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.

Oh no. The small dimple was back. And just how can Heechul say no to that?

Heechul laughed a bit more heartily and gave an offer. "How about I give Donghae a box of 10 cupcakes instead? We can each eat one while we gather enough energy before we go up to that party?"

"Oh, so you've decided to go to the party!" He smiled and said "Well, I think that's a much better plan. But I think the best plan for tonight would be for us to eat a cupcake each here while you tell me your name." The dimple deepened when he looked directly into Heechul's eyes and smiled wider.

Okay, this guy is definitely a smooth talker and he knows it. And Heechul was definitely smitten by him as he started opening the box to hand him one of the cupcakes, all with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Heechul. My name is Heechul. And the person I am giving this cupcake to is..?" 

"Jungsoo. Nice to meet you, Heechul. And thank you for this cupcake." Jungsoo took a bite while still keeping his eyes on Heechul. 

Now that Heechul knew his name, he decided to continue with more small talk to get to know Mr. Dimple. "So, how do you know Donghae?" he asked.

"We're friends from university. We took the same courses and we hung out a lot: from study groups, to end of the semester parties," he chuckled. "How about you?" Jungsoo asked as he popped the last bit of the cupcake into his mouth.

"Donghae and I have been friends since high school. Actually, even if we went to different universities, we used to still meet up often and even throughout my first job. But, I've been very busy with my new job, and I haven't seen Donghae lately, so I really tried my best to go tonight even though I'm running on very little sleep. I mean, you know Donghae right? He gets a bit sulky when..."

Heechul knew he was blabbering a bit, but he suddenly stopped when he realized that Jungsoo was still staring intensely at him, at his lips to be very specific.

"What...? Is... is something wrong?" Heechul stammered.

And that was when Jungsoo started to bring his face nearer Heechul's.

Heechul was stunned. Was Jungsoo going to do what he thinks he's about to do?? Isn't that too forward for someone he just met? But what was happening to Heechul, why couldn't he move away?

Jungsoo's face was getting nearer but Heechul still stood there, holding his breath. Not knowing what to do, Heechul started to close his eyes... Wait, why was he closing his eyes?!? Is it because he was just tired and sleepy?? Or... was it because having Jungsoo's face near his was too overwhelming?

When suddenly, something touched the corner of Heechul's lips. And it was... a bit rough?!?

Heechul suddenly blinked and was surprised when he realized Jungsoo had a tissue in his hand and was wiping his cheek, just to the side of his lips.

"Sorry. You had some chocolate ganache smeared on your cheek from the cupcake. I just wiped it so that you'd look perfect before we go up to the party." Jungsoo reasoned and gave him a smile. And despite how cold the night air had gotten, Jungsoo's warm smile seemed to radiate and melt Heechul from his frozen stupor. Heechul quickly blinked again and started to stare again into Jungsoo's eyes as he whispered a barely audible "Thank you". 

"Ahem. As far as I know, my birthday party is at the rooftop of my house. Not on my staircase."

Both Heechul and Jungsoo jumped at the sudden voice and stepped away from each other. They didn't realize how close they had been.

Donghae snickered. "I guess there's no need for me to introduce you to each other now. But... how long have you both been here? Wait. Is this why you're both late???" accused Donghae.

Heechul was at a loss for words and just gaped at Donghae. Thankfully, Jungsoo was able to get his bearings back easily and said "Oh, we haven't been here for long. We've only just started to get to know each other." Jungsoo looked at Heechul and gave him a secret wink before turning back to Donghae. "Oh, and happy birthday Donghae! Have some cupcakes! Heechul bought them for you."

Donghae squealed a little too excitedly and grabbed the cupcake box from Heechul. "Thanks Hyungs! Let's go up to my party now!!"

Heechul was still stunned, so he just followed Donghae. He knew his face was probably red, what with how embarrassed he was with the whole thing. Thankfully, Donghae seemed to be tipsy enough not to notice. Jungsoo, however, did.

"You okay there, Heechul?" Jungsoo asked with a slightly playful tone as they climbed the stairs to the rooftop.

"Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I be?" Heechul replied. Heechul, of course, was not okay. But he's not admitting that to Jungsoo.

"Don't worry. Let's sit together. It will be less tiring to talk to all these tipsy friends of ours if we do it together." Jungsoo offered with what seemed to be a sincere smile. So Heechul smiled back and nodded as they sat down next to each other at the end of the table.

"Oh", Jungsoo added "and maybe you'll get some more chocolate or some sauce smeared on your cheeks. So it will be best if I sit beside you so I can wipe it off. I mean, it would surely be difficult to do that if you close your eyes." Jungsoo looked like he was having such a hard time containing his laughter.

Heechul groaned and rolled his eyes at Jungsoo. He was definitely embarrassed, but he couldn't seem to get completely mad at Jungsoo. Not when Jungsoo was smiling at him so warmly again just after teasing him. And to seemingly make up for his teasing, Jungsoo was getting the food and placing the serving plates right by Heechul's so he could properly eat. He also fetched Heechul a glass of water and some utensils so that they could start eating. Heechul knew for a fact that they were both tired at the end of the day, but these little gestures really touched him.

So even if he was late, and even if he almost didn't make it to the party, Heechul silently thanked the cupcakes that made him contemplate by the staircase and meet Jungsoo. Who knew a last minute gift idea would give him a remarkably sweet night?