Chocolate Love
Title: Chocolate Love
Author: girldevil
Pairing: yoosu
Genre: romance, fluff
Rating: pg
Length: one-shot
Summary: Valentine's Day fic. Junsu has something in mind and Yoochun misunderstood.
“You’re asking me to teach you how to bake a cake?” Yoochun questioned when a friend made an odd request. “Why?” he added.
Junsu felt embarrassed as he laid his eyes on the ground, trying to avoid Yoochun’s wary gaze. “You’re the only one I know who's an expert in baking a cake…”
Yoochun raised his brows and folded his arms together, “You could have asked your mom instead,” he said.
Junsu shook his head frantically, “No way. There is no way I am going to ask my mom to teach me and I don’t think she will let me touch the kitchen at all,” he explained.
“I’m sure she won’t since you are a disaster in cooking. But seriously, why do you want to bake a cake?” Yoochun pried further and caught a glimpse of the blush forming on Junsu’s cheeks before he looked away.
He heard Junsu mumbled and he had to strain his ears to hear them. He could only pick out a few words but it was still incoherent to him. “Come again?” Yoochun said.
“I want to confess with a cake,” Junsu repeated his words, his face reddening with more embarrassment.
Yoochun softly chuckled, “Why don’t you buy a cake instead? It would save you time and money,” he suggested.
“Yeah but…I prefer to bake instead of buying one. I find it more heartfelt that way and maybe the person would appreciate it more,” Junsu elaborated his reason.
Yoochun felt a pang of envy and jealousy. He met Junsu when they were classmates in 4th grade and since then, their friendship developed. It was in junior high when he realized that what he was feeling towards Junsu is not just mere friendship or brotherhood. It was more than that and Yoochun kept it to himself.
“I see…” Yoochun sighed and glanced at his wristwatch, “Fine. I’ll help you. Come over to my place after your class is done. I better get to my class or I’ll be late,” he stated as he disposed the lidded cigarette into the bin.
“Really? Thanks Chun!” Junsu exclaimed happily, “and you better stop smoking!”
“Whatever you say!” Yoochun retorted as he walked away, heading towards his class department.
Junsu arrived a few hours later at Yoochun’s place and he found Yoochun in the kitchen, preparing the ingredients and baking materials on the counter.
“Wasn’t your class supposed to end an hour ago? My house isn’t even far,” Yoochun asked while he opened the fridge.
“Yeah but I was talking with Jaejoong hyung and I lost track of the time,” Junsu replied sheepishly and accepted a can of cold juice from Yoochun.
Yoochun hummed as he gazed at Junsu, “You have been hanging out a lot with Jaejoong lately,” he stated. There were times when Yoochun saw him hanging out with a senior from the window of his classroom and Junsu always looked jolly. He could not help but feel a bit green.
“Jaejoong hyung? Yeah, he’s nice,” Junsu pursed his lips together, somewhat feeling amused at Yoochun as if he can detect Yoochun’s thoughts.
Yoochun didn’t feel like talking about Jaejoong so he initiated to get started on baking. He started on the basics and pointed every ingredients and materials to Junsu while Junsu took notes of it.
“It is important to pay attention to the amount of each ingredient. If you put more or less, the level of sweetness will change. It can also change the texture and do not mix the batter too much and too hard. And lastly, you have to check the temperature. It can change the texture and hardness of the cake and of course, you don’t want a burnt cake,” Yoochun explained patiently while Junsu continued to take notes down.
“What kind of cake do you want to make?” Yoochun asked.
Junsu put his small notebook down on the counter and thought for a while, “I think chocolate cake would be nice, is it easy to make?”
“Yeah, if you know how. Go wash your hand and I’ll teach you,” Yoochun said and Junsu did what he was told.
They spent the next thirty minutes adding and mixing the ingredients together before Yoochun started to preheat the oven.
“It doesn’t seem too hard at all,” Junsu commented as he wiped his hands clean on the apron.
“It is not but you just have to be careful,” Yoochun smiled as he poured the batter into the round pan.
“No wonder why you’re an expert. You don’t look like someone who can bake,” Junsu chuckled, “you have a bad boy image,” he reasoned.
“I know and that’s why I’m attractive,” Yoochun grinned, “most people like bad boys right?” he said as he placed the round pan inside the oven, closed it and put on the timer.
“Bad boys? Not me,” Junsu quipped as he settled himself on the bar chair.
“Then you should stop hanging out with me,” Yoochun joked.
Junsu shook his head, “Can’t do that since I am used to having you around me and I don’t know what I will do if I don’t have-” Junsu choked and his face went all red, extremely embarrassed.
Yoochun grinned gleefully with amusement, “What was that?”
“Nothing! Forget what I said!” Junsu looked away.
