### *Chapter 1: The New Owner*

It was Sunday morning. I was heading home from my uncle's house when I passed by a bakery.

I was confused to see it open because the previous owner had passed away.

Out of curiosity, I stepped inside.

Then I saw a guy. I couldn’t see his face because his back was turned to me.

So I asked, “Hi, are you working here?”

I thought he didn’t hear me. Then he turned around.

I was speechless when I saw his face.

His eyebrows were thick, his eyes were beautiful, and he had soft, pink lips.

He answered, “No, I’m not working here. I’m the new owner of this bakery.”

I couldn’t say anything. I felt embarrassed. His tone sounded a little sarcastic.

So I just walked out of the bakery.

I couldn’t even say goodbye. I just left and went home.

When I got home, I took a shower and went straight to bed.

### *Chapter 2: Getting to Know Each Other*

The next morning, I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went to the newly opened bakery.

I don’t even like bread. I don’t know why I was going.

On my way, I ran into an old lady who was also headed to the same bakery.

She asked me, “Oh, handsome, where are you going?”

I said, “I’m going to the bakery.”

“To the new bakery?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.

So we walked there together.

When we reached the front of the bakery, I saw him behind the counter, looking at me.

I felt uncomfortable, but I still went in and greeted him.

“Hi, good morning.”

He responded, “Hello, good morning. Are you the guy from yesterday, right?”

“Yeah… uh, I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t say goodbye,” I said.

While talking to him, my heart was racing like crazy. I didn’t know why.

I felt nervous, and that was weird. It wasn’t my first time talking to a guy. So why did I feel like this?

Then he asked, “It’s okay. So, are you going to buy bread?”

“Yeah… this one with sugar and chocolate, please,” I said, even though I had no idea what kind of bread that was.

Then I asked, “Can I know your name?”

“I’m Jo-Yong. I’m 26. And you?”

I felt like I was going to die. My heart was beating so fast.

“I’m Zurich. I’m 25,” I replied.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“Germany. And you?”

“Korea. You can call me hyung if you want,” he said.

When he said that, my whole face turned red.

I have a friend from the U.S. and his boyfriend is Korean. When his boyfriend calls him, he says “hyung.” I thought it was a couple nickname. I didn’t really know what it meant.

“Are you sure? Can I?” I asked.

He laughed. I didn’t get why.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Do you even know what hyung means?”

“Yeah… it’s like a nickname for lovers, right?”

“No, no. That’s not it,” he laughed again. “Hyung is what you call someone older than you. Understand?”

I was so embarrassed. People were watching us like it was a movie or something.

“Sorry… hyung,” I said, looking straight at his face.

His face turned red too. He didn’t say anything.

So I paid for the bread, said goodbye, and walked out.

#### *Chapter 3: Rain*

It was already evening when I went to the bakery. I didn’t want to buy bread. I just wanted to see him.

While I was at the entrance of the bakery, it started raining. At first, it was just drops. But when I went inside, it was pouring. I didn’t have an umbrella.

When I was inside the bakery, I didn’t see him. I thought he wasn’t there, or that he went outside.

Then the door at the counter opened. There was a door behind the counter.

When he came out, I saw him holding an umbrella.

I asked, “Are you going outside?”

He responded, “Uh… no. I just, uh…” He couldn’t say anything. He looked shy.

Even though he was shy, I found that cute.

Then he asked, “Are you going to buy some bread?”

I responded, “Uh… yeah, but it looks like there’s nothing left.”

He said, “Yeah, but I have some leftovers here.”

Then he gave me bread with sugar and chocolate. It was the same one I bought yesterday.

When I looked at the bread, it didn’t feel like leftovers. It looked like freshly baked bread.

But I didn’t say anything. I just accepted it.

Then I asked, “How much is this, hyung?”

He responded, “You don’t need to pay. It’s especially for you.”

I didn’t hear his last words clearly because of the rain.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Thank you for the bread, hyung. Bye,” I said.

I turned around and reached the door when he asked, “Do you have an umbrella?”

“I don’t have one. I forgot. I thought it wasn’t going to rain today,” I replied.

He grabbed the umbrella and gave it to me. I blushed because I thought he just got it to give to me.

“Aren’t you going to use it? I thought you were going outside?” I asked.

“Ah… no. I just got that… for you, because I saw earlier that you didn’t have an umbrella.”

I thought I didn’t hear him, but I heard him clearly. I felt butterflies in my stomach.

“Thanks again, hyung. I’m going now. See you tomorrow,” I said.

He didn’t say anything. He just waved his hand. I saw him blushing. He was so cute. I wanted to kiss him, but I held myself back.

Then I went outside. I was going home when I realized I didn’t have his number.

So I went back to the bakery. He was confused when I came back.

“Did you leave something?” he asked.

“Uh… nothing. Can I have your number, hyung?” I asked directly.

“ Sure,” he said, and gave me his number. I saw him blushing.

I couldn’t hold myself back, so I hugged him. He was shocked.

Then I realized what I was doing, and I ran out of the bakery.

I didn’t know why I hugged him, but I wanted to hug him again.

I went home and texted him:

*“Sorry for what I did earlier. Sorry if I hugged you. I didn’t mean it. Sorry, hyung.”*

He replied: *“It’s okay. No problem. I’m going to sleep now. Goodnight.”*

I replied: *“Goodnight, hyung.”*

I loved it. I took a shower and went to sleep.

