Minseok has a bit of a sweet tooth.

'Its almost as if sugar calls to me.' Explained an overly hyper Minseok to an overly exhausted Jongdae.

But, he doesn't have a problem! Oh no of course not.

Just sometimes when at the grocery store, he'll go through the candy isle and get a chocolate bar. Or two. Or six. Ah, but, he doesn't always get a chocolate bar. Sometimes he wants something fruity. And chewy.

So two bags of Starburst will cover that!

Oh my. Are those Air Heads I see? Maybe I'll purchase some. Just one bag. And ooh! I see ice cream.

One gallon tub of chocolate ice cream, since the poor dear decided to pass on the offer of the chocolate bars. But some cookies to dip in the ice cream? It couldn't hurt.

Two packets of Oreos.

Now the shopping is done. All he has to do is walk to the register and—

Is....is that cake?

No I shouldn't.

But cake.

Well since I finished the last of my chocolate cake this morning, I'll get strawberry cake today.

Well done, Minseok.

•••

"Uh, I can't eat another bite." Minseok whined, pushing the plate still half full of chicken away from him. Kyungsoo, his roommate and friend for life, frowned deeply.

"It's because you ate three—fourths of the cake you bought, one—third of the ice cream, all of the cookies, and all of the Air Heads." 

Minseok blinked.

"You're point being?"

Kyungsoo sighed exasperatedly, flailing his limbs. "You're ruining your appetite and getting fat!"

"I'm not fat!" The chubby boy cried. "I may be a little pudgy here and there, but that's neither here nor there!"

Kyungsoo closed his eyes and massaged his temples whilst taking in deep breaths.

"Minseok—hyung. I'm sorry, but I'm worried. Your love for sugar was cute at first but now I think it's become an addiction. So from now until the end of the week, I'm putting you on a sugar ban."

All color, emotion, and overall life drained from Minseok's face.

"Wha—what!? Y—you can't! That's criminal! That's outrageous! You can't take my candy!" He stood up from his chair in the middle of his tantrum. Kyungsoo stared up at the red cheeked boy with dangerous eyes. You could almost see the flames from Hell in his eyes.

Minseok gulped.

"On the other hand, I could do good to lose some weight." He chuckled nervously. "Welp, I'm off to bed. Nighty night roomie!"

With that he fled to his room, shutting and locking the door. Unaware he had just left Kyungsoo with a load of dishes to wash.

•••

Minseok poked his head out from under his bedsheets. He peeked at the clock.

1:18 a.m.

Perfect.

He heard Kyungsoo turn off the living room television and go into his own room an hour earlier, but the little ball of rage usually takes a while to fall asleep, so Minseok waited and waited until declaring it safe to proceed.

He knew that Kyungsoo went through the cabinets and shelves, throwing out all of the sweets that peacefully resided there. And to be honest, he got a little emotional hearing the rustling of the trash bags. He shed a tear or two.

But what Kyungsoo didn't know is that the little bun stored food under his bed. Sweet food.

A small hand darted from under the sheets and reached down under the bed. He felt around for the bag he longed for. His fingers brushed past the familiar plastic material. Plunging his hand into the bag as quietly as possible, he grabbed a handful of the tiny sweets, bringing it back up to join him on the bed.

Starburst.

Smiling, he quietly opened one and popped the chewy treat in to his mouth. Kicking his feet lightly, he mentally squealed in delight. Oh how he loved sweets.

The minutes turned to hours as he continued to pull small amounts of the candy from the bag to his bed and ultimately to his mouth. After eating what was probably his 93rd Starburst, fatigue set in. His sugar rush was crashing down on him and he felt it. Not bothering to clean up the wrappers, he let his head drop to the pillow and almost instantly, fell asleep.

•••

Minseok's head pounded as he awoke.

Maybe Kyungsoo is right.

Groggily, he sat up and pried his eyes open with his fingers.

Wait.

What?

This isn't his bed. This isn't his room. This isn't his apartment. This isn't his town.

What..is this?

He looked down at the material beneath him. It was white and soft. One would mistake it for a mattress at first glance, but Minseok knew better. In his years of eating candy, he knew this was a Marshmallow. A rather large one at that. And this blanket, isn't a blanket. It's a Fruit Roll—Up.

Pushing the large sweets off of him, he stood up from the bed. The walls and floors were made of pure white chocolate. And the paintings that hung from the walls were mosaics made from Gushers.

What?!

