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Hyungwon groaned in frustration, practically glaring at the steel bowl in his hands. “This isn’t right,” he grumbled, digging a wooden spoon into the dough in the bowl. He could barely poke the spoon through it, never mind mixing it any more. His cat, Pepero, sat on the counter beside him, and Hyungwon could just feel her judging eyes watching him.
He sighed, dropping the spoon onto the counter beside the bowl as he read the recipe again, floating on a piece of paper in front of him. It was moments like these where Hyungwon was both thankful and annoyed at his abilities: thankful because they prevented him from starving to death, but annoyed because he had absolutely no cooking skills without them
With another weary sigh, he willed the paper to fall back onto the counter, and stared at the miserable dough that was supposed to be cupcake batter. He could’ve sworn he followed the instruction to the tee… Kihyun made this all look so easy.
Speaking of Kihyun, he was the reason he was in this mess in the first place. It was Kihyun’s birthday the next day, and Hyungwon wanted to do something special for him. He had a whole, elaborate idea planned out, starting with cupcakes and ending with… Well, hopefully ending with Kihyun becoming his boyfriend, officially.
Hyungwon shook his head, bringing himself back to the situation at hand: cupcakes. Or rather, a lack of cupcakes.
He could easily use some spells and conjure up some cupcakes, but he really wanted them to be handmade, in every sense of the word. He just felt like it would make them that much more special.
Finally, after trying to poke at the dough a couple more times, he gave up, tossing the bowl into the sink to deal with later. He sunk into his couch, conjuring up his phone to appear in his hands, and called up Hyunwoo, the resident father of the friend group.
“Hello?”
“Hyunwoo, how do you make cupcakes?” Hyungwon didn’t have time for formalities.
“Um… I don’t.”
Hyungwon groaned. “You know what I meant. How does one make cupcakes in general?”
“Follow a recipe,” Hyunwoo answered, and Hyungwon could just picture him shrugging. Why did he even bother calling him, he knew his advice would be terrible.
“I did, and it failed miserably.” Hyungwon groaned, sliding even further down on the couch.
“Do you want me to send you some?”
“Will they be handmade?” Hyungwon inquired, genuinely interested in the offer.
“Probably not. I would’ve asked Changkyun to use magic.”
Hyungwon rolled his eyes. “Then no. Besides, I don’t trust Changkyun’s food, magic or not. Thanks, though.”
“Should I ask Jooheon? He knows how to bake pretty well.”
“Wait, really?” Hyungwon sat up straighter. “I didn’t know that.”
“Where do you think he gets the cookies from?”
The mere thought of the cookies Jooheon kept in the backroom of his store made Hyungwon’s stomach grumble. He really had been at this task for entirely too long. “I had no idea he made them. I thought he just… Conjured them up or something.”
“No, he makes them, says they help him relax. I’ll call him and tell him to send you some.” Hyunwoo paused for a moment before adding, “Or you can call him.”
“I’ll just call him,” Hyungwon agreed, knowing that Jooheon would probably rope Hyunwoo into a long conversation before allowing him to get a word out.
Of course, Hyungwon should’ve known it wouldn’t be an easy conversation to have with Jooheon.
“But why do you need them?” Jooheon insisted for the third time in a row, and Hyungwon was growing tired finding ways to avoid the question.
“I need them because it’s- it’s Kihyun’s birthday tomorrow and I’ve been trying to make my own, but I can’t.”
“Why don’t you just use a spell? I know a good one.”
“I wanted it to be special." Hyungwon was beginning to sound like a whiny child but he didn’t care. “I wanted them to be handmade, to show him that I’m not just fancy tricks and stuff.”
“Why?” Jooheon asked.
“Because he can do so many amazing things without any magic whatsoever. And, I don’t know, I just thought it would be more personal like that.”
“I don’t fully understand the logic, because your magic comes from you, but alright, I’ll make some quickly and send them over.”
“Thank you,” Hyungwon sighed, eager to hang up before Jooheon began talking his ear off about his cats. Hyungwon liked the two of them, he really did, but he had seen them in person earlier that day and on Instagram only a few hours ago. He didn’t need another rundown. “Can you get them to me tomorrow in the morning?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“Alright. Well,” Hyungwon faked a yawn, stretching his body for good measure. “I’m going to sleep now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Of course you are,” Jooheon laughed, buying the lie completely. “Sleep well!”
