Chapter Text
“for the thousand times, i don’t want to go, jimin-ah,” namjoon pleaded again and as expected he was being ignored by jimin who had been dragging him for the past fifteen minutes. namjoon no longer paid attention to which turns they were taking. if he may be honest, this body wouldn't have moved if not for the persistent grip jimin put on his arm, pulling him from one alley to another until namjoon hardly recognized the area.
it was supposed to be a calm and peaceful saturday but it became a fleeting dream when jimin knocked on his door early ass, rambled about some kind of pastry shop he wanted to visit and immediately pushed namjoon out of his own house. namjoon barely even got time to check the weather. he just put on a thin knit sweater laying on his couch and now he was about to freeze in this cold weather.
“you have to try this, hyung. i swear to god they are everywhere on the internet. i have been wanting to try for months but the waiting line is no joke,” said jimin. “now that both of us are on our day off, let’s go join the line.”
“exactly, jimin-ah,” namjoon bore a glare to the back of jimin’s head, who was walking ahead of him, “it is our day. my day off. i stayed up the whole night staring at numbers and reports so that i could enjoy my weekend but why am i out of my bed at this hour? i don’t even like sweets, jimin-ah.”
“that’s more of the reason why you must come along. words are saying even the sworn dessert hater ends up loving their pastry,” jimin abruptly stopped walking and shot him a look that made namjoon swallow back whatever he was about to say, “the fact that somebody can hate a dessert is an abomination itself.”
namjoon rolled his eyes, knowing full well jimin was bitching him.
he had never taken a liking for dessert. he made a lot of visits to coffee shops but his criteria was always as long as they served decent iced americano, cozy and quiet then he would sit and work there.
“dessert is sweet, jimin-ah.”
jimin huffed and stomped his feet, “dessert is sweet because it is supposed to be sweet. you enjoy it after a savory meal. would you be happier if you bite into a cake and taste soy sauce?”
jimin is typically a soft spoken person, resembling a calico cat but now he looked scary with both hands on his waist and scrunched eyebrows.
namjoon gulped, “okay. fine,” deciding that it was not a good day to mess around. “let’s give them a chance then. what was it called again?”
at the mention of the pastry shop, jimin’s face lit up again and namjoon breathed in relief. “sugar and whisk. it shouldn’t be too far from here.”
“are you sure we are in the right place? i think we have walked a little too long.”
jimin smiled sheepishly, “i’m sure it is this neighborhood. we just got off at the wrong station earlier.”
“you brat,” namjoon grunted and couldn't find it in him to get angry at all. he could only pray that they weren’t lost, both of them were terrible navigators.
“oh, here we are.”
they stopped in front of a colourful and pastel shade building, a contrast from the dull and old looking stores around it. namjoon looked up at the signage and it said sugar and whisk in a cursive font. everything about this shop screamed sweets. the smell of butter and sugar wafted around the area and hit his nose before he could step inside.
the door opened with a ring of bell. namjoon could swear that the building wasn't spacious but they had nailed the interior to make it cozy and bumped up extra rooms for customers to sit and chill. he could notice they got quite a variety of beverages in the menu board, a smart move to make people stay longer and enjoy an afternoon here.
“we must be lucky. the line isn’t so bad today. usually, it would have stretched along this alley.”
there was barely a seat left, it looked like jimin wasn’t wrong when he said they were the talk of the town. the shop was packed and they had to line up for a short queue to place their order. namjoon made a quick glance at the display, noticing all the cute and gorgeous pastries placed inside the glass. they were cakes, croissants, colourful macarons and many more types that namjoon didn’t even know what they were called.
the queue took longer than namjoon thought despite it being only a few people ahead of him. he started to grow stuffy and informed jimin that he would stand aside and wait.
namjoon checked on his phone, recognizing few unread messages sent by his friends while he slept, more messages from his coworkers asking for his help in work and emails that he didn’t even want to go through. he was still a bit nauseous from reading all the numbers yesterday. he shoved his phone back to the pocket. work could wait until monday.
“hyung, want me to get you anything to drink?” turned out jimin was already at his turn.
“iced americano will do,” said namjoon, taking the chance to rob jimin to treat him to a coffee in the morning, after all he tagged along for him. the least he could do was fix his caffeine intake.
“i thought you said the weather was cold?”
“jimin-ah, we can never give up on iced americano even though it is freezing.”
jimin rolled his eyes and turned back to the clerk who was smiling brightly, dressed in a soft-colored uniform and mint beret with a name tag that said hobi . this shop clearly didn’t play around when it came to color-coded consistency.
