Love In Chocolate Kisses

 

               

                The store sign read:

 

Chocolate Heaven

 

Tag line:

 

Taste the sinful heaven.

 

Yoochun eyed the sign distrustfully. In all his years being a chocolate critic, a lot of stores and many manufacturers had promised the best chocolates yet they failed to satisfy his discriminating palate. So this newly opened store in front of him should be wary in making people believe the impossible. They might not live up to their promise.

 

But in a weird way, the reason how Yoochun got to know of the store’s existence was through word of mouth. It was weird because of the sheer number of people who attested to the store’s products. What drew Yoochun to check it out was one thing that a woman said on an interview he managed to catch one day on TV. When asked to describe the store and its products, she had this enraptured expression on her face before she said: Pure sin. It was what every person who tasted a piece of chocolate could say but it wasn’t what every person would look like when given the sweet slightly bitter treat.

 

One more reason why he got so riled up was that his best friend, Jaejoong and his cousin, Changmin both had been to Chocolate Heaven. He was thinking that Jaejoong might have been in the store because of his boyfriend Yunho, but Changmin had no other reason but the taste of the pure chocolate itself. After they had gone there, they looked like they were given ambrosia itself. They said the chocolate there was the best in the world. They were all praises about the store that Yoochun couldn’t take it anymore. He knew then that he had to be here at all cost. He would be the one to prove them all wrong. No one could ever produce the best. No one. He was sure of that.

 

So to tell the story short, the store and its owner caught Yoochun’s attention. He supposed if someone described a chocolate experience like that, like utter bliss came to him or her, then he, Park Yoochun, chocolate critic extraordinaire, should also experience that. He earned that right. He deserved it.

 

Glaring at the front door of the somewhat notorious store, he mentally listed some other establishments he also had to visit today after this one and he almost his lips in anticipation. He really enjoyed his job. Who could ever refuse such a job? Not only did he get to taste to taste the most tempting treat on earth, he even got to make people listen to his sound reviews or critiques. People from the chocolate world fawned over him when he happened to ‘pass by’ their stores. And they justly should. Park Yoochun was the best in the field of chocolate tasting after all.

 

Carefully focusing at the task at hand, he kept his opinions about his past chocolate encounters. Yoochun cleared his mind. He believed in giving each store and manufacturer the chance to prove themselves. A self-satisfied smile flitted across his lips; that is if they really had the best. Which to his opinion would certainly be an impossibility. He had yet to try the best in the world. Oh, well…he still had to try and be nice. He couldn’t have anyone saying that he was biased so he always kept a detached attitude whenever he had these ‘visits’.

 

This time was no different. The store he was going to inspect was from a new chocolatier. They said that the owner, Kim Junsu, had even taken the greatest care to select the best cocoa beans from Europe and Asia and had them exported in the country. The store boasted that they could rival the greatest chocolate from all over. A very bold statement. But Yoochun was a very patient man. He’d sample this store’s chocolate and give his critique then he would silently wait until critics from every part of the globe proclaimed that he was again a genius. Yoochun could almost taste his victory.

 

Squaring his shoulders, he cast one last look at the plain wooden door of the store, Chocolate Heaven, and pushed his way inside. He pulled his hat lower on his face just to make sure that no one would recognize him. He quickly surveyed the room and he could see that some people were lurking around the store already. They didn’t seem to notice him though for they were all focused on the assorted chocolate products displayed on some shelves scattered around the premises.

 

Yoochun once again concentrated on his task and that was when an array of wonderful smells greeted him. He almost smiled. Chocolate had never failed him. He knew everything about it, its textures, its colors, its tastes. Chocolate was consistent. It could either be good or bad. He found that he could never be wrong with chocolate. It was consistent. And its consistency was also its best quality. He didn’t like surprises and chocolates always delivered that quality for him. That was how he started to love it.

