Work Text:
Hearts of Honey.
It was early in the morning and Jeongin had just put the first few sheets of bread into the oven and was preparing the hearts of honey, which is what his little bakery was most known for.
Sweet honey flavoured cakes coated in chocolate and decorated with intricate patterns made out of royal icing.
Jeongin smiled at the decorations, pleased with his own work as he placed the hearts of honey in neat rows on the shelves at the front desk, so they were in full display. They were his pride and joy and the one thing that sold the best at his little bakery. Not that everything else also sold well, but the hearts of honey were the one thing that has placed the bakery a spot in the papers and why most people came to it.
Just as he had finished placing them, the oven pinged, indicating that the bread was done, and he had to put in the pastries so they could get done before he had to open the shop.
As he finished placing the bread in all the small baskets behind the counter, the oven pinged again to tell him that the pastries were done and ready to be taken out as well. Jeongin hurried to take them out and placed them on the cooling rack. Then he looked up at the clock to see how much time he had left.
“Fifteen more minutes, that should be enough time,” he mumbled to himself. He busied himself with cleaning the counter, making sure everything looked neat and proper in the little shop, so he could turn the close sign to open.
He finished sweeping the floor and took another look around and concluded that it was clean enough to open the shop. He walked over to the door, unlocked it, and turned the sign around to show that the shop was open. He then walked around the counter and busied himself with placing the pastries in neat rows on the shelf underneath the hearts of honey.
Just as he was bending down to place the last few pastries, the bell over the door rang as a customer entered the shop. Jeongin stood up fast and looked at the guy who had walked in.
Oh.
He was very pretty.
Jeongin felt his cheeks heat up as he greeted the customer and tried to busy his hands with something so as to not seem as nervous as he felt. The guy mumbled a small greeting back at him, as he was looking at the baked goods and hadn’t looked up at Jeongin yet. Jeongin just stood there and waited nervously for the man to decide what he wanted. But it seemed like it was going to take him some time, so Jeongin decided to go over and get the last pastries he realised he hadn’t put up yet.
Just as he turned around with the tray, he caught the customer’s eyes, who had finally looked up and was looking straight at Jeongin. He froze in place.
Oh.
He is even prettier than I thought.
Jeongin shook his head and placed the tray of pastries behind him and walked up to the counter.
“So what can I get for you today?” he asked the customer with a smile. The man looked at him a bit longer and seemed to be completely lost in his own thoughts. Jeongin looked back at him and started to feel the awkward energy slowly settling in around them the longer the man didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry, but did you want to order anything, sir?” Jeongin asked again as he cocked his head to the side and tried to catch the man's attention. That seemed to make the man come back to earth and out of his head. His cheeks turned bright red and he tried to stammer out something that Jeongin just couldn’t understand.
Oh gosh, he is also really cute.
Jeongin laughed a little bit and waited patiently for the man to gather himself and just smiled at him.
“I’m so sorry, I just got lost in how pretty you look,” the man said. He then looked in horror at Jeongin as he realised what he had just said. Jeongin felt his cheeks heat up as he couldn’t believe what the other man had said as well.
“Come again,” Jeongin said.
“I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to say that at all. Oh gosh, that was so horrible, I am so terribly sorry for that,” the man stuttered out and bowed at Jeongin, who couldn’t do anything but giggle at the man and he felt a little sorry for him as well.
“It is okay, sir, I don’t mind, but I will ask again, is there anything that you want?”
“Yes, sorry again, I did want one sourdough bread and one of your hearts of honey, please,” the man ordered and smiled at Jeongin.
“Sure thing, coming right up,” Jeongin answered with a smile, turning around to grab the bread and a paper bag for it. He turned back around, placed the bread on the counter, reached for another smaller paper bag, grabbed one of the hearts of honeys and packed it up for him.
“Is that all for now, sir?”
“No, that should be fine, unless your heart is for sale?” the man said with a cheeky smile, but froze, when he yet again realised what he had just said.