“I know I mean a lot to you since I am your only best friend who can understand your weird ways,” Yoochun laughed as he watched the latter blush harder.
“Whatever you say! You’re just my buddy so don’t get the wrong idea,” Junsu almost staggered with his own words.
“Fine, that’s all I am to you anyways. I am curious though, when are you planning to confess?” Junsu, although, could detect a hint of disappointment in Yoochun’s tone but paid no heed to it.
“On Valentine’s,” he replied nonchalantly.
“That’s just 3 days away,” Yoochun commented, “I think that gives you enough time to practice on your own.”
‘I wonder who is he going to confess to…could it be Jaejoong?’ Yoochun thought. ‘Junsu…what am I do you? Do you ever think of me that way?’
“How long does it take before the cake is ready?” Junsu questioned, opening his small notebook.
“It should be done in about thirty minutes,” Yoochun said and glanced at the timer, only a few minutes has passed by.
“While we wait, we’ll make the chocolate frosting for the cake!” Yoochun grinned as he pulled out a bowl and placed it in front of him. He taught Junsu everything how to make the frosting and while Junsu mixed the frosting, he scratched his cheek with his chocolate covered fingers.
Yoochun looked up from the bowl and saw smeared chocolate frostings on Junsu’s cheek.
“Junsu, you got chocolate on your face,” Yoochun pointed.
“Huh? Where?” Junsu attempted to wipe his cheek, only to end up smearing more chocolate frosting in the process.
“Oh stop it. You’re covering your whole face with chocolate!” Yoochun grabbed Junsu’s hand to stop him from smearing more chocolate. Junsu stopped moving and waited for him to let go of his wrist but Yoochun didn’t let go instantly.
‘How can he still look so…appealing with chocolate smears?’ Yoochun thought.
“Yoochun?” Junsu called for his attention but he didn’t budge at all.
Yoochun stared at him, so intensely before bringing his hand near to Junsu’s face. He placed his fore finger slowly on Junsu’s cheek and wiped a part of smeared chocolate frosting and brought it to his own mouth to taste it.
“Hmmm…sweet,” Yoochun mumbled without taking his eyes off at Junsu’s brown orbs.
Junsu blushed and pulled his wrist from Yoochun’s grasp and Yoochun immediately blinked, breaking his trance of admiration.
‘Shit. What did I just do?’ Yoochun felt like smacking himself.
“Oh, sorry. Chocolate is just…uh whatever. Here, wipe it off,” Yoochun handed Junsu a towel.
“Looks like the frosting is done,” Yoochun turned his back towards Junsu and suddenly the atmosphere became awkward.
Then the timer buzzed and Yoochun never felt so relieved for the distraction. “Oh it’s done!” Yoochun chirped as he put on the pair of gloves and opened the oven to pull out the pan.
“It smells good,” Junsu commented after he finished wiping his cheek and inhaled the aroma of freshly baked cake.
“Of course, it has to smell good since I’m an expert baker,” Yoochun grinned boastfully at him before turning away to focus on the cake.
‘Get a grip of yourself Yoochun. Just focus on the cake and don’t make it more awkward that it already is,’ he thought to himself.
However, Junsu could see through Yoochun. No matter how good Yoochun was to change the atmosphere, he knows that Yoochun tries to make things better for the sake of their friendship. He didn’t like Yoochun to keep on pretending forever but he can’t blame Yoochun for not being honest as he was just the same.
“Here, you apply the frostings all over the cake,” Yoochun handed him the spreader. Junsu accepted the spreader and followed Yoochun’s instruction on applying the frostings.
“It’s almost done. When you make a cake, you can also put toppings on top if you want. It can be strawberries or nuts or anything but more importantly, what makes a cake good is when you put love in it,” Yoochun added with a sincere smile on his face.
“Love? Ah…so that’s why they always taste so good?” Junsu asked, almost understanding what Yoochun meant and looked away from Yoochun’s gaze as he applied the last bits of frostings unto the cake.
“Yes and now we’re done. You’ve made your first cake,” Yoochun sighed as he eyed the chocolate cake; he was glad that it was done.
“Thank you Chun…”
Yoochun looked around in the kitchen and found a cake box. He carefully lifted the cake and placed it inside the box and closed it.
“Here you go,” Yoochun handed him the box.
“Don’t you want to taste it?” Junsu pouted.
Yoochun shook his head, “I’m okay. Share your first cake with your family, I’m sure your mom will be happy to see that you’re not so bad at all with the kitchen,” he insisted.
‘I just can’t eat it when he has thought of someone else…’ Yoochun thought bitterly.
“Are you sure?” Junsu seemed hesitant.
“Yes, plus there are crumbs left in the pan and leftover bits of the frosting, I can just have those instead. Seriously Junsu, I insist.”
“Okay, okay,” Junsu said, “thank you for teaching me,” he smiled.
