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“Where is my whisk?” Hakyeon asks aloud as he stares around the kitchen. He’s running a bit behind today and does not need one more thing to go wrong.
He wrenches one of the drawers open, shoving his hand as far back as it can go, but instead of a whisk, his fingers brush a chain of some sort. He it out, and his eyes immediately soften when he realizes what it is. His mother’s bracelet. How it got shoved into the corner of this drawer, he’ll never know, but he instinctively clasps it onto his own wrist and smiles.
He sighs, deciding to take a minute and regroup before he tears his entire kitchen apart in an attempt to find a whisk. He also needs to call his mom, she had taken retirement last year and is currently doting on her grandchildren, Hakyeon’s nieces and nephews, as she should. He’ll just leave out the part where his sales are down for another month and he’s just barely making enough to cover expenses.
When he turns around, there’s a whist laying on the counter almost taunting him. He sighs and grabs it before turning back to his pastry cream and folding the caramel that’s probably seized by now into the mix.
Miraculously, the caramel is the perfect texture to pour and as he stirs, fond memories of being in the kitchen with his mom come flooding back to him. He remembers how they laughed together as she taught him everything he could need to know. Before he realizes it, the cream has set up beautifully, so he sets it aside and turns to check on the scones, just as the timer dings indicating they’re ready to come out of the oven.
“Perfect timing,” he says, grabbing his mitts to pull them out and set them on the cooling racks.
When he checks the clock, he’s somehow running a few minutes ahead of schedule, so he decides to step in the front and check in on Jaehwan and Hongbin, his front of house. He pushes the door open slowly, not wanting to accidentally knock one of them over if they happen to be passing by.
“How are we doing out here?” he asks when he finally emerges.
“Great!” Jaehwan chirps as he adds whipped cream to a drink before capping it and sliding it across the counter to a waiting customer.
“We’re out of the Starlight Scones and low on the pumpkin muffins. Blueberry muffins and both the orange chocolate and vanilla scones are fine,” Hongbin adds from where he stands in front of the case .
“I have a double batch of the scones cooling now, they’ll be ready for serving in about 15 more minutes,” Hakyeon replies. “I can’t believe we’re out of the scones already,” Hakyeon muses as he turns back around to resume his baking.
“Just in time for your boyfriend?” Hongbin asks easily, throwing a knowing look at Jaehwan.
Hakyeon freezes, feeling his face heat up. “Taekwoon is a customer, that’s it,” he replies while stacking the trays and deftly avoiding either of his friends eyes.
“But you want to be more than just that, right? We see how you get when he’s here. And how you just so happen to need something from the front instead of staying in the kitchen.”
Hakyeon rolls his eyes before chopping Hongbin on the back of the neck quickly, “The mouth on this one,” he mutters as he pushes back through the swinging door and ducking out of sight.
Both Hongbin and Jaehwan’s laughs follow him.
It’s absolutely not Hakyeon’s planning, but destiny that has Hakyeon going back into the front to put the fresh scones into the case at the precise moment Taekwoon is walking into the store. If he keeps stealing little glances at Taekwoon as the other ponders the menu, no one needs to know.
“Can I have a Starlight Scone and an iced vanilla latte?” he asks in that voice that always makes Hakyeon’s heat stutter.
“Sure, do you want a medium?” Jaehwan asks, hand hovering over the cold cups.
Taekwoon is quiet for a second before shaking his head, “Large, please,” he orders.
“Another meeting today?” Hakyeon asks as he uses a piece of wax paper to grab a scone and slip it into the bag Hongbin is holding open.
Taekwoon makes a sound of agreement, sighing deeply. “This client is a jerk and I hate dealing with him.”
Hakyeon makes a sympathetic noise, “I hope this helps get you through,” he says handing Taekwoon the pastry.
Taekwoon gives him a small smile before reaching in and pulling off a corner of the scone. He pops it into his mouth and chews as he waits for Jaehwan to finish the latte.
Hakyeon steals another glance before he looks down to make sure the rest of the scones are displayed neatly when he hears a soft laugh huff out of Taekwoon. He looks up sharply, wondering what exactly has Taekwoon laughing, but the man is just pulling off more of the scone and eating it when another laugh bubbles out of him. He exchanges a curious look with Hongbin instead while Jaehwan pops a lid onto the drink and slides it across the counter.
“Can I actually get another one of these?” Taekwoon asks, smile lighting up his features as he holds the bag with the scone up.
“Sure,” Jaehwan replies with a puzzled smile as he rings up Taekwoon’s order.
Hakyeon gets another scone for him and feels his heart stutter again when Taekwoon turns that blinding smile to him. He waves, a little breathless when Taekwoon leaves a few minutes later.
“That was weird, right?” Hongbin asks after a beat of silence.
