Chapter Text
Huening Kai returns home after finishing his shift at work; today is Sunday, so he finished early. He takes off his shoes and sets down his keys. Walking towards the hallway, he immediately notices the open window. He wouldn't have left it open willingly; perhaps he got distracted while leaving this morning. Without dwelling on it too much, he heads to his bedroom, grabs his pajamas, and heads to the bathroom. Turning on the water, he waits for the steam to fill the room. He undresses and steps into the shower. Once finished, he dries himself off, gets dressed, and goes to the kitchen to eat the bread he brought from work, freshly baked and still warm. He eats while scrolling through his phone; an unexpected call comes in, but he doesn't manage to answer it before the caller hangs up. He doesn't really care; he must have dialed the wrong number.
He has the entire late afternoon free, but he doesn't really feel like going out; so, he's already planned to spend the evening watching anime.
It's now 11:30 p.m., and he's spent the evening in front of a screen. It's time to go to bed; unfortunately for Kai, he has to wake up early tomorrow; his classes await him.
꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ
The alarm rings, and Kai, unfortunately, has to muster the courage to wake up. He already knows he'll be late, so it's better to hurry. He grabs his clothes and heads to the bathroom to start getting ready. He packs his bag, puts on his shoes, and rushes out. He descends the stairs, and something, or rather someone, catches his attention. A boy across the street sends shivers down his spine; his gaze pierces through him. Perhaps he's just enchanted... Kai tries not to dwell on it and walks towards school; he arrives a bit further from his house and decides to turn around. But there's no trace of the boy anymore.
He arrives at school and heads to class; he manages to arrive before the bell rings. Taehyun, his best friend, is already there, as expected. The top student in everything.
"Good morning, Tyunnie." Kai takes his seat next to the wide-eyed boy and starts eating his favorite bread. "Kai, did you spend the evening watching anime again? I called you," Taehyun says.
"You know I don't like going out, plus, I need energy for work. Sorry, my phone died." Taehyun rolls his eyes and closes his exercise notebook. "Yesterday, Beomgyu and I spent the evening together; later, Yeonjun joined after his shift. They were asking about you."
"Sorry, I swear I'll be there next time." Beomgyu and Yeonjun enter the classroom shortly after and take their seats behind their respective friends.
"Kai, you have no excuse. Thursday at my place." Kai starts doing aegyo as usual and turns completely to them. "Alright, guys, I'll be there, I promise!"
The lesson begins, and Kai makes an effort to follow along and take notes.
꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ
Once classes are over, Kai heads to the bakery where he works. But he starts feeling uneasy, quickens his pace, and becomes increasingly anxious. He stops at the traffic light, realizing he can cross only when someone shoves past him. He almost returns to his senses and crosses. But at that moment, his phone rings, and he startles, stopping in the middle of the road. That number again. He stares at the phone without ever focusing; that same sensation from before doesn't leave him for a second. He hears a deafening horn and realizes he's in the middle of the street. He turns and sees a car just inches away from him; instinctively, he takes a step back and falls to the ground. The driver seems furious as he continues honking, and Kai picks himself up and starts running. What was that?
He arrives at the bakery and greets his colleagues on shift before heading to the locker room. "Kai, how was school? Are you tired?" Kai smiles at his colleague as he puts on his hat and apron. "Felix! Boring as always, you know, the usual stuff, haha."
"By the way, a new guy will be coming today; make sure to show him everything. Changbin will be late today, so it's in your hands."
"Oh, okay, don't worry."
Ten minutes into his shift, the trial guy arrives. "Nice to meet you, Sunghoon. I'm here for the trial," Kai gives him one of his shy smiles and approaches him. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kai, you'll be working with me today!" The guy seems as shy as him, but they seem to hit it off right away.
"The owner, Changbin hyung, may seem intimidating, but he's a big softie. He handles everything, from preparing pastries to business matters, and even takes care of the place and employees. Here we sell cakes, sweets, bread, and drinks. Felix and Bang Chan, like Changbin, handle the pastry dough; in fact, they're the first ones to open the shop and close it. Sometimes I have to close, depending on the days and shifts. I take care of preparing orders; Jisung and Minho are waiters. Do you have any questions?" Kai explains everything, and despite the shyness, the guy seems confident already. "How long did it take you to learn the drink ingredients?" Kai smiles and heads to the workstation. "At first, it's not a problem; you can prepare them while consulting the catalog, but over time, you won't need it anymore. That's how I did it." They continue chatting, and Kai's shift, which today seems lighter, comes to an end.
But this carefree feeling won't last long; he doesn't know someone has been watching him for a while.
Kai arrives at his apartment, climbs the stairs, but immediately notices an envelope hanging on his doorknob. Bread. Specifically, his favorite. From the bakery where he works. Kai shudders. He takes the envelope and enters. This time, he doesn't go change to then take a shower to shake off tiredness and stress from work, as usual. No, he can't; he's petrified. He's been sitting in the kitchen for ten minutes already. He doesn't know what to do. He manages to pick up the envelope and take out the box from inside; he opens it, revealing his favorite sweets, egg tarts. At the bottom, he notices a note he hadn't noticed before. "For Kai, who always works hard, you truly deserved them. My Baby needs to grow up! - SB"
Kai thinks it's just his Hyung, Yeonjun, who often calls him "Baby." Slowly, the weight lifts off his chest; he leaves everything in the kitchen and goes to take a shower; he'll eat them while finishing his homework later.