, you’re the head editor. How do you find the time?” she asked.

Sungkyu looked up at the ceiling and pondered before answering, “You make the time for friends. Besides, I owe a lot to Woohyun. He’s given me a lot of support over the years. This is the least I can do.”

He owes Woohyun. Bonnie wagered that that could range from returning a simple favor all the way to blackmail (which she wouldn't put past the baker). It was obvious Woohyun had this undeniable hold over her boss that piqued an insatiable interest in her. Finding out more details of their relationship would reveal a lot more about the both of them. 

“Tokki-ssi? Tokki-ssi, where did you go?" someone called out to her. Bonnie didn't need to turn around to know whose deep voice that was. "Oh HYUNG! I didn’t see you come in. How’s it going?” Woohyun exclaimed as he rushed over to their booth. His face automatically brightened after catching sight of his best friend.

Sungkyu's face too was illuminated. “I’m good. Work hasn’t been busy. It’s a lot less quiet without Bonnie-ssi there the last couple of days," he answered and gave Bonnie a daring wink. She felt her cheeks grow hot. Then she felt her body being moved. Woohyun had pushed her inside the booth as he slid in next to her.

“Why?" he asked jovially. Then he put a hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "Does Tokki-ssi cause a lot of trouble?”

Sungkyu stared curiously at Woohyun's hand resting on his writer's shoulder. He smirked and answered, “No, she just comes into my office a lot.” Bonnie who was hanging her head in embarrassment, automatically snapped her head up. What was Sungkyu saying? She wasn't surprised by the accusation that she was loud (she and Howon tended to cause a ruckus when together), but she did not visit Sungkyu's office as much as he was implying. At the most, she would visit his office twice a week. What was he doing?

Woohyun didn't know that, and his eyes darted back and forth between the two. “But why would she…”

“Woohyun-ssi!" Bonnie exclaimed turning towards him and grabbed his shoulder, desperate to get the attention off of her and her boss."Why were you looking for me?”

It worked. “Oh yea. I made new cakes that I would like you to try,” Woohyun answered facing Bonnie. So he had the same idea that Bonnie did earlier. She felt a small smile creep on her face, seeing how much they thought alike.

Sungkyu cocked his head. “Doesn’t Dongwoo normally do that?”

“Why use Dongwoo when I have a perfectly good food critic at my disposal?" Woohyun said sliding out of the booth, grabbing Bonnie by the hand and pulling her out with him. "Come on, Tokki-ssi. Bye Gyu!” Woohyun bid his best friend farewell as he drug the writer back into the kitchen with him.

Once they reached the kitchen, Woohyun planted Bonnie into her seat. “So Sungkyu-ssi helps out sometimes?” she asked, settling into her seat.

“Mhmm,” the baker plainly responded as he cut a thick slice from the cake he had just made. He put it on a plate and put it in front of Bonnie with a fork.

Bonnie looked up at him, not even acknowledging the dessert. “Why?”

Woohyun sat across from her and put the fork in her hand. “Eat the cake, and I’ll tell you," he bargained.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and portioned out a small bite onto the fork. She quickly put the fork in and exaggeratedly ate the bite, showing that she was going through her end of the bargain grudgingly. “There. Happy?" she growled. Woohyun nodded happily. But then the flavor hit her tongue, and her tastebuds were overly excited. This cake wasn't like his other desserts which were average to say the least. It was special, something she had never tasted before. She was intrigued. "Wow! This is really good. Is there orange zest in here?” she said excitedly, politely covering as she spoke.

The baker leaned in and smiled .“Nothing gets past you. What else do you taste?”

Bonnie put down the fork, leaned back, and smacked her lips, still trying to taste the remnants in . “Hmm…there’s some spice. Nutmeg?" she asked, putting her elbows on the countertop, returning to her original position. Woohyun nodded and joined her, placing his own elbows on the countertop. "There’s something else," Bonnie pondered aloud, putting a finger to her lips. Woohun leaned in closer anticipating her answer. "Avoidance," she abruptly said, clanging her fork down. Woohyun sat up straight and pouted. "Why does Sungkyu-ssi work here?”

Woohyun turned his head away from her, looking at Sungkyu in the next room. “Because he’s a good friend. This is what friends do for each other," he answered. His eyes flickered back to Bonnie who was now watching his best friend gather the order from the giggling gang of school girls. He had just baked her a cake, the one recipe he had been itching to try for days, one that he thinks could be quite successful, but Bonnie had just brushed it aside. So he'll do the same to her. "Why do you care?” he mumbled.

Bonnie immediately turned towards the baker and smiled earnestly. “Because he’s my boss. And he’s a good boss, so I care about him," she said with a shrug. Then she glanced down at the table, gliding her finger along the smooth surface. "Plus, Sungkyu-ssi says that he owes a lot to you. It kind of piqued my curiosity.”

“Really?" Who is she more interested in? Me or him? Woohyun asked himself. Better yet, why do I care? He knew the answer to that one already. Bonnie intrigued him. She was interesting. She was pretty. He wanted to keep her around him, not only for those reasons but things were oddly comfortable with her. Bonnie seemed to fit well into the bakery ever since she strapped on those rubber gloves and washed their dirty dishes days ago. Having Sungkyu there was just a reminder that she wasn't there to stay; she had a job, a life, to get back to...with Sungkyu.

Woohyun looked at Bonnie and shrugged, "I really didn’t do much. Just whenever he spent late night at the newspaper office, I would stop by with food and stay with him for awhile. Gyu-hyung doesn’t take good care of himself on his own. So I watch over him.”

A cheeky smile spread across the writer's face. “Like a mom?...Or boyfriend?”

He chuckled and dismissed her comments with a wave of his hand. “Like a guardian angel. I practically have a halo I shine so brightly!" he exclaimed waving his arms around his head. Bonnie snorted, trying to contain her laughter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his hyung cap the pen, finished taking orders. This was it. His chance to show what kind of person her boss truly was. "But don’t let hyung fool you," he spoke immediately garnering Bonnie's attention. "He said that he’s just here for me, but he’s as much as an addict as the rest of us. Watch.”

Over in the dining room, Sungkyu turned away from the table with a short bow of his head and a few courteous words. After taking, one, two, three steps away from the said table, he quickly spun around and blew the girls a kiss (who automatically pretended to faint). Bonnie's jaw dropped. Did her boss, her strict, no-nonsense, mature (well, when he wasn't on the phone with his mommy) boss really just blow the table a kiss? And he either simultaneously have something in his eye, or he had also winked at the girls. Stunned, she was utterly stunned. She couldn't even register Woohyun hysterically laughing at her reaction.

Sungkyu turned towards the source of the insane laughter and saw his friend, cracking up, hitting his employee whose jaw was unhinged. He chuckled to himself. “Huh? What?" he said to Bonnie. She snapped out of her daze and snapped her jaw shut. "You want one too?” her boss asked as he brought his fingers to his lips, preparing to blow her a kiss.

“N-no!” she shouted and crouched down, out of his line of vision.