Slowly, Minseok made his way to the door. Turning the Oreo door knob, he exited the room. There were so many questions and not nearly enough answers. Practically running down the Snickers stairs and into the hallways of Red Velvet cake, Minseok frantically looked for an exit out of this sugar infested building. 

He must've turned down 4 or 5 different hallways before coming to what looked like a living room. The rug was made of taffy and the couch was made of black licorice.

Minseok was about to turn from the room when a voice spoke up.

"Leaving so soon?"

Spinning around, he searched for the owner of such a sweet voice. A hand softly landed on his shoulder, causing the little bun to jolt and jump away.

"You're awfully jumpy, darling. Calm down." The soothing voice spoke again. Minseok had to blink his eyes a few times to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing.

A boy, no way in hell older than him, with soft auburn hair, porcelain skin, brown doe eyes, and the sweetest sugary smile you've ever seen. Dressed in an elegant black tuxedo, adorned with a matching black bow tie and top hat, you'd think he was on his way to a fancy ball to meet a princess.

"Minseok, darling, you're staring. How impolite." He playfully scolded, clicking his tongue. "You shouldn't stare at a person, no matter how y they look." He winked.

Minseok choked on air.

"N—No, I'm sorry I—I just.... Where am I?"

The boy smiled, stepping forward to grasp Minseok's hand. Leaning down, he planted a single feather light kiss on the back of his hand.

"You, my dear, are at Candy Manor. I welcome you."

Minseok staggered back with his face flushing a bright red.

"Candy Manor? I—I've never heard of such a place." He said looking around. "And I certainly didn't expect a Manor to be made of—"

"Candy?"

"Y—yeah."

The boy chuckled at the bun's cuteness, unable to resist as he pinched both of his cheeks drawing a loud whine from him.

"My, my, my, look how utterly adorable you are." He gasped, taking his bottom lip between his teeth. "I could just bite those cheeks and never let go!"

Minseok placed his hands on top of the boy's, trying to reduce the amount of pressure being put on his cheeks.

"P—please, don't."

The boy chuckled, releasing Minseok from his hold. Minseok rubbed his sore and now red cheeks with a pout, looking even cuter.

"You look like an angry Baozi and its the cutest thing, Minseok." The boy giggled.

Ignoring the comment, coming to the conclusion that if he questioned it he may get his cheeks pinched again, Minseok sighed before realizing something.

"Hey, wait, how do you know my name?" The shorter asked with a puff of his cheeks that the taller boy struggled to ignore.

"I've always known your name, Minseok. But sadly, you've never learned mine." He said with a sad smile.

"Well....I can learn your name now. What is it?"

The boy narrowed his eyes.

"Is that anyway to ask a person their name. Honestly, who taught you your manners? They did a God—awful job of it."

Minseok puffed his cheeks again, angrily but ended up looking cute.

"Okay, fine. Um, sir, what is your name?"

The boy leaned in close to Minseok's face. Noses touching. Leaving the little bun red in the face. The boy whispered.

"My name..."

Minseok nodded, for him to continue.

"...is..."

Yeah...?

"...a secret."

Minseok frowned. "Wait, what?"

Smiling, the boy grabbed Minseok's hand and promptly tugged him to a door that Minseok was positive wasn't there before. Opening the door, Minseok nearly had a heart attack at the sight.

Lush forest of giant Pocky trees, with green Air Heads for leaves were presented. Along with red Macaroons used to create a path through the delicious looking trees. The sky could be seen through the leaves. Minseok couldn't describe it. He knew it wasn't made of anything except sky, but it was significantly bluer than normal. Floating lazily through the vast blue sky was cotton candy clouds.

And of course, the cotton candy filled sky was adorned with a giant yellow Skittle which must have acted as the sun.

"Like it?"

Minseok snapped out of his trance to face to auburn haired male.

"O—Oh? Yeah, yes. It's....beautiful."

The boy chuckled. "Well come along. We don't have long, and there's so much to see."

Allowing himself to be pulled along, Minseok was caught up in the sights. He saw off in the distance, large mountains scraping at the sky. Clearly made of ice cream, topped with whipped cream.

Minseok subconsciously his lips. 

"Ah, here we are."

Blinking, Minseok looked around.

"Where are we?" He asked dumbly.

"At the train station." Answered the auburn boy.

Ready to ask the question 'What train?' Minseok was cut off by a loud train whistle and the sound of an engine gradually getting louder. And sure enough, a train pulled into the station. The doors opened, and the auburn boy gestured for Minseok to get on.

