A/N: This week's chapter is suuuper long and suuuper technical D: Do my Bakers actually bake, by the way? Was wondering if you do because this chapter delves into a whole lot of the process and just baking in general. You get to see how amazing Chippy really is >:D Hope you guys learn something from the technical terms but also about the creation of new and fresh ideas ^0^/ Also, that tart is making me real hungry ;A; 

There's an extra side chapter about Xander getting his own pair of glasses on Inkitt (I've embedded the link in the chapter and in this sentence if you click on the comment bubble right over there >>> hehe) The title of the book is "Not Good for the Heart"! Fitting, isn't it? :> But yeah I guess I'll be posting one shots over there. It's super troubling to type the link in whole so best click on it here, in the comments! Inkitt gives Cuppie nice little goodies when you do so too so it lets her get strawberries to decorate her icing :') Hehe. 

Enjoy the chapter!

*

[Shin]

It was my first day of work at the bakery and Mr. Honeycutt had told me to come early so that he could run me through the daily procedurals and start me off with simple tasks. I wasn't sure what 'early' meant, exactly, and I was too nervous to ask since I'd only seen the text near midnight, so I decided that an hour would have to do.

Nevertheless, I was beginning to think this a grave mistake—coming an hour early—since Mr. Honeycutt might be giving the rest of his staff a briefing or even be on the way to the bakery himself. In that sense, I would be considered an inconvenience, or even an interruption to his daily schedule. But then if...okay shut up Shin.

Thankfully, the store was already open when I arrived; or at least someone was inside. With the sky dark, I could see a warm light coming from the kitchen of the bakery while the rest of it remained closed.

I tested the door. It was locked.

"Mr. Honeycutt," I called out, knocking on the door of the front entrance. Thank goodness for empty streets. "It's me, Shin. Sorry I'm here so early..."

At once, I saw a silhouette rise and cross the kitchen towards the door. A head popped out from behind the doorframe and I heard a muffled 'Shin!' come through. Mr. Honeycutt hurried over with the keys, a pastel pink apron over his clothes.

"Shin, you're so early!"

I flashed an apologetic smile, bowing twice. "About that, um. I'm really sorry. It's just, I wasn't sure what early meant and I didn't think I should send a text at midnight because that would be rude and I didn't want to interrupt your sleep or um, night-time activities." やべぇ—Shin, did you just say night-time activities? Nguyen it's all your fault, making me proof-read your fanfics. I also vaguely remembered her asking me for synonyms of the male reproductive organ just so that she could increase the...finesse of her writing.

As predicted, Mr. Honeycutt positively turned red as a strawberry and quickly hushed me before escorting me inside. "T-that's not! You wouldn't be interrupting anything, Shin. I, well, I can assure you."

Welp, Nguyen wouldn't be too happy to hear about that.

"Do you always come this early, sir?" I glanced over my shoulder at the sky outside. Still dark. "I don't see anyone else."

"The one in charge of running through the logistics has to be early, Shin! But we take turns, so it's not that bad," Mr. Honeycutt smiled and I felt quite as though the sun was in my face. "Oh, and you don't have to be so formal when we're here. Please call me Chip, o-or, well. Anything you're comfortable with."

I accepted the offer, placing my bag in a locker that Mr. Honeycutt—Chip...(omg this is weird) had directed me towards. "I'll try, s...Ch...I'll try."

He laughed, handing me an apron that resembled his own. "This is the apron that we all wear! It's standardized, so. Kind of like the uniform. Oh! I forgot to tell you that most of us wear a white-base shirt. Wearing black makes every speck of flour so obvious and it's really funny sometimes because Xa—um, Mr. Jaxon—would tease me about it."

Mr. Honeycutt was talking about the most random and strangely adorable things that I did not think would be included in an introductory run of the bakery and I was furiously jotting down mental notes for Nguyen, knowing that it would make her day at once.

I nodded as he went on.