Woohyun smiled as he looked down at her, head touching her knees.“Why are you smiling?” Sungkyu asked him, cocking an eyebrow.

“Nothing, hyung," Woohyun answered with a smile. Sungkyu then left, but the baker's smile didn't. Bonnie had rejected her boss's kiss, but just yesterday she had accepted his heart and put it in her pocket for safe keeping. After reveling in this small victory for a few moments, he looked down again, but Bonnie was no longer crouching on the floor. She was back in her chair staring at the rest of the cake, her eyebrows knitted together and her stare intense. "You know, you can have more,” Woohyun joked.

“Huh?”

“You’re looking at the rest of the cake like you’re trying to get it to telekinetically move it from the plate into your mouth,” he responded with a half-hearted chuckle.

Bonnie frowned and shook her head. “I am not! I’m just exhibiting self-control,” she retorted, pushing the plate away from her.

Now Woohyun shook his head. “No, you’re torturing yourself," he argued. He then grabbed the fork lying right next to her plate, doled out a large portion of cake, and put it up against her tight lips as he said, "Here. I’ll put you out of your misery.”

The writer just turned her head away. “No thank you. I’m full,” she replied in a polite tone, but her stomach wasn't so polite. It angrily grumbled, filling up the silence between the two of them. Bonnie faced him and smiled sheepishly.

“Right," Woohyun said with the roll of his eyes. "Come on, just eat it. You’re too skinny anyway.” He tried to get the prongs of his fork to push through her pursed lips.

Bonnie suddenly stood up, causing Woohyun to drop the fork. The look in her eye, the hurt, it made his stomach feel heavy. “I really wish you wouldn’t say things like that," she growled through her teeth. She then unclenched her teeth and bowed to the man. "Excuse me. I have to…I have to go,” she quietly stuttered, backing quickly out of the swinging door. Her shoulders brushed past Sungyeol who happened to be walking into the kitchen at the same time.

Sungyeol's eyes darted between the two. “What’s her problem?" he asked as he walked towards the baker. Then his eyes fell on the cake on the countertop. He pointed to it. "Was it the cake?" Without waiting for Woohyun to respond, he grabbed the plate and stuffed a large bite into his mouth, which immediately morphed into a scowl. He quickly put the plate back down and stepped away. "It definitely was the cake," he stated, smacking his lips trying to rid his mouth from the offending taste. "What is that in there? Is that orange? Who does that?”

Woohyun wasn't in the mood for the over-zealous waiter now. He grabbed the plate about to take a bite of it himself, but then remembered he couldn't. He pushed the plate away and sighed. “A lot of people actually. You just have an unsophisticated palate,” he ended with a light insult.

“Hey, my palate is just fine! Your palate is…stupid,” Sungyeol stuttered out his own comeback. They stared at each other silently for a few seconds before breaking into laughter.

“Good thing you aren’t being the smart prince today. You wouldn’t be able to convince anybody," Woohyun joked as Sungyeol went to grab a drink from the fridge. The baker watched his tall friend carefully. Sungyeol's hair wasn't in a weird style, there were no traces of make-up on his face, no accessories cluttered about his person, and his expression was oddly natural. Woohyun cocked his head. "Who are you trying to be today anyways?”

His friend looked at him oddly. “Sungyeol,” he curtly answered and then took a swig from a milk carton.

“Sungyeol…the  charismatic prince?" Woohyun asked trying to guess at the actor's role. Sungyeol smiled in realization and shook his head. "The sporty prince? The prince…prince?” Woohyun was quickly running out of ideas. Normally he could guess Sungyeol's role right off the bat, but as he was now, Sungyeol could possibly be anything.

Sungyeol chuckled and put the carton back in the fridge. “No. Just Sungyeol. Lee Sungyeol,” he said, leaning up against the fridge.

“The choding prince,” Woohyun clarified.

“Yea," Sungyeol replied. "Sometimes, it's nice just to be yourself.” Something caught his eye, another cake on the countertop, and he began to make with way towards it.

Oblivious to his friend's distracted mind, Woohyun was still reflecting on what Sungyeol just said. It was actually mature. Maybe the choding nickname didn't really suit him. Did Sungyeol finally grow up? “Wow, Yeol, that’s…”

“OH MY GAWD!" Sungyeol squealed as he hastily scrapped the cake from his tongue, unfurled from his mouth.  He grimaced and pointed threateningly at the cake he had just eaten. "This cake is horrible! Why does it burn when I eat it?”

Woohyun was a bit lost, slowly realizing what had just happened. “It's chipotle infused chocolate,” he muttered in a dazed voice.

“Why would you ever want to do a thing like that?! Do you want to kill our customers?!" he yelled. Then Sungyeol dramatically collapsed on the floor. His whole body felt as if it was on fire, and he couldn't stand the pain. At that moment, Sungjong entered into the kitchen and carelessly stepped over Sungyeol's body as if it just were a puddle. "Yah! Lee Sungjong!" Sungyeol huskily croaked trying to get the maknae's attention. "Get me some water!”

Sungjong didn't even turn around or flinch. He just kept walking over to the fridge. "Get it yourself. You have legs."

"Yah! Your hyung is dying here," Sungyeol barked.

Woohyun saw an evil smile creep onto the youngest's lips. "Good," Sungjong snapped back.

Sungyeol mumbled some obscenities under his breath as he jumped up and pounced onto Sungjong's back like a screaming howler monkey. Well, maybe Sungyeol still had a bit more growing up to do.

The bake shop was finally clear of all of the boy-crazed patrons, and there was a certain stillness that fell over the establishment. The flower boys were slowly closing up shop, and Bonnie had settled herself in a booth gathering her notes and such. It was strange how comfortable the sudden silence was, after the loud commotion of the day's activities (and squealing girls). They were used to it by now. But along with the silence came a feeling of solace, which was probably the reason why Myungsoo was sticking closely to Sungyeol's side, both of them wiping down a single table together. After being surrounded by people all day, the boy wasn't ready to be alone quite yet.

But the eerie silence was disrupted by the familiar ring of their door's bell, announcing that someone had just entered the shop. The shop which they had just closed. Sungyeol turned his head about to politely cuss out the person and alert them to the non-openness of the shop, but his voice stopped in his throat. There at the door was the most beautiful girl that he had ever laid eyes on, a goddess on earth. She was small and petite, but still had that coveted S-line. Her eyes were round like his own and glistening. Her cheeks were also much like his own, slightly chubby and completely pinchable. Suddenly Sungyeol's mind was bombarded by the image of children running about her, three children with chubby cheeks and round owl eyes, their future children. Okay so Sungyeol's mind was getting ahead of itself, but he couldn't help it. This was his dream girl. 

Sungyeol hit his best friend a couple of times on his shoulder. " Myung...Myung. Look over there!" he commanded pointing in the direction of the goddess.

Myungsoo lifted his dark eyes and stared in the direction of Sungyeol's finger. He jaw dropped. "Wow!"

"I know," Sungyeol mumbled dreamily and proudly. "That's my dream girl." Then he straightened up his black apron and smoothed out his hair. "How do I look?" he asked with a nervous smile.

