nobetterpicture: Do you only want to dance? (1/2)
Title: Do You Only Want To Dance?
Author: nobetterpicture
Pairing/Focus: Yoochun/Changmin, Changmin/Jaejoong
Rating: PG-13
Final word count: 11, 528
Summary: In a world where magic is included in everyday life, Shim Changmin lives the simple life of a baker, that is, until a certain Park Yoochun comes into his life. (Strongly inspired by a mix of Antique and Howl's Moving Castle)
A/N: Just want to take a second, I would like to give so much love to my beta, who without, I probably would not have even finished this ;_; I love you, and I’m sorry I’m so annoying and whiny….and helpless….and depressingly stuck at times and that you have to deal with me T_T So, thank you ♥. Also, to my artist, thank you so much in advance for choosing my fic ♥
“Changmin, do you like to dance?”
The young baker looked up from the cake he was working on, a frown pulling on his lips as he stared at the…eccentric man he’d hired only a few weeks ago.
“Excuse me, what?”
“Dance, Changmin, do you like to dance?” He asked again, slowly dancing a waltz around the table with an imagery partner until he was right next to Changmin. “I’ve never seen you dancing at any of the festivals, so I was just curious.”
Changmin bit his lip as he tried to forget how easily Yoochun danced around the table and the way his hair flowed around his face like it had some magical wind to it despite half of it being pulled back in a ponytail. Shaking his head at the weird thought, Changmin went back to his cake.
“Changminnn, you didn’t answer my question!”
Barely able keep himself from throwing the bag of icing at Yoochun, Changmin ignored his co-worker and continued to pip small, intricate designs along the side of the cake. It was the day before the annual harvest festival and he still had ten more cakes to ice for customers. He could feel Yoochun’s stare until he finished all the way around the cake and sighed as he straightened his back.
“How do you know that I haven’t been to the festivals, let alone dance at them?”
Yoochun grinned at the question and grabbed an éclair off a nearby display plate. “Oh, I have my ways. I see everyone and everything, you know?” Taking a bite of the éclair he tilted his head at Changmin. “I think I remember seeing you once, but in passing. Never dancing like everyone else, so I just had the urge to ask.”
“But, I’ve never seen you around here until you came in asking about the job.” Changmin said as he snagged the rest of éclair from Yoochun’s hand. “That’s coming out of your pay, by the way.”
“Ah! Ah…Well,” Yoochun started as he lifted the finished cake and slid it onto the decorative base before picking the whole thing up. “You’ve probably seen me…but not seen me.”
“Wait, what?”
The tinkle of a couple bells signaled a new customer and Yoochun gave Changmin a small smile.
“Nothing, we’re not done with this dance topic though! I’ll be back!”
And as Yoochun walked out with the cake, Changmin continued to stare at the swinging door leading to the front of the small bakery as he finshed off the half-eaten éclair. His ears could hear the sudden soft, charming tone that Yoochun’s voice took on through the door and he figured that the customer was female. Sighing, Changmin went back to work on his next cake and tried to clear all thoughts of his strange co-worker.
/////
It’d only been a few months back that Changmin found himself with a Bad situation. While his personally owned bakery, Howon Pastries, was doing fine business-wise, his friend and one and only worker decided to up and quit on him.
“I still don’t understand why you’re leaving, Minho,” Changmin said to now ex-worker as he hung up his navy blue apron for the last time. “You could still go to school and work here and do fine!”
But Minho just smiled and patted Changmin’s shoulder as he looked around the kitchen area once last time. “I want to get away from here and experience something different. The school I’m going to is in the next town over and it’s full of different trade schools and there’s a magic academy too. I just-”
He looked back at Changmin and it was then that the baker could sense the difference in the two of them. Minho craved experience and adventure while Changmin was more complacent and content with where he was in life. Changmin was happy in his hometown doing a job he loved with a profit that pleased both him and his parents. He had no plans of up-rooting himself from his beloved bakery, which he literally started from scratch, on some fleeting thought. Acting on a whim just wasn’t his style; he much preferred order in his daily life. And pretty much explained his love for baking.
(Changmin found comfort in measuring out the ingredients for each new recipe, making sure they were just right so that you could still taste the vanilla behind the cinnamon in a cinnamon roll or the hint of matcha in his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Baking was a science that catered to his small OCD-like qualities and considering he spent his days baking and eating sweets, he honestly couldn’t have picked a better profession. Plus, Changmin found it so much more gratifying making such delicious things with his bare hands and a regular oven than the enchanted fires that the other bakers in town loved to get from the local magic shop in town.)
“You’ll be happier there,” Changmin told him at last. Leaning down, he grabbed a rather large box and handed it over. “Here, your going-away present. Try to eat it slow so you don’t get sick again, got it?”
Minho grinned and pulled the baker in for a tight hug. “I’ll miss you…and your amazing pastries.”
“Yeah, yeah…,” Changmin replied as he hesitantly patted Minho’s back.
They locked up the shop together for the last time, the two of them activating the security charm on the front door, before making their way back to the house they shared. The streets were empty besides the late night solider on his horse doing his nightly patrol and Changmin let his mind wander to someone else who spent his days in a uniform.
As they reached their house, Changmin stayed a bit behind Minho and allowed himself a moment to remember all the good times they had as housemates and co-workers. It would be weird living alone again, but he would be okay. He’d already lost one important person to their own dreams and was used to people leaving by now.
As he tapped the lantern outside his front door to snuff the enchanted flame inside, he realized that he never wanted to leave this town. If only to be here to welcome his friends home.
/////
The first couple days without Minho weren’t so bad. Changmin found it weird being in the front of his bakery again and serving his loyal customers.
Before Minho had left, they’d split the work between the two of them. Changmin would come in every morning and start baking and serving any of the early early birds that came for a pastry and maybe an espresso to start the day. Then Minho would come in and take care of the front from mid-morning to early evening while Changmin stayed in the kitchen for the rest of the day. The only times he would come out was if they got extremely crowded or if he wanted to check the display cases to see what to make next.
It was the perfect system as Changmin wasn’t particularly…fond of some of the people that came to his bakery. In fact, some of the teenage girls and their attempts at flirting scarred him more times than it had flattered him. But they were good for business and Minho never seemed to mind catering to their approaches (which usually resulted in a nice tip for him anyway) and that made business go quite well.
However, it was by the third day that there was no way that he could run the bakery by himself. He wasn’t sure if it was the batch of éclair shells he burned (which he had never done in his life) or the group of girls that kept asking him to go to the upcoming harvest festival with them that tipped him over the edge, but the next day he glared at the HELP WANTED sign on his window.
Changmin tilted his head at the sign, like it would make it change or disappear or make Minho come back…but it didn’t. He sighed and leaned against the window, looking around the street.
The baker really didn’t want to go through the whole hiring process, especially considering he never had to since Minho had been so willing to work for him when he first opened the bakery and had been working with him up until then. Dealing with people just…wasn’t his thing, even when there was no choice to.
It was then he heard a gasp and glanced over to see one of the girls from the previous day and the way her eyes lit up at the sign. Immediately realizing his mistake, Changmin was quick to scribble a barely legible MALES ONLY at the bottom. The girl scowled and pouted, nearly stomping her feet in a fit as she read Changmin’s new addition to the sign and walked away in a huff.
“That was close…,” he mumbled to himself as he walked back inside and to the comforting smell of croissants in the oven.
/////
The first few prospects that came in were dull. They all thought that it would be an easy job and that they would just eat all of Changmin’s delicious pastries all day and do nothing, thinking that he used magic and charms to help along with baking and the other work. But obviously that wasn’t the case. Two had left right after Changmin had explained the detailed menu (which changed slightly every day) he had for his bakery and all the tasks that they would have from memorizing and knowing the menu to cleaning the counter and tables and espresso machine daily, among other meaningless tasks that Changmin didn’t have the time to do while baking.
The third one, a young man by the name of Hoya, seemed promising and lasted a few days until he started dancing around while mopping and nearly cracked the glass of one of the display cases when he slipped and fell. Changmin felt a little bad telling him that he wasn’t what he was looking for, but Hoya left the bakery with a warm smile, an éclair, and a promise to stop by every now and then, so he didn’t feel as bad.
After the sign had been up for a few weeks, Changmin was thinking about hiring an old acquaintance of
his named Ryeowook (who had come in the previous day) when the chimes on the front door sounded. Looking up from the display case, the baker found himself face-to-face with a gorgeous, and yet peculiar man.
The man’s long black hair was pulled into a half ponytail with bangs hanging down that drew attention to amber eyes (the color of which reminded Changmin of a caramel glaze he’d made earlier) behind a pair of black frames. The man smiled and gave a slight bow, which allowed Changmin to take in the outfit of tight black pants and boots with a cream tunic and a grey vest. He looked just like the rest of the men who lived in town, but there was something different. Something intriguing and yet…Changmin couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.