 

He moved further inside when a couple went past him to get out of the door. They were wearing identical smiles just like on their red shirts that had the store’s tag line printed on them: taste the sinful heaven. Really? He almost snorted. Keeping his face straight, Yoochun shifted his attention to the lines of sweet-smelling chocolate products in various shelves. As he was looking around, he saw a nice variety of chocolate products, all of them in different shapes, colors, sizes and packaging. But what he took note of was the way the owner understood his medium. He had the good sense not to mask the natural aroma of chocolate with various flavours like vanilla or mint. This was something that most chocolatiers and owners do to stretch their products which Yoochun found rather insulting. Chocolate should be presented almost in its original form.  It should be raw, in its essence, so people can appreciate it more without any pretence. Clearly this Kim Junsu should be given one point for his uncanny sense of understanding.

 

Deeply curious about this owner whom he had yet to meet, Yoochun made his way towards the counter. He saw a petite girl who smiled cheerfully when he neared.

 

“Hello miss. I’m looking for the owner, Kim Junsu. Is he here?” he brightly asked the girl.

 

Another flash of smile. “Sure. What name do I tell him?”

 

“Tell him that Park Yoochun is here.”

 

The girl nodded. “Alright sir. I’ll tell him right away. But please let’s go to the villa.” She said before turning on heels. She would have disappeared behind a door if Yoochun didn’t call her again.

 

“Your villa? There’s a villa here inside the building? I thought this is just a chocolate store.” Yoochun asked without masking his curiosity.

 

The girl laughed, “Oh, it’s a chocolate store sir. It’s just what Junsu wants to call it. He said he wants people to enjoy chocolate so he refused to call it a store. And if you’ll notice, the place out here,” she gestured to the room where they were, “it’s just for souvenirs. Those aren’t the products.”

 

That statement made Yoochun’s eyebrows rise. Those weren’t the store’s products? Just souvenirs? What kind of store was this? Yoochun thought privately. This store was getting more and more strange. He returned his gaze to the girl in front of him. “So where is the villa?”

 

The smiling girl led him toward the back of the room and proceeded to walk until another wooden door was in front of them. She produced a key and opened the door for him. Yoochun stepped into the room almost carefully. He wasn’t really sure about it but something about the whole thing weirded him out.

 

The room the door opened to was not extraordinary. It has simple furnishings and almost bare decorations. Yoochun stared at the interior of the room dispassionately as the girl closed the door behind him. He was told to wait. That was just fine with him. Surveying the room, he noticed that there were food magazines and cook books in the shelves which were positioned at one end of the wall. He picked up a book at random and flipped it at some page. He found an interesting idea about how to host a chocolate party. Yoochun was beginning to be immersed in various pastries accompanying the chocolate soufflé when the petite girl returned.

 

“Please follow me, Park-sshi. Junsu is waiting for you now.” she said softly while waiting for Yoochun to walk towards her.

 

Yoochun followed the girl and walked into a long dark hallway. Yoochun just answered short replies to her attempts at small talk. He wasn’t really paying much attention because he was more curious about the establishment. He was thinking how a villa could be built inside another structure. It was very impossible.

 

But these thoughts started to fade when they rounded a corner at the end of the hallway. The girl smiled a little and as she opened another door, she said: ‘Welcome to Chocolate Heaven’. As the portal slowly opened, the villa was revealed to Yoochun. Light came streaming from the inside which blinded him for a moment. Yoochun instinctively put his arm up to shield his eyes. As the light faded and his eyes adjusted to the brightness, Yoochun became aware that the air was different now. It smelled fresher, cleaner and of…chocolate. He put his arm down and opened his eyes to his surroundings. What he saw was a marvellous garden but not just any garden; it was a gardenful of chocolates!

 

Chocolates were seen everywhere. Strings of chocolate were strewn overhead to cast a warm brown canopy. The flowers had chocolate petals. Trees bore choco-dipped fruits and pearls of pure white and dark chocolate lined the stone-path from the door towards the center of a garden where he could see a chocolate fountain at the center of the enormous greenery! Yoochun couldn’t believe that someone had thought of doing something extraordinary like this to chocolates. It was like he was in another world! He was reminded of Charlie in his wonderful chocolate factory. And like Charlie, Yoochun knew that he simply had to taste everything there.