"All a board the chocolate fudge train." He smiled.

Minseok made his way up the stairs and into the train, finding plenty of seating due to the extreme lack of passengers. He slid into a window seat, taking note of the fact that the frame of the window was made of chocolate. He resisted the urge to bite it.

The auburn boy sat across from Minseok, smile still wide on his face.

The train whistle blew again and the train was suddenly in motion.

"Hey, where are we going?" Minseok asked.

"Somewhere special. You'll love it, trust me." The boy answered with a confident smile.

Sighing, Minseok faced the window. All types of sweets altered to look like plants and landmarks flew by. "I'm still awfully confused."

The boy cocked an eyebrow. "Confused? Why?"

Minseok let out a breathy laugh. "Why? I don't know where I am or how I got here or who you are. Or how you know my name..." He voice got quieter.

"Does it matter?"

Minseok looked up.

"Does it matter that you don't know where you are or how you got here? Does it matter who I am or how I know your name? Because how I see it, if something is enjoyable then its best not to question it."

"But, how will I get home?" Minseok asked in the most pitful tone of voice, causing the boy to lung into Minseok's personal space and damn near squeeze him to death, cooing at his adorableness.

"My god! You are the cuteness thing." He said, wrapping both arms around Minseok's waist and refusing to move.

•••

The rest of the train ride involved Minseok whining about wanting to know the boy's name and the boy nuzzling him, commenting on his cuteness.

Eventually Minseok opted to hold off all questions until they arrived which they did only minutes later.

Exiting the train, Minseok let the boy take the lead. Entering another forest such as that of the one they encountered earlier, they walked through that for a while until—

"Do you hear that?" Minseok said, pausing. Putting a hand to his ear, he listened carefully whilst the boy repressed all urges to tackle—hug Minseok.

"It—it sounds like a waterfall." He said, looking at the smiling auburn haired boy.

Wordlessly, the boy began pulling Minseok again. They walked a bit more, the sound before louder and louder. That is until the boy yanked on a particularly large Air Head leaf out of the way to reveal none other than a chocolate water fall.

"Oh my god." Minseok gaped.

The boy snickered. "I knew you would love it. Come on!"

Once again pulling Minseok, he led him to a small cliff overlooking the waterfall. It was gorgeous from this perspective. Although Minseok is positive that it looks gorgeous from all perspectives.

Slipping a hand into his pocket, the boy fished out a small cup and handed it to Minseok.

"What's this for?"

The boy smirked. "Follow me." And he promptly stepped over the edge.

Screaming a loud 'NO' Minseok did a nose—dive to the ground, shooting his small hands out in hopes of grabbing the boy before he fell only to discover that there was ledge under them. The boy didn't fall to his death, he fell to that ledge. And was currently looking up at Minseok with a smug smirk.

"Did I scare you, darling?" He teased.

Muttering a string of profanities, Minseok carefully dropped to the lower ledge as well. "That wasn't funny. I thought you got hurt."

"Aw." He cooed. "You were worried about me, baby cakes?"

Cringing at the name, Minseok waved him off.

"No. I just need you t—"

"Oh you need me!?" He exclaimed excitedly, wrapping Minseok up into a tight hug, sprinkling kisses over his face.

"N—No!" Minseok finally pushed him off, cheeks burning bright red. "I mean if you died, I wouldn't know how to get home." 

The boy giggled. "Sure. That's it."

Rolling his eyes, Minseok held up the cup. "Okay, but what's this for?"

"Ah!" The boy exclaimed taking the cup. Digging in his other pocket, he pulled out what looked like a stick. Attaching the cup to the stick, he extended the stick until he was catch to catch some of the falling chocolate into the cup. Pulling the stick back towards him, he disconnected the cup from the stick and handed it to Minseok.

"Here. Drink." 

Taking the cup, Minseok noted how warm it was. Eyeing the cup's contents he deemed it edible and put it up to his lips. The second the chocolate hit his tongue, he was sure that he died and went to heaven.

It was unlike any chocolate he's eaten before. It was the perfect temperature. Not cold, but not hot. Comfortingly warm. The kind of warm that you think of when you think of snuggling up in blankets during a rainy winter day. It was smooth. Almost crème like. But not heavy. The kind of smooth that fills your tummy up just right and you feel sleepy. And it was sweet. So extremely sweet but somehow not overpowering. The kind of sweet that could only be understood by those with a sweetheart who would snuggle up with them during the rainy days and make yummy filling foods.

"...seok. Minseok. Minseok!"

