Your P.O.V;

The smell of baked red velvet makes my stomach grumble. But, what can I do? It’s the rule of this bakery/cafeteria, ‘no eating when on working hour’.

It has been about a year I’m working at this bakery, it feels like my guardian, my home and my heaven on earth.

My guardian for the source of money I earn to pay my apartment rent and my school, my home for the friendly mates and boss that never fail to make me feel like family living together under one roof, and my heaven on earth for fulfilling my stomach with the smell of baked cakes and cookies with love interpreted in each of it.

I’ve live on my own ever since I enter my dream high school which was three years ago and yes, I’m now in my senior year which makes me 19 years old.

“Honey, stop spacing out, get back to work” Yang ahjumma, my boss and not forget to mention, my god-mother snapped me out of my little world.

“Neh~mianhaeyo” taking the pipe bag from the counter, I continue icing the red velvet.

“___-ah, let me substitute your work, It is now your shift for the cashier” Soo Jung unnie, reminds me just in time I finished icing the red velvet.

“Arasso, Gomawo unnie”

“Gwenchana, it is my job anyway” Soo Jung unnie smiles warmly.

I skip happily to the silver kitchen door before pushing it and going straight to the cashier.

>>> 

Checking my wristwatch, 8.30 pm it says. 30 minutes more before its closing time. Customers begin to leave the cafeteria, one by one.

My head jerked up almost instantly and it surprises me, though, when the bell attached to the door, rings indicating someone entering the bakery. It is unusual for the bakery to receive customer at this time because usually 15 minutes before the store closes, no customer is seen hanging in the bakery.

Right foot wearing black high top is seen stepping on the floor following with the other foot. I can make out that this person is wearing deep blue coloured jeans and is a guy. When his figure fully seen entering the bakery, adrenaline rush throughout my whole body.

The guy, he is no other than my long time crush, Yang Yo Seob. Who wouldn’t have fall for him when he has baby face which blend in with his milky white skin plus his sweet voice. Even though his height doesn’t match with model-type height and is short if compared to my other guy classmates, but still he is one of the heart-throb in my school. He is not one of the ‘kingka’ actually; he is just someone who is referred as ‘aegyo king’ by other girls.

Walking in calm pace, he has smile plastered on his face but sadness can be seen on his eyes. ”can I have a cup of hot chocolate and a packet of chocolate chips?”

“Sugary food you got there sir, but the hot chocolate is the right choice for the chilly weather out there” I smiled at him as I gave him his order, and that our second rule in this bakery ‘interact with the customers’.

“Thanks, sugary stuff helps you loosen up a bit when you are stress and those sweet eye smile of yours adds my sugary intake of the day” his word makes meblush uncontrollably“not forgetting the blush you got there” he smile dazzlingly at me.

I just bowed at him and walk away to continue my work at the cashier. “Oh my gosh!” I managed to mumble to myself quietly.

“Hey, you’re ___, right?”He, who sits at the table just in front of the cashier, asked me.

“uhh, y-yes, how do you know my name?”I tilt my head on the side in confusion.

“Who doesn’t know, the left out girl…”I looked down remembering my position in school. “uhh, no, that’s not how I mean to say, I-I-I j-just wanna uhh tell you that I know you f-from uhh.. how can I explain this..uhh” he scratched his head, panicking I just chuckled.

“I know what you mean, Yo Seob-shii, I don’t take it to the heart though, I justtake it to the soul” I laughed at my own silly attempted to make joke.

“Your soul?”his eyes widened “that’s even worst! ,I’m really sorry, jeongmal mianhaeyo” he sat up and bowed several times at me.

“You actually believe that?”

“huh? So, you don’t mean what you say?”

“Duh! It was just a joke, Yo Seob-shii, I’m sorry to make fool of you”It is my turn to bow at him.

He laughed. I laughed along with him. The scene before was actually funny if I think of it one more time.