“You’re welcome,” Yoochun smiled back, although a little bit forced.
“I think I better go, it’s getting late already and I still have to study,” Junsu said hesitantly.
“Then I’ll see you in school,” Yoochun led Junsu to the door.
“Uhm…” Junsu turned around to Yoochun but he had no idea what else to say and glanced down on the box in his hand. Yoochun waited for him to say something but after a few seconds, Junsu let out a sigh, “I’ll see you tomorrow…thanks again. I really appreciate it.”
They don’t know why it became awkward again. It has never been like that before.
“You’re always welcome Junsu, now go because I’m freezing here at the doorstep,” Yoochun joked, earning rolled eyes from Junsu.
“Fine, I’ll get going,” Junsu forced a chuckle and turned to leave.
Yoochun watched him walk down the street for a few more seconds until Junsu was out of sight. He went inside and slowly closed the door. Yoochun let out a shaky breathe and slipped down to the floor.
‘How much more do I have to endure? Just...how much more…?’ and there were trails of tears streaming down on his face.
Valentine’s Day has arrived and Yoochun was in a hurry, trying to get to his class on time when he found a recognizable figure standing under the tree nearby his class department. It has been 3 days since he last saw Junsu because he kept himself busy with school papers. Literally, he’s been avoiding Junsu for the past 3 days; ignoring the latter’s text messages and phone calls.
'What is he doing there?' He was deciding whether to approach or not, considering that he might be late. But after taking a few more steps, he was surprised that Junsu was not alone as he saw Jaejoong's form exposed from the bark of the tree.
However, what surprised him more was the box that Junsu was carrying, which could be a cake. He watched Junsu give the box to Jaejoong who in return accepted the box, too gleefully for Yoochun's liking.
'I was right...he confessed to Jaejoong and it looks like he accepted his confession. Who am I kidding myself? Junsu never sees me that way.' Yoochun thought bitterly and started walking away to the opposite direction, forgetting about his class.
Yoochun wandered around the city before he found solitude in a bookstore. The whole city was too depressing for him since every corner he went, there were couples on dates and he didn’t want to stay at home because it felt too lonely for him. He spent the rest of the day browsing and reading books until his stomach growled. He had forgotten about lunch and he was surprised to see that it was already dark outside; he might have also missed dinner. He fished out for his mobile phone in his bag, only to find that he ran out of battery.
He glanced around and saw a high school boy, standing few feet away from him reading what seemed like an adult manga.
“Excuse me…” Yoochun must have given the younger boy a scare when he jumped in surprise and quickly hid the manga under his arm.
Yoochun raised his brows at the younger boy’s flushed face and eyed the nametag on the chest pocket of his uniform.
‘Shim Changmin huh? Must be a naughty kid,’ Yoochun smirked inwardly.
“Do you have the time?”
The younger boy glanced down on his wrist nervously, “it’s 10:47,” he replied timidly.
‘Shit, that late already?’
“Thanks,” Yoochun said and tilted his head, “why are you reading adult manga instead of going on a date?”
“I could ask you the same thing, you’ve been here almost the whole day,” the younger boy spoke, with more confidence this time.
Yoochun cocked his brows before letting out an amused chuckle, “I’m just unlucky I guess, how about you?”
The younger boy shrugged, “same,” he smiled sadly.
Yoochun nodded his head in understanding, “Then continue with your naughty stuff and forget about this day, I won’t report you,” Yoochun joked and bid goodbye to the student before heading home.
When he reached the apartment, he stopped on his tracks when he saw Junsu sitting outside on his doorstep with his arms wrapped around his knees.
“Junsu? What are you doing here? How long have you been out here?”
Junsu glanced up and expressed a sign of relief when he saw Yoochun. He tried to get up but his legs buckled and fell back to the ground.
"Oww..." Junsu winced as he massaged his legs and behind.
"Are you okay?" Yoochun asked worriedly as he knelt beside Junsu.
"I'm fine...my legs are just frozen," Junsu stuttered, his teeth grinding against each other.
"You're freezing!" Yoochun exclaimed when he touched Junsu's hands and they were ice cold.
Yoochun wasted no time; he immediately helped Junsu to his feet and quickly unlocked the door. He ushered Junsu inside but Junsu didn't budge.
"Junsu?"
"Valentine's almost over," Junsu spoke softly, his voice sounding dejected. “You have been ignoring me lately, aren’t you?
Yoochun felt guilty.
"I looked for you the whole day. I couldn't find you in school and I tried to contact you but couldn't reach you..." Junsu looked down on the ground with his hands clenched on the hem of his jacket, his knuckles turning white.
“Why?”
“Huh?” Junsu looked up at him with confusion.
“Why aren’t you with Jaejoong?
Junsu frowned, “why will I be with Jaejoong hyung?”
