#neocafe

Wong Kunhang can’t, for the life of him, count just how many times he’s screwed a potion up. 

He tries to keep calm, going through the ingredient list in his head as he wipes his hands with a towel. The bright orange from the potion he just made leaves a slight tinge on his fingertips, and it’s a very telling one, considering the bubbling liquid should have ended up a nice, bright pink. The brew, which he has just placed into a small ceramic cup, smells strongly of lemons, and he’s not sure just how he’s gonna be able to mask the scent and turn it into the soft cinnamon infusion it should be. 

In his defense, he’s not even supposed to be making potions. A clueless wizard, he’s usually just manning the human drinks (he’s gotten surprisingly good at latte art), leaving everything magical to Lily, who actually knows how to brew a successful potion without burning the kitchen down in the process. But alas, Lily is out running errands, and Kunhang has been stuck with helping a friend out: you, who had walked into the coffee shop a few minutes earlier and practically begged him to prepare you the café’s most famous concoction. 

Love potion no.1 (or, as Kunhang calls it, headache #14), has been Wong’s Apothecary’s prime product ever since it was introduced to the menu. It can be added to almost any drink or pastry available, since the soft vanilla and cinnamon notes that linger on can compliment every sweet, and, unlike other love brews, it doesn’t need to be administered to the object of a person’s desire. Love potion no.1 is drunk by the person in love, and given a few minutes, they can be perceived by their crush as the person of their dreams for a few days. 

He’s never quite liked it, but again, he’s never seen the point of it. He’d never say it out loud, not even now, when he’s sure the potion won’t work, because he’s still fascinated by everything a little romance could entail. And, hey, everything to help a friend out.

“Hey, uh,” he mutters, moving so he can peep through the small window next to the kitchen door. The café, just like every other Friday afternoon, is packed full. “Jeno! The love latte is almost ready!” 

He pours a shot of coffee over the shimmering potion, followed by steamed milk and a soft, velvety-looking layer of foam. Some of the glitter of the brew rises up to the foam, making it shine under the artificial lights, and Kunhang draws a quick rose on top before topping it with some ground cinnamon. He bites his lip, looking at the finished product while his heart beats against his chest, and tries to reassure himself with the thought that there’s no way you could know the potion has gone wrong. 

From a distance, it doesn’t look that different from the lattes Lily serves. From a very big distance. If you squint. If you haven’t seen Lily’s lattes. It will all be okay, right? 

“Love latte?” Jeno asks as soon as he reaches the kitchen. He peers in through the window, encountering a messy kitchen and a panicked Kunhang. He keeps his voice low, trying his best to go unheard by Johnny, the friendly demon Kunhang had once summoned (by accident!) and now works as the café’s manager. “We weren’t supposed to sell magical drinks today, were we? Lily isn’t here!” 

“It’s a favor for a friend,” Kunhang says, a nervous laugh escaping his lips as he mutters the words. He places the cup on the little bar on the window, beginning to take his apron off as he keeps trying to get the orange out of his fingers. What is this, Cheeto dust? “Here, get them the cup, okay? Table nine! And if Johnny asks, I took the day off! I fled the country, actually!” 

Jeno nods, taking the cup and trying his best not to notice Kunhang’s hands. He’s not a wizard himself, and as a human, he’s not sure he understands enough about magic yet to be able to question his friend’s odd behavior. And, even then, it’s not unlike his friend to act strange sometimes. 

“I heard you!” Johnny says from the door, and even though he probably heard everything about their exchange, he simply smiles as he changes the sign on the door to read Magical Treats Unavailable. If he knows Kunhang prepared a potion (which he probably does), he won’t tell. He enjoys annoying Lily enough. 

Much like Johnny, Jeno doesn’t say anything about the potion in his hand. He trusts his friend, no matter how much he knows he shouldn’t sometimes, so he starts walking. Table seven, table eight, table nine… table nine? 

Table nine is yours. 

Normally, he’d be more than happy to wait for you. Actually, Jeno would probably say that you being a regular is part of the reason why he enjoys his job at Wong’s Apothecary so much. Magic aside, of course. But today, table nine is yours, and Kunhang had just asked him to deliver a love latte to you. The person he’s sure he’s in love with, or as close to love as he could feel for someone that isn’t quite his yet.

Jeno can’t deny that throughout the months he’s known you, he’s gardened enough hope to believe you could, someday, return his feelings. That you could look at him and feel like your stomach was almost bursting from the thousand butterflies that threatened to set flight. It had been a feeble thought on the back of his mind, something to make him smile after a long day. Something that, no matter how uncertain, still presented itself as a shining lighthouse at the end of the way. 

Something that threatened to be shattered by a simple café order. Something that brought a shiver down his spine. 

“Uh, love latte?” He asks as he reaches you, voice trembling ever so slightly. He hopes you don’t notice, and carefully places the cup right in front of you. It smells like cinnamon, but it’s surprisingly soft, because he’s not quite sure the scent is there, or if he’s just imagining it. 

You look up from the book you had been reading, quickly sticking a napkin as a makeshift bookmark before you close it. Your hands shake a bit at hearing his voice, but you hope the movement distracts him from it. You’re not even sure he’d notice, but the thought of him doing it made your throat go dry. Didn’t Kunhang say he’d bring the potion to you? 

“Yeah,” you answer, voice small. You’d never had any trouble talking to him, and you’d even go as far as to say the two of you are friends, but your choice of drink today didn’t fail to make you nervous. Just how embarrassed could you be? “Thanks, Jeno.” 

“No problem,” he answers, and he does his best to smile. You return the gesture, and Jeno opens his mouth in an effort to say something, but no words come out. 

What could he have said, anyways? Thoughts run wild inside his head, and he scratches the back of his neck at all the words that ended up unspoken. Maybe he would have wanted to tell you just how cute you looked, with the light that fell from the window bathing your skin, but he would have never dared. Maybe he would have wanted to say the book you were reading looked interesting, but he wouldn’t have known how to follow it up. Maybe he would have wanted to ask just who you were drinking the love potion for, but he would have never been able to bear it if the answer wasn’t him. 

“Tell me if you want anything else,” he says, giving you a last nod before he walks away. 

He doesn’t see you take the first sip of your drink, disappearing behind the wooden door that leads into the kitchen. The room, still a mess, smells strongly like lemons. 

It’s a slow day, and Jeno just can’t stop looking at you. 

The thought of you drinking the potion still lingers on the back of his mind, like a thick, dark cloud threatening to put a damper on an otherwise sunny day. He tries to ignore it, focusing on Kunhang’s hand-painted Today’s Specials sign, which looks like a crossover between a modern art background and old school lettering drawn somewhat carelessly. He can’t, for the life of him, figure out just what the sign is supposed to say.

“No, listen, I don’t think it’s accidental anymore!” 

You’re sitting with your friend Mark at one of the tables Jeno usually waits for, and he can’t help but hang somewhere nearby while he’s not working. He tries his best to make it look as non-obvious as he can, although without much success; wiping down a visibly clean table, messing up the books in one of the bookshelves and then putting them in their correct order again and carefully watering the set of plants that grow in a small shelf next to the window (yeah, the ones with a sign that reads: ‘magical species, they don’t need to be watered!’). 

“I don’t think it ever was accidental,” you say, teasing. You try to keep your tone strong, looking at Mark over a steaming cup of tea. Peppermint. “Mark, all this time…” 

He catches onto your teasing, rolling his eyes before taking a sip from his own drink. Lemon tea, cold. 

“Oh, I’m serious!” The boy says, voice cracking with laughter. He moves his hands around, jumping on his seat slightly as he speaks. “This is actually a really important issue! Jaemin keeps buying cartons upon cartons of milk and he never actually drinks it, there’s entire boxes laying all over the apartment! I think he’s trying to send a message, but I’m not exactly sure what it is yet.” 

“I think, quite frankly, that your roommate is weird, Mr. Sherlock,” you laugh once you catch a sight of Mark’s preoccupied expression, clearly trying to recount any important details left out of the milk carton dilemma explanation. “Doesn’t he have this, uh, thing with milk?”

“Nah,” Mark shakes his head. “The only thing he has with milk is this weird kink of having Renjun yell at him for buying too much of it.” 

The laugh that leaves your lips is loud, and out of the corner of your eye you can see Jeno turning to look at you from his seat next to the plants. 

“All of you guys enjoy having Renjun yell at you too much,” you say, taking a sip of your drink. It’s still too hot, burning your lips as the liquid comes to touch them. “Are you kink shaming your own kink? Wow!” 

Mark’s cheeks heat up a slight shade of red, throwing his head back as he laughs. “Oh God, shut up!” 

It’s been almost a week since you drank the potion. You don’t feel different, and if it wasn’t for the soft lemony taste or the glittery foam that had stuck upon your lips, it hadn’t tasted any different from a normal drink. 

“I’m just saying!” 

“Well, don’t say anything!”

Wednesdays at Wong’s Apothecary feel so much different from Fridays, and it’s part of the reason you had always preferred to come at a time different than the frantic rush hours. Sitting next to the window, there’s magic all around, and you can feel it with every passing second. 

“Hey, uh,” Mark says, voice low. He looks around as he speaks, and you wonder if it’s part of his effort of growing unperceived. It’s strikingly obvious, but you don’t tell him. Let Mark’s fantasy of being a Sherlock Holmes kind of detective live another day. “How’s that going?”

He signals your cup with his eyes, and you frown. How’s… what going? As much as he wishes he was one, Mark wouldn’t make a very convincing detective.

“My tea?” You ask, confused. “It’s good? Do you want a sip?” 

“No, I don’t want a sip,” he answers. His face contorts into an exasperated expression, and it’s only when Jeno begins to walk away that he actually begins to talk. “I’m talking about the potion.” 

“Oh,” you place your palms on the table, and you barely notice your fingers have started to shake. “Well, I don’t feel any different, actually? Maybe I should go ask Kunhang what’s up with that.” 

“Wait,” Mark mutters, hand stretched out. “What do you mean Kunhang?”

“Wong Kunhang, Mark,” you roll your eyes. “Tall, pink hair… dangerously obsessed with learning TikTok dances?” 

“That’s not what I mean,” he answers, copying your gesture. “Why would you ask him about the potion? Ask Lily!”

“Well, he made it.”

“Oh, that explains it,” Mark lets out a laugh. “In school, just how many times did he brew a successful potion? You could’ve just made it yourself!”

“Mark, I’m hopeless when it comes to potions,” you say, taking a sip of your tea. “You know that! Remember that time I turned your hair red while trying to make a levitating potion?”

“I still don’t know how you convinced me to drink that, I had that hair for a month!” He laughs. “That’s what I mean, though! Kunhang is just as bad as you!”

“Oh come on,” you wave your hand as you speak. “Maybe he’s gotten better!”

“Well, I hope so,” Mark says as he takes a sip from his tea. “For your love life’s sake, you know.”

You look up at Jeno, who has met Johnny next to the pastry stand. He’s not looking at you, laughing at something his friend said, arms crossed over his chest. You try to pinpoint the exact moment you had fallen in love with him, but even when you know it’s only been a bit over a year since you met him, you can’t quite remember how life was before him. The thought brings a small smile to your lips.

He turns, his eyes meeting yours, and for the first time in your life, you find yourself agreeing with Mark. You also hope Kunhang has gotten better at potions.

There are perks that come with befriending a coffee shop owner, and sometimes, asking favors from Kunhang is no different. 

You’re (almost) completely sure Lily knows he’s been messing with the potions by now, but even then, you promise you’re keeping his secret when he asks you to, swearing upon “a lifetime of silence”, as he had said. Truth is, you’re sure Lily wouldn’t ask, and you wouldn’t tell, but Kunhang’s oath had fulfilled every bit of the grandiose drama he had wanted to accomplish. He had even conjured a small puff of pink-tinted smoke to glaze over his feet as he walked away, and you wondered just what it was that he had wanted to do with it. Some big exit scene? Back in school, he had failed the apparition course. 

In return for keeping his practices a secret, he had lent you the keys to the shop and a (somewhat understandable, completely imaginative) explanation on how to work the coffee machine, leaving you and your computer to yourselves for the entire night, finally able to work on your history paper completely undisturbed. Or so you had thought. 

Night has fallen down, and the café feels like a completely different place.

The entire place is lit by a set of chandeliers made of tinted glass, light breaking upon the material and reflecting everywhere in what looks like a thousand tiny rainbows. There’s candles resting upon every shelf, though unlit, and you can just imagine how beautiful they must all look when they’re all lit up. There’s a vague linen scent that clings up to every book in the room, and it dances softly with the thousand different perfumes that bloom from every plant, every flower. It only makes sense for it to be full of magic, because there’s no way another place could make your heart tingle as much as the café does. 

“Hey, uh,” a voice speaks from the kitchen. Soft. “We’re closed.”

You freeze in your seat, eyes wandering around the room until they land on him. 

He looks tired after a long day; hair disheveled and held together by a small, black hairband, with a pair of gold wireframe glasses resting on the tip of his nose. He’s wearing a gray sweatshirt with the logo of the café printed over his right pec in a deep purple, all tied together with a pair of light-wash jeans. 

“Kunhang gave me the key,” you say, waving the small silver item so he can see it. “I think he told Lily? He might have thought she was closing today.”

“She was, but she had to help Johnny with something,” he answers, smiling. He fidgets a little with his fingers before he sticks his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie, looking at you over his lenses. “Are you staying for long?”

“I can close if you want,” you mutter quickly, even when your words don’t quite answer his question. “I’m just finishing an assignment. My apartment gets a bit too loud sometimes.”

He nods. “Do you still live with that one fairy? The one that likes strawberry pie? I forgot what his name was.”

“Yuta,” you say. “Yeah, he’s my roommate. Him and Taeil. I don’t know if you’ve met him yet. He’s trying to teach Yuta how to cook but he’s still almost setting the apartment on fire every time he tries to make a quesadilla.”

“I don’t think I have.”

He’s walked almost all the way up to you by now, and he rests his hands on the table once he reaches you. He sits down just as you drink the very last sips of the coffee from the bottom of your mug.

“What are you working on?”

“It’s an assignment for my literature class,” you say, shrugging. “It’s about this book I read, Persuasion? Love despite family. Love despite society. Love despite either of those, I guess, when they become a reflection of each other… and how it’s portrayed within a thousand different metaphors, too.” 

Jeno nods. He doesn’t try to pretend he understands, but he wants to show that he listens. Love fascinates him, it always has, and it does even more when he gets to hear about it from your perspective. From your lips.

“It’s a bit cheesy, I know,” you smile. “I can’t help but love everything about it, though.” 

“You’ll have to lend me that book sometime,” Jeno says, smiling. “Now that I know what it’s about, it might be nice to read while I’m trying to ignore Kunhang’s TikTok dances.” 

“Oh, yeah, like that will help you tune him out,” you laugh, and he joins you. “I think you’d need sound canceling earphones AND the book.” 

“Yeah… he even got a bluetooth speaker,” Jeno lets out between jolts of laughter. “It’s good though, I might use it now that I have to clean the kitchen to close.”

“You have to clean everything yourself?”

“Yeah, usually Johnny and Lucas do it but they’re not here,” he shrugs. “I think Lucas might be on a date.”

“Isn’t he always sort of on a date? When he’s not decorating his cupcakes, I mean, I’ve seen him,” You ask, giggling. “I’ll help you clean, make up for the dates and the errands, and all that.” 

“Oh, don’t start about the cupcakes,” Jeno laughs, getting up from his seat. He doesn’t want to leave, not now that you’ve started a conversation. “And don’t worry about it, really! It’s mostly just dishes.” 

“I already distracted you long enough,” you say, shaking your head. You close your laptop as you rise from your chair, placing your copy of Persuasion neatly on top of it. “Let me at least keep you company.” 

