It was a honey caramel layered sponge cake,  topped with full whipped cream and a little icing figurine in the shape of a bee. 

 

"That'll be ₩12,000." The boy chirped politely over the counter. 

 

Taemin gave a small smile as he handed the cake over in exchange for the won he received. He chuckled ever so lightly as Jinki fumbled with the handles of the cake box, making a comical face when he thought he had dropped his luxury sweet. 

 

"T-th-thanks." He mumbled and slowly made his way to the door, not forgetting to bow a few times to the younger as he bade goodbye. 

 

It happened a few days straight, with Jinki's friends mocking him outside the confectionary shophouse. 

 

Until Taemin's curiosity won him over when he asked, "Do you really like them that much?" 

 

He put his chin on his petite baker's hand, propped up on his elbow, throwing a toothache-causing smile at the elder. 

 

"A-ah...n-nehh..." 

 

Now Jinki isn't one to talk with a stammer and sputter. Damn, he was even in the debate club at school, making the club a popular one despite the nature of it. Every year during orientation, girls would flock to sign their names on the registration list! 

 

He was just embarrassingly shy in front of the only face he found so charmingly cute. Jinki couldn't look at him for more than two seconds, so most of the time Taemin could only see his fringe covering his little eyes. 

 

Even so, the younger found his behavior entirely adoring. He wasn't one without his fair share of admirers, but this one...he's special, to say the least. There was just something about the stuttering boy that appealed to him, making him look forward to his visit every time he was on shift. Was it his  dreamy eye-smile? Or was it the fuzzy pink hair that accentuated his handsome strong features and sharp jaws? Perhaps, it could even be his smart sleek uniform that looks deviously good on his build? Taemin couldn't figure. 

 

"Jinki! At the rate you're going, your eyes are gonna get diabetes before your old-man body does!" Jonghyun popped his head in with a grin. 

 

"Yah! We get it, your eye-candy! But let's go! We're late for karaoke!" Kibum continued, sticking his head in above Jonghyun's. 

 

The rest of his gang laughed out heartily, noise flooding into the shop through the opened door. 

 

Jinki would've liked to curse and swear at them, like he always does (he's really not a goody-two-shoes type, what actually surprised Taemin), but there and then he could only bore a hole through the tiled floor. 

 

Taemin, on the other side, blushed an awful red, spreading against his round cheeks. His friends were...kind of blunt... A bashful smile crept up on his face, though. 

 

"He never liked these, Tae-min." Kibum strutted in to the counter, reading the golden name tag on the boy at the register.

 

"He hates sweets!" Jonghyun chimed in, "The only kind of sweet he can take, is the kind when he looks at you." 

 

As if on cue, the whole bunch of college boys burst out laughing. If they were to be anymore meaner, they'd be chanting 'Jinki and Taemin sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!'

 

"Y-y-yah!!" Jinki tried to hide his humiliation, gathering courage, spurting out a "So what if I do buy these just to look at him? He's cute!" 

 

"And they're delicious!" He added anxiously, covering up for his not-so-subtle confession.

 

They all looked at him, before laughing out loud again, this time Minho couldn't help banging on the table at the hilarity. 

 

Wiping a tear from his eyes, Minho questioned, "Andddddd, who would know?"  

 

Jinki mumbled an embarrassed, 'my sister', before pushing them all out the little store, tinkling the bells as they went. 

 

"Gee, thanks guys." Jinki spat out flatly, "I'll never be able to step in there again to see him." 

 

He slouched his shoulders forward, imagining his goodbye to the cake shop and the cute little baker Taemin inside it.  

 

"Sigh, silly silly Jinki," Kibum sing-songed out, "And to think as a debater, you should've been able to process this faster." 

 

What he meant to say: we've done you a favor, the most embarrassing stage is done and dealt with. It's all up to you now. 

 

They all continued walking away from the shop. Kibum rolled his eyes at the man still sulking, pulling out his fingers to gesture '3...2...1'; 

 

 

"A-ah!" Jinks suddenly yelped in realization, springing up from his moody self and sprinted back to the bakery. 

 

The bell tinkled roughly as he flung the glass door open, using all his might, he (almost) demanded, "Tae-Taemin! C-can I h-have your n-num-number?" 

 

The young baker was serving two girls from the nearby schools when he froze, hearing Jinki's 'request'. The girls muffled the giggles with their little fists, exchanging glances and then looking back and forth between Jinki and Taemin. The latter stood with his hands behind his back in a clasp, straightening his elbows, and began rocking on his heels as seconds passed. He knew he was flushing red; he didn't know how to react and he couldn't look at the elder in his eyes. 

 

Well, he would be lying if no one has asked for his contact before, and usually he would reject. The best he did was giving them his email, to which he didn't reply anyway. But this time, he was actually deliberating. 

 

The girls, still in their giggly fits, decided that the two men were due for some privacy and carefully made their way past Jinki and out the shop. 

 

***

 

They all stood in a loose circle down the street of the sweets shop. Jobghyun was leaning against the red brick wall with a hand in his pants' front pocket. 

 

"Do you think he'll get it?" He asked with a smirk. 

 

Jinki was good with anyone, except for his love interests. 

 

Before he could get an answer, the tinkling bells rang again, jerked hard enough to resound in the distance. 

 

"I-I got i-it!" He spoke out of breathlessness this time. 

 

The silly man was grinning from ear to ear as he ran towards his friends, waving a little classic white piece of receipt, on it held 10 digits of happiness. 

 

---

Drabbles drabbles drabbels ^_^