Spades & Hearts

Hearts

Despite loving the stunning view of the beach in front of the café, Suzy sighed in annoyance as she glanced at her watch. She had managed to finish her business earlier than planned and thought of cancelling the hotel reservation, opting to go home instead. Maybe Chanyeol would reconsider giving her curfew if she came home now instead of the next day.

Why was he treating her like a teenager in the first place? He just added more reason for her to hate him.

However, the car just had to breakdown and now she had to wait in this decent café by the beach while Yixing took care of the car. In this quiet city of Naksan, it was hard to find such café. And it surprisingly had one of the best muffins Suzy had ever tasted. She was surprised Yixing know this place.

A few boring minutes later, Yixing showed up while fanning himself with his hand. He ordered himself an iced coffee before he sat down at the table with her.

"So the car's all good now?"

"No," Yixing answered while wiping beads of sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand. "It will take an hour or maybe more. I left the car at the repair garage to the repairman. We'll just have to wait. Are you sure you don't want to just rest here for the night?"

Suzy shook her head. "Chanyeol acted up again. I need to go home ASAP and change his mind."

Yixing nodded with a smile. "At least you both are talking."

Suzy scoffed to the side then seeped her tea. "More like fighting."

"Oh my! Is that you, Lay?" A middle-aged lady who just entered the café excitedly exclaimed, apparently recognizing Yixing.

Suzy watched Yixing beamed and it made her wonder if he would ever lose that smile. If it was even possible.

"Hi, Auntie Lee! Long time no see!" Yixing stood up and bobbed his head before the lady hugged him.

"Oh my! You've grown up! The last time I saw you, you were still elementary, right? Right before you left with your family" The lady patted his shoulder. Suzy could almost see the hearts in her eyes. The lady then looked past his shoulder and at her. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Suzy subtly rolled her eyes while Yixing immediately denied with a chuckle. "No, Auntie. This is my boss. Auntie Lee is the café's owner," he explained to Suzy.

"You're so pretty!" The lady smiled at Suzy who silently replied with a bob of her head. "Ah, right!" She clasped her hand as she turned to Yixing again. "I'm going to bake your favorite blueberry muffin! You used to like watching me bake. Do you want to come and watch?"

Yixng smiled sheepishly; the smile so boyish, Suzy couldn't help but stare at him. "Will that be okay? Ah!" He suddenly diverted his attention to her. "Do you want to help Auntie bake? You like baking."

Surprised by the question, Suzy blinked. She should just coldly shut down the offer, but there was this part inside her heart that wanted to say yes. The childhood memory with her mom that she had buried deep inside were slowly crawling out.

"Can she, Auntie?"

"Sure! Why not!" The lady grinned wider then whispered, "I will even give you the recipe because you don't come here often."

"What do you think?" Yixing asked Suzy again. "Or do you want to just sit here?"

Clearing her throat and looking away, Suzy finally replied, "It's getting boring sitting here. I'll just watch with you."

__________

Yixing knew she wouldn't be able to just stand and watch at the side. Sooner or later, she would succumb to her inner desire to bake. As he had predicted, Suzy ended up helping to bake the muffins while he became a side helper. But what really impressed him was her smile.