"So...as for the checking of logistics, I'll leave that to a later part. We should start with the stuff that you'll definitely be helping out, like baking. That's your primary job."

"Um, recently, we've been having a teeny bit more competition. Ever since the new pastry store across the street came along. They're really good," he complimented without hesitation, displaying more sportsmanship than any of the sportsmen I'd seen in school. "I've been trying to come up with new ideas. Like the savoury cupcakes, for example! Thankfully, they've been very well-received."

"It's just...I was thinking about all the feedback that I had over the past couple of days on our shortcake, and, well...you've had something to say about it too, right?"

I nodded vigorously, making up for my silence from listening intently. "Yes, si—yes."

"I was saying that it was...not just affordable but, you know, cheap," I went on, honestly apologetic despite everything. "My father once told me about customer perspectives. Many people believe that price is an indicator of quality. Although this is, of course, a misguided view but I just don't want your best to be mistaken for anything less than it is! You can afford to bring up the price, for the quality that you promise."

Uh oh. Somewhere along the way, panic-Shin had surfaced and resulted in nonsensical rambling. I could only hope that Mr. Honeycutt had understood what I'd said without needing me to repeat it three times. "O-of course, that's my own opinion about it, so...you don't have to take it seriously at all, sir."

Mr. Honeycutt laughed. "As a matter of fact, I did! Actually. It was an interesting piece of feedback that I've never really thought of before, and coupled with a few other words from a professional himself, I was thinking..." He beckoned me over to a small wooden desk covered by a table cloth, where an open laptop sat on top of it.

There was a split second between my arrival and his unlocking of the screensaver, typing in his password and such, when I caught a glimpse of his wallpaper—a picture of Mr. Honeycutt, Mr. Jaxon and a young girl, all in matching bunny ears, smiling at the camera.

I was swiftly overcome by a seizure of sweetness and the urge to text Nguyen about this. Regardless, I brushed aside these tendencies and did my best to focus on the matter at hand.

"Here, I was thinking of creating a luxury collection out of strawberries like these! Pineberries, to be exact. Alpine strawberries. They actually taste kind of like, um, pineapples. But just a hint."

On the screen of his laptop were pictures of normal-sized strawberries, but instead of a bright red exterior, these strawberries were pale and nearly white. Some of them were a faint shade of pink.

At once, I was reminded of the life-taking, pocket-burning, wallet-destroying strawberries that my father once brought back home on a special occasion, claiming that he missed the ones back in Japan and had come across an exquisite box while he was ingredient shopping at the supplier's market. Each strawberry, white and pristine, had been packed (individually!!) in a box of its own, on what looked like satin cloth and cushioning. For that price, however, it was only logical that they were the size of my palm.

"A luxury collection...featuring higher prices? So," I attempted to work things out on my own. "There's one kind that everyone can afford. Doesn't compromise on taste at all, while there's also something more for those who can afford it, without going to another bakery."

Mr. Honeycutt nodded excitably, eyes alit. "Yes! What do you think?"

To be sharing this with me and asking for my advice...I think you're mad, sir! I'm just a...a...a Japanese boi! Omg Nguyen what have you done to me.

"I, uh," was all I managed without stuttering. "I don't know sir, I'm just a part-time staff on the first hour of work and, uh, a-and I don't think I have the right to uh, comment on whatever it is you think you should be doing I I I barely exist, even."

もう...山崎新、最後はなんだ？？お前はもう死んでいる。

"What are you talking about, Shin?" Mr. Chip-nice-angel laughed, patting my shoulder. "Every opinion matters! Whoever you are, wherever you're from, people should always listen to one another."

I nodded stiffly, awkward but blessed by his generosity and all-encompassing heart. It made me slightly worried, since randomly divulging such plans and ideas to someone he barely knew could easily get them stolen instead. The concept of having two different collections that catered to vastly different audiences was new and refreshing. Most bakeries or patisseries stick to one side of the consumer scale, unlikely to associate themselves with the other.