“OH MY GOSH, I’m so sorry, I have no idea what is wrong with me today,” he exclaimed and put his head in his hands and Jeongin could see his ears slowly turning red.
Jeongin just stood there frozen and didn’t know what to say to the other man at all. Never had someone flirted so much with him with no hesitation, but also seemed to regret it every time, so he didn’t know how to feel about it at all.
“I’m sorry, sir, but my heart is not for sale and it certainly cannot be bought by money. You have to try harder if you want to win my heart,” Jeongin ended up saying and stared at the other man with a blank face.
“Your total will be ₩5000, are you paying with cash or credit?” Jeongin continued as he rang up the items.
“I’m paying with cash and yet again, I am so sorry for my non-existent filter this morning,” the man said. He pulled out his wallet, found the money for him, and placed the bills on the counter. Jeongin took them, put them in the till, and turned back to hand the man the receipt and the baked goods.
“Here you go, sir, now have a good day and maybe work a little on that filter,” Jeongin said with a cheeky smile and ushered the man towards the door.
“Thank you so much and again I am really sorry about it,” the man said with a bow and walked to the door, but just before he left, he turned around and said.
“By the way, my name is Chan, so yeah, goodbye.”
And promptly walked out the door before Jeongin could say anything in return. He just looked puzzled at the door, wondering what the hell had just happened, and what was wrong with that man, Chan, as he had learned the man was called. Jeongin couldn’t help blushing a bit at what the man had said and felt his heart beat a little faster. He shook his head.
I can’t fall for a guy just because he is cute and has cheesy pick up lines.
Jeongin then tried to forget the encounter and continued his day as the customers continued to slowly trickle in through the day. And, by the end of the day, he managed to sell everything he had made for the day.
As the clock reached 4pm, he released a sigh of relief as he turned the open/close sign around and locked the door for the day. He looked around the shop and made a mental note of everything he needed to get done before he could head upstairs to his flat, which was conveniently located above the bakery.
He started with counting up the till and putting the money away in a secure safe in the back. Then he turned off the till and the card reader. He picked up a rag and started wiping the counters and any other surface in the shop. After that he swept the front of the shop and gave it a quick swing with the mob as well. He put the cleaning supplies away and went into the kitchen to prepare the next day's batch of hearts of honey.
As he worked on them, he kept thinking of the encounter he had with that strange man, Chan. Sure the man’s words were charming and he was pretty cute and good looking, but that still didn't merit the small cluster of butterflies he was feeling in his stomach, when he thought back at the interaction. He shook his head and thought to himself.
I’m never going to see him again anyway, so why bother thinking about him.
Jeongin kept working on all the things he had to make ready for the next day and continued to try and keep his thoughts from drifting back to the strange man.
The next day.
The day started as any day started for Jeongin: he put the things that should go in the oven, in the oven, prepared the hearts of honey, and cleaned the shop again to make it ready to open it.
As he opened the shop, he wondered if he would see Chan again and he pulled a face at himself for even thinking about it.
No, you are not going to see him again, so stop thinking about it.
Jeongin unlocked and turned the sign around with a sigh, then went back to the counter and waited for the first customers to arrive.
He was looking at his phone when the bell chimed and his head whipped towards the door, butterflies bouncing around in his stomach, but to his disappointment it was just an elderly lady. He let out a little sigh and started to help the old lady with her order.
Just as he finished ringing up the old lady, the bell chimed again and in walked the strange man, Chan. Jeongin felt his cheeks heat up as he noticed him, but tried to stay professional and continued helping the old lady. Once he finished helping her and she had moved away from the counter, he turned towards Chan.
“Good morning, how can I help you today?” he said with a polite smile, trying to hide his nervousness.
“Oh, morning, I was wondering if I could buy one of your hearts of honey?” Chan said with a small smile.
“Sure, let me get that ready for you, sir.” Jeongin said with a smile and started packing a heart up for him, but he could also feel the slight disappointment of the non existent flirting, as he had slightly expected it from the other man.