 

Carefully stepping forward, he made his way toward the garden but a gazebo decorated with chocolate wedges near his left distracted him. He went to the gazebo and found a small table was placed there and on it, an assortment of mouth-watering chocolate candies and chocolate dipped fruits and berries awaited him. As if he couldn’t help himself, Yoochun proceeded to select one from the bowl to take a bite off a luscious strawberry coated fruit.  A wonderful heady feeling rushed to Yoochun as the tangy taste of the fruit and chocolate hit his taste buds. It was like a fresh burst of flavours that made him feel very refreshed. The sweetness of the fruit didn’t clash with the rich smooth flavour of the chocolate. It reminded him of luxurious baths and warm soft sheets. It made him feel relaxed and content for the very first time. In the corner of his mind, he knew that what he tasted was indeed the best chocolate. Yoochun was about to get another one from the bowl when he heard a noise. Dropping the chocolatey fruit back he whirled to face whoever it was who arrived and caught him in his indulgence.

 

That was when he saw a number of girls dressed in short colourful summer dresses. They didn’t look like they will reprimand him for his behaviour; instead they looked happy to see him eating the chocolates, judging from the way they were all smiling at him. Yoochun inwardly grimaced. He didn’t know why he behaved like a starving glutton earlier but he had to appear nonchalant before these girls.

 

He surreptitiously wiped his fingers on the seat of his pants before smiling awkwardly. “Hello, I didn’t know that you were here. If I knew I would never—“Yoochun started to say but one of the girls spoke.

 

“It’s perfectly alright Park-sshi. Everything you can see here is given generously to us by Junsu. He knows that you’re here. He’ll meet you now. Please follow me.” The girl said and turned around. The other girls also followed her and walked further into the garden.

 

Yoochun found the girls’ behaviour odd but he quickly forgot this when he saw before him a pond. But it wasn’t an ordinary pond. Instead of crystal clear water, he saw a pond of delectable chocolate water. For sure it was man-made, and Yoochun was still mystified with what he was seeing. He was about to ask a question to one of the girls when they told him that he should change clothes.

 

“Why do I need to change? I’m perfectly comfortable with my clothes.”

 

One of the girls shook her head. It made her look like a puppet to Yoochun. “You are our guest. We have to give you the best treatment. And you need a new set of clothes later, trust me.”

 

“But, I don’t see the need, really—“Yoochun protested but he was just ignored. The girls led him to a small alcove near the pond. He found that it was a shower stall. Looking lost, he turned to the nearest girl beside him.

 

“What do I have to do here? I’m not going to take a shower, am I?” he asked suspiciously. These girls sure looked hypnotized or something. It wasn’t a good sign. He should have known something weird was going on inside the store. He should have seen it when the customers who came from visiting the store returned like they were drugged.

 

A sudden surge of panic made its way into his chest when the girl he asked didn’t answer. Instead she pushed him forward until he was standing directly under one of the shower heads. Before he could protest, a steady stream of warm water hit his body. It wasn’t painful; it was just startling so Yoochun just stood quite still for a few minutes. By the time he got back to his senses, he was soaking wet from head to foot.

 

Annoyed with himself and with the girls, Yoochun stepped away from the shower. It stopped when he moved away. Yoochun glared at it as if it could understand his displeasure. Muttering about stupid girls and diabolical plans from new store chocolate owners, Yoochun hobbled his way out of the shower alcove. Once he was out, he saw a high table near him with fresh towels on it. He quickly looked around to see if there were other people around but he could see no one so he guessed it was safe to undress. Once he stepped out of his wet clothes, Yoochun sighed softly as he wrapped himself with one of the big warm towels. He had to admit that he had never felt so relaxed like this for a long time now. He inhaled and smelled the aroma of chocolates everywhere. It made him feel very very relaxed. Yoochun thought he could stay there perhaps a bit longer. He forgot his earlier suspicions about the place and just let himself bask in the nice feeling of being enveloped with his favourite treat. Plopping himself on one of the chairs scattered around; he put his legs under him and closed his eyes in contentment.

