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Jae can't pinpoint exactly where this path started to go wrong. It had seemed like a good idea about four hours ago. He had a mountain of papers to grade but couldn't focus on anything and baking always helped him deal with his stress. But now, with three whole twenty-four pan trays of cupcakes in front of him, he’s not so sure anymore.
After many failed attempts at somehow cramming sixty-something cupcakes into his fridge, he knows it was a bad idea. There is absolutely no way to get them all in there. He briefly considers trying to eat all the ones that don't fit, briefly. Realizing that the amount of sugar in seventeen whole cupcakes will inevitably somehow kill him, he rejects the idea.
He’s so engrossed in his cupcake crisis that he misses his best friend Sungjin walking into the kitchen, opening the fridge to see a mountain of cupcakes and turning around to see even more in front of a distressed Jae.
“Jae, what the fuck did you do?”
Jae almost cries.
-
“This is a stupid idea Jin, nobody does this shit anymore. My neighbors are going to think I’m the biggest creep in history and get a restraining order-”
“Jae shut up and go.”
He, still very unhappy with Sungjin’s solution, slowly starts walking up to his neighbor’s house. It’ll be okay, all he has to do is politely explain that he baked too many cupcakes and ask if they would like some. No big deal.
He stands in front of his neighbor’s door and takes a deep breath before pressing the doorbell. The door swings open a few seconds later to a disheveled man staring up at Jae with wide eyes.
Oh, he thinks, he’s pretty. Slanted, shiny eyes accompanied by a set of perfect cheekbones and what seems to be impossibly glowy skin. The boy is very,very pretty.
So pretty that Jae's tired brain briefly stops functioning and instead he just ends up staring at pretty boy until confusion starts to grow on the boy's face.
Sungjin, bless his soul, has noticed his friend completely freeze up in the presence of pretty boy and steps in from behind him with a "hi! We're actually your neighbors, it's nice to meet you!"
Jae, whose brain has finally stopped buffering, holds out his tray of cupcakes. "I actually baked way too many cupcakes and thought maybe you'd like some? They're my take on vanilla latte cupcakes, basically vanilla and coffee, so I thought I'd give you some and introduce myself along the way too. That is, if you like sugary things in the first place, it's totally fine if you-"
The chuckle is warm, low. "Thank you, they look amazing." Pretty boy's hands reach out to take the tray from Jae's, "I'm Younghyun, do you guys want to come in?"
Younghyun. It suits him.
Sungjin claps a hand on Jae's shoulder before saying "I’m Sungjin, this is Jae. Sadly, this one has a whole bunch of papers he needs to grade so we probably shouldn't. You should come over some time though, his food is great."
The blush on Jae's face is bright and unrelenting (much like the grin on Younghyun's). Jae nods furiously in agreement with Sungjin and squeaks out a "bye!" before marching back to the safety of his own home where he doesn't have to worry about cute boys and even cuter smiles.
-
Jae goes about his daily life as an overworked highschool teacher with minimal teasing from Sungjin about the pretty, slant eyed boy from next door.
He doesn’t see much of Younghyun either. It seems like the boy is either never at home, or never leaves him home. The only indication that he is indeed there is the constantly changing music that Jae can hear almost everyday, and the thriving potted plants that surround the boy’s house, growing like a viney, beautiful cover over the house. It only intrigues Jae even more. A boy that changes from haunting melodies played on the strings of a violin to the softest lyrics about love, dancing on the sweet voice of a French woman.
He’s busy enough that he can’t convince himself to actively attempt to communicate with his neighbor.
Jae’s wandering mind finally finds an answer when he comes home from a particularly tiring day of school to find a dish covered in tinfoil on the table on the front ledge of his house.
He knows for a fact that he himself would have never left it there, and neither would Sungjin in fear of Jae’s wrath.
Jae, cautiously, takes the few steps over to the table when he notices that the suspicious tinfoil threat has a piece of hot pink paper attached to the top. Leaning a little closer, he realizes that the note is indeed addressed to him.
In pretty curly writing it reads:
“Jae,
The cupcakes were absolutely divine. Thank you so much for sharing them with me. Here’s a token of my thanks. Hope grading went well.
Younghyun xx”
By the time Jae was done reading the note, it was hard to distinguish between his cheeks and the sticky note. He flushed a shade of pink so brilliant that he grabbed the dish and ran into his house before anyone, god forbid Younghyun, could see him.
Placing the dish on his countertop, Jae glares at it like the intensity of his stare may explain what just happened. He unwraps the tinfoil with trembling fingers and underneath finds the most delicious looking apple pie.
Jae is in awe of the obvious amount of time and effort that went into this dish. The smell of perfectly blended spices fills his kitchen immediately as he surveys the gorgeous top.
Younghyun had taken two colors of dough and twisted them, then formed them in a spiral on top of the fruit filling. The end result was beautiful.
The timing is brilliant because today is one of those days when he needs a sweet pick-me-up to end a crappy day. Now, he has this heavenly pie before him and the urge to bite into it to see if it tastes as heavenly as it looks becomes overwhelming very quickly.
