HEEYEON @hsheeyeon - Tumblr Blog

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?”

#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — daewon ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — early bird ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞

hsheeyeon

boozy baking

hsheeyeon

JIHAE·

( ... )

“What’s on this week’s menu?” One hand pulls the door shut and promptly locks it; the other comes to a rest at Heeyeon’s elbow, steering her inside. She takes a peek at her bag. No additional clues, just the usual culprits. Hmmm. The glass of water’s nudged into her hands- a precaution, lest she suffer the consequences of a bad hangover tomorrow.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“Jihae, thank you so much for having me, I know this was really last minute,” and she hadn’t really given her friend room for dismissal, “but yes, the menu! I was watching the Great British Bake-Off, and they were recreating popular pastry things, which is actually really fun...I did it once in college. Then again, I’m also craving savory bread, like a focaccia with cherry tomatoes. But because I am here in your home, it’s really your choice.” The baker runs off; it’s clear that whatever usually filters the amount of words she speaks has been affected by the alcohol.

She grabs the glass of water with a silent thank you, and takes small sips as she follows Jihae further into her home.

“Hm, I’m also starving. You know what’s really simple? Lasagna. People think it’s such a tricky dish, but its mostly food prep, once you have all of that done the lasagna just about makes itself. And its so customizable, I don’t eat ground beef ( or any at all ), but you can do lasagna with ground turkey, or even ground chicken. Jihae the possibilities are endless when it comes to lasagna, and I just believe that people should realize this. Then you throw some garlic bread on the side and you have yourself quote the amazing dish.”

Heeyeon didn’t own a restaurant, but being a baker just came with transferrable skills. When she had gone away for college, her mother had given her this ‘around the world in 80 dishes’ cook book, and she had been indulging in some culinary art ever since. Just as she loved traveling, and loved baking breads from around the world ( food included ), there was nothing like a warm korean dish, some tteokbokki in a kimchi stew. Hm, maybe she’d end up making this for Jihae, the lasagna may have been easy but the prep time would cause her hunger pangs.

Seems she’s also indecisive when she’s drunk.

It’ll be better to let Jihae decide, lest they end up with a kitchen full of more food than either one would be able to finish.

#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — jihae ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — boozy baking ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞

hseunho

i like me batter when i’m with u

hsheeyeon

EUNHO·

(...)

but the train of overthinking departs when she returns to the room, a large tray of her first batch for the day in her hands. and she steals his breath like the first and every time they’ve met after that, her eyes warmer than any freshly baked bread he’d eaten, her hair more beautiful than any sunset he’d seen, welcoming him in despite his intrusion.

her voice is what snaps him out of his daze. “ah! wait. please, let me do it.” then he quickly runs over to take the tray from her hands. inhales the scent appreciatively, already smiling like a fool. “hmm. as expected of the best baker in town.” the compliment rolls off his tongue easily. it’s easy to be honest when everything she makes is nothing short of a masterpiece to him. “smells as wonderful as always noona. what is it?”

there’s not much need for an alarm clock when your circadian rhythm is as astute as heeyeon’s. every morning she wakes up five or so minutes before her first alarm ( set for 4:00 AM ), and on each of these mornings she shuts off the alarms before they have a chance to ring ( the precautionary 4:10 and 4:15 alarms are just there for show, it seems ). even though the sun has yet to rise, heeyeon isn’t slow to make her way out of bed. she moves like a fish in water, and the fluidity of her movements should not be mistaken for lethargy. this is a practiced dance more than anything, movements made with the same ease one uses to breathe.

it takes the baker all of twenty-five minutes to get ready — moving between her bedroom to the bathroom and back again before she’s throwing on a pair of comfortable shoes and grabbing her keys. the trip to achik is always a breeze, all twelve steps from the floor above the bakery to the bakery’s front door.

early mornings are easy, comfortable hours, the sound of keys filling the air for no one but heeyeon. it is the same for the rest of the sounds that fill the empty bakery, a symphony for no one but the her. the sound of footsteps echoing in the storefront; the sounds of the kitchen doors when they swung closed behind her. and the symphony only continues as she flicks on the lights in the kitchen, preheats the oven on low and gets to work on filling achik with the wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread.

time flies in her kitchen as she works ( tirelessly, might i add ), she stops only once in order to brew a batch of hibiscus tea, and enough coffee to fill two airpot coffee dispensers.

