EXO was staying at a hotel near L.A., waiting for rehearsal time for SM Town Anaheim in the Honda Center. Tired from their recent adventure in Disneyland, all of them decided to rest up before practice. Everyone except Sehun and Luhan, who were in the same room together without anyone else.

            “Sehun-ah, I’m hungry.”

            Sehun turned his head, his eyes meeting Luhan’s.

            “Hungry? What do you want to eat?”

            “I want baozi,” said Luhan with a pout.

            Sehun smiled, seeing his adorable cheeks sag with his lips.

            “There’s a Chinese bakery not far from here. I think we can walk over to it and get some fresh baozi.”

            Luhan’s face lit up, his eyes enlarged with excitement.

            “Really? We can walk there together? I want baozi. Let’s go!” Luhan sprang up like a little deer.

            “Wait! Other people go there too. Including girls—”

            “Girls? Girls you like more than you like me?” Luhan pouted again.

            “No, not girls I like. Fangirls. Hyung, if you’re like this when we go and some fangirls see us, they might think we’re actually a couple and start writing erted fanfics about us…umm…doing certain things.”

            “Certain things? Like what?” Luhan asked innocently.

            I guess he doesn’t really understand what I meant by ‘erted,’ Sehun thought to himself. And there’s no way I am going to explain it to him either. That would be…very awkward.

            “How about we just go? Don’t you want baozi?” Sehun said quickly, trying to direct Luhan’s mind away from the question. Luhan’s face brightened again with excitement.

            “Yay! Baozi! I want baozi!”

            “Stop yelling! You might annoy the hyungs and they might wonder what we’re up to.”

            “But they’re all asleep.”

            “Don’t try to wake them up.”

            “But I want baozi.”

            “…Let’s just go.”

            They walked to the bakery, with Sehun leading the way. Luhan was constantly bouncing and hopping with joy like a little deer following its mother to greener pastures. He was filled with bliss knowing that his—hmm, dongsaeng—was going to get him some fresh baozi from a nearby Chinese bakery. And he got to come along.

            Sehun, however, was not as blissfully innocent as his little deer. He tried to remain calm so as not to attract attention from ever-wary fangirls and their cameras. Luhan would not be quiet no matter how many times he told him. Luhan poked him and grabbed his hand and put his head on Sehun’s shoulder out of love. Sehun was worried that erted fangirls might be lurking around.

            They passed by several other people, mostly older men and women, as they strolled to the bakery. Sehun eyed around cautiously. Every time he passed by another couple or group, he hastened anxiously. Even though it was only a three-minute walk, to Sehun it felt like an hour.

            “We’re here, Luhan,” Sehun said when they finally arrived in front of the bakery. “Don’t start screaming now.”

            Luhan’s face grew a great smile, and he was on the verge of giggling with excitement. As Sehun stepped into the store, Luhan grabbed his arm and yanked him back out.

            “Look, Sehun-ah!” Luhan exclaimed with bright eyes. He pointed into the front window.

            Sehun pulled his pointing hand back down, saying it was rude to point at people, especially adults. Just inside the window, an elder Chinese woman was making baozi from fresh yeast and meats with her hands. She took white, steaming puffed buns and filled them with pork, chicken, and vegetables. Then the buns were folded into delectable, round orbs of goodness and put on warmed shelves behind a glass window for customers to buy.

            Luhan stared with zealous silence as she made more baozi. His mouth hung open with childlike amusement at the perfect round shape of each newly created bun. His eyes widened almost to the shape of the baozi he was staring at, and they glittered with fluffy pureness in response. His hands were up and nearly touched the window with open palms, desiring naught but to hold baozi. All that was going through his mind was BAOZI! BAOZI! BAOZI!

            Sehun stood still next to him. He looked at Luhan’s face and found it irresistibly cute. He tried to refrain from touching him in any way; older couples were glancing with curiosity at the adorable young boy staring through the window. Even the woman making the baozi noticed; she smiled warmly and continued entertaining the boy. Sehun felt embarrassed—he hadn’t yet bought a baozi and Luhan was drawing more and more attention. Soon fangirls would probably be on their way to the bakery.

