CH 58

“…Hello Annette.”

Pink hair, blue eyes, small and skinny for a 12-year-old.

―Uhm, unfortunately, it’s not the credit customer.

The name of the boy who entered the bakery is Noah.

Noah lived with his sister in a small house down the hill with their grandfather, and his circumstances were not quite good.

Knowing the situation of the boy who helped in his grandfather’s work to the point that his little hands swell, it had been six months since I started giving bread to this family.

“Hello~”

I smiled brightly.

“…Today again, I’m here.”

“Yes, you’re welcome. I was really bored while having tea. Did you eat lunch?”

“Yes. I ate.”

“Then I can pack the food for you to bring it back. Today’s menu is lamb vegetable stew and bread!”

I saw the boy swallowing his saliva as soon as he heard the contents of the menu, ‘Meat Stew’.

Then his face turned red as though he had been caught eating.

‘Heuk-heuk, it’s so cute.’

‘This pink cotton ball!’

“Wait a minute. I’ll wrap it up with some fresh bread.”

The boy fiddled with his bruised hands.

While humming, I packed plenty of bread that was still warm in a paper bag, and also, stew with a savory taste made by boiling for a long time on low heat.

“Come on, here you go. Take it and enjoy it with your sister and grandfather. Understand?”

“…Well, Annette.”

“Yes?”

Noah raised his head and said,

“You don’t have to take care of me like this in the future. ‘Cause I’m all grown up now. I can take care of my grandfather and sister.”

Seeing him say such a thing at a height less than half an adult’s made my heart ache for some reason.

‘I had a time like that too.’

When I was 12-years-old, I thought I was all grown up.

When I was young, I didn’t have enough time to take care of my future, yet I wanted to take care of other children as well.

Looking back now, I was too young… 

I quietly bent my knees, lowered my upper body, made eye contact, and smiled.

“Noah, if you’re not uncomfortable, why don’t you keep accepting the bread?”

“…….”

“It makes me feel at ease when I give bread to Noah because it reminds me of the siblings I left behind. And my long-cherished wish was to distribute bread to many people when I open <Little Bakery>. I want to show off my work!”

I smiled brightly.

“So, Noah is actually granting my wish.”

“……!”

The boy’s pupils trembled slightly. Noah’s bracken-like hands were clenched, then opened, and he spoke again.

“Then, please wrap the leftover bread in the future. Annette doesn’t always have to painstakingly bake twice.”

“That will never happen!”

I straightened my back and proudly pointed with my index finger, ‘Ding!’ and said,

“Because my ‘respect for bread’ doesn’t allow it.”

“…R-Respect for bread?”

“The operation of <Little Bakery> depends on my ‘respect for bread’. Bread is delicious when eaten warm! It’s not acceptable for me to give dry bread from my store!”

And there was no bread left in my <Little Bakery>.

It closes only after selling everything unconditionally (look at my business skills when selling the date palm tarts).

Noah looked at me with eyes expressing ‘Is it something to be so determined about like that?’, but I rubbed my nose and felt proud inside.

‘Fufu, I’m a pretty cool bakery owner.’

‘And I’ve been through it, kid.’

In my previous life, I was in a sad position to be helped, so I knew how it felt.

In my previous life, most of the food that was given to me at the orphanage was just before the expiration date, and as for clothes, they had all been worn by someone else before.

—It was for charity.

‘Even in difficult circumstances, you have the right to be happy while eating warm bread like everyone else, you’re a child.’

No, it was like that for everyone.

It was my philosophy to hope that everyone would be happy in front of bread.

And when I helped the boy, somehow it reminded me of the children of the Forest, which warmed my heart.

I made eye contact with the hesitant Noah.

Then I smiled and gently stroked his hair.

“You just have to eat it without worrying about anything, Noah.”

I let out a genuine laugh.

“That’s my biggest joy.”

“…….”

Noah’s watery eyes trembled.

Soon, with a red face, the boy bowed his head and murmured.

“…Thank you so much, Annette.”

“Thank you too.”

I sent Noah away with a lot of bread and stew.

As Noah ran up the hill, he looked back several times and waved his beret towards me.

‘Is he going to have dinner once he gets back?’

My imagination unfolded.

When the sun set, smoke would rise from the chimney, and the boy, his grandpa, and his sister would sit around a small table for dinner.

They would talk a lot.

Even if they didn’t say much, they would burst out laughing, and everything would be delicious even if they were sharing a little bit of food.

In the meantime, the arduous work from the day would come to nothing.

—Because, that’s ‘family’.

I suddenly felt lonely.

“I’m envious.”

“…….”

“Noah, how does it feel to have such a family?”

‘I don’t know because I’ve never experienced it in my previous life.’

Just imagining this was not enough.

“…….”

I stared at the hill for a while, then sighed lightly.

Then I went back into the bakery. It was time to stop feeling envious and continue my comfortable life.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

After that, my everyday life was peaceful.