and she is in the kitchen once more, filling her ovens with, — 10 croissants ( a breakfast staple ) — 4 chocolate croissaints ( for those who want to spice up their mornings ) — 6 cheese danishes ( for those who want to treat themselves ) — 4 apricot danishes ( same argument as the cheese danish ) — 4 palmiers ( she tried these on a trip to mexico and never thought twice about adding them to the menu ) — lots and lots of bagels ( another breakfast staple ) — and lots of lots of sweet and savory breads ( heeyeon runs a bakery, its a must )

in the time it takes for the pastries to gain that golden color that heeyeon loves, she cleans up what she can, and fills out some opening paperwork.

the next time she crosses the threshold between the kitchen and the storefront, she’s holding a large tray of baked goods ( in an attempt to avoid multiple trips ). and she’s met with the face of a young man who’s become quite a nice addition to these mornings. heeyeon remembers the day they met as if it were yesterday; she was a little taller than he was, a little older too, and she’d offer him brioche buns from the practice batch she had just baked.

she’d left jeju and returned to much change, but eunho was one of the things that remained constant, “good morning,” she says with that smile of hers that’s never really changed.

as he takes the tray from her, words nearly falling over themselves, heeyeon can’t help but chuckle. he has remained a constant in many ways, relentless in his desire to help around the shop and heeyeon doesn’t have the heart to turn down his assistance. she isn’t even able to turn down any assistance when he’s complimenting her baking; if you know son heeyeon, you know that she can take a compliment as well as a workaholic takes a load off.

“aish, eunho you’re being too kind,” she tries, nudging his arm with a silent ‘thank you’, “i just made the usual suspects...but if you wait around, i have mexican sweet bread in the oven and it shouldn’t be too long before i can take it out.”

#this took me forever to reply to i am so sorry omg #that titleeee #i promise you i screamed #❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — eunho ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — i like me batter when i'm with u ❞

hsheeyeon

a day’s work

hsheeyeon

JOO·

(...)

“i’ll take care of the outside,” jinjoo calls, shooing heeyeon into the kitchen where she usually cleans up. plus, with heeyeon in the kitchen she can sneak little bites of the bread roll that looks so tantalising from the counter. she takes a first bite, careful not to drop any crumbs on the table she’s cleaning, and catches heeyeon’s eye as she does. “stop looking at me,” she complains, waves the cleaning cloth at the other woman as if to prove she’s actually cleaning. “go clean up!”

( and if she steals another bite while heeyeon’s busy in the kitchen instead of cleaning like she promised, what can she say? the bread’s just that good! )

the smile on her face only grows as jinjoo makes her away around the bakery, navigating the shop as if it were her home. her neighbor is a whirlwind, a welcome disruption to a calmer morning. heeyeon has been closing on her own for a very long time now, and the feeling of closing in good company was long forgotten; this new tradition between the two business owners was not one she would change. that being said, she had better start cleaning up that kitchen.

“alright, okay jinjoo, i’m going,” heeyeon teases with a playful roll of her eyes as she makes a beeline for the kitchen doors. “don’t forget, take whatever you want and put it in that basket so you can take it home.” she pushes through the double doors, spends about a minute in the kitchen and turns right back around, “and if you want to take any extra for the guys and gals at canola, please feel free, okay?” the baker lingers at the door for a few seconds before she fully enters the kitchen; she makes sure to clean it throughout the day, and as such it never feels like she has to do al that much to close.

there’s a spray bottle hanging off of an s hook under one of the tables — a lemon-scented cleaner that was all-natural and the only thing she’ll use on the kitchen’s counters. grabbing a cleaning cloth that was hanging on a wall hook, heeyeon starts wiping down one of the few tables in the kitchen. she tended to start with tables and sweep whatever it is that fell on the floor after. the dishes had been cleaned a few hours ago ( around the time they stop producing anymore bread and baked goods ), and later, she’d just have to count to dough in the fridge before she could consider the closing duties complete.

opening and closing the shop for all of these years had simplified the process for her, having jinjoo helping her in the front of the shop simplified it tenfold. heeyeon should probably bake her something special, to thank her for all she’s done...possibly a loaf of hokkaido milk bread, or maybe a simple baguette would do ( and heeyeon could prepare a charcuterie platter to pair with it ), if the baker had anything it was options.

she would list these off in her head as she wiped down her tables, and swept around the kitchen. others listened to music as they cleaned, son heeyeon thought about bread recipes.