"It's a risk," I concluded honestly. "I don't know if it's going to work, having two very different branding styles. One thing I know for sure though, is that the pineberries—or the white strawberries—will very likely become a trend for its aesthetic. It's definitely something that will draw a crowd and attract new customers, if marketed properly."

Mr. Chip nodded as he listened intently, seemingly eager to understand my point of view. "Hmm, I see, I see. What if we start out with something less than a collection? Maybe we could test the waters with one luxury product, and see whether we should make it into an entire line instead."

"I was thinking that too," nodded me with quiet excitement. I don't think it really showed on my face. "A-and if you don't mind, sir, I was thinking that we should go all out, if we want to include special ingredients. There's a different kind of strawberry...it's white too, but it isn't exactly the ones you've shown me—"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Chip]

"Angel," the human blob underneath the covers was holding me back, preventing me from leaving the bed. "It's Sunday. Sleep in."

"Xaan..." I pulled away gently, rubbing my eyes as I did so. "I'm going strawberry-shopping with Shin today," I felt a yawn coming along, "the freshest ingredients come reaa-aoh-wally early. I have to make new friends and find a suitable supplier for those special berries. It's a Japanese market, apparently. About an hour's bus ride."

I was already shuffling into the bathroom and squeezing toothpaste onto my toothbrush, mentally rehearsing the script I'd come up with to earn the trust and hopefully friendship of ingredient suppliers.

Since it had been some time since we'd come up with an entirely new range, Rose was mostly the one in charge of getting us good discounts and long-term contracts. In a way, I was banking on Shin to help with the translating and general getting-around. It was a little embarrassing, and I didn't want to be late.

"Do you want me to come with you?" My husband had unexpectedly dragged himself out of bed and leaned against the doorframe, eyes half-closed.

I poked his abs, achieving increased effectiveness since he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"It's fine, you stay at home. I'll be back in the afternoon, hopefully in time for lunch. Are you going to make some burnt food again?" I teased, hoping to get the upper hand this time.

Our gazes met in the mirror and he half-smirked, moving closer to wrap his arms around me from behind.

"Mm...maybe. Don't want to let you down at the event next week, since you're bringing me along."

!!! He caught me off guard ;-; unfair.

*

As planned, I'd met Shin at the bus stop in front of the bakery and together, we boarded the nearly-empty bus to an interchange before waiting for another that would take us directly to the supplier's fair. I learnt from him that the market featured mostly Japanese vendors importing local brands they were associated with, and that they were only open on Sundays.

"My father goes there to get most of his ingredients. I accompany him sometimes...everyone's really nice and friendly," Shin explained with a sheepish smile, and from this I could tell he was being humble. The vendors probably adored him.

I couldn't tell that we'd arrived once we did. The market was quiet and peaceful, and where there would be calling and shouting of sales at the ones that I'd frequent, we were met with an unusual tranquillity.

While there were, indeed, people already making their rounds, most of them were of considerable age and took their time with every store. Every directional sign was in Japanese and I had to look towards Shin to lead me around.

"There are about three vendors that sell different strawberries here," explained Shin. "The first one sells red strawberries. The second and third sell the ones we are looking for, so we can take a look at both."

I was about to nod and thank him for leading my lost soul around when we heard someone call Shin's name. It wasn't exactly his name though, they had added an extra bit behind, which sounded like 'chan'. O-or was it 'zhan'?

Shin had bowed on greeting the vendor who'd called him from afar, waving back after he did. Not knowing what to do, I did the same, albeit a little stiffly. Uwa, everything's so new.

"That's the vendor that my father buys from, mostly. They sell premium matcha tea powder and good red bean paste."

"Shouldn't we go greet them?" I asked him, noticing that the vendor hadn't stopped waving. "You don't have to be reserved because of me, Shin."

He blushed a little, rubbing the back of his head. "U-um. I don't want to bother you..."

