My Healer💜 (on hold)

Chapter 1

1st POV
Rieze
"Ate Rieze, pabili po!" One of my regular customers arrive in my bakery and she would always order one of my breakfast cakes. "Ay! Tamang-tama, katapos lang yung mga keyk. Kayo po ang unang customer na makuha ito hehe." As I set up the booth for freshly baked goods, I saved two pieces for my customer and set my pastry boxes for decoration. When I finished packing up the order, I delivered her usual and thanked me.

Nice to meet you! My Rieliza Yin España or "Rieze" for short. As you can tell, I am a Filipino and I run a small café and bakery around my neighborhood. Let's see... I am currently 24 years old, I will be turning 25 in 3 weeks. We are 4 in the family, I have an older sister who is currently working in a photo studio. My parents and I are very close, they may be strict when it comes to house rules but they are very open-minded when my sister and I would share our thoughts. We basically teach and heal each other when we all have been through personal problems. I only have one best friend, her name is Gabby. She is currently staying in New Jersey and she runs a book cafe. Well, there is a reason why I said that she is my only friend, but I will get to that soon.

Anyway, I have a huge passion for baking and creating new recipes. I wanted my customers to feel a sense of comfort and nostalgia when they see desserts or snacks that connects to their most memorable experience of their lives. The names of my dishes were not just ordinary labels, yes, all of them are either song titles from many K-Pop artists or original names based on my interpretation of their music. That's right, my bakery is a K-Pop themed cafe in which every fandom, within my country, is welcome and there is a karaoke section in which they bust their voices out as a bonus.

I may be open to all types of K-Pop songs, nothing can heal my soul and heart than my first ever group, BTS. I came across with them when I was starting out freshman year in college. It was the year in which I have to adapt to the new environment and people.

It is a complete lie when I say that I had no problems in high school. Academically, my grades were above average to the point that I became one of the honor students in my senior year. But, in terms of human relationships, it was not as easy as getting a good score in a simple homework. There were conversations here and there, but my classmates had their own sets of friends and I always had a gut feeling that, they never wanted to include me in their circle. Even if I branch out or initiate the conversation first, it was awkward and the talk just abruptly ended. I was the only introvert in my class so I mostly spend my time alone, writing stories, journaling, listening to music and just sitting in the school garden while listening to nature.

As few days before my new life close in, I could not help but feel really anxious about what was going to happen next. My family knew that I had trouble in making a stable friendship and from based from my stories I shared, they knew that the crowd I was in were not the good kind. I was never expecting anything but I prayed that college would be the day that I can fully show my colors.

One day, I was browsing on Youtube to look for new cooking tutorials until one particular video appeared in my recommendations. It was a music video from BTS. I knew a few things about K-Pop but I was not really that engrossed to it yet. The song was called 'Boy With Luv'; the first I see was Halsey on the title, I knew her because of her collaboration with the chainsmokers. Since she was there, I got curious and decided to take a look at the MV. As soon as the song played, I began to feel a connection to this song. It felt warm and one of the members in the video caught my attention. That member has pink hair and the sweetest and angelic smile.

It was Park Jimin... his personality was radiated in that song and I could feel his happiness and enjoyment when he executed his dance moves along with a smooth and gentle voice while singing the lyrics. Ever since that day, I grew to become one of their fans. I did not only stick to their hit, I also explored their discography. At first, I was genuinely suprised at how their music was diverse in genre. Their music was not the typical k-pop theme, there were topics about mental health, loving yourself, personal growth, and breaking free from the repetitative rules of society. Hearing their lyrics made me feel at ease and I became stronger than before. For the first time, I found my healers, my family may be my strongest pillar of support, BTS became a wind, a force that pushes me to be strong. And because of them, my college life became so much lighter. I cannot avoid the conflicts that came along the way but with BTS and my family, I knew that I can overcome the challenges ahead.

Within my college life, I started a business. My parents said that my baking was really heavenly and they encouraged me to pursue my passion. It was actually my childhood dream to start up a bakery and café so I decided to give it a shot. I studied popular recipes and experiment new dishes. I also learn some of our Filipino food. After 7-9 months of polishing my skills and building of the establishment, I was ready. Within 3 years, my small bakery/café became locally popular.

It is 2024, business is booming as usual. I hear many stories from customers about their favorite idol groups, their travels, and dreams of being able to attend the concerts of their artist. While I am preparing a new batch of Calico cupcakes, my marketing employee enters the kitchen.

"Rieze, you have a phone call."
"Really? Who is it?"
"*flustered* Hmm... I didn't ask but it sounds like a foreigner. He seems to be looking for you when he said 'Rieliza-ssi'"
"Well, I guess I have to attend to that then hehe." I asked my sous-chef to take over the kitchen and decided to answer the call.
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A/N: My first chapter is done!
BTW, when I think about the Calico Cupcake, I imagined a vanilla based cupcake with milk chocolate fondue and caramel drizzle.

I wonder who called Rieze?