⚠️SMOKING⚠️
y/n's POV
"Alright we're stepping outside for a smoke, back in ten." I said to my coworkers who were also on break.
I work at a bakery and have been working at the same one for the last seven years, along with my best friend, Anna. We became friends through work and have been inseparable since then, and we soon came to find out that the both of us smoke, and that brought us quite close, knowing we share something in common. But it was mainly other things that brought the two of us closer, like our passions for baking, sense of humour, hobbies & interests, such and such.
"Man we've gotten a fuckin' lot of orders today. I'm so worn out already. My hands are literally in pain." Anna said.
"Tell me about it. But are you surprised? It's Saturday. But you're right, it is a lot more than usual on Saturdays." I said back.
"Right?" she said.
When we both got to the butt of our cigarettes we put them into the ash pan and went back inside. Soon after, our boss came in to announce something.
"Guys, good news. We got a new trainee!" our boss said to us, all pumped. Our entire team cheered since we've been looking for someone for the past couple months since we've been running short on people so this was really exciting news.
"Who's gonna be training them, boss?" one of our co-workers, Jacob asked, sipping on some water.
"Well, that's a great question because I've actually already selected the person who'll be training them!" our boss said, getting all of us curious.
"I wonder who it is" Anna said to me as I nodded in response.
"I decided someone who's had a lot of experience and is very responsible and skilled and that has shown great leadership should be the one to train our new trainee. And that person is... y/n!"
Everyone started clapping and cheering as I was left there in shock.
He picked me?
Anna and Kevin (another one of our co-workers) patted my back, saying well done to me. I thanked all of them, of course our boss most of all.
"Thanks so much boss, it's an honour." I said.
"Of course! Now let's talk very quickly, just me and you, y/n."
"Sure thing." I said, hopping out of my seat and walking up to my boss.
"So, the trainee will be here on Monday at 7am, will that work for you?"
"Yup"
"Okay, awesome. I'll walk you through each day what I want you teach him, yeah? Thanks for doing this y/n. I'll give you a bonus if you can show me that you're capable of teaching someone how to be good at what we all do here."
"Really? Thanks so much, boss!" I said happily.
"Alright, well I'll be seeing you around. See you later everyone!" our boss yelled before exiting and getting a 'bye, boss!' from everyone.
"So??" Anna asked me curiously as I walked back.
"The trainee's starting on Monday. He said he might give me a bonus!!" I squealed.
"Did I hear bonus?!" Kevin turned around, pausing his conversation with his good mate, Haknyeon.
"Bonus?!" Haknyeon raised his eyebrows, looking over Kevin's shoulder slightly to see me while holding a can of sprite in his hand.
"Yeah" I said to them. "But don't tell anyone please, it's not necessary for everyone to know."
"Don't worry, I won't" Kevin said.
"I won't either" Haknyeon said after him.
"But well done, girl!" Kevin said to me.
"Yeah, you absolutely deserve one, you're so hard-working and good at what you do." Haknyeon added on.
"Stop it guys, thanks so much." I said to the boys.
"Yeah y/n, you really are amazing." Anna said to me.
"Thanks Anna." I said to my best friend sincerely.
It felt like the blink of an eye when Monday came by. I was already heading to the office to meet this new trainee. It was 7:01 as I was walking up the stairs to the office but oh well, you can't say I was late 'cause I made it there in approximately ten seconds.
"y/n, you're here! This is the new trainee, Minghao. Minghao, this is y/n, she will be training you until you're ready to become an official employee." my boss said, full of joy. "I'll let you two talk for a minute or two while I go grab some recipes from the printer." he said, patting my back on his way out before shutting the door.
"Hi, let me formally introduce myself. I'm Xu Minghao, I was born in Liaoning, China in 1997 and I moved to Korea in early 2013 (idk when he acc moved to Korea I'm sorry 😭), it's a pleasure to meet you." a beautiful, tall boy said in a soothing voice and a pleasing accent.
"I'm y/l/n y/n, it's a pleasure to meet you too. I was born and raised in [country/countries] and I moved to Korea about ten years ago. I'm looking forward to working with you, Minghao." I greeted him with a welcoming smile and shook his hand.
"Me too." he said back politely.
"We're the same age by the way." I said to him.
"Oh really? That's great to know." he smiled.
This man is actually so breathtakingly stunning it's not even funny. His facial features look like they came fresh out of a painting and his hair and body proportions are just so perfect.
"So tell me, do you have any experience in baking?" I asked him.
"Well I worked in a bakery about four years ago as a packer so I kinda saw what was going on and I also do bake sometimes at home for fun and I'm also the one that mainly cooks amongst my roommates, so I guess I could say I do have some experience with this, yeah."
"Okay, and when you bake things, do they taste good?"
"Most of the time, yes."
"Do you have pictures of the food you've made?"
"Yes, one moment." he said, getting his phone out from his pocket.