Inside the kitchen, and practically speaking, the passing of time is measured in quick, soft ticks from the clock on the wall. It’s shaped like the smiling face of a cat, and it’s a mix of pastel purple and neon green. Two small paws constitute the hands of the clock, and when they move, they let out a soft rhythm of tick, tock, tick, tock, that, truthfully, you’re only able to actually hear if standing close to it. 

To you and Jeno, the passing of time is measured by the changing of songs coming out of Kunhang’s duck-shaped speaker. He’d told you he listens to “a little bit of everything” when he had asked, and now, listening to a Cher song after having heard a couple Britney Spears songs, you’re enthralled by Jeno’s varied music taste. He dances along to the beat at times, sometimes even mumbling the lyrics, and you can’t help but look at him with as much adoration in your eyes as you can muster. 

The laptop and book lay long-forgotten in the small green table in the center of the room, and your elbow softly grazes Jeno’s every time you scrub a bowl in the sink. You let yourself get lost in the music as your fingers play with the small purple bubbles from the dish soap, (not so) gracefully accompanying Jeno’s singing with an enthusiastic yet completely out of tune rendition. 

If it wasn’t for the song repertoire you’re not even sure you’d notice it’s been about an hour since you’d entered the kitchen, the conversation with Jeno flowing at such a fluid, rapid pace there hadn’t been a single pause that felt uncomfortable. Even in the spaces silence had reigned, comfort had enveloped the two of you like a blanket,  bringing a smile to both of your faces.

You’re enthralled by every single little detail that encompasses the current scene: the colorful and shimmering remnants left on the used cauldrons, a symphony of scents reaching your nose with every single bowl you take into your hands. Plants grow all around you, some hanging from the ceiling, with their colorful leaves spilling from the vases, and some of them growing steadily atop the many shelves. The night passes peacefully in front of you, and moonlight just but barely manages to seep in through the small window on the edge of the wall. 

It’s almost like magic, the way the moonlight seems to set fire on every single thing it touches, the glass lamps hanging from the ceiling igniting into a fiery rainbow that reflects upon every surface. It’s almost like magic, the way you and Jeno seem to lose both shy and nervousness, feeling so at ease with each other that you don’t notice the exact moment his arm begins to graze against yours.

“Did you drink it for Mark?” He asks, voice low. He looks up from the dishes, and turns to look at you. “The love potion?” 

It’s almost like magic, the way your entire surroundings seem to dissolve right in front of your eyes as everything turns into something that begins and end with the man standing in front of you. You’re not really sure about the exact time the music stopped, and whether it did because Jeno had paused it or if his playlist had simply run out. All you can hear is your own breath hitching up in your throat, quickly drowning out the sound of your heartbeat. It’s quick, rapid and fierce, thumping loudly against your ears. 

It’s almost like magic, the way Jeno seems to close up the entire space between the two of you. He consumes it all with his touch, pulling you into a sort of loose embrace; not quite a hug, and yet, something awfully close to it. You’re standing flush against him, facing him, and you’re not sure if it’s the closeness between your bodies, or the heat that he lets out against you, but there’s a sort of restlessness coursing through your veins that makes you feel like you’re flying. 

“No,” you answer. Jeno looks at you, straight in the eye, and you let out a soft sigh as his hands come to rest on your arms. “It wasn’t for him.”

It’s almost like magic, the way in which Jeno’s touch seems to soothe your skin with a graze of his fingertips. The way his hands run up and down your arms like an explorer’s fingers over a map, tracing routes in the search of a treasure. The way his breath crashes against your cheek, almost burning at the touch. The way his hair falls down against your forehead. The way his skin seems to know yours, his body quickly accommodates into your shape as he poses a careful hand on your chin, soft. Loving.

And it’s almost like magic, because even when you can’t really see the stars shining up above, Jeno’s lips touch yours and suddenly, a thousand different galaxies explode like supernovas right inside your mind.

As you walk down the street, there’s a light spring in your step that almost makes you look like you’re dancing. You don’t care, setting your mind on the feeling of the sun against your skin, the sound of birds chirping in the trees, the scent of pollen and sun that always came with summer. 

It all courses through your veins as you make your way to the café, vague sounds of chatter increasing in volume the closer you get, and no matter how much you’d try to deny it, the hopes of seeing Jeno grow in the back of your mind when you catch a glimpse of the red neon sign. The promise of exchanged glances and a simple greeting make your heart flutter like a butterfly catching flight, so much you don’t even notice your feet picking up on the speed of your steps. 

You don’t see Jeno through the window, rather catching sight of Lucas’ tall frame waiting on the tables with a purple apron tied around his waist. The café is surprisingly empty for a Saturday morning, with only a couple of tables in use, and Johnny flicking through a magazine with his elbows resting on one of the counters.

“Oh, hey!” Lucas greets you when you walk in, quickly moving to hand you a menu as you move towards your usual table. “I made a fresh batch of peach tarts earlier, in case you want to try them! Johnny said they’re really good.” 

The tall demon smiles up at you from the magazine, and Lily quickly comes to stand next to him, a palm on his shoulder and she waves at you with her free hand. 

“Are you playing with recipes again?” You ask, sitting down. He smiles, nodding, and you only pretend to quickly look through your menu before you turn to him again. “Bring me one of those and an iced coffee, please!” 

“On it, beautiful!” He smiles, and you let out a laugh at his compliment. 

Lucas, a young sex demon, had been accidentally summoned by Kunhang when trying to perform a big apparition spell. Ever since then, and just like Johnny, he’s been working in the café and living in Kunhang’s apartment, whipping up new treats with his newfound love for baking. He’s always been loud, friendly and flirty (the last one more a product of his nature than any concrete, personal attraction), and it didn’t take long for you to start getting used to being around him.

Minutes pass quickly as you stare outside the window, people coming and going, not sharing anything between them but that; the state of their steps, the progress of their journey, the being nowhere and everywhere at the exact same time. You think of them, and you think of yourself, and you wonder if maybe you’re in a similar situation, even when your feet don’t move. It’s a fleeting thought, uncertainty brewing in the back of your mind and quickly dying down as you remember the night before. Your lips still tingle from the ghost of a kiss, and as you think of Jeno, remembering his touch, you understand the colorful bits and pieces of Wong’s Apothecary have always held a piece of home.

“Here you go,” Lucas says as he comes back to your table with a plate and a set of cutlery in hand. He places it in front of you, a soft and shiny fruit tart placed carefully in the middle, with a big dollop of whipped cream standing proud in the center of the treat. “Oh, and extra cream, completely on the house.”

“That’s so generous of you,” you reply as Lucas sits down in front of you, probably having forgotten about the coffee Johnny was finishing up in the kitchen. “Aren’t you gonna get in trouble with Lily?”

“No, don’t sweat it,” he answers, waving a hand as a form of dismissal. “There’s almost no one here. Plus, I really want to hear your opinion on the tart.”

“Why is it so important?” You ask, grabbing a fork. “You already got Johnny’s approval.”

“Yeah, Johnny will approve of anything as long as Lily says she likes it too.”

Cutting down on the tart is as easy as cutting down on butter, the layer of fruit tender and juicy, and the dough is soft and crumbly, breaking at the touch of the fork. Before meeting Lucas, you never would have guessed a demon could be the one to give the neighboring bakery a run for their money. As soon as you bite into the tart, the sweet taste of the peaches invades your senses, complimented by the smooth flavor of the freshly whipped cream. 

“Lucas!” You let out, accidentally slamming your fork down against the table. He smiles, shifting in his seat as he awaits your verdict. “This is the best peach tart I’ve ever had! Seriously, this is so good!” 

“I told you! I have good taste, you know?” Johnny speaks up from the kitchen, and it’s when you turn to look at him that you notice Jeno has walked into the café.

Standing right next to the door, Jeno looks like a deer in the headlights. He’s staring at you and Lucas, lips apart and mouth slightly open, his bag in his hand as he scratches the back of his neck to break out of the daze. He looks at you one last time before Johnny calls his name, making a beeline to the kitchen while not acknowledging the wave you send in his direction. Is it because of the kiss?

“I thought he wasn’t gonna come in today,” Lucas says, dipping his finger into the mountain of whipped cream on top of your tart and popping it into his mouth. “Johnny made me cover and I had to take time from brainstorming this mango pie recipe I want to make to show Violet, once and for all, who’s the better baker around here.” 

“Violet? From the bake shop down the street?” You ask, trying to take your mind off Jeno’s lack of reaction towards you. “Huh, are you guys mortal enemies or something? I thought you were friends.”

“Nah, I just think she’s cute,” he says, smiling. He laughs, letting out a breathy sigh, and from the corner of your eye, you can see Jeno walking out of the kitchen with a purple apron of his own. “She always ignores me when I say hi in the mornings, though. I left her a batch of duckcakes the other day and she only said they had way too much lemon zest… I think I might be in love.” 

You lose sight of Jeno for a moment, and you can’t help but wonder just how obvious you might look to an onlooker, hoping, like it’d be one thing anchoring down to earth, that Jeno can spare you a look. A greeting. Something. 

You hear Johnny talking and Jeno producing an answer, but their words muffle over in your head and you’re simply left with the sound of their voices. 

“And you decide to flirt in the weirdest way po-” 

“You forgot this,” Jeno says, walking towards your table. He carefully hands you the iced coffee Lucas had forgotten to bring, and you can’t help but notice he’s trying his best to not meet your eyes. You open your mouth to speak, but the words get stuck in your throat the moment he starts talking. “Oh, Lucas, thanks for covering me, but I got this. You can go back to whatever it is you need to do.” 

He doesn’t acknowledge any of you further, walking back inside the kitchen without looking back. Lucas stays seated in his place and takes the fork from your hand, apparently deciding taking small bites of your tart is his needed task, beginning an exciting tale about Kunhang’s failed attempts at learning some new viral TikTok trend. As per Lucas tradition, he doesn’t miss the excitement in his voice or a couple booming jolts of laughter, but you don’t really catch any of it. 

Your mind is on Jeno’s attitude, completely different from the night before, and you wonder just what could have happened in the last few hours to make his treatment towards you change so drastically. He had asked you about the potion, but had he expected the answer to be Mark? If he had been upset about your answer, why had he kissed you, anyways? 

Had Kunhang messed up the potion? Just how much would he miss his duck speaker if he had? 

“I’ll be right back,” you say. The words leave your lips faster than you can register, standing up from your seat as Lucas takes another bite of the treat. “You can finish that if you want.”

He doesn’t respond, or maybe you don’t hear him, but your focus is not on him. Your focus is not on the atmosphere in the room, not even with the sounds of chatter flowing through the space, or the mix of coffee, sugar and cinnamon scents filling the air. There’s usually so much in the environment that catches your attention inside the café, but as your feet move over the faux ceramic tiles, Jeno avoiding your eyes is still the only thing in your mind. 

You walk past Johnny, who merely looks over his shoulder as you enter the kitchen, and you don’t really know what you’re expecting because you can’t help but freeze the moment you walk in. You had known Jeno was there, but still, the sight of him takes you by surprise. It’s not the black t-shirt he’s wearing, or the hairband that props his hair up and away from his face, or the book he’s holding as he sits on a stool next to the fridge (it’s Persuasion, and, okay, maybe it does surprise you a little bit). It’s the way he’s trying his best to pretend like he hasn’t noticed you’re there. 

There, in front of him, looking completely lost as you look for any sign — any indication that the thoughts running through your head are wrong, but the disappointment is painted all across his face. You wonder if yours is, too. 

“Jeno?” You say, softly, trying to capture his attention. 

Lily, who’s scrunched over her work station (probably working on some new potion she’s trying to perfect), looks up from her work, and shares a quick look with Johnny before going back to her work. Jeno, though, barely takes his eyes off his book to acknowledge your greeting. 

“Is someone calling?” He asks. When you shake your head, he lowers his eyes again, and he begins to scan over the page. His hands are shaking slightly, and though you notice, you pretend that you don’t. 

“Can I talk to you?” 

You try your best to keep the nerves at bay, but your words betray you as soon as they leave your mouth. 

“Uh,” he hesitates for a bit. He stops reading, and his hands still shake, but he doesn’t look up. “Sorry, I’m working.”

“You’re reading,” Lily pipes up from the counter where she’s working, and even though you can’t really see her face, you can tell she’s smiling. “And hiding, might I add.” 

“I’m not h-,” he begins, but he lets out a sigh as he closes the book. He stands up from the stool, the apron scrunched and wrinkled as he straightens up. His eyes meet yours, only for a moment, before he brings a hand to the back of his neck. “We can talk in the back.” 

“Johnny’s not moved the trash yet,” Lily perks up, turning to look at Johnny. The demon turns around, looking at her, a smile plastered on his face. “Keeps telling me he’s too busy with reading that stupid magazine to do it.”

“It’s a dog magazine!” Johnny whines, still smiling.

“Johnny, you don’t have a dog!” 

Meanwhile, you follow Jeno’s steps. He leaves the book on top of the stool, the page where he had left off dog-eared, and you notice he’s only starting. He guides you through a small door on the back of the kitchen, opening into a small alley behind the café. The walls, completely plastered in bright posters, capture your attention briefly, but Jeno quickly rests his back against one of them, and your focus is back on him.

“Uh,” you try to speak. You’re not really sure what to ask, questions are going as quickly as they come, and you worry none of them will actually leave your lips at all. 

He does it for you.

“Did you sleep well?” He asks.

His voice is different than it was back in the shop. He sounds a little more relaxed, a little more comfortable now that it’s only the two of you, and it’s even more confusing because that difference had never even been there before.

“Yeah,” you answer. “Did you? It was pretty late when we left.”

Jeno nods. He opens his mouth and closes it again, and you can tell he’s just as unsure as to what to say, because for a long time, neither of you say anything.

“About last night,” you begin. Your voice doesn’t shake, and neither do your hands, and you decide to make use of this courageous moment when, at least on the outside, it might look like you have everything under control. “Can we talk about it? I just — I feel different. I want to feel different, but I’m not exactly sure on where you stand in this whole situa-”

“You can forget about it if you want,” Jeno says. His voice is soft, small under the city noises, but you hear him perfectly. “The kiss, I mean. If you want, we pretend it never happened. I wouldn’t want it to stand in the way of your feelings or anything else.” 

“My feelings?” You ask. 

“I shouldn’t have pried about the potion,” Jeno answers. “Whoever you took it for, that was your business. I just — I don’t want to stand between you and Lucas, okay? So you can forget it happened. Forget I kissed you.” 

Time stops. Time stops, and it’s just you and Jeno. You and Jeno, and the words that just left his mouth, and the way your heart clenches when you hear them. His words, and the way they knock the wind out of you, taking you completely by surprise. His words, and just how little you understand them, their meaning a complete mystery to you as you try to decipher just what it is that he could have meant with them. 

“Me and Lucas?” You’re confused, and your voice reflects it. “Jeno, that’s not what I meant by what I said, I’m just —” 

“It’s okay,” he says. He tries his best to smile at you, to pretend everything will be alright and that his disappointment is nothing but a simple confusion. “It’s okay if you drank it for him. And it’s okay if you — what I mean is, this doesn’t have to change anything between us. We’re friends, right?” 

You don’t want to be friends. You want to hold his hand, and kiss his cheek, and run your fingers through his hair. You want for him to think of you just as much as you think of him, an enamoured sigh leaving his lips at the thought of you. You want to set free a thousand butterflies in his stomach at the sight of you, because it happens to you at the sight of him. 

Because you like him, you like him in a way you’ve never liked anyone before. Because his kiss had given you hope that he might like you too, and you’re not sure why it is that he’s trying to take it away from you. 

“We’re friends,” Jeno whispers, more to himself than to you. He keeps his eyes set on the wall in front of him, as if trying to distract his attention from the conversation with you. “We’re just friends, and I hope that what happened last night won’t change that. I wouldn’t want to lose you because of it.” 

