No Matter the Barrier

Chapter 8

The next morning, Loup had gotten up early enough to start making breakfast. He decided to just make a simple French breakfast puff. He went through the motions mindlessly; he had made these millions of times before; his first time being when he was only four. He had always had a thing for baking and cooking. It's probably why he opened a successful café restaurant business that now rarely ever needed his help. He simply would go in and help the bakers or man the cashier when needed. It also explained why he could take so much vacation time.

He had also gotten a sizeable sum of money from his adopted mother when she tragically passed away. He was never short on money, something very few people knew. He liked to keep it that way. He wouldn't want to expose that fact and make people want him for his money. He enjoyed his week with Yongsung. They did everything together, becoming the best of friends. They spent hours planning the trip where Yongsung would come to visit him in France. Something they were both looking forward to now.

The days flew by like a warm summer breeze, chasing away the bitter cold of winter. The night before the flight, neither of them slept. They reasoned that they would both sleep when the other was gone and if they were going to go without seeing each other, then they might as well not waste the last few hours sleeping. They played board games and taught each other even more words. They had concluded that they should speak on the phone to best advance their linguistic studies.

They dragged their feet as they walked through the airport, but finally, they had to part ways. When Loup finally boarded the plane, he went to sleep. Luckily, the seat next to him wasnt occupied, so he didnt feel too unsafe as he dozed off into oblivion for the next twelve or so hours.

When he landed, he sent Yongsung a text as promised before grabbing his luggage and getting an Uber. When he got home, he took off his shoes and flopped onto his couch. He had missed being home but, at the same time, he didnt have many friends. So the next day he went to the café to bother his employees.

"Salut tout le personnes!" He exclaimed as he opened the door to the still closed café.

"Hey look who decided to come back! Where were you this time?" Fleur asked. She was his manager and the closest thing to a friend he had besides Yongsung.

"I was in Seoul," he informed.

"Wait Seoul, South Korea?! I've always wanted to go! I'm learning Korean and everything!" Sabrina, one of his servers, exclaimed in a dreamy tone.

"Geulae, jalhaess-eo! Nado hangug-eo baeugo iss-eo," he replied.

"Oh my gosh, you're learning Korean! Wait, can you teach me? Did you get a teacher? Can you give me their number?" Sabrina squealed, causing him to chuckle.

"I made friends with Yongsung when I was in America and we decided to learn each others languages for easier communication. I went to visit him for the past week because he had some event that he needed a plus one for and we were planning on visiting each other, anyway. He's going to be coming here next, so if you want him to help you learn, you can ask him while he's here. Till then I might be able to help you by speaking it with you regularly. I know even just being there a week while being submerged in the language helped me greatly," Loup replied.

Sabrina gave him a quick hug. Everybody knew not to hold him for extended periods of time unless there was someone making them uncomfortable, but they could get away with quick embraces.

"You're literally the best boss to ever exist," she informed him before helping the girls get ready.

He went back into the kitchen and started talking with his bakers and cooks. They were making sure that everything was prepared and after chatting for a short time; he washed his hands and started helping. When the bell rang with the announcement of the first customer, he went out to help the girls up front. The shop knew how scattered he was and knew he would help with everything at one point, so they knew better than to question him. Somehow, his chaos worked perfectly in tune with the needs of the café and none of them understood it. There were also times where he would disappear to do paperwork upstairs and magically reappear when someone needed help in a certain section. He slipped easily back into the routine he had before he want to America and found himself at peace with it.