“uhh, yo Seob-shii, I think you better go home, since it our closing time” I asked politely at him after remembering that 5 minutes left before the bakery close.

“uhh, o-okay, sorry though for earlier,I’m leaving now,bye…umm, I guess see you at school tomorrow?”He tilted his head to the side while his hand rubbing his nape in shyness.

“I guess so, bye”I waved at him before he turned his back towards me.

“one more thing” he turned around back to face me, swiftly. “Let’s don’t call each other with the ‘shii’, we are around the same age plus we are friends now, aren’t we?” his eyes sparkled at the thought.

Friend. Its my first time to have friend. I instantly agree to him because I’m happy and excited to have a friend, moreover he is my crush.

“Yay!! Friends we are~”He jumped around excitedly like a child given a candy. “Okay, its time for me to go, bye my friend,____-ah, have a good sleep” He said with baby voice.

“Alright, bye my friend, Yo Seob!”I smile widely at him. Once he was outside, he waved again at me through the glass window after that skipped happily home.

“Cute”I had smile plastered on my face until I sleep.

>>> 

“Thirty minutes more” I sighed. I always come to school early just to avoid getting late to school just because of those so-called ‘fangirl’ of our school kingka, Yong Jun Hyung. He is just right for ‘dream boyfriend’ type. He has the visual, money, brain, manners; basically he has everything anyone would ask for. The ‘fangirl’ will swarm the hallway making it difficult to pass through.

Waiting for the time to fly, I wander around the school. An enormous garden came to sight when I reach the back of the school. Various types of flower were planted. There are four bottle trees standing on each corner of the garden. I walked pass through the quite long grass to reach for the swing in the middle of the garden.

“Ouch!”I accidentally step on something.

“Omo! Who’s that? I’m so sorry!”I look frantically down the grass searching for the source of voice.

“Yah! Watch where you ar-…FRIEND!!”Yo Seob appear from the grass and swiftly engulf me in breath-taking hug.

“uhh..h-hii!, yo-o se-ob, can’t breath”

“heehehee,sorry. I’m just excited to see you”he speaks in baby voice.Ijust smuled as a respond and continue walking towards the swing with Yo Seob trailing behind me.

“Just now, did you just take a nap on the grass?”I ask the aegyo king who was now standing in front of me.

“uhh,yes, that’s my routine actually”He smiled nervously.

“aigoo~,next time sleep somewhere else where no one could accidentally step on you, arasso?”I began to lecture him.

“ok, but usually there is no one come to this garden other than me, I was actually wondering how do you know this place”He walks around me and stop at the back of the swing and start to push me lightly.

“I was just wandering around the school and then I found this garden….hey, did you just say no one else come to this garden?”I turned my head to see him.

“um”he nodded his head like a child.

“how come?”he just shrugged. I just nodded my head in agreement. The swing suddenly stop, it turned around only to find yo Seob sits beside me.

“Wae? Are you expecting me to push you for long time? Nu-uh,I’m tired”He shakes his head cutely while his finger wiggling ‘no-no’. I just giggled at the sight.

We spend the spare time together, talking and fooling around. I am amazed to find that Yo Seob and I feel comfortable with each other when it is just yesterday we be-friend  each other. Time passes by and it is time for class to start.

“Hey, do you have work to do, this afternoon?”He ask as soon as we stood up from the swing.

“Yup, at the bakery, why?”

“Its just I don’t have anything to do later, so I’ll just come to the bakery and see you work?”He pouted his lips.

“What so fun about watching people do their work?”

“There is no fun actually, I just do it out of boredom”.I just gave him thumbs up as a sign.

“Yey~ There is something to do later~”He skips out of the garden leaving me behind.

>>> 

Your P.O.V:

Our friendship turns out very well until now. We spend our recess time at the garden. We also bring ‘bentou’ for each other even though his cooking is not that good but it is still edible though and it improves day by day. Our secret and up and down life stories, we share among each other. His aegyo never fail to make me laugh.