And it dawns upon you. The way he mutters the words, and the look in his eyes when he does. The way he had stopped in his step when catching sight of you and Lucas, and the way he had tensed up when he heard a piece of what you had been talking about. Because he likes you, he likes you the way you like him, and he thinks that you don’t. Because he thinks you like someone else, someone that isn’t him, and the mere thought is tearing him apart. Because you want to fix it. 

“Jeno, stop,” you say. You try to get his attention without raising your voice, and you search for his eyes in the hopes that they will lock with yours. “Lucas and I are friends. Just like Johnny and I are friends. I wouldn’t drink a potion for Johnny, and I also wouldn’t drink a potion for Lucas. And yes, Jeno, we are friends. But I don’t want to be.” 

“You don’t?” 

“No,” you shake your head. If he’s starting to catch what you’re trying to say, he doesn’t show it, because he still doesn’t turn to look at you. “I don’t want to be friends because I want to be something more. Jeno, I drank that stupid potion because of you. I wanted you to like me.”

For a while, he doesn’t move. Minutes tick by in your head as you search for a clue, something that can tell you your suspicions were right. Something that can tell you that you did not just screw everything up. You look at him, trying to even your breathing and calm your thoughts, but his face doesn’t change. His eyes don’t meet yours, and his stance is still the way it was before. 

“You’re the one I risked having Kunhang turn me into a duck for,” you say, laughing. He smiles, softly, and although it’s not directed at you, you hope you’re the cause of it. “Better a duck than a spoon, or something of the sort, though.” 

“You let him brew you a potion?” He asks, amused. He visibly relaxes, and, for the first time this morning, turns to look at you. “Wong Kunhang, the guy that has somehow managed to summon two demons via failed spells? I think being turned into a duck would have meant you had luck on your side.”

“Hey, I had no choice!”

Jeno smiles and straightens up, moving closer to you. The alley is small, but when he walks up to hold your hand, it feels even smaller. It feels the width of you and Jeno, together, and there’s nothing else around. There’s no one else around, or even close, because his skin touches yours and you’re in a completely different dimension: one that starts and ends with the two of you, together.

“You know, I was also gonna ask Lily for a potion that day,” Jeno smiles, tightening the grip on your hand. His free hand comes to rest upon your cheek, thumb running up and down the skin in a caress. 

“Yeah? What happened?” Your hands snake around his waist, and even when you don’t pull, he moves closer to you in your grip. The fabric of his t-shirt is soft against your fingertips. 

“Then I saw it was Kunhang in the kitchen,” he says, and he leans down a little bit with every word he speaks. By the time he’s finished the phrase, his forehead is touching yours. His hair falls over your face. It’s soft, and it smells like green apple shampoo. “You kinda beat me to risk becoming a duck.” 

“My apologies,” you whisper, and you feel the warmth of his lips against the corner of your mouth. “It’s never too late for a Kunhang spell, though.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he answers. His breath is hot against your face, and it smells like sugar. “You didn’t have to risk it, though. You’ve always been what dreams are made of to me.”

You smile, closing your eyes as your fingers grab at his shirt. His chest, flushed against yours, molds easily into your figure. 

“Nice reference, Paolo,” he kisses the corner of your mouth once more, and you almost melt into his embrace. You can feel his smile growing against your mouth, hear his heartbeat mixing in with yours, smell the traces of his cinnamon and musk cologne. “Now kiss me.” 

And he does. He kisses you, lips molding together with yours like matching pieces of the same puzzle, and you’re completely sure you’ve found your home in them. You’ve found your home in everything that he is and everything that he’s not, and as he pulls you in closer to his chest, you’re so goddamned thankful Kunhang didn’t actually turn you into a duck. 

Inside the café’s kitchen, Lily and Johnny watch the two of you through the small window on the top of the wall. Johnny, finally deciding against clapping as Jeno grabs your hand (after a very animated scolding from Lily), opts for a set of air kisses that are, to Lily’s dismay, inaudible to you and Jeno, but very much loud against her waiting ear. 

“God, Johnny, shut up!” She hisses. “Did he say potion? I’ve never made a potion for either of th — oh no, has Kunhang been messing around with them? Hey, do you know anything about that?” 

“Baby, look! They’re almost kissing! Oh, how fast do they grow!” Johnny says, ignoring Lily’s words and pretending to wipe a tear from his cheek. 

“Don’t call me b- where is Kunhang?” 

“I don’t know, upstairs in his room?” 

“Jesus,” she huffs, climbing down off her stool. Johnny, next to her, is only standing on the tips of his toe. She starts walking towards the stairs in the corner of the kitchen (and in the direction of Kunhang’s room), turning back to point straight at Johnny. “Don’t do anything weird!” 

As soon as Lily reaches his room, Kunhang learns three things: 1.) Lily’s voice is not as soft as he remembers when she starts detailing the exact reasons why Kunhang isn’t allowed to mess with potions (with a complete dramatization of the day Lucas appeared in a big cloud of pink dust). 2.) Johnny’s clapping is also, surprisingly loud, and a very effective method to get Lily even more mad (which isn’t particularly good for Kunhang right now, considering he had been oh so close to mastering today’s TikTok dance). 

And finally, Wong’s Apothecary’s most carefully guarded secret (and the only thing that saved him after having brewed a potion that did absolutely nothing): 3.) Love potion no.1 had never actually been a love potion. Lily, the café’s potion master and a hopeless romantic, had always believed in a good old-fashioned falling in love. In the five years it has been on the menu, Love potion no.1 has been, merely, a confidence brew. 

But tonight, he is already two hours late and you wonder why because he has never been late on Valentine’s Day.

“Uhm, Jaehyun will be a little bit late. Business trip. But I completely understand his schedule” you smiled and thanked him.

Of course you’re not sad that Jaehyun couldn’t make it on time this year. Maybe he got caught up with a little work an emergency perhaps? But you do hope that this is nothing serious.

Three Valentine’s Day ago

You were sitting quietly at Cafe Resonance with a warm drink on your side. Just admiring the happy couples that are enjoying the day with flowers, sweets, and different kinds of surprises. It was a normal day for you, but not until a very handsome man sat in front of you on the other side of the table. Giving you three pieces of Cafe Resonance’s Valentine cookies.

A cupid in his human form. Came out to play and enjoy his day for his own selfish needs. The gods forbade Jaehyun to celebrate his own day so he could stay pure like the god that he is and remain sinless and worthy. But the young cupid is full of passion and curiosity that he took his chance to walk on Earth and make himself meet someone that can satisfy his physical wants.

“The cafe manager said that if I want someone to fall on love with me, I should give them a Valentine cookie” he said and flashed a very handsome smile at you. Knowing all too well that what the manager told him was complete bullshit, because no one can force love to happen with anyone but him.

At least that’s what he knew.

Your first encounter with Jaehyun was surprisingly refreshing and fun. You ate all the cookies that he gave and to be honest you only did that to show him that you’re interested with him too, and also it’s not so bad to fall in love with someone like him. He’s nice, decent and well mannered. Though it’s pretty obvious that he’s after for some Valentine’s sex, and you have no problem with that.

At the end of the day, the man made you scream in bed, fucked you on the wall and made you cum for more three times using his cock. He sure knew how to fuck, you thought.

But the bitter feeling and ugly thought of waking up without him by yourself the next day is something you don’t want to happen so even though you’re dead tired from the sex, you try si hard not to sleep yet and make the best of this moment by asking too much questions to him that he likes answering.

Was the valentine cookie from Cafe Resonance real? Is it really possible for you to fall in love with a stranger?

“Go sleep. I promise I’m still here when you wake up” he said.

And he kept his promise not only the day after Valentine’s Day, but also for the next few weeks. Who would expect that a cupid who just wanted to have fun during his day, wasn’t so immune with love after all. And who would expect that he’s willing to be punished by the gods because of you? But what amazes Jaehyun the most, is how you fell in love with him. Because even as a cupid, he didn’t made you like him or used his powers for his selfishness.

Either way, he still refused on believing that the Valentine cookie was real and effective. Such kind of love mustn’t be tolerated he thought.

Life with Jaehyun was sweet and real. Too beautiful to ruin. That’s why when Jaehyun said that he’s leaving, you didn’t take it lightly which soon lead to your first fight.

Jaehyun didn’t have much of a choice but to tell you the truth. Even though you just laughed at him when he finally said the words, he secretly hoped that you’d still understand because he believes that you love him.

“I don’t have a choice Y/n. I’ve been away for months now. I am neglecting my duty as a cupid, by this time the happy couples that we saw during Valentine’s day could have broken up already because I’m not around” he explains frustratedly.

“So you’re saying that you’re the cupid and couples can break up because you’re not around. Because you’ve been busy being happy with me?”

“Yes” he answered weakly and reached for your hand to kiss it. Promising you that he will come back and find you. “It’s just for a year. I’ll sort everything out and I promise I’ll give the love that you deserve”

And as Jaehyun left you as soon as the truth was revealed, you let him leave you with a big doubt and judgement in your heart. Is he secretly married and you’re a mistress now? Have you done something wrong to make him leave you like this? And these ugly thoughts ran thru your mind for months and months during his absence.

During your wait for Jaehyun’s return, you decided to move on and just date anyone to forget everything about Jaehyun. But every time that you plan a date with someone, the set date will be either cancelled or the guy won’t show up. Little did you know that Jaehyun is the man behind those unfortunate events. Secretly watching you from a cloud above you, guiding you towards patience until he returns and win your heart again.

It was not easy for Jaehyun to see you like this, purposely forgetting everything about him like he was just a dream to you. He can’t let that happen, for he knew that what you have is love.

On the next Valentine’s Day, you can’t believe who showed up in your doorstep. He didn’t change a bit, and neither his feelings for you.

“Can I come inside?” the cupid asked nervously.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing, but seriously what are you doing here Jae?”

“I told you I’d come back right? I’m here now, and we don’t have much time-“

“I have a boyfriend now so please leave me alone”

“That’s a lie. I know everything about you, I’ve watch you every day from above for a whole year. Please just believe me. Don’t push me away, I kept my promise didn’t I? I’m here now”

And the thought of Jaehyun keeping his promise was enough for you to welcome him in but your heart is still cold and broken because of what happened from the past.

As you and Jaehyun sit and have a decent conversation, he showed his wings which is enough proof to believe him that he really is the cupid. You were speechless for hours, and your apartment’s for corners was suffocating you so Jaehyun decided to have a walk with you.

He wanted to hold your hand like every couple he sees now. He wanted to whisper how much he misses you and loves you. Ironic isn’t it? He’s the cupid who spreads love on Earth but he can’t have love for himself.

“So how old are you?” you finally spoke. Those were your first words after seeing his wings, and that was four hours ago.

“Human age is 25, but cupid age... I have no idea but let’s say almost 127 years old? That’s still young in cupid years” he smiled and let out a small laugh. Completely missing that you’re shocked to the core upon hearing his age. But now that you know more truths about him, the normal thing you would do was react hysterically and make him leave you alone. Surprisingly, you wanted to hear more about him. To hear more about the truth.

“Tell me more?” You said shyly, slowly reaching for his hand for you to hold and hold it tightly. Oh you missed him.

He smiled so big and reached in for a kiss on the forehead before he tells you more about him and to what he do. The simple walk turned into a date, and of course he brought you to Cafe Resonance to celebrate your reunion and basically your first year of knowing each other. And when you got back to your apartment, he immediately brought you to your room and fucked you all night in different positions.

“When are you going to leave?” you asked while drawing circles on his chest and savouring his warmth.

“Tomorrow” he answered weakly and tightens his embrace, “I can’t be away from duty like what I did last year. The gods might not let me see you if I continue to be stubborn”

“It’s sad. But I understand, and at least now I have something to look forward to”

Three Valentine’s Day later

Thru the years of being together, even when you don’t see each other everyday, Jaehyun always finds a way to show his love for you thru unexpected things. Big or small.

Like during your birthdays, he always sends gifts to you with sweet and short notes. Or like whenever you wake up on your side of the bed and see a feather on his side of the bed. That simply means he’s always with you, like an angel.

This year’s Valentine’s day marks your three years if staying in love with each other, and you’re more than excited with seeing him today. But given that he was hours and hours late already, you decided to call it a day and go home to rest. Maybe he will come by the next day? Nonetheless, you still believe that he will do everything just to be with you.

Three days later, he’s still nowhere to be found and it’s weird how you can’t feel him watching you anymore. What is happening?

“Hi Y/n” Mark greeted you with his normal cheerful aura. “Were you and Jaehyun supposed to meet? You completely missed him. It’s weird actually, he came here not have some coffee but instead he had a talk with the manager”

“Uh- yeah, sorry. I guess I’ll see him at home then,” you answered awkwardly and forgot the cake that you purchased.

When you came back to your apartment, finally you see his unique figure standing by the window and staring blankly at the sky.

“I thought you forgot about me, are you okay? Jaehyun?” You hugged him from behind and kissed his broad shoulders.

“Sorry about that, how are you?” He turned around and return the hug and kisses. Saying that he’s really sorry for leaving you hanging on a very special day.

“I’m fine. What happened? Is there something wrong? You look troubled” you asked, but he didn’t answer your question but instead he kissed you deeply and motioned you towards your bedroom, making a trail of discarded clothes on the floor.

And once you landed on your bed, Jaehyun immediately went on top of you and kissed your neck, all the way down to the valley between your boobs while kneading them and sucking them. His breathing was heavy and you quickly noticed it. You wanted to make him stop and make him talk, but you’re too late.

He already spread your legs wide and positioned himself between your legs, kneeling in front of you so handsomely as he starts touching your pussy with his thumb. Up and down he makes you wet and sensitive, not to mention he was really gentle and slow. At first you thought he was going to fuck you already, but to you surprise he put his two fingers inside you and came closer to you again, to suck your nipples and bite them softly until he’s satisfied.

Swollen and sensitive, that’s how he left your nipples and starts lining his cock on your entrance, slowly pushing in his cock. “Fuck” he comments with a grunt. Putting every inch of his thick and veiny cock inside of you, moving his hips slowly. His head rests on the crook of you neck, his breath tickling you but all you can do now is moan.

Moan and keep him close with your arms wrapped around his frame. And when you whispered “I love you, Jaehyun” that instantly melted his heart and fucked you even more deliciously. But he also wished you didn’t say it to him because now he knows your love is not real. Cafe resonance put you in a spell and only your true love can break it.

He got up from his comfort close to your body and got a hold on your hips, slightly lifting it so he could fuck you harder and so he could see your boobs bounce up and down, grip it whenever he wants to, pinch it whenever he wants to and suck it whenever he wants to.

Suddenly, he pulled out completely only to push back in a little harsher that your head hit the head board. He did it again. Making you hiss with the stretch from your cunt, but the pleasure is driving you insane. He then started to lick your neck and chest, pinning your arms on your side while he fucks you harder. Your moans became louder and you started gripping the sheets and just stop fighting the feeling, and accepting the intensity of every thrust Jaehyun gives you.

“Why are you so rough tonight?” You asked with ragged breaths, toes started curling, and you begged him to go slower because you don’t want to cum yet but he didn’t listen.

He made you cum for the first time tonight and it wasn’t anything you’ve ever had before. You gripped the pillow so tight, moaned his name weakly, and let you shiver and curl beneath him while his hands still roams around your body, his cock still inside you and he hasn’t cum yet, a sign that he is not yet done with you.

Little did you know, he’s scanning every inch of you, engraving your beauty while you’re naked in his mind. For this is your last night together.

“I wanted to talk-“

Jaehyun started talking but to his surprise you voluntarily move your hips and started fucking yourself. He was sure he made you weak already and fucked you hard, how is possible that you still wanted to go for another round? But he wasn’t complaining, in fact he loves the image of you fucking yourself and using him to go off.

“That’s right baby, fuck me. Go deeper” and so you followed what he wanted, after all you’re not doing this for your own pleasure, you’re doing this because you wanted him to cum too.

With widely spread legs and bouncing tits, you moved your hips up and down while Jaehyun is kneeling in between your legs and you have a complete view of Jaehyun’s fucked out face. Eyebrows furrowing, parted swollen pink lips, chanting your name over and over again and telling you how much he loves what he’s seeing and feeling.