“one iced americano and one hot cappuccino for take away please,” said jimin. “this is my first time here. any recommendations for the selection of sweets?”
the clerk looked delighted and eager to help once jimin mentioned that it was their first visit, “oh wow first timer, huh? welcome sugar and whisk. i could say that we only serve the best choices so anything you buy from here will not disappoint you but that sounds a little too biased, isn't it?”
jimin laughed lightly and clearly glad to meet such a friendly staff, “i noticed you guys were going viral because of the tarts but i don’t see any in the display.”
“yes. you must be referring to our strawberry tart. it has been our best selling menu for the past few weeks along with other choices of tarts and tiramisu but you came a little late today, we were already sold out a few minutes ago and we don’t have any stock up today. if you wanna try them, i would suggest you come around 9am once the shop opens.”
jimin pursed his lips, bummed that he had missed the chance to try out the strawberry tart with a big strawberry on top. “i would have made it in time to get the last few pieces if not for somebody that slept like a dead log,” jimin glared and namjoon pretended to touch the little miniature decoration.
“but since you are already here, i can refer you to other amazing choices. would you like to try our pain au chocolat? we have best selling earl grey cake. lemon meringue cupcake is people’s favorite too these days.”
jimin bit his lips, entranced by the overwhelming selection of beautiful pastries.
“what do you want hyung?” jimin asked for opinion.
“i don’t want anything. you can choose for you.”
“should i get the cake or cupcakes?”
“just get cakes. cupcakes are stupid,” said namjoon nonchalantly.
“excuse me, sir? what did my cupcakes do to receive that undeserving slander?”
namjoon jumped and whipped his head so quick at the new voice behind him and he was met with probably the most drop dead gorgeous man he had ever met— smooth skin, almond-shaped eyes, plumped lips and fluffy black hair, dressed in white t-shirt and topped with navy cardigan that covered his wide shoulder. namjoon recognized it on one of top brands in the store window display when he went window shopping. he thought it looked plain but it actually looked perfect on this man.
“sir? care to explain what you meant?” the man spoke again, snapping namjoon back and trying to remember what he said.
“no offense to your cupcakes but cupcakes in general are stupid,” namjoon shrugged.
the man quirked his eyebrow, looking unimpressed but amused. he crossed his arms and leaned on the display. “why is it so?”
“why have cupcakes when you can have a slice of cake? it is the same thing. i would say it is just a waste of extra paper and oven space.”
the other man looked absolutely flabbergasted, surprised to meet such a persistent cupcake hater in the middle of the day.
“come again?” the man sucked in a breath before fired back, “a waste of paper? the paper was there to hold its shape and what did you say? wastage of oven space? i didn’t spend years in pastry school for you to drag her like that. sir, while i accept constructive criticism, this is just unacceptable.”
by this time, namjoon finally realized who he was talking to. this man might just be the person behind all these beautiful pastries on display. namjoon clearly had faced the wrong person but there was no way he was going to back down like that.
he could sense jimin and the clerk behind were whispering and glancing around to see if they were drawing attention. faintly namjoon could also hear jimin trying to finish his orders quickly.
“cupcakes are the perfect amount of size when you want something delicate and not heavily on the stomach,” the man argued back.
“exactly why it is stupid. you can eat cake the same way but smaller in size. why waste effort to create another one?”
“well, not everyone wants to purchase a whole damn cake. sometimes what we want is to try a few flavors and cupcakes are perfect for that. they also got balanced frosting ratio,” the man pressed, stepping closer to namjoon.
this was getting more interesting, namjoon smirked, “cakes are for celebration. people would go for cakes whenever there are special occasions. when do you see people purchase cakes to celebrate milestones?”
the cardigan guy scoffed, pulling his sleeves up. “no worries but cupcakes will never be the second choice you want her to be. cupcakes are always there at tea party, tables set up and these days, people love to put cupcakes together resembling a cake. so who is losing now?”
“that just further proves they actually want a cake instead of cupcakes.”
“that is because it is easier to share them. there was no cutting needed. it is quick, easy and neat,” the guy groaned, the tip of his ears starting to turn pink.
this whole conversation got namjoon giddier and wanting to push the button harder, he took a step closer too and mirrored the guy, “wait. so you’re telling me that cakes are messy, inconvenient and too much trouble? this isn’t something i would expect from a patissier. are you allowed to play favorites like this?”
“ughh,” the guy grumbled. “you are exasperating.”
“thank you but people usually would use the term charming,” namjoon smirked.
the guy’s jaw dropped, taken aback by the lack of shame. he looked like about to say something but cut by jimin jumping in to ease down the tension, “hey namjoon hyung, what are you doing?” said jimin with gritted teeth, sending signals to tell him not to make a scene.
“oh, are you done ordering, jimin? i was just talking to this guy about the logic of cake and cupcakes.”
the guy rolled his eyes even further when he heard this, lost for words.
jimin laughed awkwardly and spoke lowly— placing his shoes over namjoon’s and putting pressure, “exactly, hyung. why are you arguing with a patissier when you don’t even like desserts?”
this definitely didn’t go unheard by the patissier because his whole demeanor immediately changed and challenged back with a teasing smile, “oh? what is this i hear about you being a dessert hater? not something i would expect from someone ready to defend cakes to death just five minutes ago.”