I told him that it wasn't any trouble at all and propelled him in the direction of the store. "Go, go! I was thinking of walking around first to get some inspiration from other ingredients anyway. Just give me a call when you're done!"

Shin wore an apologetic look on his face, nodding quietly before thanking me twice and nyooming away to greet his vendor-friend. I saw them pat him on the head from afar before looking around to see where I could start.

*

I was pleasantly surprised by the English translations that several vendors had put up beside their original labels for the various types of ingredients. Although some were questionably translated (s-sexy shrimp??), the majority of English labels helped, to some extent, differentiate similar-looking species from another.

I'd chanced upon the strawberry vendor that Shin was most likely talking about—the one that sold the pineberries we were looking for. I couldn't tell (or ask) if they were genetically modified or naturally lacking in activated pigment, so I'd ended up squinting at the variety of strawberries, all beautifully displayed and ordered accordingly.

The names of the species were all very attractive and, well, mostly cute.

Although I wasn't too sure of how accurate each translation was, the 'Snow Bunny' strawberries appealed to me at once with their perfect size and pale shade. Shin was right—they were larger than the usual pineberries sold in supermarkets, and had a noticeably sweeter scent even through the container-boxes that they sold them in.

"Can I hep you?" A middle-aged lady wearing a white vendor's apron came up to me with a smile.

Immediately, I froze because: oh no, was I staring weirdly at the strawberries? How long had I been staring? Did I look creepy? Nuu...

"I-I, uh..." I pointed at the Snow Bunnies. "These are really big and pretty..."

She paused for a moment before doing the 'aha!' expression. "Big?" She gestured with her hands and I nodded, doing my best with the limited non-verbal communication we had.

"Here!"

She beckoned me to another end of her stall, where there were (to my surprise) even more strawberries. "Very big."

I did a double take at the size of the strawberry, packed in a single transparent casing of its own, labelled 'White Jewel'. This one was bigger than my palm!

The lady must have seen the expression of sheer disbelief on my face because she laughed and pointed at the sign above the species. It said 'premium size'.

"You like? Strawberry?" She asked and I nodded vigorously, expressing an all-in 'yes' to her question.

"How do you know?" I said, wanting to continue the conversation but unsure if she could understand me as well.

Thankfully, she did.

"Your bag," the lady pointed at my right shoulder, where my tote bag was. "Strawberry."

Cue internal facepalm. I forgot that I brought along the tote bag with strawberry prints all over! Giselle was the one who painted it for me.

I blushed, slightly embarrassed. "O-oh yeah, you're right. Hehe."

"Mr. Honeycutt!"

I was looking for a pebble to hide under after having let slip an embarrassing 'hehe' when Shin arrived in the nick of time to save my hopeless soul. He greeted the vendor in Japanese and she appeared rather surprised, probably asking how we were acquainted with one another.

"可愛い人ですねぇ。"

She turned to me with a smile and I waved shyly in return, not knowing what she said.

"She says you are a cute person, sir," Shin translated with a laugh. "Do you have any questions to ask her? She said you were looking at the different species for some time."

After being flustered for a good minute or so and having another curious Japanese vendor stop by to greet Shin and ask who I was, I needed to know what the difference was among all the strawberries (tiny to big) and how I could tell them apart. Unfortunately, the nice lady said that the only way to do so was to actually taste them. That aside, certain species could be identified by their unique shape or color, but the increasingly strange and long names that she'd thrown here and there whilst showing me the range of species was making the overall picture rather hard to digest.

Apparently, these white strawberries were different from South American pineberries and they were never actually locally known as 'pineberries' at all. Most white strawberries in Japan (the huge, pretty ones) were crossbred for many generations and restricted direct sunlight as soon as the plant began to bear its fruit. This would lead to a natural chemical in the strawberries, um, sort of...not activating, keeping it pale (kind of like us humans when we get a suntan, hehe ' v ')! The farmers then cherry-pick the ones that are perfectly white and sell them at a special price.