Yoochun rolled his eyes, “didn’t you confess to him this morning? I saw you giving him a cake and it looks like he accepted your confession.”
“You saw me this morning? Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Why would I? I didn’t want to become a third wheel,” Yoochun said, somewhat coldly.
“Yoochun…”
“It’s getting late Junsu, you better go-”
“No! Not until you let me talk!” Yoochun was taken back when he saw tears pooling in Junsu’s eyes.
“Why-”
“You’re such a fool! How could you be so stupid to think that way! What made you think that I actually like Jaejoong hyung?” Junsu spat. “I never said anything about liking Jaejoong hyung from the start. How long did you stay this morning? Did you just see me give Jaejoong hyung something and then left?”
Yoochun had never seen Junsu this angry with him before. He didn’t trust himself to speak so he only nodded his head slightly.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just so plain stupid! You ignored me since that day because you thought I liked Jaejoong hyung?” Junsu whispered, his tears finally trailing down his cheeks.
Yoochun looked away, unable to meet Junsu in the eye.
“I didn’t mean to…” Yoochun started and took a deep breathe, “I just thought that you…”
“It hurts Yoochun,” Junsu wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand, “it hurt when I thought that you were ignoring me. Like I said before, I am used to having you around with me and the past few days were hell because I couldn’t reach you.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know,” Yoochun apologized.
“You’re really stupid, stupid, stupid-“ Yoochun pulled Junsu into his arms and embraced him.
“I’m really sorry Su. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he spoke softly against Junsu’s ear. “I’m sorry for misunderstanding you but how could I not misunderstand? Every time I see you with Jaejoong, you looked so happy that I assumed you might have a crush on him.”
"Why could you not tell me instead?" Junsu pulled himself away from their embrace. "How long do I have to wait before I have to be the first to make a move?"
"What?"
Junsu sniffed and wiped his eyes dry before he turned around to pick up a box lying on the ground.
Yoochun never noticed it the whole time. He eyed the box warily before meeting Junsu's brown orbs with a questioning look.
"This..." Junsu extended the box to him, "is for you."
"What is this?" Yoochun asked, slowly opening the lid the box.
It was a cake. A chocolate heart shaped cake with white cream and sprinkled red chocolate beads and strawberries on top.
Yoochun was puzzled. Then he recalled what Junsu said few days ago..
'I want to confess with a cake,'
If it was not Jaejoong, then that means...
"Su...?"
"Stupid," Junsu sighed, "It has been always you. It was you, not Jaejoong hyung, not anyone else. It's you, you, you."
What he was feeling was beyond words. Happiness was not the only thing he was feeling because he was also experiencing shock and confusion. It just seemed too surreal. He had always thought that it was very unlikely to happen since Junsu never showed that kind of interest towards him. But then again, he has always been discreet about his feeling most of the time, how did Junsu know about it?
"I have always known," Junsu said, "sometimes I feel it even if I don't see it...I have grown attached to you to know what you are feeling. You unintentionally became a part of me and that is why it feels like hell when you ignored me."
Tears started to pool in Yoochun's eyes, as he felt regretful for hurting Junsu. He never intended to hurt him and never again.
"I-" Yoochun took a shaky breathe and could no longer hold back his tears from falling, he was just too overwhelmed.
"I'm really stupid I guess," Yoochun chuckled to himself as he wiped his tears away.
"We're both are," Junsu smiled before looking at the cake he made, "so...what do you think?"
Yoochun glanced at the cake and then back at him, "looks perfect."
And something just had to ruin the moment. Yoochun's stomach made a loud growl and he looked sheepishly at Junsu.
"I knew it!" Junsu rolled his eyes, "then I must feed you," he pushed Yoochun gently inside.
"Cake first?"
"No. Proper meal first-"
A kiss first.
Across the street by the window, a younger boy let out a long deep sigh before he closed the curtain and sat on his bed.
'I guess that's it. I should be happy for him. It was enough that he got to talk to me. I guess it's time to move on.'
He looked around his room and glanced at his desk, smiling melancholy to himself.
'Ah food and porn, you shall be my comfort for now.'
"What did you give Jaejoong?"
"Hmm...Ah you mean this morning? Cake."
"What? But I thought..."
"Still jealous? Jaejoong helped me by suggesting to ask help from you to bake a cake. I gave him the messy broken cake I made for him to share with Yunho hyung."
"Yunho? The senior?"
"Yes, they have been dating."
"Oh...oh!"
"Like I said, stupid."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
"Gladly."
With a chocolate covered kiss.
________________
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Single or not, always remember that you are loved =)
Hope you liked the story and please do comment what you think. I actually had a hard time completing this because it's rather challenging for me (I don't know what is the challenge there though....*scratches head*)
Anyways, thank you so much for taking your time to read! ^.^
~zkye
Author: girldevil
Pairing: yoosu
Genre: romance, fluff
Rating: pg
Length: one-shot
Summary: Valentine's Day fic. Junsu has something in mind and Yoochun misunderstood.
