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1.
A smell wafting through the air stops Yunho in his tracks. Something fruity—maybe apples?
He takes a deep inhale of the air around him and—yes, that’s definitely apples. Yunho can almost taste the sweet, fruity aroma on his tongue with how potent it is. It’s delicious and Yunho finds himself desperate to know where it’s coming from.
He follows the smell and it brings him to the front door of a bakery he’s never seen before. The sign reads Dreamy Day in a cursive font and the windows are filled with many enticing baked goods, all set out on natural, wooden shelves and surrounded by warm-coloured fairy lights.
Yunho has no idea how he’s never spotted the bakery before as he often walks down this very street, but he’s known to get a little distracted on his walks. He would’ve wandered right past yet again if it weren’t for the delicious scent of apples coming from inside the bakery.
His original plan to buy a coffee from his regular coffee shop and sit in the park drinking it while running over his lines for his upcoming drama isn’t quite as appealing as Dreamy Day appears to be, with it’s warm, inviting atmosphere and delicious looking treats.
So, Yunho decides it’s time for a little detour.
He pushes open the door and a bell tinkles as he enters. The inside of the bakery has a similar cosy vibe to what Yunho spotted through the window, being lit mainly by fairy lights strung up around the room. There are a couple of benches and seats in front of tables dotted around for people to sit, but Yunho’s eyes are immediately drawn to the display up front at the counter with just about every baked good he could possibly imagine—and then some.
Yunho’s tail wags in excitement and his mouth waters at the sight of the various baked goods and he wonders if he has enough money and stomach space to try everything at once.
(Highly unlikely, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to try.)
Now that he’s inside, the delightful smell of apples is even stronger. As he steps towards the display cabinets, it strengthens and he takes a deep inhale, savouring the scent.
Whatever treat smells this good Yunho needs to get his hands on immediately.
He scans over the cabinet, looking for anything that contains apples. There are a couple of options, but he’s drawn to the apple pie sitting on the very top shelf of the cabinet. He steps even closer to take a better look and the smell strengthens.
“Welcome to Dreamy Day. What can I get for you today?”
Yunho looks up to find a gorgeous man stood in front of him. He has small, round, black ears that peek out between his fluffy black hair on the top of his head—he must be a bear hybrid, if Yunho is to guess. The smile on the man’s face makes his cheeks so round that Yunho just wants to take a bite out of him—maybe even more than any of the baked goods in front of him.
He suppresses that thought the second it pops into his mind. His stupid alpha instincts have been going into overdrive lately and that is absolutely not the way he wants to approach thinking about a stranger.
(Even if he is one of the most attractive men Yunho thinks he’s ever come across.)
“Oh, um, apple pie, please. Eating in,” Yunho says dumbly, his ears flattened against his head in embarrassment, mentally smacking himself for sounding so awkward.
“Ooh, good choice. Our head baker, Wooyoung, has perfected the apple pie recipe over the years, so I’m sure you’ll love it,” the man comments as he cuts a slice of the pie and plates it up.
“It smells wonderful,” Yunho says. The scent of apples is only growing stronger and his stomach rumbles loudly.
“If you don’t like it I’ll give you something else for free—I’m that confident.”
Yunho pays for the apple pie and then glances at the name tag on the man’s shirt. “Thanks, Jongho. I’ll trust your judgement for now.”
Jongho grins at him and his eyes crinkle.
Yunho hurries away before he can say anything stupid. He takes a seat at one of the benches where he has a good view of Jongho and settles in to read his script.
He takes small bites of the apple pie as he reads through his script and, between pages, he sneaks glances at Jongho as he works.
It’s interesting to watch him work as he skilfully swaps between speaking to customers, making elaborate drinks and wiping down the counters whenever there’s a free moment.
Yunho is about halfway through his apple pie when he remembers the purpose of him entering the bakery in the first place—the delectable smell of apples.
He glances around the room to make sure no one is watching him, then takes a deep inhale of the apple pie. It’s close to what he’d smelt initially, but there’s something missing, an undercurrent of scent that he’d picked up on yet can’t quite yet identify.
As delightful as the apple pie tastes, it isn’t what he’d originally come looking for and he finds himself slightly disappointed, despite how delicious it is.
But, at least he has an excuse to keep coming back, because Yunho is so obsessed with the smell that he’s determined to find the source of it—and then he can come back and see the handsome worker, Jongho, again.
It’s silly, really, to find himself already forming a small crush on a man he hardly knows, but there’s just something about Jongho that’s drawing Yunho in and, well, he’s a simple man and powerless to resist when the universe points him towards someone.
Yunho finishes off giving his script a read through and eating his apple pie and then packs his things away before taking the plate back to the front counter.
(It’s definitely just to assist the workers and give less work for them to do and nothing to do with Yunho wanting an excuse to talk to Jongho again.)
Jongho smiles as Yunho approaches. “So, what did you think?”