As usual, I read a few books (there were a lot of interesting novels here too), brought a flower pot inside, and added nutrients.

And while I was knitting very leisurely, I fed the cat who came to play in the evening.

Meow–

“Is this my house today?”

The cat that often wandered around the village to get food rubbed its face on the back of my hand.

After feeding the cat, I ate a light dinner and went in to clean the kitchen.

Slowly, I opened the grocery drawer and furrowed my eyebrows.

“Hmm, I’m almost out of baking ingredients.”

‘I should go shopping tomorrow.’

But let’s see—

‘I don’t have any help around, so who’ll be the porter?’

In this situation where efficient free manpower was missing, this self-employed boss was in trouble.

But my worries were for a mere while.

―Unexpectedly, a worker was nearby.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Ding, ding—

The log door opened and the bell hanging along with the stuffed chick doll chimed cheerfully.

‘Huh? He’s here.’

I glanced at the man slightly.

Softly wavy hair like the beautiful wheat fields of autumn, emerald eyes as clear as the sea water of coral islands, and thin square-rimmed glasses.

His nose was sharp and his lips were plump. Again, it was a pretty face.

This handsome man was always shy, but he looked pretty cute despite his timid attitude because of his broad shoulders and tall stature.

‘Why did he come twice in a row?’

‘He usually visits the bakery every other day. And what’s that in his hand?’

He was holding a paper bag.

I looked at it with a sharp eye, wondering if he had already bought bread from another bakery, but luckily it wasn’t bread.

―It was a pretty apple.

How many had he bought? He was carefully holding the red apple sticking out of the bag with his large, white hand so that it would not fall.

All of these observations were quickly completed in less than a second, after which, I greeted the customer with a grin.

“Welcome. Did you come by again today?”

The man bowed his head politely.

“…Hello.”

His plump lips moved.

“I am very sorry for yesterday. I realized later that I had just gone without paying for the bread, lady.”

Again, in a noble and respectful tone, he offered a sincere apology.

‘He looked as if he had committed a crime.’

Seeing him being fidgety with his handsome face made me want to tease him a little, so I crossed my arms and frowned.

“Did you by any chance buy those pretty and delicious looking apples?”

“Yes… I did.”

A little smile passed the bakery owner’s face for a moment due to his cute and honest answer, but the charming young man could not catch it.

With my arms still crossed, I said,

“It’s difficult to eat free bread and pay with apples, customer.”

“Ahh… Of course I don’t mean that. I will pay for the bread separately.”

“I won’t accept the money.”

Beyond the square-framed glasses, the man’s green eyes gleamed with a curious light.

Meanwhile, this bakery owner’s eyes scanned the man.

A strong arm holding a bag full of apples, a chest that seemed subtly firm inside the shirt, and slim belly without fat.

Gulp.

At that search-like gaze, the man’s rib cage trembled as if nervous.

“The credit you owe me for that free bread…”

I tapped my chin and said with greedy eyes.

“I want to receive it with that solid body.”

“……!”

Tuk—

Suddenly, a bright red apple fell from the paper bag and rolled on the floor.

His ears reddened innocently.

“Sorry, I’m afraid I’ve misheard you, please say that again…”

I looked into his eyes and spoke like a maniac.

“Please pay off the debt. With your body.”

“……!!!”

Tuk, tuk, tuk—

With a flustered expression, he dropped the whole bag of apples from his arms.

Soon, he bent down to pick up the apples, and instantly, his back seemed to be emanating boiling heat.

His large hands rushed to pick up the apples, but somehow he missed more than he picked up.

Drawing a smile on my face, I picked up a bright red apple and lightly handed it to him.

“Do you not like it?”

He shook his head hastily.

“No.”

“So, it’s okay?”

He nodded hastily.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

I grinned and asked another question.

“What’s your name?”

“Ah, my name is Ky… It’s ‘Kine’.”

The man was about to say his name, but he stumbled slightly before stuttering it out. I nodded my head and let out an ‘ahhh’ sound.

“I’ll call you Mr. Kine.”

“…Yes. Thank you, lady.”

I didn’t know what he was thankful for, but let’s accept that apology first.

Once we picked up all the apples, I smiled and spoke as he carried the bag full of apples.

“Then why don’t we meet at 10am tomorrow at the clock tower on Bishank Street?”

“Great.”

“Do you have any other plans for tomorrow?”

He shook his head. For some reason, I could see a determined willingness to get rid of his schedule (if there really was).

The reaction was cute, so I chuckled.

“…….”

The man who introduced himself as Kine bit his lower lip as if slightly embarrassed. A dimple shyly entered his handsome face.

Still maintaining my smile, I said,

“Then we will meet at the clock tower tomorrow at 10am. Please don’t be late?”

“I will not be late.”

‘Mr. Kine’ answered.

“Never…”

There was a faint excitement in the man’s eyes.

It was an expression suggesting that he wanted to run to the clock tower right now and wait for her all night.