He showed me pictures of some insanely tasty-looking confections, cakes, dishes, appetisers, you name it. If you saw these you would never believe he was just a packer.
"Wow these look amazing, Minghao, honestly. Let me tell you if someone saw these they'd never guess you were just a packer." I said to him as I looked through the photos.
"Really? Thanks a lot."
And just then did my boss come back with a couple pieces of paper in his hand.
"Okay, are you two ready to start the day off?" he asked us as we both said 'yeah' with enthusiasm.
"Okay y/n, what I'd like you to do today is show him round and tell him where everything is, and then can you two make these for me. Guide him step by step, okay, understood?"
"Understood, boss." I said, taking the papers from him.
"Cool, I'll check up on you every hour or so."
After that, Minghao and I left the office and headed down to the bakery and after I showed him round, it was time to get baking.
He actually ended up doing super well. All I was doing was telling him what to do as he whacked the ingredients together and mixed it and everything. All I helped in was mixing for a little bit because his hands ached but overall he did a great job. The only thing I would say just by analysing this one recipe is that he needs to memorise them but that won't happen overnight obviously and also maybe working faster but that's also something one picks up overtime.
After baking two more cakes and one confection, it was time for a break. We headed to the changing room areas and I got myself a cinnamon bun scrap and my cigarettes while Minghao just got an energy drink and a little chocolate bar. When we met back in the kinda eating area we leaned against the counter and muched on our snacks while chatting, getting to know eachother a little bit more.
"Wanna go outside and get a little fresh air?" I asked Minghao as soon as we finished our snacks.
"Yeah, I need it after three and a half hours straight in the warmth." he said.
"Ha, yeah." I said, opening the door and stepping outside with Minghao following closely behind me and then closing the door. Unfortunately I don't have any breaks today the same time as Anna but I got Minghao so I should be good.
The8's POV
As I shut the door behind me and turn around, I see her pulling out a box of what seemed to be cigarettes.
She smokes? There's no way.
She smokes, oh my God. I was not expecting that.
But I didn't wanna be rude and be like 'oh, you smoke' no matter how shocked I was, I just kept it to myself and carried on the conversation.
I have no problem with her smoking I guess like if she wants to do it she can do it, you get me, but it's her that's ruining her own health.
six months later~~
Okay, you could say I've gained a little crush on y/n over the past couple months. Like, the second I saw her I realised how beautiful she was, how silky her hair looked, how approachable she looked.
Okay maybe it's a massive crush.
Anyway I'm now a full time employee here and I also got a bonus recently which was amazing, and I've made friends with pretty much everyone here so yeah, things have been going great here, I actually love it.
Today I have a break the same time as y/n which we haven't had in a while, now that I think of it. I'm headed there now and I think y/n might already be there, probably smoking by now since I remember she told me she only brought a drink today.
"Heeeey, how's my favourite co-worker~?" I asked y/n as I opened the door. Yup, I was right. She was smoking.
"Oh heeey, I'm good, how are you? I completely forgot we had a break together today, haha." she said.
We then started off a nice conversation for about five minutes until I brang up the topic of her smoking.
"By the way, how long have you been smoking?" I questioned.
"Um, like just under two years."
"Ooh so not too long."
"Mhm."
"And why do you smoke, if I'm allowed to ask?"
"Um... so.. my mum's side of the family has always had atleast one person that smokes in every generation, and so my mum smoked which also got my dad into smoking, and then both of them died from it because they got addicted. So to deal with it I started smoking. That's not the only reason actually. Constantly smelling the smoke every single day also kinda tempted me no matter how much I hated it. But thank God, my sister doesn't smoke, never has, really fucking hope she never does." she explained.
"Oh I'm so sorry your parents had to pass away from that." I said to her sincerely.
"It's okay." she said sweetly.
"But, if you hate it so much, why do still you do it?" I asked her.
"Oh believe me, I've tried to quit multiple times. I think it's about five or six times now. It's way harder than it seems. I just can't get myself to stop. Everytime I try, I just go back. I'm not even kidding like, every time I get a cigarette out it's not because I want to smoke it's because I can't help it." she said.
"Oh yeah of course, it's really hard isn't it. It's not something that can be done overnight. Is there anything I can do to help, maybe?" I offered.
"I wish I could say there was, but thanks Minghao, honestly." she said as she put her cigarette butt into the ash pan.
"No problem." I said as we headed back inside.
"Hey, uh, before I forget, do you wanna maybe hang out after work tomorrow? We could go for a walk on the beach or something." I asked y/n as we were heading back inside.
"Oh my Gosh, yeah, that sounds awesome, let's do it. When and where?" she enthusiastically asked, seeming to like the idea.
"Uummm, 6 o'clock, meet by the bench next to that big tree?"
"Got it." she said as we were putting our aprons back on.
"Alright time to make some punch mignons." I said to myself before heading back to baking for the next four hours.
the next day~
y/n's POV
I was getting ready to go out with Minghao, making sure to look my best. I decided a pair of ripped jean shorts paired with a float crop top and flip flops would be appropriate for a beach walk, not forgetting to take my belt bag, of course.