“You were right, the pie was delicious. The apples were baked to perfection—I think I’ll have to try more of your apple-based goods.”
“You’re in for a treat, then. Next time you come I’ll give you my best recommendation,” Jongho says kindly. “Thanks for coming in today…”
Yunho stares for a moment before realising that Jongho is trailing off for. “Yunho,” he replies, ducking his head in embarrassment from his awkward fumble.
Jongho doesn’t seem put off at all. “Well, it was good to meet you, Yunho. I hope to see you again soon.”
And Yunho knows that Jongho is just being polite, giving his best customer service to keep Yunho coming back as a regular customer, but it feels good to have Jongho seem genuinely interested in having Yunho come back.
“I’ll be back soon,” Yunho promises.
And he will, because he just has to find the source of the apple smell.
2.
Yunho returns to Dreamy Day multiple times after his first visit and buys every single baked good he can find that contains apples, but none of them fit the scent profile that he’d smelt the very first day he’d discovered the bakery and he’s left at a loss as to what exactly it is that smells so delicious, much to his disappointment.
At least everything he’s tried has been delicious, despite not being exactly what he’s looking for.
He sees Jongho every time he returns, but he’s too busy working for Yunho to actually have a good chat with him, despite how much he really wants to get to know the other. Yunho knows that Jongho’s at his job, at the end of the day, so he can’t be too disappointed.
He’d visited Dreamy Day earlier today to get himself a mid-morning treat, yet Yunho finds himself back outside the doors of the bakery later in the evening.
Two visits in one day is probably too far, but Yunho is really struggling with getting the essence of his character down and filming starts in only a few days. He doesn’t want to stumble through filming while not completely understanding and embodying his character, so he wants to do some extra work going through the script and noting down the main, most important aspects of his character so he can really nail his performance.
He’d been trying for hours at home to make progress with little to show for it—everything seems to be distracting him today, so a change of scenery will hopefully do him some good.
He didn’t intend to return to Dreamy Day—he’d actually been on the way to the park as it’s a mild evening, perfect for sitting outside—but he’d walked on auto-pilot and found himself standing outside of the bakery once again.
The now familiar scent wafts outside and Yunho takes a deep inhale. Apples is the strongest scent, but if he really focuses he can detect the hint of something different, underlying beneath the scent of apples.
Now curious about this new, extra element of the scent that he hadn’t noticed before, Yunho decides he has no choice but to go back inside to investigate and hope that Jongho, who had served him earlier, isn’t still here so Yunho doesn’t seem like a complete weirdo.
The bell tinkles as Yunho pushes open the door and unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on how he looks at it—Jongho is still inside, wiping down tables.
Yunho attempts to hurry over to the counter where a cat hybrid—presumably Wooyoung, the head baker that Jongho has mentioned a few times—is standing before Jongho can see him, but it’s so quiet inside that the tinkle of the bell must have been loud enough to attract Jongho’s attention.
“Hey, Yunho,” he greets, a warm smile on his face, his ears perked up atop his head. “Back again already?”
Despite his embarrassment of being caught back at the bakery for the second time on the same day, Yunho feels his tail lightly wagging behind him. “Hey, Jongho. I have some work to do and I’m always productive when I come here,” Yunho explains.
“Well, set yourself up anywhere. It’s a quiet evening so I’m sure you’ll be productive. Do you need a recommendation for today?”
Yunho does need a recommendation, but he first needs to identify what the new scent he’s picked up on is, as he knows there’s no more apple baked goods for him to try. “I probably will, but no more apples.”
Jongho laughs lightly. “I thought I was going to have to ask Wooyoung to start making some new apple-based goods for us to sell, considering you’re so taken with them.”
“I like apples,” Yunho defends.
“Such dog behaviour,” Jongho jokes. “I’ve never met a dog who doesn’t love apples a concerning amount.”
Yunho rolls his eyes, but a small smile comes to his face that Jongho is comfortable enough to tease him—maybe they do have hope to become friends outside of the bakery, but Yunho shouldn’t get too ahead of himself.
The cat hybrid has mysteriously disappeared from behind the counter, so Jongho makes his way over to serve Yunho instead. As Jongho’s back is turned, Yunho takes a deep inhale of the scent again.
Apples are still the strongest of the scent profile, but that underlying scent is more prominent now that Yunho has actually noticed it. It’s familiar, but it takes him a couple of seconds to place it—honey.
“So, what are you thinking today if not apples?” Jongho asks.
“Honey,” Yunho says and approaches the counter. “Definitely honey.”
“You’re some type of dog, aren’t you? Isn’t honey the stereotypical flavour for a bear like me?”
“Labrador, but it doesn’t mean I can’t want honey. You’re the perfect person to ask, though, if it comes to honey, living up to the bear stereotype,” Yunho jokes.
