Writer's note: Hey everyone! I couldn't post as often as I wanted to because I actually just came back from travelling. Anyway, looking back into the previous chapters, I realised some traits are not always consistent and the story does not always flow. In addition, there are some grammatical mistakes and awkward expressions, since well, English is not my mother tongue. So in the future, I wish to plan my stories better and in advance; hoping I could improve.
To read the other chapters, click the links below:
To read the other chapters, click the links below:
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the pictures
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~Chocolate~
His eyes widened in enthusiasm, and he immediately thought of an idea.
Klaus and Giorgio returned the gesture and immediately ordered the usual. As he turned his back and went into the kitchen, he finally revealed his sour expression to himself. His heart was still beating so fast, and he was filled with frustration. He clenched his fist, and thought, 'Tsk just as I was about to..' He stopped and scratched his head, 'That was the worst timing!!! How cliché.'
He took a long deep breath to calm himself down, because he knew he should never cook with a heavy heart - it'd leave a different, unpleasant, taste on his dishes. Cooking should be done out of love, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
He finally steadied his heart beat, and as he closed his eyes to reflect, he told himself, 'Be patient, Raeger'
Flambéed Love
~Chocolate~
Minori headed to the restaurant excitedly, holding a woven basket in her hands. She had finished given the chocolate cookies to Mistel, Nadi, and Kamil simply as a kind gesture to the bachelors in town, and chocolate truffles to Fritz and lastly Klaus, whom Minori is closer to. The only bachelor left is now Raeger, and she has baked him a special chocolate cake, to show her appreciation for the numerous times he has helped and shown kindness towards her, but mainly because of the feelings she has for him.
While Minori does not have perfect eyesight, she could still see a figure coming out of the restaurant from where she was currently at, in front of the guild. She saw Lillie cheerfully walking out of the restaurant, looking especially happy – which makes her wonder if anything good had just happened inside... possibly with Raeger?
‘Well, they ARE very close after all’ Minori thought. ‘Could it be… has Lillie just confessed to Raeger?!’
Minori shook her head. ‘No, I shouldn’t be having any weird thought. I came here to deliver this cake, which I’ve put my best effort into, as a Valentine’s Day present to thank Raeger for all that he’s done.’
Once she calmed herself down, she continued walking towards the restaurant and repeatedly rehearsed her accompanying speech in her mind. She finally arrived at the main entrance and took a deep breath before firmly opening the door.
“Welcome to the restaurant!” Raeger was looking down towards the basin to clean the dirty dishes when his next customer came. He tilted his head up to find a very familiar face smiling at him from where she stood near the entrance. He was dumbfounded when he saw Minori right in front of him, just minutes after he and Lillie discussed about his love interest that was now at very close proximity; and he continued staring at her, speechless.
“Hey, Raeger! What’s with the look?” Minori giggled, questioning him as she walked towards the counter and took a seat – which made Raeger come to his senses, and he finally uttered a few words back.
“AH! Sorry, Minori. Today’s been… rather overwhelming.”
Minori shot him a confused look, until she saw the pile of boxes, presumably Valentine’s Day presents, stacked right behind him. “Are those all... Valentine’s Day presents for you?”
Raeger sighed, “Yeah.. it happens every year. They came here just to give me some presents and then talk endlessly about themselves.” He paused as he sighed once again. “But I just can’t force them to leave, that’d be so rude.”
Minori gave him a look of concern, “That sucks... I’m sorry that you have to go through something like that every single year.” She paused, suddenly remembering that she, too, had a present box for him. Would he feel troubled receiving yet another Valentine’s Day present? Minori could see that some of the gifts are clearly expensive, judging by the extravagant packaging; and meanwhile, hers was pretty much.. simple.
“Hey, Raeger.”
“Hhhmm? What is it?”
“I, uh.., I know you already have a lot of gifts by now, and mine’s not that special compared to the ones you got, but..” Minori paused to take a medium-sized box wrapped in yellow out of her woven basket, and bashfully hand it towards Raeger. “I made something for you.”
Raeger gazed at the box for a while feeling astonished, before he slowly took it away from her hands.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Raeger!”
He looked at Minori, then the box, and then Minori again, “Can I.. open it now?” Raeger enquired.
Minori chuckled sheepishly, “Of course, Raeger. In fact, you have to store the contents somewhere else.”
Raeger then carefully unwrapped the yellow packaging and slowly lifted the cover of the box, to reveal the special chocolate cake that Minori has baked for him – also the very first present he opened that day. “WOW! You made this, Minori?”