“Hi, my name is Yoochun and I was wondering about the job posting on the window?”
The smooth voice brought Changmin out of his thoughts and he tried to ignore the amused look on Yoochun’s face. He brushed the front of his apron and held a hand out.
“Nice to meet you, Yoochun. I’m Changmin, owner and head baker here at Howon Pastries. Do you have any prior experience at bakeries?”
Yoochun smiled at the question before answering and Changmin found himself zoning out at the soft timber of his voice. Changmin thought that Yoochun was a very charming man for not knowing anything but his name and appearance. Confused at that sudden thought, Changmin shook his head and Yoochun stopped and frowned a bit in confusion. Odd.
“Are you okay?” Yoochun asked as he placed a hand on Changmin’s. “Are my credentials not good enough?”
Changmin ignored the questions and stared at the hand on his. There was something pressing at the back of his mind, telling him to trust and hire Yoochun right away. He’d never had wanted to make a snap decision in his life and right now, right then, he was ready to hire this stranger after five minutes. Strange, he thought, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to hire Yoochun. The entire situation was very odd, to say the least.
“No,” he said as he looked up watched Yoochun’s frown get deeper. “They’re…perfect. If you’re prepared, you can start tomorrow, 7am sharp.”
Yoochun quickly smiled and shook the hand he was holding. “Thank you so much, I’ll work hard!”
Then, Changmin could’ve sworn he saw a flash of something in Yoochun’s eyes, but it was gone and he just pulled his hand away instead.
“I have to go bake now,” Baking, for the first time, sounded like an excuse to get away from something and Changmin stood confused between the counter and door to the kitchen. “Just be here at seven and I’ll go over everything with you…okay?”
Yoochun nodded and made a shoo-ing motion. “Go work your own magic and I’ll see you tomorrow~ Thanks again!”
As the bells rang when Yoochun shut the door, Changmin looked at his hands, puzzled, before heading into the kitchen, wondering what he had just gotten himself into.
/////
The first week with Yoochun went relatively well, much to Changmin’s surprise. Yoochun was quick to memorize the menu and cleaning schedule, as well as gain the attention of Minho’s old admirers, and Howon Pastries was back running like normal. Everything was perfect and Changmin should’ve been at ease once again.
But of course, he wasn’t.
There was something still off about his new worker, something that Changmin couldn’t figure out. Yoochun was just too nice, too perfect to be working at a small bakery. Plus, he had this air to him that just made him seem special, different than all the other people in town. And he wasn’t the only person to take notice either.
All the regulars seemed to fall for the charming new worker at Howon Pastries and they’d even picked up a few new customers thanks to Yoochun’s popularity. In the end, however, Changmin was thankful for the rise in business not only for the profit that the new customers brought in, but the fact that it gave Changmin the opportunity to finally do some tests runs of new pastries that he had thought of before adding them to their weekly menu. So, with a new worker and a new menu, the bakery was the best that it had ever been.
////
One week turned into one month and Changmin found himself in a daily rhythm similar, but different, to the one he had developed with Minho. He still came to the bakery at the same time every day and Yoochun came in when Minho used to, but he always had something new or different about him that kept Changmin alert. From a new piece of jewelry (like this weird, tower shaped earring that went along the side of his ear) to questionable clothing and…interesting boots, Changmin finally came to the decision that Yoochun was an extremely peculiar man.
But despite his interesting fashion choices, Yoochun was always presentable and kind to both him and all their customers, so Changmin couldn’t say much about that. He could, however, complain about the amount of questions Yoochun asked. If they were simply questions about the bakery, Changmin would never have a problem, but the fact that practically every question was about Changmin and what he liked and why did he become a baker and had he ever left town and how does he take his espresso and did he like to dance and does he ever goes anywhere besides his house and the bakery…
It slowly, slowly got annoying.
And, if that weren’t bad enough, Changmin never knew the next question was coming. Whether it be as Yoochun walked into the kitchen to restock the display cases or yelled through the curtain to the kitchen or a small piece of paper somehow tucked into his apron pocket; he was an edge from the moment Yoochun walked in with that smile of his and outfit of the day to when they parted ways after the bakery was closed for the night.
That too was another change to Changmin’s daily routine.
Before, when Minho (who he dearly missed at this point, despite the new popularity and massive profit the bakery now had) was still here, the two would work together during the day and Minho would leave after he finished cleaning the front of the bakery at night. This left Changmin alone with a couple hours to prep for the next day’s menu and to clean and/or fix anything if the need be. It was perfect because he was able to take his time and make sure everything was perfect and neat and clean; just as he liked it.
With Yoochun, the older(as Changmin found out one day when Yoochun was bugging him about his birthday and how old he was) man simply refused to leave the bakery after he stayed late one night and saw all the work Changmin was doing by himself.
“I’m more than qualified to help out and do prep, Changmin. It’s not like it’s as hard as ancient sorcery,” Yoochun had said that night and from then on he was a constant presence in the kitchen after hours.
Surprisingly, afterhours Yoochun was much calmer and focused on his prep tasks than Changmin expected, especially considering Yoochun’s normal cheerful, chatty self. In fact, he’d only had a small freak out the second night Yoochun stayed back when he tried to add more nutmeg to Changmin’s favorite recipe (the bakery’s famous cinnamon sugar pull apart bread) because he thought that it would make it “taste better”.
The pan he dented to “show” Yoochun that that would be a Very Bad Mistake had been worth the loss. But strangely enough, that pan was back in the kitchen good as new the next morning when he opened the bakery, so no real harm was done.
But in spite of all these things, Changmin found himself more or less pleased with Yoochun and was happy to have made the impulse decision to hire him. Minho had been his best friend and trusted worker for years, but Yoochun was like a breath of fresh air in his life. Fresh air that was annoying as the rush of bitter cold on a winter day at times, but was still fresh air nonetheless.
/////
Even more time passed and it was the eve before the annual harvest festival. Howon Pastries had received countless orders for cakes and other sweets to cap off the big dinners that were prepared for the event. Yoochun, Changmin noticed, had gotten even more cheerful as the festival got closer, his face nearly glowing from his smile as he danced and hummed around the store while cleaning or in between customers.
The man continually got invitations and requests from their customers. But, he gently refused each and every one, saying that he already had a date (though Changmin knew this was a lie) and somehow, none of them ever seemed disappointed in the response. Changmin got a few offers as well, but most knew and understood that he had no interest in going to the festival, let alone with a date. Yoochun, however, was having none of it.
“So back to you and dancing,” Yoochun started as he walked back into the kitchen after he’d taken care of all their customers and Changmin had finished the last cake that he had to ice.
Changmin sighed and placed his icing bag down. He should’ve known that Yoochun wouldn’t be giving up this fight until he actually agreed to go.
“Look, it’s not that I don’t like dancing. I mean, I’m pretty okay at it but…,” Changmin hesitated and wasn’t sure how to, or if he even wanted to, explain exactly why he didn’t go to the festivals.
Luckily, the bells to the front door signaled another customer and Changmin almost laughed at Yoochun’s pout as he looked toward the door leading to the front. Almost.
“We’re not done here, I will get an answer out of you before we close!” Yoochun threatened before he tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear and walked out to the front. “Welcome to Howon Bakeries, what can I get for you today~?”
Changmin smiled at the same pleasant greeting that Yoochun always gave as he began to clean up his work area to start on some pumpkin spice rolls in honor of the festival. As he ran a cloth over the worn wooden table, he was shocked when a familiar laugh drifted into the kitchen. There was no way…
“Changmiiiinnnnn! Come out, you have a visitor! For once!”
Yoochun’s voice startled him and Changmin quickly wiped his hands against his apron as he started to panic. Why was he here? And of all times? He bit his lip and smoothed down his hair, hoping that he looked okay. Changmin tried to think of the last letter he’d received but that had been…months ago. Taking a deep breath, he walked through the doorway and- There he was.
Kim Jaejoong.
The general looked the same as ever, perfect and pristine as his title. Though his hair was now a beautiful shade of gold when it’d been a deep black the last time Changmin has seen him over a year ago. Jaejoong looked over at him and smiled as Changmin made his way over to stand next to Yoochun behind the counter. Changmin fought the heat on his face; he hadn’t seen that smile in a long time.
“Changmin, it’s good to see you.” Jaejoong held his arms out for a hug and Changmin stared at them until Yoochun not-so-subtlety pushed his upper body into the general’s arms for an extremely awkward hug over the display case. He felt more than heard Jaejoong’s laughed and pressed his face into Jaejoong’s soft, green uniform jacket in embarrassment.
“It’s good to see you too, Gen- Jaejoong.” He felt a hand go through his hair and another laugh from Jaejoong.
