Opening up a new day at Park's Bakehouse was always Jimin's favorite part of working here. He loved the scent of bread and flour that would fill his nose as he stepped into the bakery kitchen. He also enjoyed kneading dough into weird shapes before squishing them back into a huge pile; like a toddler with clay. Maybe this was what gave the Park's bread a special taste. A kind that you get nowhere else.

As the first batch of bread has been baked and set out on the table, and his helpers have arrived and cleaned up the space for the morning, Jimin goes near the front door to flip the closed sign to open.

That's when he sees her.

Kim Soomin, the current manager of Kim's Kreme, the bakery just opposite his family's. According to Jimin, Soomin was the best manager Kim's Kreme has ever had. But that was his opinion alone. Kim Taehyung, his best friend and fellow worker at the bakery would never agree to this statement.

He hated the Kim family with a burning passion as if he were a member of the Parks. Jimin had always tried to reason with his friend but failed due to Taehyung's extreme stubbornness. "Have you tasted their bread, Chim? They taste like shit." Taehyung would say that Jimin responded by justifying that they specialize in cakes and not bread. "Even their cakes taste bad." Taehyung would counter.

Jimin's family members adored Taehyung for his hatred towards the Kims. They appreciated how he would always try to come up with new dishes and recipes to put up a competition against the Kims.

However, this always resulted in a mixture of the world's most random ingredients, making the food turn out to be a disaster. Like the time Taehyung decided it was a good idea to add mustard, ketchup, and smashed sausages with flour, baking soda, sugar, and eggs to make a hot 'cake'.

Although the idea was innovative it resulted in almost every member of the Park family (Jimin included) bent over the sink trying to wash out the horrid taste from their mouths. Jimin loved Taehyung but the boy was a little too much to handle sometimes.

~~~

It was a little late into the evening when Min Yoongi, one of Jimin's other friends came into his shop.

The little bell on the door chimed as he came in which caused Jimin's attention to be diverted from decorating cupcakes with whipping cream.

"Yo, Chim!" Yoongi called out, "You might want to see this." Out of nowhere, Kim Taehyung appears, wide-eyed and full of curiosity.

"Tae, you're going to hate this," Yoongi begins. "The Kims just dropped a new dessert." A look of fury clouded Taehyung's face. "WHAT?!" He hollered. "I'm calling Mr. Park this instant."

"Taehyung, why are you calling my grandpa?" Jimin asked full of confusion, while snatching the phone away from Taehyung's grasp.

"How dare they drop a new dessert? This is going to affect our business, Chim, are you not worried?"

"You've always had a flair for dramatics, Tae. Can you calm down? It's not even your business at stake but you've gotten all riled up."

"You do not understand, Jimin. We MUST release something soon. I must let Mr. Park know." Taehyung made out in a hurry before reaching out for the phone in Jimin's hand.

"No. You are not calling Grandpa right now. All they did was release a new item. We've still got quality." Jimin faced Yoongi asking, "Hyung, how did you know they dropped a new dessert?" "I went there of course. How else would I know?"

"YOU TRAITOR!" Taehyung lunged at Yoongi. "How dare you go into the enemy territory?!" Jimin sighed. Taehyung is never going to understand. The boy has always been this dramatic when it came to things concerning the Kims.

With a violent Taehyung and a shaken-up Yoongi, who was now questioning his choices, Jimin went back into the kitchen. The unfinished batch of cupcakes now discarded on the countertop.

~~~

SOOMIN POV:-

It was a bright Thursday morning when the mayor of our town made an announcement. An announcement that would slightly change the course of my life. At 10 am that morning a poster was hung on the town square notice board. I had been out to buy groceries for my home and a few baking ingredients for my next experiment. That's when I was stopped on my way by a woman in her sixties.

Mrs. Lily was my neighbor and a childhood companion of my grandmother. She was also a frequent customer of our bakery. "Soomin dear," She spoke in her sweet, motherly voice, "have you seen the poster yet? You should definitely participate."

Her words had brought confusion upon my mind and before I could ask what she was talking about, she continued, "You and your brother would make a great duo." However, all my questions were answered when she ushered me to the notice board right in the middle of the town square.

------------

SWEET DELIGHTS SHOWDOWN

THE FIRST ANNUAL BAKING COMPETITION OF BIRCHVILLE TOWN

Dear Residents of Birchville,

It is my utmost pleasure to invite you all to the very first baking competition held in our town. This delectable event is sure to tickle your taste buds and fill our town with the sweet scent of creativity and camaraderie.

Gather a friend, neighbor, or family member and form a dynamic duo of bakers! In this friendly competition, you and your partner will collaborate to create unique and mouthwatering baked goods. Let your creativity run wild as you craft the most delicious and visually stunning treats our town has ever seen.

You are free to create anything baked that ranges from cupcakes to pies. The main aim of the competition is to come up with a never-before-seen and unique dish that would satisfy the judges' sweet tooth.

With three rounds conducted on three different days. Participants are required to present different dishes each round. The last round will be a live bake-off which will be held in the Town Center. First-place winners receive the GOLDEN WHISK AWARD and an unlimited supply of baking essentials throughout the year from a local sponsor.

The last date of registration on 23rd May 2023. Forms for registrations and the general rules for interested participants will be available in the town office.

N.b. Only interested folks between the ages of 18 and 30 can participate.

Regards,
Sir. Winston
Mayor

_______

Said poster had me intrigued at once. I knew this was my moment to shine. Baking was something that ran in my veins. The art of mixing and kneading flowed through my blood. There was no way I wasn't taking up this opportunity to show off my skills. Besides this would help our bakery gain more popularity and the grand prize was way too good to decline.

But there was a problem.

My brother Seokjin was abroad, doing a special course in culinary arts. This meant I had no one to go with. Every other good baker in my family was either too old to fit the participation criteria or unavailable at the moment.

Jeon Jeongguk was out of the question. He was a good cook but baking wasn't his forte. Had it been a competition for eating, however, Jeongguk would definitely win.

Disappointed that I may have to let go of this amazing opportunity, I resumed my journey to buy groceries. Little did I know fate had planned someone to be my partner for this competition.

Someone that I'd never expect to pair up with.

~~~*~~~

Notes:

here goes another chap of arfl. who do you think Soomin is going to the competition with? I think yall already know lmao.

Anyway tysm for reading this absolute bullcrap that im writing (if at all anyone is reading this lol) I actually have no expectations for this book. I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE PLOT FULLY PLANNED OUT LMAO. Im gonna freestyle my way, trying to keep the facts real and continue writing obviously but the lack of reads might make me drop it. But anyway we'll see how long I go huhuhuhu

(not edited)