Jongho laughs lightly. “I guess I deserved that one. So, how do you feel about a honey butter croissant? It’s a new addition to the menu and even if you hadn’t asked for honey I’d have recommended it.”
“I’ll take two.”
“Two?” Jongho asks as he grabs two of the croissants out from behind the counter. “Feeling peckish?”
“One for me and one for you,” Yunho explains with a grin. “Can’t have a bear missing out on his honey now, can I?”
Jongho raises an eyebrow but then nods like he’s impressed. “You really don’t need to buy me a croissant. I just steal them when Wooyoung isn’t looking.”
“I want to,” Yunho insists. “Are you going to stop a willing customer?”
“Fine, fine. You’ll have to let me repay you somehow, though.”
Jongho puts the order through the till and Yunho pays. Then, Jongho hands one of the croissants over to Yunho and keeps the other behind the counter, presumably to eat later.
“Enjoy,” Jongho says with a dazzling smile.
Yunho runs away before he can do anything drastic like profess his undying love for the other alpha (he assumes he’s an alpha anyway) or jump over the counter and start scenting Jongho out of pure affection for that smile.
His inner alpha reacts strongly when Yunho has a crush and he has to do everything he can to rein it in so he doesn’t do anything embarrassing or potentially uncomfortable for Jongho. They hardly know each other—Yunho just falls hard and quickly.
He takes a seat in one of the corners of the bakery but faces Jongho so he can sneak glances at him as he works because, at the end of the day Yunho is weak, especially when it comes to beautiful men.
Yunho sets his script out on one side of the table with his notebook and pen on the other side and then, once he’s sure Jongho and the few other customers in the bakery aren’t looking, he holds the croissant up to his nose and takes a deep inhale.
While it does have the smell of honey, it isn’t quite the same scent he’d been picking up on that drew him to the bakery in the first place, and he puts the croissant down with a sigh.
He’s sure it’s going to be tasty—everything he’s tried from the bakery so far has been—but he’d been hoping he might have finally found out what the smell specifically is. It’s reached the point where he’s waking up every morning after dreaming about tracking down the smell and it feels like it lingers in the air, even though he knows he can’t smell it in his bedroom.
Yunho ignores his disappointment and gets on with what he came here for in the first place—working through making notes on his character.
He focuses in on his script and his notes, taking bites of his croissant when he remembers it’s there (and it is as good as he’d expected, despite his disappointment at it not being the source of the scent he’s been after) and time flies by without him really realising it.
It’s only when someone sits down in the seat opposite him that Yunho finally looks up from his script.
Jongho’s sitting there looking curiously at the notebook and script in front of Yunho and he has to resist hiding it away self-consciously.
“Can I ask what you’re working on?”
Yunho hesitates, wondering if he should make up a white lie, still a little embarrassed about his career as an actor as he hasn’t yet had his big break—this upcoming drama is his first lead role—but he decides that it’s not worth trying to hide away a part of him that’s so important. “I’m making character notes for the drama I’m in. We start filming in a few days and I was struggling to get my character’s motivations down, but I think I’m in a good place with it now.”
“A drama?” Jongho asks curiously. “I love dramas. What’s it called? I’ll have to look out for it once it’s released.”
“Youth. I’m playing the romantic interest which is a little embarrassing and something new for me, but I’m excited to get to filming.”
“I really want to ask you a billion questions, but I know you won’t be able to tell me much, so I’ll resist,” Jongho says. “However, if you do need to spill any secrets about it, I expect to be first on your list.”
Yunho nods solemnly. “You’re the only person I’d ever tell my drama secrets to.”
“I’m holding you to that, just so you know. By the way, as much as I don’t want to kick you out, I do have to let you know we’re closing in a few minutes.” Jongho doesn’t look like he wants to say it.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I got too absorbed in what I was doing. I’ll be out of your way in a second.” Yunho attempts to gather his things up but ends up dropping his script onto the floor.
Jongho reaches down and hands it back to Yunho. “Don’t panic, I really don’t mind. You’re my favourite customer, so you get privileges that the others don’t, which includes being allowed to leave slightly late.”
The urge to bite Jongho returns in full force and Yunho finds himself biting his lip hard instead to try and stop himself from saying anything stupid or, god forbid, actually biting Jongho in the middle of the bakery.
“Thanks, Jongho,” Yunho says softly.
They say their goodbyes after Yunho finally collects his things together and he leaves the bakery with Jongho calling Yunho his favourite customer running through his mind over and over again, a smile on his face his entire walk home.
3.
Filming starts on Yunho’s drama and he ends up all but abandoning everything else in his life in order to focus on filming. The days are long and exhausting, but rewarding in a way that’s hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t experienced dedicating every hour of every day to something they’re so deeply passionate about.
Because he has no time to really exist outside of his filming schedule, Yunho hasn’t been to Dreamy Day in a few weeks. It lingers in his thoughts, though, especially the scent that he has yet to discover the source of.
