Miles brushed off Caramella’s reaction. That morning, he looked like a zombie.
His hair was messy, his eyes were puffy, and his body odor… strong enough to make anyone cringe. Honestly, it barely qualified as human.
Caramella, standing not far from him, finally covered their nose.
“Miles.”
No answer.
“Miles.”
Still no response.
Caramella stared at him with a flat expression for a few seconds, then spoke in a very calm tone—or more accurately, a forced calm tone, because they were clearly trying not to spit in his face right now.
“Go take a shower. Now,” they said, their voice gently strained.
Miles turned lazily.
“Why?”
Caramella pointed at him with a disgusted, almost offended expression.
“Because you smell like a rotten pastry that’s been sitting in the trash for a week.”
Miles glanced at himself for a moment, then shrugged.
“I don’t have the energy to care. Just leave it.”
Caramella closed their eyes briefly, as if holding themselves back.
But what came out of Miles’s mouth next completely snapped their patience.
“I think… we should just close the shop today.”
Caramella shot him a sharp look.
Miles casually continued.
“Or maybe… we should just close for a month.”
Two seconds of silence.
Then—
“What?!”
Caramella almost threw a chair at him. They looked like they were seconds away from slamming him into the floor.
“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!”
Miles just scratched his head casually. He looked completely unfazed by his best friend’s anger.
But when Caramella stared at him with a dangerously sharp gaze, his expression started to shift, slightly dazed.
Miles knew exactly what his best friend was like. Caramella might seem relaxed, cheerful, even playful. But when it came to work… congratulations. You’ve just opened the gates of hell.
Money was money. Friendship was friendship. That was Caramella’s principle. They never mixed the two.
Caramella took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Seeing Miles’s careless attitude made them feel like something was seriously wrong. Their tone softened slightly.
“Miles.”
He finally looked at them.
“Even if you’re the owner of this shop and I’m just your employee… we can’t just abandon it.”
They crossed their arms. Honestly, right now, they looked more like the boss than him. Not like their idiot friend who didn’t care about his own business.
“I’ve already calculated the losses over the past five days.”
Miles fell silent.
Caramella continued, their voice lower now.
“You know I really like working at this shop. It’s become an important part of my life.”
They sighed. “And you forced me to take five days off for a reason you clearly exaggerated way too much.”
They looked straight at him. “That alone already hurt me.”
That made Miles go quiet for longer. He looked at Caramella for a few seconds.
Then finally said softly, “…I’ll go take a shower.”
Caramella raised an eyebrow.
Miles stood up, scratching his hair.
“Wait for me in the kitchen. I… want to talk.”
Caramella could only let out a heavy sigh. Even if he was hard to deal with, at least Miles was still willing to communicate. Whatever he wanted to talk about, they chose not to think too deeply about it.
They walked toward the kitchen. Rather than stressing out, they decided to prepare coffee and a light breakfast for both of them.
That was just how things were.
Even though they were best friends, coworkers, and their ages weren’t that far apart—Caramella was actually two years younger—somehow, they always ended up like the one taking care of a child.
It was ridiculous. But that was the reality. Miles was a mess when it came to his life. And Caramella, for some reason, could never just leave him alone.
About twenty minutes later, Miles showed up in the kitchen.
He had showered and was now wearing simple clothes—a white T-shirt and sweatpants.
Caramella was already sitting on a chair, their expression flat.
On the table were two croissants and two cups of coffee, still steaming.
Miles pulled out a chair across from them. For a few seconds, he just stared at the table. Then he spoke softly.
“Sorry.”
Caramella responded immediately without looking at him.
“You should’ve said that at the start of our friendship. Not now. You really don’t know how to appreciate me as a friend.”
Miles let out a small sigh. “I’ll raise your salary.”
Caramella finally turned, a mocking look on their face. “That’s funny.” They took a sip of their coffee casually. “You know my personal income is bigger than what I get from your bakery.”
Miles didn’t respond. He knew if he argued back, it would never end. He just reached for his coffee and drank.
His head still felt a bit dizzy. But much better than last night.
Apparently, forced sleep helped.
Caramella finally spoke again.
“So,” they said.
“What actually happened?”
Miles stayed silent for a while. Then slowly started telling the story.
Starting from the failed date. The rejection from the girl he liked.
Which was immediately met with a sharp comment from Caramella. “I told you from the start it was a stupid idea, but you and your idiot brain never listen.”
Miles ignored it and kept going.
About how he tried to vent his heartbreak by baking. About all the experiments. Until he finally made something that reminded him of his grandmother’s baking.
Gingerbread.
A gingerbread man cookie.
Caramella kept listening calmly.
But when the story reached the part—
The cookie came to life. Turned into a girl. Then turned back into a cookie after kissing him.
Caramella slowly set their cup down. They looked at Miles with a very serious expression.
A few seconds of silence.
Then they spoke calmly.
“…Okay.”
Miles waited for their reaction.
Caramella immediately grabbed their phone. “I know a really good psychiatrist.” They started scrolling through their contacts. “Great reputation. Lots of patients recovered.”
Miles just stared at them blankly.
Caramella had already started typing a message. “Let’s make an appointment today.”
Miles let out a long sigh.
He had expected this.
In Caramella’s eyes right now… he must look completely insane. Of course, something like this was impossible to defend. Even if their positions were reversed, he would’ve reacted the exact same way.