Chapter Text
Hongjoong didn't believe it. Had he really made it?
His smile from afar was visible, and even enviable, for the joy he conveyed. After three exhausting years studying culinary, the Kim had finally achieved his dreamed and acclaimed graduation, and as a gift a beautiful diploma that he would undoubtedly have framed. Getting where he was hadn't been easy at all. He was kicked out of his house, fired from work countless times, lived in a horrible apartment that was barely big enough for himself, and even went hungry to pay for college.
But it all seemed worth it now.
"And it is with pride and great pleasure..." One of the culinary professors, perhaps the most efficient among the faculty, said into the microphone. She was smiling as he looked warmly and excitedly at the audience. "That I ask a round of applause for the graduates of the culinary course! Who could soon be expert cooks, chefs disputed by restaurants, creators of unique tastes and delicacies and who knows even..." She directed a motherly look at Hongjoong, opening her smile more. "The most perfect Bakers."
Hongjoong smiled through his tears.
He almost gave up several times, but something always stopped him, maybe it was his extraordinary love for what he wanted to pursue. He sold his food - and especially his cakes and sweets - on the street and his day improved in a scandalous way with the small compliments he received, but which made a big difference. The compliments were always things like, "Boy, you've got THE hand for cooking! What about your cakes then?! You're definitely going to be a great baker." The compliments always weighed heavily on sweets - he was never a big fan of salty food, anyway - and after all, no one could deny that his sweets were wonderful.
"Congratulations, my boys." The woman hugged each of them, with a big smile, and when she got to Kim, she insisted on handing over his diploma in the most delicate way she could, smiling afterwards. "Congratulations, Joong! It's more than deserved."
"You will make me cry." He commented with a faltering voice and they both smiled, and soon the teacher wasted no time, hugging him as hard as her muscles allowed.
Classmates were jealous of Kim. He had ability, or rather, he was practically self-taught – in their view – since everyone there had preparatory courses and Hongjoong didn't even have a decent house. But it was all because of your effort. Over time, everyone's envy turned to admiration, although Kim hadn't made friends with them, everyone knew the story of the boy with the vibrant red hair.
And Kim couldn't help but cry as he held his diploma in the form of a tube in his hands, while his classmates applauded, looking especially at him.
He had fought, he had deserved it.
And just remembering that today his current boss would pay him, his smile only grew.
Hongjoong had been saving money for months and managed it with caution - After all, he never stopped at a steady job or stayed at just one, he was always working hard - because soon he would open his bakery, and whenever he commented with who he bought his sweets on the street, people promised that they would be daily customers. And Kim couldn't wait to see every day the familiar faces of people who loved food, especially sweets, from his small and humble homemade food stall.
And moving on to the pastry shop. Kim had already found a place at a very affordable price, on the other hand, it was in a terrible state of conservation, the walls were not even painted and the floor was not to be mentioned. At least internally it was in perfect condition, but nothing that a move there and another here wouldn't leave the perfect place.
After all, we were talking about Hongjoong, an extremely talented boy when it comes to manual labor. He was even getting organized, after leaving there he would go straight to a store with construction items. His bakery would be ready and it would be that very day.
But his train of thought snapped like a brutally frayed thread when he stepped down from the small stage and felt his body go backwards as another practically crushed him.
"I'm so happy for you, Joongie!" Wooyoung celebrated, lifting his friend off the ground.
Oh, how could I forget.
Jung Wooyoung, Kim Hongjoong's best - and maybe only - friend. As much as the blond-haired boy studied Mechatronics, which was a completely different area of Culinary, they always bumped into each other in the corridors of the University. And it didn't take long for Jung to bring up a subject with the oldest who he always saw alone in the corridors, in the altruistic way that he was, it was no surprise to anyone that he would make friends so quickly. But who would've thinked, best friends, huh?
"Thank you, Woo. You also gave me a lot of support, I don't know how to thank you." He smiled sincerely, not complaining at all about being lifted off the ground. At other times he would, but at this moment everything felt like heaven.