So, when filming wraps early one evening, Yunho passes by Dreamy Day on his walk home, hoping it’ll still be open when he reaches it so he can pop inside and grab himself a late night snack.
Unfortunately, when Yunho arrives at the bakery he finds the sign already turned to say closed, but the lights are still on inside. So, Yunho peeks inside and spots Jongho cleaning tables.
He hesitates for a moment, not wanting to disturb Jongho while he’s working, but then his stomach rumbles and the delightful scent of apples and honey washes over him and Yunho has no choice but to knock on the door.
Jongho looks up with a frown, but his cheeks puff up in a smile and his ears twitch in amusement when he spots Yunho waiting at the door.
Yunho feels his tail wagging behind him, excited to see Jongho again after what feels like forever, but he tries to force it to stop—he’s not very successful, as his tail seems to have a mind of its own most of the time.
“I was starting to think I’d scared you off,” Jongho says as he opens the door.
“I’ve been so busy with filming,” Yunho explains, hurrying inside the bakery. “Sorry to intrude on you like this, I know you’re closed.”
“You’re my favourite customer, remember?” Jongho reminds him.
Yunho had thought that Jongho had mostly been joking when he’d said this the last time that Yunho had visited the bakery, but Jongho repeating the statement once again makes Yunho believe that he may well be Jongho’s favourite customer and Jongho isn’t just joking.
Jongho guides Yunho to the front counter after he puts his cleaning spray and cloth down and asks, “So, what will it be today?”
Yunho hadn’t yet explored many of the honey-based goods and he can smell honey strongly throughout the bakery now that he’s picked up on the scent, so his eyes scan over all the goods lined up behind the display glass. There’s quite a few options that have honey in, so rather than dither and delay Jongho’s cleaning any further, he asks, “Another honey recommendation?”
“Do you think I only eat honey-based goods because I’m a bear?” Jongho asks, completely deadpan.
Yunho goes to apologise, not wanting to stereotype Jongho and make him uncomfortable, but then Jongho’s guise breaks and he grins.
Yunho rolls his eyes once he realises he’s been had and whines, “Stop teasing me.”
“You don’t want me to stop,” Jongho states simply then reaches behind the counter to pull out a madeleine. “Wooyoung always adds honey to our madeleines for an extra burst of sweetness.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Jongho puts the order through the till and then, before Yunho is able to take his wallet out of his pocket, pays for it.
“Hey! Why’d you do that?”
Jongho shrugs. “I owed you one.”
Yunho huffs and tries not to let himself pout too hard. “I wanted to pay.”
“Next time,” Jongho promises, as if they’re arguing over who’s paying on a date and not about Yunho paying for the goods he’s purchasing from the bakery out of his own free will.
The idea of him and Jongho going on a date flashing through his mind has Yunho’s cheeks heating up, so he hurries over to one of the tables with his madeleine before Jongho can see. “You don’t mind me eating in here, do you? I know you’re cleaning.”
“Nah, you can keep me company while I clean. I do expect you to tell me all about how filming is going, though.”
Jongho picks his cleaning spray and cloth back up and returns to cleaning the tables once again.
With Jongho’s back turned, Yunho takes a deep inhale of the madeleine, but finds it once again doesn’t quite fit the scent he’d picked up on. The scent is strong today, filling the bakery more than usual, and Yunho’s nose twitches as he considers sniffing every corner of the bakery to find the source of that scent he’s so desperate to figure out.
Except, that would be inappropriate and rather strange, and so he resists his instincts and sits there eating his madeleine quietly.
“Yunho, you’re meant to be telling me about filming, not staring intensely at your madeleine,” Jongho reminds him.
Yunho flushes. He’d assumed Jongho hadn’t been serious about wanting to hear about his filming schedule, but Jongho seems genuinely interested in hearing about it.
So, Yunho tells Jongho about everything that’s been going on with filming his drama—from the early starts to the late nights, to, embarrassingly, having to kiss his co-star while far too many people were watching.
At some point during the conversation, Jongho finishes cleaning and sits down opposite Yunho, and they both become so engrossed in conversation that Yunho doesn’t realise that time has passed until Jongho’s phone starts ringing.
Jongho swears under his breath and says, “That’s my roommate. We were meant to be ordering dinner tonight, but I accidentally stood him up.”
“I’m sorry for distracting you,” Yunho apologises, ducking his head shamefully with his ears pinned back.
“Don’t be sorry, he’s stood me up for much worse than us having a conversation. He’ll get over it,” Jongho insists. “Besides, I had a good time talking to you, Yunho. I’m glad you stopped by.”
“I’m glad, too, even if I did come after closing. I won’t make a habit of it, I promise.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you did.”
Jongho sounds so sincere that Yunho feels like his heart might leap out of his chest with how hard it’s beating.
4.
Much like with the apple goods, Yunho works his way through every honey-flavoured baked good that Dreamy Day sells, only to once again be unable to find the source of the scent he’s so determined to discover.