“Oh fuck Y/n, you feel so good”

“Fuck baby”

“Go slower, I don’t want to cum yet-“

But you didn’t gave into his request simply because he didn’t go slow earlier with you. So you moved your hips faster, up and down and put on a show for him by kneading your boobs in front of him and pinching your sensitive nipples to make yourself clench around him.

In a matter of seconds, Jaehyun’s hands are around your rib, perfectly placed under your boobs, and your legs are folded so he could go deeper. He took over until he’s finally shooting his warm, thick cum inside you. Satisfied for what you’ve done to him because he landed on top of your body, so weak and his legs are still shaking.

Too tired to clean the cum dripping from your hole, too comfortable in Jaehyun’s arms and presence that you never want to let go.

On the next day, you woke up quite late and you’re all alone in your cold bed. Though you’re completely cleaned and dressed, maybe Jaehyun took care of you last night before he leaves.

Scanning your apartment for something Jaehyun left, a small note or a flower placed somewhere... but you didn’t find anything. He usually leaves with a promise of seeing together again. Maybe he forgot?

When Jaehyun found out the truth about that Valentine cookie, he immediately hated himself for giving it to you and being the root of his heartbreak right now. He needs to fix this by looking for someone that will love you despite still having his effect on you. He’s positive that once your true love showed up, you will completely forget and move on from him.

It’s weird how this year, all you did was feel an unexplainable pain in your chest. A year full of pain and you dont know where your heartbreak is coming. Not to mention, Jaehyun hasn’t been making you feel his presence lately. That’s why you feel so lonely.

6 months have already passed since the last time that you saw him. And suitors always comes in the way, and you wonder how and why because you knew Jaehyun would get rid of them.

And as months passes by, you continue to fool yourself and still believe that Jaehyun will come back to you. Even tho you felt nothing from his presence the whole year.

Until finally, you received a note from him on Valentine’s day 2022.

Go to Cafe Resonance tonight -JH

And so you did, with a big smile on your face and with a new dress you bought specifically for this occasion. You waited for his arrival, looking at your watch every minute... but he never came. Instead, he sent you another note given bu the manager of Cafe Resonance.

“I’m sorry Y/n,” Manager Chenle said handling you the note that contains the saddest news you’ve ever received.

But just before you could open the note, someone sat in front of you and asked permission to share the table with you because everywhere else is full.

“Yes its fine,” you said without even looking at him and proceed to minding your own business. Reading Jaehyun’s last note to you that says.

He is a good man, full of love and has a heart of gold. He is the one destined for you, not me. The love I can give to you, has no match to what he can give to you. I’m sorry.

“By the way I’m Johnny”

Lo and behold, after a couple of years and trying out different techniques and interior designing, Midnight Moon Café had opened and was thriving in its first week. Taeil had chosen to name it after his own last name and to have the theme relevant to it as well. He was more than content with it as it surpassed any expectations he had had. He had no regrets nor any worries as he watched people take pictures and videos of his café after hours, sharing the beautifully sky and "up in the clouds" like place on their social media.

Yet with all of this happiness and good fortune, somehow Taeil had cast an evil eye upon his self. For struggling and walking to wherever the devil took him, an evil sorcerer aimed to find a place to call his own and to take revenge upon those who had wronged him. This sorcerer had been good at one point in time, yet the greed and selfishness that arose with the power he had gained from learning witchcraft had corrupted his mind. After a serious incident, he had been kicked out of the guild in his city and exiled. It was heart-breaking of course, yet he never understood his wrongdoings and instead sought out revenge and to practice his evil sorcery.

He happened to be walking down the same street where Taeil was standing a couple metres away, simply admiring the neon white milky sign of his café with a great sense of pride. When the sorcerer spotted him, jealousy and spite filled him at the prospect of someone being successful and happy, something that had been stolen from him. So, he cleverly thought of a plan and approached poor Taeil who was still in his flour dusted apron, ready to clean up.

“What a beautiful shop you have.” The sorcerer pulled up slowly beside Taeil, pretending to be in awe at the grand place.

“Thank you, it's a café.” Taeil warmly smiled at the man, noticing how he looked to be in poor health and clothes.

“Would you like something to eat? I have a lot of pastries left and would hate to throw them out.” He offered, seeing how this poor man would definitely benefit from all the leftover food he had. Besides, wasting food was a bad thing and he always felt so guilty for it, wishing he could simply donate the unused food to charity but knowing it would go bad very quickly.

The sorcerer’s eyes twinkled as he broke out into a gummy smile, “I would love to, that is very thoughtful of you.”

Taeil smiled, a relaxed happiness in his eyes as he excused himself to pack up the pastries.

He quickly stuck a couple random tarts and other baked goods in a paper bag, sealing it shut and bringing it outside to what he thought of as a poor man patiently waiting.

“Here you go!” He handed it to the poor man who smiled at him, revealing his missing teeth and pink gums.

“May you be blessed," The man put up his hand, making a mockery of religions for he believed in none, "Do you have any wish you would love to come true my child? I could put in a good word for you at the church I visit often.”

“Oh no, that would be too much. All I ask is for you to enjoy the baked goods and to live in peace.” Taeil attempted to be religious back to the man.

For some reason, the sorcerer twitched at the word peace and roughly asked Taeil again, “My boy I can not leave without blessing you. Now tell me what it is you desire?”

“That’s weird.” Taeil thought to himself as he watched the man become agitated. But what harm could come in telling a random man his dreams? Not to mention that most of his dreams had already come true with the opening of his café.

“I don’t think I have anything else I desire besides the success of this café....”

“Are you sure? Nothing that your heart aches for?” The sorcerer didn’t want to use any magic on Taeil to reveal his deepest desires as he was now being entertained by the stupidly naive boy who looked willing to share enough and more with a random man like him.

“I guess...” Taeil's voice trailed, a faraway look in his eyes.

“You guess...?” The sorcerer egged him on, his eyes gleaming.

“I guess it’s always been my dream to not only be successful but to have someone by my side to share the success with. To be able to love someone so deeply that we merge into one with our thoughts and hearts.” He smiled to himself with love filling his eyes to the point where it looked like he had someone he loved. Yet, it was simply the idea of having that perfect love that he was so deeply in love with.

The sorcerer grinned widely saying, “I will grant you that. You will be extremely successful and through your success, will find your one true love.”

Taeil smiled, simply thinking that the man was a bit odd but still kind as they both walked away from each other. Little did he know what was in store for him.

For just a week later, Taeil had lost all of his staff and had been cursed to create terribly tasting food that looked beautiful and created people to lust after him. His once golden hands were now as good as coal. All because he was in the wrong place and time, taking in pride and happiness in what he rightfully should have.

The hushed whispers annoyed you to no end. Normally, you wouldn't have minded it but today was harder than usual, as you'd had to communicate with a rather difficult author when proofreading their local traveling guide. Then when having to fact-check the locations and their descriptions, something that landed you in the gossip chain for being so unusual, you had stupidly tried on some new shoes that needed to be broken into so your feet had been killing you all day. Altogether, the quiet whispers, no doubt more gossip, only added onto the irritation of your aching feet, growing headache and sore fingers that kept typing and erasing, typing and erasing.

Choosing to become a proofreader had always been one of your dream jobs as you'd always taken great pleasure to point out the mistakes in everything you read, whether it be grammer, syntax or the usual spelling mistake. It wasn't a glorified ideal job for many, you were aware. But it paid well and you weren't forced to interact with your coworkers through brainstorming or group activities.

After graduating with an English major and a minor in Philosophy, you'd taken up the first job lined up for you, a perfect job at the Neo Proofreading and Publication Company. As happy as it made you, at times it was demanding to work as a proofreader when dealing with non-compliant authors and clients as well as the occasional rift between two proofreaders when an assignment was handed out. Yet, it was refreshing to take upon a new challenge after another and strive to complete your job by the deadlines. It was a joy to proofread and you felt immensely accomplished after every assignment so you kept going on.

Your office was also not the ideal workspace either as the proofreading floor was located on the basement floor and there were just a couple massive tables with sections in between, separating you from each other. There were no cubicles nor no offices as even your boss' desk was just at the very back of the floor, a bit further from the others. The only separate rooms kept the machinery such as printers, books, belongings and sometimes miscellaneous items such as little models of houses and toys from books that one of your colleagues enjoyed creating.

So the open environment wasn't quite your favourite but everyone minded their own business and it was beneficial that you didn't have to go far to ask if you could borrow an item from your colleagues. The only downside was that anything that was happening could be heard from everyone like if someone was calling their significant other or was being yelled at by their mother.

"Psst (y/n)!"

Lovely. This was another downside to being in an open setting, that you could be called upon by anyone, specifically the annoying workers from the publication company.

You turned to the sound of who was calling you. Of course, it was the intern from the publication company on the floor above yours, Ally. They often visited your floor, the basement really since the publication company dominated the proofreading side, to hand over some items or works needed to be proofread. It was plain bullshit most of the times since they spent a good half hour chatting with the other gossiping proofreaders that needed a break from their job.

Most of the people you worked with were all in their late ages, only a couple were your age and Ally had latched onto them, befriending many. It wasn't that you didn't like the people you worked with, it was just exhausting having to maintain good work and friend relationships and you really preferred not to mix between the two in order to avoid complications. But Ally was a fresh face which all the old and young folks loved.

"Yes Ally?" You didn't even try to hide the exhaustion in your voice as you looked at their bubbly self adorned in a multicoloured flowery dress and pink cardigan, a huge contrast to your black and white work suit.

They grinned, "I was just talking to Sophie and Matteo over here in how we should all check out the new cafe that opened up nearby here! It has the most amazing pastries and it's so cool because it opens at 10pm to 5am!"

Well that was odd but intriguing.

Ally's eyes shined as they continued, "Plus, the owner's really cute and so dreamy." They let out a sigh, the other two following suit, no doubt probably having accompanied her before.

"He's just as delicious looking as his food," A twinkle in their eyes as they continued, "But I've yet to taste." Ally winked while Sophie and Matteo giggled. You managed to hold yourself back from mock gagging, a habit that you couldn't stop doing when watching cringeworthy or extremely cheesy content. Couldn't they all just talk about this type of stuff during lunch break or after work? Must they speak about it during work hours?

"But seriously (y/n), the moon tarts there are addictive I swear. I don't know what he puts in those, I have to ask him actually, but they keep me wanting to come back for more and more!"

"Ssshhh!!!!" Manuel, one of the no nonsense proofreaders shushed her. Finally someone did.

"Except tonight we're going to be hitting up a bar or a club with some of the publication guys and gays, do you want to come with? It'll be fun after having to deal with boring text all day."

Sophie and Matteo sucked in a big breath at her careless words, everyone knew how much you loved your job and dealing with 'boring writing', so no doubt these two were expecting for you to blow up. But you weren't about to have a fit near the end of the day and at work too where you always kept to your own business. Besides, you were too tired to put them in their place.

"I'm good Ally, thanks though."

"Whyyyyy." They whined. You could feel Manuel's glare on you without even having to look his way so you purposely lowered your tone, hoping Ally would follow.

"I'm a bit tired, I've been running around all day so I'll pass."

You didn't include the classic line: "I'll join you guys another time/sometime" as this only encouraged them to ask you more often.

Ally frowned, wanting to argue more but perhaps feeling the intense anger from Manuel so they backed off and let you get back to your demanding work.

Thank god it was 6pm and you only had a couple hours left.

—

"Alright, thank you everyone!" Your boss waved to you all, creating a whole chain of voices to monotonously reply, "Thank you Mr. Lee."

Eagerly logging out, you checked around to see everyone leisurely grabbing their belongings and quickly grabbed your own. You did not want to spare time and to have to take the elevator with anyone so you always made sure to be quick when leaving.

Finally, you were off. Darkness was slowly creeping in as it was already seven and you were happy to head home. The work hours were a bit odd as you all started at nine in the morning and stopped at one in the afternoon, having an hour for a lunch break and to clear your mind and to freshen your mind from the morning. Then you all went back to work at three up until seven or sometimes overtime. That meant that you had fairly long days and it wasn't always so pleasant as you rarely had time to schedule anything after work.

But you only worked four days a week so having three days of vacation was still rewarding plus you could always just have a shorter lunch break and head home early. It was this type of relaxed environment that made this job worthwhile in keeping, at least in your eyes. Many of the folks who worked alongside you had worked for years and were comfortable with their lives, not wanting any change. Curently? You felt the same. It was nice to not have to stress over going through job interviews, new classes, and everything else horribly nerve-wracking in university.

You hurried out the main doors of the building, contemplating on whether to endure an hour and a half more and head straight home in these aching shoes or, whether to stop by the mall and switch out the shoes maybe eat some dinner there and just go home and relax.

If made more sense and saved you more time at home to deal with everything at the mall so you decided to just stop by there for a bit. Your feet hurt immensely, but there was a fire inside of you waiting to be released at the fact that you were off work. It was like a light switch went off as soon as your shoes hit the pavement outside and a breeze passed by.

What a beautiful summer evening.

The flowers were blooming alongside the sidewalk and so many people were happily chatting away with one another, immersed in their own bubbles, something you secretly yearned for. The bus to the mall had just arrived and so you tightened your bag on your shoulder and hurried before the doors shut.

Once on the bus, you let out a deep sigh of relief. Finally, only a couple of minutes until you were out of these damn shoes. Hmmm.... maybe a nice epsom salt bath would help any soreness for tomorrow as you were unfortunately going to be traveling more.

Plugging in your headphones, you let the beautiful arrangement of classical music take over your senses. No more grammar checking nor correcting jargon, all you cared about in the moment were the piano notes drifting through your ears and feeding your mind some peace.

The mall was actually really pleasant to be at. If you weren’t so tired from before, you would’ve had more enjoyment in accepting the free samples from this new restaurant opening and the small yet random jazz band performing across from a newly opened musical instrument store. Yet, you trudged past them in hopes for a pharmacy or even a dollar store to ease the burning pain in your feet.

To your luck, there was one just by the grocery store, carefully hidden from the normal views with a small sign hanging on the wall. You had quickly bought some light blue crocs as they would be very comfortable and easy to walk in, especially while your feet had polysporin and bandaids all over them now.

You had spent a bit longer than you expected at the mall, finding it difficult to choose what to eat and then while seated at a table far from the excessively loud noise, peacefully watched an anime and ate. Somehow, you hadn’t noticed the time pass by as you were so into the anime that when the mall's old european looking clock chimed, you twitched from surprise. Checking your phone, you realized it was now 9pm meaning that you had spent a little more than an hour at the mall.

Damn it. You were going to be late to do your nightly routine and sleep in early to give your feet an adequate amount of time to rest!

Quickly, turning off your phone, you got up and realized that the next bus that stopped the closest to your house was arriving in a couple of minutes. The bus afterwards the next one was going to come in half an hour or so and you knew you’d be home much more late by then.

You practically ran in your crocs, the sounds of the plastic slapping the floor drawing lots of attention your way. You didn't have time to focus on the people that were looking at you like you were crazy in your weird outfit consisting of a formal black and white suit and light blue crocs. But you didn’t really care, they were all strangers, bystanders in your life who you'd maybe by coincidence see one more time or never again. The only thing that mattered was your transportation home.

Once again, this must’ve been your lucky day as when you made it to the bus stop, very out of breath, the bus hadn’t even arrived at it’s scheduled time. Many people had been grumbling about the late bus near you and when you checked your bus app to see if it had come, you found that they were right, it hadn't yet arrived.

Thank god for that. Now it was just an hour ride and then you’d be at home, taking a nice, warm shower and snacking on some pastries. What a lovely thought and an even lovelier realization that you were so close to comfortable clothes and a soft bed.