“Still get flour in your hair, I see… Some things just never change,” Jaejoong said with a chuckle as he held out his flour-dusted hand and Changmin quickly pulled himself up to smooth down the sides of his head, even more embarrassed than before. But then he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder and suddenly the embarrassment was gone. The only feeling left was that of calm and slight confusion. He glanced at Yoochun, but the other man was leaning against the counter, smiling at Jaejoong like he would to any of their other customers.
“Changmin is a bit of a mess when it comes to himself, but his creations are worth it.” Yoochun stated and thankfully turned Jaejoong’s attention on him and off of Changmin. “I’m Yoochun, by the way. Minho’s replacement. And since Changmin isn’t the best at introductions…,”
“Ah, General Kim Jaejoong, at your service,” Jaejoong was quick to reply and held out his hand for Yoochun to shake.
Changmin watched the exchange and while on the outside it seemed pleasant, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of animosity coming from both Yoochun and Jaejoong, as if they were sizing each other up. He also could have sworn that Yoochun’s eyes flashed gold for a second, but doubted it. Shaking his head, Changmin decided that it was just the shine of the sun through the windows and that he was just seeing things.
“So General Kim, what brings you here? The last I heard the army was stationed in the North for the time being…” Yoochun asked as he pulled his hand back and leaned his elbow on Changmin’s shoulder.
Jaejoong smiled again as he watched the movement. “Please, call me Jaejoong. And actually, they still are. I’m here on what you could say is….a special mission?”
“No wonder you’re actually home.” Changmin’s hand flew up to his mouth and cringed as he cursed his mind-to-mouth filter.
“Ah, yes. I haven’t been home for a while, let alone during this time of year. But, well, I shouldn’t be saying this but one of the most highly trained wizards has gone missing, or into hiding, we’re not quite sure, and although he served for us for a few years, the high ups wanted me to find him and. Well. persuade him to come back again.” Jaejoong explained as he waved his hand in explanation and looked around the bakery.
“But didn’t you say that he already served for the army?” Yoochun questioned, a curious tone in his voice. “Why are you trying to force him back into something that he obviously wanted to leave, considering that he would still be a part of the army had he enjoyed serving?”
Jaejoong tilted his head at Yoochun and Changmin glanced up and saw how serious Yoochun’s face had become. Or least, it was the most serious that Changmin had ever seen him look. While there was still a smile on his face, there was a hard look in his eyes. It was curious to see something like this when Yoochun was always so happy and complacent.
“Well,” Jaejoong finally said and shrugged before he crouched down in front of the display case, looking at the different offerings. “That’s why I said persuade and not force. It would be nice to have him back with us, but it’s not like they told me that I have drag him back. And since I haven’t found him yet, I’ve been given free range to take a few days here and there between towns to relax, for once.” He pointed to the cake that Yoochun had brought out earlier. “Can I have that one, please?”
Yoochun nodded and pulled the cake out of the case and went into the back to pack it up, leaving Changmin and Jaejoong alone. Changmin looked down and fidgeted with the end of his apron as he felt Jaejoong staring at him.
“I really missed you, Changmin. You got all my letters, right?”
Changmin nodded and looked up with a quick smile. “Yes, I did. I hope you got my packages fine, though they were few and far between.”
Jaejoong grinned and nodded as well. “They were the highlight of my month. Speaking of highlights, you realize that this is as close to an extended vacation as I can get, right?” He paused and suddenly lost a bit of the confident aura that surrounded him. “And then, when I do find this wizard, I’m going to be taken off of active duty and well, then… Maybe you’d like to-,” Jaejoong stopped as Yoochun made his way back out, the cake wrapped in a navy blue box with a green ribbon.
“Here you go! So, do you have plans to go to the festival tomorrow, General?” Yoochun asked, perfect smile back in place, sliding the cake box easily over the glass to Jaejoong. The general gave one look at the box and looked up at Changmin.
“Festival? Is that time of year already?” Jaejoong asked, eyes wide as he took hold of the box. “I haven’t been to a festival since…well.” He grinned. “A very long time. Are the both of you going?”
“I most certainly am, but I’m not sure about our genius baker here, says that he can dance but doesn’t go to festivals.” Yoochun responded, nudging Changmin with his hip. But Jaejoong just laughed.
“Is that so?” Jaejoong said as he looked at Changmin and the baker knew exactly what that look meant. “Well, I hope to be seeing both of you at the festival! Until tomorrow!” He waved and exited the shop, the jingling of the bells sealing his exit.
“See you tomorrow! I, ugh.” Changmin slumped over the display case.
Yoochun hummed and leaned on top of Changmin’s back. “Well, that was sure informing. Never thought I would have such competition…” He muttered to himself.
Changmin just rolled his eyes and shoved Yoochun off.
/////
“Alright, I can’t take it anymore. Ex-lover or current-long distance lover? There obviously has to be some feelings there but with him being a general, I guess there has to be some kind of conflict. Hmmm.”
Changmin groaned against the closed door of the oven. The bakery was now closed and it had been exactly six hours and thirteen minutes since Jaejoong left. The only reason that he knew that was that he had been counting down the minutes until Yoochun would finally ask him about the General.
“He’s not…,” Changmin sighed, pressing the side of his face against the glass window of the oven. “It’s complicated and I’d rather not talk about it right now.”
Truth be told, he was a mess of emotions and he was surprised that he hadn’t screwed up anything he’d baked throughout the day. He hated and loved when Jaejoong came home.
“So the reason why you don’t go to festivals, it’s him, right?” Yoochun asked as if Changmin hadn’t said anything in response.
Looking over at his co-worker, Changmin glared. “You’re not going to leave me alone until I tell you, are you?”
Yoochun gave him his sweetest smile. Rolling his eyes, Changmin took a deep breath.
“Jaejoong, The General, was…my first love. He confessed to me during the Fall Festival six years ago and it was the best night of my life.” Changmin pushed off the oven and picked up a metal bowl from the main table and stared at his reflection. “The next day he joined the army and he was shipped away a month later.”
“I see. What an asshole.”
Changmin looked up and nearly threw the bowl at Yoochun. “Excuse me? You don’t even know him, how dare you even- ugh, I shouldn’t have even said anything.” He slammed the bowl back on the table and found himself suddenly aggravated. It was times like this that he just wished that Yoochun would shut up and not ask questions.
Yoochun’s bitter laugh pulled him out of his thoughts and annoyed him more since Yoochun was even laughing in a situation like this. He had no clue who Jaejoong was or how good a person he is and. “Ugh, what’s so funny?” Changmin gritted out.
“It’s just…you give me such little credit, Changmin. If you really didn’t like the way I ask you questions all the time, all you had to do was tell me to stop. I’d never have pressed more about Jaejoong if you’d seriously told me that you didn’t want to talk about it. I’m not that bad of a person. Sorry I asked, okay?” Yoochun said and turned away to untie his apron and gave Changmin a moment to feel a bit embarrassed about voicing his own thoughts aloud by accident. Twisting his fingers, the baker had the shame to look away.
Maybe he’d had let his emotions get the best of him and was a bit rash. Besides, he’d barely given Yoochun a proper explanation, so it wasn’t the other man’s fault for making such a quick judgment. The day itself had been emotionally charged with Jaejoong just showing up and honestly, Yoochun hadn’t done anything but be his normal self, really. Gripping the edges of the bowl, he knew had to apologize for his outburst.
“Look Yoochun, I’m-” Changmin started, but Yoochun was nowhere to be seen. His apron was hung up neatly on the wall and as Changmin looked around, he saw that there was a note at the table. He picked it up and glanced at the bottom to confirm that it was from Yoochun. The baker hadn’t even realized the other man had left.
Changmin,
I know I upset you with my opinion, and I suppose I assumed too much of The General and for that, I’m sorry. I want to say this to your face, but you seemed a little lost in your thoughts and it didn’t look like you were coming back to reality any time soon! So I wrote this considering I’ve already annoyed you enough today. Unfortunately, I won’t be at the bakery tomorrow, but I will be at the festival, so I will see you then!
Sorry again,
Yoochun
p.s. Save me a dance?
Changmin felt like a jerk as guilt grew in the back of his mind. While they technically both could be at fault for the little argument, he felt like he’d been a lot more brash and rude than Yoochun. Folding the letter and placing it in his back pocket, he closed down the rest of the bakery and walked home, thoughts of the festival and a certain man on his mind.
/////
The next day was a mess.
Thankfully, due to the festival, Changmin had already planned for the bakery to be open for half of its normal day. But, because Yoochun wasn’t around to help him, he was certainly busier than he thought he would be. As he rang up various orders and pulled different pastries out of the ovens, he wondered why Yoochun wasn’t in. He never mentioned needing the day off and Changmin couldn’t help but think that it was because of what he had said last night.