Part of him wants to give up on the quest, finding it becoming futile as he’s starting to feel like he’s spending a fortune chasing something that might not actually exist—as if he just imagined the scent in the first place.
But, when Yunho enters Dreamy Day again on a rare day off, he’s once again hit with the delicious scent that fills the bakery and he pauses in the doorway to take a deep inhale of it.
Apples and honey—the same two scents he’s picked up on previously—but if he really focuses, shutting his eyes to lessen one of his senses and increase his focus on his sense of smell, he can detect something else. Something subtle underneath the overpowering scents.
It takes him a moment to identify it, but once he does he has to resist saying ‘Aha!’ out loud in front of the fairly busy bakery in his triumph.
Chocolate.
Subtle, only just able to be smelt beneath the overpowering scents of apples and honey, but now that he’s detected it he’s certain that what he’s been smelling all along has been chocolate.
There’s so many apple- and honey-based goods in the bakery, as he’s discovered through his quest to figure out the source of the scent, that they must have been masking the true scent of chocolate all along.
Yunho feels pleased with himself now he feels like he’s finally figured it out and his tail wags behind him as he walks up to the counter.
“What’ll it be today, then?” Jongho asks as Yunho approaches, his regular, easy smile on his face.
“Give me your best chocolate-based treat,” Yunho requests.
Jongho raises an eyebrow. “Moving on from the apples and honey, then?”
“I think I’ve eaten all the options I had of those, so I’m trying something new.” Yunho refuses to admit the real purpose of his purchasing so many different goods of the same flavour, even if he has become closer to Jongho through his time visiting the bakery, maybe even to the point he can call Jongho a friend.
But Yunho is determined to figure out the mystery for himself without interference. He’s sure if he asked Jongho directly, he’d be able to tell Yunho exactly which baked good it is that brings the delightful smell, but he’s committed to his quest to figure it out himself, now, and so he doesn’t want to give in.
He’s determined to find it without any help.
“In that case, you have to buy an eclair. Probably the best product we have on offer.”
“You’ve definitely said that to me about multiple things before,” Yunho says with a small laugh, “but you’ve been right every time, so I’ll believe you again. I’ll take two.”
Jongho grins and pulls two eclairs out from behind the counter.
Yunho pays for the both of them and then, in a moment of bravery, asks, “Would you be willing to go on your break to join me for an eclair?”
Jongho’s face lights up and Yunho is sure if his tail was long like Yunho’s, it’d be wagging behind him. “Absolutely. Let me pull Wooyoung out from the kitchen to cover me.”
Jongho disappears out the back while Yunho takes the two eclairs to go and find a table for them. The bakery is moderately busy so a fair number of the tables are already filled, but Yunho spots an empty one in the corner, just tucked away that they’ll feel like they have some privacy.
Yunho takes a seat at the table and takes a deep inhale of one of the eclairs. His ears perk up as the scent he’s been smelling reaches his nose, excited that he might have actually found the source of the scent.
Jongho sits down in front of him a second later and comments, “You look really excited to be eating that eclair. I hope it lives up to expectations.”
“It smells really good,” Yunho says, taking another inhale of the scent.
Only to realise that the delightful smell he’d detected wasn’t, in fact, coming from the eclair at all. It still smells lovely and he’s excited to dig in, but the disappointment of thinking he’d found the source of the scent only to have it ripped away from him has Yunho’s ears drooping.
He forces them back up so that Jongho doesn’t sense his disappointment, but he’s clearly not fast enough as Jongho’s face falls. “What’s wrong?”
Yunho scrambles for an excuse. “It’s nothing, just thought I smelt something else, that’s all.”
“That sensitive dog nose of yours picking up on other smells?”
Yunho thinks Jongho is joking at first, but he seems genuinely curious to hear more about Yunho’s hybrid traits, even if Yunho is one of the most common hybrids (alongside cats, of course).
“Yeah. It happens a lot.”
“I get it. Bears also have a really strong sense of smell, even if that’s usually attributed just to dogs,” Jongho says. “Not a lot of people know much about bears, I’ve found.”
“I have to admit, I don’t know much either. You’re the first bear I’ve met, actually. I’m always curious to learn more, though.”
“I can’t let you in on all of my bear secrets, but I will tell you one thing.” Jongho leans in conspiratorially and whispers, “I’m not even a bear at all.”
Yunho’s mouth falls open in shock.
Then, Jongho bursts into happy giggles. “I’m sorry, I am a bear. I just wanted to see your reaction.”
Yunho pouts, but then finds himself laughing along too, Jongho’s joy infectious. “You could’ve told me literally any ‘bear fact’ right then and I would’ve believed you.”
“Bears and dogs don’t generally get along, if you want a fun fact,” Jongho says.
Yunho is going to protest this as it is most definitely not a fun fact, but before he can Jongho continues.
