nytis
"you've heard about the king right?" jeonghan said as he wiped his hands on his apron removing any flour. jihoon closed the oven door and responded with a light hum.
"yeah, the stupid tax collector stopped by earlier that usual and told me about it." jeonghan rolled his eyes and groaned.
"don't remind me of dojin. that idiot took so much of my money.." he wiped an imaginary year away from his face. "now i don't even have enough money for those flower piping tips i wanted to buy."
jihoon stood by the counter and looked out the big window at the front of the bakery. now we won't have enough for new books for chan... "i hope that dongyun isn't as bad as i've heard." jeonghan said, joining him by the counter.
"he's probably worse." jihoon grumbled, "everyone knows that the current royals are greedy pigs who care about nothing but themselves."
"you think that someone good will eventually take over?" jeonghan wondered quietly. shaking his head, jihoon tore his eyes away from the outside and back in the bakery.
"when's the last time you've met a kind royal who's still alive and kicking? there's really no point in hoping for things that won't happen."
"ji.." jeonghan stared at jihoon's back, deflating slightly. "well then, have you heard about this rumour flying around?"
"what rumour?" the shorter said, not looking up from his mixing.
"apparently," jeonghan said excitedly forgetting about earlier, "reinwa's only prince is searching for a bride! i heard it from the few traders while i was out looking for more cake pans." jeonghan sighed happily, "i wonder what he looks like. i wonder if he decided to come here.."
the citizens of nytis were so isolated to the point that they don't even know the faces or names of the nearby royal families. the only people who might know were the traders or the royals. so even if one of them managed to bump into a prince, there would no way they would recognize them.
"it's just a rumour you, what's the chance that it's actually true?" jihoon cut in quickly. "and if it was true, why would he ever come here? nytis and reinwa hate each other."
jeonghan closed his mouth and looked sadly at jihoon. he was always like this. immediately shooting down any hope of good things happening. why couldn't the boy live more, dream more?
"i guess you're right." jeonghan sighed. he turned his focus back on his work.
jihoon stopped mixing and looked at the other, feeling a little guilty. "sorry hannie. i just-
the clattering of bells cut jihoon off. both the boys stood a bit straighter and put on their professional faces. "hey, welcome to the bakery!" jeonghan threw on an easy smile and jihoon returned to his work.
"oh, it's you." hearing jeonghan, jihoon blinked and looked up. it was the silver haired boy from yesterday. "jihoon can help you." jeonghan said with a grin before moving to the corner to work.
"jihoon..." the silver haired boy mused. "i'm kwon soonyoung! nice to officially meet you, thanks for helping me out yesterday." the young baker returned the energetic boy with a small smile.
"glad i could help, what can i get for you today?"
soonyoung stared at the assortment of treats behind the glass. "hmm... do you have any cherry pie?"
"cherry pie?" soonyoung nodded earnestly from behind the glass. "unfortunately we don't... we only make pies when people specifically order for them..." jihoon looked around hurriedly, not wanting to let soonyoung leave empty handed. "but i suppose i could make one if you're willing to wait."
soonyoung grinned, "don't worry, i have plenty of time."
"han-ah, we still have frozen pie dough right?" he called out to jeonghan. the man nodded his head and pointed over at the freezer in the back. "that's great." he murmured to himself.
"you can come back in 40-ish minutes, your food should be done by then." he said, looking at soonyoung.
the boy waved his hand, "is it ok if i stay here?" he asked, looking at the tables and chairs. jihoon shrugged, not sure why anyone would want to sit and wait for 40 minutes, and nodded.
"sure."
soonyoung happily plopped himself down in the nearest chair and jihoon fished out the frozen pie dough and got to work. there wasn't much noise in the bakery. just an occasional creak from soonyoung's chair or the sound of baking coming from jihoon and jeonghan. one person did stop by to pick up the loaf of bread that finished baking but other than that, the shop was quiet.
pouring the cherries into a pot to cook, jihoon turned to soonyoung who he caught staring. the silver haired boy quickly averted his eyes to the ground. shaking his head, jihoon finally decided to break the silence, "do you seriously have nothing better to do?" he asked, raising a brow. he'd expect a boy soonyoung's age to be either working or in school.
soonyoung chuckled, "i seriously have nothing better to do."
"don't you have to go to work or school?"
"i guess i'd say i'm on break right now."
"i'm sure there are plenty of other things you can do on break," jihoon said, stirring the pot of cherries.
"i think that watching people bake is fun, i don't really ever get the chance to do it because of work..." his voice trailed off, "...and plus, watching a pretty person bake is bonus points. so in my eyes, this is the perfect break."
jihoon's face reddened and he turned back to his pot, pouring in some sugar. "so soonyoung, what's this 'work' that you're talking about." he said, quickly changing the topic.
"i... learn."
"very specific." jihoon said with a small laugh.
"like about the world... and history and science and mathematics and all that gross stuff."
jihoon's eyes sparkled with interest. "that sounds.. fun."
soonyoung thought back to all his lessons and never once had he thought of them as fun. "you're kidding right? i'd rather learn to bake than do all that boring stuff."
"baking isn't as fun as it looks.." jihoon turned his head to jeonghan who managed to hear him and flashed him a smile. "if i has the chance to learn i would definitely-
his voice suddenly died down and soonyoung swore that his eyes lost the sparkle he once saw. "actually, never mind." jihoon muttered as he turned back to the cherries and pulled the pot off the stove.
soonyoung frowned in confusion and watched as jihoon continued to work on the pie. something was up with this boy and he wanted to find out. "what do you mean 'never mind' ?"
"somethings just won't happen, so there's no point in talking about it."
"but it's okay to dream a little," soonyoung challenged back. jeonghan listened quietly from the corner. what was this boy trying to do?
jihoon stopped his work and looked up, "but what good is dreaming going to do if all it brings is hopelessness once you realize it won't ever happen?" he said back flatly.
soonyoung opened his mouth but had nothing to say.
