Chapter Text
waking up in the morning is never the most pleasant of things. especially when kihyun only got to sleep for 4 hours the previous night, resulting in an extensive yawn escaping his mouth as soon as his eyes flutter open. he's an early bird and wakes up easily at the sound of his overly loud alarm, but it doesn't change the fact that his sleep deprived mind is tempting him to simply crawl back to the warm comfortable bed and return to his peaceful slumber.
kihyun resits the urges and makes his way to the bathroom of his small apartment, washing his face quickly and feeling the water rejuvenate him a bit. he puts on his favourite worn out, but still presentable, jeans, and one of the warmer sweaters he has in his wardrobe. the white veil of snow covering the roofs outside his window lets him know the day is going to be cold, and when he made the mistake of wearing a short sleeved shirt to a lecture last week, he was shivering the whole way through it. he eyes his small frame in the mirror as he feels his stomach rumble, but the contents of the fridge don't offer a promising breakfast. he shoots a quick glance at the clock before deciding to pick up some food on his way, putting on his shoes and jacket and closing the door behind him.
it must have been snowing throughout the whole night, as kihyun feels the thin layer of snow crunch beneath his feet. luckily the downfall isn't heavy anymore and he only occasionally happens to have a snowflake fly into his eye and blind him momentarily.
the warm interior of the 'sunflour bakery' seen through its wide windows feels like a mirage across the street. kihyun shivers a bit and shoves his hands deeper inside the pockets of his jacket as he impatiently waits for the street light to flash a bright green colour and let him reach his destination. his breath turns into thick fog before him, so he tries to hide his chin in the collar of his outerwear in an attempt to warm up his freezing face. the streets are relatively empty at this hour of the day, mostly just kids running around with their backpacks on, and some people hurrying their way to work with briefcases held firmly in hand. kihyun seems to be the only one not in a complete rush, standing patiently at the side of the road with only his camera and a bag hung over his arm nonchalantly.
"hello!" a sweet cheerful voice greets him as he closes the door of the bakery, muted by the sound of the small bells attached to it ringing violently and signifying that kihyun did, indeed, just enter the building.
he scrunches his frozen nose, feeling his entire face hurt a bit, unaccustomed to the warmth it was just hit by. he can sense his nose and cheeks are madly red, and brings up a hand to rub at them as his eyes shoot behind the counter to search for the worker that greeted him.
he hasn't seen the seller here before and thinks the boy must be a new employee. he would know, as this place has become a frequent destination and a favourite of his, both due to the tasty products and the nice lady who usually welcomes him with a kind motherly smile and offers only the best of what they have.
he shoots back a small delayed greeting and unzips his jacket when he feels how warm it actually is inside. perhaps that justifies the way the seller is dressed, in a short sleeved white shirt and a light brown apron with a cheerful cartoon sunflower on it, one that seems to be at least 2 sizes too small for its owner. or maybe the tailor just didn't expect anyone this buff to be wearing it. kihyun has to stop for a second and wonder if the guy's muscles are real.
"cold day, yeah?" the seller offers a wide sincere smile and kihyun can't help but return it as he nods his head and looks over the pastries available for sale.
he feels the man stare at him and it makes him feel uneasy. he tries his best to detach his eyes from the seller's hair, a bleached white colour with the ends dyed a crazy blue, as he stops himself from commenting on how cool it looks.
"what can I get you, sir?" the worker asks as he leans against the counter and kihyun realises he's supposed to pick something to eat. the sweet smells coming from the huge amount of baked goods are making him gradually even more hungry, but choosing just one he feels like having for breakfast proves to be a challenge.
"something sweet. and fresh." he begins, eyeing the basket of croissants in the back and hurriedly scanning his eyes over the labels.
"everything is fresh!" the seller responds cheerfully as his eyes squint under the influence of his smile. he looks over his shoulder and goes silent for a moment before continuing. "well, alright. some things are fresher than others." kihyun notices him wink after that last sentence and he's glad his cheeks are already painted pink from the cold and can't possibly blush any more.
the boy hurries to pick up a plate with some rolls glistening with frosting and places them on the counter in front of kihyun.
"helped bake these earlier in the morning, so i wholeheartedly vouch for their freshness."
kihyun takes a closer look at the pastries.
"are those cinnamon rolls?"
the seller chuckles. "yes, they are. are these fine, sir? or should i maybe get you something else? we also have some regular rolls, or uh, our signature sesame pretzels-" the boy blabbers when he sees no immediate enthusiasm in kihyun's eyes at the sight of his recommendation, turning around and scanning with his eyes for other goods he can offer.
