Chocolate Hearts | Jongin

01. Sweet Surprise

Chocolate Hearts
Chapter One
Sweet Surprise

The only downside of owning and working in a patisserie was the early mornings.

To be fair, there were two sides of that coin. Waking up early was definitely the downside. Nari had never been a morning person; when she woke up, she felt like a zombie or something half-dead. She'd move sluggishly around the house as she got ready, fighting back yawns and rubbing her eyes that would continually droop from tiredness, sometimes putting the her shoes on the wrong foot.

But there was an upside that got Nari through each morning; she loved watching the sun rise up into the sky, which would be coloured shades of beautiful light pink and blue. The world seemed to remain still, if only for a moment, and everything was so peaceful on her way to work. The air was fresh and crisp, and Nari loved it. 

When she got to the patisserie she owned, she'd meet her two coworkers, Hye-ja and Yumi, and they'd get started on the baking for the day. They'd talk as they worked, mixing pastry dough and spilling flour all over their aprons, though mornings were mostly quiet as they went through their own motions of waking up.

It was baking that also gave Nari the motivation to go through the motions of arising from her morning state. Nothing other than guitar gave Nari more joy than baking. She'd grown up baking with her grandmother on weekends and when she was older, Nari continued to bake and experiment with recipes. She'd spend hours in her family kitchen, flour getting all over her clothes and up to her elbows as she tried new cakes, pastries, and came up with her own little creations.

It wasn't like she had to compete with anyone her family for the kitchen, anyway. They were hardly ever home - her mother had left them when she was young, her father worked long nights, and her brother had hardly ever been home, preferring to spend late nights partying and spending time with his friends. Nari had grown up alone for most of her teenage years, and resorted to baking to keep herself entertained.

Another thing she loved about working at the patisserie was that she had the company of Hye-Ja and Yumi. Nari had met them when she had been in college, and they were in the same class. On their first day they'd all gotten lost, and stuck together as they looked for their class. Ever since then, the three of them had grown closer and decided to open a patisserie together, and from the moment they'd opened a year ago Nari had no regrets. She was twenty-one now, and the past year had been the best of her life, getting to do what she loved every day with people whose company she treasured. Sweet Delights, they'd named their shop, and every day they joyed in handing out their own creations.

Especially popular were their chocolate hearts, which were literally chocolates in the shape of hearts, with different fillings inside. They were popular with couples, especially around Valentine's. It had been Yumi's idea, which she'd put forth around Valentine's last year, and Nari had agreed. Nari hadn't expected the hearts to be such s popular hit, but they were relatively simple to make and earned them good money, so she wasn't about to complain. What was supposed to just be a Valentine's special became something they constantly had on offer.

Often while they baked early in the morning they'd put on music in the background. Every day they took turns to choose the music they'd listen to that way. Whenever it was Nari's turn, she'd always choose Exo, to the amusement of her friends. They teased her about it and always asked why Exo, but Nari wouldn't tell them. Who would believe her, anyway? Besides, they put forth good music, and Nari really did enjoy listening to them.

The days had worked out that Nari had slotted into a comfortable routine. She hadn't expected it to change too drastically, for she enjoyed what she did and didn't want to change a thing.