Unfortunately, Hyungwon did not go to sleep after hanging up. Instead, he stayed up way too late working on another part of his gift for Kihyun. He had noticed that the other man always wore thin bracelets around his wrist, which had given him the idea to make a bracelet. However, that idea was probably easier thought out than done, and as a tiny blue bead slipped from between his long fingers onto the bed he was sitting on for the tenth time, he groaned. He only had two beads on the metal chain, and he wasn’t really planning on adding many more, but at this point he was going to either have to make do with what he had, or use magic. He sighed as he pushed his round glasses back up his nose and flopped his grey hair out of his face before getting back to work.
On what was probably the fifteenth try, he managed to get the third bead on the chain, and he let out a sigh of relief. He was casting tiny spells on each one of the beads, not powerful enough to completely alter Kihyun’s day, but just enough to make things go right when he put the bracelet on.
Finally, after what felt like hours, he managed to get all the beads onto the chain. Lifting it up to his face so he could take a final look at it, Hyungwon smiled. It was still a delicate bracelet but the beads gave it a pop of colour, something he thought Kihyun could work into his wardrobe easily, and he had done it all by hand, save for the spells - and the clasp. He just couldn’t get the wire into it, and frankly didn’t even know how he was supposed to.
It was in the early hours of the morning that Hyungwon finally fell asleep, much to his dismay, but the anticipation for the next day cancelled out his annoyance.
Hyungwon really should’ve known better.
He woke up to the sound of something vibrating, and through bleary eyes he located his phone, missing the green button three times before finally picking up and pressing it to his ear. “Hello?” he grumbled, eyes slipping shut.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty!” Jooheon’s voice was entirely too cheerful for the early hour. “I sent you the cupcakes like three hours ago and still haven’t heard from you, so I was just calling to see if you were alive!”
“Three hours ago?” Hyungwon repeated. “Why were you awake that early?”
“Hyungwon, it’s two o’clock. In the afternoon.”
It took his brain a moment to process the information, but as soon as it did, Hyungwon’s eyes shot open. “No it’s not.”
Jooheon laughed. “Yes, it is.”
Hyungwon scrambled out of bed, phone still pressed against his ear, almost tripping over Pepero in the process. “I was supposed to be up at ten!” he exclaimed, slipping his glasses onto his face.
“That was optimistic.”
Hyungwon groaned, putting the call on speakerphone before muttering a quick spell to keep his phone floating beside him, and began getting dressed hastily. “I was supposed to be up at ten because Kihyun leaves for work, and I was going to give him his gift! Well, part of it, and then I was going to wait for him to get back and-”
“Slow down,” Jooheon interrupted Hyungwon’s frantic rambling. “It’s fine, Hyungwon. Did you tell him you were going to see him off?”
“No, but-”
“Then it’s fine. You can’t disappoint him if he doesn’t know what to expect.”
Hyungwon sighed, pulling an oversized black and white striped shirt over his head, and readjusted his glasses. "I guess. I’ve disappointed myself though.”
“It’ll be fine. You’re overthinking it.”
“It’s what I do best, Jooheon,” Hyungwon sighed, stepping out of his bedroom and into the kitchen where twelve neatly iced cupcakes were waiting for him on the counter. “Ah, thank you for the cupcakes. They look amazing.”
“It was my pleasure. Now, I’ve got to go, but you’ve got this, loverboy. Go get him!”
Hyungwon tried to protest but Jooheon hung up before he could get another word out. He let his phone float sadly down to the counter by the cupcakes and shook his head, mostly at himself.
It was fine. He still had a whole lot of time before Kihyun would be back from work, so he could plan something even better than what he was originally going for. He grinned as a plan formed in his head.
After making himself something quick for breakfast - well, lunch - he stepped out of his apartment. He made sure the door was locked before making his way down the stairs, only slowing down when he realised there was some noise coming from Kihyun’s apartment. Furrowing his brows, he stopped at the foot of the stairs, tilting his head to the side as he tried to listen to the noises coming from down the hall. It sounded like… Music. Like people talking over the sound of music.
With quiet steps, he turned away from their front door and walked towards Kihyun’s door instead, trying his best to keep the floorboards from creaking under his feet. The voices were getting clearer, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he recognised one of them.
Kihyun was home.