Minseok jumped. "Wha—What?!"

"You zoned out on me. I thought you went into a chocolate coma or something."

Minseok blushed. "Oh s—sorry. The chocolate is really delicious."

The boy smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. Shall I get you more?"

"No. No thank you. It's time for me to go home." Minseok said, trying but failing to keep the sadness out of his voice.

"Why? Have you not enjoyed yourself?" The boy pouted. Now it was Minseok's turn to resist tackle—hugging him.

"I have. I really have. It's beautiful and amazing and delicious here. But I can't stay here forever."

The boy nodded in agreement, pulling Minseok into his chest for a hug. Which Minseok returned. "I'll take you home."

Minseok nodded before pulling away slightly to face the boy. "Before I go, will you tell me your name?"

The boy smiled. "You know answers to some of the hardest questions are right in front of you. Sometimes all you have to do is open your eyes."

Minseok frowned. "My eyes are open."

"No they aren't. You have to open them silly. Open your eyes, and wake up."

Blinking dumbly, Minseok paused.

Wake up?

"Wait what?"

The boy lifted his hand to Minseok's forehead and was ready to flick him. Minseok squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself for the impact.

"Open your eyes and..."

"WAKE UP!"

Minseok cried out when he felt his forehead get hit.

"Wake up, Kim Minseok or I'll get ice cold water to pour on you."

Sitting up, Minseok took a minute for reality to hit him. He was in his apartment, in his room, on his bed, with an angry looking Kyungsoo looming over him.

"I can't believe you! You ate an entire bag of Starburst last night!? How— what— " He sighed. "You've get exactly two minutes to clean up all these wrappers then meet me downstairs in the kitchen."

Sending on more glare to Minseok, Kyungsoo stormed out of his room. It took Minseok exactly one minute and 58 seconds to clean up the wrappers and sprint downstairs and to the kitchen.

"Okay, thanks to you not getting up when I called you, I'm late for work. I need you to take something over to our neighbor." Kyungsoo explained, digging around in the refrigerator.

"Neighbor? I thought Mr. Jang moved out months ago." Minseok inquired, scratching his head only to muss up his hair even more.

Kyungsoo sighed and Minseok could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"Yes, but then, we got a new neighbor. He actually came and visited us at the beginning of the month." 

Minseok furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't remember that."

Kyungsoo closed the refrigerator with a box in his hand. "I don't expect you to. You passed out from a sugar crash. He had to help me carry you to your room." 

"O—Oh." Minseok giggled sheepishly. Kyungsoo simply pushed the box into his hands.

"Just take that over to him. It's the kimchi spaghetti I promised him as compensation for carrying your heavy up all those steps."

Minseok pouted.

"I'm not that heavy!"

Kyungsoo snickered. "Sure you aren't. Just bring it to him around 10 and for God's sake, make yourself look decent. You look like hell right now."

Sarcastically mumbling 'gee thanks' Minseok waved goodbye to Kyungsoo before jogging upstairs to get dressed.

•••

Playing with the box, Minseok waited patiently for this new neighbor to open the door. Hearing footsteps and voice saying 'I'm coming' , Minseok put on his best smile.

The door swing open to reveal a very familiar looking boy. 

Oh my god.

"Uh, hello."

Minseok snapped out of his trance.

"O—Oh yes. Hi." This couldn't be him. The one from his dream. Could it? "A—Ah this kimchi spaghetti i—is for you."

The boy smirked, leaning against the doorframe.

"My, my, my, look how utterly adorable you are!"

Yeah it's him.

"I—I, what?"

He chuckled, taking the box from Minseok.

"Thank you, I'll eat this well." He smiled. Minseok bowed.

"You're welcome." He mumbled, taking this as his hint to leave. He saw the boy turning and ready to shut the door, when he thought of something.

"Ah wait!" He called out.

The boy stopped and took a minute to conceal his smile before turning back to face Minseok.

"Yes?"

Minseok bit his lip, unable to make eye contact with the pretty boy.

"I—I was just wondering....what is your name?"

He smiled.

"Luhan."

Minseok looked up. "Luhan." He tested out the name and immediately decided that he liked it.

"O—Okay. I'll see you around then? Luhan?"

"I'll see you around, Minseok." Luhan winked before turning and entering back into his apartment, missing the giant smile that made its way to Minseok's face.

As the little bun walked away, thoughts of his neighbor Luhan invaded his mind.

And one particular thought came to mind.

I wonder if he likes sweets.

the end