“But we get along really well, so I guess we’re the exception to the usual bears and dogs.”
Yunho isn’t sure if Jongho is attempting to flirt with him or not, but he’s never been the best at dealing with men flirting with him. He loves to flirt himself—it’s just when it’s reciprocated that Yunho doesn’t know what to do with himself.
So, to avoid putting his foot in his mouth and embarrassing himself as often happens, Yunho shoves the entire eclair he’d forgotten about in his mouth in one go.
Which only ends with him choking on it unattractively.
Jongho moves around the table quickly so he can thump Yunho on the back and save him from choking. It would be a rather unfortunate way to go out, choking on the eclair the man he has feelings for suggested to him while in front of said man.
The thought Yunho having feelings for Jongho, and not just some silly, small crush, comes easy to Yunho—easier than he expected. He’s long found Jongho attractive and, well, he’s often tempted to bite the other man, whatever that might say about him, but he hadn’t fully registered just how much he likes Jongho until this very moment.
It should’ve been obvious, given how much excitement he feels whenever he comes to the bakery and gets to speak to Jongho again alongside his deep attraction to him, but somehow Yunho hadn’t fully registered it.
He’s not sure he’s brave enough to do anything about it yet—especially not while he’s still settling in to filming and he doesn’t want to risk the heartbreak that would come from rejection while he’s in the middle of filming for his drama. It’s his first big break into the industry and he can’t take any risks.
So, Yunho files away the revelation for now and plans to come back to it at a later point. Jongho is so nice that he knows even if he does get rejected, it won’t be the end of the world. Jongho seems like the type of person to never let romantic feelings get in the way of a friendship.
“Thanks for saving me,” Yunho says once the eclair is safely swallowed.
“No problem,” Jongho replies as he takes his seat again. “That was a really dog thing to do, just so you know.”
“I am a dog, after all. I have to live up to my stereotypes. Big scary alpha dog.” Yunho bares his teeth for dramatic effect, but Jongho just stares at him with a raised eyebrow.
“You’re far too nice for that,” Jongho comments bluntly, but it’s clearly a compliment. “You seem more like the type of alpha who’s just dead set on helping out everyone around you. At least from what I know about you.”
“Well, you’re kinda right. I do like helping people. I’m a bit like Spider-Man, actually.”
Jongho laughs at this. “Let me guess, you’re acting in this drama so you can eventually make it big enough to take over from Tom Holland when he passes on the role of Spider-Man to the next generation.”
“You got me there.”
“Count me in as your first fan then. I’ll buy a ticket the second they go on sale just to see you on the big screen.”
Yunho feels his heart warm at the words, even if he’s sure Jongho is over-exaggerating it a bit. It’s nice, though, to feel so supported in his dreams and passions. Sure, it’s unlikely he’ll ever actually become the next Spider-Man, but with Jongho’s support behind him Yunho feels like he can achieve anything.
5.
Yunho approaches Dreamy Day with a skip in his step, excited to see Jongho again. Filming has really ramped up now that they’re getting towards the end of their filming schedule, which means it’s been even longer days for Yunho and he hasn’t had a chance to stop by the bakery recently to see Jongho or buy himself more treats.
He did gain Jongho’s number last time they saw each other, though, so they’ve been keeping up with each other through texts here and there, but Yunho wants to properly update Jongho on how his filming has been going—something Jongho insisted he has to hear in person and not via text—and also try another of the baked goods Dreamy Day offers.
He’s running out of options for the source of the scent, having tried almost everything on offer in the bakery at this point, but there’s still a few options left to go, and so Yunho is sure he’s going to discover where it’s coming from soon enough.
Once he does, he’s going to make whatever it is his regular order because he really can’t get enough of the smell.
As Yunho pushes open the door to Dreamy Day, he expects to be met with the delightful scent that haunts his every waking moment with his desperation to find the source of it.
Yet, strangely, the scent is gone.
Yunho sniffs a couple of times, trying to figure out if it’s just not as potent as usual, but he can’t detect it at all.
Disappointed, Yunho considers turning around and going back home, but then he reminds himself he’s here to see Jongho and that’s more important than the missing scent of the bakery.
Except, when Yunho approaches the counter to order himself one of the few remaining chocolate goods he hasn’t yet tried, Jongho isn’t there. Instead, there’s the other man Yunho has seen a few times behind the counter with black pointed cat ears atop his head and a tail flicking lazily behind him.
Wooyoung, his name tag confirms. The head baker that Jongho’s mentioned a few times.
“Good morning and welcome to Dreamy Day. How can I help you today?” Wooyoung asks cheerily.
“Is Jongho not around?” Yunho blurts out. His ears flatten against his head when he realises how it comes across. He doesn’t mean to be rude—he just was really hoping to see Jongho again today.
Wooyoung narrows his eyes as he studies Yunho, then his face lights up in recognition. “Yunho, right? Jongho’s mentioned you a lot.”