By the time he’s cut a perfect slice and grabbed a fork, he hears the distinct click of the door being unlocked telling him that Sungjin was home.
Understandably, the first thing Sungjin does is come into the kitchen to see where the smell of freshly baked apples with cinnamon delicately balanced with the buttery pastry was coming from.
“Since when do you decorate pies?”
Jae silently picks up the hot pink sticky note and hands it to Sungjin. Taking a moment to read it, Sungjin breathes out a “holy shit.”
Jae cuts a slice for Sungjin too. They both sit down to take a deep breath before digging their forks into the flaky pastry.
Flavor bursts the moment his fork touches his tongue. The balance of tastes is perfect, nothing feels out of place in the dish.
“Jae holy shit please marry him. I want this forever.” Sungjin is already digging into another bite.
Jae hides face behind his hand hoping that Sungjin can’t see the furious color taking over his cheeks.
For a few weeks, both are caught up with their own lives.
Exam season is around the corner and Jae is ready to give up being a teacher. High school kids are brats and he's tired of looking at his computer screen for twelve hours a day writing exam questions.
Of course his only option is to resort to the kitchen to bask in the comfort of delicious, calorie filled pastries.
He hasn't made donuts in a while. Or sourdough bread. Or croissants. He considers making all of them, then changes his mind when he realises that he really doesn't have that much time and the exam papers sitting in his laptop are still unfinished.
Donuts it is.
He works between the brief periods when the dough is proofing. The distraction of flour, sugar and fat somehow manages to trick him into actually focusing on the soul draining work behind final exams.
He continues drafting questions from different units. The aftereffects of the Cold War on US-Russia relationships and how that affects politics today. What happens when a government prioritizes economic progress over human rights? What makes a social movement successful and how can they be measured?
Politics has always been a love of his, so it really isn't too difficult to get back into the rhythm of. For the first time in weeks, his mind is completely caught up, to the point where he almost over proofs his delicate dough.
Decorating a donut is probably the most stressful part of the whole process. He likes making his donuts buttery, but with little sugar so that he can have his merry way with the icing.
While making the first batch of royal icing realization hits him, it's been weeks since he and Younghyun have had any form of communication. Younghyun returned his tray along with a perfectly delicious pie in a pie tin. He would need to return the tin, but it would be rude to just send it back empty, no?
He's made the decision to make donuts for Younghyun before he realizes it. The donuts have started to cool meaning he needs to speed up his icing process, but now, with a newfound intention for them, he changes his plan.
He ends up making an almost frosting-like consistency, dyes it different colors of blue and smatters them about until they're messy enough to replicate the waves on a beach. Sprinkles Graham cracker crumbs around for sand and adds a few small touches of gold leaf because Jae is nothing if not too much.
Jae’s always loved the ocean, growing up beside the beaches tied his heart to the flowing waters of the world. Decorating the donuts with something he holds so dear to his heart almost feels like giving a part of himself to Younghyun. He pushes that thought to the back of his mind, not wanting to accept that he’s already in too deep.
It’s about a week after the donuts that a small cream envelope on Jae’s front porch catches his eye. Balanced delicately on the door handle, the envelope contains a single card when Jae opens it. It’s an invitation to a charity fundraiser sponsored by the school. The scented card and the gold writing gives it away to Jae that the fundraiser was likely another one hosted by a rich family.
On the night of the fundraiser, Jae lets Sungjin fix his bowtie because he definitely knows better. The plan is to drive over with Matt, one of the PE teachers and also one of his best friends. Jae doesn’t particularly enjoy these nights, but he knows that they do go towards a good cause and he doesn’t want to let down the parents that are expecting to see him. So, begrudgingly, he goes.
To no one’s surprise, the ballroom is massive and the decorations are lavish. Crystal decorations hang from the ceilings and the necks of beautiful women. Cream satins wrap waists while bubbling champagne in dainty glasses comes dangerously close to spilling over in the hands of some who’ve already had a tad too much.
Jae makes small talk with some parents, he’s lucky to have some people he genuinely enjoys talking to there, so he tries to fill up his time around them. Eventually, the amount of champagne in his system forces him to the bathroom.
Unsurprisingly, the bathrooms are as lavishly decorated as the rest of the place. Couches line one wall and Jae has the distinct thought of ah, rich people.
And then, while he’s washing his hands, Jae looks up to see the reflection of Younghyun walking out of one of the stalls. The other boy looks up, and in almost slow motion, Jae sees the shock, recognition and then a smile paints his face.
“Jae! How are you?” Younghyun starts walking over to him while Jae manages to force his brain to get over the surprise and respond like a normal human.
“Hi!” comes out like a breathless squeak, but he’ll take it over remaining silent.
Younghyun’s hair is swept upwards revealing his forehead, his skin glows under the warm lighting, his face is stretched out into a huge smile and Jae can feel his heartbeat crawling up his throat.
“What brings you here?”
Jae’s brain reboots to reality and he explains his association with the event, then asks Younghyun the same.