Hyungwon cursed under his breath and pushed his glasses back up. Kihyun wasn’t supposed to be home yet. Hyungwon was supposed to be there, waiting for him when he got back, with balloons and flowers and more cheesy things. He was supposed to be there with cupcakes - which reminded him that he hadn’t even put the finishing touches on those.
He cursed louder.
Back in his apartment, Hyungwon was in a frenzy. He found some dusty wrapping paper lying under his couch with which he wrapped the bracelet once, twice, before giving up and casting a spell to do it for him while he worried over the cupcakes. He hadn’t even fully fleshed out what he was going to do with them; he just wanted them to be a segue way into him asking Kihyun to be his boyfriend.
“Maybe I could put a note in them?” Hyungwon pondered out loud, then shook his head. That would be messy, they’re not fortune cookies. Then an idea popped into his head. He could have it so that, when Kihyun took a bite into them, the message would appear in the air. But that would be too difficult, and Hyungwon really didn’t have time to spare.
He could make them spell out “Date me?” but that was way too obvious, and Hyungwon really wanted to be able to give Kihyun his gift before embarrassing himself.
Then, another idea came to mind. After Kihyun’s first bite, the cupcakes remaining would spell out “Date me?” It was the perfect last minute solution, and something Hyungwon could easily figure out.
It took him a couple tries to get the cupcakes just right, and once he was certain that everything was in order, he placed them carefully into a container and made his way back downstairs. After making sure that his gift was in his pocket, Hyungwon raised his free hand and knocked on Kihyun’s door, the voices on the other side dying down.
He heard some footsteps along the creaky floor and a second later, the door swung open to reveal Kihyun standing there, wearing a maroon button down and skinny black jeans. Hyungwon suddenly felt severely underdressed.
“Happy birthday!” he exclaimed before Kihyun could say anything. “I, um. I brought you something.”
Kihyun was pleasantly surprised, if his wide eyes and small smile were anything to go by. “Thanks, Hyungwon. I didn’t know you were here, I haven’t seen you all day.”
“It’s been an… Eventful morning,” Hyungwon explained, stepping inside Kihyun’s apartment, smiling at the little spotted dog who came up to greet him and sniff his legs. He took off his shoes - his slippers, rather - at the door and followed Kihyun inside towards the kitchen. “I didn’t think you were going to be home this early.”
Kihyun shrugged, giving him a smile. “I left early. My friend Minhyuk took me for lunch and we just got back, maybe half an hour ago.”
Hyungwon hummed, suddenly feeling competitive. Who was this Minhyuk stealing his thunder?
Turns out, he got the response to his question much quicker than expected. In the kitchen was standing another man, almost as tall as Hyungwon himself, with bright blond hair and a dark blue shirt littered with stars that almost seemed like they were moving.
Wait… They were moving. What kind of person would wear that kind of shirt? Hyungwon had to stop himself from scoffing.
“Minhyuk, this is Hyungwon, the- my upstairs neighbour,” Kihyun introduced him. “Hyungwon, this is Minhyuk, my coworker and the bane of my existence.”
Hyungwon wasn’t sure which was more important: just an “upstairs neighbour” or the bane of Kihyun’s existence.
“He loves me,” Minhyuk teased, shooting Kihyun a grin before extending a hand out to Hyungwon. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Eyebrows raised, Hyungwon shook Minhyuk’s hand firmly. “Nice to meet you, too.” I haven’t heard anything about you, he was going to add, but he figured this wasn’t the time to be petty. Still, the thought of Kihyun talking about him made his heart swell.
He then turned to Kihyun, opening the container before handing it to him. “I, um. These are for you.”
Kihyun looked down at them then back up at Hyungwon and grinned, eyes crinkling. “Did you make them?”
“From scratch!” Hyungwon lied. He was going to have to swear Jooheon to secrecy, but it was worth it when he saw Kihyun’s smile widen.
“Thank you, they look really good.” Kihyun took the container from him and was about to pluck one out when Minhyuk all but threw himself in front of them.
“Hold on, Ki.” He took ahold of Kihyun’s wrist, pulling his hand away from the cupcakes. Hyungwon had to hold back the glare.
Minhyuk then took the container from him and brought it up to his face, peering at the cupcakes intensely.
“I’m sorry, he’s just… Odd,” Kihyun sighed. He propped a hand on his waist, looking like a disappointed mother. “What are you doing, Min?”
