The story really begins in the summer of 1830. Of course it started long before that, at least two years before that back in March of 1828, but then it wasn't a real story. No, then he just looked at her. In June 1830 is when the story really begins, when their story really begins. A wedding was to be held in the middle of town and what was needed was someone to make a wedding cake.
On a fateful day in early-June of 1830 the small bell rang above a young bakery. It had only been open since March, two years earlier, and run by two fairly young owners. The front was always run by the oldest of the two, the youngest being the one with the pure baking talent.
The young woman who had set off the bell above the entrance door looked around with flickering eyes. Her family always bought their bread when they made their Sunday morning tours around town, but she had never actually been in the bakery.
"Hello, how may I help you today?" the woman at the desk of the bakery called out, attracting the attention of the slightly younger girl, "what are we looking for?"
"I'm terribly, sorry. I don't know if you do in these kind of orders," the young woman excused with a small smile and rushed up to stand on the opposite side of the desk.
"Only one way to find out, miss," the woman replied with a wide smile.
"I am to get married in two weeks," the young woman excused and the bakery woman blinked her eyes a few times in surprise, "and my family absolutely loves buying your Sunday bread, from you specifically, actually," the young woman excused and the woman immediately smiled instead of looking surprise, "I was hoping you could provide wedding cakes...?"
"Hold on, I'll have to ask our baker," the woman smiled widely, "but I highly doubt it would be of any trouble."
The young woman nodded and folded her hands in front of her as she watched the bakery woman rush out to the back and all out for a 'Sunoo'. A young man around the bakery woman's age rushing out with her to the front desk. His cheeks partially covered in flour as well as his dark hair.
"A wedding cake?" the man, Sunoo, questioned in surprise and the costumer immediately nodded, "someone in town is getting married?"
"She is," the woman excitedly pointed to the costumer in front of them.
"To whom?" Sunoo frowned deeply.
"Jungwon Yang," the costumer replied with a wide smile and Sunoo blinked a few times before looking to his co-owner beside him.
"We can easily do that," Sunoo nodded before letting his smile grow wide, "Soomin will help you take down all the details needed for the cake. Do not worry miss Jiyeon, we'll have it ready for you before the wedding starts. We'll have it delivered as well."
"I was actually hoping... maybe you could come to the house and do the cake?" the costumer, Jiyeon, offered hesitantly, "I suppose it would be easier for you to decorate the cake at the house than decorate it here and transport it to the house afterwards. Besides... my older brother is very fascinated by your work."
"We'll just close the bakery that day," Sunoo nodded as Soomin fished out a piece of paper from under the desk and got out her ink pen, "what day is the wedding?"
"The 18th," Jiyeon murmured and looked down at the paper as Soomin quickly made a note to close the bakery on that very specific day.
"That's fourteen days. Should be enough," Sunoo nodded.
"I'll of course provide sugar for you. I know a cake is expensive to make with sugar in so high prices. Our families will happily provide the sugar for you. I can have it delivered here tomorrow," Jiyeon quickly assured with a small nod, "with payment for the cake as well, of course."
"I'll leave Soomin with you to sort out the cake details," Sunoo smiled warmly at the costumer before rushing out to the back where he was in the midst of preparing the dough for the morning bread for the next morning.
Jiyeon quietly turned her attention to the paper on the desk between her and Soomin, starting to quietly explain the details she and her fiance had discussed for the cake. It wasn't anything wild or impressive. They wanted to keep onto the tradition of a pound cake representing the bride and a fruity cake to represent the groom, as they did it last century. However, the wish for it to only be one cake might be the difficult part - which Soomin assured her would be Sunoo's problem.
By noon on the fourth of June a note hung down in the kitchen with every detail needed for the bakery's very first wedding cake order. By the next morning Sunoo was already planning out the cake in his head while sending Soomin off with a whole basket of newly baked bread, her route set for the day. Stopping by all the big houses before going down in the sizes of the houses.
A large white house being the fourth house of the day, leaving the bread still steaming in the basket she carried in front of her. It was a talent, actually, to knock on the doors with just one hand holding up the large basket filled with bread loaves.