Minori nodded. “I’m not an expert baker but I hope it’s to your liking, Raeger.”
His eyes widened in enthusiasm, and he immediately thought of an idea.
“Hold on, I’ll get some plates and utensils!” Raeger grinned excitedly as he searched his cabinets and drawers. “Are you hungry, Minori? Let’s eat it together!”
Minori blinked a few times, then quickly responded with a sweet smile and a short “Okay!”
Raeger beamed, and proceeded to cut a small piece of the chocolate cake for each of them before gently placing the pastry on the designated plates.
"Let's dig in!" Raeger gestured as he placed one of the plates in front of Minori. He quickly took a bite from his share, while Minori stared at him, waiting for his response.
His eyes lit up and his smile started to grow. Minori looked at him with hopeful eyes, still waiting for his response. While the change in his expression most likely suggests satisfaction, she didn't jump into any conclusion before hearing the words directly from the man standing before her. Raeger remained silent, and swiftly took another bite into his mouth. The prolonged silence began to frustrate Minori, and just as she was about to ask him, Raeger finally commented.
"This is really delicious, Minori! I really like it!" He smiled sweetly. "Thank you for making this for me."
"Really? Umm.. then why did you take so long to think?" Minori questioned.
"It's just so good that I wanted another bite!" He chuckled.
Minori smiled sheepishly, "Thanks for the compliment." She paused for a while, and suddenly raised an eyebrow as she started to question him once more, "Hey, Rae. What would your honest opinion be about this cake.. as a professional chef?"
Raeger was taken aback, surprised that Minori would want her dish to be criticised by a professional chef, who is also the person receiving her chocolate, on Valentine's Day. 'I thought most girls would just want to be complimented.' But he admired her diligence, her desire to continuously be a better version of herself - partly why he fell in love with her. He chuckled, carefully placed his plate on top of the counter and slowly leaned himself in towards her.
"It's good, but it can be better." Raeger rotated his plate to show a better side-view of his cake, and pointed a portion of the cake interior to Minori. "Look at this part right here. Isn't this a little bit dense?"
Minori squinted her eyes, and suddenly gasped quietly, "Oh you're right!"
"You have to beat the mixture longer, but at a slower speed. Set it to medium." Raeger explained. "It's just a slight change, but you'll notice the difference!"
"Aaahh.. I see. I must've mixed it at too high a speed. Set it to medium.. set it to medium.." Minori made a mental note. "Got it! Thanks for your feedback, Raeger!"
Raeger chuckled, "My pleasure, Minori. But more importantly, thank you for baking this cake for me, really. I've always gotten purchased chocolate because they thought a handmade one won't be good enough for me.. But that's not true! I would always appreciate any dish specially made for me." he paused his little rant, looking disappointed. "Which is exactly why, I cannot stress how much I really appreciate your gift, Minori." He unknowingly reached out his right hand and squeezed Minori's left palm, causing Minori to blush.
He noticed her cheeks growing pink, and finally noticed the way he'd been holding her hand tightly. From utter embarrassment, he quickly pulled away, and nervously brushed his hair while looking away, "Ah! Sorry about that."
Minori looked at him with wide hopeful eyes. She could still feel his warmth lingering on her palm, and it left her wanting for more. She had grown tired of holding her own feelings back, and she knew that sooner or later, she would have to let him know. And judging from his recent gesture... Minori thought that perhaps.. even with just a tiny bit of certainty.. he might feel the same way.
"You don't have to be sorry for that. you know..." Minori managed to mutter a few words.
Raeger looked back into her direction, gazing into her eyes in confusion, "Huh?"
"It's okay if you want to.. um.. if you want to hold my hand.." she blushed harder and tilted her head slightly downwards to hide her embarrassment.
He became awestruck, blood rushing to his face. 'Could it be?!'
Raeger immediately stood straight, fixed his posture and looked right into her eyes. He calmed his beating heart, and said in a husky voice, "Minori.. I.."
The restaurant entrance suddenly swung open, revealing two customers walking in for their meal. The unforeseen incident caught him off guard, and he awkwardly tried to re-position himself to his usual stance, "Uh.. ah.. welcome to the restaurant!" he quickly turned his attention to the two customers, to find out they were in fact regulars from Oak Tree Town, "Oh, hey Klaus! Hey Giorgio!"
He took a long deep breath to calm himself down, because he knew he should never cook with a heavy heart - it'd leave a different, unpleasant, taste on his dishes. Cooking should be done out of love, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
He finally steadied his heart beat, and as he closed his eyes to reflect, he told himself, 'Be patient, Raeger'
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