Jaejoong had stopped in after the bakery had been open for a few hours to have a cup of espresso and a muffin, and to get Changmin’s confirmation that he was coming to the festival. It took a bit of prodding and some guilt-tripping by Jaejoong (along with the thoughts of Yoochun’s note sitting on Changmin’s kitchen table at home), but Changmin finally agreed to go and actually started to look forward to the night. The general had even reached over the counter in a bold move and held Changmin’s hand as they talked about the festival.
“Where’s Yoochun at? I don’t see him anywhere,” Jaejoong questioned as he laced their fingers together on top of the glass counter and looked around.
“Ah, he, uh, requested the day off today.” Changmin replied absentmindedly as he enjoyed the warmth coming from Jaejoong’s hand. He admired Jaejoong so much and every time the general showed him some kind of affection, well, it was hard to ignore. Plus, he couldn’t even remember the last time that Jaejoong had held his hand, let alone touched him, before their hug yesterday.
“On such a busy day? Well, I better let you get back to work then. I have my own work to do since we just got some news on the missing wizard. He was spotted around this town about two months ago and nowhere else, so there’s a good chance that he’s somewhere here in the town.”
Jaejoong raised their joined hands to his mouth with a small smirk. “Whoops, I probably shouldn’t have told you that, actually. But I know you won’t tell.” With a wink, Jaejoong kissed the top of Changmin’s hand before letting go and taking a step back. “I’ll see you later tonight, Changmin.”
Changmin waved goodbye, still too surprised from the kiss to form words. It was one thing to get a hug or have Jaejoong hold his hand again, but the small kiss brought a rush of memories that Changmin wasn’t ready for. The door rang in the next customer and he had to smack his cheeks a bit to focus and continue working.
/////
The back of Changmin’s hand burned from Jaejoong’s kiss for the rest of the day and proved to be a welcome distraction from his missing co-worker. Soon enough Changmin was walking home and faced with the Most Difficult Decision: What to wear to the festival.
His closet consisted of clothing that he wore to work and then more comfortable things that he slept in. He hadn’t really paid attention to the newest fashions or fads in the past few years and was beginning to regret that as he filtered through his clothes. He had no reason to buy new clothes when he didn’t need them and now that he did have a reason, there was nothing to wear.
Just as he was making his way to the kitchen for a cup of tea to contemplate his fashion fate, there was a knock on his front door. Changmin walked over and glanced out to see who was there, but the street he lived on was empty. Opening the door to double check, his foot accidently kicked something. There was a huge, white garment box at his feet and he glanced up one more time to see if anyone was still around, but the street was still empty as everyone else prepared for the start of the festival.
He picked up the rather heavy box and walked back inside into his kitchen, sliding the box onto the island in the center. He stared at the box as he made some tea, trying to figure out who it was from. There were no outside markings at all to help him even guess and after he finished his tea, Changmin decided to just open the damn thing.
The inside of the box held a full, extremely sophisticated outfit that was perfect for the festival, or any special event, really. There was a nice, crisp white shirt along with a pair of black boots and a soft pair of black wool pants that Changmin had a feeling would fit perfectly. But the main piece had to be the dark navy wool cape with accents of cream leather from the edging to the buckles that held it together. The entire outfit screamed high class and money and Changmin could only think of one person that would spend this amount of money on him.
After he placed the clothes and boots carefully on the table, he searched through the box for any kind of letter or note, but there was none. Feeling a bit uneasy about wearing something so nice and dignified without know who exactly had given it to him, even if he had some idea, the glare of the setting sun through his window made his decision for him. It was too late to go anywhere else for clothing since they would be lighting the bonfire and lanterns soon for dancing, and someone obviously wanted him to wear this so…
He grabbed the clothes and rushed back to his bedroom to get ready for what he knew would be a long, long night.
/////
For the fifth time that night, a panicked Changmin hid in a dark corner away from the people dancing and enjoying the festival. From the moment he reached the center of town where the festival was had, he immediately was the center of attention.
It was surprising, and a bit sad, that all it took was a nice outfit to get people to notice him (not that he particularly wanted their attention), or maybe it was simply the fact that he was even there and not sequestered away in his house or Howon Pastries. He had spent the first hour eating food and searching for Jaejoong and Yoochun, but neither man was to be found. Countless women(and men) came up asking for a dance, but Changmin refused, wanting his first dance to be with Jaejoong, if not Yoochun(to make it up to him for being an ass), if he could just find one of them.
Another hour passed and Changmin was still alone at the festival. He asked some of the soldiers there if they had seen Jaejoong or heard of anything, but they all hadn’t seen him. And Yoochun, of course, was nowhere to be found.
By the third hour, Changmin was beginning to grow impatient, but so were the people trying to get his attention. The girls that haunted Howon Pastries followed him around as he circled the outside of the festival area, hoping for a glimpse of blonde hair or a black ponytail, and he had to continuously dart between people to get away from them. He also discovered that he had more male suitors than he’d previously thought and that they were almost more persistent than the girls.
The fourth hour had Changmin leaning against a wall; hidden away from the crowd at the bonfire began to wane. He couldn’t help but be disappointed, in himself and the two other men. They both had gotten his hopes up, in a way, and made him look forward to having fun. But really, he should have known better. Nothing good came out of change and just because Jaejoong was back in his life, that didn’t mean that things were going to magically get better like someone casted a lucky charm on him.
And besides, Jaejoong even said that he would be moving from town to town to find this missing wizard and even if he was being taken off active duty after the wizard was found, who knew how long that that would take to happen. And then, when that happened, what was Jaejoong going to do? Hell, what were the two of them going to do?
Would they just go back to six years ago when Jaejoong was Changmin’s main focus and live happily ever after? Sure, the feelings for each other were still there, they would stay there, but the two of them were different people. Changmin might not have changed much, but it was clear to him that through their separation, Jaejoong had most certainly changed and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that.
“Frowning doesn’t look good on you, especially when you’re dressed so nice…,”
Changmin’s head whipped to the side and he saw Yoochun leaning against the wall next to him, breathing a bit heavily. His hair was flowing around his shoulders and brushing the top of his white and blue coat. The rest of his outfit matched Changmin’s, except for the blood staining his white shirt.
“Yoochun, what? Where have you- Is that b-blood on your shirt? What-”
“Shh.” Yoochun placed a finger on Changmin’s lips and he felt his mouth close like it had been glued shut. “You deserve an explanation, and an apology really, but let me be selfish for a moment and get that dance you saved for me.”
He grabbed Changmin’s arms and re-arranged them as if Changmin was a string-less marionette before he started them into a slow waltz along to the music still playing. Changmin was a bit taller that Yoochun, but the other man lead the dance like there was no height difference or skill difference at all. It was easily one of the smoothest dances Changmin had ever had.
As they turned under the lanterns, Changmin could only stare at Yoochun and noticed how tired he looked, despite the soft smile on his face, and how the blood came from a cut on the other’s neck. It worried him and he desperately wanted to ask what happened, but besides the fact that he couldn’t open his mouth, Yoochun’s grip on his hand and waist was too strong to pull away. He essentially felt like a doll in Yoochun’s hands and no matter what he wanted to do, he could only follow Yoochun’s lead. This brought a certain thought to his mind about what, or rather, who Yoochun could be, but there was no way. No. Way.
“Ah, finally figured it out, have you?” Yoochun whispered as they slowed to a stop. “And at what perfect timing too! Can’t have you knowing more than you need to. I wouldn’t want to cause you any more trouble than I already have.”
That moment the festival was swarmed with various soldiers and Changmin caught a glimpse of Jaejoong riding in on a horse. He watched in shocked as Jaejoong looked around him, shouting various orders to the others while searching for something himself. His eyes met Changmin’s and widened as he yanked the reins on his horse to turn toward Changmin.
“Well, it seems like this is my signal to go,” Yoochun tugged on Changmin’s hand and Changmin felt a shiver run through his body as it relaxed. “It was fun meeting you and working with you…I don’t get to do that often, really.” He glanced over in the direction that Jaejoong was coming from and sighed. “I wish I had more time, but I slipped up. Maybe I’ll get another chance to see you sometime. But until then,”
Changmin pushed against the other spell on his mouth, but his lips still refused to move. He desperately wanted to tell Yoochun not to leave, not just yet, not until he gave him the explanation he wanted, but the spell stubbornly kept his mouth shut.
Yoochun’s hand was soft against Changmin’s cheek and the baker decided that he really didn’t like the sad smile on Yoochun’s face. Or how his words sounded too much like a goodbye. Changmin felt his lips part as the spell was removed and he took in a deep breath. But Yoochun had already started backing away and Changmin immediately stepped forward to grab his arm to stop him.
“Yoochun, wait. Don’t leav-”
But since his body was still feeling the effects of the spell he was under, he didn’t have full control of his body and instead of Yoochun’s hand, Changmin accidently grasped the sleeve of Yoochun’s jacket, and the moment he touched the fabric, he was falling down into darkness. The last thing he remembered was the alarmed look on Yoochun’s face and Jaejoong calling out his name before everything became black.
