Detective Kang of the Violent Crimes Unit

Café Tesoro.

A place where a mere three slices of cake cost nearly 30,000 won — and where there is one part-time worker that Hyeonho finds himself unusually drawn to.

A boy who looks to have just barely turned twenty, working tirelessly day and night without rest.

Why won’t he smile at me?

Unlike with everyone else, the boy is noticeably cold — but only toward Hyeonho.

Dissatisfaction blooming in the wake of a good first impression.

Perhaps because of that, the boy keeps lingering in his mind, impossible to shake.

Then one day, Hyeonho raids a gay bar where a drug party is said to be taking place.

“I’m sorry. Was I too late?”

Right in the middle of arresting drug suspects, he comes face to face with the boy — strolling into the scene without a care in the world, cake in hand…

“Hello.”

The café was quiet. Hyeonho was taking in the unusually bare atmosphere when he spotted the boy in the corner, pulling off his rubber gloves and dipping his head in greeting — and realized the café’s closing time was fast approaching. He’s going to be grumpy again since his shift’s running late. Hyeonho thought, bracing himself as he studied the boy’s face — but contrary to his expectations, the boy’s expression barely changed. He simply wiped his damp hands on a dry cloth without much thought and came to stand at the register.

“Do you go to a university nearby? You’re always here whenever I come in.”

“…”

The boy’s downcast gaze made it clear he had no intention of answering.

“The cake here is really good.”

Hyeonho quickly changed the subject, complimenting a cake he had never actually tasted. Whether the pivot worked or not, the boy lifted his head and looked directly at Hyeonho. The moment those dark eyes met his head-on, Hyeonho found himself blinking involuntarily.

“Cake. Do you like it?”

“…Uh…”

The boy’s question came out of nowhere, and Hyeonho fumbled for words. Anything sweet enough to make your tongue tingle — no thanks. To Hyeonho, cake was nothing more than something he reluctantly ate out of obligation whenever someone bought one from a bakery on his birthday. And even then, he’d only managed a few bites before the cloyingly sweet, damp cream put him off.

He stalled for a moment, then gave a small nod. Such a small lie — and yet it nagged at him like a little prick of guilt. But he’d done it hoping the boy might recommend a cake to him the way he had with the other customers yesterday, giving them something to talk about. The boy raised both eyebrows in apparent surprise at his response.

“As you can see, we’re all sold out of cake today.”

The boy gestured with his chin toward the cake display case. It was completely empty. Since Hyeonho had no interest in cake to begin with, he simply pulled out his card.

“Right. Coffee is fine though, yeah? One iced Americano, to go.”

The boy took his card, processed the payment, and handed it back, eyes skimming over Hyeonho’s face as he did. There was something sharp about that gaze.

“The cake you took with you yesterday.”

“Oh, right.”

Hyeonho answered brightly, shoving his card and receipt haphazardly back into his wallet. He was glad the boy had brought it up first. And more than that — the fact that the boy actually remembered him from yesterday secretly lifted his mood. So it really was just a misunderstanding, thinking he was being cold only to me.

“It had Earl Grey cream in it. How was it?”

Did it? He’d handed it straight to Kim Jaeho still in its packaging, so he was already fuzzy on what it had even looked like. Of the three cakes he’d pointed to in order yesterday, he had no idea which one the boy was referring to. Still, Hyeonho wanted to live up to the interest the boy was showing in him.

“It was decent.”

He didn’t even know what Earl Grey cream was, but Hyeonho picked a suitably vague answer — one that could pass for a comment on the taste or the ingredient alike. At his response, the boy let out a small, breathy laugh, like air leaking from a balloon. Oh… he’s actually smiling. The boy, who still hadn’t quite shed that youthful look, broke into a smile, and Hyeonho found himself smiling back naturally.

Feels like the mood just got a lot easier, he thought —

“There was no cake with Earl Grey cream in anything you took yesterday.”

— and then the boy’s next words hit him, and Hyeonho felt the corners of his mouth go stiff in an instant.