“sorry, namjoon hyung here is just accompanying me to check out your viral shop,” jimin hushed namjoon.
the guys nodded slowly, “namjoon-ssi,” testing it on his tongue a couple times and continued, “so tell me, dessert hater. what do you think about this place?”
“mediocre,” namjoon’s mouth ran faster than his brain. this was not what he meant to say, the place did look incredible. he wanted to say he did an amazing job in putting the place together.
jimin shot a glare and jabbed him hard in the stomach.
that unexpectedly pulled out a laugh from the patissier, “will it kill you to put in some nice words?”
namjoon cleared his throat, “what i meant was the place didn’t matter. what matters is the taste.”
“is it so? have you tried it then?”
“this guy seriously hates desserts and avoids them. i don’t understand him,” said jimin.
“dude, who traumatized you?” asked the guy.
“excuse me, jimin-ssi,” the clerk that attended to jimin’s order cut the conversation. it looked like they had exchanged names while namjoon was occupied. “here are your iced americano and hot cappucino. sorry the order took a while.”
jimin and namjoon received their cups, muttering a soft thank you. unknown to them, jimin and hoseok exchanged signs to distract these two so they would no longer argue.
“seokjin hyung,” the clerk called and finally namjoon could put a name to this gorgeous face.
“mind helping me by adding more cakes to the display? i wanted to but the queue,” he continued by glancing at the few people that were still waiting.
“are you seriously asking me? where is jungkook?”
“jungkook called in sick this morning, remember? that’s why you cancelled your day trip to help here. the kitchen is occupied too. you should check the situation behind,” urged hoseok.
jimin and namjoon were about to quietly take their leave when seokjin abruptly said, “wait here.”
jimin and namjoon stared at each other, wondering what he was up to. seokjin went through the door, separating the baking station and the shop and emerged back in no time this time with an apron tied neatly around his waist and swiftly put on gloves.
he roamed around busily, opening shelves to shape the cardboard into a box and easily boxed up some pastries in no time. he walked around, a paper bag in his hand and handed it over to namjoon for him to take.
“what is this?” namjoon peeked inside.
“service,” said seokjin. “there is a butter croissant, my all-time favorite earl gray cake and a few best selling cupcakes.” namjoon opened his mouth to say something but seokjin stopped him, “yes, there are a few of them because one cupcake is never enough.”
“wow, hold up. you are giving this to me for free? i don’t think it’s right for me to take this,” uttered namjoon, feeling absolutely flustered by this gesture especially after the whole stupid argument.
“don’t think they are for free. i’m asking you to try them and let me know what you think of my creation. i have made it my personal mission to change your entire impression about dessert and let’s see if you are still a dessert hater after this,” said seokjin, looking all smug as if he already knew how it would turn out.
seokjin took a step closer, this time much closer with a stare full of meaning that got namjoon unconsciously held to the paper bag tighter and whispered lowly, “spoiler alert. i never fail.”
and he stepped away looking all innocent as if he didn’t just cause a hurricane in namjoon’s heart and waved a good bye, “bye, namjoon-ssi. it was nice bantering with you.”
jimin had to pull him away to snap him back, looking a bit dazed and bewitched. they hurriedly stepped into the street and jimin just had to spit out what he had been holding back, “what the fuck were you thinking, hyung?”
🍰ᢉ𐭩🧁
“not going home yet?” one of his coworkers, yoongi, peeked his head into namjoon’s face, concerned but also not surprised to see the office’s light was still turned on at this hour.
“oh, hyung,” glad to see a familiar face. he took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose before putting back on. “not yet. lots of mess to fix,” gesturing to the spread papers all over his table.
yoongi grimaced at the number of cups that were filled with coffee, “cut down on your caffeine. you look like you are running on the last straw of energy. go back home and rest. there are still coming days.”
namjoon chuckled, “i will probably finish this spreadsheet and pack up. another hour of this and i think my eyeballs will jump out from staring at the disgusting numbers.”
namjoon scanned yoongi from top to bottom. despite it being a late hour, he didn’t look like someone that would immediately crash home. “going for a date hyung?”
“yes, got dinner plans with jimin’s family,” said yoongi while rubbing the back of his neck.
“then what are you still doing here, hyung? quickly run to meet your in-law. you can’t keep them waiting,” namjoon chased yoongi away.
