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Jisung’s world was in shambles.
“It’s not sticking together!” he wailed, his arm aching from the stirring.
“Jisung, please, calm down,” Felix sighed over the phone, which Jisung had propped up by the fruit bowl. “How much flour did you use?”
“I used exactly as much as you told me!”
Jisung stabbed at the batter with his spatula, ready to throw it and the bowl out the window.
“Just stir a little more, but not too much,” Felix advised him.
“That’s vague,” Jisung grumbled, his arm feeling numb at how long he’d been mushing this mess of a brownie mix together. “God, this is a disaster.”
“I said I would come over and help you!”
“No, I need to make it,” Jisung insisted. “I need to learn how.”
“Aw, are you afraid Minho-hyung is gonna leave you for me?”
Yes.
“No,” Jisung muttered, shifting to his left hand to beat this pathetic excuse for brownie batter into one clump.
“He’ll still love you, Jisung,” Felix said, and Jisung’s stomach did somersaults. “Even if it tastes a little…”
“Shit?”
“I was gonna say different,” Felix said with a small giggle. “Look, it’s the thought that counts. He’s gonna love the effort.”
Jisung seriously doubted that. Minho was not one to lie, and certainly not one to refrain from teasing. Most of the time, Jisung could take it, because he would always tease Minho back.
This time was different. This was Minho’s birthday, and Jisung wanted to surprise him with a new-found ability to make his favorite snack: Felix’s brownies. Of course, Jisung was attempting a brownie cake, a much harder feat which Felix had warned him against.
He should’ve listened. Instead, he’d gotten cocky, and he regretted it.
Jisung wiped his brow. How was he already sweating? Must be the heat from the oven. Though that didn’t explain why his heart was racing like he was running a 100-meter sprint.
The batter would have to do, Jisung decided, giving up on mixing anymore. He poured out the batter into a pan.
“Did you spray down the pan?”
Jisung gulped.
He heard Felix sigh when he didn’t respond.
“It’s fine,” Jisung said quickly, more to himself than anything as he smoothed at the batter on the pan. “It’ll be fine.”
“When’s Minho-hyung coming home?”
Jisung glanced at the clock as he shoved the pan into the oven. “Half-hour.”
Felix was silent.
“You said it takes half-hour to bake!” Jisung cried out, picking up the phone and holding it to his ear.
“And another half-hour to cool down…”
Jisung wanted to cry.
“Jisung, he’s gonna love it—”
“I need to go,” Jisung said frantically. “I need to stall him or something.”
Felix laughed lightly. “Wish him a happy birthday for me.”
Jisung hung up, searching his contacts for his neighbor’s number and pressing call.
“No,” Seungmin answered.
“I haven’t even asked you anything!” Jisung protested.
“You only ever call me to ask a favor.”
“I just need you to stall Minho when he comes home,” Jisung begged. “For like...twenty minutes.”
“There’s not enough money in the world,” Seungmin said flatly. “Good luck, though.”
Jisung grumbled to himself as he hung up on Seungmin. Now he’d have to actually use his own brain to keep Minho from entering their apartment.
Or he could just…lock the front door, and pray to every deity in the universe that his brownie cake was good enough for Minho to forgive him for locking him out.
Thirty minutes later, Minho came home, unlocking the front door with the housekey that Jisung forgot people just have.
“Go away, get out!” Jisung cried out when he heard Minho’s footsteps growing louder.
“Excuse me?”
Jisung’s stomach turned, twisting painfully when the footsteps didn’t stop. He was an idiot to think Minho would listen to him.
Jisung threw a towel over the pan he’d taken out of the oven, hiding it from view just as Minho pushed open the door. There was a bright flush on his cheeks from being outside in the cold, but a warm smile on his face when his gaze found Jisung.
“My birthday,” Minho said simply, reaching out to pull Jisung into a hug and kissing the top of his head. “I decide where I go.”
Jisung must’ve been trembling or something, because Minho pulled away, his pointer finger lifting Jisung’s chin up to look him in the eye.
“Something wrong?” Minho said, a small smirk on his face, like he already knew what was going on.
Jisung felt his face burn. He always blushed whenever Minho looked him in the eye for some reason, his insides turning all hot and molten and melty.
“Smells good,” Minho noted, his nose scrunching when he sniffed the air.
Jisung swallowed a lump in his throat. “I tried, okay?”
Minho’s lip twitched. “I know.”
“You know?”
“Felix told Hyunjin weeks ago,” Minho said, his thumb brushing Jisung’s chin gently. “And I got it out of Hyunjin. So obvious he was keeping a secret…I didn’t know it was about my birthday though, I’m sorry.”
Jisung groaned, already planning out a way to fight Hyunjin for that.
“Just wanted to surprise you,” Jisung mumbled, looking away from Minho’s eyes.
“I was surprised when I found out,” Minho said earnestly, ruffling Jisung’s already frazzled hair from baking. “Never had a brownie cake for my birthday. Can I try it?”
“No,” Jisung said seriously. “It might be poisonous.”
“I’ll take that risk.”
Jisung watched Minho pluck off a piece of the cake from the pan, chewing it slowly. Minho always had the perfect poker face, so for a moment, Jisung wondered if he’d actually succeeded.
“Interesting…”
“Stop it,” Jisung whined, and Minho giggled. “I really did try.”
“I know, baby,” Minho said softly, pulling Jisung into his arms again and kissing him lightly. “Thank you.”
Jisung melted into his hold, and reached up to kiss him again.
Minho stroked the side of his face. “How about we try again, together?”
Jisung smiled.