“Here you go, sir, and that will be ₩1500. Do you want to pay with cash or credit?” Jeongin said, placing the bag on the counter, and turning towards Chan.
“Um, I’ll pay with cash,” Chan said. He pulled out the money and handed the bills over to Jeongin with a nervous smile. Jeongin took the money and put it away in the till and handed the bag over to Chan.
“There you go, have a wonderful day.”
“Thank you, but I was wondering what it would cost to buy your own heart of honey?” Chan said with a cheeky smile as he took the bag from Jeongin.
Jeongin just froze on the spot and stared at the other man in surprise as he had not expected the pickup line.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry again, I tried my best not to flirt with you again, but I just couldn’t help myself, because you are just so pretty. I’m just going to leave now and hide away,” Chan said in a hurry and ran out of the door so fast that Jeongin had no chance of saying anything back at him.
Jeongin just stood there and wondered what the hell had just happened.
He said I was pretty and cute again.
The butterflies started feeling bigger and bigger in his stomach and he could feel his cheeks getting flushed, but he shook his head and went back to doing his work. The rest of the day went rather uneventful and as Jeongin went to bed that night, he thought of Chan and wondered if he would see him again or if he would make good of his words of not coming back again.
The next day.
It started as everyday started, Jeongin got everything ready for the shop and opened the shop on time and just waited for the first customer to arrive.
The bell chimed and Jeongin looked at the door and yet again the butterflies started going ballistic in his stomach as he saw Chan walk in.
“Good morning, what can I get for you today, sir?” he said with a smile.
“Good morning, I was wondering if I could buy you flour and use it to knead up your heart of honey?” Chan said with a small smile and raised his eyebrows.
Jeongin just stared at the man for a moment and started laughing so hard at him.
“Oh my gosh, that was the cheesiest pick up line I have heard in a long while,” he managed to say through laughing. He couldn’t believe the other man had used such a line on him.
“I’m sorry, but that is not going to work on me, sir, you must try again and tell me what you want to order,” Jeongin continued with a smile.
“Oh well, it was worth a try, but I do want to order one of your hearts of honey,” Chan said with a smile and started to pull out his wallet to get the money ready for Jeongin.
“Here you go, sir, and please work a little more on the cheesy pickup lines or else I’ll have to pack you up and throw you out, like the baked goods that don't get sold, for being too cheesy,” Jeongin said with a smile and handed the bag to him.
“Oh, I will, you better crust me on that,” Chan said with a cheeky smile and walked out.
Jeongin just stood there in disbelief, wondering how this man was even real and how the hell did he know so many bread-related pick up lines. Jeongin just shook his head and continued with his work day.
This continued for the next couple of weeks.
Chan would come in every morning and buy a heart of honey and sometimes also something else, try a new bread-related pick up line and Jeongin would continue to reject the man half-heartedly.
This is just a highlight of all the pick up lines that Chan tried on the other man.
“Have you been churned? Because you look really fresh.”
“If you were a cake, which flavour would you be? Cheesecake, because that is the cheesiest cake pick-up line I know.”
“I thought of you while having one of the hearts of honey, because you are just as sweet.”
“Sorry, I took so long to get back to you, but I had to see my dentist, because you’re so sweet.”
“Are you a heart of honey? Because I crave you everyday.”
“Are you bread? Because I knead you.”
“I love your mannerism, it is pretty dough-pe.”
Everytime the pick up lines got more ridiculous and Jeongin had no idea how to even respond to the other man's advances at this point, as he also wanted to see how far he would go. But he did feel like he was slowly reaching a limit for how many cake and bread related pick up lines the other man knew.
This continued for another week until one morning.
Jeongin had just opened the shop and was waiting for the customers to start arriving. As he finished helping the first few customers, he spotted Chan waiting in the line. He gave a little smile when he caught the other man’s eyes.