Ki and Min. Hyungwon didn’t have a cute nickname. His shoulders fell ever so slightly.
“I can detect…” Minhyuk’s voice trailed off as his eyes flitted from Kihyun to Hyungwon and back. “Magic.”
Hyungwon’s eyes widened and he subconsciously took a step back. Kihyun’s worried eyes caught onto the movement, and he looked up at him, concern evident in his gaze. “It’s okay, Hyungwon. Minhyuk’s a witch, too.”
Minhyuk was glaring when Hyungwon looked back over at him. “What did you do to these?”
“Nothing!” Hyungwon insisted. The last thing he needed was for Kihyun to think that he lied about them being made from scratch. He was very particular about that.
“Can I eat one, then, to make sure?”
Kihyun sighed out an “I guess so,” just as Hyungwon exclaimed, “No!”
The two men looked over at Hyungwon with confused expressions, but all he could do was stand there and gape like a fish. “I want Kihyun to take the first one,” he finally said after what felt like forever. “It’s his birthday, after all.”
“That’s sweet,” Kihyun admitted, but Minhyuk wasn’t convinced.
“He’s my best friend and I need to make sure you’re not trying to poison him,” Minhyuk insisted.
Before either of them could say anything, Minhyuk had taken one out and had basically stuffed the entire thing into his mouth. Hyungwon watched in disbelief, clutching the lid of the container tightly, and Kihyun sighed.
“Wow, this is really good!” Minhyuk commented, his mouth still full of the pastry. “Sorry I doubted you! It was just really sketchy, man. Hey, can I have another- Oh.”
Minhyuk was peering into the container. Hyungwon pressed a hand to his forehead, covering his eyes in the process, his glasses slipping down the slope of his nose. This was an absolute disaster.
“You’re cute, Hyungwon, but I barely know you.”
“What?!” Kihyun was beyond confused. Hyungwon didn’t move his hand, but hung his head.
“Maybe take me out to dinner first. Say, how did you do this? It’s pretty good.”
“Minhyuk, shut up," Kihyun snapped.
“But he just-”
“Minhyuk, you idiot, just- Go to the living room for a second.”
“Can I take these with me?”
“ No, Minhyuk.”
Hyungwon heard some shuffling and only then did he peel his hand away from his face, blinking his eyes back into focus and pushing his glasses back up. Tentatively, he looked over at Kihyun, still standing beside him with the container of cupcakes in his hand.
“I’m sorry about him,” Kihyun sighed, putting the container down on the counter beside them. “He’s a lot to handle.”
“It’s okay.” Hyungwon really didn’t know what else to say as he fiddled with the flimsy red lid.
“I’m going to assume that the message wasn’t for him.” Kihyun smiled up at him, his expression hopeful.
“No offense to him,” Hyungwon chuckled. He couldn’t hold Kihyun’s gaze and lowered his eyes to his hands.
“Oh, please offend him,” Kihyun huffed. “He deserves it.”
Hyungwon shrugged. This day really wasn’t going according to plan, at all. “I guess.”
Kihyun didn’t say anything after that, but he did take the lid from Hyungwon’s grip gently and placed it down on the counter before taking Hyungwon’s hands into his own. He moved his face into Hyungwon’s line of sight, trying to get him to meet his eyes again. “Hey, are you okay?”
Hyungwon nodded. “Just embarrassed.” His eyes flitted up to meet Kihyun’s, and the other man smiled.
“Don’t be. I think it was cute. Well, not Minhyuk ruining the whole thing, but… The cupcakes. It’s cute.” Kihyun smiled again, squeezing his hands. “Yeah, of course I’ll date you.”
Hyungwon let out a sigh of relief, allowing himself a smile. “Really?”
“Of course.”
“Even though I slept through most of your birthday?”
“It’s only 3 o’clock, Hyungwon.”
Hyungwon simply gave him a sheepish smile. Kihyun laughed and shook his head, one hand letting go of Hyungwon’s so that he could wrap an arm around his shoulders, using him as leverage to get onto his tip toes. Gently, he pressed his lips against Hyungwon’s, who exhaled softly as he brought his free arm to wrap around Kihyun’s waist, supporting him and holding him close.
But just as Kihyun pulled him even closer and tilted his head, loud footsteps echoed in the kitchen, causing Hyungwon to pull away from the kiss to glare at the intruder.