"Handsome," Myungsoo answered.Sungyeol's face brightened up, but Myungsoo's expression grew cheeky."But I'm more handsome."

The boys looked at each other wordlessly, eyes narrowing. Sungyeol's finger twitched at his side, imagining him and Myungsoo in the Old West facing each other for a good old cowboy shoot out. But instead of a gun in his holster, the waiter had a pen and a pad of paper in his apron's pocket. Close enough.

Myungsoo was getting into character as well, widening his stance, also reaching for the pad and pen in his pocket (This girl was exactly his type too. He had a penchant for round, baby-like cheeks. He liked how squishy they felt). Both of them just waiting for the other to move. Then Sungyeol saw the first sign of movement. With a quick raise of Myungsoo's eyebrow, they both darted off in the direction of the unsuspecting girl. The boys struggled against each other, pushing and shoving, sprinting. But Sungyeol had one advantage, his long limbs that could carry him twice as far. And Myungsoo had a disadvantage, his clumsiness. The handsome boy face-planted just two steps before the 'finish line.'

Sungyeol arrived in front of the woman, panting and with a smile so wide that his face was about to rip in half. "Hello, miss," he managed to get out. "May I show you to a table? Are you alone or..."

Another person entered through the door, a man. Sungyeol automatically frowned. Who was this short guy who looked like Jjang-goo? The man put his arm protectively around the goddess and brought her closer to his chest. There was a golden glint shining from his ring finger. "She's with me, right yeobo?" the man said sternly, but smiled sweetly to the woman.

"Eung!" the woman returned her husband's smile. She turned back towards now gloomy Sungyeol, but she didn't seem to notice his recent roller-coaster ride of emotions. She smile and cutely asked, "I'm looking for BonBon. Oops hehe. I mean, Choi Bonnie. Is she here still?"

"Oh yea, she is," Sungyeol mumbled, trying hard not to frown. He turned to face the booth where the writer had planted herself (Woohyun had also snuck himself into the booth with her, and they appeared to be in a deep conversation). "Ya! Tokki-ssi!" Sungyeol yelled. Both the writer and the baker turned around. "Some pretty lady and her okay looking husband are looking for you!" (A/N: italics are for when they speak in English)

"Hm?" Bonnie said, slipping out of the booth. "Oh Aine! Aine what are you doing here?" she asked running over to and then embracing her little sister. Woohyun was trailing just a few steps behind her.

Aine had a concerned look on her face. "It's our Ma's birthday. I hope ya didn't forget?"

"Blimey!" Bonnie exclaimed, smacking the heel of her palm against her forehead.

Aine playfully hit her sister, shocked. "Bon! How could ya forget?"

"I didn't," Bonnie tried to defend herself. Aine looked at her skeptically. "Well, not really. It just slipped me mind. Hello, Hoya," she greeted her brother in law.

Howon smirked. "Now you notice me," he scoffed. "We're having dinner at 6, so that should be enough time to buy the gift you forgot."

"I didn't forget!" Bonnie yelled again, but this time in Korean.

The three family members were oblivious to Woohyun, Sungyeol, and Myungsoo (who had gotten up awhile ago unbeknownst to everybody) standing around them. The other two had lost interest and eventually left to wash tables together again, but Woohyun was rooted to the spot. He recognized the sport's writer, but who was this other girl? They had talked about a mother. Were they sisters? Woohyun's eyes curiously scanned the newcomer's face. Her eyes were the same shape and shade of Bonnie's, and their noses were also the same. The resemblance was undeniable, and with a unique look like Bonnie's, the only logical explanation for such a resemblance would be blood-relation. Also the why Bonnie looked at and interacted with the other woman was endearing, but also emitted a protective vibe. She must have been the elder.

The two girls were speaking in what vaguely sounded like English. But their was a certain trill to their words and a musicality in their tone that couldn't be heard in any American English that the boys were used to listening to. Despite the limited vocabulary Woohyun had when he learned English in high school, he was able to get the gist of the sisters' conversation: it was Tokki's mother's birthday. "Do you guys already have a cake?" Woohyun into the conversation. The three snapped their heads to look at him and he automatically felt put on the spot. He smiled nervously. "I would be more than honored to make you one, especially for Tokki-ssi's mother."

"Actually we were--" Howon began to speak but his wife's small hand covered his mouth, muffling his words.

"I don't think we do, right Hoya?"Aine spoke with an innocent smile as her hand clamped tightly over her husband's mouth. Aine looked towards Woohyun. "WE'D be more than honored if you baked us a cake. Bonnie told us that you were great. Ma likes carrot cake. Can you make that?" Woohyun nodded without hesitation.

Howon finally tore his wife's hand from his mouth and looked at her completely confused. "But weren't we just about to--"

Aine scanned her surroundings, quickly looking for something to distract Howon, to stop him from telling everybody that they were just about to pick up a cake from another bakery. And that would be just plain rude to say aloud. Then her eyes found what they were searching for. "Hey Hoya! Isn't that your boss? You should go say hi," she asked nodding in the direction of Sungkyu who was putting chairs onto the tables.

Howon chuckled, and there was a mischievous glint in his eye as he faced his co-worker. "So he followed his pet all the way here," he said quietly enough that only the two of them could hear.

"More like followed his other pet," Bonnie whispered back with a groan. Howon cocked his head. "Sungkyu-ssi is Woohyun-ssi's best friend," she clarified.

Howon looked over at his boss again and smirked. "I should probably say hello...and take some photographic evidence for blackmail. Be right back," he spoke and walked off to greet his boss (who was completely caught off guard and begged the sports writer to not tell anybody else).

With her husband safely gone, Aine crept up closer to Bonnie and Woohyun. "So this is Nam Woohyun, eh? Aren't you going to introduce me?" she asked with an innocent tilt of her head. But Bonnie was all too familiar with that look; her little sister was plotting something behind those 'innocent' eyes.

Regardless of her suspicions, Bonnie still gave into the request. "Oh right, Woohyun-ssi," she said, gripping onto his shoulders and gesturing towards Aine. "This is my little sister, Aine."

Woohyun stepped forward and gave Aine the praticed smile that made Bonnie cringe. "Nice to meet you Aine-ssi," he said with a bow.

"Likewise," Aine responsed. "And who are all of these guys?" she asked gesturing around to the flower boys that appeared to sprout around Bonnie. Apparently Sungyeol and Myungsoo had regained their interest in Aine after her husband left, and Sungjong and Dongwoo followed them, curious about the commotion.

Bonnie looked around her, shocked that the boys seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. She introduced them one by one. "Ummm..this is Lee Sungyeol. Kim Myungsoo and Jang Dongwoo, they're Woohyun's cousins. And this cutie is Lee Sungjong." They all bowed and smiled politely (except for Sungyeol who grumbled that Bonnie hadn't said more about him than just his name).

"Wow! You're all very handsome," Aine cooed with a clap of her hands.