"no, no." kihyun shakes his head with a shy smile. "these are great. they look really good." he confirms and goes to fish out his wallet from the inside of his bag "i'll take three, please."
the baker seems pleased with kihyun's decision and packs his purchase in a small paper bag.
"they should still be warm." he smiles as he hands the bag over to kihyun and goes to accept his payment.
kihyun doesn't like the prospect of walking out into the cold again, and would honestly rather spend the rest of his day in this small warm bakery where he feels strangely at home. maybe it's the wooden interior and the walls painted in a friendly yellow colour that somehow make this place so likable, or maybe it's the quite pleasant staff, either way kihyun walks out of the bakery with a heavy heart, as the seller sends him off with a kind goodbye and an invitation to return. kihyun feels too silly to tell him he's already a loyal client so he just promises that he'll gladly come back again.
( . . . )
kihyun thumps angrily through the halls of the university, heading towards the main exit, as he zips up his jacket and prepares himself mentally for a long tiring journey home. as his classes neared its end he imagined himself hopping under a warm blanket with a hot coffee in hand and watching netflix as his overheating laptop warms his lap. It seems though as if his photography teacher wants anything but for kihyun to be warm and happy.
he walks out into the street and notes the weather did not improve since the earlier hours. the snow now covers his surroundings in a thick glistening layer, and the noises his feet are making as they scrunch their way through the heaps are starting to annoy him. well, at least he's sure to get some pretty shots when the world is covered in white. 'the heart of winter' what kind of a dumb assignment topic is that anyway?
but, like the perfect student he is, kihyun obediently makes his way through the city to find some inspiration. it gets dark very quickly this time of the year, so he cannot really rely on natural lighting. that makes him cross out any desolate, poorly lit places off his list of options, and he realises he can't really count on any good nature shots.
that's why he ends up walking through the city centre, surrounded by tall buildings and bright neon signs decorating them. he thinks the slowly falling snowflakes actually look quite nice on camera, so he tries to capture them in a complimentary way, as a background for the objects commonly found in the street. cars, taxis, road sings, street lights. but it all feels so boring, overdone, not good enough and definitely not satisfactory for yoo kihyun.
when he realises he barely feels his finger as it pushes down on a button to release the shutter, he decides he can't be doing this anymore and he'll have to make do with whatever shots he managed to get, or try again tomorrow in a last moment effort before handing in his work.
the sky's gone completely dark by the time he gets off the bus. walking down the sidewalk he feels his teeth clink when he yawns and his stomach starts to grumble right after, as if on command. tired, cold and hungry. that's definitely not how he wanted to spend his afternoon.
kihyun walks past the bakery he visited in the morning and realises he hasn't eaten anything all day apart from the three cinnamon rolls he bought in the morning. and as delicious as they were, they don't really make for a proper meal.
"hello-" the seller welcomes him before looking up and kihyun sees a smile appear on his face in an instant.
"back so soon?" he asks in a friendly tone and kihyun, despite how much of a pissy mood he's in, can't help but smile back yet again.
he doesn't really know why he decided to walk into the bakery. the food here isn't exactly appropriate for dinner but it was on his way, he can't really be blamed for wanting to step inside and warm up. and the fact that he saw the boy from this morning still working his shift through the window was definitely not the deciding factor.
"so..." kihyun wishes the seller wasn't smiling so cutely while talking to him, or that his tone wasn't so playful, or that he didn't look like an actual sunflower, and he wishes he knew why all of that is making him act so shy.
"what can I get you this time? i'm afraid we're all out of cinnamon rolls." he continues as he looks around the display with a pout.
kihyun tries his best not to get flustered by it.
"that's too bad. they were pretty delicious."
if he thought the smile on the seller's face could not get any bigger, he was wrong.
"if you stop by tomorrow, i promise to save some just for you."
kihyun chuckles. "we have a deal. for now just some of that chocolate cake please." his mom would kill him if she knew he's having cake for dinner, but what else is being an adult good for if not developing unhealthy eating habits?
the seller gets ready to pack kihyun's purchase before the boy interrupts him.
"is it- uh, is it okay if i eat here? i'm kinda hungry to be honest and it's way warmer here than outside." he laughs awkwardly but the other man doesn't seem to mind it.
kihyun sits at one of the three small tables stationed by the wide front window. the inside of the shop is brightly lit but there's also a street lamp right outside the building and it lights up the street quite well. doesn't seem to melt away the snow though, unfortunately.
"hey, would you like some coffee with that too?" a voice interrupts kihyun's pondering.
"i'd love some."