“Definitely,” Jaehwan agrees.
“He’s allowed to be happy,” Hakyeon says defensively, finally getting his tray and turning back to the kitchen. “Don’t be mean about our customers.”
“I’m not trying to! That was just weird!” Jaehwan calls after him.
Hakyeon doesn’t respond, instead he returns to the kitchen to wipe it down, and if he gets lost in the memory of just how cute Taekwoon looks, when he smiles and accidentally dumps a bowl full of soapy water all over himself? Well, that’s his secret.
Three days later Hakyeon is sitting at the small table in the back. He’s letting the crust for his tarts rest before baking them and staring down at a notice from their landlord. “They’re going to raise the rent,” he sighs.
“By how much?” Hongbin asks.
“500 a month,” Hakyeon replies, twirling the bracelet on his wrist absently.
“Fuck,” Hongbin replies.
“Who’s fucking?” Jaehwan asks dropping into the seat next to him.
Hakyeon levels him with a look while Hongbin punches him in the shoulder, “Our rent is getting raised you idiot,” Hongbin says.
“Oh, fuck,” Jaehwan says with a sigh.
Hakyeon rolls his eyes, but doesn’t say anything else before going to retrieve his shells and place the weights in them for blind baking.
While the shells bake, he starts in on cutting the fruit, his mind running the numbers of the past few months. Sure sales have been increasing, but a jump in rent that big is going to cut drastically into profits and he’s not sure how long they can stay in the black without significantly raising prices or cutting back on the products they offer.
He runs various scenarios through his head as he prepares the tarts, each one a little more doomsday than the next and by the time he’s done, he needs to sit down with a cup of chamomile before he can talk to either of his friends.
The fact that they’ve only had a handful of customers today is not helping Hakyeon feel any better about their future prospects. He hasn’t made a second batch of anything yet and it’s nearly noon.
“Are you sad because you haven’t seen Taekwoon yet today?” Jaehwan asks bumping his hip against Hakyeon’s as he slides into the spot at Hakyeon’s right to lean against the counter over the display case.
“It’s Thursday. He never stops by on Thursdays,” Hakyeon says dismissively.
“Look at you, knowing your boyfriend’s schedule so well,” Jaehwan teases.
“He’s obviously not my boyfriend,” Hakyeon replies automatically. “The only reason I know his name even is because I read it off his card. We barely know each other.”
“Thats not true. You’ve gotten friendly. You have complete conversations. I’ sure he would absolutely be down if you asked him out,” Jaehwan says.
“Conversations do not imply interest. Look at us, having a conversation and I would rather chew off my own hand than date you.”
“First of all, rude. Second, I would be an amazing boyfriend so fuck you. Third, you don’t know him as well as you think because he’s walking in here right now,” Jaehwan says before disappearing back into the kitchen so Hakyeon is forced to deal with Taekwoon.
“Welcome!” Hakyeon says turning on his customer service face.
“Hello,” Taekwoon replies in that quiet voice.
“What can I get for you today?” Hakyeon asks.
He knows Taekwoon’s order. Ever since he started showing up a few months ago, he’s been a creature of habit ordering a scone and a latte. Sometimes multiple scones, but always a scone.
“Can I try a fruit tart today?” Taekwoon asks pointing down at the pastries Hakyeon had meticulously put together earlier. “And a medium vanilla latte?”
Hakyeon’s hand stutters where he’s automatically reaching for the wax paper to bag a scone and he nods, instead grabbing the tongs instead to slide the tart out of the case. He hesitates, looking up at Taekwoon, “For here or to go?”
“Here,” Taekwoon replies.
Hakyeon nods, grabbing a plate to set the tart on before setting it on the counter. He turns to make Taekwoon’s latte, and feels nerves bubbling up again. He feels off kilter today, like he can’t quite keep his footing. He nearly drops the latte when he turns, clipping his hip on one of the counters but, saves it before going to the register to ring Taekwoon up.
Once the transaction is processed, he hands Taekwoon a fork and watches him walk over to one of the small tables by the window. He then forces himself to turn and wipe down the espresso machine and other counters so he doesn’t creepily stare at the lone customer he has seen in the past two hours.
He stops cold though when he hears a quiet wounded sound from Taekwoon. He looks over to see him staring down at the fork in his hand, tentatively taking bites and looking more and more forlorn the more he eats. Worried, he walks around the counter and tentatively begins wiping tables as a pretense to check on the other.
Taekwoon isn’t on his phone and doesn’t have headphones in that Hakyeon can see. “Everything okay? He asks when he gets to the table closest to Taekwoon.
“Hm? Oh, sorry, yeah,” Taekwoon says hastily. “I just have my performance review tomorrow and what if my boss decides he hates me? That I’m not doing enough and he doesn’t want to keep me around?”