 

He didn’t know how long he stayed like that but after some time, Yoochun again felt the pull of his curiosity when he opened his eyes. He remembered there was a very unique thing he had to check out. The chocolate pond! Scrambling off the chair he was sitting in for a few minutes, he stood up and made his way towards the pond. Yoochun slowly leaned down to see the water in the pond. He was curious to know if it was really chocolate. Surely, that would be impossible, right?

 

Looking carefully left and right to check for other people, Yoochun then dipped his finger into the water and found warm chocolate. His eyes grew wide when he put his finger in his mouth to taste the chocolate water. Yoochun had tasted the best chocolates from all over and he thought that he found THE best earlier when he sampled the choco-dipped strawberry but he was wrong. This, this water from the pond full of chocolate water was the best! It tasted indeed like heaven! It was so smooth and buttery and nutty and fruity and tangy at the same time but the different textures didn’t even clash in his mouth. All of them blended in harmony at the first bite then burst inside his mouth to intoxicate his senses with its rich taste. Yoochun was reeling by the time he dipped his finger into the water again to get a taste of this heaven.

 

Yoochun didn’t notice it but he had dipped and re-dipped his finger into the water many times before he became aware that he was dripping with chocolate. The white towel he had on had been smeared with chocolate streaks, his cheeks and mouth were covered with chocolate and his hands were stained with the brown water. Instead of feeling annoyed at his childish behaviour, Yoochun giggled. Eating chocolate was fun but it got him dirty.

 

“Guess I’ll have to take a bath then.” He said and stood up. He peeled the towel away from his body and stood beside the pond. Without thinking any further, he sank his foot in the water and felt the delicious gush it made across his instep towards his ankle and up to his leg. Yoochun smiled as he continued to immerse himself into the pond. He waded a few feet away from the edge of the pond until the water was up to his chest. It was really good! He liked how the water caressed his body as it sloshed around him. If someone had said to him that this place existed a few days ago, he would have called that person crazy. But now, he just knew pure bliss.

 

He was so much into the relaxed state that Yoochun blocked his surroundings. So he didn’t notice that a man had arrived and was watching him from the edge of the pond. The man clearly liked what he saw. He liked how Yoochun was enjoying his pond and his garden, most especially his chocolate. But as much as he loved to see him like this, he knew that he had to make his presence known. The man cleared his throat and waited for Yoochun to take notice. He saw the man opened heavy lids and search for the source, Junsu saw the minute Yoochun realized that he wasn’t alone anymore.

 

“Hello! I’m Junsu, the owner. I think you’re enjoying yourself.” Junsu said as he watched Yoochun had his inner battle on what he’d do.

 

Yoochun was surprised when he saw another man standing from the edge of the pond. He completely forgot that he might have some company. Now, he thought that the owner must see him as unprofessional. Not only did he helped himself to the chocolate treats he also let himself use all the facilities inside the villa. What could the man be thinking of him?

 

“I—I’m sorry Kim-sshi, it looks like I got carried away…I didn’t mean to take advantage of your hospitality. It was a momentary lapse—I will go immediately…I just have to get up from—“Yoochun stammered a reply as he struggled to wade his way towards the edge of the pond. But then he suddenly remembered that he was stark under the water. He couldn’t just stand up and let the owner see him starkers! Yoochun quickly thought of a logical plan of saving his without breaching inappropriate conduct.

 

He was startled when the owner Junsu laughed.

 

“It’s okay Park-sshi. I don’t mind and I’m not angry. I specifically have this villa made just for guests like you. So enjoy.”