“alright. go home soon, namjoon-ah. i will see you around.”
and namjoon was left alone again with his spreadsheet. he ended up checking one last page before calling it enough for the day. he caught his reflection in the mirror and he must admit that he looked horrible— eye bags hung heavier and darker, complexion looking paler than he normally would. he looked like someone that just got their soul and blood sucked away by a vampire.
he locked up everything and bid the guards good night. it was only when he drove out of the underground parking area that he realized it was raining.
the traffic got worse than usual due to the rain, he had been stuck in this same position for the past ten minutes. he glanced at the navigator, pressing his lips into a thin line. the grip on the wheel tightened, he had been holding himself back for the past few weeks and everything in his brain was alerting that it was a horrible idea and that he would only humiliate himself further but a small part in his heart kept nudging him to yield in and go.
his train of thought was cut by loud honking behind him, turned out the lane had finally moved forward after being stuck for a few minutes.
”fuck it,” said namjoon under his breath.
namjoon curled his fingers around the steering wheel, eyeing the rear mirror in one quick gaze and in one fluid motion he pulled the car effortlessly into a tight u-turn— changing the entire destination and sending his gps to reroute.
🍰ᢉ𐭩🧁
the rain turned into a light drizzle when he arrived. he parked on the road side, checking his phone over and over again to make sure that he wasn’t lost. he couldn’t really remember much and even worse now that it was already late in the evening. the other gripped on his umbrella, eyes squinting to check how long he should walk again before he arrived.
after getting lost into the wrong alley, he eventually found it.
sugar and whisk
standing in front of the shop made him feel like one giant fool and it kept him wondering over and over again what he was actually trying to do and what he was trying to prove. the signage glowed in neon, lighting up the street but they had put up the close sign and namjoon could hardly see any movement inside.
he sighed in defeat, shoving one hand into his pocket.
“told you, i never failed,” the voice felt oddly familiar and namjoon whipped around to find seokjin putting on a light smile in a blue whale sweater, looking unbothered by the drizzle that rained on him.
namjoon was stunned, he didn’t expect to bump into seokjin and he wasn’t prepared on what to say to him, especially after that whole fiasco and showing up in front of his shop weeks later looking like a sad drained puppy.
”come in. are you going to wait until the wind blows you away?” said seokjin as he walked past namjoon to climb on the small steps and pushed the door into the shop. namjoon trailed along behind, keeping his wet umbrella on the corner to dry up.
”i thought you guys were closed already?” asked namjoon. he saw one of the employees that was busy mopping the floor and namjoon cautiously tiptoed around not to step the cleaned area.
seokjin walked behind the counter and stopped in front of namjoon. they were close but also not quite, the only thing dividing them was the marbled counter. “we are but there are always some work left for us to do. we closed earlier than usual because the rain was quite bad and decided to just call it a day but look who i found standing outside in the rain?” and namjoon could pick up the snarky tone that he used last time.
namjoon scoffed, lost for words and he distracted himself by glancing around at the area. the display counter got no cakes left except for around a dozen of macarons left.
“so how can i help you today, namjoon-ssi?”
the silence stretched, saved from some noise of moving chairs around and the squeaky sound of consistent mopping.
“okay, spit it out. there is no need for courtesy after that whole cake and cupcake thing. for weeks i have been wondering if i succeeded in changing your taste palate,” uttered seokjin impatiently.
”you are saying you have been thinking about me?”
”is that seriously the only thing you pick up?”
“okay. i admit it. yours is legit,” namjoon hung his head in defeat, finally admitting to the thing he had been holding back. seokjin pounded the counter in triumph and yelped in joy hearing the compliment.
”now you gotta tell me, what the fuck did you put into your earl gray cake? there is no way a cake could taste that good and soft.”
it was seriously the only thing that namjoon could think of for the entire week that he had to eat by scraping bit by bit, reluctant to see it finished. it was perfectly soft, airy and utterly delicate. the fragrant of the earl gray infused thoroughly from the layer of cakes until the cream but it wasn’t overwhelming.
the butter croissant was probably one of the best namjoon had in his whole life and he had ever tasted one in paris but the golden crispy crust wasn’t something that was easy to replicate. it had tight buttery lamination and even when it was eaten cold, it retained its texture and flaky goodness.
namjoon rambled on to compliment seokjins’ marvelous creation. he swallowed all his ego and went full on showering all the good points, recalling the taste of the pastry when he first bit into it. the cupcakes were an absolute delight, it had namjoon exclamining in awe over and over again, amazed by the careful thought and combination they put that got namjoon guessing what flavors they were aiming for.
”i finished the entire thing by myself. i think that’s the biggest compliment i can give you,” said namjoon. now that he ended his rambling, his neck started to grow hot from the intense stare seokjin threw at him and the small smile hanging on the corner of his lips.
