Wonderwall • ℍ𝕒𝕖𝕤𝕠𝕠

𝟙𝟜

The anticipation of waiting for something or someone heightens the excitement. But when the other person fails to show up or isn't even willing to come, the wait can become unbearable.

For the past two weeks, Haein had been visiting the bakery in hopes of catching another glimpse of her face. He longed to see her again, but for some unknown reason, she had been absent from the bakery for a continuous two-week period.

Meanwhile, there was Jennie, holding down the fort at the bakery in Jisoo's absence. She effortlessly managed the bakery operations solo, observing the same customer make his daily purchase like clockwork. It struck her as peculiar, as he would often gaze towards the kitchen entrance, appearing as though he was searching for someone.

Today was no different, as the man arrived at the usual time, just like he had been doing for the past few days. Jennie's lips pressed together as she discreetly watched him from a distance. Though occupied with assisting another customer, her gaze repeatedly drifted back to him. After a few minutes, she thanked her current customer, offering a slight bow as she bid them farewell.

Haein's gaze lingered on the departing customer before returning to the kitchen door at the back of the bakery.

"Did you misplace something in there?" Jennie inquired, her eyes fixed on him. Haein shifted his gaze towards her, taken aback by the intensity in her eyes, almost as if they were communicating cryptic messages to him.

"Pardon?" Haein muttered, feigning ignorance. Jennie scoffed at his attempt to play dumb.

"Are you searching for someone? Maybe my boss, for instance?" She asked boldly. Haein cleared his throat, a chill running down his spine.

"What? No... I...I just came for-" he began, but was abruptly interrupted by Jennie.

"For the fruit loaf?" she interjected, her eyes narrowing. Horizontal lines creased his forehead as he heard her finish his sentence.

"Man, you're not fooling anyone! You're here looking for my boss, right? You're JongSuk's teacher?" Jennie accused, locking eyes with him. Haein couldn't believe how transparent he had been all this time, as a mere bystander had easily unraveled his true motives.

"Why...yes! I'm his teacher...I've been coming here to talk to her about her son," Haein lied, forced to come up with an excuse after being caught red-handed.

"You're quite the comedian...what do you mean? Shouldn't you know that one of your students went abroad for a few weeks?" Jennie prodded, enjoying making a fool out of him. Haein couldn't bear the humiliation any longer and shot her a disdainful look before storming off.

"What's his problem?" Jennie muttered to herself as she watched Haein briskly walk away from the bakery. Suddenly, the back door swung open.

"Jennie, please help me out..." Jisoo implored, struggling to balance two oven trays filled with chocolate chip cookies. Jennie quickly rushed over to assist her.

"Who were you talking to? I heard voices," Jisoo inquired as she boxed up the cookies. Jennie mirrored her actions, packing the freshly baked treats, then nonchalantly shrugged in response to Jisoo's question.

"It was just a client asking questions," Jennie replied dismissively, not bothering to glance back.

As time continued to pass, the ticking of the clock seemed to echo through the empty spaces. What Haein witnessed and experienced was a snapshot frozen in time. Entering his parents' house, a flood of memories from his childhood rushed back to him.

"How happy yet bruised I was," he reflected, gazing at a picture of himself and his brother on the wall. Continuing on, he entered the meeting room, a space where many family gatherings had taken place over the years.