"This is the 雪うさぎ, or the Snow Bunny, which she said you've already looked at—oh, oh she said to wait here," Shin was looking all apologetic all of a sudden, before whispering that she had gone to cut fresh samples, specially for us. I paled.

"B-but one strawberry costs...almost ten dollars!" I realized after doing some quick division and quick maths in general. "We can't let her do that—"

Aaand she was back with a tray of goodies, each species of strawberry cut into slices of three and separated into sections of the tray. She pointed at the first one, handing us toothpicks each. "雪うさぎ."

This lasted for the next ten minutes or so; the vendor pointing out the name of the strawberry on display, giving us a vague idea of how big and heavy they were before letting us try the sample and understand the differences in taste. One of them had a characteristic pink blush to its white exterior, suitably termed the Cherry Blossom Strawberry. Then, there were other bigger species like the White Jewel from before and the most delicious strawberry I'd ever had the honor of eating in my whole entire pebble life: Fruit of the Angel.

Shin had translated the name with a blush and made an inaudible comment along the lines of me being a strawberry o-or the strawberry being me...or...or was it me existing as a strawberry D:

The stunning white Angel's Fruit had an addictively sweet scent and very soft skin. While the initial taste reminded me of fresh pineapple, it disappeared very quickly and had the most balanced sweetness, leaving a fresh aftertaste that wasn't overpowering in the least.

"Premium version," the nice lady picked up a box, this time with a sliding lid, and showed us what was inside. It felt almost as though she was sharing some sort of national treasure. "Biggest strawberry. Ever!"

I let slip a tiny gasp and she laughed.

"I-it's huge! But with this size, we could slice sideways—like this—and make a really big rose. But would that fit on a cake...? It might be too heavy for the sponge to hold but that's only if we decide to maintain the soft and fluffy sponge. But what if!" I turned to Shin, the most pristine image of a pink and white strawberry tart surfacing out of nowhere. "What if it was a tart?"

It felt, then, very much like our own magic moment; the revelation of a trick at the touch of a wand, the gasps that followed seeming quite surreal.

"That's it!" Shin flailed around like an octopus. "A tart!"

I soon realized I was staring at him and musing privately to myself since the Shin that I witnessed in class was the calm, quiet boy who would never flail his arms around like an octopus. "What do you think, Shin?"

"I love it!" He said, eyes alit and genuine excitement in his eyes. "It considers the change in our ingredients and ensures a technical challenge. That way, it'd fit the image of a luxury pastry—like, what you were going for in the first place."

"Well, the only problem would be the ingredients of the tart, though," I pointed out, having thought this through. The nice lady seemed to be waiting for Shin to translate the bunch of excited arm-flailing that we had been doing for the past couple of minutes, smiling patiently.

I turned to her. "U-um! What are your stocks like? And what are the seasons for each species—or are they all the same? Will you be able to a fixed price, o-or is that hard...?" Eep I asked too many questions ;-; but Shin was already translating away, more eager than myself to hear her response.

Unfortunately, he appeared increasingly troubled mid-conversation, pausing at times to think before asking another question in his native tongue. Both conversed for some time while I continued to look at the range of mouth-watering strawberries that would definitely not fit in my mouth at one go. They were just too big!

"Si—Chip," Shin corrected himself awkwardly, tapping me on the shoulder. "You're right...the seasons are different, and each species are from a different prefecture. Because of that, the prices differ and stocks vary according to the time of the year b-but! I tried asking if she could make up for the difference each time by replacing the original quote with whatever that was available. But, of course...this would mean we have to trust their judgement of quality but I'm not saying that we shouldn't! In fact, I trust that they are honest and since they know my father, it sort of makes things easier but I'm also afraid that we might not be getting what we want, and with the price that we're paying..."

I realized that Shin's tendency to ramble sounded a little like mine when I was younger (w-wait, don't I ramble, still??), which meant that I also knew what to say in order to get rid of his nerves.