”and this is why i love baking. to see people enjoying every little creation i made and knowing all the sleepless nights of r&d was finally worth it. thank you for all the kind words. being in this industry for a long time, i have seen many written blogs, huge compliments praising my babies but i don’t see this in person a lot because i buried myself in the kitchen most of the time, chasing orders and monitoring operations.”
namjoon could notice seokjin’s gaze turned mellow, probably reminiscing the days where he was building everything, ”you sent me away that day to give you my honest thoughts so here they are.”
seokjin snapped away from his little flashback and gave namjoon a quick eye before gesturing him to one of the seat, “sit and wait there.”
namjoon obediently walked to the pointed spot and made himself comfortable. seokjin disappeared somewhere but returned in no time with a plate on his hand and approached namjoon.
”my iconic earl gray cake has sold out so i can offer you none of that but i got you a newly improved tiramisu cake. i bet you have never tried this. try this and tell me if it gives you a whole new world experience.”
namjoon eyed the plate and seokjin suspiciously. he would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy to be offered another type of cake from sugar and whisk. “what am i? a guinea pig?”
seokjin belted out a loud laugh, surprised by the sudden remark but seokjin shrugged it off, “maybe. but honestly you looked so worn out and there is nothing a dessert couldn’t fix. dessert can’t save the world but they can improve someone’s mood in no time.”
seokjin leaned back on the sofa and pointed with his chin to ask namjoon to enjoy, “have it. i can’t let you come all the way here for nothing.”
the tiramisu looked gorgeous, stacked underneath must be the ladyfingers topped with mascarpone cream and dusted with cocoa powder. namjoon hesitantly sliced a forkful, peeking a glance at seokjin first before carefully putting it into his mouth.
namjoon took a while to digest the taste and texture before he sighed and released a good moan to praise how good it was. he stared up at seokjin in disbelief and back at the tiramisu as if he was enchanted. namjoon made another slice, shoving it back to his mouth to enjoy the experience again. the cream melted instantly in his mouth, folding perfectly with the soft ladyfingers and the bitterness from the espresso locked everything.
seokjin smiled in satisfaction, seemingly pleased to see the genuine reaction first hand.
”h-how?” namjoon was in awe. “h-how do you make this? everything i tasted here was balance and not ov—,”
”not too sweet?” seokjin finished the sentence for him.
namjoon nodded. he had been given many desserts to try and every single time there was always something for him to nitpick— too dry, too densy, too soggy and most of the time too sweet that he couldn’t swallow more than three bites.
”i think the highest form of achievement a patissier could achieve is if they successfully create a sweet dessert that is not too sweet,” joked seokjin.
“sorry. that was probably such an ass and terrible way to describe dessert.”
“no worries. i think it even shows your genuine reaction further.”
namjoon continued to dig in, savoring every bite and mentally noted that he should try more variations from this shop.
“instantly knew that you would love tiramisu,” seokjin softly adds.
”hmm?” hummed namjoon in between bites.
“do you know that tiramisu actually mean “cheer me up” in italian? you look exhausted and i hope this makes you feel better,” added seokjin. sitting down like this, seokjin took the time to enjoy his view. he eyed the unbottoned top buttons of namjoon’s white shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbow, black rimmed glasses that compliment his looks and hair styled up. not that seokjin didn’t appreciate him on their first encounter but damn this man was totally hot in another way.
“did you just get off work?”
“yes.”
”nine to five works?”
namjoon gently chuckled, “that obvious, huh? but i would probably say nine to eight. i worked overtime today.”
”sometimes i wonder how it feels like to work in high building, dressing up neatly to work and do the routine of nine to five,”
“not exactly fun.”
“what are you?”
“i work as a finance consultant. did i consciously sign up for this career? yes, i did. but these days i have had enough looking at numbers and trying to save my clients’ ass from burning,” namjoon complained, sharing the stress that he had been facing recently.
“a finance guy, huh? admirable because i have always known i’m not made to sit behind a desk. a week in and will probably pull my hair. my passion has always lied in baking but i gotta say, some days it is not fun at all. i still have cakes to bake after this.”
“you are still going to work after this?” namjoon turned his wrist to catch the time.
“yes, sometimes we do to catch up on early morning orders.”
“is it okay for you to keep sitting around and talking with me like this?”
“why not? i can’t miss the moment to witness turning an absolute dessert hater into licking the entire plate of my cake clean.”
“you are never going to let this go, aren’t you?”
“absolutely never. when else do i have a customer arguing with me that my cupcake is stupid as fuck?”
“ugh. it’s not your cupcake. it is just cupcakes in general.”
“i hear what i want to hear.”
somebody popped out from the kitchen and called back, “seokjin hyung, can you stop flirting with the hot finance guy and come help me back here? my arm is about to fall off from folding all this batter.”
“kim taehyung, shut up,” hissed seokjin.
“hi, my name is kim taehyung. sorry to disturb your developing conversation but i need seokjin hyung back to finish these cakes if we want to aim to go home before twelve,” said the new guy before disappearing back into the station.
namjoon grew warm at that and quickly stood up to leave while rummaging through his pocket to find his wallet, “i shouldn’t disturb you further. bill me up please and i will be on my way.”
