early bird
DAEWON·
@hsheeyeon
He woke up to four am night sweats and television static. The nightmare dissipated, fading from his mind as he changed the channel to watch twenty-four-hour advertisements. Infomercials with painful acting were the best kind, he curled at the end of the bed to watch mindlessly. It’s a fake world filled with stretched, gummy smiles, the kind he thought might be nice to exist in. His stomach rumbles and there’s no question about it, he immediately puts on his shoes.
There aren’t many options for food at this hour, except for a bakery that opens at five, maybe - was it five yet? Daewon’s out the door without knowing. It’s dark, the sun hasn’t begun to rise and barely any street lights illuminate the path. But he doesn’t mind, his stomach growls and that fuels all the motivation he needs. Even if it’s cold he can pull up the hood of his jacket, the one that’s black, and oversized so it can cover his face from the wind. Achik Bakery has what he needs: coffee, fresh bread, and - do they make donuts?
He tries to open the door, but it catches on the lock. His stomach knots, it’s first-world despair and he lifts himself on his toes to peek inside. There’s no sign of life, as far as he knew it, this is a ghost bakery. Despite all logic, he tries the door again. It won’t give, it separates him from the sweet, fluffy bread and he hates it. Daewon looks to his phone, it’s a few minutes from opening and he has to wonder if he can get in just a little early. He looks to the nearest window, peers inside, and taps on the glass.
Its very rare that any of Heeyeon’s employees go through the process of opening the bakery with her — such an early morning is a lot to ask from someone ( traveling before the sun is up is even more to ask ), it’s easy for Heeyeon but she lives upstairs. Her mornings can start later than her employees ( in the metaphorical situation where she requires them to come in so early ), and her commute is only about two minutes long. The early morning itself is filled with nothing but the sounds of her baking, and very rarely does she decide to play some music.
Heeyeon typically gets the front of the house done in a few minutes and always heads to the back for the latter part, with an alarm set for a few minutes before opening. Its only when the alarm rings that Yeon makes her way to the oven, pulling out a large tray and making her way to the front; the last thing she expects is the some hooded figure tapping on the glass. Son Heeyeon is not unreasonable, she’s rational and pragmatic but the sight causes her to squeal as soon as she crosses the threshold of kitchen to front of house. Its a wonder she didn’t drop the tray of baked goods.
She’s squinting in the dimly lit bakery, hoping to get a better look at the shadowy figure but can’t make anything out other than the fact that they have an uncanny likeness to the hash slinging slasher. It could be a customer, she tells herself as she places the tray down behind the counter. When she had last checked the time it was far from five, but she could’ve been wrong. The time on her cash register says 4:57, so it’s not opening time yet, but what’s three minutes. So she pulls the oven mitts from her hands and moves towards the door, unlocking it and pulling it open, “hi...were you trying to come in?”