Part 2
Author: nobetterpicture
Pairing/Focus: Yoochun/Changmin, Changmin/Jaejoong
Rating: PG-13
Final word count: 11, 528
Summary: In a world where magic is included in everyday life, Shim Changmin lives the simple life of a baker, that is, until a certain Park Yoochun comes into his life. (Strongly inspired by a mix of Antique and Howl's Moving Castle)
A/N: Just want to take a second, I would like to give so much love to my beta, who without, I probably would not have even finished this ;_; I love you, and I’m sorry I’m so annoying and whiny….and helpless….and depressingly stuck at times and that you have to deal with me T_T So, thank you ♥. Also, to my artist, thank you so much in advance for choosing my fic ♥
“Changmin, do you like to dance?”
The young baker looked up from the cake he was working on, a frown pulling on his lips as he stared at the…eccentric man he’d hired only a few weeks ago.
“Excuse me, what?”
“Dance, Changmin, do you like to dance?” He asked again, slowly dancing a waltz around the table with an imagery partner until he was right next to Changmin. “I’ve never seen you dancing at any of the festivals, so I was just curious.”
Changmin bit his lip as he tried to forget how easily Yoochun danced around the table and the way his hair flowed around his face like it had some magical wind to it despite half of it being pulled back in a ponytail. Shaking his head at the weird thought, Changmin went back to his cake.
“Changminnn, you didn’t answer my question!”
Barely able keep himself from throwing the bag of icing at Yoochun, Changmin ignored his co-worker and continued to pip small, intricate designs along the side of the cake. It was the day before the annual harvest festival and he still had ten more cakes to ice for customers. He could feel Yoochun’s stare until he finished all the way around the cake and sighed as he straightened his back.
“How do you know that I haven’t been to the festivals, let alone dance at them?”
Yoochun grinned at the question and grabbed an éclair off a nearby display plate. “Oh, I have my ways. I see everyone and everything, you know?” Taking a bite of the éclair he tilted his head at Changmin. “I think I remember seeing you once, but in passing. Never dancing like everyone else, so I just had the urge to ask.”
“But, I’ve never seen you around here until you came in asking about the job.” Changmin said as he snagged the rest of éclair from Yoochun’s hand. “That’s coming out of your pay, by the way.”
“Ah! Ah…Well,” Yoochun started as he lifted the finished cake and slid it onto the decorative base before picking the whole thing up. “You’ve probably seen me…but not seen me.”
“Wait, what?”
The tinkle of a couple bells signaled a new customer and Yoochun gave Changmin a small smile.
“Nothing, we’re not done with this dance topic though! I’ll be back!”
And as Yoochun walked out with the cake, Changmin continued to stare at the swinging door leading to the front of the small bakery as he finshed off the half-eaten éclair. His ears could hear the sudden soft, charming tone that Yoochun’s voice took on through the door and he figured that the customer was female. Sighing, Changmin went back to work on his next cake and tried to clear all thoughts of his strange co-worker.
/////
It’d only been a few months back that Changmin found himself with a Bad situation. While his personally owned bakery, Howon Pastries, was doing fine business-wise, his friend and one and only worker decided to up and quit on him.
“I still don’t understand why you’re leaving, Minho,” Changmin said to now ex-worker as he hung up his navy blue apron for the last time. “You could still go to school and work here and do fine!”
But Minho just smiled and patted Changmin’s shoulder as he looked around the kitchen area once last time. “I want to get away from here and experience something different. The school I’m going to is in the next town over and it’s full of different trade schools and there’s a magic academy too. I just-”
He looked back at Changmin and it was then that the baker could sense the difference in the two of them. Minho craved experience and adventure while Changmin was more complacent and content with where he was in life. Changmin was happy in his hometown doing a job he loved with a profit that pleased both him and his parents. He had no plans of up-rooting himself from his beloved bakery, which he literally started from scratch, on some fleeting thought. Acting on a whim just wasn’t his style; he much preferred order in his daily life. And pretty much explained his love for baking.
(Changmin found comfort in measuring out the ingredients for each new recipe, making sure they were just right so that you could still taste the vanilla behind the cinnamon in a cinnamon roll or the hint of matcha in his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Baking was a science that catered to his small OCD-like qualities and considering he spent his days baking and eating sweets, he honestly couldn’t have picked a better profession. Plus, Changmin found it so much more gratifying making such delicious things with his bare hands and a regular oven than the enchanted fires that the other bakers in town loved to get from the local magic shop in town.)
“You’ll be happier there,” Changmin told him at last. Leaning down, he grabbed a rather large box and handed it over. “Here, your going-away present. Try to eat it slow so you don’t get sick again, got it?”
Minho grinned and pulled the baker in for a tight hug. “I’ll miss you…and your amazing pastries.”
“Yeah, yeah…,” Changmin replied as he hesitantly patted Minho’s back.
They locked up the shop together for the last time, the two of them activating the security charm on the front door, before making their way back to the house they shared. The streets were empty besides the late night solider on his horse doing his nightly patrol and Changmin let his mind wander to someone else who spent his days in a uniform.
As they reached their house, Changmin stayed a bit behind Minho and allowed himself a moment to remember all the good times they had as housemates and co-workers. It would be weird living alone again, but he would be okay. He’d already lost one important person to their own dreams and was used to people leaving by now.
As he tapped the lantern outside his front door to snuff the enchanted flame inside, he realized that he never wanted to leave this town. If only to be here to welcome his friends home.
/////
The first couple days without Minho weren’t so bad. Changmin found it weird being in the front of his bakery again and serving his loyal customers.
Before Minho had left, they’d split the work between the two of them. Changmin would come in every morning and start baking and serving any of the early early birds that came for a pastry and maybe an espresso to start the day. Then Minho would come in and take care of the front from mid-morning to early evening while Changmin stayed in the kitchen for the rest of the day. The only times he would come out was if they got extremely crowded or if he wanted to check the display cases to see what to make next.
It was the perfect system as Changmin wasn’t particularly…fond of some of the people that came to his bakery. In fact, some of the teenage girls and their attempts at flirting scarred him more times than it had flattered him. But they were good for business and Minho never seemed to mind catering to their approaches (which usually resulted in a nice tip for him anyway) and that made business go quite well.
However, it was by the third day that there was no way that he could run the bakery by himself. He wasn’t sure if it was the batch of éclair shells he burned (which he had never done in his life) or the group of girls that kept asking him to go to the upcoming harvest festival with them that tipped him over the edge, but the next day he glared at the HELP WANTED sign on his window.
Changmin tilted his head at the sign, like it would make it change or disappear or make Minho come back…but it didn’t. He sighed and leaned against the window, looking around the street.
The baker really didn’t want to go through the whole hiring process, especially considering he never had to since Minho had been so willing to work for him when he first opened the bakery and had been working with him up until then. Dealing with people just…wasn’t his thing, even when there was no choice to.
It was then he heard a gasp and glanced over to see one of the girls from the previous day and the way her eyes lit up at the sign. Immediately realizing his mistake, Changmin was quick to scribble a barely legible MALES ONLY at the bottom. The girl scowled and pouted, nearly stomping her feet in a fit as she read Changmin’s new addition to the sign and walked away in a huff.
“That was close…,” he mumbled to himself as he walked back inside and to the comforting smell of croissants in the oven.
/////
The first few prospects that came in were dull. They all thought that it would be an easy job and that they would just eat all of Changmin’s delicious pastries all day and do nothing, thinking that he used magic and charms to help along with baking and the other work. But obviously that wasn’t the case. Two had left right after Changmin had explained the detailed menu (which changed slightly every day) he had for his bakery and all the tasks that they would have from memorizing and knowing the menu to cleaning the counter and tables and espresso machine daily, among other meaningless tasks that Changmin didn’t have the time to do while baking.
The third one, a young man by the name of Hoya, seemed promising and lasted a few days until he started dancing around while mopping and nearly cracked the glass of one of the display cases when he slipped and fell. Changmin felt a little bad telling him that he wasn’t what he was looking for, but Hoya left the bakery with a warm smile, an éclair, and a promise to stop by every now and then, so he didn’t feel as bad.
After the sign had been up for a few weeks, Changmin was thinking about hiring an old acquaintance of
his named Ryeowook (who had come in the previous day) when the chimes on the front door sounded. Looking up from the display case, the baker found himself face-to-face with a gorgeous, and yet peculiar man.
The man’s long black hair was pulled into a half ponytail with bangs hanging down that drew attention to amber eyes (the color of which reminded Changmin of a caramel glaze he’d made earlier) behind a pair of black frames. The man smiled and gave a slight bow, which allowed Changmin to take in the outfit of tight black pants and boots with a cream tunic and a grey vest. He looked just like the rest of the men who lived in town, but there was something different. Something intriguing and yet…Changmin couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.