“no charge taken.”
“what? i can’t let you give me free food twice. not when it is this good and your business has to sustain so i can keep coming over and over.”
“don’t worry. i won’t close just because i treat you to some cakes. just make sure you keep up the promise to come again next time,” seokjin waved off, refusing to take the bills namjoon was trying to pay but he could hear the hopeful tone at the end.
“what if i keep coming to eat freeloads from you?”
seokjin cleared the table, handing the emptied tiramisu plate to one of his workers. he shrugged casually, putting both hands into his jeans pocket and stepped closer just enough for namjoon to hear him lowly said, “no worries, finance guy. i make enough to fund your recently found dessert obsession.”
and seokjin winked while walking backward to his station, back to his duty, leaving namjoon alone with his dazed look and thumping hearts.
“see you some time, namjoon-ssi.”
🍰ᢉ𐭩🧁
“namjoon hyung, yoongi and i are going out for lunch. do you want me to pick you up anything?” jimin walked into his room and sat by the edge of the table.
namjoon remained silent, concentrating to understand the graphs he was staring at the screen before yelling in frustration. “sorry, jimin. you were saying?”
“i was asking if you want me to pick you up some lunch?”
“ah, there is no need. i had my early lunch but maybe an iced americano if you pass by a coffee shop?”
jimin peeked a little at his computer screen, “still struggling with this report?”
namjoon adjusted his glasses and pulled out a box from his drawer, “almost there. the meeting is tomorrow, i’m just checking back on some errors.”
jimin suddenly stared at him like he just grew another head and exclaimed, “hyung, you are eating cake for a snack?”
“is that sugar and whisk cake that i’m looking at?”
namjoon jabbed his fork to the earl gray cake and took a bite, avoiding jimin’s eyes, “yes, it is.”
“i knew it. i knew you would love their cakes. oh my god, how many times have you returned there?”
“just a few times while i was around the area.”
namjoon kept his promise to seokjin and make sure to come back again after that night but on the last couple visits that namjoon did, seokjin was always so busy attending to the customers that they hardly could strike up any conversation.
though it was always hectic, seokjin always managed to put in extra new pastry for namjoon to try.
“there is an extra bag of croissants. enjoy it with your coffee or share it with your colleagues, okay?” said seokjin only once namjoon handed over the bills that counted for what he actually wanted to purchase initially. namjoon was left with no room to argue because the line was waiting behind and seokjin was already chasing him away with a bright knowing smile.
on another day when namjoon paid a visit, he was glad hoseok was the one behind the counter and seokjin was nowhere around but for some reasons, he still managed to do this. “i packed an extra slice of earl gray cake for you. sorry, there aren’t many choices left today.”
“wait, hoseok-ssi. i cant—,”
“sorry, boss’s order. seokjin hyung specifically left instructions for all of us to pack you extra items if you ever drop by while he isn’t around.”
namjoon carried a plastic bag in his hand and walked through the streets that he had grown to know like the back of his hand. his meeting wrapped up successfully and there was no urgent project on his hand right now that he could finally take a little breather.
the night was already late when the company gathering ended and all namjoon could hope was sugar and whisk was still open and seokjin was there. despite seeing each other for short moments when he came by, he missed having long and stupid bickering with seokjin.
he stopped in his track, noticing the neon signage has been turned off and the remaining hope inside him kind of faded away. he almost walked back to where his car was parked when he noticed a reflection of light through the window and there he was, seokjin looking swamped in work.
the smile widened on namjoon’s face, excited for the night and skipped in his step to push the door open but only to find it locked. the loud bang of the door definitely made seokjin jump in his seat and he had to squint in the darkness to see which crazy man was trying to buy cake at this hour.
seokjin approached the dark silhouette closer and finally was able to make out the person in the dark, he wasted no time to unlock the door, “namjoon-ssi?”
seokjin scanned him from top to button, trying to see if he was dreaming or seeing things, “what are you doing here? we don’t have any cakes left to sell and we are closed for the night.”
the remark made namjoon instantly all awkward, feeling that he wasn’t welcomed here but he cleared his throat and asked, “why? am i not allowed to be here for another reason than buying a cake?”
”well, that wasn’t what i meant but people usually come here to buy desserts.”
in flustered embarrassment and desperation to save his last remaining pride, namjoon tsked, “so you’re not going to invite me in? do we really have to do this at your front door?”
realizing his impolite manner, seokjin quickly ushered him in and it was only then seokjin turned on a few more lights to add more brightness to the room. namjoon trailed behind like a puppy and sat on the seat across seokjin at the table seokjin was occupying.
namjoon set aside his plastic bag and observed the papers, instantly knew that it was all bunches of invoices and receipts. it seemed like seokjin was sorting the bookkeeping for the store.
seokjin returned in no time, carrying a glass of water and a plate of fresh giant size strawberries, “sorry, i wasn’t joking when i said there was no dessert left to be served. have some water and strawberries from the pantry. though there is a lot of butter and dark chocolate if you want to nibble on those.”
namjoon chuckled at the humour, already feeling entertained from hearing seokjin speak. he observed around, realizing it was so calm and peaceful, unlike the other night he ever stopped by, “you are alone here?”
