Sugar

[lotusk]

Pairing: kaisoo (with side chanhun)
Length: ~16k
Genre: bakery!au, fluff, romance & a pinch of magic
Rating: PG13
Warning: one brief mention of nudity involving OCs
Summary: Kyungsoo is the cranky pâtisserie owner who refuses to eat sweet things and Jongin is the “gifted” pâtissier who’s determined to change his mind. Vibrant waiter Chanyeol is infatuated with tsundere assistant pâtissier Sehun. Vaguely inspired by the manga/anime Antique Bakery.
A/N: Written as part of the Kaisoo Valentine's Project but this has two additional scenes. Many thanks to Jenni, Addie, Ansa, Ren, Shanti & Bunny for giving me the push I needed to add another 4k of story. Love you guys! Originally posted as a 12k fic on KVP but this is 4k longer with two new scenes.


Kyungsoo pulled the door open and a gust of winter chill blasted into the store, tiny flurries of lacy white flakes pirouetting and floating around the stranger in a graceful ballet that was almost magical.

Comments

[teatimetaemint.livejournal.com]

FINALLY I managed to finish this comment. I’m sorry it took me so long, but my brain wasn’t cooperating. I’m so mad, because this amazing story deserves all the gushing and cooing and flailing and I made you wait way too long orz
BUT I’M HERE NOW
/takes a deep breath

The imagery in this was so beautiful. It really got to me from the very beginning - Jongin bringing the snow with him, the vividly green scarf wrapped around his neck – and kept me captivated all the way to the end – the dark chocolate pralines with raspberries on top. I just picture all the desserts so perfectly. Damn you. Had such clear pictures of the scenes and moments you created and that’s always the case with your writing, but in a way it seemed heightened this time. Which was perfect, because the humor in this and the (more concisely written) scenes of Kaisoo butting heads balanced it out so nicely, so it never got too descriptive or image-heavy. It was just exactly right.

"That's all very romantic, but all I want to know is one, can you bake? I seriously love Kyungsoo in this. I usually feel more drawn to the quiet, practical characters because I can relate to them a lot. His no-bullshit attitude gives me so much life
Just… I mean he read ‘a pinch of hope’ on Jongin’s recipe and his first thought was if it was a spice LMAO He’s so wonderfully pragmatic and the total opposite of Jongin and that made their relationship even more beautiful to me. There was that immediate spark between them, an awareness and attraction that bemused Kyungsoo and delighted me LOL He was so reluctant about the entire thing, but also unable/unwilling to stop it and I really really loved that /sighs happily
“At least I didn’t spit it out. You can take that any way you want.” Seriously, he was such a gem in this story!

And you probably remember that I thought Jongin was a bit /too/ enthusiastic and determined to convince Kyungsoo that pastries and dessert can be delicious, but it was also one of his most adorable qualities. He was so passionate about the things he likes, but also grounded in a way that is hard to describe.

But like I said, the complete difference of their characters was one of the things that made this such a great and lovely read!
There must be passion - whether you're creating the pastries or sampling them or even selling them. Passion is everything."
"I don't do passion and I get along just fine."
LMAO Aren’t they great?! xD

“I'm still perfecting the recipe and I need a second opinion that's more helpful than at least I didn't spit it out.”
or
"I demand a more logical explanation than it has to be him."
OR
"I said, logical explanation, Mr. Kim. Not something out of a manga!"
ORRRRRRRRRRR
Besides, you’re so dour we need someone to balance you out.”
Aahahaha OMG I JUST WANT TO LOCK THEM TOGETHER IN A ROOM AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS (yes, I know how weird I sounded just now, but…)
THEY’RE PERFECT
(I’m sorry, I know I’m quoting a lot, but I loved these little moments so much ^///////^)

One more. JUST ONE MORE!
“But Kyungsoo, I need premium ingredients to make magical desserts […].Something that gives them a pinch of hope or a dash of happiness.”
“All your premium ingredients are so bloody expensive they’re not giving me any hope or happiness. They're just giving me an aneurysm!”
OH GOD IT’S SO DAMN GREAT
Your conversations (bickering) for them and build-up of their relationship was definitely my favorite thing about this story. You did it in such an entertaining and clever, but also chemistry-filled manner (is that even a word?). I was laughing and smiling throughout this whole story, constantly waiting for more of their moments, simply because you wrote them so well together!

I also enjoyed the little Chanhun side-story a lot more than I thought I would. I knew I’d love your characterization of Sehun, because you always write him in such a fun way I can picture perfectly, but I didn’t think I’d enjoy Chanyeol so much. But he was such an eager puppy and their little moments had me like ‘awwwwwww’ more than once.
Chanyeol and Sehun sneaking kisses here and there and Kyungsoo’s wrath whenever he caught them at it LMAO xD

[teatimetaemint.livejournal.com]

Now about the more serious parts of this story that played as much of an important role in this as the sweet parts. I already told you how I felt about them, that I just adored the message you sent. How finding the right person can help you deal with so much. But it wasn't just being with Jongin that made Soo better. It was more like his feelings for Jongin gave him that last little push that was necessary to have him coming out of his shell. He chose to tell Jongin about his past. He chose to let it go and stop letting his past keep him from living his life to the fullest and I think that was a beautiful/powerful thing. And Jongin just let him talk, was there for him when he needed the little extra courage to get it all out, when he needed the strong shoulder of someone who truly cared for him to lean on just for a little while. It was such a heart-warming and poignant moment and I loved how well you balanced the heavier themes with the light-hearted moments.

I was perfectly happy with the way you wrote this story before, but this felt more well-rounded, more complete. You wove the extra 4k in so seamlessly I sometimes wasn’t even sure if I was reading a new part or if I already read it before. But one of my favorite ‘new’ scenes was that little ‘decorating scene’ towards the end. Seeing how they worked together, how they still butted heads, but also had all these tender/funny/sweet moments just put such a huge smile on my face.

This entire story did, tbh. It was lovely and funny and, yes, sweet. But if you’d ask me to just use one word to describe this I’d go with heartwarming. This was such a feel-good read, but it was never overly fluffy or saccharine. There were scenes that made me laugh out loud, scenes that gave my heart a little painful squeeze, scenes that made me coo, scenes that made me roll my eyes at your characters LOL, but basically everything in this made me smile. So thank you so much for writing such a wonderful story and I hope one day soon you’ll realized how amazing it truly is. I loved it so much, Adele!