"Thank you!" Myungsoo and Sungyeol yelled out in unison, and then proceeded to glare at each other, still vying for the girl's attention. Bonnie looked at the two, laughing at herself. This was the usual effect that her little sister had on men. She had some sort of charisma, alluring them like a siren. Bonnie even caught Woohyun looking at Aine. She was the pretty sister. 

"I have a great idea!" Aine announced. "Let's take a picture! You need one for the article, right? Let's just take one now." 

Despite Bonnie's objections that they should just wait until the newspaper's photographer came to do it himself, Aine was adamant and stubborn, standing her ground and forcing her older sister out the door so that she could take a picture of them all in front of the establishment. And as luck would have it, Myungsoo had a professional grade camera, which he reluctantly lent to Aine, watching her with hawk eyes. 

Bonnie stood next to Howon and her sister, who was adjusting the lens (Myungsoo was wincing seeing his precious camera being in such callous hands). She sighed; it was useless to fight against her sister. Meanwhile, the boys were deciding their poses, all except for one. "Why am I in the photo?" Sungkyu whined as Woohyun dragged him to the picture.

"Don't deny it, hyung. You're one of us," Dongwoo chimed in settling into his own unique pose.

"Hoya-ssi!" Woohyun called out to the sports writer.

Howon looked around stunned (partially because he didn't expect the baker to call him by his nickname). "Me?"

"Didn't you want to be an honorary flower boy? Come take the picture with us," Woohyun goaded.

Howon blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, obviously flattered by the sentiment."Well..."

"Just go, honey," Aine commanded, seeing that her husband was dying to but just needed that extra push.

"Okay," Howon was easily 'persuaded' to join the flower boys. Woohyun pulled him in between Sungkyu and himself, placing his arms around the sports writer's shoulders, who (to Bonnie's surprise because Howon didn't open up to people easily) allowed him to do so.

"1, 2, 3, Smile!" Aine commanded. After snapping the photo, she looked at it and smiled proudly. "You guys look great!" she praised. Curious, Bonnie looked over her sister's shoulder to see the photo.

Bonnie thought the picture was a perfect representation of the boys. Sungjong, in the back, was wearing his slight scowl that only a few privileged people could see, making him look more mature and sensible than his hyungs. Sungyeol, on the other hand, beaming cheerfully and innocently, with his mouth hanging wide open (Bonnie was pretty sure that was telling Aine to take the 'god damn picture already' through his smiling teeth). Then, on the other side was Sungkyu, who had finally decided to shed his authoritative shell that Bonnie was used to seeing, exposing himself as a guy who was just as immature and fun-loving as the rest of them. The brothers, Myungsoo and Dongwoo, had their arms around each other, smiling almost identical smiles, showing off their closeness to one another. Bonnie giggled. Howon and his child-like expression fit in so flawlessly with the six of them. Maybe he should become one of them.

But Bonnie could not tear her eyes away from the man almost in the center of the photo, with an arm around his adopted cousin and another around her brother-in-law, a man's whose smile outshone the rest, who looked the happiest of them all. 

"How about one with you and the flower boys, Bon? You know, to commemorate your time here," Aine suggested nudging her sister with her elbow.

Bonnie looked at her like she was crazy. "It's only been 3 days," she stated. That fact felt strange. It had only been just three days since she started shadowing the bakery, opening her heart towards the boys. But she felt as if she'd known them for much longer. They even started to develop inside jokes and banter. Her harsh review printed less than a week ago, was a distant memory in all of their minds. But then again, it had been three days. Probably 2 days too long for conducting an investigation into the bakery. Her job was technically done, finished today. Her time at the bakery over. A sudden wave of sadness washed over her.

"Come on, Tokki-noona! You can standby me," Sungjong called her from her gloom.

"Yea, come on Tokki-ssi!" Sungkyu yelled out with a giggle. Bonnie looked at him incredously. Her boss had morphed into a completely different person.You too, Sungkyu-ssi? When did I stop becoming Bonnie? Hardly anyone had called her by her birth name anymore. She slowly walked over. The  boys shuffled themselves around, making room for the new comer and switching positions. Bonnie took a spot on the fringe of the group, with Sungjong crouching in front of her, opting now to show off his cute side, and Woohyun at her side.

"Bon! You're out of the frame!" Aine complained with a stamp of her foot. Bonnie felt an arm sneak around her waist and pull her in closer. She looked to the side and saw Woohyun smiling at her, showing his crooked bottom teeth. "Perfect!" her sister announced. Bonnie quickly returned her gaze back to the camera. "1, 2, 3! SMILE!"

In that picture, Woohyun's smile was just as big, but he didn't look like the happiest person in the picture anymore. He did, however, give Bonnie a set of bunny ears.

Woohyun was putting the final touches on the birthday cake. He thought about how fitting it was that Tokki's mother would prefer carrot cake. He wondered if Bonnie had inherited her bunny nose from her mother. In fact, after seeing her sister, Woohyun's curiosity was more insatiable than ever. Which parent was the foreigner? Where were they from? How long have they lived here for? Hoya-ssi is Bonnie's brother-in-law? How long have they been married? Was Bonnie married? No...Woohyun was pretty sure she wasn't. But did she have a boyfriend? A fiance? Was she even interested in boys?

"Dang it!" Woohyun's hand slipped when his mind was busied with these incessant questions. The icing flower he was making looked like it was wilting now, sad. It looked fitting to him. It was like Bonnie said to him earlier: natural looking things aren't perfect. Maybe it looked more real this way.

"You almost done?" Bonnie suddenly appeared at his side, and Woohyun jumped up, squeezing the icing bag hard and some sweet frosting exploded onto his hand. 

"Tokki-ssi? How did you get in? I didn't hear you knock."

Bonnie placed some bags onto the countertop (she had left to do some last minute shopping, undoubtedly buying her mother a gift). "Um," she mumbled sheepishly. "The door was unlocked." She probably shouldn't have let herself in. Where were her manners? This wasn't her own home!

The baker didn't mind. Not at all. He was busy placing the cake carefully into a box. "Almost done." He closed the box and tied it shut with twine. "There! All done!" he announced proudly. "Did you get a gift for your mom?"

Bonnie nodded, hiding her embarrassed visage in the collar of her pink peacoat."I got her her favorite bottle of whiskey. Cost me a small fortune, but she's worth it."

Woohyun chuckled. "You love your mom?" Bonnie nodded, her head still hidden behind the pink wool. Only her small, twitching nose peaked over, which reminded the baker of at least five of his questions. "Which is it? Your mom or your dad?"

Either Bonnie could follow the baker's strange line of thought, or she was all too used to this question. "My mother," she answered. "She was born in Ireland, but came to Korea when she was 16 with her father as a missionary. She met my dad, and the rest is history."

"Oh!" It made sense now, the strange melodic cadence in their English, the red hair, the freckles. Did her mother have those too? He looked up to Bonnie who was now trying to struggle with the bags and the cake box. "Whoa! Let me help you with that. You're going to drop it." He picked up the box before she could object. But she didn't complain. She wasn't so prideful to deny help.