“Hi, my name is Yoochun and I was wondering about the job posting on the window?”
The smooth voice brought Changmin out of his thoughts and he tried to ignore the amused look on Yoochun’s face. He brushed the front of his apron and held a hand out.
“Nice to meet you, Yoochun. I’m Changmin, owner and head baker here at Howon Pastries. Do you have any prior experience at bakeries?”
Yoochun smiled at the question before answering and Changmin found himself zoning out at the soft timber of his voice. Changmin thought that Yoochun was a very charming man for not knowing anything but his name and appearance. Confused at that sudden thought, Changmin shook his head and Yoochun stopped and frowned a bit in confusion. Odd.
“Are you okay?” Yoochun asked as he placed a hand on Changmin’s. “Are my credentials not good enough?”
Changmin ignored the questions and stared at the hand on his. There was something pressing at the back of his mind, telling him to trust and hire Yoochun right away. He’d never had wanted to make a snap decision in his life and right now, right then, he was ready to hire this stranger after five minutes. Strange, he thought, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to hire Yoochun. The entire situation was very odd, to say the least.
“No,” he said as he looked up watched Yoochun’s frown get deeper. “They’re…perfect. If you’re prepared, you can start tomorrow, 7am sharp.”
Yoochun quickly smiled and shook the hand he was holding. “Thank you so much, I’ll work hard!”
Then, Changmin could’ve sworn he saw a flash of something in Yoochun’s eyes, but it was gone and he just pulled his hand away instead.
“I have to go bake now,” Baking, for the first time, sounded like an excuse to get away from something and Changmin stood confused between the counter and door to the kitchen. “Just be here at seven and I’ll go over everything with you…okay?”
Yoochun nodded and made a shoo-ing motion. “Go work your own magic and I’ll see you tomorrow~ Thanks again!”
As the bells rang when Yoochun shut the door, Changmin looked at his hands, puzzled, before heading into the kitchen, wondering what he had just gotten himself into.
/////
The first week with Yoochun went relatively well, much to Changmin’s surprise. Yoochun was quick to memorize the menu and cleaning schedule, as well as gain the attention of Minho’s old admirers, and Howon Pastries was back running like normal. Everything was perfect and Changmin should’ve been at ease once again.
But of course, he wasn’t.
There was something still off about his new worker, something that Changmin couldn’t figure out. Yoochun was just too nice, too perfect to be working at a small bakery. Plus, he had this air to him that just made him seem special, different than all the other people in town. And he wasn’t the only person to take notice either.
All the regulars seemed to fall for the charming new worker at Howon Pastries and they’d even picked up a few new customers thanks to Yoochun’s popularity. In the end, however, Changmin was thankful for the rise in business not only for the profit that the new customers brought in, but the fact that it gave Changmin the opportunity to finally do some tests runs of new pastries that he had thought of before adding them to their weekly menu. So, with a new worker and a new menu, the bakery was the best that it had ever been.
////
One week turned into one month and Changmin found himself in a daily rhythm similar, but different, to the one he had developed with Minho. He still came to the bakery at the same time every day and Yoochun came in when Minho used to, but he always had something new or different about him that kept Changmin alert. From a new piece of jewelry (like this weird, tower shaped earring that went along the side of his ear) to questionable clothing and…interesting boots, Changmin finally came to the decision that Yoochun was an extremely peculiar man.
But despite his interesting fashion choices, Yoochun was always presentable and kind to both him and all their customers, so Changmin couldn’t say much about that. He could, however, complain about the amount of questions Yoochun asked. If they were simply questions about the bakery, Changmin would never have a problem, but the fact that practically every question was about Changmin and what he liked and why did he become a baker and had he ever left town and how does he take his espresso and did he like to dance and does he ever goes anywhere besides his house and the bakery…
It slowly, slowly got annoying.
And, if that weren’t bad enough, Changmin never knew the next question was coming. Whether it be as Yoochun walked into the kitchen to restock the display cases or yelled through the curtain to the kitchen or a small piece of paper somehow tucked into his apron pocket; he was an edge from the moment Yoochun walked in with that smile of his and outfit of the day to when they parted ways after the bakery was closed for the night.
That too was another change to Changmin’s daily routine.
Before, when Minho (who he dearly missed at this point, despite the new popularity and massive profit the bakery now had) was still here, the two would work together during the day and Minho would leave after he finished cleaning the front of the bakery at night. This left Changmin alone with a couple hours to prep for the next day’s menu and to clean and/or fix anything if the need be. It was perfect because he was able to take his time and make sure everything was perfect and neat and clean; just as he liked it.
With Yoochun, the older(as Changmin found out one day when Yoochun was bugging him about his birthday and how old he was) man simply refused to leave the bakery after he stayed late one night and saw all the work Changmin was doing by himself.
“I’m more than qualified to help out and do prep, Changmin. It’s not like it’s as hard as ancient sorcery,” Yoochun had said that night and from then on he was a constant presence in the kitchen after hours.
Surprisingly, afterhours Yoochun was much calmer and focused on his prep tasks than Changmin expected, especially considering Yoochun’s normal cheerful, chatty self. In fact, he’d only had a small freak out the second night Yoochun stayed back when he tried to add more nutmeg to Changmin’s favorite recipe (the bakery’s famous cinnamon sugar pull apart bread) because he thought that it would make it “taste better”.
The pan he dented to “show” Yoochun that that would be a Very Bad Mistake had been worth the loss. But strangely enough, that pan was back in the kitchen good as new the next morning when he opened the bakery, so no real harm was done.
But in spite of all these things, Changmin found himself more or less pleased with Yoochun and was happy to have made the impulse decision to hire him. Minho had been his best friend and trusted worker for years, but Yoochun was like a breath of fresh air in his life. Fresh air that was annoying as the rush of bitter cold on a winter day at times, but was still fresh air nonetheless.
/////
Even more time passed and it was the eve before the annual harvest festival. Howon Pastries had received countless orders for cakes and other sweets to cap off the big dinners that were prepared for the event. Yoochun, Changmin noticed, had gotten even more cheerful as the festival got closer, his face nearly glowing from his smile as he danced and hummed around the store while cleaning or in between customers.
The man continually got invitations and requests from their customers. But, he gently refused each and every one, saying that he already had a date (though Changmin knew this was a lie) and somehow, none of them ever seemed disappointed in the response. Changmin got a few offers as well, but most knew and understood that he had no interest in going to the festival, let alone with a date. Yoochun, however, was having none of it.
“So back to you and dancing,” Yoochun started as he walked back into the kitchen after he’d taken care of all their customers and Changmin had finished the last cake that he had to ice.
Changmin sighed and placed his icing bag down. He should’ve known that Yoochun wouldn’t be giving up this fight until he actually agreed to go.
“Look, it’s not that I don’t like dancing. I mean, I’m pretty okay at it but…,” Changmin hesitated and wasn’t sure how to, or if he even wanted to, explain exactly why he didn’t go to the festivals.
Luckily, the bells to the front door signaled another customer and Changmin almost laughed at Yoochun’s pout as he looked toward the door leading to the front. Almost.
“We’re not done here, I will get an answer out of you before we close!” Yoochun threatened before he tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear and walked out to the front. “Welcome to Howon Bakeries, what can I get for you today~?”
Changmin smiled at the same pleasant greeting that Yoochun always gave as he began to clean up his work area to start on some pumpkin spice rolls in honor of the festival. As he ran a cloth over the worn wooden table, he was shocked when a familiar laugh drifted into the kitchen. There was no way…
“Changmiiiinnnnn! Come out, you have a visitor! For once!”
Yoochun’s voice startled him and Changmin quickly wiped his hands against his apron as he started to panic. Why was he here? And of all times? He bit his lip and smoothed down his hair, hoping that he looked okay. Changmin tried to think of the last letter he’d received but that had been…months ago. Taking a deep breath, he walked through the doorway and- There he was.
Kim Jaejoong.
The general looked the same as ever, perfect and pristine as his title. Though his hair was now a beautiful shade of gold when it’d been a deep black the last time Changmin has seen him over a year ago. Jaejoong looked over at him and smiled as Changmin made his way over to stand next to Yoochun behind the counter. Changmin fought the heat on his face; he hadn’t seen that smile in a long time.
“Changmin, it’s good to see you.” Jaejoong held his arms out for a hug and Changmin stared at them until Yoochun not-so-subtlety pushed his upper body into the general’s arms for an extremely awkward hug over the display case. He felt more than heard Jaejoong’s laughed and pressed his face into Jaejoong’s soft, green uniform jacket in embarrassment.
“It’s good to see you too, Gen- Jaejoong.” He felt a hand go through his hair and another laugh from Jaejoong.