"How about a free cinnamon cake?" He joked and what he received was just a slap on the back, making him grumble and put Kim back on the ground. "How about we go out for a drink today? Let's celebrate, you graduated!"
"I really wanted to, but I have to start working on the Bakery today. And I refuse your help right now, you know I like to do most things alone." He smiled a little embarrassed, since he was young he had this sense of wanting to be alone. Fortunately, he had Wooyoung with him to do the opposite.
"Okay, but know that if I decide to help you, I will." He finally said it and Hongjoong didn't even reply. Wooyoung was the most determined person he knew. "But since Mr. Bob the builder is going to make the Sweet Shop, I'm going home to watch Charlie's Angels. Kisses, Kisses." He turned to leave, however his feet got tangled up and he went to the ground, but then he got up and composed himself, leaving for good. Hongjoong laughed.
How determined he was, as much as clumsy.
[...]
Kim was increasingly dizzy with so many things, options and prices in that sector. And look, it was just one of almost a hundred aisles in that extensive building materials store. Fortunately, he had already bought the tiles, paint and wallpaper, benches, tables, glass and everything else. The only thing missing at the moment was the blessed door that would be at the entrance of the establishment. He never thought in his short life of 22 years that there were so many models of doors, and now he realized that not everything in life was that easy.
"Lyuha, let me take over from here." A woman in the shop uniform approached, smiling sympathetically and dismissing the man trying to help Hongjoong. "My name is Julie, how can I help you?"
"I'm looking for a door that can look nice on the facade of a Bakery." The woman started walking down the hall and Kim followed her.
"What would be the colors of the Bakery itself?"
"Pink and white." He said a little embarrassed, but there wasn't much he could do since that was his favorite color combination. The woman smiled.
"Cute." And suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall, making Kim almost run into the back of the woman who was undeniably tall.
Or he who was incredibly short.
"What are the dimensions of the door?" She questioned to the smallest.
"Uh... 82cm wide and 2.10m high." He demonstrated with his arms and rose to his feet as he quoted the height, a very cute action for someone who was shopping so seriously.
"Hm, how about this one?" She pointed to a door behind Kim. It was made of white wood and the center was all glass, the wood made squares in the lower part in the middle and completely glass at the top, and the funny thing was that it made it look like a door of a house, a modern but cozy house. It was what he wanted, something pretty but at the same time homemade. And apparently the door would make the pastry shop visible inside the establishment. Just the way he wanted.
"It's perfect."
With everything written down on the list and paid in advance, Hongjoong hitched a ride on the truck that would take all the items to the bakery. When parked, he wasted no time getting things inside the property, receiving an invitation for help from the driver, but he declined.
As already mentioned, he had the gift of wanting to be alone and do things alone.
And when everything was already inside the place, Hongjoong sighed, as he took the cement pack next to a basin and put on a headband so as not to be disturbed by his own hair.
"Now the magic begins."
On the small radio he had, placed in one of the corners of the establishment, the beats of HandClap, by Fitz and the Tantrums filled the environment and comforted Hongjoong's ears.
Without realizing it, things were moving faster than he could notice. The floor and walls were no longer as crooked and ugly as before, and where the kitchen would be, a bench had already been built. Little by little, the floor was covered with tiles and the walls painted with beautiful paper. Even the ceiling had gained its moment of beauty, Kim had even taken the trouble to install light bulbs and electrical wiring in the place. The kitchen was already coming to life, little by little each thing was having its place reserved. Refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave, bench, freezer. Even the storage room was beautiful. Finishing the internal adjustments, Kim focused on making the entrance presentable, after which his work again went back inside the place.
The large, sweeping glass windows were placed with care and care. The tables and chairs were being seriously screwed to the floor, and soon even the attendant's workbench with the display case where the sweets would be, came to life. When the truck with the electric furniture arrived he accepted help for the first time that day. After all, the fridge was much taller than him. Everything was put in its place and the delivery man was soon paid, and behind the real estate truck the food and ingredients supplier truck soon pulled up. While Hongjoong kindly asked them to put everything in the pantry, soon his attention returned to the facade.