Yunho nods, relaxing slightly now that Wooyoung seems to recognise him and doesn’t think he’s just a rude customer.
“He’s out sick today unfortunately, but I’ll let him know you were looking for him—I’m sure it’ll make him feel better,” Wooyoung says kindly. “He did say if you stopped by I have to tell you to get a chocolate muffin.”
Yunho laughs because of course even if Jongho is sick, he can’t miss their tradition of Jongho telling Yunho what to purchase. “One chocolate muffin for me then, please,” Yunho requests.
Wooyoung hands over a chocolate muffin and Yunho pays for it. Wooyoung wishes him an enjoyable visit despite Jongho not being here.
Yunho turns away to leave, when he remembers the disappointment at the scent not being present when he’d walked in, which tells him the chocolate muffin he’d purchased won’t be the baked good he’s been looking for.
He pauses and turns back to Wooyoung. “By any chance, have you taken anything off the menu recently?”
Wooyoung hums for a moment, considering, then shakes his head. “Not recently. Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering,” Yunho replies, not wanting to reveal his secret quest to Wooyoung when he still hasn’t told Jongho about it yet. “You’re a really good baker, by the way. Everything I’ve tried has been wonderful.”
“Thanks, Yunho. You’ll have to let me know what your favourite is once you’ve tried everything as well as your favourite flavour and I’ll make something dedicated just to you.”
Yunho smiles and thanks Wooyoung before he walks over to a table in the corner of the room. He sits down and pulls his phone out to send a text off to Jongho, wishing for him to get better soon, then digs into his chocolate muffin.
It’s incredibly tasty, the perfect amount of softness and not too heavy on the chocolate flavour to make it overly sickly, but Yunho still feels disappointment seep into his heart that he’s yet another good down and he still hasn’t managed to find the source of the scent.
He hopes that whatever it is, it’s back next time he comes to the bakery, the scent familiar and comforting to him at this point.
+1.
Yunho is finally finished filming for his drama, wrapping the previous night, and he can’t believe it’s over already, the past few months seeming to fly by. He’s happy to have finally wrapped on the project and can’t wait for it to be out in the world, his lead acting debut so close to becoming a reality, but he’s also sad that it’s over.
So, to both celebrate and commiserate the end of filming, Yunho goes to the one place where he always finds himself going, no matter the situation—Dreamy Day.
The notes of apple, honey and chocolate waft through the air as Yunho enters and he takes a deep inhale, the scent calming him instantly.
He still hasn’t found the source of the scent and Yunho’s tried every single good that the bakery has to offer, including all of their drinks once he started getting really desperate to find out where it’s coming from.
So, despite his reluctance to do so initially, Yunho plans to ask Jongho to help him find out where the scent is coming from and put the mystery to rest finally. And, then Yunho plans to ask Jongho out on a date and properly court him, if Jongho will allow.
It’s something he’s been thinking about a lot since his revelation about his feelings for Jongho, and now that filming is finished and he’s blessed with more free time than he knows what to do with, Yunho figures it’s now or never to ask Jongho out.
Jongho is behind the counter as usual, looking as handsome as ever with his fluffy black hair and ears and his round cheeks that Yunho still wants to take a bite out of (his stupid alpha instincts once again going haywire when presented with something cute).
“Good morning, my favourite customer. What can I get for you today?” Jongho greets with a smile as Yunho approaches the counter.
“I actually have a different request for today,” Yunho says vaguely.
Jongho raises an eyebrow, intrigued. “Do go on.”
“This is probably going to make me sound like I’ve lost it a bit, but I first came into the bakery because I smelt the loveliest scent ever coming from in here. I’ve tried literally every single thing on the menu to try and figure out where the scent has been coming from—I can still smell it now, so it’s definitely something in the bakery—but nothing I’ve tried has been right. Can you help me figure it out, please?”
Yunho keeps his eyes trained on the counter between them as he speaks, afraid to see Jongho’s reaction to his admission, but when Jongho doesn’t speak for a while he finally looks up.
Only to see Jongho reddening.
Yunho cocks his head, wondering what about the ridiculous spiel he’s just given Jongho would have Jongho… embarrassed?
“Can you tell me exactly what it smells like?” Jongho asks quietly.
“Apple and honey and chocolate all mixed together and it’s so delicious that I just want to eat it all up.”
Jongho, impossibly, goes even redder. “Can you come with me out the back for a minute?”
Yunho frowns but nods and follows Jongho around the back of the counter.
Jongho calls out for Wooyoung to cover him and the cat hybrid darts past them with a grin and a waggle of his eyebrows, taking over for Jongho at the counter while Jongho leads Yunho to the break room.
They both take a seat opposite each other at the small table and Yunho waits in silence, wondering why Jongho needed to speak to him in private.