Usually he would stand in one of the windows nearby and peek out through the white sheer curtains. Looking over her side profile as she grinned widely upon being greeted at the door. Her wide smile growing as she advertised the bread. But he was alone in the house that day, no one else could open the door but him once she knocked a second time. Her smile slowly faltering the longer it took for the door to open.
But he finally gathered himself and opened the door, her smile reappearing on her face again. This time for him. She smiled to him, directly at him. Immediately she lifted up the basket a bit more so that the scent of newly baked bread could hit his nostrils.
"Care for a newly baked loaf of bread, sir?" Soomin questioned with a wide smile and cocked her head slightly to the side.
Maybe it was the nice and warm smell of newly baked bread or maybe it was her voice speaking directly to him, but something took him by surprise. He was stunted in his words, paused and unable to speak. Oh, how he wished his parents and sister weren't out to plan for the wedding in that very moment, yet he loved that they weren't home for when the baker girl passed them by.
"Sir?"
"Right, yes, sorry," he gathered himself quickly and blinked a few times, "smelled so delightful I got surprised."
"That's very understandable, sir," Soomin nodded with a small laugh, "would you care to buy a loaf then? I assure you they taste even better than they smell."
"How much?" he questioned as he started patting down the pockets in his clothes.
"However much you'd like to donate to the bakery, sir," Soomin smiled brightly, "we only have set prices within the bakery. Our morning deliveries are whatever price you wish to pay."
"Should be visiting the poorer then," he remarked with a small snicker.
"We do. We just don't let them pay," Soomin assured, "however, we're of the belief that people in your standing, excuse me sir, have much easier with donating your money to the bakery and the poor."
"We do," he nodded in agreement, "and you could let go of such formalities. You should know us youngins don't focus too much on being formal."
"We can never be too sure, Sunghoon," the girl grinned widely as he extended a handful of coins towards her. Momentarily freezing at the use of his name while she only turned her side to him and let him drop the coins down into a pouch hanging from her waistband. A clinging of coins hitting each other snapping Sunghoon out of his trance, "pick whatever loaf you'd like."
"I believe you're better at picking a loaf for me," he remarked with a small smile, "aren't you, Soomin?"
"Surely I am," she grinned widely and balanced the basket on her one hand before grabbing a proper loaf out of the bunch, "here... give it a knock on the bottom and see if you like the sound of it. Just a knuckle."
Sunghoon snickered before nodding and taking the loaf over into his hands and looking down at it for a few seconds. Deciding to satisfy the girl in front of him and giving the loaf a small knock on its bottom, a hollow and satisfying sound coming from it.
"Told you it'd be good," Soomin happily remarked with pursed lips.
"Would be better if mom and dad soon caved," Sunghoon sighed and looked up at Soomin.
"Well... perhaps I should come and sell bread when they're out of the house, some more," Soomin remarked with a small smile, "then I can get to talk to you."
"Well, your sister stopped by yesterday and said they prefer buying their Sunday bread from me," Soomin sighed and adjusted the basket a bit, "so how much can they really be against it?"
"Everytime I try to hint at my marriage they drive it onto Jiyeon's," Sunghoon shook his head and looked over the street behind Soomin, "I miss talking to you."
"Take some more walks around town," Soomin remarked with a smug smile as she carefully walked down the stairs by the front door, "who knows? Maybe you'll find me at the docks... maybe near the bakery? Just casually passing by."
"I'm not supposed to approach you," Sunghoon shook his head at her.
"Just because your family has said you can't approach me, doesn't mean I can't approach you, now does it?" Soomin reminded in amusement, "have a nice day, sir," she excused herself and did a small curtsy before continuing down the street and offering a loaf of bread to anyone who seemed interested in buying a loaf.
Behind her Soomin left the boy she had spent all of last summer with. The boy who had initially just bumped into her one morning and spilled all her bread, and volunteered to come work a few hours in the bakery to make up for it. The same boy that took her down to the docks because she loved listening to the waves against the ships. The boy who had been elated to see her bring him out to the highland fields because he loved how the green colours contrasted with the sky and later came to love how green looked when she laid down on the grass, closing her eyes so at peace. The same boy who had been told off by his parents when he announced he wanted to take her hand in marriage as late as that very March of 1830.