“Still get flour in your hair, I see… Some things just never change,” Jaejoong said with a chuckle as he held out his flour-dusted hand and Changmin quickly pulled himself up to smooth down the sides of his head, even more embarrassed than before. But then he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder and suddenly the embarrassment was gone. The only feeling left was that of calm and slight confusion. He glanced at Yoochun, but the other man was leaning against the counter, smiling at Jaejoong like he would to any of their other customers.
“Changmin is a bit of a mess when it comes to himself, but his creations are worth it.” Yoochun stated and thankfully turned Jaejoong’s attention on him and off of Changmin. “I’m Yoochun, by the way. Minho’s replacement. And since Changmin isn’t the best at introductions…,”
“Ah, General Kim Jaejoong, at your service,” Jaejoong was quick to reply and held out his hand for Yoochun to shake.
Changmin watched the exchange and while on the outside it seemed pleasant, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of animosity coming from both Yoochun and Jaejoong, as if they were sizing each other up. He also could have sworn that Yoochun’s eyes flashed gold for a second, but doubted it. Shaking his head, Changmin decided that it was just the shine of the sun through the windows and that he was just seeing things.
“So General Kim, what brings you here? The last I heard the army was stationed in the North for the time being…” Yoochun asked as he pulled his hand back and leaned his elbow on Changmin’s shoulder.
Jaejoong smiled again as he watched the movement. “Please, call me Jaejoong. And actually, they still are. I’m here on what you could say is….a special mission?”
“No wonder you’re actually home.” Changmin’s hand flew up to his mouth and cringed as he cursed his mind-to-mouth filter.
“Ah, yes. I haven’t been home for a while, let alone during this time of year. But, well, I shouldn’t be saying this but one of the most highly trained wizards has gone missing, or into hiding, we’re not quite sure, and although he served for us for a few years, the high ups wanted me to find him and. Well. persuade him to come back again.” Jaejoong explained as he waved his hand in explanation and looked around the bakery.
“But didn’t you say that he already served for the army?” Yoochun questioned, a curious tone in his voice. “Why are you trying to force him back into something that he obviously wanted to leave, considering that he would still be a part of the army had he enjoyed serving?”
Jaejoong tilted his head at Yoochun and Changmin glanced up and saw how serious Yoochun’s face had become. Or least, it was the most serious that Changmin had ever seen him look. While there was still a smile on his face, there was a hard look in his eyes. It was curious to see something like this when Yoochun was always so happy and complacent.
“Well,” Jaejoong finally said and shrugged before he crouched down in front of the display case, looking at the different offerings. “That’s why I said persuade and not force. It would be nice to have him back with us, but it’s not like they told me that I have drag him back. And since I haven’t found him yet, I’ve been given free range to take a few days here and there between towns to relax, for once.” He pointed to the cake that Yoochun had brought out earlier. “Can I have that one, please?”
Yoochun nodded and pulled the cake out of the case and went into the back to pack it up, leaving Changmin and Jaejoong alone. Changmin looked down and fidgeted with the end of his apron as he felt Jaejoong staring at him.
“I really missed you, Changmin. You got all my letters, right?”
Changmin nodded and looked up with a quick smile. “Yes, I did. I hope you got my packages fine, though they were few and far between.”
Jaejoong grinned and nodded as well. “They were the highlight of my month. Speaking of highlights, you realize that this is as close to an extended vacation as I can get, right?” He paused and suddenly lost a bit of the confident aura that surrounded him. “And then, when I do find this wizard, I’m going to be taken off of active duty and well, then… Maybe you’d like to-,” Jaejoong stopped as Yoochun made his way back out, the cake wrapped in a navy blue box with a green ribbon.
“Here you go! So, do you have plans to go to the festival tomorrow, General?” Yoochun asked, perfect smile back in place, sliding the cake box easily over the glass to Jaejoong. The general gave one look at the box and looked up at Changmin.
“Festival? Is that time of year already?” Jaejoong asked, eyes wide as he took hold of the box. “I haven’t been to a festival since…well.” He grinned. “A very long time. Are the both of you going?”
“I most certainly am, but I’m not sure about our genius baker here, says that he can dance but doesn’t go to festivals.” Yoochun responded, nudging Changmin with his hip. But Jaejoong just laughed.
“Is that so?” Jaejoong said as he looked at Changmin and the baker knew exactly what that look meant. “Well, I hope to be seeing both of you at the festival! Until tomorrow!” He waved and exited the shop, the jingling of the bells sealing his exit.
“See you tomorrow! I, ugh.” Changmin slumped over the display case.
Yoochun hummed and leaned on top of Changmin’s back. “Well, that was sure informing. Never thought I would have such competition…” He muttered to himself.
Changmin just rolled his eyes and shoved Yoochun off.
/////
“Alright, I can’t take it anymore. Ex-lover or current-long distance lover? There obviously has to be some feelings there but with him being a general, I guess there has to be some kind of conflict. Hmmm.”
Changmin groaned against the closed door of the oven. The bakery was now closed and it had been exactly six hours and thirteen minutes since Jaejoong left. The only reason that he knew that was that he had been counting down the minutes until Yoochun would finally ask him about the General.
“He’s not…,” Changmin sighed, pressing the side of his face against the glass window of the oven. “It’s complicated and I’d rather not talk about it right now.”
Truth be told, he was a mess of emotions and he was surprised that he hadn’t screwed up anything he’d baked throughout the day. He hated and loved when Jaejoong came home.
“So the reason why you don’t go to festivals, it’s him, right?” Yoochun asked as if Changmin hadn’t said anything in response.
Looking over at his co-worker, Changmin glared. “You’re not going to leave me alone until I tell you, are you?”
Yoochun gave him his sweetest smile. Rolling his eyes, Changmin took a deep breath.
“Jaejoong, The General, was…my first love. He confessed to me during the Fall Festival six years ago and it was the best night of my life.” Changmin pushed off the oven and picked up a metal bowl from the main table and stared at his reflection. “The next day he joined the army and he was shipped away a month later.”
“I see. What an asshole.”
Changmin looked up and nearly threw the bowl at Yoochun. “Excuse me? You don’t even know him, how dare you even- ugh, I shouldn’t have even said anything.” He slammed the bowl back on the table and found himself suddenly aggravated. It was times like this that he just wished that Yoochun would shut up and not ask questions.
Yoochun’s bitter laugh pulled him out of his thoughts and annoyed him more since Yoochun was even laughing in a situation like this. He had no clue who Jaejoong was or how good a person he is and. “Ugh, what’s so funny?” Changmin gritted out.
“It’s just…you give me such little credit, Changmin. If you really didn’t like the way I ask you questions all the time, all you had to do was tell me to stop. I’d never have pressed more about Jaejoong if you’d seriously told me that you didn’t want to talk about it. I’m not that bad of a person. Sorry I asked, okay?” Yoochun said and turned away to untie his apron and gave Changmin a moment to feel a bit embarrassed about voicing his own thoughts aloud by accident. Twisting his fingers, the baker had the shame to look away.
Maybe he’d had let his emotions get the best of him and was a bit rash. Besides, he’d barely given Yoochun a proper explanation, so it wasn’t the other man’s fault for making such a quick judgment. The day itself had been emotionally charged with Jaejoong just showing up and honestly, Yoochun hadn’t done anything but be his normal self, really. Gripping the edges of the bowl, he knew had to apologize for his outburst.
“Look Yoochun, I’m-” Changmin started, but Yoochun was nowhere to be seen. His apron was hung up neatly on the wall and as Changmin looked around, he saw that there was a note at the table. He picked it up and glanced at the bottom to confirm that it was from Yoochun. The baker hadn’t even realized the other man had left.
Changmin,
I know I upset you with my opinion, and I suppose I assumed too much of The General and for that, I’m sorry. I want to say this to your face, but you seemed a little lost in your thoughts and it didn’t look like you were coming back to reality any time soon! So I wrote this considering I’ve already annoyed you enough today. Unfortunately, I won’t be at the bakery tomorrow, but I will be at the festival, so I will see you then!
Sorry again,
Yoochun
p.s. Save me a dance?
Changmin felt like a jerk as guilt grew in the back of his mind. While they technically both could be at fault for the little argument, he felt like he’d been a lot more brash and rude than Yoochun. Folding the letter and placing it in his back pocket, he closed down the rest of the bakery and walked home, thoughts of the festival and a certain man on his mind.
/////
The next day was a mess.
Thankfully, due to the festival, Changmin had already planned for the bakery to be open for half of its normal day. But, because Yoochun wasn’t around to help him, he was certainly busier than he thought he would be. As he rang up various orders and pulled different pastries out of the ovens, he wondered why Yoochun wasn’t in. He never mentioned needing the day off and Changmin couldn’t help but think that it was because of what he had said last night.
Jaejoong had stopped in after the bakery had been open for a few hours to have a cup of espresso and a muffin, and to get Changmin’s confirmation that he was coming to the festival. It took a bit of prodding and some guilt-tripping by Jaejoong (along with the thoughts of Yoochun’s note sitting on Changmin’s kitchen table at home), but Changmin finally agreed to go and actually started to look forward to the night. The general had even reached over the counter in a bold move and held Changmin’s hand as they talked about the festival.