---

#### *Chapter 4: Jealousy*

On my way to school, I saw hyung with a man. At first, I thought they just ran into each other.

I wanted to approach him, but then I saw him hug the guy.

He didn’t see me because he was facing away. I wanted to punch the guy.

I didn’t know why I was acting like this. But now I know… I have a crush on hyung.

I didn’t know when it started.

I held myself back because I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of hyung.

So I just ran away. I didn’t know why, but my tears kept dropping.

After school, I went home. I didn’t pass by the bakery because I didn’t feel like it today.

But when I did pass by the bakery, I saw him at the door of his shop. He waved at me, but I ignored him.

Then I went home. When I came out of the bathroom, my phone was buzzing.

I looked at it and saw hyung calling me. I didn’t know why he was calling.

I wanted to ignore him, but I couldn’t.

So I answered.

“Why didn’t you pass by my bakery? Why didn’t you buy my bread?!” he said.

The way he said it sounded angry. I didn’t know why, but I felt nervous.

I couldn’t say anything.

I replied, “Uh… sorry, hyung. I just didn’t want to bother you.”

He responded, “Bother me? You didn’t even bother me! Are you sick of talking to me?”

“No, no, that’s not it, hyung. I just don’t want to be the reason you and your boyfriend fight,” I said.

Then he laughed again.

“Boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend,” he said.

“But I saw you hugging some guy,” I replied.

“That’s not my boyfriend. That’s my cousin. Wait… are you jealous? Hmm?” he said.

“Uh… no, that’s not it. I just… uh… nothing. Bye, hyung. I’m going to sleep now. I have work tomorrow. Goodnight,” I said.

“Ah… okay. Good night,” he replied, then I hung up.

I felt relieved because hyung doesn’t have a boyfriend. I felt happy.

Then I brushed my teeth and went to sleep.

---

### *Chapter 5: Confession*

It was Friday at 4:50 a.m. when my alarm went off. I woke up right away, took a shower, and brushed my teeth.

Then I texted hyung, *"Good morning, hyung. Have you had breakfast yet?"*

He didn’t reply.

I waited for almost half an hour, but still nothing. So I went out and headed to the bakery. But when I got there, it wasn’t open.

I texted him again, *"Hyung, are you home?"*

Still no reply. So I decided to find him.

Then I ran into the old lady I saw when the bakery first opened. I asked, *"Excuse me, ma’am. Can I ask you something?"*

She said, *"Ah, what is it?"*

I responded, *"Do you know where the new owner of the bakery lives?"*

She pointed me in the right direction.

We stopped at a small house. It looked like it could only fit two or three people. I thanked the old lady, then rang the doorbell. _Ding-dong._

He didn’t open the door right away, so I waited. When he finally opened it, I saw him. His face was so red, and he was sweating. It looked like he had a fever.

*"Why are you here?"* he asked.

*"Are you alright?"* I said, but I didn’t really answer him. I didn’t even know why I was at his house. The truth was, I just wanted to see him. I had something to say.

He didn’t answer my question. Instead, he asked again, *"I’m alright, so go home n—"*

He didn’t even finish his sentence. He passed out on my shoulder.

So I carried him to his bed and got him some medicine. I cooked porridge, woke him up gently, fed him, and made sure he took his medicine. Then I told him to rest.

I was about to leave when he grabbed my hand and whispered, *"I’m cold."*

So I put the bowl on the mini table, lay down on his bed, and hugged him.

Before I fell asleep, I confessed. My voice was barely a whisper.

*"I love you, hyung. It’s okay if you don’t love me back. It’s alright to love you, right? I’ll just love you from afar. Sleep well, hyung."*

And then I fell asleep.

---

*Chapter 6: Pretend | Jo-Yong POV*

That morning, I didn’t open my eyes right away. I felt like someone was hugging me from my side.

When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to see him. He was hugging me.

I looked at his face. He was so handsome. Thick eyebrows, a high-bridged nose, almond eyes, pink soft lips, brown skin, and long eyelashes.

Then I remembered what he said last night. My face turned red because he confessed to me.

I thought he wasn’t interested in guys. Yeah, I’m gay. I thought I was the only one who had a crush on him. He’s been my crush since we first met. It was love at first sight, haha.

But I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear him. I don’t know much about him yet. I don’t know what he wants from me. I know he’s a good person, but that’s not enough to know if someone’s bad or not. I don’t want to get played, because this would be my first time having a boyfriend. I mean, yeah, I like him too. But for now, I’ll pretend I don’t know what he said.

I got out of bed and went to take a shower. I wanted to open my bakery today.

While I was changing, I was surprised to see him staring at me. I forgot to close the door to my walk-in closet, so he could see me from outside. He was staring at me like he wanted to eat me up. I felt embarrassed, so I finished quickly and went out.

At the table, eating breakfast, he was still staring at me. His face was telling me, _“You heard me last night.”_ Like he was waiting for my answer. So I looked away.

“Come here, have some breakfast,” I said.

“I’m good. I’m going home now. It seems like you’re okay now. Bye,” he said, and left.

I didn’t know why he just left like that. I finished my breakfast and went to the bakery.

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