            Nonetheless, Sehun could not defy his urging heart. Slowly and calmly, he slid his right hand across Luhan’s lower back and held his waist. Since Luhan didn’t respond, Sehun gently pulled him close until their bodies were in full contact. The corners of his lips curved slightly upwards with shy, loving enjoyment. He looked down, attempting to hide his beaming face from his audience. But that only made it more obvious. Sehun gingerly raised his chin and looked at Luhan’s face, which was still with innocent pleasure as he watched the woman make his baozi. He inched his own face even closer to Luhan’s, focusing on his pale, soft, baozi-like cheek. Luhan, still staring at the baozi with wide eyes and open mouth, was oblivious to Sehun’s nearing face. The audience, now both inside the bakery and outside, was watching with awing anticipation at the two young boys standing in front of the window. Fangirls indeed came, and they were standing still with hands in front of their open mouths awaiting what they knew what was going to happen.

            Sehun’s lips contacted with Luhan’s cheek. With his hand still on Luhan’s waist and Luhan’s eyes still on the baozi, Sehun’s eyes closed with everlasting bliss of the moment. The fangirls couldn’t contain their giggles and squeals of elation. The sweet kiss lasted only two seconds. To Sehun, it wasn’t just a sweet kiss; it was a kiss to a newly born baby taking its first breaths; it was a kiss to an eternally loving mother whose embrace was warmer than all the stars combined; it was a kiss to the god of life and happiness who existed in simply being; it was a kiss to everything that was beautiful and meaningful in the world; it was a kiss to the greatness and wonderfulness of existing in the present moment; it lasted forever, it meant forever, it was forever, to him.

            The sounds of the ever-wary girls woke both Sehun and Luhan from their dreams. Sehun’s eyes opened, and Luhan’s mouth closed. Luhan turned his head and looked at Sehun’s close-up face. There was confusion in both of their faces.

            “Hun-ah?” he asked quietly. “I thought you said—” Luhan put his left hand up to his cheek. “Did you just kiss me?”

            Sehun was frozen, perplexed, at what happened. He said nothing.

“Sehun-ah?” begged the voice again.

            Sehun’s face reddened and turned away quickly.

            “Sorry. Let me buy a baozi for you,” he said as he took his hand off Luhan’s waist.

            Then, before he could open the door, the elderly woman who was making the baozi opened the door and stepped out. In her hand were two white baozi buns. She raised them toward Sehun.

            “One for you, one for your little brother,” she said with a gentle smile. “No charge.”

            Some nearby fangirls giggled at hearing this, knowing the truth about their relative ages. Luhan also giggled with them. Sehun’s face reddened again, but nevertheless he politely accepted them. He quickly handed one to Luhan, who took it bashfully as the fangirls began squealing again. Sehun and Luhan bowed and thanked the woman, who withdrew back into the bakery.

            “Let’s go,” Sehun said to Luhan. “We can—”

            Luhan had already taken a bite out of his baozi and was chewing it in both cheeks. Sehun couldn’t help but smile at Luhan’s even more puffed cheeks. The fangirls started fangirling again when they saw Sehun blushing again.

            “What?” Luhan asked with full cheeks.

            “You want to eat it here, with everyone watching us? I was going to suggest that we can eat somewhere with less…noise,” responded Sehun, a little too loudly.

            “But I just wanted baozi.”

            “You’re going to eat that standing up?”

            “Maybe that nice lady can give us more?”

            “We can’t just take more free food. I will pay her back later.”

            “But she said no charge.”

            “Now all the fangirls are staring at us…” Sehun looked down in embarrassment.

            “Don’t blush again, Sehun-ah,” Luhan said with a giggle. He was already on his last bite of baozi.

            Sehun didn’t say anything. “Aren’t you going to eat yours while it’s still warm?” Luhan asked.

            The fangirls started giggling when they noticed Sehun’s face turning red again. Sehun took a bite of his baozi in a futile attempt to hide his redness. The fangirls screamed with delight.

            “Let’s go back to the hotel to eat,” he said finally.

            “But I want more…” Luhan said, enlarging his eyes.

            Sehun tried not to be affected, but he gave Luhan the rest of his baozi. Luhan took a bite out of it. The fangirls started jittering and screaming again.

            “You can eat while we’re walking,” Sehun said.

            “Hun-ah?” Luhan asked.

            “Yes?”

            “I love you.”

            Sehun looked silently at Luhan for a moment. The fangirls jittered but held their breaths. “I really love you, Sehun-ah.” They couldn’t hold in their giggles.

            “I—I love you too, Luhan-hyung.”

            The fangirls were fangirling again, even louder than before. “Let’s go before they think about following us,” Sehun said.

            Luhan looked at the bakery.

            “Can we come back tomorrow?” he asked.

            Sehun was quiet. He started walking back the way they came, and the little deer followed close behind, bouncing and hopping in innocent bliss.