Hakyeon’s eyes widen, “I am sure that won’t be the case,” he says as reassuringly as he can. He obviously doesn’t really know Taekwoon’s circumstances, but surely there would be an indicator if something was that wrong. He tells Taekwoon as much and then returns back to the counter.
He watches as Taekwoon finishes the tart, then sips his latte, his mood seeming to lift as he drinks.
“Thank you for the meal,” Taekwoon says returning the plate to Hakyeon on his way out of the cafe.
“Good luck tomorrow,” Hakyeon says with a smile, hoping to cheer Taekwoon up a little. “Please give me an update next time I see you,” he adds.
“I will,” Taekwoon agrees with a smile of his own before he leaves.
Luckily their rent only goes up by $250 and that’s a number they can live with. Hakyeon is also relieved that Taekwoon reports back that his evaluation was perfectly fine and that he’s even receiving a raise for all of his hard work. He takes all of these good omens as a sign that it is finally time to take a risk and ask Taekwoon out.
The only potential wrench in his plan is the idea of ruining both a budding friendship and losing one of their most loyal customers to the awkwardness of either rejection or a failed date.
The counter point to all of this is his annoyance at the fact that he’s stuck making banana bread instead of apple pie because he forgot to put apples on the list and the bananas he did remember are now about 5 minutes from being mush anyway. It’s not like he doesn’t like banana bread, but it is apple season and there is nothing better than perfectly ripe apples for apple pie.
He sighs as he mashes the bananas with more force than strictly necessary before adding them to the dry ingredients along with everything else and mixing to combine.
While the loaves are baking, Hakyeon goes to the front to check with Jaehwan and Hongbin to see if they need anything. He walks in to what looks like a scene from Waitress with Jaehwan sitting on the counter belting out a song while Hongbin preps the coffee station.
“Did I start paying you to sing?” Hakyeon grouses as he steps around Hongbin and out into the cafe to check on the self-service area with the sweeteners and stirrers.
“I have a song in me and it must be sung, Hyung” Jaehwan shrugs as he hops down off the counter and joins Hakyeon in checking the level of napkins.
Hakyeon snorts, but ducks under the counter to refill the sugar before returning to where Hongbin is pouring beans into the grinder.
“Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?” Hongbin asks.
He starts the grinder before Hakyeon can answer.
Two hours later, Hakyeon is running more scones out from the kitchen when he hears the sound of angry muttering.
“I fucking told him it was hot, but no, he had to grab it too hard and slosh it all over his hand and now he’s mad at me because he’s un-fucking-coordinated.”
“Jaehwannie, you okay over there?” Hakyeon asks settling beside Jaehwan who takes an aggressive looking bite of his slice of banana bread.
“Peachy,” he says, voice murderous.
“Maybe you should take a break?” Hakyeon asks throwing a confused look at Hongbin.
Jaehwan storms off to the back without response.
Hakyeon easily slots into his place by the register and looks up at the sound of the bell, happy to see Taekwoon. “Hey,” he greets.
“Hello,” Taekwoon says, a smile gracing his features. “What’s fresh today?”
Hakyeon scowls, “The banana bread, but only because I was dumb and forgot to buy apples for turnovers and pie.”
Taekwoon shrugs, “I like bananas. Give me a slice of that and—”
“A vanilla latte?” Hakyeon asks with a grin.
Hakyeon thinks that the blush that creeps up Taekwoon’s neck is endearing.
He rings in the bread and a medium latte, but slides a large cup over to Hongbin. He gets Taekwoon’s slice and hands it over to him.
“How’s work going?” he asks while the wait for the drink.
“It’s going well,” Taekwoon says as he breaks off a piece of the banana bread and pops it into his mouth. “One of my coworkers did just find out he needs surgery to repair his rotator cuff though, so he’ll be sidelined for a while and now I am responsible for his share as well. If he could have waited another month, I would ave had more time to help, but as it is I’m now responsible for wrapping up my own project and taking care of his, so it’s going to be a lot of late nights.”
The more words that leave Taekwoon’s mouth the louder his voice gets, and Hakyeon pulls back, startled at the abrupt shift in tone. He opens his mouth, not entirely sure what he’s about to say when suddenly a woman at one of the tables starts screaming.
“What do you mean that you’re leaving? We’re in the middle of something. You cannot just walk away like this!!”
“This is not working. You’re manipulative and disrespectful and I don’t need this.”
Hakyeon blinks as the other woman sitting with her stands up and leaves without another glance.
“Your latte?” Hongbin says tentatively as he sets the drink down on the bar.
“Ugh, thanks,” Taekwoon says with a sneer and turns on his heel to leave.
“What the fuck was that?” Hongbin asks staring at the door.
“I have no idea,” Hakyeon says with a shake of his head.