“Good morning, what would you like today, sir?” Jeongin greeted Chan with a smile. Chan just gave him a half-hearted smile back and put his head down.
“I’ll just have a sourdough bread, thank you,” Chan said with a mumble and pulled out his wallet to pay.
“Oh, no hearts of honey today for you?” Jeongin asked him with a frown.
“No, I kind of have to watch my sugar intake, so I can’t keep buying them,” Chan said with a shrug and put the money for the bread on the counter.
Jeongin frowned at this and turned around to pack up the bread. Then he noticed the heart of honey he had specifically prepared for Chan this morning, already packaged up on the counter behind the desk. As he looked at it, he made a decision and reached for it anyway and placed it on the desk with the bread.
“Here, have this, on the house,” Jeongin said with a smile and pushed both bags towards Chan with a smile.
“No, I can't do that.”
“Yes, you can and I want you to take an extra look at it, when you do eat it later, since I made it specifically for you. Also no baked good pick up lines today?” Jeongin said with a smile and a small blush.
“No, not today, considering they weren’t working either,” Chan said with a shrug and a frown on his face. Jeongin just stared at him and couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Had he already given up?
No, he couldn’t already have given up on it.
“I think you really should have a look at the heart of honey I gave you, Chan, but now I will have to ask you to leave, since there is a line of people behind you,” Jeongin said with a small smile and gestured behind Chan to the line of people. Chan looked behind him and immediately apologised and moved out of line and towards the door.
“BYE, PLEASE DO COME AGAIN!” Jeongin shouted and saw Chan wave back at him. He really hoped the other man would read his message on the cake.
The next day.
Jeongin’s day started like any other day with him getting the shop ready and opening it, but this day he was filled with a huge amount of nervous energy and couldn’t stand still and constantly had to move his hands and do something.
He was scared and nervous for Chan not showing up to the bakery, because he didn’t see what he had written on the cake and therefore wouldn’t try to pursue Jeongin any further.
As the day progressed and there still was no sight of Chan, Jeongin got more nervous and sad, thinking that the other boy most likely hadn’t seen it. That he had decided not to try any more and would leave Jeongin alone, which isn’t what Jeongin wanted him to do.
Jeongin looked up at the clock and noticed that it was ten minutes to 4. He slowly started to get ready to close the shop and let out a deep sigh in disappointment, as Chan hadn’t been there at all and he definitely wouldn’t see the other man again.
Then the bell above the door chimed and Chan ran in completely out of breath.
“Please tell me that you are not closed yet,” he said as he took a deep breath and looked up at Jeongin.
“No, we aren’t closed yet, I was just about to close the shop, so you managed to get here just in time,” Jeongin answered him with a smile.
“Thank fuck for that, I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to get here, before you closed,” Chan said and let out a sigh of relief.
“Was there anything you wanted?” Jeongin asked him.
“Yes, there is. I read what you wrote on the heart and it was just as cheesy and corny as all of my many pick-up lines,” Chan said with a smile and he continued.
“And with those encouraging words, I would like to ask if I could possibly take you on a date, Jeongin.” And he reached his hands across the counter and took Jeongin’s hands. Jeongin blushed at the gesture and nodded.
“Yes, yes you can,” he said and looked up at Chan with a big smile.
“Wonderful, are you doing anything today?”
Jeongin shook his head.
“Then I would like to take you out for dinner tonight,” Chan said with a smile. Jeongin could only smile and give the other man a small nod.
“That is wonderful, could I maybe have your number, so I can send you the details,” Chan said and handed Jeongin his phone. He watched as he entered his phone number and handed the phone back to Chan.
“Guess I’ll see you later, Jeongin or should I say my loafer,” Chan said with a cheeky smile and ran out the door.
As the other man left, Jeongin started busying himself with getting the shop cleaned and he decided that he was just going to take a day off tomorrow, if the date was going to advance in the way he wanted it to.
And if you wondered what Jeongin had written on the heart, then here you go.
I give you my heart of honey as I crust you with it.