“You’re asking me to teach you how to bake a cake?” Yoochun questioned when a friend made an odd request. “Why?” he added.
Junsu felt embarrassed as he laid his eyes on the ground, trying to avoid Yoochun’s wary gaze. “You’re the only one I know who's an expert in baking a cake…”
Yoochun raised his brows and folded his arms together, “You could have asked your mom instead,” he said.
Junsu shook his head frantically, “No way. There is no way I am going to ask my mom to teach me and I don’t think she will let me touch the kitchen at all,” he explained.
“I’m sure she won’t since you are a disaster in cooking. But seriously, why do you want to bake a cake?” Yoochun pried further and caught a glimpse of the blush forming on Junsu’s cheeks before he looked away.
He heard Junsu mumbled and he had to strain his ears to hear them. He could only pick out a few words but it was still incoherent to him. “Come again?” Yoochun said.
“I want to confess with a cake,” Junsu repeated his words, his face reddening with more embarrassment.
Yoochun softly chuckled, “Why don’t you buy a cake instead? It would save you time and money,” he suggested.
“Yeah but…I prefer to bake instead of buying one. I find it more heartfelt that way and maybe the person would appreciate it more,” Junsu elaborated his reason.
Yoochun felt a pang of envy and jealousy. He met Junsu when they were classmates in 4th grade and since then, their friendship developed. It was in junior high when he realized that what he was feeling towards Junsu is not just mere friendship or brotherhood. It was more than that and Yoochun kept it to himself.
“I see…” Yoochun sighed and glanced at his wristwatch, “Fine. I’ll help you. Come over to my place after your class is done. I better get to my class or I’ll be late,” he stated as he disposed the lidded cigarette into the bin.
“Really? Thanks Chun!” Junsu exclaimed happily, “and you better stop smoking!”
“Whatever you say!” Yoochun retorted as he walked away, heading towards his class department.
Junsu arrived a few hours later at Yoochun’s place and he found Yoochun in the kitchen, preparing the ingredients and baking materials on the counter.
“Wasn’t your class supposed to end an hour ago? My house isn’t even far,” Yoochun asked while he opened the fridge.
“Yeah but I was talking with Jaejoong hyung and I lost track of the time,” Junsu replied sheepishly and accepted a can of cold juice from Yoochun.
Yoochun hummed as he gazed at Junsu, “You have been hanging out a lot with Jaejoong lately,” he stated. There were times when Yoochun saw him hanging out with a senior from the window of his classroom and Junsu always looked jolly. He could not help but feel a bit green.
“Jaejoong hyung? Yeah, he’s nice,” Junsu pursed his lips together, somewhat feeling amused at Yoochun as if he can detect Yoochun’s thoughts.
Yoochun didn’t feel like talking about Jaejoong so he initiated to get started on baking. He started on the basics and pointed every ingredients and materials to Junsu while Junsu took notes of it.
“It is important to pay attention to the amount of each ingredient. If you put more or less, the level of sweetness will change. It can also change the texture and do not mix the batter too much and too hard. And lastly, you have to check the temperature. It can change the texture and hardness of the cake and of course, you don’t want a burnt cake,” Yoochun explained patiently while Junsu continued to take notes down.
“What kind of cake do you want to make?” Yoochun asked.
Junsu put his small notebook down on the counter and thought for a while, “I think chocolate cake would be nice, is it easy to make?”
“Yeah, if you know how. Go wash your hand and I’ll teach you,” Yoochun said and Junsu did what he was told.
They spent the next thirty minutes adding and mixing the ingredients together before Yoochun started to preheat the oven.
“It doesn’t seem too hard at all,” Junsu commented as he wiped his hands clean on the apron.
“It is not but you just have to be careful,” Yoochun smiled as he poured the batter into the round pan.
“No wonder why you’re an expert. You don’t look like someone who can bake,” Junsu chuckled, “you have a bad boy image,” he reasoned.
“I know and that’s why I’m attractive,” Yoochun grinned, “most people like bad boys right?” he said as he placed the round pan inside the oven, closed it and put on the timer.
“Bad boys? Not me,” Junsu quipped as he settled himself on the bar chair.
“Then you should stop hanging out with me,” Yoochun joked.
Junsu shook his head, “Can’t do that since I am used to having you around me and I don’t know what I will do if I don’t have-” Junsu choked and his face went all red, extremely embarrassed.
Yoochun grinned gleefully with amusement, “What was that?”
“Nothing! Forget what I said!” Junsu looked away.
“I know I mean a lot to you since I am your only best friend who can understand your weird ways,” Yoochun laughed as he watched the latter blush harder.