“Ohh, so the message was for you," Minhyuk said, a look of realisation on his face as he stood there, looking at the pair still holding each other. “Well, now that we’ve settled that, can I have another one?”
Kihyun was the one to pull away from the embrace with an annoyed sigh, but he still kept his hand wrapped around Hyungwon’s. “Let me have one, at least.”
“But I figured-”
"Lee Minhyuk." Kihyun’s voice was so stern, even Hyungwon was intimidated.
Minhyuk’s face fell, and Hyungwon hated that he felt a tinge of guilt, but Kihyun didn’t seem to feel any remorse. “Let me have one first, and then-”
A knock on Kihyun’s front door drew them away from the conversation at hand, and Minhyuk bounded away to open it with Kihyun’s dog following him closely, the cupcakes seemingly forgotten.
Kihyun sighed, turning to look up at Hyungwon. “I really am sorry,” he apologised again, but the taller man just shook his head.
“It's not your fault. We've all got an obnoxious friend.”
Kihyun laughed at that, and Hyungwon felt his heart swell at the sight of his eyes curving upwards and his wide smile. “You can say that again.”
Later, when Kihyun’s friends had come and gone, Hyungwon stayed a little longer, opting to watch a few episodes of a dumb sitcom with Kihyun curled up into his side, his dog sleeping on the empty spot on the couch on Kihyun’s other side. He didn’t really focus on the plot, though: he was too busy watching the way Kihyun laughed every time one of the characters cracked a witty joke, and trying to calm his racing heart. At the end of the third episode, Hyungwon shifted a little, straightening up on the couch, and Kihyun moved away a bit to give him space.
“Are you heading back?” Kihyun asked, curious eyes trailed on Hyungwon’s face.
“Not yet, unless you want me to.” Hyungwon smiled, then laughed at the way Kihyun shook his head.
“No, but if you have something to do-”
“I don’t,” Hyungwon interrupted, “But I do have something I want to give you.”
He slipped a hand into his pocket, long fingers finding the crinkling paper, and pulled it out, awkwardly handing it over to Kihyun.
Kihyun moved to sit cross-legged on the couch, facing Hyungwon as he turned the small gift around in his hands. “Another gift?”
“Another?” Hyungwon repeated. “What was the first?”
“You.” Kihyun grinned, dimples appearing under his eyes.
Hyungwon spluttered, shook his head, and pushed the gift closer to Kihyun’s chest. “Just open it, please.”
Kihyun laughed, gently tearing the tape off the paper and unfolding it with care. With soft hands, he plucked the bracelet off the paper, letting it fall to the ground as he turned the bracelet around in his hands, running his fingers over the beads. “This is really beautiful, Hyungwon.” He looked up, meeting his eyes. “Thank you, I love it. Did… Did you make it?”
“I did,” Hyungwon nodded. He chuckled sheepishly, running a hand through his grey hair. “It was very tedious.”
Kihyun giggled softly, unclasping the bracelet and extending it to Hyungwon. “Put it on me?”
“It’s, uh, it’s special. I can, but- I-” Hyungwon sighed, trying to collect his thoughts. “I put a spell on each bead so that, when you wear it, you have a good day. It’s when you need a little extra luck, or just a mood booster.”
Kihyun looked at Hyungwon with wide eyes, an amazed expression painting his features. “Really?”
Hyungwon nodded.
“Well, I guess I don’t need to wear it today,” Kihyun noted, clasping the bracelet again but not letting go of it. “It’s been a really good day. I don’t think it could get any better.”
“Is that so?”
“Mhm.” Kihyun nodded, moving closer to Hyungwon who couldn’t control the way his cheeks were heating up under Kihyun’s soft gaze. “Besides Minhyuk eating the cupcakes and ruining your whole plan.”
Hyungwon groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. “I forgot about that.”
Kihyun laughed again, and the next thing Hyungwon felt was lips pressing against his cheek. “It’s okay. I loved it anyways.”
Opening his eyes, Hyungwon blinked them back into focus and adjusted the glasses on his nose. Before he could say anything, however, Kihyun was curling back up into his side, whispering another thank you as they settled back into their previous position. Hyungwon smiled, kissed the top of Kihyun’s head, and wrapped an arm around him, holding him close.
Although the day didn’t start off the way he had expected it to, he couldn’t have imagined a happier ending.