He goes to the table where the couple say to get the dishes they left behind. Sitting on the table are two mugs and a quarter of a slice of the banana bread.
Something clicks and he shakes his head. It’s insane. There’s no way it could be true.
“Hey Hongbinnie?” he asks as he trashes the remnants of the bread and returns to the counter. “How insane would I sound if I said this was my fault?”
“What do you mean ‘your fault’?” Hongbin asks leaning against the counter to face him.
“So, earlier this week when I was making the scones I was happy because I found my mom’s bracelet, and then when Taekwoon ate one he was suddenly very happy. Then the day we got the notice about the rent, I was worried while I was making the tarts, and when Taekwoon ate one of those he was worried about his performance review.”
“Okay, so you and Taekwoon share half a brain cell?” Hongbin asks.
Hakyeon ignores him.
“Today, I was mad at myself because I wanted to make apple pie, but I forgot apples so I had to settle for banana bread. You saw Taekwoon walk in. He was happy while we were talking. He was happy until he took a bite of the bread. That couple who started screaming were eating a slice of the bread. Jaehwan was eating the bread.”
“What exactly are you suggesting?” Hongbin asks, narrowing his eyes.
“What if I can manipulate people’s emotions?” Hakyeon whispers.
Hongbin blinks at him, “Hyung, have you actually lost your mind?”
Hakyeon deflates, “Maybe, but what if I’m right?”
“One way to find out I guess,” Hongbin sighs before reaching into the case an snagging a piece of the bread in question.
Before Hakyeon can stop him, Hongbin has stuffed half the slice in his mouth and his chewing with gusto. “Oh my god,” he mutters shaking his head.
“Shit Hyung, I think you’re actually right,” Hongbin says through his mouthful. “And for some reason I am pissed about it. How could you not know you could do something like this?” he asks stepping into Hakyeon’s space.
Hakyeon steps away from him and takes the remaining bread from the tray and dumps it straight into the trash.
“You go cool off too, I’ll be fine by myself,” Hakyeon says without meeting Hongbin’s eyes.
He hears Hongbin huff out an annoyed sound before stomping off.
Hakyeon is afraid to make anything the next day. He sits and agonizes, wondering which emotion he’s going to force on someone next and how he can stop it. Instead, he calls in Jaehwan and makes him be his hands, telling him exactly what to do to make the day’s goods.
It’s not a perfect solution, but they manage to get through the morning rush with everyone expressing only the emotions they feel instead of the ones Hakyeon unwittingly forced upon them.
Taekwoon comes in around noon and Hakyeon tenses when he sees him.
“Hey, your usual?” Hakyeon greets when Taekwoon gets to the counter.
“And a scone?” Taekwoon asks.
“Of course,” Hakyeon replies. He can’t meet Taekwoon’s eye as he gets the scone and lets Hongbin make his drink.
“Hakyeon?”
It’s the first time Taekwoon has addressed him by name, and Hakyeon’s brain stutters to a stop. He looks up from where he is running Taekwoon’s card.
“I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I’m not sure where all that anger came from and you’re the last person I should have exploded on,” he says, cheeks tinged pink.
“It was my fault,” Hakyeon says before he can stop himself. At Taekwoon’s confused look, he pushes on. “Something weird has been happening this week and I can’t explain it. Suddenly whatever I’m feeling while I bake is making its way into the food and influencing my customers. It sounds crazy, I know but I made Jaehwan do all of the food today and no one has felt weird so it has to be me.”
Taekwoon just blinks in response, nodding once before taking his card back.
“And I just really don’t want this to happen to anyone, but especially to you because when I finally work up the nerve to tell you how I feel, I just want to be absolutely certain you can respond in your own way, not in a way I make you.”
Time seems to slow as Hakyeon plays back the words that just left his mouth.
Silently, Hongbin slides Taekwoon’s cup across the counter towards him and then disappears.
It’s just the two of them alone in the cafe and neither of them speak. Hakyeon wants to run, but he’s rooted to the spot.
Silently, Taekwoon breaks off a piece of his scone and chews on it thoughtfully. “So, you didn’t touch the food today, right?” he asks after he’s swallowed.
“Right,” Hakyeon confirms.
“So how I’m feeling right now has absolutely nothing to do with you.”
“And how are you feeling right now?” Hakyeon asks quietly.
“Like I’d really like to kiss you right now,” Taekwoon says.
Hakyeon’s mouth falls open, but he recovers quickly, leaning forward across the counter and pressing a quick kiss on Taekwoon’s mouth. It’s soft, and chaste, and everything Hakyeon hoped a first kiss with Taekwoon would be.
When they pull apart a minute later, Hakyeon can’t wipe the grin off his face, “So, what do you think?”
“Magic,” Taekwoon replies, swaying forward and capturing Hakyeon’s lips once more.