“Whatever you say! You’re just my buddy so don’t get the wrong idea,” Junsu almost staggered with his own words.
“Fine, that’s all I am to you anyways. I am curious though, when are you planning to confess?” Junsu, although, could detect a hint of disappointment in Yoochun’s tone but paid no heed to it.
“On Valentine’s,” he replied nonchalantly.
“That’s just 3 days away,” Yoochun commented, “I think that gives you enough time to practice on your own.”
‘I wonder who is he going to confess to…could it be Jaejoong?’ Yoochun thought. ‘Junsu…what am I do you? Do you ever think of me that way?’
“How long does it take before the cake is ready?” Junsu questioned, opening his small notebook.
“It should be done in about thirty minutes,” Yoochun said and glanced at the timer, only a few minutes has passed by.
“While we wait, we’ll make the chocolate frosting for the cake!” Yoochun grinned as he pulled out a bowl and placed it in front of him. He taught Junsu everything how to make the frosting and while Junsu mixed the frosting, he scratched his cheek with his chocolate covered fingers.
Yoochun looked up from the bowl and saw smeared chocolate frostings on Junsu’s cheek.
“Junsu, you got chocolate on your face,” Yoochun pointed.
“Huh? Where?” Junsu attempted to wipe his cheek, only to end up smearing more chocolate frosting in the process.
“Oh stop it. You’re covering your whole face with chocolate!” Yoochun grabbed Junsu’s hand to stop him from smearing more chocolate. Junsu stopped moving and waited for him to let go of his wrist but Yoochun didn’t let go instantly.
‘How can he still look so…appealing with chocolate smears?’ Yoochun thought.
“Yoochun?” Junsu called for his attention but he didn’t budge at all.
Yoochun stared at him, so intensely before bringing his hand near to Junsu’s face. He placed his fore finger slowly on Junsu’s cheek and wiped a part of smeared chocolate frosting and brought it to his own mouth to taste it.
“Hmmm…sweet,” Yoochun mumbled without taking his eyes off at Junsu’s brown orbs.
Junsu blushed and pulled his wrist from Yoochun’s grasp and Yoochun immediately blinked, breaking his trance of admiration.
‘Shit. What did I just do?’ Yoochun felt like smacking himself.
“Oh, sorry. Chocolate is just…uh whatever. Here, wipe it off,” Yoochun handed Junsu a towel.
“Looks like the frosting is done,” Yoochun turned his back towards Junsu and suddenly the atmosphere became awkward.
Then the timer buzzed and Yoochun never felt so relieved for the distraction. “Oh it’s done!” Yoochun chirped as he put on the pair of gloves and opened the oven to pull out the pan.
“It smells good,” Junsu commented after he finished wiping his cheek and inhaled the aroma of freshly baked cake.
“Of course, it has to smell good since I’m an expert baker,” Yoochun grinned boastfully at him before turning away to focus on the cake.
‘Get a grip of yourself Yoochun. Just focus on the cake and don’t make it more awkward that it already is,’ he thought to himself.
However, Junsu could see through Yoochun. No matter how good Yoochun was to change the atmosphere, he knows that Yoochun tries to make things better for the sake of their friendship. He didn’t like Yoochun to keep on pretending forever but he can’t blame Yoochun for not being honest as he was just the same.
“Here, you apply the frostings all over the cake,” Yoochun handed him the spreader. Junsu accepted the spreader and followed Yoochun’s instruction on applying the frostings.
“It’s almost done. When you make a cake, you can also put toppings on top if you want. It can be strawberries or nuts or anything but more importantly, what makes a cake good is when you put love in it,” Yoochun added with a sincere smile on his face.
“Love? Ah…so that’s why they always taste so good?” Junsu asked, almost understanding what Yoochun meant and looked away from Yoochun’s gaze as he applied the last bits of frostings unto the cake.
“Yes and now we’re done. You’ve made your first cake,” Yoochun sighed as he eyed the chocolate cake; he was glad that it was done.
“Thank you Chun…”
Yoochun looked around in the kitchen and found a cake box. He carefully lifted the cake and placed it inside the box and closed it.
“Here you go,” Yoochun handed him the box.
“Don’t you want to taste it?” Junsu pouted.
Yoochun shook his head, “I’m okay. Share your first cake with your family, I’m sure your mom will be happy to see that you’re not so bad at all with the kitchen,” he insisted.
‘I just can’t eat it when he has thought of someone else…’ Yoochun thought bitterly.
“Are you sure?” Junsu seemed hesitant.
“Yes, plus there are crumbs left in the pan and leftover bits of the frosting, I can just have those instead. Seriously Junsu, I insist.”
“Okay, okay,” Junsu said, “thank you for teaching me,” he smiled.