 

“People like me? Others have also tried swimming in this pond?” Yoochun said, he quickly stopped himself from saying ‘swimming ’. He had a lot of embarrassing memories from this encounter already and he couldn’t afford another slip to happen.

 

Junsu didn’t seem to notice Yoochun’s inner battle. He smiled animatedly. “Yup! They did try. But I didn’t allow them to go swimming.”

 

“You didn’t let them swim? But I was able to. How can—Did you let me swim? Only me?”

 

Junsu nodded.

 

“B-But why only me? I mean, other people also need to enjoy this, right?” Yoochun asked Junsu who was still smiling at him. Was his mind playing tricks on him or did Junsu’s smile just turn a bit sly and mysterious?

 

When Junsu spoke, Yoochun heard that he had a different tone. He sounded predatory. “I don’t like people to enjoy what I only have in store for you, Yoochun-ah.”

 

A sudden thrill ran down Yoochun’s spine. Junsu wasn’t really looking at him like he was a very delicious piece of chocolate, right? It was very impossible!

 

“W-What do you mean? You built this all for me? You don’t even know me.” He thought he sounded a little breathless and he inwardly cursed.

 

Junsu smiled again and Yoochun found himself drawn to it. His gaze followed every movement of those lips as if he wanted to memorize them. Junsu was speaking, asking him something maybe, but he didn’t hear it properly. Those lips continued to move enticingly. A small pink tongue stole out to those luscious lips and his breath hitched. Yoochun got the sudden urge to trace them with his own tongue.

 

“—to bathe with you.” Junsu said finally, a clear look of lust trained on his face and Yoochun’s brain processed what he said.

 

“What? Bathe? With me?” Yoochun dumbly asked. What did Junsu say about bathing with him? Did he mean now?  

 

He got his answer when Junsu started to remove his clothes. Yoochun hadn’t processed what was happening until Junsu was standing also stark by the pond. He suddenly had difficulty in breathing as the man with the most gorgeous body (That was one delectable ! Oh, yummy abs! I want to grab his uhhhm arms!) made his way towards him.

 

They were now standing face to face in chocolate water and Yoochun was almost crazy with want. He wanted Junsu to touch him. Right now. Did he say right now?

 

“So what do you think of my product Yoochun-ah? Is it the best?” Junsu whispered at Yoochun’s ear as his hand dipped into the water.

 

Yoochun was struggling to breathe. He had trouble concentrating on Junsu’s words but he tried. “I think your product needs some improvement. Uhm, I think it needs to be more mouth-watering.”

 

“Yes. I agree. But maybe it will taste different on you.” Junsu said softly, his voice sounding like silk. Yoochun felt a hand gliding down his arm up to his hand. Junsu held his chocolate covered hand and lifted it towards his face. “Let’s sample this, shall we?” That was all Junsu said before slipping one of Yoochun’s fingers inside his mouth.

 

Yoochun gasped as he felt Junsu his finger. His tongue wrapped around the digit and slowly drew the sweet chocolate from his nerveless finger. A dazed pleasure coursed through his body as Junsu continued to his fingers clean. After all the chocolate from his fingers Junsu lifted his eyes and looked straight into Yoochun.

 

“The best chocolate is here. Do you want to taste it?” Junsu asked seductively, his eyes full of promise. Yoochun just nodded dumbly. He didn’t really care what Junsu asked him, he just wanted to taste Junsu.

 

“Y-Yes, please.” Yoochun breathed before Junsu’s lips descended on his own.

 

Their tongues met in a sensuous dance of need. Yoochun felt each slide of wet warm tongue and each nip on his lips. He was enveloped in hazy pleasure and he clearly didn’t want to stop. But the lack of air drew them back. Yoochun managed to give Junsu a wobbly smile.

 

“How does my chocolate taste Yoochun-ah?” Junsu asked while he gently lapped Yoochun’s left jaw.

 

Yoochun moved away and looked at Junsu. He smiled seductively and answered: ‘Pure sin.’