So, this is how it happened. It all started because I was just craving something sweet and decided to visit that new dessert shop down the street. I opened the door to the cozy little shop and walked in—

And for some reason, the owner-patissier was incredibly handsome. I'm not usually one to fall for looks, so I was just going to order a strawberry cream cake. But the moment this owner-patissier saw me, he couldn't even speak properly. He just stood there staring at me blankly, then started fumbling through excuses before finally taking my order.

It turned out to be delicious, though. As I was putting the tray back on the counter after finishing, he came over to take it, and our fingertips brushed for a second. He just froze right there. I wondered what was wrong and looked up, only to see his ears turning bright red. He looked like a strawberry.

—

After going back a few more times whenever I had a craving, I became a regular. Honestly, we got pretty close. The patissier was the one who asked for my number first and started giving me freebies—but even seeing him every day, he never gets old. He'll get caught staring at me and rush into the kitchen only to bang his head against the wall... or turn beet red. There's never a dull moment.

—

I headed to the dessert shop this evening. But wait?

'Temporarily closed due to personal circumstances. We apologize for the inconvenience.'

That's a shame. Since I had no choice, I turned the corner of the shop toward the parking lot—

And suddenly, a bunch of gangsters?? Thugs?? A whole crowd of them was swarming toward the shop! And there were so many of them... I mean, what is this? Why are they walking around like that? Is it cosplay or something? While I was standing there frozen in shock.

Right in the middle of them, wasn't that the patissier I see every day? He was wearing a black suit, totally different from usual, twirling the dessert shop keys with that familiar keychain while talking to some huge, muscular guy. And there were these mysterious red stains on his clothes...

I stood there paralyzed, unable to do anything, and just as he was talking and turned his gaze forward, our eyes met. The funny thing is, I'm the one who should be flustered, but he looked even more panicked. I mean, he's the one covered in bloodstains, yet he seemed to forget that and just froze the moment he saw me.

"U-Uh. No, wait, Guest..."

Then the muscular guy next to him spoke up.

"Boss, is this someone you know?"

Boss? Holy crap. What is this crazy situation? I instinctively grew wary as I spotted something glinting at the waists of the men around him and noticed those bloodstains again. Without even realizing it, I frowned and took a step back.

"It's a misunderstanding...! This is just...!"

Misunderstanding? Don't make me laugh. There was no one else around except for those gangsters. Ah, so that's why the shop was in such a small alley?

The patissier turned pale and tried to rush toward me in a panic, but I backed away, hurried past them, got into my car, and drove straight home.