"Thank you," she said, opening up the side door for the baker. "My car is just over there."

Once he reached her car, Bonnie opened up her passenger side door and gestured to Woohyun to place the box inside. Woohyun looked inside the car and shook his head. "You want me to put it on the seat? What if it falls?" he complained. Bonnie opened to object but he cut her off. "Don't tell me that you're going to buckle it in. I worked hard on this! I don't want you to smush it." 

"What do you want to do? Ride with me?" Bonnie suggested as if it was absurd.

"Let me get my coat!"

"Well.." Bonnie started after pulling her car into her driveway. She stared at Woohyun who was clutching onto the cake box. What was she supposed to do with him now?

"I'll carry it to the door," Woohyun said unbuckling his seatbelt and bolting out of the door before Bonnie could say otherwise. Bonnie just rolled her eyes. She knew what was about to happen, right as her front door would open. Because her mother was a little...too friendly. Woohyun would be lucky if he could leave after once stepping inside the house. The last boy to step inside the house was Howon, and now he was married to Aine, a part of their family. He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Bonnie followed him to her door. Woohyun avoided her gaze, looking at the box in his hands. She knocked on the door once, and before she could knock on it a second time, it swung open to reveal a 50 year-old woman with wiry red hair and pale skin bespeckled with brown flecks. And just like Woohyun had suspected, their tiny noses were just the same. The old woman immediately embraced her daughter. "Happy Birthday Ma!" Bonnie greeted, hugging her mother back almost as tightly.

Her mother released her and finally noticed the strange boy on her doorstep. "Bon, who is this fella?" she asked, but before her daughter could answer, Mrs. Choi pulled Woohyun inside. "It's nippy out there, dear. Come inside. Is this fer me? Thank you!" she spat out quickly and grabbed the cake from his hands. She then leaned over to her daughter and whispered into her ear. "He's staying fer supper, innit he? Grand! The more the merrier. But why didn' ya tell me you were invitin' some one? I woulda dressed a wee bit more appropriate. He's handsome." And with that, she left the two stranded in the hallway.

"You're mom's nice. I couldn't really understand her, but" he said with a chuckle.

"Good because you're staying for dinner," Bonnie retorted crossing her arms across her chest. Instead of looking surprised, a victorious expression flashed across his face. Bonnie snorted, "You planned this all along didn't you?"

"Maybe," he answered before running off in the same direction as her mother.

To Bonnie's surprise, dinner wasn't awkward at all. It was quite the opposite. The conversation flowed naturally and the food was good. Woohyun and Howon even started some friendly banter, earning his own nickname 'Namu' for his tendency to root himself in one spot after her became comfortable. Bonnie's parents even managed to keep the embarrassing comments to a minimum (well, except for the story about her and an unfortunate run in with the law, but Woohyun thought it was cute). Aine, on the other hand, kept elbowing Bonnie in the side, suggesting that her sister give Woohyun some more food or drink (which Bonnie only heeded like half the time).

Then when it was time for dessert. Woohyun had to excuse himself from partaking due to his dietary restrictions. But he enjoyed watching everyone eat his creation with a smile on their faces. It was his favorite part of his job. Bringing joy to others. It warmed his heart. "Thanks for the cake, Woohyun. It's delicious," Mrs. Choi cooed with still full. Then she fed some to her husband, who gave Woohyun a thumbs up for a job well done.

"It was my pleasure," he replied. He looked over at his side where Bonnie was sitting. She was twiddling her thumbs and looking as if she was weighing something in her mind. She then made eye contact with him and then suddenly stood up.

"Excuse me for a moment. I'll be right back," she bid before she left for the kitchen. There was something in there that she had bought on impulse when she was shopping today. She bought it with no rhyme or reason, but with only one thought in her mind: she felt bad for the gluten intolerant baker.

Now, without the writer by his side, Woohyun felt a little insecure but he still managed to keep the conversation going. And it helped that everyone was stuffing their faces with cake, so there wasn't much to it. About five minutes later after Bonnie had left, a mysterious bowl appeared in front of him. "Here you go," Bonnie said, reappearing to his side. He looked back at the bowl. It was chocolate pudding with some slices of strawberries on top.

"Is this for me?" he asked, pointing to the bowl.

Bonnie looked away and blushed. "Yea, I feel bad that everybody else is eating dessert. You need something sweet too," she explained. Then she saw Woohyun look at the bowl with furrowed brows. Bonnie stuttered and reassured him. "But don't worry. It's sugar-free."

Woohyun put a spoonful of the dessert into his mouth and it tasted as one would expect sugar-free pudding to taste. But to him, it was the greatest thing he had in awhile. "Tokki-ssi, do you normally have sugar-free pudding lying around?" he asked, playfully nudging her shoulder with his.

"No. Not usually," she answered nonchalantly and then began to talk with Howon about the latest office gossip. Woohyun chuckled to himself. Bonnie gave him the pudding because she felt bad for being excluded in the dessert. But he already had something sweet.

"Let's do a wee lil ditty fer the lads, eh?"

The dishes were cleared, and the meal finished. But the group was still gathered around the table in casual conversation. Well, that was until Mrs. Choi whispered this suggestion to her daughters.

"Ma do we hafta? This is Woohyun's first time here. We don't want to scare 'im off," Bonnie whined, stealing a glance at the baker who was talking about soccer with the other men. She wasn't opposed to idea of singing publicly. Her mother, her sister, and herself often performed together, but mostly at their church and church-related events. Once in a while, they' would preform at bigger events, like school festivals. But this was different, more intimate. The last time she had sung for a boy like this, things didn't end up so well.

Aine scoffed and encouraged her sister, "Bon, don't be silly. He'll love it, just like Hoya did." Right, they had performed a song for Howon when he first came to their house. But at that time, it was different. At that time, Aine was already in love with Howon, and was eager to showcase her good side to the sport writer, wanted to make herself look desirable, to make him return her feeling to her..

"But this is different. You were tryin' to seduce Hoya," Bonnie reminded her.

Aine shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see how this is any different."

"Nor do I," her mother jumped into the girls' argument. "If you don't want 'im, I'll gladly take 'im. Yer Da is gettin' ole 'n gray. Woohyun is a nice lil fella." Mrs. Choi then stared at Woohyun with a look that could only be described as lecherous.

"MA!" Bonnie yelled, desperate to tear her mother's erted eyes away from the naive baker. All of then men's eyes fell onto her after her little outburst.

At this moment, her father placed a hand on her shoulder, which had some sort of calming affect on Bonnie. "How 'bout you sing for me then?" he said softly. "It's been so long since the three of you were together like this. Do it for your father, please?"

Bonnie sighed resignedly. "Of course, Da." As much as she would hate to admit it, she did consider herself as a "daddy's girl." Not that she was spoiled, but she was easily swayed by the man, whereas she fought a little more against her mother.

"That's my girl," Mr. Choi responded, digging a finger lightly into the dimple appearing on her cheek. Bonnie blushed. Even though she was 20 something years old, she still considered that as a high compliment from her father.

