Chapter Text
“Thank you, come again!”
The sound of bells rang softly when the customer left. Dohoon slumped on top of the counter as he pondered what to do. The customer that just left was his first and only customer of the day. It was near closing time, so the chances of someone new coming in before he had to close the store was unlikely.
His eyes scanned over the food displayed under him. There were still plenty of leftovers, if you could count a whole batch as ‘leftovers’. He usually gave it to people along the way, especially kids from the orphanage near his place. But he’s not sure how much longer his bakery could even survive if no one is interested in buying anything he makes.
Then, his eyes landed on his fingers. His finger got sliced by the knife while slicing the bread for said customer. The blood stained the cutting board despite the amount of scrubbing he did. Today, he felt especially unlucky.
As he was grumbling about the fate of his little store, the bell suddenly rang again. Dohoon quickly fixed himself and plastered on his customer service smile.
“Welcome! How may I help you?”
The man looked around without saying anything, just examining each type of bread on display. Dohoon was pretty caught off guard with his presence. He came in wearing an expensive looking coat and an intimidating presence. Dohoon deduces he may be a rich guy coming for a business trip with how polished he looked. Handsome too.
“Do you have anything with meat?” the man suddenly asked.
“Meat?” Dohoon tilted his head in confusion. This was the first time he’d heard such a request. Most people would have probably requested certain flavors, or maybe different pastries, but he’s never heard meat specifically.
“I’m aware it’s an odd request, but I’m a bit hungry,” the man spoke with full confidence.
Dohoon didn’t have the heart to argue with someone who has money. Above all else, money is important when you’re running a business. What good is being a good baker when you can’t even run a shop?
“I do have a meat pie. Would that be alright? 2,000 won.”
“Sure, anything will suffice,” the man waved his hand dismissively.
Dohoon quickly took the hint and took out the meat pie he had saved for himself out of the fridge. He doesn’t really sell any meat pie, but it just so happened that he tried to make it earlier while following a recipe because of the slow day.
“Do you want me to heat it up?” Dohoon came back carrying the pie and showed it off to the man. It looked a bit off. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it definitely looked amateur.
The stranger just glanced unamusingly before nodding at the request.
Dohoon went back and shoved the pie back into the oven. There goes his dinner, but at least he got paid for it. A win is a win, he smiled thinking about that fact.
Dohoon went back out and stood by the counter. The awkward silence between them while waiting for the pie made Dohoon start to fidget with the strap of his apron. The man also looked uninterested, constantly looking at his phone while leaning on a wall.
“So… are you here on business…?” Dohoon carefully asked. The pie still needed at least 2 more minutes before it was warm enough as a proper meal.
“I live around here.”
“Oh… Why did you choose my bakery?”
The man looked up from his phone to stare at Dohoon. He looked bothered by the question. “I don’t know. It just smelled nice.”
Dohoon nodded, not sure how to even answer that. That should be a good thing then, Dohoon thought. A sweet smelling bakery is certainly a good thing.
DING!
“Oh, it’s done,” Dohoon said, quickly rushing back to take the pie out of the oven. He carefully carried the pie to the counter using gloves, the savory and sweet scent wafting all around. Despite the questionable appearance, it smelled absolutely delicious.
Dohoon carefully packed the pie into a cute pastry box before ringing up the order. “Alright, with the packing fee, it’s 2,200 won. Would you like to pay with cash or card?”
“Cash,” The man immediately handed Dohoon two coins and two crisp clean bills with the exact amount, “thank you.”
Dohoon happily accepted the money. “Thank you for your purchase, please come again.” Dohoon bowed slightly.
The man waved and left, then the ring of the bell echoed in the empty bakery.
Dohoon sighed, staring at his bakery once again. The cute display he spent hours making, the interior that he had designed himself. It had been his dream to open his own bakery, but maybe opening it in this small town was a horrible idea. He thought about opening it in a bigger city, but that would mean he had to fight every other big chain bakery. The price to rent a building in a big city was also a horrible thing. A depressing thought honestly went through his head.
Maybe I’m just not cut out for this.
His family had opposed his—now that he thought about it—ridiculous plan. Because he had no plan other than willpower, a positive mindset, and starting capital from working a part time job and knowing the owner of the building he rented this place from. He got the place for cheaper solely because he had been close to the person who owned it. And even with cheaper rent, he still can barely afford it because of the lack of traffic in his store.
Dohoon groaned in frustration as he packed every single bread from the display into small brown paper bags. He’ll just drop these off at a local shelter or hand it directly to someone who might need it. It had been a habit of his ever since he realized the amount of things he baked was ridiculous for a not successful business.
He then took off his apron and shoved every individual bag into a large bread that could fit kilograms of grocery. He was happy to give away to those in need, but he’s not sure how long he can even keep doing this if his business becomes bankrupt first.
He finally closed up the shop and headed towards the orphanage run by a local church. He had gotten to know a lot of the people there, and the kids were all adorable. One had even called him uncle Kim, and he couldn’t stop smiling the entire way home that day
When he arrived, he simply left the bag by the door quietly and rang the doorbell before continuing on his way home. The people there would already know he came, and he’s not sure if he’d be able to smile properly today considering the building owner had told him that he still owed 2 months worth of rent.
Dohoon suddenly caught the glint of a shooting star from the sky. He had thought he was way too old for superstitions and things of the sort. But, his heart already spoke first.
I wish someone could help me. I want to keep that place open. I still want to be able to help people. Please just let me have this small wish.
It was childish, and frankly impossible. So he just sighed as he continued on his way home.