Even a more rounded Awning with frills at the end had been placed. The facade was ready, just missing a plaque with the name of the bakery and the blessed door. When the delivery men left the interior of the bakery and returned to the truck, Hongjoong went inside to get the door, and hurried to put it on.
After installing the wooden piece - complete with a bell to notify the arrival of a customer - Kim stopped in front of the property and placed his hands on his hips. He tried not to cry like that in public, after all he was covered in cement and paint, sweaty and probably looking terrible, so crying at that moment wasn't the best option.
"Whoa, is this that dilapidated place you showed me?" He was startled by the sudden voice behind him, but he smiled when he saw that it was just Wooyoung getting out of his own car. "My friend, you have outdone yourself."
"Thank you." He sincerely thanked, then turned his gaze to the place, noticing that the plaque with the name of the bakery was still missing. "What name do you think I can give it?"
"What do people usually call you?" Jung answered with another question, making Kim smile.
"They call me The Cake Fairy."
"That's a pretty cool name." Hongjoong thought and rethought, and came to the conclusion that it was actually a perfect name.
"Do you know anyone who makes custom plates?" He turned to his friend, after all he was the one who understood this construction area. Though Kim had proven he wasn't completely useless in the field.
"Actually, I know something better." Kim gave the youngest a weird look, who went to the car and came back with a big cardboard box and handed it to Hongjoong. "Open it, but only when I leave, thank me later because now I have a meeting with my girls." Hongjoong made a disgusted face. "With the Charlie's Angels, Hongjoong, for God's sake!
Jung's laugh - hyena-like, and it wasn't even an exaggeration - reverberated down the street, and he soon got into his small but comfortable car and disappeared around the corner. Hongjoong just walked in with the package in hand and felt satisfied when he heard the tinkling bell. He placed the box on one of the tables and felt his eyes tear up when he saw the contents, it was a digital printer. And next to this came a little note.
'Hello, first of all don't cry because I know you.'
Hongjoong smiled through the small tears.
'And second... Well, I had time and I decided to assemble this beauty, seeing that I wouldn't use it for much, I decided to give it to someone who really deserved it, and you were the first person that came to mind. Enjoy it. Use it to make cake-shaped wall frames or even plaques with cheesy phrases that I know you love. If you want to add color to your life, the ink cartridges are in that little bag on the side. This printer has recognition Bluetooth, so you can assemble what you want to print on your cell phone, only the last adjustments are needed on its panel, such as size and where each color should be.
I know you're going to do well and I'm dying to try your cakes, I probably won't be able to make it at the opening - you know, the TV is calling me - but I'll drop by first to give you these goodies.
With all the love from your Bestie, I wish you all the sweetness. Xo, Wooyoungie.'
Kim chuckled at the pun and then took the machine out of the box, noting how beautiful it was. If he was good at cooking, Wooyoung was twice as good at building things.
And it was with happiness that he plugged in the printer and first made some cake molds to test, then made molds in the shapes of cakes, cupcakes and other sweets - just as recommended by the builder - and finally got up the courage to make the front plate . And would never regret it.
The plate was Oval in horizontal and in a transparent hot pink, with the words "Cake Fairy" in a beautiful cursive letter and in quartz, next to it was a drawing of a cupcake with small butterfly wings. After screwing everything back into place and putting the printer away, Hongjoong took a deep breath. He locked up the entire Bakery - he even used the metal rolling curtain he had installed in the shop - and ran home to his - un - comfortable Kitnet and took a quick shower. He took all the sweets he had ready and took with him to a clothing customization store to get his newest apron. It was white, the front pocket was pink and it had "Kim Hongjoong" written on it in pink cursive letters on the chest.
After everything was ready, he took the sweets to the bakery and opened it. He placed the sign pasted on the door, leaving the "Closed" part outside, and soon began to arrange the finished things in the window, then ran to make several cakes and sweets to get ready. And almost 2 hours later everything ended, and believe it or not, it was still a great time to work, it was almost 4 pm still.