—

With a merry pep in your step, you got off the bus as you arrived at your stop and thanked the driver. It had become more darker now, the sky being a clear dark blue with twinkling stars above. You stopped on the sidewalk to really take in all of the beauty in front of you. The illuminated streets and small shops buzzed with life and the narrow streets were as usual empty, perfect to have a leisure walk and simply enjoy the ambiance created by the wonderful people around you.

You didn't hate people, on contrary to what your coworkers thought of you. It was just much easier to be friendly and spend time with those who lived near you and those you would be seeing for a longer period of time. Your job was a place of professionalism and seriousness, not for slacking off and emotions. It was also just really warming to walk in your neighbourhood and meet with all the lovely and kind people in your area.

You lived in an apartment just down the street that was surprisingly much more quiet and reserved than the small shops situated just a couple of kilometres or so from it. The neighbourhood was nice and you didn’t have to go far to grab a morning pastry and coffee so you enjoyed living here. On one hand, you got your peace and quiet that you deeply valued, on the other, you had the small city life type of feeling when you walked by the shops and restaurants.

With a deep breath and a small smile, you nodded at some people as you walked by. The night wasn’t too warm either so you left your suit jacket on and enjoyed the way the straps were twinkling and the light laughter paired with glasses clinking to welcome you into the night. A strong cool breeze passed by, somehow knocking some important papers out of your bag onto the ground.

You collected the papers quickly but one paper was a bit stubborn than the rest as it kept being swept up by the wind and fluttered into this narrow alleyway. It almost felt as if the wind was teasing you to see how long it took for you to catch up to it’s great gusts. But you weren’t one to give up as you chased and chased the paper, finally snatching it up off the ground.

As you got up and shoved it into your bag, you looked around to see that you had somehow trudged down an unfamiliar and shady looking dark alley. When you turned around to go back, for some reason, some small scooters were all in a line coming your way so you were forced to walk towards what seemed like a more open area with soft lights shining ahead.

Thinking this was maybe some secret connecting alley to another road, you were surprised to come across a small but spacious area that resembled a miniature version of a town square. There were seats set up and you realized once entering the opening, there were also small shops stuck together revealing that this was some sort of hole in the wall area. Except all the shops were closed

There weren't too many people around which felt a bit weird and spooked you out a bit. The scooters from behind you had all passed by you and were making their way farther down the alley and for some reason you felt compelled to follow. Perhaps it was the fact that they were in a clump and it felt safer, or maybe it was the curiousity of what else was going to be discovered. It was still intriguing to see all these scooters in a file going down the narrow alleyway that had now gotten so small from the sides that the scooters barely fit through without touching the sides.

Somehow you didn't wish to bother any of them with questions as they all looked fairly serious and not too welcoming so you followed them and when they all came to a clearing, you were left in shock.

For in front of you was a bigger town square-like area than the one from before, with a fountain in the middle of the painted cobblestone road around it, and many other smaller shops surrounding the fountain with fairy lights hung up everywhere. It was a sight to behold in the night but you knew in the day it would be absolutely extraordinary. With little flowers growing in between the cobblestone and beige picnic benches on the far sides. Once again, the shops looked to be closed except this time, one was still open and vibrantly shone amidst the darkness around it.

You squinted from the bright white neon sign that read "Midnight Moon Café" and noticed the heavily tinted windows that contrasted and didn't give away the interior of the place at all. Wasn't this the place that Ally had been mentioning? Midnight Moon Café? That was a pretty funny coincidence that you had stumbled across it when you had shut Ally's invitation down. It looked to be very pretty, some vines hanging from the roof with beautiful white clematis flowers resembling a wedding dress' train.

It was definitely beautiful but you didn't have the time for it at all.

And you were reminded of this when your phone dinged from a random notification and you checked it only to see that it was now 9:20pm, far too late for you to be venturing out and trying a new café.

Yet, something inside of you was drawn to the beautifully white café and the mysteries it looked to hold inside. It was hard to fight against the feeling and you let out a sigh, deciding to just take a quick peek. Just one small look wouldn't hurt, you could always visit this place the next night.

It didn't spook you out like the previous shops and looked welcoming in a similar way to a late night ramen shop, warm and comforting but with an air of elegance.

Slowly approaching it, noticing that weirdly the scooters had disappeared off to somewhere, you felt a bit nervous, hating the feeling of visiting new places by yourself. But the area looked to be dead so the café was probably quiet and empty which assured you.

Boy were you wrong.

For when you pushed the doors open, in front of you was a sight even more shocking than from before.

A small staircase led you to a spacious and sky-themed room that seemed to have no end to it. The walls were painted a dark blue with white clouds and stars that looked like they were moving but you just wrote it off as really good computer projections. On your side was a long table encased in glass and filled with many different types of pastries, all looking so delicious and unique. This place was absolutely stunning to say the least.

But it was also packed with people like it was some rush hour for a restaurant. Except one thing you noticed as you slowly walked closer was the dazed look they had in their eyes as they ate and spoke with one another. It was odd but they probably were as smitten as you were with the place.

It was like the café of your dreams and because of that, you didn't even care so much about the amount of people and had totally forgotten about your desire to sleep early. Your feet had stopped hurting and you felt like you had taken something that was making you feel so giddy and full of energy. Gone were the eight hours of fatigue and now you were refreshed simply from the interior designing from this place. You hadn't even realized it but the roof above your head also had those same clematis flowers hanging from above, looking like white stars against the dark blue.

You wondered why dark blue had been chosen and not a fresh light blue which would be typical of a café. Either way it felt like a magical sleeping fairytale with how everything was set up. Even the tables and chairs were different shades of blue and the ground had some black swirly fog lightly rolling on top. This seriously felt like some Disney shit happening and it was incredible. A part of you expected Mickey Mouse or Goofy to pop out and announce the newest addition to Disneyland or Disneyworld or something.

You noticed however the one odd thing was that there seemed to be just one person working behind the front counter on the side. You walked closer to the counter, mesmerized by the place and unable to comprehend how someone had made this happen and how you really were standing there right now.

As you got right in front of the counter, blown away at how beautiful the pastries were up close, you noticed the man behind the counter tiredly ask, "Welcome to Midnight Moon Café, what would you like to order?"

Was this the so-called dreamy owner?

Perhaps it might be that your taste in men was different from Ally's or that he might be just having a rough day but this guy looked absolutely exhausted. He was more cute if anything, with his striped baker's cap, plastic face shield to ensure food safety as he baked, almond-shaped eyes hidden behind round glasses, a straight nose, thin pursed lips and he was adorning a dark blue sweater with a cute apron filled with clouds. The attractive appeal was there but with an aura of sadness that lingered as you watched the tired man have no choice but to work.

You pitied the poor man and found it hard to really focus on his attractiveness because of this.

Oddly, he looked like a reflection of yourself at work earlier. Except now you were obviously giddy from this discovering this new place and it being so close to your home that the exhaustion had magically melted away.

You noticed a name tag on his apron, a cute white cloud that read Owner Moon. Was this some themed nickname to go along with the café or was this his actual name? You didn’t want to risk asking him as he didn't even look your way when he spoke, which you would've thought was rude if he didn't look so tired.

Realizing he was probably still waiting on your response, you felt pressured and quickly ordered the first thing you saw.

"Uh I'll have a moon tart please and a caffé latte please." You skimmed over the selection of pastries on the side of you. It was for sure now that you had to come again and try all of the desserts. They looked so delicately and perfectly created, there was no doubt they all had to taste just as great.

"Sounds good." Was his curt response.

As sorry as you felt for him, you wondered why he was all alone and felt concerned for his well-being. Shouldn’t he just have closed the shop then? Or was he some sort of part-timer worker or even full-time worker being profited off of unfairly. Or you could be stretching it and maybe his coworker(s) were just on their break or attending to other matters. Regardless, a part of you wanted to meddle yet a part of you was beginning to accept the reality that you needed to get a move on it and seriously get home and go to sleep to prepare for the next day.

So once you paid and he surprisingly quickly prepared and gave your order which was conveniently packaged for takeout, you decided to eat and drink at home.

As you quickly made your way out, somehow fighting against the weird urge to stay, you thought to eat and walk at the same time to save you some leisure time at home considering you were late already.

You had high expectations for the taste, was it going to be very sugary or have the perfect balance of sweet and sour with the berries you could see hidden inside?

A thrill ran through your body and you shivered at the excitement as you walked up the stairs and out of the magical place.

But when you bit into the tart, you were majorly let down.

It was plain, like seriously plain as if it was made for someone who had a ton of allergies and couldn't consume sugar or merely made by someone who had lost their taste.

The tart itself was a pretty crescent moon shape with chocolate cream piped inside and little bits of mixed glazed fruit in between but the top had a beautiful white chocolate piped to look like little clouds and was dusted with chocolate powder as well as little bits of gold foil. All in all, it was so intricately beautiful that you were very disappointed that it tasted the way it did, like some plain dough and creamy textures, none of the sweetness not even a bit of tartness from the fruit.

You tried to look on the bright side though. Maybe this tart was just a defective one, who knows, you couldn't judge the whole café based off one tart.

So you took a sip of your caffé latte, hoping it would wash away the taste only to be met with more disappointment.

It was the same problem, somehow there was no distinct flavour to it, how could one mess up such a simple drink like this? The drink wasn't even bitter, at least that would've been something to complain properly about. Nor was it too sweet, it tasted like a twice watered down coffee with plain cream in it.

You were so upset as you quickly walked down the sketchy alley again that you didn't pay attention to your surroundings nor to how the alley was slowly and magically being cemented behind you, preventing you from turning around and going back to bring up the issue with the owner. The familiar rush to go home filled you again as you took another small sip of the drink, stepping out of the alley.

Luckily to your side was a trash can and although you didn't enjoy wasting food, this was an exception as you just couldn't bear to take one more sip nor bite.

As you walked the couple blocks to your apartment building, the café's magical interior kept reappearing in your mind. This stayed all the way to even when you got home, took a shower and laid in bed to sleep. The last image in your mind was of the tired but cute café owner and wondering if he was alright.

—

The next day was fairly hectic again.

Somehow, the publishing company had needed many extra pair of hands on deck for their last minute projects and you had been volunteered by your boss as you were pretty ahead with your own assignments and already going to be adventuring out for work anyways.

Begrudgingly, you had gotten up and helped them out, running around (thankfully in comfortable shoes) and helped the distressed publishers and workers.

It was a better day however, as Mr. Lee had let you go home early as a way of saying thanks so you were all comfortable currently in your apartment, wrapped up in a blanket and pajamas as you watched a cooking show.

Living by yourself had encouraged you to cook more at home, realizing how how fast the expenses of takeout and delivery added up. But you enjoyed cooking for yourself and felt it was like a reward after a very long day at work. It was your comfort hobby now and one that you treasured secretly in your heart.

The weather outside had randomly turned rainy and cloudy, despite it being so sunny a couple hours before.

The whole day you had been fantasizing about the café, unable to get it out of your mind and the negative experience of what you had ate imprinted in your mind. You'd hoped to go again today but the weather looked too miserable. The place opened at 10pm anyways, which was plenty of time for the weather to get better or to prepare yourself before going again.

Over the next couple of hours, you researched as much as you could about the café, wondering what the reviews were and if anyone had experienced something similar to you.

To your amazement, all of the reviews were extremely positive and filled with love! You noticed that half of the people commented on the owner's looks as well, talking about how good-looking and kind he was. Whenever commenting on food, most people talked about how the pastries were so good that they felt compelled to go back and eat some more.

It was oddly suspicious that this guy had no negative reviews at all, no matter how much you scrolled down to read. Could it be that he was paying for only positive comments to gain hype for his café?

Now you were way too curious to not go again later on in the night.

The rain had lessened around 9:30pm and was now a gentle mist so it seemed like it would be okay to go out for a short while.

Changing into some joggers, a long-sleeved shirt, a puffy jacket and a cute knitted brown hat just in case the rain was heavy again.

Somehow, the distance to the alley seemed shorter and trudging down the dark and damp alley felt a little less scary now, knowing what was coming up.

The familiar small square had a couple of people in it that were all hooded which was a bit spooky but you tried not to think too much about it.

Soon enough, the big town square came into view and it's one of a kind almost rural beauty shined in the dark. The fairy lights made you feel like you were in some coming of age movie and some shops had their lights on which piqued your curiousity to check them out. Yet, you made sure to keep your eyes on the bright Midnight Moon Café that hadn't opened it's doors yet.

You looked down at your phone and saw that it was a couple minutes to 10 and you were alone in waiting for the café to open. You were lucky as that meant that you could talk to the owner today and ask him about his shop.

Aimlessly scrolling on your phone to pass the time, your ears perked up at the sound of a door unlocking and you looked up. As soon as the door was pushed open, you were met with the eyes of the man from the other day. And boy you were not prepared for how he looked today.

First off, he didn't have his baker's cap on and you had failed to notice the other day, the hair that had been slicked to his neck that would've revealed a mullet and bangs covering his smooth forehead. Now, his hair was all free and showed off how insanely attractive the mullet looked on him. The glasses were also gone as well showing him in a much different light to his innocent baker look.

Not to mention that your mind was going crazy at how he wore a gray hoodie, dark green joggers and converse, an outfit so simple and reminiscent of your teenage years. This guy looked very, very different from the exhausted looking man from the other day. Although he had on a face mask covering half of his face, he still looked to be filled with more life and it was understandable now why so many people fawned over his looks.

Your eyes were still locked on him in surprise as he looked at you unfazed, not even batting an eye to your reaction. Was that just a part of his personality maybe? Or was he just used to people staring at him?

For some reason it was hard for you to speak, you felt so nervous as if you were back in high school and this was one of the popular cool guys who you couldn't approach, no matter how hard you forced yourself to.

"Would you like to come in?" He asked, looking at your casual outfit and the way you were rocking on your feet. He probably thought you were cold, that was considerate of him.

"Uh sure, thank you."

He walked out and held the door open for you, your heart throbbing as you tried to not look into his deep brown eyes that didn't seem to care too much at your close proximity. You noticed the fresh musky melon-y hybrid scent coming off him and tried not to take a good sniff which would show your desperateness.

It was hard to date while being so obsessed with your profession so you hadn't really come across a really fine man like this in a long while. The closest you had was when the attractive interns would come by your floor for their orientations.

You walked down those same set of white steps, amazed at how clean they were. The people working here did an extremely great job to keep everything looking brand new. It was a bit weird to be the first person inside as the place was huge and had soft music playing throughout to make up for what would've been an excruciating silence.

"I'll be right back to help you, I wasn't expecting anyone to come in right at opening." The owner said as he took off his mask, revealing his handsome face underneath. His voice was smooth and made you feel a bit more relaxed.

He looked over at you with a slight curiousity in his eyes as he said, "Usually rush hour starts at 10:30 so this is a first. Help yourself to a table and I'll be right out in just a moment to assist you."

You nodded, not knowing how to keep up the conversation but wondering why so many people came by at a certain time and not right at opening. If all of these reviewers loved this place so much, how come they didn't come right at opening? It wasn't like it was too early or at a bad time anyways, the café was open past midnight until the early mornings.

But this was a perfect chance for you to mention the plain moon tart and latte. You felt some sort of pity still for the owner and didn't want to start any drama in front of customers.

In a couple of minutes, he was out and back in those regular clothes. This time he was wearing a simple short-sleeved white shirt which showed off his fair and lean arms.

However, now was not the time to drool over arms.

He walked over to the table you were seated at with a pen and paper in hand and for some reason the first thing you could think of saying was,

"What's your name if I may ask?"

Great, now you were going to seem just like those reviewers but even probably creepier.

But he didn't seem to be fazed by the question or think much of it, judging by his calm facial expression and instant reply.

"Taeil Moon." He pointed to his nametag with a small smile, "Many people think I use a nickname to go along with the theme of the café but in reality, it's after my own name."

You nodded, avoiding eye contact as to try and focus on what you were actually aiming to say. His name was beautiful though, no wonder he created a whole café surrounding it.

"Could I ask you something?"

