The Cake That Left Him Speechless
After carefully tucking the photo away against his chest, Jung-woo and Se-ah stepped out of the photo studio.
The cake workshop wasn’t far, and Se-ah—still buzzing from their successful photo session—practically skipped along with light, bouncy steps.
The nearby cake studio offered simple lessons where customers could make their own cakes. It was also a place Jung-woo had wanted to visit for a long time.
The person he’d once hoped to come with was no longer here, but that was okay.
Now someone new he wanted to share it with walked right beside him.
The workshop sat on the second floor of the building. It had been designed so people could create cakes while watching pedestrians stroll along the street outside the windows.
The familiar tinkling of the bell greeted them as they opened the door. The owner, who had been waiting inside, welcomed the pair with a warm smile.
“Welcome! Oh, is this your little sister?”
There was something in the owner’s eyes as she looked at Jung-woo—something like quiet admiration. The kind of look you give someone bringing their younger sibling along to make memories and bake a delicious cake together.
“No. She’s my daughter.”
“Ah, your daughter? I’m so sorry.”
“Haha. It’s all right. I’ll take it as a compliment.”
Since it meant he looked young, Jung-woo answered with a satisfied smile. Se-ah immediately seized the opening.
“Hellooo.”
“Hello—oh my. Goodness…”
The owner had been waving with a bright smile, but her eyes suddenly widened.
She had run this cake workshop for nearly four years now. She had welcomed countless customers, including many who brought young children.
Yet she could say with absolute certainty that this was the prettiest, most adorable child she had ever seen in all her years—not just at the workshop, but anywhere.
Of course, judging a child’s appearance wasn’t proper, but that was simply the owner’s honest personal impression.
Wow… she’s too cute.
Her gaze had grown so excited that Se-ah’s own eyes began to fill with a touch of wariness. The owner, experienced with children, quickly hid her expression and gently extended her hand.
“Hi there. What’s your name?”
“...Se-ah.”
“Se-ah? That’s a beautiful name.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Your daddy must be so happy to have such a pretty daughter, don’t you think?”
“Hehe…”
If the owner had one small wish, it was to chat longer with this precious little life. But work came first.
She rose from her crouch at Se-ah’s eye level and guided Jung-woo toward their station.
“Right this way, please.”
“Thank you. Come on, Se-ah.”
“Okay!”
At first the owner had assumed Jung-woo was Se-ah’s older brother. Now she understood where the little girl’s cuteness and beauty came from—Jung-woo’s influence was obvious.
Following the owner’s lead, they arrived at a small room. Bread bases for their cakes had already been prepared in the space where Jung-woo and Se-ah would sit.
Jung-woo’s cake would use the larger base, while Se-ah’s would use the smaller one. It might be a bit much for just the two of them, but there were plenty of ways to use whatever was left.
“You can bring over any ingredients you’d like. Feel free to use as much chocolate, cookies, or anything else as you want.”
“Got it. Let’s go, Se-ah.”
“Cookies!”
Cookies and chocolate. Were there any words that could make a child’s heart race faster?
As expected, Se-ah’s face lit up with excitement. Jung-woo could feel her small hand tighten in his.
Jung-woo usually kept such a strict diet that these treats rarely appeared. Snacks were usually replaced with fruit like tangerines, and cookies or chocolate were reserved for truly special occasions.
Why can’t delicious things ever be good for you?
It made Jung-woo a little sad too.
When they reached the ingredient station under the owner’s guidance, an incredible variety of items filled the space before them—every color and shape imaginable, all transformed into sweet cookies and chocolates.
“......”
Se-ah stared at the sweet paradise with her tiny mouth hanging slightly open.
To her, this place must have felt like heaven itself. Cute, pretty things that were also sweet and delicious? It was perfect.
Se-ah loved anything cute and pretty. Liking delicious food was simply human nature. This place had captured both, and in doing so, it had completely captured Se-ah’s heart as well.
“Should Daddy choose for us?”
Se-ah, who had been licking her lips in a brief daze, shook her head firmly.
“I want to pick!”
“Haha. All right. Want to choose everything yourself?”
Se-ah began placing one of each item into a bowl far larger than her hands. She left nothing out.
It was as if she had declared she would conquer every single thing on the table.
Her small bowl, filled with all her little desires and wishes, soon held every available ingredient.
Each time another item joined the growing pile, Se-ah’s smile grew brighter. When she finally added the last ingredient, she turned to Jung-woo with a radiant grin.
“Hehe. Daddy!”
“Yes?”
“I got them all!”
“You did? Our Se-ah really filled it to the top, huh?”
“Yep!”
Will she even be able to eat all of this?
As far as Jung-woo knew, cakes didn’t have a very long shelf life. Still, there were countless ways to use leftovers.
He took the heavy bowl from Se-ah’s hands and returned to their station. The owner, who had finished her preparations, greeted them with a smile.