Believe me, graduation had been earlier than you think and Kim had done everything faster than you might think.
Obviously he was just exhausted, but nothing stopped him from flipping the sign on the door to "Open!" And running back behind the counter with a huge smile on his face, waiting for all the people who promised they would come into the establishment asking for their specific sweets.
He had already decorated it. Mrs Dong liked his banana sweet, the twins Lui and Lia loved their tingling cake, the young lady Andie always bought his cheese pudding and honey carrot cake, and Mr Lee and Mrs Kim ate any of this cakes, even though Hongjoong knew that Kim's favorite was the Belgian Chocolate cake.
But the day hadn't gone exactly as he'd hoped. It was practically 8 o'clock at night and no one, not a single living soul, had even shown their face in his establishment.
Had he fought so hard for such an unproductive day? His father's voice sounded in his head.
" Want to be a baker? People will eat your awful cakes and puke all over you! "
What kind of parent would say that to a ten-year-old?
" You are pathetic "
Fourteen was already a more considerable age, but even so, it hurted.
" You are the pain of my whole life, you faggot! "
At sixteen nothing had any effect anymore. After all, he was already willing to follow what he wanted, he fought for it, and a bad first day would not let him down in any way.
At least not entirely, but he obviously didn't stop being upset.
After turning the sign attached to the door one more time, Kim went back to the counter, taking out the trays to take the sweets to the freezer so they wouldn't gone bad, and when he was about to do the same with the last tray, the bell on the door interrupted him . Still with his head down, he groaned.
Did someone arrive right after the sweets had been put away and the bakery was visibly closed? Come on, does this person know how to read a "Closed" sign?
"Sorry sir, but we are close-" He lifted his face to speak, but ended up letting the tray hit the counter when he realized that the stranger's face was inches from his. He was handsome, very handsome. Gosh, when the day suddenly got hot?
"I know, I saw the sign." The man said, smiling. His voice was deep, which made Hongjoong's entire body shiver. "I'm sorry to come in even though the Bakery is no longer open, and I'm also sorry for the scare. It's because it smelled so good that I couldn't help but think how good the food here must be!"
The man discreetly analyzed the redhead from head to toe and found that not only the food in the place should be delicious.
"Oh, thank you, I guess." He said, seeing that he had cracked the glass counter a little due to the post-scare impact. "Shit."
"Oh, I'm really sorry." The man with black hair and all-black clothes said, scratching the back of his head. "I had already stopped by earlier, but I didn't want to go in as I thought it would be crowded, so I decided to come later, but I think I came too late." He chuckled.
"Oh, crowded. I wish." Kim laughed a little without humor and took the tray to the kitchen, when he came back the stranger was sitting at one of the tables. The shorter one reached into his apron pocket for a cloth and began to wipe the tables, so that dust would not accumulate on top of the tables. "Not a single living soul has passed through here."
"Why not?" The stranger asked indignantly. "The smell outside is magnificent, the facade of this place is beautiful and looks like it was made today."
Hongjoong laughed, Oh if only he knew.
"I frankly don't know what to do." Kim grumbled and sat down in front of the man, who soon made a note that he should not be older than 25, so he was almost his age. "When I used to sell food on the street, I used to tell the stories about them, I think that scared off the customers since nobody likes a rattling seller." He laughed a little awkwardly.
But the response he received was the complete opposite of what he expected.
"Then tell me." Their eyes met once more that night. "Tell me the stories about your sweets, I love hearing stories."
He smiled, like it was nothing. But little did the man know that he had already won Hongjoong's heart, after all, nobody was interested in the stories of his sweets, and well, after cooking that was his favorite part when selling his sweets.
"Are you sure? I tend to talk a lot." He tucked a lock of hair behind his ear, embarrassed.
"It's okay, I liked your voice anyway." He leaned more on the table, and since he had a big torso, he was more than halfway across the table and closer to Hongjoong. "But only on one condition."