“You’re welcome,” Yoochun smiled back, although a little bit forced.
“I think I better go, it’s getting late already and I still have to study,” Junsu said hesitantly.
“Then I’ll see you in school,” Yoochun led Junsu to the door.
“Uhm…” Junsu turned around to Yoochun but he had no idea what else to say and glanced down on the box in his hand. Yoochun waited for him to say something but after a few seconds, Junsu let out a sigh, “I’ll see you tomorrow…thanks again. I really appreciate it.”
They don’t know why it became awkward again. It has never been like that before.
“You’re always welcome Junsu, now go because I’m freezing here at the doorstep,” Yoochun joked, earning rolled eyes from Junsu.
“Fine, I’ll get going,” Junsu forced a chuckle and turned to leave.
Yoochun watched him walk down the street for a few more seconds until Junsu was out of sight. He went inside and slowly closed the door. Yoochun let out a shaky breathe and slipped down to the floor.
‘How much more do I have to endure? Just...how much more…?’ and there were trails of tears streaming down on his face.
Valentine’s Day has arrived and Yoochun was in a hurry, trying to get to his class on time when he found a recognizable figure standing under the tree nearby his class department. It has been 3 days since he last saw Junsu because he kept himself busy with school papers. Literally, he’s been avoiding Junsu for the past 3 days; ignoring the latter’s text messages and phone calls.
'What is he doing there?' He was deciding whether to approach or not, considering that he might be late. But after taking a few more steps, he was surprised that Junsu was not alone as he saw Jaejoong's form exposed from the bark of the tree.
However, what surprised him more was the box that Junsu was carrying, which could be a cake. He watched Junsu give the box to Jaejoong who in return accepted the box, too gleefully for Yoochun's liking.
'I was right...he confessed to Jaejoong and it looks like he accepted his confession. Who am I kidding myself? Junsu never sees me that way.' Yoochun thought bitterly and started walking away to the opposite direction, forgetting about his class.
Yoochun wandered around the city before he found solitude in a bookstore. The whole city was too depressing for him since every corner he went, there were couples on dates and he didn’t want to stay at home because it felt too lonely for him. He spent the rest of the day browsing and reading books until his stomach growled. He had forgotten about lunch and he was surprised to see that it was already dark outside; he might have also missed dinner. He fished out for his mobile phone in his bag, only to find that he ran out of battery.
He glanced around and saw a high school boy, standing few feet away from him reading what seemed like an adult manga.
“Excuse me…” Yoochun must have given the younger boy a scare when he jumped in surprise and quickly hid the manga under his arm.
Yoochun raised his brows at the younger boy’s flushed face and eyed the nametag on the chest pocket of his uniform.
‘Shim Changmin huh? Must be a naughty kid,’ Yoochun smirked inwardly.
“Do you have the time?”
The younger boy glanced down on his wrist nervously, “it’s 10:47,” he replied timidly.
‘Shit, that late already?’
“Thanks,” Yoochun said and tilted his head, “why are you reading adult manga instead of going on a date?”
“I could ask you the same thing, you’ve been here almost the whole day,” the younger boy spoke, with more confidence this time.
Yoochun cocked his brows before letting out an amused chuckle, “I’m just unlucky I guess, how about you?”
The younger boy shrugged, “same,” he smiled sadly.
Yoochun nodded his head in understanding, “Then continue with your naughty stuff and forget about this day, I won’t report you,” Yoochun joked and bid goodbye to the student before heading home.
When he reached the apartment, he stopped on his tracks when he saw Junsu sitting outside on his doorstep with his arms wrapped around his knees.
“Junsu? What are you doing here? How long have you been out here?”
Junsu glanced up and expressed a sign of relief when he saw Yoochun. He tried to get up but his legs buckled and fell back to the ground.
"Oww..." Junsu winced as he massaged his legs and behind.
"Are you okay?" Yoochun asked worriedly as he knelt beside Junsu.
"I'm fine...my legs are just frozen," Junsu stuttered, his teeth grinding against each other.
"You're freezing!" Yoochun exclaimed when he touched Junsu's hands and they were ice cold.
Yoochun wasted no time; he immediately helped Junsu to his feet and quickly unlocked the door. He ushered Junsu inside but Junsu didn't budge.
"Junsu?"
"Valentine's almost over," Junsu spoke softly, his voice sounding dejected. “You have been ignoring me lately, aren’t you?
Yoochun felt guilty.
"I looked for you the whole day. I couldn't find you in school and I tried to contact you but couldn't reach you..." Junsu looked down on the ground with his hands clenched on the hem of his jacket, his knuckles turning white.
“Why?”
“Huh?” Junsu looked up at him with confusion.
“Why aren’t you with Jaejoong?
Junsu frowned, “why will I be with Jaejoong hyung?”
