Gray twists his snapback on tighter before gazing up the length of the building towards his recently bought apartment suite. He watches the room until the sun's rays become unbearable. He enters the building and makes his way for the steel elevator. Once inside, he recalls the day he had been shown the suite by the real estate agent. The commentary on the previous owner had caught his attention but out of sheer politeness, Gray did not probe further on the matter. He had assumed her hurriedness to leave the suite was due to closely scheduled time slots for other potential buyers.

The elevator dings and Gray steps out. He's immediately hit by the strong smell of a citrus perfume. He hurries along and the smell changes into a slight rose water smell as he approaches his door. He places his card against the scanner and shakes himself off as he waits for the system to accept his identification. It pings and Gray pushes his way inside. He's greeted by a multitude of different sized boxes scattered throughout his foyer. With his shoes off, he moves further into his new home, turning at the corner into the spacious living room.

He takes off his messenger bag and sets it down on the large, single-person couch situated near a glass coffee table. The strap's metal connector tinks as it connects with the glass surface. He whistles as he approaches the large windows overlooking the grand view of the city.

"I can't wait to see this at night," Gray says as he presses his hands and nose up against the clean surface. Lost in his daze, it takes him seconds to realize his ringtone is going off. He dashes for his bag in search of his phone. He finds it and in a breath of air, hurriedly answers with a hello.

"I'm guessing you're already high up in your new kingdom."

Gray laughs. "Is this the pizza delivery guy?"

"Oh so very funny of you. Even if it were, I don't think you'd invite me so easily into your home."

Gray rolls his eyes. "What are you trying to say," Gray questions, his voice cracking towards the end.

"Well, I called in because I sort of need your help in picking a cake for my sister's birthday. Since you're good at choosing what works, I thought I could ask you to be test-tasting guest?"

Gray pulls the phone back, swallowing the saliva that had accumulated in his mouth. After a few seconds, he pulls the speaker back to his lips.

"I'm not the only one who knows which flavors work best and which don't."

"But you always seem to have more success with a woman's heart." There's a short pause before he hurriedly adds on, "Please, I'm not asking for much, am I?"

Gray stops and remembers the number of boxes loitering his front entrance. He debates whether or not he really should go.

"Give me fifteen minutes and I'll meet you in front of the bakery."

"Deal."

Gray hangs up and falls down onto the couch. He clutches his phone close to his chest, a huge smile spread wide across his face. Suddenly, he bursts into song as he scrambles to his feet. His smile only grows wider as thoughts of seeing his friend infiltrate his mind. He grabs his weathered wallet from inside his messenger bag and starts to walk towards his foyer when he remembers his key-in card. He slides it off the glass table. As he makes his way out, he lets out a stifled scream. The door clicks shut and the man inside is left with only the sight of Gray's backside for another few hours.

Gray crosses the street, pretending not to notice his friend as he approaches the bakery. He acts surprised when Yoonchul flicks a wave at him.

"Hey, Yoonchul. How's it going?" Gray starts fiddling with the base of his jacket and immediately pulls back when he remembers Yoonchul knows he does that when he's nervous.

"Nothing much. Other than this birthday bash that my mother absolutely wants to throw for her, pretty solid."

Gray smiles, grabbing his hat to fit it on properly when Yoonchul reaches his hand out and fixes it for him.

"You're always sporting these snapbacks."

Yoonchul sweeps Gray in through the bakery's glass doors before Gray has time to do much. A familair warmth begins to spread in the pit of his stomach at Yoonchul's touch. With Yoonchul continuing to maneuver him towards a crook in the back, Gray nearly trips over a chair's metal leg. He fumbles with himself when he feels a pair of hands grab him on either side. Gray blushes, unable to contain his emotions any longer as he's brought to his feet by Yoonchul.

"If you aren't careful, I could lose my greatest asset."

Yoonchul winks at Gray before continuing forward into a slightly concealed den. He signals for Gray to follow him. Once seated, Gray takes in the small, thin lines of the delicately crafted stencils in the surrounding walls. The table is worn with a multitude of small scratches scattered throughout its wooden surface. Gray follows a long scratch from the base to the very end where he comes into contact with Yoonchul's hands. Gray notes their long, slender fingers with the smooth, flawless skin and continues progressing slowly up the length of his hands to his wrists when he feels a stare at the top of his head. Gray plays it cool when he asks Yoonchul where he got his watch from.

"I could have sworn you've seen this bad boy before." Gray looks at it again, kicking himself in the ankle for staring too long at his hands. When he looks up again, he frowns.

"Nope, never seen them."

Yoonchul shrugs his shoulders. "Came from my trip to California."

"That's cool." Before Gray has time to ask him from who, the head chef bustles into the den and shakes their hands with a hearty laughter before taking a seat at the head of the table. He asks for their names and in return gives his. He continues to smile at them both as he asks what he could be of service for.

Yoonchul draws his elbows onto the table. "We'd like to taste your cakes. See, we're in search of a delicious cake for my sister's birthday."

Jero nods his head and says he'll be right back with some samples to taste from. As soon as he leaves, Yoonchul slides his hand into his combed back hair. Gray watches as they make their way through it, the visual of milky fingers against black hair sending his heartbeat into an erratic thumping. He swallows the ball of saliva that had been forming in his throat.

"Yoonchul, are you by chance seeing anyone right now?"

Yoonchul looks back at Gray with confusion. He an eyebrow at Gray. "No, why?"

"Just curious, really."

"Aw, come on. You're not going to tell me why?"