"Of course."

You fidgeted with your fingers under the table as you focused on a loose tendril of hair peaking out of his baker's cap. You tried to think of the best way to word what you wanted to without hurting his feelings yet once again, you failed to do so under his gaze.

"How do you bake?" Was the unintelligible thing that came out of your mouth.

Taeil cocked his head to the side and licked his lips, seeming confused. You would've been more blunt if you were in his position and someone had fumbled with their words but he surprised you once again with his calm and patient nature.

"Are you meaning to ask for the recipe?"

You nodded, hoping you looked more composed than the intense freaking out going on inside you. How come yesterday had been different? You had been totally fine and not obsessing over his looks. Perhaps it was because he looked much livelier and not so exhausted that the pity went away and was replaced with desire. But you didn't want to be like everyone else so you attempted to push down the feelings that were arising.

He looked pensively at the table, putting his paper and pen away in his apron pocket.

“I’ve never really done this for anyone, but tell you what, you can be the first.”

He smiled, somehow the whole place brightened with his smile and a soft feeling fluttered inside of you at the angelic sight.

“I can give you a small baking lesson after hours if you’d like.”

Huh?

You raised your brows, unsure if you’d heard him correctly. Bake? With him?

He looked patiently at you, a spark in his eyes that you couldn’t decipher what it meant.

It sounded like a good idea still. Having a baking lesson could show you what he was doing that was lacking and making his food taste bad. Maybe this was your golden chance and besides, you were going to be spending some one on one time with him which sounded so lovely.

The nervousness had to wear off sooner or later and more of it was because of the way he looked at you now. There was a tender look in Taeil’s eyes and as you thanked him, getting the details to meet up with him on the weekend, you realized that that look never left his eyes when they were upon you. It only faded away as he helped other customers who had begun to swarm in now.

—

It was Friday night.

The night that you were going to be learning from Taeil the so-called renowned baker.

You had prepared yourself as much as you could before stepping out of your apartment.

The fit of the night included some cute dark overalls, a long sleeve brown tee and boots as the weather was muggy again.

Somehow you hadn’t been able to get Taeil and his calm nature out of your head in these past couple of days. It had been agony to wait for this day to come where you could see him and because of this, you hadn’t gone back to try his baked goods again.

A part of you was curious as to whether his food just didn’t taste good or if you should just wait to taste it when you baked together. Although, you weren’t a master baker yourself, you still knew the basics and would be able to tell if he messed up.

Yet, how could he mess up? He had probably been baking his whole life so surely this had to be a one day mistake or maybe purposely to see who was truly praising his food or had no taste buds.

The walk to the café had been peaceful, the pathway and alley seeming more familiar to you now. It was comforting and you felt more relaxed as you walked into the brightly lit up café.

You both had decided to settle on 7pm so that Taeil had enough time to prepare before opening and you had just asked to leave early from work, having done most of what you had to do on a Friday night.

It was nice to leave work early so you had made an early dinner at home and gotten all ready for the night that was to come.

And here you were, inside the café that was a bit more bare and had most of the lights shut off. Taeil had left the doors open for you and so you locked them behind you before following the small ray of light emitting from a set of closed doors on your far side.

It should’ve been spooky to be in the vast space by yourself yet, there was a more peaceful aura instead of the nervous and high strung feeling you’d had before. Was it because you hadn’t seen Taeil yet?

“(y/n), I’m glad you could make it.”

You faltered in your steps as Taeil opened the doors to the kitchen.

He was incredibly beautiful tonight.

Although his clothes were simple, a black hoodie and dark cargo pants, they added onto his untouched beauty. The light behind him illuminated his figure as if he was an angel and truly you believed that he looked like one except in black. Taeil was like a soft, dark angel and yours for the two hours.

You noticed as you got closer that his mullet was messy, as if he’d just ran his hands through it and you wondered why. Was he as nervous as you?

After all, he had mentioned that he had never done this before. But you found it hard that this calm man with a lazy smile in front of you would be nervous.

It was probably stress, thinking of it now, you felt guilty for asking him to teach you to bake before he worked such a long shift into the night. That was another thing you had found out, he worked the whole shift and didn’t work with anyone else. Surely, it was against many work-safe rules but you weren’t in any place to snitch on him.

“I love your overalls by the way, they’re very cute.” He commented as he held the door open, taking a long look at your simple outfit. You realized that you both were matching coincidentally.

You felt your cheeks heat up as you thanked him. He smelled insanely good again and you closed your eyes for a second as you passed by him, allowing yourself to indulge in his addicting scent.

“I have everything set up for us here, I hope this will go okay, I’ve never really properly taught someone how to bake.” He walked over to a drawer and pulled out two aprons. One was his classic cloud apron and the other had crescent moons all over it.

He handed you the crescent moon apron and then tied his own. A part of you hoped that he’d help with yours like some cliché movie scene but he went off to prep and left you to tie your own.

“Okay, today we’ll be baking my infamous moon tarts. They’re fairly simple and use simple ingredients as well so I think it’d be nice to teach you that as a starter.”

He guided you throughout the whole process of the creams and glazing the fruits and creating the dough. Taeil was obviously gentle and patient with explaining it and you couldn’t help but fall for him more. There was an undeniable attraction to him and the unconscious eye smiles, sweet laughs and grins that only made you swoon harder. But you knew nothing was to come out of it. He was simply being kind and allowing you the privilege to bake with him, the privilege that you were going to discover if he .

The whole lesson felt short even though it had gone on for two hours and when the tarts came out of the oven, then you and Taeil had decorated them, they were just as beautiful as when you had seen them in the display.

Now the important factor was the taste. Were they going to taste as horrible as before? God, you hoped not. Taeil had put so much love and care into his baking and you'd found yourself enjoying his company as if you both were old friends. Well, that is if one old friend had a huge one-sided attraction to the other.

As for the ingredients, they all looked similar to the other tart recipes you had found online so really, they couldn't taste bad.

You'd realized that you had been staring at the tarts in deep thought and Taeil had been simply watching you, not saying anything.

"I'm sorry, these just look so beautiful, I find it hard to eat them and ruin their beauty." You mumbled in a daze.

Taeil lazily smiled, his thoughts only being reaffirmed as he watched you picked up that tart, put it in your mouth and make an unpleasant face that quickly changed to a wide fake smile to be polite just for his sake.

"These taste good!" You put your hand over your mouth, straight up lying and regretting that you'd taken such a big bite of the dry ass tart and wondering how to get through eating the rest of it.

"No need to lie for me (y/n), I know what you feel."

You coughed, choking on a specific dry part as Taeil walked up to you, a small smirk curving on the side of his lips and his eyes gleaming.

You were slightly terrified at how he knew, you thought that he couldn't have ever, was this some kind of setup or something? Perhaps he had this weird sixth sense and knew you didn't like it so he had created this whole scenario so that he could cook you alive for daring to disrespect his food.

Although, he didn't look dangerous besides the weird gleam in his eyes. But now you were realizing that maybe you shouldn't have blindly accepted to spend two hours with a complete stranger. No matter if he was a hot stranger.

Yet, you had to admit this was hot as well.

Taeil was so close to you, one more step and he'd be touching you. Your heart was going a mile a minute as the small features on his face became clearer now.

A small acne scar ran across the top of his cheek, some tiny blemishes nearby. Tiny melanin dots speckled all over his face and jaw, so insignificant that you wouldn't have noticed until now being so close.

The once thin lips now looked fuller and were an irresistible pink, looking so soft and inviting. You realized his hair wasn't just a dark brown but also had what looked to be caramel brown highlights hidden here and there. Yet, it was the brown eyes that held so much care in them that you couldn’t stop drowning in them.

He was truly mesmerizing. But this was not the time to be fawning over him as you had now been caught in the act of faking to enjoy his pastries.

"You're probably confused by all of this so I'll try to explain as best as possible. I-I just seem to be filled with a lot of intense emotions right now and it's hard to not act upon them, so um could you please step away?"

His voice was so soft, so delicate as if the words he spoke were not meant for anyone else but you. You were the only lucky one to be graced with his attention.

You gulped down the remaining of the tart, unable to process his words and thirsting for water now to not only wash away the tart but also to cool your hot and bothered body.

Taeil brushed something off your lip, his breathing becoming shallow as his finger lingered on your bottom lip, simply rubbing it gently.

Good lord you were going to lose it.

"I don't think I'd be able to control myself being so close to you and I can't seem to walk away..." He trailed off, reluctantly stopping himself from touching your lips and holding the side of your face tenderly, looking into your eyes before flicking his attention back to your lips hungrily.

The sexual tension was off the charts and you were having a hard time comprehending his words but also at how fast this situation had escalated to. With a deep breath and all of the strength you had in you, you obliged, stepping back a couple steps in order to think clearly because your senses were just filled with him.

Taeil's warm hand fell from your cheek and your heart clenched at the cold feeling that went through your cheek, wanting him to touch you again.

What were these feelings?

What was wrong with you?

He walked over to the tarts as if nothing had happened, taking them off the tray and talking to you at the same time, while you stood frozen and in a daze.

"I can tell you're very conflicted right now and what I'm about to say probably won't help your current state but I do hope you take my words seriously. I've waited a long time for this and I'd hate to see you slip away."

His brown eyes looked up hesitantly to search your face that was void of emotion besides shock as his hands swiftly packaged the tarts.

"Those tarts tasted plain right? Same with the café latte you ordered a couple days ago."

Your eyes widened at his words. How did he know?

Taeil took in a big breath, his vulnerability showing through his eyes and he ran a hand through his hair continuing,

"This will sound stupid I know but I've been cursed."

Excuse me?

You both stood there silent, Taeil trying to read your face while you were processing his ridiculous statement. Was this guy for real?

"I know you might not believe me so I have no choice but to explain as simply as I can, but I have been cursed by someone whom I believe is or was a sorcerer."

Great, now he really sounded crazy. Your eyes shifted over to the exit door to the side of you that could be your ticket to freedom if he pulled some crazy shit like speaking about sacrificing or something. The hesitant trust you had placed in him before coming was dwindling, yet, you couldn't help yourself in trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe there was something going on and he had gotten an evil eye, maybe that's what he was trying to say.

No matter what though, there was just something about him that made you want to try and trust in him.

Taeil was extremely nervous now you could tell, as he was wiping and cleaning everything repeatedly while speaking in a rushed tone. This was very different from his calm and laidback nature you had seen.

"I don't know of his or maybe her name but I do know that it is a curse as all of the things I've been through lead to it. It was just about a year ago and I also was tipped off by an anonymous letter which I believe to be by the sorcerer indicating and gloating in what had happened to me. I think it started when I had been closing my café one day and a poor looking man crossed my path then had blessed me which was a lie as it was a curse."

He huffed, messing his hair again and giving up on the cleaning, plopping himself down on a stool and putting his head in his hands, his shoulders hunched.

"The curse is that everything I bake, no matter how I bake it, will always taste plain and unappetizing. But the catch? The poor man slash sorcerer had asked me what my desire was and I had stupidly told him true love. So whatever I bake and sell to people, they only taste the intense desire and love I have for wanting to find my soulmate and in turn they fall in love with me. I'm sure you've seen it in the people who come here, it's hard not to see it."

This was a whole lot to take in and you leaned against a counter, keeping a distance between the two of you as you tried to process his words. On one hand, it did make sense with the way people lusted after him and did the most, the reviews were a great example of this and even Ally.

But on the other, a curse? Curses were for children who loved fantasy books and escaping from reality. They were meant to be in books and movies so that you could imagine a world that contained magic. You had never heard of any sorcerer in the city nor of them existing altogether either. But you knew that Taeil did have an issue with his baking despite the ingredients being accurate and the way people weirdly desired him.

"If," His head perked up and his hopeful eyes shone as you began to spoke, "If this is true, then how do you lift the curse? And why are you explaining this to me? How am I involved?"

You crossed your arms over your chest, trying to appear a bit tougher yet unable to help the pity that ran through you as Taeil looked frustrated with himself.

"What I say next might be even wilder than the curse so just, just please promise me you won't walk away? Please promise me you'll hear me out?"

You knew you shouldn't be making any promises, especially with a man who believed in curses. But you couldn't help it, he just looked so sad and it tugged at your heart. If he needed help with his magical problems, then maybe you could offer it to him, depending on what it was.

"So the only way to break the curse is if I find my soulmate and if they fall in love with me then we kiss. It's not a huge thing but it has to be a kiss filled with love, not just a small peck or one done for the sake of the curse, it must have natural feelings to it as stated in that horrible letter. My soulmate is supposed to be the only one who is able to recognize the true horrible taste of my food."

Wait a minute....

"And so um, that's where you step in." Taeil got up and walked over to you, completely disregarding his previous statement of staying away from you and the silence being so loud as you pieced together what he was intending.

"You're my soulmate (y/n)." He whispered.

Your mouth was ajar as you stared into his eyes that had that tender look in them from the other day.

God this wasn't real. Where was Ashton Kutcher when you needed him to pop out and yell that this was a prank? Or the Prank Patrol? Where were they?? This had to be some bloody prank.

"Is this a joke? Is this a new way to get with somebody now?"

You knew your words were too harsh as he flinched at your rough tone, stepping away from your upset self.

"I wish it was..." He muttered while looking down at the ground dejectedly and he went back to the other counter to continue with his work, not even sparing you another glance.

"I can tell you probably think I'm a fool so I'll just stop now and just give you the option of leaving. I'm sorry to burden you with this (y/n), it's not a joke, it's something I have to deal with everyday as stupid as it sounds."

You clenched your fists together, not liking the difficult position you were in. It was just a kiss of course, but you didn't know his true intentions behind it. It only seemed like he was trying to get in your pants and this didn't seem like the calm and patient guy you had talked to so far. Your elders had always told you to be aware and stay careful of men who lied as they would just do it again and again without another thought.

Besides, even if a kiss didn't seem to be a big deal, you didn't know what you were getting into as he already seemed unstable enough to come up with this whole curse thing.

Yet, a foreign feeling fluttered throughout your body. You felt compelled to kiss him, to touch him, to run your hands through his soft looking hair and to feel his smooth jaw just as when he had been so close to your earlier. You felt the lust take over your senses and make it hard to logically reason what you should do.

It seemed Taeil could sense this as he looked at you with concern and stepped even further away than was possible.

"This soulmate connection is also supposed to be strong and make us both want one another very badly. I know you're struggling against it so I think the best thing would be for you to leave and come back another day (y/n)."

He was right. It was so fucking weird but he was right. These intense feelings inside of you just wanted to do so many nasty things to him that were clear as glass in your head and it confused you as you had just been contemplating on running out of this place a couple minutes ago but now wanted to stay? Even though Taeil was technically kicking you out?

"Y-you should go (y/n)," Taeil's voice was strained and he walked away even farther, "Come back tomorrow or Sunday. I don't want you to regret your impulsive and unconscious actions."

His hands were white from gripping the kitchen door that led to the café and with it being silent, you could hear his shallow breaths as he struggled like you.

"I'll, I'll see you, just call or walk in whenever you're free to discuss."

He was the first to walk away, leaving you sexually and mentally frustrated.

But the extended distance between you, helped to cool you down a bit and to think more rationally. No matter how badly you wanted him, you had to listen to the voice in your head that was reasonable and fighting against the urge. Taeil wasn’t yours in the moment, no matter what had been said. You’d only known him technically for less than a full day and so succumbing to your desires was only going to lead to regret and anger at yourself.

With all the willpower you could then muster, you went out the exit, wanting so badly to go back in and just hold Taeil, to merely touch him. But you couldn't give in, you had to think it through first and this situation just made your head hurt at how quickly it had escalated.

So begrudgingly, you walked away from Midnight Moon Café, sighing and confused at this bizarre situation and as to when you should come back again.