All of that seems to change lately. I feel like he is trying to avoid me, his face look solemn and his aegyo is not showing. Everytime I wave at him when I see him walking on the hallway, he will quickly face his back towards me and walk away just like that.

Seeing him like this making me feel anxious. “Did I do something wrong?”” Did I hurt him?”; “Does he feel embarrassed to be friend with the school left-out girl?”, all these thought came into my mind.

“Honey~come back to earth, will you?”sweet, melodious, calm voice of Yang ahjumma drag me back to reality.

“Oh, sorry, I will do my work now”I quickly stand up from the bench I’m sitting at the whole time and start to take stride towards the booth just outside the bakery where Yang ahjumma’s  ‘annual winter sale’ is held but stop when Yang ahjumma held on my wrist.

“You’re feeling down, I can see that, want to talk about it honey?”. I sighed before sitting down again to sit beside ahjumma rant my problems to her.

“Don’t worry honey, he will comeback to you, just wait” my head jerked up as soon as I heard ‘come back to you’ is spoken.

“Comeback to me? What does that suppose to mean?” 

“He is your boyfriend right?”her eyes sparkle at the thought.

“No, he is not. You’ve misunderstand me, ahjumma. Aigoo~”

“Really?. Never mind then, you just go back to your work.”I started to jog towards the booth when ahjumma yell something at me. “Remember in your heart, you’re the most precious”.

‘Huh’is what I could just say when she yells that at me. What could that possibly mean? Shaking the thought, I tried to cheer my self up by selling the new recipe, Heart cookies. I actually work though. The cute decoration on each of the cookies makes my day. Soon, the freshly baked heart cookies, decreases in its quantity. There are only two left with different decoration for me to sell. While waiting for the customer to come to buy the last two pieces, I clean the table and throws used plastic bag away.

“Are your heart still available?”

“ahh, yes, there are only two left.” I turned around to face the customer. “aa-hh, Y-yo S-seob~” I snapped back to reality and put a small smile on my face. His presence infront of me relief me a little bit. “So, uh, there is only two left. Which one do you like the best? Both of the decorations are pretty though…” I held the two bags of cookie up cheerfully.

“I like you the best, you’re the prettiest”his breath-taking gaze meet mine. I’m unable to speak by just listening to his words. “Omma, can I take away this beautiful person infront of me together with the cookies?” Yo Seob turned his gaze towards the right. Unconsciously I follow his gaze “ahjumma?”

“Like I say, honey, he will come back to you and do you still remember that you’re the most precious?”Yang ahjumma grinned.

“Huh, what’s all this? How could this happen?”

“I’ll explain the whole thing to you later, let’s go”Yo Seob dragged me. “Bye,Omma”.

>>> 

He dragged me to the school garden where only both of use it and we sat ourselves on the swing.

“Are your heart still available?”

“Like I said before, there are only two left”

“Not the cookie, but your heart, is there any space for me to fit in?”I was dumbfounded by his words. It is so confusing to me and hard to understand.

“Can you say that in easy way?”He chuckled.

“You’re my girlfriend now”he patted my head and took one of the cookies in my hand and eats it.

“I’m your girlfriend? How come?”

“Aish! Why are you so slow?”I was about to reply but he placed the other cookies in my mouth. “Finish this first and I’ll explain it to you later”

He then explained everything to me. At first, I was shocked to know that Yang ahjumma, my god-mother is the biological mother of his. His cowardness in confessing to me is the reason why he avoided me. He almost gives up but his mother gave him her full support. The truth is Yo Seob and I once known as ‘couple’ when we were young it is a ‘puppy love’ but we have to ‘break up’ because his family move to another country for work and he had promised me that when we grow up and to meet again he will come back to me because I’m the most precious to him. Now, he had successfully keeping that promise. But I forget about that ‘puppy love’ story.

THE END