Yoochun rolled his eyes, “didn’t you confess to him this morning? I saw you giving him a cake and it looks like he accepted your confession.”
“You saw me this morning? Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Why would I? I didn’t want to become a third wheel,” Yoochun said, somewhat coldly.
“Yoochun…”
“It’s getting late Junsu, you better go-”
“No! Not until you let me talk!” Yoochun was taken back when he saw tears pooling in Junsu’s eyes.
“Why-”
“You’re such a fool! How could you be so stupid to think that way! What made you think that I actually like Jaejoong hyung?” Junsu spat. “I never said anything about liking Jaejoong hyung from the start. How long did you stay this morning? Did you just see me give Jaejoong hyung something and then left?”
Yoochun had never seen Junsu this angry with him before. He didn’t trust himself to speak so he only nodded his head slightly.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just so plain stupid! You ignored me since that day because you thought I liked Jaejoong hyung?” Junsu whispered, his tears finally trailing down his cheeks.
Yoochun looked away, unable to meet Junsu in the eye.
“I didn’t mean to…” Yoochun started and took a deep breathe, “I just thought that you…”
“It hurts Yoochun,” Junsu wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand, “it hurt when I thought that you were ignoring me. Like I said before, I am used to having you around with me and the past few days were hell because I couldn’t reach you.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know,” Yoochun apologized.
“You’re really stupid, stupid, stupid-“ Yoochun pulled Junsu into his arms and embraced him.
“I’m really sorry Su. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he spoke softly against Junsu’s ear. “I’m sorry for misunderstanding you but how could I not misunderstand? Every time I see you with Jaejoong, you looked so happy that I assumed you might have a crush on him.”
"Why could you not tell me instead?" Junsu pulled himself away from their embrace. "How long do I have to wait before I have to be the first to make a move?"
"What?"
Junsu sniffed and wiped his eyes dry before he turned around to pick up a box lying on the ground.
Yoochun never noticed it the whole time. He eyed the box warily before meeting Junsu's brown orbs with a questioning look.
"This..." Junsu extended the box to him, "is for you."
"What is this?" Yoochun asked, slowly opening the lid the box.
It was a cake. A chocolate heart shaped cake with white cream and sprinkled red chocolate beads and strawberries on top.
Yoochun was puzzled. Then he recalled what Junsu said few days ago..
'I want to confess with a cake,'
If it was not Jaejoong, then that means...
"Su...?"
"Stupid," Junsu sighed, "It has been always you. It was you, not Jaejoong hyung, not anyone else. It's you, you, you."
What he was feeling was beyond words. Happiness was not the only thing he was feeling because he was also experiencing shock and confusion. It just seemed too surreal. He had always thought that it was very unlikely to happen since Junsu never showed that kind of interest towards him. But then again, he has always been discreet about his feeling most of the time, how did Junsu know about it?
"I have always known," Junsu said, "sometimes I feel it even if I don't see it...I have grown attached to you to know what you are feeling. You unintentionally became a part of me and that is why it feels like hell when you ignored me."
Tears started to pool in Yoochun's eyes, as he felt regretful for hurting Junsu. He never intended to hurt him and never again.
"I-" Yoochun took a shaky breathe and could no longer hold back his tears from falling, he was just too overwhelmed.
"I'm really stupid I guess," Yoochun chuckled to himself as he wiped his tears away.
"We're both are," Junsu smiled before looking at the cake he made, "so...what do you think?"
Yoochun glanced at the cake and then back at him, "looks perfect."
And something just had to ruin the moment. Yoochun's stomach made a loud growl and he looked sheepishly at Junsu.
"I knew it!" Junsu rolled his eyes, "then I must feed you," he pushed Yoochun gently inside.
"Cake first?"
"No. Proper meal first-"
A kiss first.
Across the street by the window, a younger boy let out a long deep sigh before he closed the curtain and sat on his bed.
'I guess that's it. I should be happy for him. It was enough that he got to talk to me. I guess it's time to move on.'
He looked around his room and glanced at his desk, smiling melancholy to himself.
'Ah food and porn, you shall be my comfort for now.'
"What did you give Jaejoong?"
"Hmm...Ah you mean this morning? Cake."
"What? But I thought..."
"Still jealous? Jaejoong helped me by suggesting to ask help from you to bake a cake. I gave him the messy broken cake I made for him to share with Yunho hyung."
"Yunho? The senior?"
"Yes, they have been dating."
"Oh...oh!"
"Like I said, stupid."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
"Gladly."
With a chocolate covered kiss.
________________
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Single or not, always remember that you are loved =)
Hope you liked the story and please do comment what you think. I actually had a hard time completing this because it's rather challenging for me (I don't know what is the challenge there though....*scratches head*)
Anyways, thank you so much for taking your time to read! ^.^
~zkye