#oooooooooh okay that song really set a great vibe #i was smiling the whole time #omg #❝ ½ a stick of charisma — jinjoo ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — a day's work ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞

hsjiseong

『 arctic blues 』

hsheeyeon

JISEONG·

(...)

so jiseong clutches the tray tight and says: “you’re heeyeon noona right?”

then realizing how creepy that might come across. “the travel blog,” jiseong tries again. but again without a start and a finish or any context, how can anyone ever understand him? “it’s me: kang jiseong. the kid who used to bug you all the time with emails.”

how does one cope with sacrifice? arm yourself with memories of that which you have relinquished.

for heeyeon it’s difficult to forget the rush of inspiration that settled beneath her breast bone when she decided on that next destination; nearly impossible to erase the sound of the keyboard beneath her fingertips as she made an attempt to capture the moment with words.

but before the keyboard there was just a bed littered with scrap paper, hangul filling up the pages as she tried to come up with a name for this blog she so desperately wanted to create. heeyeon’s travels, trips with a seoulite, sightseeing yeon, the travels of a jeju girl — the list goes on. it was only after a phone call home that heeyeon found a name that she was happy with: a postcard for nari. once she had the name, the rest of the chips easily fell into place.

she couldn’t have predicted that her journey would be cut short so soon.

the first open letter to her readers was full of apologies,

Mianhaeyo, dearest readers. I wont be visiting Kioloa like I had planned to. From the pictures I have found on the internet, I know that I will be missing out on many beautiful sights. That being said, I hope that you all find time to visit Kioloa yourselves (if only so I can live vicariously through you, haha) I assure you that you will not be disappointed (I’ve even attached a little travel guide you can follow!!),

the travel guide had been derived from her kioloa itinerary and the letter had been drafted with the intent of a hiatus, but nothing more. in those days heeyeon still believed that she would be going back to traveling; she hoped that she would continue writing for many years to come. and she held onto that hope for as long as she held onto her mothers hand. the hope — concurrent to her mother’s strength — had dwindled over time.

before heeyeon knew it she was drafting another letter, thanking her readers for all the love and support they had showed her on the short journey. before she knew it, she was apologizing to the friends she had made along the way, those she would not be able to take on said journey anymore.

one dream was abandoned, but there is nothing like sorrow here. you can cope with sacrifice by finding a new dream ( or repurposing an old one ). heeyeon has been baking for as long as she can remember, and has loved it for twice as long. finding love in this stagnancy was not all that hard, and heeyeon was happy here — she yearns for travel yes, but she would not leave the life she has now.

the keyboard has been replaced by dough, her travel destinations replaced by a rotation of travel-inspired baked goods. she likes to think her mother would be proud of her daughter’s new routine.

( speaking of routine — ) this morning, like many other, she’s replenishing her baked goods, balancing a tray on one hand and restocking the apricot danishes with another. when one of the shops customers almost bumps into her, she simply moves the tray out of the way ( it happens more often than you think ). heeyeon says something along the lines of “don’t worry about it,” but her focus remains on the assortment of bread in front of her.

she’s moved on to the chocolate croissants when she hears her name, and bless her when she lifts her head to the sound. the last person she expected to see was him.

and she’s laughing before she can stop herself.

on the days that heeyeon sits at her laptop, looking through old posts and correspondences she dwells on those between herself and jiseong. yeon remembers him as an eager kid, filled with what heeyeon perceived as the same drive to travel that filled her senses.

“kang jiseong was not the kid who used to bug me all the time,” she starts with a smile, “but he was someone i looked forward to hearing from.” the tray of baked goods is set against her hip, the previous task on hold. “it’s been a really long time jiseong, i hope you’ve been well.”

#omg i wanted this to be so good so here it is idk but it took me longer than i hoped bc of that #but also #i love this so so so much #like...jiseong you awkward bb i love #❝ ½ a stick of charisma — jiseong ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — arctic blues ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞

hsheeyeon

food for thought

hsheeyeon

CHARO·

(...)