"Of course, Shin! There's nothing wrong with having faith in someone else's judgement. I like the idea of changing the type of fruit according to its season and leaving the decision to the suppliers. If we always keep ourselves closed to others and doubt their every move, we would never be able to form meaningful relationships," I said to him, flashing the lady vendor a smile. "It's okay to be vulnerable! That is part of being human."

Shin looked at me with the ;A; face and I could somehow already see Nguyen beside him doing the same. They were such good friends that sometimes, I can't help but ship them too (ehe, guilty me)!

"I...I get what you mean. Then, you're saying that it's okay to have a different strawberry-type now and then? They all taste very different from one another...we would have to—"

"Adjust the recipe accordingly, right?" I did my best :> (knowing) face and Shin looked a little like a cat caught off guard. "Since some of the strawberries are smaller than the rest, taste a little sweeter, or in some cases, blander but juicier, we could make up for it in the pastry base or the custard, for example. I was thinking of mixing a jam made out of ordinary red strawberries that are sweeter into the batter of the pastry. It would give the pastry a nice pink color and a taste to compliment the blander but juicier strawberries! Of course, we'd have to adjust accordingly then, so tasting each batch of strawberries sent will be eeessential."

Shin nodded, whipping out a tiny organizer from his back pocket (leather bound but filled with tiny little stickers here and there aw) and hastily jotting down some notes. What an attentive learner and eager student! Hehe *cue tear-filled smiley face*

"I get what you mean now. But how about the design? Every tart will then have a different one I suppose...? And so the price will be different too. Not all strawberries taste good in a twelve-inch tart. Maybe some of them..."

"I'll leave the design of the tart to you, Shin!" I laughed, patting his back. "If it's you, I'm sure you'll come up with something beautiful."

At once, he paled. "Desserts is stressed spelt backwards."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I had not expected to see Vanilla so soon, let alone as my very first customer to purchase the most expensive tart we had ever displayed. The smol and precious bean had arrived at the store with his Uncle and explained that it was Miss Julie's birthday the next day, but that they were celebrating it in advance.

"Uncle Al wanted to have the perfect cake, so I told him that we had to come here!" Vanilla piped excitably, face all pressed up against the display case as he tugged on Mr. Dempsey's sleeve. "Uncle Al! It's a new tart—look at it." His eyes lit up at the sight of our new pineberry tart.

Mr. Dempsey had met my gaze initially, shaking his head helplessly as his nephew bounced around. I laughed. "You have a new staff member?" His gaze rested on Shin, who emerged from the blind side of the doorframe and bowed his head in greeting.

"Yes! This is Shin," I introduced, beckoning him over to the counter. "He's very talented."

Immediately, Shin was shaking his head vigorously, embarrassed. "I'm not talented! I'm average. Very average I am." He shook Mr. Dempsey's hand nervously.

"Hm," the critic nodded indifferently, turning to his nephew afterwards. "Vanille! I wouldn't be surprised if you eventually tore my sleeve at the rate you pull it."

"But look at the new tart, Uncle Al—it's so pretty!"

It was only then that Mr. Dempsey finally looked at the display and the moment he did, his eyes were fixed on the new strawberry tart. His gaze remained still for a good couple of seconds before he, too, stepped closer to see it.

Vanilla seemed quietly pleased by this, moving a step aside and tugging his uncle closer.

"I thought you only made mixed fruit tarts."

"O-oh! Um," I blinked in surprise, not knowing what to say and ended up stating the obvious. "This one's new."

Mr. Dempsey shook his head. "That was not what I meant, Honeycutt. I was curious about your decision to come up with a new tart instead of experimenting on other flavours. Especially one centered around appearance. The aesthetic, and the price...they don't seem like you at all."

I laughed sheepishly, nodding.