"Ah, makes sense. I'm here because my dad would throw a fit if his son didn't come to his events." The statement is followed by an eye roll, but Jae can see the fondness in it.
"Your dad owns the company? Like Kang Industries?"
Younghyun smiles, "yeah, that's him."
"Holy shit."
Younghyun chuckles, "anyways hyung, nice to see you. You look really good."
Jae's heart, for what feels like the thousandth time in this short conversation, stops beating for a second.
"Thanks...you look good too." Jae can feel a smile forming on his face.
Younghyun's smile, impossibly, grows even wider.
“I was just going to step outside to the balcony for a second, wanna come with?”
Younghyun leads him out of a bathroom and down a hallway into an elevator. People start to thin out, and by the time they get to the balcony, they’re alone.
The city glows beneath them, tiny specks of light all combining to map out the people, the life.
Jae turns to look at Younghyun. The boy has his elbows on the ledge, eyes slanted, sharp, reflecting the twinkle of lights, his mind clearly far away. So, Jae turns back to the view too deciding to enjoy the silence being broken by the sound of passing cars.
“Where’d you learn how to bake?” Younghyun's soft voice shatters the delicate silence. Jae smiles to himself before turning to Younghyun to answer the question.
“My mom did it a lot growing up, my sister has a sweet tooth so it came naturally. What about you?"
Younghyun hops up onto the railing of the balcony and seats himself comfortably before Jae even has the chance to panic about him falling.
"It started with me just wanting to defy my parents by doing feminine things, I guess. I just wanted their attention. Typical sob story, I know."
Jae smiles at him, "a little typical, yeah."
Younghyun feigns offense and punches Jae's shoulder light-heartedly with more affection than anything else.
Except he doesn't take his hand away.
Instead, Younghyun keeps his hand on Jae and lets his fist slowly open up to rest his hand by the lapel of Jae's coat. The electricity between them crackles, Jae is sure Younghyun can feel how much his heart is racing under his palm.
Jae feels his legs move before he remembers consciously making the decision to. His eyes are on Younghyun's lips drawing him in like a siren. He sees Younghyun's mouth part just slightly, looks up to his eyes for a brief second to see that Younghyun is staring at his own lips.
Jae is in the gap between Younghyun's parted thighs, so, so close. But he pauses, his nerves getting the best of him, worried that Younghyun doesn't want him the same way Jae wants him.
He looks up to meet Younghyun's eyes again, sees the boys eyebrows scrunch in confusion before he feels Younghyun's hands on his jacket, bunching up the fabric and using it to pull him closer to meet their lips.
Jae reaches up to the boy's neck to push him even closer, feels Younghyun arch into him shoving their bodies even closer until they're sharing the heat of their bodies.
The kiss is intense, hands in hair and on waists. They're so focused on pushing closer to each other that they don't realize that Younghyun has been pushed to the edge of the railing ledge and it's only when the boy let's out a yelp that they stop kissing.
Had it not been for Jae's razor sharp reflexes pulling on Younghyun so hard that he goes colliding into Jae's chest instead, his body would have been met with a fateful drop.
Younghyun turns his face back to Jae's and can't help but burst out into laughter. Jae looks surprised for a second before joining in with his laughter, his hands cupping Younghyun's cheeks. Their foreheads rest against each other as their laughter dies down. They breathe each other in as the adrenaline in their system settles down.
"Hey, um, wanna get out of here?" Younghyun's voice is breathy. Jae nods.
And if the texts on Jae's phone from Sungjin asking about his whereabouts go unread because he's too busy paying attention to the bruises blooming on Younghyun's neck as their bodies press together in a slow grind, then who can blame him really.
Jae is stirred out of his slumber by the soft press of lips against his neck and chest. He makes a barely audible noise, but Younghyun's throaty chuckle as he makes his way back up Jae's body is enough.
It's gross to be kissing first thing in the morning, they both probably have terrible breath but Jae can't find it in himself to care when Younghyun's lips soft lips are on his. Jae catches his bottom lip between his teeth and realizes that Younghyun tastes sweet.
"Oh my god you use fruity chapstick." Jae doesn't let Younghyun respond because he's flipping them over and pushing him down into the bed with the intention of kissing all of his chapstick off of his lips.
Younghyun makes Jae pancakes (it's lunch time by this point but who really cares), Jae ends up doing the long walk of about fifteen steps back to his own home only to be interrogated by Sungjin (his scolding is cut off when he finally notices the array of marks covering Jae's neck and the fact that he was most definitely not wearing his own clothes).
Their food exchanges never really stop. Not even when Jae starts spending more time in Younghyun's kitchen than his own, not when Younghyun starts baking Sungjin pies on a weekly basis, not when they move in together and share a kitchen, and definitely not when they cut into their wedding cake together against the clapping of their families and friends.
Because it's Younghyun and Jae. Jae and Younghyun. Whether it be under the soft lights of their kitchen at five am, or the warm rays of sun when they have their friends over for picnics in their backyard. It's always them, together.