SWEETHEART

Chapter-29

HI

The warm afternoon sun filtered through the kitchen windows as Taehyung stood before the oven, his face set in determined concentration. Flour dusted his apron, and a batter-filled bowl sat nearby. Today was special, and he wanted everything to be perfect. 

As he pulled the cake pan from the oven, a sharp hiss escaped his lips. He had misjudged his grip, and the scalding metal had burnt his hand. 

"Ayoo.." The loud hiss from taehyung's mouth attracted everyone's attention towards him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he clutched his reddened palm. 

The commotion brought a flurry of movement. The maids, Im-sol and Hye-yoon, rushed in first, their eyes wide with concern.

"Young master!" Im-sol panicked seeing the redness of taehyung's hand. The boy burned his fingers.

“I… I wasn’t careful,” Taehyung mumbled, wincing. 

Hye-yoon quickly switched on the tap and dragged taehyung's hands under the flowing water.

"Young master! See You're burnt. What was the need.. You should have told us! "

The maid scolded taehyung who pouted, "the cake was baked noona, in the excitement of pulling it out..i forgot to wear oven gloves.."

Before he could explain further, Hyun-bin, entered the kitchen. The elder moved with a calm authority that immediately reassured taehyung, as a sense of fatherly feeling enveloped him.

"Let me see,” Hyun-bin said firmly, taking his hand in his. His brows knitted in concern as he examined the burns.

" It's nothing, appa. "

“This doesn’t look like nothing, my dear.” 

Im-sol had already fetched a bowl of ice. “Here, young master, dip your hand in this.” 

Taehyung obeyed, sighing in relief as the coolness soothed his skin. 

“You’re working too hard,” Hyun-bin said with a mix of affection and reproach. “You should have called someone to help.” 

“I just… I wanted to do this for hyung..” Taehyung admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Hyun-bin’s expression softened, a fond smile tugging at his lips. “You’re such a sweet boy. But you must take care of yourself first. Jeongguk would not appreciate to see you like this.” 

Taehyung nodded but quickly his eyes widened and he shouted.

"Noona! My cake noona!! Take it out! "

Im-sol replied, "I took out the cake, Young master. "

“Let us handle the cake, young master,” Hye-yoon offered. “You go rest.” 

“No, I want to finish it,” Taehyung insisted, his timid nature giving way to quiet determination. 

Hyun-bin chuckled. “Stubborn, just like Jeongguk. Very well, but only if you promise to be careful. And they will stay to help you.” 

Taehyung nodded, his heart warmed by their concern.

Hyun-bin kept his hand on taehyung's head as a way of blessing him and stood a little far from the counter.

Taehyung turned around while his hand was still held by hye-yoon who was applying ice cubes on the redness now. He assured Hye-yoon that he's fine and started his work.

A while later when the cake was finally done, Taehyung turned to Hyun-bin with a shy smile. “Thank you for helping me, appa.” 

“Nonsense,” hyun-bin said with a wave of his hand. “You’ve done all the hard work. Now, let’s make sure Jeongguk knows just how lucky he is.”