”yes, i sent all the kids home already. it has been a long week for them,” sighed seokjin. namjoon felt endeared by the term seokjin used to refer to his people that worked for him.
”if it is a long week for them then it must have been the same for you. why are you not going back to rest like them?”
seokjin stared up from behind his bangs, expression mimicking like a kid that was sulking. he gestured to the table covered by papers, “i need to tidy up all the bookkeeping. usually tae would be the one to help me in this part, he is better in this thing but he is taking weeks break of backpacking. i couldn’t possibly disturb him or wait until he returns.”
”first timer handling this?”
”nope. but it always feels like the first time. i told you right that i’m not meant to sit behind an office desk and this is exactly the visualization if you put me there. i would eventually get there but after a lot of caffeine and hair pulling.”
seokjin was giving off another different aura, the confident patissier persona was chucked away and replaced by a lost duckling trying to tackle numbers. namjoon offered, “i can help you with that if you want?”
”you would?” seokjin looked up in surprise.
namjoon shrugged and nodded, “if you don’t mind me looking through all your sales, expenses and statements. but you have my promise that i won’t speak any of your internal documents. there is a certain ethic that we keep as a consultant which is all clients related data is always confidential.”
”are you really sure?”
”of course, i am. have you forgotten that i work as a financial consultant? these are my everyday,” said namjoon. “but look, seokjin-ssi. if you are uncomfortable, please just take me as a nosy person. i was just trying to help because you definitely look stressed.”
“nope. not an ounce bit uncomfortable,” said seokjin, a flashing smile starting to make its way across his face. he looked overjoyed to be pushing the laptop to namjoon’s side, turning all the papers and books towards him too. seokin clasped his hands together, “thank you for being my knight in shining armor.”
namjoon threw his head in laughter, feeling pleased from being able to help yet silly by the exaggeration, “i’m afraid you can’t run away from this so fast. at least walk me through the essential parts so that we can finish in no time.”
seokjin jumped in to explain some of the work that he had done, showing the receipts that were spread on the table too. namjoon began to get the hang of it in no time and assured seokjin to leave the remaining work for him to complete.
“let your brain cool down a little bit and enjoy this,” said namjoon as he unpacked the plastic bag he carried over. he unwrapped the box and sauce, offering a pair of chopsticks to seokjin to hold. the box revealed to be a takeaway of fresh sashimi.
“i hope you like sashimi.”
seokjin exclaimed in awe to see food, “i love them. this is perfect as dinner.”
”you haven’t had your dinner?”
seokjin shook his head, “the shop has been overwhelming these days so i usually would prioritize the others to have a quick meal. besides, i’m used to skipping dinner.”
he munched in delight, surprised by the freshness. “how did you even come by with sashimi of this quality? they are super fresh.”
”i was having dinner with clients after wrapping up a project. it was this famous place that opened a few blocks away and they are specializing in high quality sashimi so i ordered some for take away.”
“isn’t that the michelin stars restaurant?”
“yep,” a small pop from his lips followed, eyes busy scanning the screen.
the fish halted in the air upon hearing this and was dumped back into the box, “wait, this is supposed to be enjoyed by you. why are you offering me to eat this?”
“wait, why are you closing the box?” namjoon looked confused. “i bought this for you to eat.”
“you take away michelin quality sashimi and personally send it all the way to my shop for me to eat?” seokjin checked.
”yes.”
”why?”
”should there be any specific reason?”
”people don’t do things out of their way for no reason . ”
”couldn’t you just continue eating it?”
“not until you tell me the reason.”
namjoon pretended to be busy checking the invoices and inputting numbers to the laptop but seokjin was as stubborn as a stone and didn’t budge. namjoon lost again in this whatever game they were playing.
”fine. this is just me saying thank you for all the cakes and pastries you treated me,” namjoon finally gave in.
“quite a heartfelt effort only to be your way of saying thank you to me for treating you to some sweets. i did tell you that i won’t go broke from putting a few more croissants inside,” seokjin studied namjoon who got immersed in the work.
seokjin knocked his knuckles at the table right in front of namjoon and folded his arms to rest on it, “there is more.”
”what is more of it?”
”spill.”
”gosh, seokjin-ssi. i should have known from our first meeting that you can be exasperating.”