“Did you get everything you wanted?”
“Haha… yes. It looks like we might have taken too much.”
“Oh, not at all. Don’t worry about it one bit. Shall we start making the cakes now?”
Jung-woo put on his apron first, then helped Se-ah with hers.
The child-sized apron had pink frills and featured an embroidered rabbit and bear in the center. It looked far more like a dress than an apron.
Se-ah looked down at herself after it was tied on and broke into a deeply satisfied smile.
“All right. To make a cake, you first need to spread cream evenly over the entire surface of the bread.”
The owner—no, the teacher—demonstrated with practiced, skillful hands, smoothly spreading the cream across the cake base.
As expected of a professional.
Jung-woo considered himself fairly handy, but imitating something perfectly after watching it once was no easy task. It looked simple when she did it, but he already knew the truth behind that illusion: if something looks effortless, the person doing it is a true master.
Se-ah had inherited her father’s dexterity, but this particular task proved quite challenging for her.
“Mmph…”
She poked and spread the cream with the offset spatula, but it refused to cooperate the way she wanted. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice the bit of cream now dotting the tip of her nose.
“Hehe. It helps to start with a generous amount of cream, then spread it out gradually while scraping off the excess,” the teacher said.
She had moved beside Se-ah at some point and now gently, naturally guided the little girl’s hand with her own.
Se-ah was so absorbed in the spatula that she didn’t even register the help.
Oh… she’s really good with kids.
The teacher looked to be around the same age as Jung-woo, yet her skill with children was extraordinary.
Following the teacher’s guidance, the cream began to spread evenly across the bread—clearly thanks to Se-ah’s own fingertips. The teacher only helped with about half the surface, deliberately leaving the rest for Se-ah to finish on her own.
“Would you like to try the rest, Se-ah?”
“...Yes!”
With fierce determination—even letting out a little grunt—Se-ah covered the remaining half with cream. It wasn’t as perfect as the teacher’s work, but it was noticeably smoother and more even than her earlier attempt.
If the first half had looked like a snow-covered mountain range, the finished product now resembled a gentle snow-covered hill. Somehow, it felt more natural that way.
Like walking across a snowy plain and then climbing a small hill.
In its own way, a tiny story had been created inside that small cake.
“Um… sir?”
“Ah, yes.”
“You should work on your cake too, shouldn’t you?”
“Ah, right. I should.”
He had been so distracted by Se-ah that he had barely spread any cream on his own cake. He decided to check her finished cake later and focused on his own.
Jung-woo managed to make the top surface fairly flat, though the sides remained a little uneven.
“Oh, is this not your first time?”
“No, it is. I’m just somewhat handy, that’s all.”
“You’re really good!”
“Haha… thank you.”
Se-ah stared at her own cake with a serious expression, as if deep in thought. Then she suddenly set down her spatula.
Is she giving up?
The thought crossed his mind for a second, but Jung-woo knew better. Se-ah wasn’t the type to give up easily—she had inherited every ounce of his own stubbornness.
“Next, we’ll add decorations by piping the cream like this. Fill the bag and squeeze it out…”
A neat cone of cream formed at the teacher’s fingertips. Jung-woo followed along easily, and when Se-ah squeezed with both hands, she produced a similar shape despite the difference in size.
“From here on, you can do whatever you like. You can add decorations right away or pipe more cream if you want.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank youuu.”
Just then, the bell tinkled again as another customer entered the workshop.
“Ah, one moment please.”
It was time for the teacher to become the owner once more. She quickly left the room, leaving Jung-woo and Se-ah to decorate their cakes in peace.
Jung-woo created his cake with the classic image that usually came to mind when thinking of cakes. Se-ah had seen cakes before, but right now the cake was simply a blank canvas to her.
She could put anything she wanted on it and draw anything she liked.
He was curious to watch the process—especially with that bit of cream still on her nose—but more than that, he wanted to see the finished result.
They each focused on the cake before them for several minutes. Jung-woo naturally finished first.
It was… ordinary.
There was no better word for it. For a complete beginner, managing to make something so perfectly ordinary was actually impressive.
“Like this, and then this…”
Se-ah was still concentrating hard. She had muttered things like “Want cookies…” and “Chocolate looks yummy…” earlier, but she stayed focused.
Jung-woo had tried not to stare, but even from the corner of his eye he noticed something.
Wait… she used all of that?
The owner had given them a full piping bag of cream. Se-ah had used every last bit of it.
Her cake base was already small. Using that much cream would make it nearly half cake and half cream.
“Put this here and… ta-da!”
Se-ah’s satisfied voice rang out at that exact moment.
Jung-woo turned to look. After squeezing out an entire bag of cream, what kind of cake had his daughter created?
It was bound to be cute no matter what, so he watched with a warm smile.
“......”
The moment his eyes landed on the cake, Jung-woo’s words caught in his throat.