“morning, heeyeon!” she greets, pushing her glasses up into her hair. then stars dance in her eyes at the sight of the pineapple bread pudding. with a passing and whispered greeting to the cashier, charoen keeps focus on the pudding as she approaches the display case — mindful to keep her hands off the glass. “i’m good, i’m good. heeyeon, this looks AMAZING! may i?” and she takes a drizzled piece, not so lady-like as she takes a large bite. she freezes. and then melts. “okay. wow. what the hell did you put in this ‘cause i’m addicted. you have to tell me more about this trip to costa rica or else i’m leaving tomorrow morning to see it — i mean, EAT IT myself.”

the baker observed charoen with baited breath, hands fiddling with the apron around her waist. when it came to her samples, everyone’s opinion was important to her but those first taste-testers always made her the most nervous. it always reminded her of the first loaf of bread she baked for her mother, a soft semolina with white flour. she had waited for her mother’s critique in the same way she did now, eyes wide, hands tense. it was like tradition almost. and at charo’s seemingly good (dare she say, great) reception towards the bread pudding, heeyeon clapped her hands in front of her, practically jumping in excitement. this too, was like tradition.

“you really like it?” she asks with a smile, if only to hear charo praise the bread pudding once more. “i just added the usual, but i caramelized the pineapples before hand to lighten that tartness. o h, i did use a bit of this clementine compote i have when i was caramelizing them, just to layer the flavors. i think it came out well.” the words float of her tongue, and she has to stop herself before reciting the recipe for charoen to hear; has to stop herself before giving the younger woman a seminar on bread pudding.

still, she can’t wipe the smile from her features as she makes her way around the display case and glances over at the card sitting near the samples. heeyeon glances at the card, reading over the words on the small piece of paper — “all trails seem to lead to waterfalls, misty crater lakes or jungle-fringed, deserted beaches. explored by horseback, foot or kayak, Costa Rica is a tropical choose-your-own-adventure land” — before turning her full attention to charoen. “please, feel free to have more while i tell you about it,”

and if you thought she could only go on and on about baking, you hadn’t ever heard heeyeon talk about her trips around the world. soon she’s providing anecdotes about the warm beaches and the feeling of sand in between your toes; the hammocks mounted on coconut trees that just begged to be laid in. if you thought she could only charm others into buying her bread, you hadn’t ever heard her talk about a vacation. “i could go on about it for a while, but i’ll save you from that. just know that it’s a wonderful place to vacation.”

#i love her i love her i love her #she has a right to go eat costa rica herself lmfao #❝ ½ a stick of charisma — charoen ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — food for thought ❞

food for thought

@hscharoen — ACHIK, 8am

mondays and wednesdays are days set aside for experimentation. for an hour or two, heeyeon slips away from the forefront of the shop and into the large kitchen, apron at the ready as she works her way through whatever recipe she’s tampering with. sometimes she practices on the candidates for seasonal bread, other times its adjustments to current menu items (and just about anything in between). her efforts usually result in a batch of samples that she leaves on top of the display case, anxiously waiting for her customers’ feedback.

today's creation is a pineapple bread pudding, fresh out of the oven and inspired by her trip to costa rica. as an added touch, she had made a rum sauce that she would drizzle over the sweet dish.

while the bread pudding and rum sauce were cooling off in the kitchen, she had asked her cashier to write out a little note about costa rica — whatever cute tidbit she could find on the internet. heeyeon would then rummage through a box of tiny paper flags until she found costa rica’s. and only after her little setup was perfect, did she go back into the kitchen to cut the bread pudding and drizzle the sauce on half of it. some clapping and a little dance later and heeyeon was adjusting the bite-sized pieces on her cake stand.

she’s rotating the cake stand just-so when the sound of the door chimes steals her attention. heeyeon looks up with that warm smile of hers, a greeting falling from her lips, “good morning, welcome to ach — charoen, welcome! you’re right on time! come here.”

hands leave the surface of the cake stand, and she motions for the younger woman to come closer. beside her, the cashier chuckles, already anticipating her employers’ impending rant. “come, come. how are you? did you eat yet? i just made this pineapple bread pudding; half of the pieces have rum sauce over them and the other half don’t, so you can take your pick. i got the idea from my trip to costa rica, and let me tell you, i managed to find the perfect balance between light and firm. i may use it for bread of the month, but i’m taking a poll.”

when the short sales pitch has concluded, heeyeon steps back and clasps her hands in front of her, brows raised expectantly.