—

You decided to not to go during the weekend no matter how much your body was telling you to. Taeil’s words begin to ring even more true as you ended up spying in the alley to see all of the people still fawning over his feet with this dazed look in their eyes. The curse seemed to become more believable when you saw how when people took one bite into the Midnight Moon pastries, their movements slowed down and their eyes glazed over.

Another option you’d considered was that he laced the food with drugs but that would also mean that you would’ve been drugged as well. This was highly unlikely as the first time you had ate the pastries you had felt fine. The second time you’d also felt fine and only really felt a drastic change when Taeil had come into close proximity.

It should’ve been ridiculous really but you were slowly beginning to believe Taeil and had so many more burning questions at the tip of your tongue about this situation. Yet, you couldn’t bring yourself to visit him on your days off. There was a slight nervousness as to what was going to happen next.

If you truly were soul-mates what was going to happen? It wasn’t that you were unsatisfied with Taeil, curse or no curse, he was seriously an amazing person. You’d discovered after sleuthing or well creeping about him that he’d used people’s desire for him in a positive way by contributing to charities and having people follow in his steps.

Could it be seen as a wrong thing for some? Perhaps. But donating to charity was never wrong even if some were doing it while being under some sort of spell.

But you had decided that you’d have to face this head on and get to the bottom of it. You didn’t want to run away from things as at work you always faced situations head on so this was it.

Thinking it would be better to visit a bit later on when the rush died, you had stayed up until 2am. This was one of the first times you had stayed up before a work day. Honestly, you should’ve regretted it, knowing that you’d be yawning and being slightly grumpy throughout the day from the lack of sleep but one day wouldn’t hurt.

You had to get to the bottom of this.

Dressed in some long basketball shorts, a baggy tee and some sneakers, you made your way over to the beautifully decorated café. A part of you had dressed this way thinking that it would sfop the sexual tension between you and Taeil, surely in non-form fitting clothes you would be seen as less desirable but that thought went right out the window when you locked eyes with him outside the café.

The silence was excruciating as you simply stared at one another in want.

“I was wondering when you’d come back, I knew you would just didn’t know when.”

Lord have mercy. He was taking out the trash in a tight short sleeve white tee, black shorts for the mildly warm night and his classic converse that you were beginning to adore.

The two of you just stared at one another, all questions leaving your mind as all of your senses were just filled with Taeil. The fairy lights softened the atmosphere and made it feel like you both were either in a cliché romantic movie or that this was like a date. The latter was what you secretly hoped could happen one day.

“You, you look good.” Taeil muttered, a pained look on his face as he forced himself to look away.

“Thank you, you do too.” You politely replied, feeling hopeless as your plan had obviously not worked and awkward as to what was going to happen now.

He cleared his throat, his eyes shifting to anywhere but you and said, “Come in, no one’s here since it’s so late. I’ll make us some tea.”

He opened the door for you and somehow you managed to keep yourself together when thanking him and attempting to casually walk inside while your brain screamed at the close proximity and the intoxicating scent of his musky cologne once again.

But over the past two days, you’d trained yourself to control the urge, finding it much easier now to hold yourself from jumping on him.

“Oh wait, I forgot that my baking and cooking will taste bad to you.” He laughed bitterly.

“It’s okay, I’ll um make the tea.”

You followed him to the kitchen, the fresh memories coming back to you. Making the tea was quite relaxing and soothed you for what was to come so thank god you had done it.

Taeil sat on a stool on the other side of the counter, facing you and took a sip of the warm tea. His eyes closed from content and a peaceful smile etched its way on his face, making you wish that you could capture this moment and attempt to paint and fully preserve his raw beauty.

“So where should we start?” He grinned, seeming a bit more cheeky and lighter than before.

That early morning you talked and talked for what seemed like a short amount of time. Taeil had luckily not had too much business and had explained to you about the specifics of his situation.

You’d learned that when he had opened the café, it had been successful and he’d employed many people to work for him. But as the curse was placed, many people quit because of the tension and toll that the Taeil crazy customers put on them. This had left only Taeil behind and he had no choice but to keep the shop open. This was also why he had relocated in such an oddly remote location to prevent people from finding him quickly yet, that had seemed to fail.

No matter what he did, if he gave up on baking and did something else, the curse forbade him to take upon another career besides his current one.

He didn’t mind it too much though, he really minded the people more and after a while he had come to accepting that his pastries tasted bad.

The conversation was deep yet light at times and you wished to just keep talking with him forever. There was something about lat night conversations that was so intimate but also helped you to bond closely with the other person.

Your trust in Taeil expanded as he kept talking and being so polite. The more he spoke, the more you were making up your mind as to what you were going to do.

“Hey Taeil,”

“Mhm?” He was cleaning the dishes now, you realized he had an extreme habit of cleaning when stressed which you found adorable.

“Is it just one kiss? Will this uh tension wear off after?” You felt bold in asking and knew you wouldn’t have if this had been during the day.

His whole body froze, kitchen gloves on and all. After a couple seconds or so he slowly nodded, unable to speak.

“Okay then, I believe you in most parts and I think then I’ll kiss you as to release you from this whole thing.”

Knowing he was still taken aback, you got up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his thin clad shoulder.

Taeil turned around, his eyes wide as he took in your disheveled and tired state. You were simply drunk off the exhaustion and wanting to just stop the worrying and fear from what was to happen next.

Before you could do anything else, Taeil cupped your cheeks delicately, slight concern in his eyes as he asked, “Are you sure? You don’t have to, we can wait it out or-or find another way. I don't want to force you into this (y/n), those were never my intentions, I'm sorry."

You found it funny as this whole situation had done nothing but put a whole lot of pressure on your shoulders. But fuck it really, Taeil was the closest thing to perfection you had seen if there was anything in this world that was perfect. It may have been naive for you to think this way but a part of you wanted to just take the risk and see what the outcome was. It was thrilling to dive head first into this crazy world of curses and magical tarts. It was just a kiss, you kept telling yourself.

Just a kiss.

Looking into his eyes that held fear for the future, you hoped your own showed some reassurance before you took the leap.

You leaned in slowly, the moment feeling so fragile and precious. Taeil's hand moved to the back of your head, caressing it gently as your lips landed on his own delectably pink ones.

You were right.

Taeil's lips were just as soft as they looked.

You slowly moved your lips against his own, feeling the deep thirst in you take over and wanting to only have Taeil touch you for as long as it was possible. You could taste the tea on his lips, your eyes fluttering close as he deepened the kiss.

The situation intensified fairly quick as your hands slid to the back of his head, finally being able to feel the soft mullet and tugging at it, wanting more and more of him. Meanwhile, Taeil hand's slid from your head to your shoulders then to your waist, pulling you in right up on him so that your body moulded with his own, feeling the heat roll off him. You did the same, letting go of his hair and sliding your hands from his collarbone to his chest, just wanting everything you could have of him.

This moment was perfect. You knew right away now that you couldn't go back, this was it for you, he was it for you.

Grasping for air, the both of you stopped kissing and you slumped against Taeil's shoulder, the fatigue from not being able to sleep well these past few days catching up to you and feeling high from this blissful feeling coursing throughout you.

If every kiss felt this powerful and intoxicating then you never wanted to stop kissing Taeil.

"I didn't know that you were so tired, I would've just asked to meet up another day" He laughed softly, rubbing your back as you put most of your body weight on his.

You couldn't tell if it was the tea or simply that that was one of the most mind-blowing kisses you'd ever had but you were absolutely addicted to him now and feeling so sleepy.

Taeil put his arms around you, hugging your soft body so that he could touch you one last time before he parted with you.

"I guess the tension doesn't wear off huh." You mumbled into his warm shoulder. You could feel him laugh as his shoulders shook and he replied, "I guess it doesn't."

The both of you simply stood there in each other arm's, enclosed and not wanting to be the first to move away and face with the reality sitting on your shoulders.

"It's getting late and I know you have work tomorrow fairly early so you should go home."

Your heart fell at his words, not wanting to leave him and his touch. There were more questions on your mind as well now that had arised. Such as, where did you stand now? Were you together? Was his curse lifted and he could bake well again?

Taeil gently lifted you off his shoulder and kissed your fore-head, his eyes holding so much tender love for you that you wanted to succumb to your desires and kiss him again. If only, you weren't so tired.

"Come back tomorrow and we'll discuss it all okay? I think the curse must have lifted off now and you're way too tired to properly talk with so I'll walk you home and we can meet again."

A nervous feeling washed over you, what if Taeil didn't want you now that you had helped him lift the curse? Your shoulders slumped as he walked away to grab the shop keys to lock up. Time had apparently flown by and it was 4am now so he was closing up an hour early.

When he walked back to you, he noticed how dejected you looked and realized what must've been on your mind.

"I know you must have a lot of questions but one thing I can assure you is that I want you (y/n). I want you like no other and that was prevalent when I first paid attention to you the second time we met. You might be thinking that this is all because of that stupid curse but even if that hadn't happened, I'd still want you more and more after getting to know you."

He kissed you tenderly again, reluctantly pulling away and resting his fore-head against yours, his eyes fluttering as he closed them as he cupped your cheek, his whole body tense.

"You're the one for me (y/n) and what happens next is what you decide it to be, I'll be fine with whatever you decide."

"I only want to be yours and for you to be mine." You whispered, feeling his body relax and a bigger smile stretch across his face.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that." He gave a gentle peck before stepping towards the exit and holding the door open for you.

"After you." He gestured to outside, looking like so happy and you felt yourself mirror his happiness and walked out the door. Taeil locked up the door and put his hand out, letting you slip your own into his and feel the warmth radiating off him.

You both walked home, murmuring to one another like those secretive lovers you often saw roaming the streets, in their own bubble. You had found your other half and now you were never going to part with him. The future could hold whatever in store but with Taeil grasping your hand in his own warm one, making you feel like a main lead in a movie, you didn't care whatever happened as long as you were together.

—

A couple of weeks later

"Yeah, I dunno the Midnight Moon Café owner just doesn't do it for me anymore... I heard he's in a relationship now too so don't want to mess with a man who's off limits." You could hear Ally loudly whisper to your coworkers by the printing machine.

A small smile swept across your face and you tried to act like you were just happy about something to do with work.

"It's so weird though, you know? Like he was so dreamy but now I'm realizing he's just average I guess."

Your brows furrowed, not enjoying the way Ally was being rude towards your sweet boyfriend. You didn't know what got into you as you got up and walked over to the printer, your feet having another mind of their own as they rested to a stop in front of your terrified coworker and surprised Ally.

They looked at you as if you were going to tell them to quiet down but instead you simply smiled and whispered, "I still think he's pretty dreamy, I guess that's one of the reasons why I'm still dating him dunno. That or for his creative, kind and intelligent personality I guess."

Ally's mouth fell open and your coworker looked like they were going to pass out. You were never one to join in any gossip so this was new of course.

"Are you just saying that or, or are you really dating him?" Ally sputtered, eyes wide as they didn't believe your words.

"I guess you'll just have to see after work." You winked, reaching behind them and saying, "Sorry, just gotta grab something." Then you walked away, head held high and feeling so powerful for the way you had defended Taeil's innocent self. It didn't matter what people said about him or you, society's words shouldn't have such an impact. Yet, it was the condescending way that Ally had degraded Taeil to just his looks that really upset you and you had wished to see that shocked look on her face.

So it was worth it.

You heard a door close and knew that Ally had left, thank god. Before you were able to get back to work, a gentle tap on your shoulder made you jolt in your seat.

You turned around to see Manuel who had a smile on his face and he mouthed a thank you before going back to his seat. A big smile stretched its way across your face as you tried to concentrate on your work but failed to do so for the rest of the day.

"Than you again everyone!" Mr. Lee thanked you all and for the first time you enthusiastically thanked him back, quickly grabbing your belongings and excited to leave. This time it wasn't for the sake of avoiding everyone but for who was waiting for you patiently outside.

It felt like you were flying as you rushed to see the man who you daydreamed about in the middle of work and whom you wished you could be with every minute of the day.

Moon Taeil waited outside, a giddy feeling rushing through him as he checked his watch to see that it was now 7pm and you'd be rushing to see him. His life was back to normal now, his pastries tasting delicious to all, including himself. He'd also been lucky enough to hire people again which took a load of stress of maintaining the huge café off his shoulders. It seemed that the love spell thing had also worn off as well on people and instead they came by for the quaint and lovely hidden café and not him.

He though about his future with you as that was the only thing on his mind constantly nowadays. Sure, you two had only started officially dating for only a couple weeks now but it felt like a dream for him that he never wished to wake up from. So many people around him kept saying that he was in the honeymoon phase which would wear off soon enough but he couldn't disagree more.

The love he had for you was eternal and no matter what happened, it would remain in the deepest parts of his heart and mind. Sure, tough times were to come like when he had discovered that you didn't like that he stress cleaned and had advised to find a better way to cope. And how he didn't enjoy the fact that you stayed up late at night watching shows and dramas only to wake up the next day totally exhausted as you headed to work. But it was all a part of your love for one another.

And when he saw you practically fly out of the building's front doors, his cheeks hurt from the huge smile on his face and his heart burst with joy as you jumped into his open arms.

This was his forever, holding you in his arms and feeling his heart beat wildly out of his chest at the same rhythm with yours.

You were his forever.

And as you held Taeil as close as humanely possible, this moment was one you would never want to exchange with anything else in this world. Just by being in his arms you had forgotten any hardships from the day adn what you'd said to Ally, so wrapped up in your boyfriend and that fresh scent of his cologne you loved. You didn't pay attention to the people who stared at you, some reminiscent of their own loves and some envying you.

You fit together perfectly, your fingers, your bodies, your lips, your souls. And when you pulled back, facing a wide smiling Taeil, his brown eyes shining from the sun reflecting off them, you knew that this was it.

Your love was worth it forever and forever. And as you grew old, having children of your own and managing the café as well as proofreading, you never regretted it for a single moment that you had succumbed to your desires for once and taken a risk.

“Dude, you’ve got to stop watching her from afar,” he hears Lucas say, “It’s getting seriously creepy.” Sicheng whips his head in his coworker’s direction with wide eyes.

“You think so?” he asks worriedly. Lucas merely looks at him with an expression that can only be described as a mix of pity and concern before returning to his customer’s order.

The bells jingle, signaling the entrance of yet another customer. Sicheng sighs to himself, pulling himself together and smiling up at whoever just entered. He feels the wind get knocked out of his lungs when his eyes lay upon your figure. It must be his lucky day, he thinks, because you’re right here in front of him, just as he had been hoping for.

You smile gently at him as you approach the counter. “Hey there!”

God, even your voice was perfect.

He feels himself get flustered the longer your gaze remains glued on him. “Uh, hi, welcome to Café Resonance. What would you like, miss?”

Looking at the menu, you can’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by the numerous options presented to you. “Could you perhaps recommend anything to me? I have no idea what to order,” you chuckle to yourself a bit.

Anyone with even half a brain could see the evident heart eyes Sicheng had for you—the boy was whipped, and he didn’t even know your name yet. Quickly shaking himself out of his trance, he remembers that you had asked him a question.

“Well, um, I’m not really supposed to tell you this, but we have a secret menu with twenty-three special snacks and drinks, each with their own unique effects supposedly. I can guarantee that they’re all delicious, though from what I’ve heard, the Winwinter Cake is to die for.”

Your ears perk up at the mention of his recommended dessert. And in spite of the supposed unique effects that you forget to inquire about, you instantly agree, nodding your head up and down. “I’d love to try that.”

Seeing your delighted reaction, Sicheng can’t help the smile on his face from growing. “Alright then. Your Winwinter Cake will be served shortly.”

After a couple of minutes of sitting and looking out the window by your table, Sicheng returns with the cake in hand. You thank him politely before diving in and taking a bite. The moment the cake reaches your tastebuds, your eyes go wide.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” you say truthfully, lowkey breathless at how good it really was. Sicheng looks at the way you smile after every bite before returning to the counter, satisfied that your happiness could technically be attributed to him.