Mrs. Choi smiled widely and clapped her hands in victory. "Alright girls, just follow me," she commanded her daughters. The she led them into the song, setting the pitch and tempo.

There's a tear in your eye and I'm wondering why,

For it never should be there at all.

With such power in your smile, sure a stone you'd beguile,

So there's never a teardrop should fall,

When your sweet lilting laughter's like some fairy

song

And

your eyes twinkle bright as can be.

You should laugh all the while and all other times smile,

And now smile a smile for me.

 

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure 'tis like a morn in spring.

In the lilt of Irish laughter, you can hear the angels sing.

When Irish hearts are happy, all the world seems bright and gay,

And When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure, they steal your heart away.

 

For your smile is a part of the love in your heart,

And it makes even sunshine more bright.

Like the linnet's sweet song, crooning all the day long.

Comes your laughter so tender and light.

For the springtime of life is the sweetest of all,

There is ne'er a real care or regret.

And while springtime is ours, throughout all of youth's hours,

Let us smile each chance we get.

 

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure 'tis like a morn in spring.

In the lilt of Irish laughter, you can hear the angels sing.

When Irish hearts are happy, all the world seems bright and gay,

And When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure, they steal your heart away.

Woohyun watched the trio in amazement. He bragged about himself and his voice, calling himself a seraphim. But Bonnie, modest and humble Bonnie, never spoke a word, and she sang like an angel as well. No, better than that, like the Mary (who wasn't really known for singing but Woohyun was ignoring that for the time being). The way she harmonized with her mother and her sister reminded him of the times he sang with Sungkyu at the university. It came naturally to them, and they sang while looking on at one another with smiling faces, like they were singing for the pure joy of it and nothing else. Woohyun had a lot more in common with Bonnie than he thought. He wanted to see how much they did share.

After the song was finished and after some applause and words of praise, Howon bounced and down in his spot. "Sing my song! Sing my song!" he urged Aine, who giggled at her husband's sudden aegyo attack.

"What's his song?" Bonnie whispered to her sister. She could already tell that she had no choice but to sing it.

Aine blushed, "I sing him 'Danny Boy,' but I change all the Dannys to Hoya."

Bonnie could feel her heartbeat in . She hated that song. It used to be one of her favorites, but the last time she had sung it, he had sung it for that boy. Things didn't end up so well. "Aine, that song is really sad," she tried to dissuade her little sister.

"Well, he doesn't know that. He can only understand that one part," Aine replied, hanging her head, embarrassed to reveal the cheesy details of her and her husband's relationship.

"Oh, Hoya Boy I love you so?" Bonnie guessed at what line she sister had meant. Aine nodded. Bonnie sighed at looked at Howon who was expectantly looking at them. The way he looked at her sister was earnest and true. It was love. Bonnie felt firey jealousy flow through her veins and then subsequently shook her limbs as to shake the feeling off her bones. Bonnie spoke with a tight throat, "You two are perfect for each other."

"So you'll sing with me then?" Aine asked with hope. Bonnie nodded. "Alright! I'll lead this time."

Oh, Hoya Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side,
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling,
It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
It's I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Hoya Boy, oh Hoya Boy, I love you so!

But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me;

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!

Bonnie did not smile this time. Her mother and Aine still did, although not as brightly as before. It suited the slow, low melody. But Woohyun could not drag his eyes away from the writer. Her eyes sparkling with untold sadness and hurt. She knew so much about him. To her, he was an open book, but she had been a bit more gaurded than him. But for a girl that treasured honesty, there was nothing more honest than her face. He could tell what was wrong without her telling him. And it hurt him.

Aine and Howon departed and said their goodbyes. Howon had also promised before he left to take Woohyun along with him for the next basketball game after discovering that they rooted for the same team. Also Bonnie's parents went to their bedrooms to sleep. Mrs. Choi told Woohyun to stay as long as he wanted, which the baker seemed to be doing, lingering around the household, looking at every photo on the walls with that natural, imperfect grin.

"You never told me that you could sing," he stated playing with the edge of a picture frame.

Bonnie took the frame from his hands and placed it back onto the mantel. "It never came up," she responded.

Woohyun leaned against the mantel and studied the woman. "You know so much about me, but there's so much I don't know about you. How about I interview you for a change?"

"Me? What would you like to know?" she asked in disbelief. She wasn't what she considered to be interesting.

"Everything."

And that's how the two of them ended up sitting in the living room. Bonnie in an armchair and Woohyun was sprawled out on the couch next to her. He asked her question after question, and she answered them all, no matter how invasive or superficial. What's your favorite color? Green. What was her favorite season? Autumn. Why? She liked watching the leaves change and liked the musty smell. Did she have a boyfriend? No. Why not? No one asked her to be their girlfriend. Why not? She was shy and kept to herself mostly. But nothing spurred more of a response than this question:

“Is this another sister? Why aren’t you in the picture?” Woohyun asked, pointing at a photo of her family at her parent's 25th anniversary, taken less than 5 years before.

Bonnie brought her knees to her chest. She could feel her heart thumping against them. “I don’t have  another sister, and I am in the picture,” she answered quietly.

”Huh?" Woohyun examined the picture more closely, his sharp nose pratically touching the glass. "Oh!" he exclaimed pulling back and smiling. He pointed to her round figure in the picture. "Your—”

“Yes, yes. I used to be fat.”

“Your hair was a lot shorter," he completed his thought, ignoring Bonnie's angry interjection. "You grew it out. I like it longer.”

Bonnie dropped her knees and clutched the armrests. She raised an eyebrow to Woohyun. “Really? My hair was a lot shorter back then. That’s all you have to say?” she asked, not wanting to say his usual empty words, no 'special service.'

Woohyun shrugged and placed the frame on the table, not understanding why Bonnie was getting so worked up. He decided to classify it under the famed Irish temper. “Everyone’s weight fluctuates,” he stated plainly.

Listlessly, Bonnie melted into the armchair. It wasn't like she was a few pounds heavier in the photo. She was a hundred pounds heavier. Her cheeks were so large, you could barely see her hazel eyes shine behind them. What she went through, many would consider a transformation, a metamorphosis. She was a fat round catepillar, but now a slender butterfly. But Woohyun, Name Woohyun the baker from a shop that thrived on the employees' good looks, could care less, in a good way. She had expected him to poke fun at her former chubbiness or at least comment on it, but to concentrate on her hairstyle and then act like everyone fluctuates 100 pounds, it left her stunned. “You…you say everything so simply.”

Woohyun pouted. “Are saying that I’m a simpleton?”

“No, no not at all," Bonnie straightened up and waved her hand. "I just wish that more people could see the world like you do. I wish that I could see the world like you do.”

Woohyun could see how troubled she was, but becoming like him would not solve her problems. It would only add to them. He had wanted to tell her that the way he viewed the world was more idealistic than realistic, and that it had landed him into some trouble, not ever knowing when to give up because he thought that it would all work out. And when it didn’t, it left him devastated. Bonnie, on the other hand, had a more balanced view of the world. But before he could confess to all of that, he heard a sniffle coming from Bonnie. He crawled over to the end of the couch closest to her but too afraid to do much more lest it would upset her even more. “What’s wrong?”