#sis is always in this bakery...#2/3 starters and she's working lmao #i hope this is okay <3 #gonna use little gif....as a treat #❝ ½ a stick of charisma — charoen ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — food for thought ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞

a day’s work

@hsjinjoo — ACHIK, closing time!

the bakery serves its purpose for early birds and brunch aficionados alike, and achik has garnered itself a reputation as a the go-to place to start your day. doors are open from 5:30 to noon, but have always closed shortly after. on average, the patrons of achik slowly file out around noon; some of them will stick around for another fifteen minutes to finish their brunch and a latecomer or two will be waiting for their to-go orders.

by 12:17 (give or take, depending on the day) the departure of their last customer is announced by the twinkling of the door chimes, and the achik team can start closing up shop.

when she first came back to jeju, heeyeon would follow whatever routine her mother and jeongsun had used for openings and closings. when the bakery was left in her care, she continued to follow said routine for another week or two before things began to shift. trying to do as business owners did, heeyeon had drafted up a ‘morning’ checklist and ‘afternoon’ checklist so that she and the other employees could make sure everything was done correctly. it worked but heeyeon didn’t like it’s rigidity; she wanted to have more lenience with these procedures but did not yet trust herself to succeed without guidelines.

with time she could trust her employees and herself to handle these procedures without a step by step. she had still kept the list around to make sure nothing was forgotten, but soon found that she didn’t need it.

heeyeon would often encourage her employees to 'leave this ajumma behind, and be free and frolic in the jeju sun’ as soon as they finished cleaning their stations, waving them off as she made her way behind the cash register to count the day’s funds and close it out. the space was easy enough to maintain, the windows were cleaned throughout the day, as were the tables...and her cashier would sweep the floor periodically. at the end of the day, heeyeon would have to flip the chairs up and onto the tables, wipe things down one more time before sweeping, clean the kitchen and so on and so forth.

she’s just finished setting aside the afternoon’s deposit and placing the closing funds back in the register when the chimes announce someone’s arrival. heeyeon looks up with a smile, having anticipated jinjoo’s arrival; this was becoming a nice routine, “jinjoo, i set aside some tea and a bread roll for you; banana walnut, this time.”

#hsjinjoo #easy to write with so much inspiration!!!!#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — jinjoo ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — a day's work ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞

boozy baking

@hsjihae

On some nights, inspiration consumes Heeyeon in the same way a warmth consumes her chest after one glass of wine too many. There’s just something about watching a few amateur chefs baking bread in a tent that sparks something in her. And whatever that something is has her sending Jihae a quick SNS (yah...your noona wants to bake you things? in your kitchen tho), bypassing the need for an answer and proceeding to gather whatever baking supplies she deems necessary — measuring spoons and whisk included.

After having stuffed her bag with the necessities, one of those being a bottle of wine, Heeyeon sits and waits for the cab she called five minutes ago.

One minute passes, and then nine before she realizes that she did not, in fact, order a cab. The realization dawns on her slowly, after she opens the ride-share app and stares at the screen blankly. It takes her another five minutes to order the ride, and six more to make her way inside the then-waiting car. On some nights, Heeyeon is slow in her movements, the wine making her feel as if she’s swimming in honey. But she’s gleeful on these nights, stress free and more honest, all the more caring of others (certainly more pushy about baking for her donsaengs).

The ride itself is only about fifteen minutes, and she thanks the driver profusely before leaving the car. As she’s walking towards the door to her friend’s home, Heeyeon realizes that she hasn’t checked her SNS messages between the one she sent Jihae and now, and as she rings the doorbell to the other’s home, she hopes Jihae didn’t have any plans. In hindsight, Heeyeon should’ve waited for a reply before making the trip.

Let the record show that tipsy Heeyeon did not have the brightest ideas, and tipsy Heeyeon was a little more rude than her sober counterpart would ever allow her to be. She’d just have to apologize for it with her special clementine bings.

#hsjihae #hope this is okay <3 #❝ ½ a stick of charisma — jihae ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — boozy baking ❞#❝ ½ a stick of charisma — sons talks ❞

wow hola <3 kinda late to the party but no less excited!! hi guys, i’m daniela but i respond to dani just the same. i bring forth my kid...this is gonna be the usual tl;dr but i’m also adding links!! (the bio, and some stats) oh and please plot all the things with me!