“Where’s Yoochun at? I don’t see him anywhere,” Jaejoong questioned as he laced their fingers together on top of the glass counter and looked around.
“Ah, he, uh, requested the day off today.” Changmin replied absentmindedly as he enjoyed the warmth coming from Jaejoong’s hand. He admired Jaejoong so much and every time the general showed him some kind of affection, well, it was hard to ignore. Plus, he couldn’t even remember the last time that Jaejoong had held his hand, let alone touched him, before their hug yesterday.
“On such a busy day? Well, I better let you get back to work then. I have my own work to do since we just got some news on the missing wizard. He was spotted around this town about two months ago and nowhere else, so there’s a good chance that he’s somewhere here in the town.”
Jaejoong raised their joined hands to his mouth with a small smirk. “Whoops, I probably shouldn’t have told you that, actually. But I know you won’t tell.” With a wink, Jaejoong kissed the top of Changmin’s hand before letting go and taking a step back. “I’ll see you later tonight, Changmin.”
Changmin waved goodbye, still too surprised from the kiss to form words. It was one thing to get a hug or have Jaejoong hold his hand again, but the small kiss brought a rush of memories that Changmin wasn’t ready for. The door rang in the next customer and he had to smack his cheeks a bit to focus and continue working.
/////
The back of Changmin’s hand burned from Jaejoong’s kiss for the rest of the day and proved to be a welcome distraction from his missing co-worker. Soon enough Changmin was walking home and faced with the Most Difficult Decision: What to wear to the festival.
His closet consisted of clothing that he wore to work and then more comfortable things that he slept in. He hadn’t really paid attention to the newest fashions or fads in the past few years and was beginning to regret that as he filtered through his clothes. He had no reason to buy new clothes when he didn’t need them and now that he did have a reason, there was nothing to wear.
Just as he was making his way to the kitchen for a cup of tea to contemplate his fashion fate, there was a knock on his front door. Changmin walked over and glanced out to see who was there, but the street he lived on was empty. Opening the door to double check, his foot accidently kicked something. There was a huge, white garment box at his feet and he glanced up one more time to see if anyone was still around, but the street was still empty as everyone else prepared for the start of the festival.
He picked up the rather heavy box and walked back inside into his kitchen, sliding the box onto the island in the center. He stared at the box as he made some tea, trying to figure out who it was from. There were no outside markings at all to help him even guess and after he finished his tea, Changmin decided to just open the damn thing.
The inside of the box held a full, extremely sophisticated outfit that was perfect for the festival, or any special event, really. There was a nice, crisp white shirt along with a pair of black boots and a soft pair of black wool pants that Changmin had a feeling would fit perfectly. But the main piece had to be the dark navy wool cape with accents of cream leather from the edging to the buckles that held it together. The entire outfit screamed high class and money and Changmin could only think of one person that would spend this amount of money on him.
After he placed the clothes and boots carefully on the table, he searched through the box for any kind of letter or note, but there was none. Feeling a bit uneasy about wearing something so nice and dignified without know who exactly had given it to him, even if he had some idea, the glare of the setting sun through his window made his decision for him. It was too late to go anywhere else for clothing since they would be lighting the bonfire and lanterns soon for dancing, and someone obviously wanted him to wear this so…
He grabbed the clothes and rushed back to his bedroom to get ready for what he knew would be a long, long night.
/////
For the fifth time that night, a panicked Changmin hid in a dark corner away from the people dancing and enjoying the festival. From the moment he reached the center of town where the festival was had, he immediately was the center of attention.
It was surprising, and a bit sad, that all it took was a nice outfit to get people to notice him (not that he particularly wanted their attention), or maybe it was simply the fact that he was even there and not sequestered away in his house or Howon Pastries. He had spent the first hour eating food and searching for Jaejoong and Yoochun, but neither man was to be found. Countless women(and men) came up asking for a dance, but Changmin refused, wanting his first dance to be with Jaejoong, if not Yoochun(to make it up to him for being an ass), if he could just find one of them.
Another hour passed and Changmin was still alone at the festival. He asked some of the soldiers there if they had seen Jaejoong or heard of anything, but they all hadn’t seen him. And Yoochun, of course, was nowhere to be found.
By the third hour, Changmin was beginning to grow impatient, but so were the people trying to get his attention. The girls that haunted Howon Pastries followed him around as he circled the outside of the festival area, hoping for a glimpse of blonde hair or a black ponytail, and he had to continuously dart between people to get away from them. He also discovered that he had more male suitors than he’d previously thought and that they were almost more persistent than the girls.
The fourth hour had Changmin leaning against a wall; hidden away from the crowd at the bonfire began to wane. He couldn’t help but be disappointed, in himself and the two other men. They both had gotten his hopes up, in a way, and made him look forward to having fun. But really, he should have known better. Nothing good came out of change and just because Jaejoong was back in his life, that didn’t mean that things were going to magically get better like someone casted a lucky charm on him.
And besides, Jaejoong even said that he would be moving from town to town to find this missing wizard and even if he was being taken off active duty after the wizard was found, who knew how long that that would take to happen. And then, when that happened, what was Jaejoong going to do? Hell, what were the two of them going to do?
Would they just go back to six years ago when Jaejoong was Changmin’s main focus and live happily ever after? Sure, the feelings for each other were still there, they would stay there, but the two of them were different people. Changmin might not have changed much, but it was clear to him that through their separation, Jaejoong had most certainly changed and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that.
“Frowning doesn’t look good on you, especially when you’re dressed so nice…,”
Changmin’s head whipped to the side and he saw Yoochun leaning against the wall next to him, breathing a bit heavily. His hair was flowing around his shoulders and brushing the top of his white and blue coat. The rest of his outfit matched Changmin’s, except for the blood staining his white shirt.
“Yoochun, what? Where have you- Is that b-blood on your shirt? What-”
“Shh.” Yoochun placed a finger on Changmin’s lips and he felt his mouth close like it had been glued shut. “You deserve an explanation, and an apology really, but let me be selfish for a moment and get that dance you saved for me.”
He grabbed Changmin’s arms and re-arranged them as if Changmin was a string-less marionette before he started them into a slow waltz along to the music still playing. Changmin was a bit taller that Yoochun, but the other man lead the dance like there was no height difference or skill difference at all. It was easily one of the smoothest dances Changmin had ever had.
As they turned under the lanterns, Changmin could only stare at Yoochun and noticed how tired he looked, despite the soft smile on his face, and how the blood came from a cut on the other’s neck. It worried him and he desperately wanted to ask what happened, but besides the fact that he couldn’t open his mouth, Yoochun’s grip on his hand and waist was too strong to pull away. He essentially felt like a doll in Yoochun’s hands and no matter what he wanted to do, he could only follow Yoochun’s lead. This brought a certain thought to his mind about what, or rather, who Yoochun could be, but there was no way. No. Way.
“Ah, finally figured it out, have you?” Yoochun whispered as they slowed to a stop. “And at what perfect timing too! Can’t have you knowing more than you need to. I wouldn’t want to cause you any more trouble than I already have.”
That moment the festival was swarmed with various soldiers and Changmin caught a glimpse of Jaejoong riding in on a horse. He watched in shocked as Jaejoong looked around him, shouting various orders to the others while searching for something himself. His eyes met Changmin’s and widened as he yanked the reins on his horse to turn toward Changmin.
“Well, it seems like this is my signal to go,” Yoochun tugged on Changmin’s hand and Changmin felt a shiver run through his body as it relaxed. “It was fun meeting you and working with you…I don’t get to do that often, really.” He glanced over in the direction that Jaejoong was coming from and sighed. “I wish I had more time, but I slipped up. Maybe I’ll get another chance to see you sometime. But until then,”
Changmin pushed against the other spell on his mouth, but his lips still refused to move. He desperately wanted to tell Yoochun not to leave, not just yet, not until he gave him the explanation he wanted, but the spell stubbornly kept his mouth shut.
Yoochun’s hand was soft against Changmin’s cheek and the baker decided that he really didn’t like the sad smile on Yoochun’s face. Or how his words sounded too much like a goodbye. Changmin felt his lips part as the spell was removed and he took in a deep breath. But Yoochun had already started backing away and Changmin immediately stepped forward to grab his arm to stop him.
“Yoochun, wait. Don’t leav-”
But since his body was still feeling the effects of the spell he was under, he didn’t have full control of his body and instead of Yoochun’s hand, Changmin accidently grasped the sleeve of Yoochun’s jacket, and the moment he touched the fabric, he was falling down into darkness. The last thing he remembered was the alarmed look on Yoochun’s face and Jaejoong calling out his name before everything became black.
Part 2