Love In The Shadows Of Guilt

I needed to prepare some of the dough my mom didn't get a chance to make. Luckily, there weren't too many items left to bake.

"Where should we start?" Jaehyun asked. I was grateful he was willing to help me out here.

"We'll make blueberry muffins. First, gather the ingredients: blueberries, flour, sugar, milk, eggs, and baking powder." As soon as I listed them, he immediately started fetching the ingredients and placing them on the table. Wow, how does he know where everything is?

"Can you preheat the oven to 204°C and line the muffin tray with paper liners over there?"
"Alright," he said and got to it without hesitation.

Meanwhile, I whisked the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Then, I asked Jaehyun to grab a measuring jug and add the oil before cracking in the egg. I poured in the milk and added vanilla extract. Together, we whisked it all until it was perfectly combined.

I worried if this might be too much for him, but seeing him enjoying every step of it eased my heart a little.

Next, we added the wet mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients, stirring until the batter came together smoothly. For the finishing touch, we gently folded in the blueberries.

After pouring the batter into the muffin tray and placing it in the oven, we looked at each other. I hadn't expected what was supposed to be a quick moment together to turn into a baking session.

"Jaehyun..."
He looked at me.
"Thank you for helping. I'm not skilled enough to handle all this on my own."
He smiled warmly. "It's no problem. I actually had fun doing this. Maybe I've found a new hobby."

We both laughed, our faces dusted with flour from earlier.

"Do you have any siblings?" he asked after our laughter subsided.
I shook my head. "No, I'm an only child. It's just my mom and me. My dad passed away a long time ago."

His expression shifted to surprise. "Oh... I'm sorry."
I chuckled softly at his reaction. "It's alright. My dad died in an accident. I was too young to even remember him."

"It's not that I don't want to ask my mom about him, but she gets upset whenever his name is mentioned."

He nodded in understanding. "I'm an only child too," he admitted.
I raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to elaborate.
"My parents are divorced. My mom's a model in LA, so I rarely get to see her."

I nodded sympathetically. It must be tough for him, living so far from his mom. In that massive house, it was just him and his dad.

We spent the rest of the day working in the bakery-serving customers, arranging pastries, and chatting while cleaning up.

When night came, and the bakery was closed, we finally carried out the plan we'd been too busy to complete earlier. Sitting in the quiet bakery, we shared pastries, talked about our lives, and laughed like old friends.

That night felt special to me. I didn't want the time to pass so quickly...

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" I asked him.
"Hmm... I'm not sure," he replied.
"Not sure? Why not?" I looked at him with curiosity.
He chuckled at my expression. "I'll probably end up working at my dad's company," he said.
"Wow... What kind of business does your dad run?"
"My dad's the CEO of AetherLines."

"WHAT?!"

He must be joking.
No.
I must be the crazy one.

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➳I searched on the internet for blueberry muffin recipes hehe... Anyway, thank you for still reading!