Kim was surprised.
"Which one?
"Let me serve every sweet you tell the story." He smiled. "By the way, give me the menu, please. I'm not a bastard who's going to take advantage of this to eat for free, I'm going to pay for all the sweets. And you can count as many as you like, I'm a black hole for food." He smiled and Hongjoong found himself enchanted by that smile, it was only when the man snapped his fingers in front of his eyes that he came to his senses. "So...?"
"A-ah! I am going." He ran into the kitchen to get a menu and the first sweet he saw in front of him, smiling when he got to the table and saw that the choice hadn't been so bad anyway.
"Okay, we'll start with the raisin pudding, or as some others call it, bread pudding." He placed the plate with a generous slice on the table and handed the menu to the man. "My science teacher once told of a discovery by a British physicist named Joseph John Thomson. In 1903, this physicist proposed a new atomic model, based on experiments with cathode rays, which he called electrons. For Thomson, the atom was a sphere of positive electrical charge "stuffed" with negatively charged electrons. The model became known as "The Raisin Pudding"."
The one with black hair listened attentively to the conversation while he ate the delicious pudding, and he could say that he had never eaten anything as delicious as that.
"Excuse me for interrupting, but this is divine!" The redhead smiled embarrassed.
"Thank you." He scratched his throat. "Well, but I, as a completely absent-minded student, questioned him if he was referring to an edible custard or if it was a way of saying so that people would understand better. He laughed and said that it depended on everyone's point of view, and that after class he would give me a recipe for a real raisin pudding. He passed it to me and over time I improved it my way, and voilà!" He smiled, raising his arms towards the candy.
The stranger smiled, totally excited and looked at the menu, then turned it over to the young pastry chef.
"What about this one?" Hongjoong smiled.
"The Chantilly waterfall cake. It all started on my first day of culinary uni..."
[...]
Stories went, stories came. Hongjoong was incredulous of how many stories he had already told and how much that boy had already eaten, he didn't seem to get sick of the sweets or the stories, until his mind started forgetting some and he didn't have his little book to remember all of them, ending the food story section.
"You definitely make the best sweets in this city." The stranger smiled. "Seriously, I won't go to any Bakery other than this one."
Hong laughed shyly.
"What is the average time that you close?" He questioned.
"Seeing that the day is not very productive today, I'm going to start closing around 5 pm, since I always start at 8 am." He explained.
"Hm. Change it." He said, surprising the Kim. "Open at noon and close at 8 pm."
"Why would I do that? Well, 8 pm is not a time people usually come to Bakerys, only you seem a little crazy." He joked, making the taller one laugh.
"I know. But only make it tomorrow if you can, because if I like candy that way, my friends like it twice as much. Our work doesn't release us until 8 pm and I'd like to bring them here to eat these wonders." He smiled and Hong pondered for a few seconds.
He had nothing to lose anyway.
And raising his pinky, he asked.
"Promise you'll come and bring your friends?" The taller one smiled.
"I promise." He intertwined his fingers and the light contact made Hongjoong shiver like earlier.
After releasing their fingers, the tall man took the bag with some sweets - yes, he said he still wanted to eat more and would take it for the trip - and smiled towards Hongjoong.
"Place promotion banners in front of the store, maybe this will attract customers. The prices here are perfect and the flavors second to none." He praised and Kim pretended not to be shaken.
"Okay, Mr. I know everything." He smiled. "Thank you for eating at the "Cake Fairy".
"I am the one who is thanked." He smiled and turned his back, and when he opened the door to leave, Hongjoong was in despair.
"Hey! I don't even know your name!" The stranger turned to Hongjoong.
"Park Seonghwa. It's a pleasure, Kim Hongjoong!" He winked and left.
Leaving the bakery with a young Baker with a silly smile on his lips and his heart racing.
Okay, what the hell had just happened?
"Don't think too much, Joong, don't think too much." He muttered to himself and went back towards the kitchen.
That had been the weirdest day of his entire life, but if he could, he would repeat it forever.