The delightful scent is even stronger in this room somehow and it leaves Yunho in an even bigger state of confusion, because there’s definitely no baked goods in the break room from what he can see.
It must just be wafting through from the kitchen where Wooyoung has been working.
“This is really awkward, but the scent you were describing is, well, not any of our goods at all,” Jongho says quietly. “It’s mine.”
Yunho’s mind feels like it’s short-circuited at the revelation that the scent he’s been so drawn to this entire time hasn’t been anything in the bakery at all, but Jongho himself.
“I started working here because I was embarrassed that my scent is so sweet—people generally assume I’m an alpha until they clock my scent and realise I’m an omega,” Jongho continues.
Yunho ducks his head, embarrassed, because he’d thought that exact same thing about Jongho. Maybe if he’d looked past his assumptions, he would’ve realised that the scent was an omega’s scent far sooner and not coming from baked goods at all, but he hadn’t even stopped to consider it. It would’ve made his mission far easier to accomplish if he hadn’t been so caught up on stereotypes.
“Don’t worry if you thought the same,” Jongho says as if he’s reading Yunho’s mind, “I purposefully work here because I thought my scent blended in with all the baked goods and so no one would really notice it. I’m allergic to scent blockers, so it was really my only option.”
“I’m so sorry,” Yunho bursts out. “For not realising you’re an omega and for being so inappropriate earlier when I was talking about wanting to eat you because I don’t really want to eat you—bite you, maybe—but I really shouldn’t have said that either because that’s also inappropriate and I hope you don’t think I’m a disgusting alpha who’s been taking advantage of you.”
Jongho lays a hand on top of Yunho’s, cutting him off from speaking, and smiles at him gently. “I’m not upset with you. It’s nice, actually, to have been able to get to know you and you see me as me without having to worry about whether it’s just my subgender and my scent that someone likes.”
Yunho breathes a sigh of relief and, in a moment of bravery, flips his hand over and laces his fingers through Jongho’s.
“So, you want to bite me?” Jongho teases.
Yunho groans. “That was not how this was supposed to go. I was going to find out what the scent was and then ask you on a date and see if you’d let me court you properly.”
“You want to court me?” Jongho asks, all confidence gone and only shyness left.
“Yes,” Yunho insists, his voice a little too loud. “Only if you want me to, of course, but I want to do this properly.”
“Then, yes, I’d love to go on a date with you and you’re free to court me, but just know my standards are high. I don’t just let any alpha into my life, so you have to make sure to prove that you’re one of the good ones.” Jongho grins as he says it, clearly joking. “Not that I have any doubts, of course.”
Yunho smiles back. “That sounds like a challenge, so I’m in. I’m going to court you better than an alpha has ever courted an omega before.”
“I like the sound of that,” Jongho says, his voice gentle. “I also like the sound of being bitten, if you were wondering.”
Yunho’s eyes widen and he feels his face pale in response to Jongho’s boldness. He’s not sure he’s going to survive dating and courting Jongho if Jongho is going to say things like this to him.
The temptation to lean over the table and clamp his teeth on Jongho’s arm is tempting—or even to lick a stripe up his neck and deeply inhale that scent he’s come to adore, only made better knowing it’s Jongho’s scent.
But, he resists—even if it’s hard—because Jongho is at work right now and Yunho hasn’t even taken him on a date yet and he’s going to do this properly.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, I don’t bite before at least the third date,” Yunho jokes back.
“Hm, disappointing.”
Then, Jongho leans in and plants a kiss on Yunho’s cheek all of a sudden, his lips just as plump and soft as Yunho had expected.
“What was that for?” Yunho asks, dumbfounded. “Not that I’m complaining, of course.”
“To say thank you,” Jongho answers. “Now, come on, we better get back out there before Wooyoung comes looking for us—nosy cat.”
“I am not a nosy cat,” comes a voice from directly outside the door, sending both Jongho and Yunho into fits of laughter.
Once they’ve recovered, they both leave the break room to head back out to the front of the bakery, their hands linked between them and Yunho’s tail wagging excitedly behind him.
Yunho is forced to let go of Jongho’s hand, much to his disappointment, once they’re back in the main room so Jongho can return to working behind the counter.
“So, one apple pie, for the memories?” Jongho suggests.
“Yes, please. It’s not quite the apple scent I’ve grown fond of, but the apple pie will have to do for now.”
Jongho hands him the slice and then pays for it before Yunho is able to get his card out of his pocket.
“Enjoy,” he says as he hands the apple pie over, “and get started planning our first date and also a good first courting gift for me. I’m expecting nothing but the best.”
Yunho nods quickly and even though he knows Jongho is just messing around with him, he’s determined to plan the best first date anyone has ever been on because Jongho deserves nothing left.
Yunho takes a seat at his usual table in the corner where he can sneak glances at Jongho as he eats his apple pie and searches up date ideas on his phone.
The glances are returned with a happy smile every single time.