"You're not wrong at all! The tart is part of an entirely new collection we're testing out. It's more luxurious, you see. I figured that there wasn't a need for our specialty shortcake to be food for the eyes or look like a dessert, even. It wasn't meant to be luxurious in the first place, so both the price and its appearance didn't need to meet the requirements of a 'dessert'. That said, I felt that Monsieur Moreau's advice was important, so I decided on something like this! I-it's just an attempt, though." I added the last part quickly, just in case Mr. Dempsey thought I was being over-confident.

He stared at the label in front of the tart and stole a glance at Vanilla, whose gaze had remained fixed on it for the part couple of minutes we were talking.

"One size?"

"U-um, yes," I nodded, gesturing to the only tart on display. Our usual mixed fruit tarts (palm-sized and at an affordable price), were already sold out. "It's a standard twelve-inch tart."

"Eighty dollars for a tart," mumbled Vanilla's uncle in disbelief. "That is no 'standard'. Buying this would require some blind faith, Mr. Honeycutt."

I nodded nervously. "I know what you mean. And you're right, it does!"

He blinked, listening as I continued with a confident smile. "But many new things require a leap of faith, Mr. Dempsey. That is part of the journey—we never know what's ahead."

The words seemed to take him a while to register, as though he hadn't expected me to say this. "Hm. I suppose," he glanced down at Vanilla only to see that his nephew was already staring intently up at him, waiting. "Well I suppose Julie would like it..."

"Yay!" Vanilla jumped up and wrapped his arms around his uncle altogether. "Thanks Uncle Al. You're the best. Miss Julie would looove the white strawberries. Actually, they look a little pink! It's like they're blushing," he described, smiling to himself.

Shin got to packing the tart in a jiffy and asked Mr. Dempsey if he preferred the pink, red or blue ribbon. He let his nephew choose while he produced his credit card, watching Shin carefully place the tart in a box.

"But why not a cake?" He asked over the counter, handing me the card. "Why a tart? You barely do tarts."

"I...well, I just," I couldn't seem to find an answer to his question. "I just felt like it was...what it was meant to be."

Mr. Dempsey laughed, shaking his head as I handed the card back to him. "Those alpine strawberries. I suppose you were inspired by the garden?"

"Hm!" I flashed a sheepish smile, glad that he noticed. "Yes and no. These aren't alpine strawberries! Our stocks differ, so sometimes it's Japanese pineberries and others, specially bred and cherry-picked strawberries that have been restricted from direct sunlight. But yes, I did get the idea from your garden, Mr. Dempsey. I hope you don't mind."

Shin handed the box to Vanilla, who couldn't help but comment on the fancy blue ribbon tied across it. The boy held the box in his arms as though it was his very own treasure chest.

"I wouldn't have," said his uncle with a curt turn of his head. "Not if you hadn't given it such a cheesy title. 'First Love'?" He scoffed, and I laughed. "Sounds like something out of a terribly-written, carelessly crafted, lukewarm romance."

________________________

THE ORIGINAL ANGEL COLLECTION

featuring premium white pineberries

Add to your aesthetic—these angelic new treats will bless your Instagram profile with a pastel pink theme. Original white strawberries found nowhere else. Choose from the novel:

Pure Angel Shortcake

Pureberry Crumble

Pureberry Mini Meringues

Pureberry Macarons &

Pureberry Cupcakes

*

For a limited time period,

only at Angel Rachel's Cakes for Devils

_____________________________

A/N: CUPPIE IS GOING TO JAPAN FOR SCHOOL WHEEEEE! My flight is next Sunday at 4 a.m (GMT +8) so I'll be updating Beyond Love a day earlier than I usually do (whatever time it is over there on your side, just count a day earlier :>). The exchange is about a month long, but no worries! I will continue to update. 

Crash will be updated on the same day as well ^0^/ It will be available on Inkitt. 

If you're interested in my month in Japan or what I'm doing in general over there, you can follow me on Instagram at hisangelchip ;v; (although I'm not a very exciting person, really hehe). I'll occasionally post stuff about my books and characters, things relating to them and ideas I'm considering. 

Have a great day! ^^

-Cuppie.