I looked at the clock and it was 5:40.
"Okay, all ready to go." I said before heading out the door.
I took the train there like I always do, since the bakery is quite literally opposite the beach, and I got there in no more than ten minutes. Since I was early, I decided to pass some time by smoking and going on my phone, not forgetting to text Minghao saying I was here. He said he was only five minutes away then, which gave me just enough time to finish this cigarette.
"y/n!" I saw him saving from afar with a wide smile upon his face.
I returned the smile and the wave as I saw him, saying "ah, Minghao!"
Once we reached eachother, we hugged for a moment then had the usual how are you's and stuff before taking the stairs down to the sandy beach.
It's been about three hours since we've met up now, we've walked along the shore, took a little break on some rocks, and then repeating that once again. Now we're walking again, slowly and steadily when I'm suddenly craving a cigarette, so I zip open my belt bag get out the box and proceed to get one out, but I feel a soft hand stopping it from doing so. I look up at Minghao with a questionable expression.
"Wait, let me tell you something really quickly." he says, leaving me confused yet intrigued, so I put my cigarettes back for the moment.
He stops and takes both my hands in his. My eyes shift from one hand to the other then to his face.
"So, I think I could've told you this a week into knowing you if I really wanted to but we'd barely known eachother. Even though it feels like we've known eachother years now, it's mad that its only been six months. The first week already felt like two months, we clicked so fast and I really enjoy being around you, even today, and it still feels the same after six months when I'm around you, that same happiness and sense of instant joy and safety. Best of all, your my dream girl inside and out. You'll make me the happiest person in the world if you say yes to being my girlfriend."
His words left me with nothing to say except for "y- yes of course I'll be your girlfriend! Oh my God I literally had no idea you felt that way. I was scared I'd be rejected by you honestly 'cause I've felt the same for over five months." I said to him after we shared a tight hug.
"I'm so glad." he said, caressing my head then getting close to my face and smiling at me.
Eventually he glanced at my lips and I did the same. Next thing I know, our lips are connected, moving ever so gently in sync. I put my hands on his chest as one of his found their way to my waist while the other was still caressing my head.
I can't believe I'm kissing my crush, this is unbelievable.
About two minutes of kissing later, we pulled away and giggled at eachother, each with wide smiles spread across our faces.
"From now on I get to call you mine. That's insane to me." he says, interwining our hands together and continuing our walk again.
"Tell me about it." I said back with the smile unable to leave my face.
We then kept walking and walking and the sun was setting by then. Our footsteps got more and more sluggish and so did our speech. Not from fatigue, just from the calmness of the atmosphere I guess.
Then I remembered, I was gonna smoke before Minghao confessed to me, so that made me want to do it again, so I got out the pack and again proceeded to get a cigarette out, but almost like deja vu, he stopped me again by placing his hand on top of mine.
"I have an idea. What if, everytime you crave a cigarette, you just kiss me instead. I'm just trying to help since you said you've tried to quit in the past and you seem to really hate it anyway. Plus, it might not be too late if we start now since you're only two years in, think about the people who did it for several several years and what they sound like and all their health problems. I don't want that to happen to you. You don't have to agree but I just thought-"
I cut off his ranting by smashing my lips into his and kissing for a good ten seconds. I could tell this caught him off guard but it was so cute.
"I love that idea" I said with a smile, ruffling his hair "ya know I'm so greatful that you're like this towards this situation because others would just traight up say 'don't smoke' or whatever but I love the way you view it. Thank you."
"Please, it's nothing. I'm glad I can help." he smiled back.
"In that case, we won't be needing these anymore" he said, grabbing the box of cigarettes and the lighter that still happened to be in my hand, and he chucked them in the bin that we happened to be conveniently walking by.
At first I was flabbergasted with my mouth hanging open but then I laughed to which he laughed along.
This is gonna be interesting.
three months later~~
"Easy, girl, geez" my boyfriend says as were practically making out at this point 'cause I was craving a cigarette like really bad and now we're here.
But this is really working, and I'm so glad. I smoke waaay less often now and I've managed to get Anna to try and quit too. I told her about Minghao's suggestion and she found it quite cute but creative. She's only tried quitting once but she's giving it another go. Oh, and she's literally down hard for mine and Minghao's relationship, she even said she shipped us from the first week of knowing him.
"Damn, someone was hungry for that cig" he said.
"I'm not so sure it was entirely the cig. Might just be, ya know, that I wanna kiss you?" I told him.
"Well-"
"You want me to stop?" I cut him off.
"That's not what I said" he said and then pulled me back in by my neck "I never want you to stop" he said so close to me that I could feel as his lips formed the words on my own lips.
"Good, 'cause I don't think I can." I said, and somehow, I ended up beneath him eventually.
As you can see, the strategy's working.
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