“Right now? Or with me in general?” she asked, burying her face into her knees which she clutched again to her chest.

Woohyun reached over and touched her knee. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect,” he spoke softly.

Bonnie lifted her head, revealing her reddening face and watering eyes. “Woohyun-ssi, you’re lying again," she warned him with a sad giggle. "I see the way you look at me sometimes. You know.”

Woohyun chewed on his lower lip. He couldn't feign ignorance. He had known about her little secret for a while, since the second day the met (and he had his suspicions on the first). He retracted his hand. “I know, but I don’t know why.”

“Do you want to know the whole story?" her voice was shaking and unsure. Woohyun nodded. Bonnie let out another sad giggle."But you’re going to think I’m crazy.”

“I already think that,” he joked maybe inappropriately, but he wanted to lighten the mood, to encourage her open up.

And she recieved it well. A genuine laugh filled the still air. She shoved him with a smile on her face.“Jerk! After saying that I was perfect.”

“You’re crazily perfect or perfectly crazy," he continued his little jokes. He then saw her laughter abide and her chewing nervously on her lower lip. She was on the edge of coming clean; she only needed one extra push. "Come on. Tell me…please?” he earnestly begged.

Bonnie sighed, exhaling all of her reservations. However she still wasn't confident enough to look him in the eye. Her eyes were glued onto the carpet. “Okay well," she started her story, "they say that people overeat to fill a void. Honestly, I never thought I had one. My parents always doted on me. They never favored Aine over me, even though she’s little and cute. And I always had good friends, and I was well liked by my classmates. But I guess that was it. I only had friends, and I was only ever just liked. But I didn’t think about it too much because I was focused on either my class ranking or my dream of becoming a journalist. I always thought that I would fall in love and have a boyfriend later, when I had more time. As if it was as simple as that." She laughed at her former naive self and sighed again before continuing. "I didn’t realize until later that I never had a boyfriend not because I was focusing on my career but because of the way that I looked. Daehyun taught me that.”

“Daehyun?” Woohyun interjected for the first time since she started. She hadn't even realized how quiet he was until this moment. For a boy who liked to talk and play around, he was silent, still, and hanging on her every word. He rested his head on the armrest facing her, blinking cutely as he waited for her response.

Bonnie realized that it was time for her continue and cease from admiring him. “He was my…friend I guess. That’s really all we were, but I always thought it was something more. I met him in college, and we instantly clicked. We had the same likes and dislikes, we would go out to movies and restaurants together all the time, and we could just talk for hours. Once we even fell asleep with each other on the phone, like they do in the movies. He always knew how to make me feel better. He’d tell me how sweet and thoughtful I was. He’d tell me that I was pretty and that I sang better than IU. He’d say that I was his closest friend. And he…he was my first love."

At this moment, she had to stop. was closing up, old emotions that she had buried long ago were rising again to the surface. And it hurt, those memories. Memories that she'd thought she's always treasure instead of hide. She felt a hand on her shoulder, recalling her to reality. Woohyun's eyes were encouraging but there was also a sense of 'I will not push you, if you don't want to.' A softness. He was saying so much but nothing at all with that one look. And Bonnie felt like she could finish her story:

"And I thought he felt the same way. So one day, I told him how I felt, and he said that he loved me back…but just as a friend. ‘More like a sister, really,’ was what he said. I asked him ‘Why? Why don’t you see me as a woman?’ He said that I wasn’t his type. That he liked traditional looking Korean women with the pale face and the red lips that were skinny. I should’ve just stopped there. I should’ve stopped loving him right then. But since that was the closest that I’ve ever been to love, I guess that I didn’t want to let go. So I held onto him. Well, there was nothing I could do about me being half-Korean except for hiding my freckles. But the weight was something I could change. And when I finally lost a good amount of weight, I confessed again. But he rejected me again. When I asked why, he said that it was because I had changed and he didn't want a girl who would change for a guy." Bonnie started laughing but the laugh soon turned into tears, gasping for air and whimpering. "Can you believe that? He should’ve just told me that he would have never liked me no matter what I did, but instead…he broke me.”

Woohyun rubbed circles into her shoulder with his thumb. “Tokki-ssi, you’re not broken.”

Bonnie defiantly looked at him and argued and all of her secrets spilled forth, “Yes I am. Look at me. I’m a mess. And food is all I can think about. If I’m not writing  about it, then I’m counting calories. I even dream about food. I’m obsessed. I have a food log, did you know that? I write down everything I eat, what and how much, and sometimes how many times I—“

Woohyun's thumb stopped. His jaw dropped. “Wait, Tokki-ssi. You don’t mean.”

“Making myself throw up?" she asked for clarification. Woohyun nodded and she did too. "But I sort of stopped doing that.”

Woohyun retracted his hand altogether. “Sort of? When was the last time?" he asked sternly. Bonnie looked away in embarrassment. Woohyun's heart dropped. "Don’t tell me. It was recently, wasn’t it?”

She started to cry harder, having been caught, but still answered. “The day we met. It was just too much. Too much food. And you reminded me so much of Daehyun, with what you were saying. And I don’t know why." She took in a deep breath, trying to gather herself. "I honestly thought that being skinny would solve all of my problems. So I guess I’m just waiting until I’m skinny enough and it does.  It’s messed up, right?” When she asked that question, she was afraid to look at the man next to her, but she did it anyway. He was still looking at her as softly as ever.

He chuckled sadly. “I’m as just as messed up as you are. Look at me, I bake things that could kill me. All because I want people to like me.”

“I like you,” the words quickly feel from before she could stop them. had divulging so many of her secrets and this one had decided to sneak out as well.

Woohyun smiled, exposing his crooked teeth. “I like you too. And I mean it,” he confessed and reassured her. He then grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. With his free hand, he wiped the tears that were wetting her cheeks. “That guy was a jerk. He just didn’t see how pretty you were,” he tried to comfort her.

‘How pretty you were’… were, not are. Does he really think that I was attractive back then? Bonnie pulled away and wiped her own tears, which were flowing incessantly from her eyes (even more so with the heightened tension in the air). “D-don’t say things like that,” she commanded with a shaky voice.

Woohyun frowned and straightened up, but his grip on her hand became tighter. “Why do you always say that?”

“Because I—“ might end up falling for you, was what she meant to say, but closed up before she could get the words out. She coughed, clearing , and stared at Woohyun with pleading eyes. “Because you don’t mean it.”