”thanks but people usually call it charming,” shrugged seokjin, returning the exact sentence namjoon threw at him and smirked. “buying me food is one thing, sending it all the way here is another.”
”just eat, seokjin-ssi.”
”not until you tell me more,” replied seokjin and he rested his head against his palm, already set to corner namjoon until he gave up.
even after several minutes later, seokjin stayed in his position, staring intensely at namjoon that was trying to ignore whatever he was doing so he could finish inputting all the sales records, the expenses for the current month is also neat already. there are a couple of payments that seokjin still need to complete. doing this finance was like flipping the back of his hand, it should be finished in no time and then namjoon caught the untouched takeaway box.
he chewed his lips, aware that seokjin was waiting for him to break and he planned to be stubborn too but this sashimi would go to waste in no time and seokjin was thoroughly enjoying it so much.
namjoon released a low sound— sounding like half frustration, half defeat and namjoon snapped the laptop shut to admit, “i brought sashimi all the way here because i want to see you. can you please continue eating now?”
seokjin remained frozen in his seat, stunned by the confession yet he quickly gathered his composure to put on one satisfied smile. “see? not so hard, wasn’t it?”
namjoon lifted the laptop screen again to continue where he was. despite being cornered like that, namjoon couldn’t find it in him to be angry or embarrassed. yet there was a boost of confidence after seeing the slight tint of pink colouring seokjin’s ears and neck— feeling pleased that he was the cause of it.
seokjin eventually picked up his chopsticks again and namjoon sighed in relief from seeing him continue filling his empty stomach. “you know, it is not a bad barter at all for a few pastries to be given such a nice quality food.”
“if i say i give you a few more cakes and pastries, what else can i get?” asked seokjin while lifting off another slice of sashimi and dipping it into the soy sauce.
”did you know that you are quite mouthy?”
“yet, you are listening to me,” said seokjin and he grinned.
there was seriously no way for namjoon to win against him. the endearment that filled up in him slowly should be scary but namjoon was curious where this could lead them to and he was truthfully excited for it.
the two of them returned to their own tasks— seokjin finishing off the remaining food and namjoon sped up in the bookkeeping. both finally unable to say something to retort each other back yet they knew this was a comfortable silence and the companion that they gradually began to enjoy.
“i love mulhwe . i could eat that a few times a week. people always ask me why i love it but honestly it’s always refreshing especially in the summer,” seokjin abruptly broke the silence and namjoon stopped mid typing, turning his attention fully to seokjin and trying to gauge what he was trying to say.
seokjin continued to avoid looking at namjoon in the eyes, “i love steaks too but recently i discovered that i’m allergic to potatoes so there goes all my french fries obsession.”
”i don’t get picky with my food because my mom has always taught me to be appreciative of whatever was served on the table but i tend to stick to what i love eating. i eat any kind of price range food well but i won’t lie and say that lobster or king crab or things like omakase and michelin stars restaurant don’t excite me,” the last disclaimer made namjoon breathed out a light laugh.
“because i’m a patissier and the nature of my job, people would assume that i eat dessert for every meal and i hunt all newly opened cafe to try and give ratings but truthfully i enjoy discovering new restaurants and try their full course meal more,” added seokjin.
namjoon nodded his head as he absorbed all of this, then he smiled, “what are you trying to say, seokjin-ssi?”
seokjin rolled his eyes but later replied with a curl on his lips, looking amused at the little trick namjoon was trying to play, “what i’m saying is please take note, big guy.”
namjoon winked in understanding and seokjin belted out a laugh, filling up the entire store with his warm laugh then rose up to throw the empty take away box.
later in the night, the finance was all tidied up. namjoon explained the work he had done, and gave a little reminder on the few outstanding payments. overall, their track record of bookkeeping was neat. that taehyung guy did an immaculate job. they were showing healthy signs of growth in the sales number and more steady months like this would bring them better growth and room to explore.
”what would happen to the food if it turns out i wasn’t in the shop today?” seokjin asked while namjoon was organizing the papers.
namjoon shrugged because he didn’t even imagine until that far. all his guts was telling him to go for it, “probably bring it back home for me to eat.”
seokjin giggled at the honesty. he saw a pen laying around on the table and uncapped it, leaning forward a little bit so he could reach well and wrote down a series of numbers on the back of namjoon’s hand.
namjoon read the numbers in confusion before snapping his head back at seokjin when he realized what it was. seokjin settled back and pretended like nothing happened, “you know, just so you can leave a message or call if you want to order cakes next time. i can prepare some in advance for you.”
”privilege much?”
”don’t get ahead of yourself. this is me trying to get something better than high quality raw fish.”
namjoon chuckled and asked again— but this time in a different tone, “what if i’m not in the mood for sweets?”
”also applicable for when you just want to sit around in the dark at the shop like this.”
”with you?”
seokjin smiled, ”with me.”