"coming right up then!" kihyun chuckles as he sees the seller — now temporary waiter — scurry around the coffee machine. the guy is really way too cute, but it's kind of refreshing. it's not every day you meet someone so positive, whose smile seems to radiate overwhelming brightness.
the coffee gives a delicious warmth and maybe it is its influence that makes kihyun forget all about the cold outside and relax in the small wooden chair. he takes a look around and the setting makes him feel really... safe, somehow.
as he's about to finally bite into the beautiful, chocolate covered treat in front of him, he hears the bells at the door sing in a loud harmony behind him, and he decides to use the moment the seller is distracted with another client to execute his plan.
kihyun gets off the chair and very awkwardly kneels down in front of the table, in a hurry, knowing how weird what he's doing must look. he arranged the coffee to be placed right next to the snow covered lamp seen through the window, and thankfully the hot steam coming out if it is perfectly visible on camera, as well as the thick snowflakes falling from the sky in a quicker manner now, the bright light making them stand out in the complete darkness that swallowed the world.
he takes a few pictures, too quick and imprecise but he realises he's about to be busted and he's pretty sure taking pictures of the bakery windows may not be illegal, but it sure is weird.
he settles back down on the chair and finally starts eating, trying to ignore the curious look the seller is giving him in the corner of his eye, now that the other client left the bakery in a hurry.
kihyun finishes his coffee and early dessert and still feels the sweetness of it in every corner of his mouth as he gathers his things to leave, tucking away his camera in its secure bag.
he makes sure to clean up the cup and plate before he leaves, thanking the seller and taking him by surprise as he approaches the counter, the boy having his back turned on him and tending to the goods on display.
"wait just a second!" the seller exclaims before hurrying to the other side of the room, and kihyun furrows his eyebrows as he begins to feel anxious over why the hell he's supposed to wait just a second.
the baker returns with a little paper bag that he happily shoves in front of kihyun's face, lowering his hand a little as he realises kihyun still looks just as confused.
"i uh," he begins to explain, setting the package down carefully and looking up at his client "i'm gonna be closing soon, and it'd be a waste for these to go stale over the night... they're cupcakes, by the way." he says with a sheepish smile and brings a hand up to drag his hair back, and kihyun feels his legs go numb for a second. must be from the cold.
"alright" kihyun begins searching his bag for money. "how much are they?"
the seller gasps a bit before violently shaking his hands. "no, they're free! a gift. i mean, i wouldn't sell them today anyway so just please, take them! there's only so much sweets i can eat." he laughs awkwardly and goes silent for a moment, probably waiting for kihyun to accept or deny.
"thank you. really." kihyun tries to sound genuine, and he can't lie he's really moved by the random act of kindness he didn't expect to get during this awful tiring day.
the baker boy bites on his bottom lip as he watches kihyun take the bag and put it away safely in his belongings, before the photographer thanks him once again and walks out into the cold evening city.
( . . . )
the pictures he took are okay.
just. okay.
and that is not enough for yoo kihyun's standards and he wants to rip them to shreds except he can't, cause they're only visible in digital form, on his overly bright computer screen.
but he edits them diligently, finally safely tucked in beneath a blanket, as his eyes begin to close despite it only being 9 in the evening.
he didn't really think the bakery photo would be any good, as he took it in a hurry without really setting up the shot, but somehow, as he corrects the brightness and shadows, he starts to like it more than any of the other shots he took outside.
maybe it's that all the other pictures make him think of how insanely cold it was out there, and maybe he carried that coldness onto the photos and now it's printed between the pixels. while the spontaneous coffee mug shot just sunk in the warmth of the bakery and radiates it.
the heart of winter, is that what it could be? warmth found somewhere safe even on the coldest day? a simple pleasure to distract you from a tiring and bad day?
maybe he's overthinking it.
he realises he hasn't even unpacked the little gift he had brought in earlier and decides to take a break as he delves into the depths of his bag to recover the package.
he can see it's a bit unshapely and curses himself for crushing it with his other belongings. but he hopes the contents are still edible.
there are two cupcakes, a bit beaten up but otherwise pretty, plump and covered with a blue coloured frosting, sprinkles settling on top of it, just like snowflakes would probably settle on a certain someone's hair.
two cupcakes but only the second one has a little paper attached to it. there is a series of numbers in messy handwriting, but still decodable, and above that, written in all uppercase letters: CALL ME?. kihyun feels his heart skip a beat and he tries to surpress a smile, not really knowing why since no one else can see it in his empty apartment.
there's a signature underneath. it reads ~ hoseok.