Why Cupcakes Are The Best Gift

[1/2]

Heechul stared at the box of cupcakes he held. He's been staring at it for a good five minutes now, contemplating whether or not he should still go to Donghae's party. He could hear the laughter and music coming from the rooftop while he stood on the 2nd floor landing of the outdoor staircase. He had bought a box of cupcakes for Donghae as a peace offering because, as it was, he was 3 hours late already to Donghae's birthday party. He couldn't get out of the office on time while the team was still trying to catch the deadline for next Wednesday. But that also meant he was dead tired at... 9:42pm on a Friday night. He really had been looking forward to this party, but the chocolate ganache on the cupcakes seemed to put him in a trance to just go back down the flight of stairs, head left and settle into his own place just 2 houses down from Donghae's, where he can eat all of these cupcakes in peace. Maybe he could make it up to Donghae another day.

Heechul didn't know how long he had stood there, motionless, while the internal debate played out in his head. So he was pretty surprised when he heard a soft "hey..." from someone behind him. He almost dropped the box of cupcakes as he turned around and came face to face with a soft smile from a guy he didn't know.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't notice you! I'm sorry..." Heechul said as he tried to calm down and bowed to the stranger.

The other guy just gave an apologetic smile. "Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you okay?"

Heechul nodded while giving a weak smile. The other guy looked somewhat familiar from Donghae's photos on his SNS, but Heechul had never met him before.

"It's just... you had been standing here for quite some time, so I wanted to check if something was wrong or what..."

Heechul's eyes widened a bit at the realization that someone had seen his whole long drawn out decision-making moment on the stairs. He gave a sheepish laugh and confessed "Oh, you saw that? Sorry, it's just that I've had a long day and was gathering some energy before I show up to Donghae's party."

The other guy gave a small laugh. Heechul couldn't help but notice how a small dimple appeared as he did so. And how the dimple seemed to light up this guy's entire face.

"Don't worry, I understand you 100%. I've actually been sitting in my car the past 15 minutes just decompressing after a long day at work. And, apparently just like you, recharging my social battery for a bit before I go up there." And just as he motioned towards the party on the rooftop, a loud and slightly slurred "Happy birthday Donghae! Cheers!" resounded from the rooftop party.

"I think we may need more energy than we expected," Heechul said as he took a deep breath. "To be honest, I was debating on whether or not to just go home and eat all these cupcakes I was going to give Donghae as a peace offering for being late. I mean, I can't help it if the chocolate has been calling my name for the past 5 minutes... Then, I can just make it up to Donghae on a day where I'm actually mentally present. But Donghae would probably not forgive me for a month if I did that."

Heechul wasn't sure why he was being so friendly to this guy he just met on the staircase. It wasn't like him to strike up a conversation this easily. He guessed it must be the weariness of the week taking over and making him act like this. But then the other guy laughed at his confession and he couldn't help but smile back at his contagious laugh. Who was this guy and why was he so handsome despite looking as tired as Heechul was? Oh. Oh, maybe that's why Heechul was being friendly.

The other guy peeked at the cupcakes in the box, gave a thoughtful look and said "Honestly though, I think 12 cupcakes might be too much for one person. My personal limit would be about...11 cupcakes?" Heechul giggled at his joke. This guy can be pretty funny. "But don't worry", he continued, "I can help you. I can take one off your hands, if you don't mind." He said and gave Heechul a slight smirk.