At that, Woohyun scooted in closer to Bonnie, and his face grew grave. “I did mean it, and I do. Bonnie, you’re beautiful.” Bonnie opened to object, but Woohyun shut her up. “With your red hair,” he said moving a few strands from her face. “Your hazel eyes,” he wiped the tears just emerging from her ducts. “And your cute freckles,” his knuckle brushed down the bridge of her nose. “He must have been blind to not think you were pretty.” Bonnie felt his other hand final relinquish its vice-like grip on her hand; and her hand felt immediately colder. But his hand moved up to her wrist and gently circled his fingers around it. He lifted it up so they both could clearly see, and he sighed. “But right now. You’re too skinny,” he whispered as he looked at his fingers that easily overlapped each other as they encircled her wrist. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”

Woohyun’s eyes were sincere; they were too much for Bonnie. She took in a deep breath and looked away, her eyes falling on the digital clock. “Oh,” she gasped. “It’s one in the morning. You have to go to work in 2 hours.” She looked again at Woohyun, carefully avoiding his eyes, but she could still see the puffy, dark circles forming underneath them. Then his mouth opened, and he yawned, exposing his crooked teeth. He was exhausted, but still attentively listened to everything Bonnie had to say.

Woohyun blinked away blurring tears as he yawned. Bonnie looked worried, and rightly so. He probably shouldn’t have stayed this late, but time had escaped from him. Even given the late hour, he didn’t want to leave just yet; he felt comfortable. “I should probably leave now,” he said tentatively, hoping that Bonnie would object. But as usual, she acted as politely as she should.

“Let me drive you home,” she offered as she stood up and helped a tired Woohyun to his feet. He slightly stumbled as he did so. Bonnie giggled, “I shouldn’t let you wander the streets alone like this. You’re sleep drunk.”

He regained his footing as he went to grab for her coat. Bonnie laughed again, “You know, I can put on a coat myself. You don’t have to treat me like one of your ‘girlfriends.’” Her words were refusing him, but her actions said otherwise as she blushed and allowed him to help her with her coat.

Somehow her words managed to sting Woohyun. Maybe he had misinterpreted the atmosphere between them, but he thought that this was going somewhere. “This isn’t ‘service.’ This is me being a decent human being,” he lightly joked with a straight face. He spun Bonnie around and was surprised to see her holding his own coat in her hands.

“Then this is me being a decent human being,” she retorted, gesturing for Woohyun to turn around so that she could help him with his coat, like he’s done several times for her. She had to stand on her tiptoes to get the coat to rest properly on his broad shoulders. Unconsciously, Bonnie began to smooth out the wrinkles on his back and picked stray hairs from his coat, like a chimpanzee preening its mate. She didn’t realize she was doing it until she felt his back vibrate from a short chuckle. Her hands stopped, and Woohyun turned around to face her. Once again, Bonnie didn’t have the courage to look him in the eye, so instead she concentrated on the zipper resting at the bottom of his coat. She attached the other side of the coat into the zipper and began to pull it upwards. At some point, as she was pulling up the zipper, Woohyun had placed his hands on her shoulders, softly rubbing them under his thumbs, pulling her in closer. Once the zipper reached the top, Bonnie slowly looked up. Her eyes falling on his Adam’s apple, then his sharp jaw, up to his parted lips, on his pointed nose, and finally on his eyes which were closed as he leaned in closer to her. Her world went black, as she closed her own eyes and lifted her head, pressing her lips against his.

Woohyun’s hands moved from her shoulders, and he embraced her, bringing her body against his, deepening the kiss. The moment felt right, and the kiss felt right. Bonnie must have thought so too as she snuck her hands around his waist. Woohyun didn’t know if it was from the exhaustion or from the fact that this was the most he felt in a long time, but he began to feel light-headed. He slowly pulled away and lowered his arms, giving her one last peck on the lips before ceasing the kiss altogether. “I should…” he began, but his words stopped. He knew that he should leave, but now more than ever he didn’t want to. He felt comfortable.

Bonnie disengaged herself from the baker. “It’s late,” she softly stated. She grabbed her car keys from a bowl on a small table. Then she walked back to Woohyun and took his hand into hers. “Let’s get you home.”

At some point in time on the short car ride back to his apartment, Woohyun had managed to fall asleep, resting the side of his head on the window. Bonnie was glad to see him rest, even for a short while, not only because he had clearly passed the brink of exhaustion hours ago, but because for once in her life she couldn’t find words in thought or voice. It was like the kiss had robbed her of all speech and left her with this inexplicable feeling. Woohyun might as well sleep then, instead of spending a car ride in complete, awkward silence. At least now, his soft snoring filled the air.

Once she parked the car in front of his home, Bonnie reached over to unbuckle him, slowly and carefully as to not wake him up (which she concluded shortly afterwards was completely silly because she would have to wake him up anyway). She then stepped down from the driver’s seat and walked around the outside of the car until she reached the passenger’s side. She smiled as she briefly stopped and stared at Woohyun through the window. With his hair matted against the window and his cheek pressed against the glass, even though it slightly contorted his face, the sight warmed her heart like whenever she saw a puppy in a pet-shop window. Bonnie contemplated letting him sleep just a little longer, but she concluded that his own bed would be warmer than her car, and if he kept sleeping like this, it would lead to an incredibly stiff neck in the morning. And so she opened up the car door and immediately cursed, “!” Unbuckling Woohyun had not been her best idea because now he was falling out of the car, headfirst. Luckily, she caught him before he fell entirely out of the car. And the sudden fall woke Woohyun up.

He gripped her shoulders tightly, attempting to steady himself as half his body was inside the car and the other half outside of it. He looked up at her in confusion. Having just woken up, he had no idea where he was or why all the sudden he was in Bonnie’s arms. After scanning his surroundings, his mind quickly caught up and filled in the blanks for him. He was home. Bonnie had driven him there. And Bonnie was…pulling him out of the car? Well, his mind couldn’t quite fill in all of the blanks. He looked back to her startled face and smiled the way she liked. “Good morning,” was the brilliant thing that his languid brain was able to concoct for him to say.

“Good morning,” Bonnie replied, helping him out of the car. “But I should probably say ‘good night.’ If you’re lucky, you could probably get an hour of sleep before you need to work.”

Or I could spend another hour with you, he wanted to say, but he knew that Bonnie would politely decline. He was starting to dislike her manners. His eyes surveyed her face. It was haggard. She’d been awake practically as long as he had been, and it was starting to show. It would be better if they just left things and feelings unexplained, unanswered now, until they were more cognizant. “Will I see you tomorrow?” he asked full of hope as he watched her walk back to the driver’s side.

She opened up the car door and rested her head on top of it. “I need to go back to the office. There are…things that I need to take care of,” she answered with a yawn.

“How long will it take?” Woohyun put his hands in his pockets, trying to act calm and collected. But the cold air was chilling him to the bone, and his chest began to grow heavy with anticipation.

Bonnie frowned in thought. “I don’t know,” she concluded. “But I’ll see you later. Sleep tight!” With that, she climbed into the car.

“Later, Tokki-ssi!” Woohyun waved farewell as Bonnie drove off into the distance. “Later?” he repeated with a frown. He knew that Bonnie was in the habit of rarely lying, or saying things just to make him feel better, only saying things if she meant it. So Woohyun would see her again, but later was too vague and left a poor taste in his mouth when he had said it.

A lot of things could change from now until later, and it was entirely possible that later could easily shift into never. Later is such a terrible time.