It doesn’t take long for you to finish that little slice of cake. You sit back in your chair with an exhale, feeling a sort of stir in your gut that you choose to ignore. Getting up from your seat, you go up to the counter to return your empty plate. Sicheng sees you stumble a bit, quickly rounding the corner to catch you before you actually trip.

“Woah woah, careful there.”

You brush yourself off before meeting his worried gaze. For a second, you let yourself get lost in the depths of his eyes.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Snapping out of your daze, you attempt to form a coherent reply. “Oh uh, yeah- I mean, I think so,” you let out a forced chuckle.

Sicheng doesn’t even question it, but his concern remains in the back of his mind. You, on the other hand, can’t take your eyes off of him. You have no idea what’s gotten into you. It’s like, suddenly, he’s the only one you see.

You hesitate for a split second before clearing your throat, “I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward, but would you like to go out sometime? I heard there’s a really good BBQ restaurant just around the corner.”

To say that Sicheng couldn’t believe his ears would be an understatement. You, the girl of his dreams, asking him out at this very moment—there’s no way this could possibly be real.

He feels his throat close up as you continue to look at him expectantly. A few more seconds pass before your shoulders droop, and you sigh, visibly deflated. You take his lack of a response as rejection and make a move towards the door.

“W-wait!” you hear Sicheng yell. You slowly turn around, refusing to meet his eyes. “I’d love to go out with you.”

Upon hearing his words, you snap your head up so quickly you wonder how your neck doesn’t break.

He smiles at you bashfully despite the look of disbelief on your face. “Is tomorrow lunch good with you… uh, sorry, I don’t think I got your name.”

Beaming at him, you reply. “Tomorrow lunch is perfect, and it’s Y/N.”

At the mention of your name, he smiles brightly at you. “It’s nice to meet you, Y/N. I’m Sicheng. Guess I’ll see you then,” he responds, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. You give him one last smile before turning on your heel to head out the door, leaving him out of breath for the nth time that day.

Sicheng’s eyes sparkle at the way you crack up at another one of his jokes, a wide smile resting on both your faces. Even in a dimly lit restaurant, your entire being glows, and he finds himself unable to take his eyes away from you. You were so effortlessly beautiful that it was no wonder he kept falling harder and harder for your charms with every passing minute you spent together.

You, on the other hand, can’t make sense of the way he makes you feel. If you were being completely honest, Sicheng wasn’t exactly your type. Sure, he was cute and extremely witty (both qualities you’d usually look for), but he just isn’t the typical guy you’d go for. Not to mention the fact that you had been the one to ask him out, something you have never done before. It was simply out of character for you.

“Uh, Y/N? Did you hear what I just said?” Sicheng asks you with a tilted head.

You shake your head, smiling softly. “Sorry, I don’t know what happened to me there. Could you repeat what you said?”

He smiles at you teasingly, eyes glinting with a hint of mischief. “Silly Y/N zoning out and getting distracted again.” His grin widens at the way you squint your eyes warningly at him before continuing, “I was asking you why you pass by the café every day.”

It’s your turn to raise a brow with a teasing smirk, “Oh? Were you watching me?”

A light blush dusts the apples of his cheeks as he scrambles to defend himself. “I wasn’t! It was just an observation...”

You break out into another one of your grins, “Hehe, I was just messing with you. The café’s along my usual route to work, and since it’s nearby, I like to just walk there.”

Sicheng hums in response as he takes another bite of his dish. The two of you continue making conversation with one another, and before you know it, two hours have passed.

“Wow, have we really been talking for that long? It barely even felt like thirty minutes,” you point out.

“I guess time really just flew by,” he chuckles. “I’ll ask for the check.”

A bit later, a waitress approaches with your bill, though you can’t help but notice the lingering stares she gives Sicheng. You don’t know why, but something bubbles up from deep within you.

How dare she look at my date like that.

He smiles at her politely as he hands her back the check. However, she mistakes it for one with a different intent, winking at him before walking off. Sending a glare her way, you feel a gust of wind brush past your shoulders out of nowhere, causing you to shudder.

“Woah, that was a chilly breeze,” you comment.

Sicheng looks at you in question. “What breeze?”

“The one just now. Didn’t you feel it?”

He shakes his head, leaving you to ponder on what had just happened. Thinking nothing of it, you simply let it go as an odd occurrence.

“So what do you wanna do now, hm?” he asks you the moment you step outside the restaurant hand in hand.

You shrug, “I don’t know. Anything’s fine with me.”

Sicheng takes the opportunity to glance at you. He doesn’t know how you manage to mesmerize him even when doing the most mundane of things, but you do. Not realizing that he stopped in his tracks, you turn and shake his arm a bit.

“Earth to Sicheng.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry,” he murmurs quietly.

You nudge him with your shoulder lightly, a small smile playing on your lips. “What’s on your mind, pretty boy?”

He can’t help the blush forming on his cheeks upon hearing your words. “It’s nothing,” he tells you, unconfident, to which you raise a brow. “Really,” he says, more pointedly this time.

“Alright,” you amusedly respond.

The two of you walk in silence for a bit before Sicheng opens his mouth to speak again. “I don’t know if this is too sudden or not, but I don’t think I can wait any longer.” Turning to pay him your full attention, you wait for him to continue. “Would you be my girlfriend?”

With your eyes nearly bulging out of your head, you look at him in shock. “Sicheng I-”

“Look, I don’t need to go on a handful more dates with you to know that I like you.”

He looks at you with so much certainty in his eyes that you inevitably believe him. Though your head’s telling you that you barely even knew the guy, your heart’s telling you to give it a chance, to do something impulsive for once. That is the very thing that got you here in the first place—a spontaneous decision. You knew deep down that you weren’t all that interested, yet something kept tugging on you to say yes. You’ll learn to love him… probably.

“Okay,” you softly answer him, “I’ll be your girlfriend.”

Waking from your nap, you feel a shiver that rattles your entire body. Recently, you’ve been feeling chilly all the time, regardless of the temperature. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t worry you, but you choose to brush it aside for now. The faint sound of your boyfriend’s voice can be heard from your shared bedroom, so naturally, you gravitate towards him, searching for the warmth only he can provide.

Stepping into the living room, where he laid comfortably on the couch, you lean on the doorway. “Sicheng, I’m cold,” you pout at him, crossing your arms across your chest.

Without even making eye contact with you, Sicheng replies, “Just lower the A/C, baby. I don’t mind.”

“But I want you to cuddle with me,” you whine as your body continues to tremble.

He looks up from his phone, where you can clearly see a shirtless Lucas on video call. “Can’t you see I’m busy? Go get a blanket or something. I’m sure there’s one around here somewhere,” he scowls at you before returning to his previous conversation as if your entire exchange didn’t just occur. After a few moments, he hears your footsteps fade into the distance, allowing him to exhale in relief.

“That was kinda rude of you, don’t you think?” Lucas speaks up the second he’s sure you’re no longer in the room.

“Whatever, man. It’s really not that big of a deal,” Sicheng quickly dismisses him. “She’s just annoying like that sometimes.”

“But she is your girlfriend, right? You should be making her a priority.”

Well, he has a point.

Sicheng lets out a frustrated sigh, harshly rubbing his face. “Look, I don’t need you to tell me how I should and shouldn’t be treating my girl. Things are… complicated right now, that’s all.”

He sees the way his best friend’s face scrunches up at his words, immediately opening his mouth to question him. “What do you mean ‘things are complicated?’” Expression twisting into one of shock, Lucas asks a bit gentler this time, “Did something happen?”

“N-no!” he says a bit too quickly, causing the other man to raise an eyebrow at him. Clearing his throat, he continues, “Nothing happened.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Ah, I don’t know… She’s been acting differently the past few months,” he mutters quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself.

“Different how?”

“L-like she’s not the same girl I fell in love with in the first place!” he exclaims, unable to keep his true feelings hidden anymore. “She’s always arguing with me about the most trivial things. And if we aren’t arguing, she’s interrogating me about what I’m doing every single hour of every day.” He gulps, releasing a shaky breath, “It’s almost like she doesn’t trust me anymore.”

Suddenly, Sicheng’s chest feels lighter, like he could actually breathe for the first time in a while. He didn’t realize how much these feelings were weighing him down, the pain from previous failed relationships resurfacing more with every fight and disagreement you two have.

Where did it all go wrong?

Seeing how broken and confused he looked at that moment, Lucas couldn’t help but sympathize with his best friend. He jumped headfirst (some might even say heart first) into this relationship, with no clue of the consequences. Now here he is, laying his heart out with absolutely no idea of what to do, forcing Lucas to pick up the pieces all over again.

The two best friends were no strangers to this scene, after all. Being Sicheng’s friend meant being there for him for every breakup. And with someone who falls in love about as quickly as a blink of an eye, this was most definitely a common occurrence.

A loud thud interrupts the silence between the two men, and Sicheng quickly turns his head toward the direction it came from. His eyes widened upon realizing it came from your bedroom. He mumbles a haste, “sorry, I gotta go,” before ending his video call with Lucas, wasting no time to rush to your side.

Opening the door, he’s left perplexed by the scene in front of him. There you are on the floor with a number of thick blankets surrounding you, pale-faced and lips partially frozen. Your now blue-tipped fingers clutch onto the blankets tighter, as if it could help your miserable state. And no matter how much his brain told him to move, to do something, anything, Sicheng’s feet remained glued to the ground.

“Sicheng, please… help me,” you croak out, voice hoarse.

His mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. “I—” Eyes flickering back and forth, he swallows thickly.

What the hell was he supposed to do anyway? Not run away, that’s for sure. Too bad that’s exactly what he did.

He ran, and he ran, and he ran, somehow ending up on his best friend’s doorstep. So many questions were clouding his mind, despite Lucas’s constant reassurance.

How could he say that everything was going to be okay when you looked like that?

He couldn’t blame his best friend, though. He wasn’t there to see the state you were in—how broken and confused you looked. Any right-minded person would’ve done something to help you out, anything really, yet he ran away like a coward.

Stupid Sicheng. How can you leave her all alone in her time of need? Don’t you love her?

Everything hurts. Your body shakes and quivers relentlessly, ice traveling further and further throughout your figure. The chattering of your teeth was the only sound filling the hollow space of your room.

Shedding a tear, you let your head go slack against the floorboard. You can barely move your limbs now as you slowly freeze to death. Death—who knew that that would be the fruit of your relationship. After everything you did, he didn’t love you anymore. He took one look at you and decided that you were no longer worth his time just as quickly as he had fallen. Although, you don’t blame him. How could you when you never truly loved him, either?

Silly me. I should’ve known from the moment I took a bite of that damned cake. It was the cake, wasn’t it?

You can feel it creeping up your neck and onto your face now.

This is it, I guess.

Closing your eyes, you let out a bitter chuckle.

Who would’ve thought that this was how you’d go? Cold-hearted, literally.

I wrenched my hands out of his grip and folded my arm under my chest and glared at him.

It saddened me to to hurt such a soft person, but he had hurt me more.

"What makes you think I want to go anywhere with you now, Jungwoo?" I asked.

He looked utterly downcast now.

I was beginning to feel like a terrible person now.

"I was hoping, I could make it up to you. You do love donuts a lot. And I've heard that the cafe has rather special food items. So I was hoping, if I bought you a donut, I could be forgiven."

He had his ways.

He always did.

He managed to get away with whatever it was.

All he had to was make that puppy face and everything I owned was his.

I wiggled my fingers at him.

"You better let me eat more than one."

"So this cafe's name is...." I asked, waiting for Jungwoo to reply.

I looked around. It wasn't that big but the place was swarming with people. Still, it was warm and cosy, and the smell of the cakes and drinks were making me really hungry.

"Cafe Resonance." Jungwoo said, smiling at me his usual bright smile.

Seeing Jungwoo smile again made me feel like a stone had been liften off my chest.

"Come one, I got you the Dowoonuts." Jungwoo said, motioning to an empty table beside the windows.

The cafe overlooked the Han river, making it an ideal spot for everyone.

"The what?" I asked, looking at the warm chocolate donuts, ready to swallow them all.

"The Duwoonuts. Each food in this cafe has a different name. And rumour says.." his expression dropped to dead seriousness.

I leaned in closer, ready to swallow whatever idiotic thing he was going to say me.

".....That you fall in love with the person who serves you this."

I sat back.

"Are you trying to jinx me?"

Jungwoo smiled his serenade smile.

"I don't think you'll fall in love with me. I didn't serve you. I think you'll fall in love with the waiter over there." he said, pointing to someone behind me.

I turned back and nodded my head.

"Not bad." I said, looking at the handsome young man, who had an maddening but infectious grin on his face.

I turned back to Jungwoo. "So, tell me why you did that." I demanded him.

He sighed.

He picked something from his Duwoonut and observed it.

"You won't believe me if I said you."

"Why don't you try me?" I asked, picking up my own Duwoonut.

"Look, I know you like Yuta, but he has bad rumours going on about him. I've heard them from some people. Like he's a heartbreaker and what not."

I looked sadly at my Dowoonut ."But he was being so nice to me. And he asked me out so poiltely. And I was going to say yes and you pulled me away. I want to be loved too, Jungwoo."

I saw his jaws working hard.

"If I say I love you, will you love me back?" he asked.

I gently patted his hand and gave him a soft smile.

"I already love you. No need of that." I said, and sank my teeth into the Duwoonut.

I felt the taste explode in my mouth.

The warmth, the sweetness, the chocolate, everything was so perfect.

I felt insides warm up with every bite of the Duwoonut.

"Do you like it?" Jungwoo asked, peering at me through the top of his Dowoonut.

I grinned at him with my chocolate sauce covered lips.

"I loved it! This- this is the best donut in the world! We should come here more often!" I exclaimed.

Jungwoo grinned at me, looking genuinely happy.

All of a sudden, I felt my heart flutter.

I immediately looked away.

What was wrong with me?

We walked side by side beside the Han river, our shoulders gently brushing each other's.

There were a lot of other couples walking around us and for some reason, I was getting this mad urge to grab Jungwoo's hand in mine.

"So." I said itching for more warmth from him.

"So?" Jungwoo asked.

It was a cold and rather windy day and I could feel the goosebumps all over my arm under my thin jacket.

"I'm cold." I stated.

Jungwoo turned towards me, looking concerened.

"Do you need my jacket?" He asked, already taking it off.

"I-" I began but he had already placed in on my shoulders.

He gave me another heart fluttering smile, gently grabbed my hand and began walking.

Far down the road, I saw a couple sitting on the bench.

The woman's head rested on the man's shoulder while he held her close. They both looked so warm and snuggly together that I had a mad urge to snuggle into Jungwoo.

All of a sudden I stopped, realisation dawning on me.

Jungwoo too stopped and turned towards me, concern etched on his face.

Maybe it was the way the wind blew his hair, or maybe it was just the look of concern for me plastered on his beautiful delicate face, but I knew I was in love.

I knew I was in love from the way my body ached to be touched by him.

I knew I was in love from the way my heart fluttered every time he smiled at me.

I knew I was in love because I cried when he cried, I laughed when he laughed and I smiled when he smiled.

I loved his laughter, I loved his smile, I loved his tears, I loved the very existence of him.

"I'm in love." I whispered.

He tilted his head in confusion, his cuteness making my heart flutter once more.

"What?" He asked, coming a bit closer.

I stepped in closer until I could feel his breath hit my face.

"I said," I whispered, "I'm in love. With you."

He stared at me with an open mouth.

Then slowly, he leaned in until our foreheads were touching each other's.

"Well," he began, "it so happens that even I'm in love with you." he whispered back.

And then he leaned in more and pressed his lips against mine.

My eyes fluttered close, as a feeling of warmth spread all across my body.

I wrapped my arms around him and he wrapped his around my waist, pulling me in closer.

Finally, we broke the kiss to catch our breaths.

I felt myself smile as he leaned in once more to brush his lips against mine.

"Do you think it was the Duwoonuts?" he asked.

I laughed lightly.

"I think its just us."