Gray shakes his head. They hear the head chef approach and both turn their head towards the den's entrance to see Jero carrying two plates with forks in one hand and a platter of small cakes in the other. He sets a plate down on each side of his potential customers before grabbing the plate with his now empty hand and placing it in the center of the table. Gray catches a whif of the cakes and the strong smell of lemons envelops his nostrils. Yoonchul catches the momentary twist in Gray's facial features. He grabs the fork and looks towards the chef who is making his way out.

"Please, enjoy. I'll be back in fifteen minutes." He gives a faint nod before exiting. Yoonchul waits until he completely disappears around the corner before leaning in and whispering to Gray.

"Alright, what's with that face you made?" He chuckles softly. Gray throws him an exaggerated look of shock. They both burst into laughter that Gray tries to stifle.

"It's just that the smell of lemons hit me hard."

"So?"

"Well, anything natural and unflavored synthetically isn't going to smell as strong as this cake does," Gray says as he sticks his fork into the cake and slides a small piece away. "It's really not supposed to smell until you pop it in your mouth."

"They never taught this at school. How much smarter can you get?"

Gray looks over the piece before popping it into his mouth. He swirls his tongue over the spongy cake, taking in the texture and flavor of the cake in a calm manner. He swallows.

"They did teach this. You were probably just dozing off during the lesson."

Yoonchul breaks a piece off from the same slice of cake Gray had tasted and snarls his upper lip in distaste. "Really, being sassy with me again, are we? I'll have to teach you a lesson soon enough."

Gray shakes his head, lowering his head to hide the wide smile that spreads across his face.

The two finish tasting the cakes and giving each other feedback in time for the head chef's return. He greets them with both his hands placed on his hips.

"So, what would it be?"

"We'll take the red velvet with cream cheese and strawberries... Please, make them fresh," Yoonchul stresses.

Gray kicks him in the leg. His face does not change as he continues to eye the chef with slightly raised eyebrows. After completing their transaction, they stand and Yoonchul maneuvers his way back out towards the front entrance while Gray profusely thanks the chef for his time and wonderfully crafted cakes. Gray gives the young lady behind the counter a faint bow as he hurries after Yoonchul.

The bell dings as Gray steps out of the bakery and into the embrace of the setting sun's few, final rays. He looks to his left and finds Yoonchul leaning against the wall with a well-polished shoe propped against the brick wall. Gray sighs heavily as he makes his way over to him.

"Why did you say that to his face?"

"What? I only told the truth, didn't I? He'll get over it."

"That's besides the point! It shouldn't have been said to him in the first place."

Yoonchul looks down the bridge of his nose at his infuriated friend. He closes his eyes before opening them again after pushing himself off the wall.

"Okay, I'm sorry. But you know I like some honesty."

Gray pretends to punch him in the stomach. "Well, not everyone understands that about you."

Yoonchul smiles, pulling his car keys out from his blue trousers. He points his head in the direction of his car. "Need a ride?"

Gray purses his lips, dramatically turning on his heels and heading the other way when he stops. He bites back a giggle as he waits for Yoonchul to react. When too long has passed, he turns around and sees Yoonchul walking the other way, a single finger swirling his keys around by the silver hook. Gray's about to call out when he sees Yoonchul turn his head to the side.

"Well, come on," he says before turning his head around and rounding the corner. .

Gray throws his head back, resting the palm of his warm hand against his forehead as he takes in the darkening color of the sky. He slides his hand over his nose and dashes after him with his hands outstretched, ready to tackle him.

As Yoochul approaches Gray's new apartment complex, he lets out a low whistle.
"You really did have to kill a man to get something like this." Gray steps out of his friend's convertible and Yoochul follows suite.

Gray looks up and takes in the glass that holds his apartment. He loses himself in his thoughts that he doesn't hear Yoochul calling him until he feels a tap on his head. Startled, he abruptly turns to face Yoochul. Gray snarls the left side of his lip up when he sees the umbrella lain astrewn over the roof of the car.

"I'll have you reported for asssault, yknow."

"You know there's actually another reason why I called you out today." Yoochul raises his eyes slowly to face Gray. Gray feels his heartbeat quickening and his palms start to sweat. He grabs the hemline of his jacket, glad that Yoochul can't see it happening.

"What is it," Gray stutters.

Yoochul tilts his head to the side, never removing his eyes from Gray's face. Gray musters all his courage to keep from destroying the prolonged eye contact between them both.

"I bought the cake and everything for my sister, but…" Gray holds his breath.

"I wanted to ask you to bake her a cake."

Gray's shoulders drop down and he tries not to show his disappointment as he nods his head.

"I bought the cake to place your handmade cake into the box. Of course, if you'd be alright with it. It'd be a huge surprise for her to expect a cake from her favorite bakery and instead discover your delicious tasting one inside."

"Sure, sure. Anything for her, I mean you, I mean you. Get it, right?"

Yoonchul shakes his head. He pulls the umbrella inside before sliding in. He slams his door shut and rolls his window down. He gazes back at Gray and says "thank you" before driving away, the wheels on his convertible skidding against the asphalt. Grah watches as Yoochul turns out of the driveway and onto the street before resting his head against the stone pillar.

I ask for too much, don't I? Even worse, I don't do much about it. Really. I'm too much sometimes. Gray sighs. He kicks a pebble away from the entrance as he draws near to the glass doors. They open, hitting Gray with an icy chill of cold air.

Once inside his apartment again, Gray slides his shoes off and prods over to the living room without putting his slippers on. He gazes at the nighttime view of the city before turning the corner into his bedroom's hallway. He pushes his door open and heads for the bathroom.

After having washed his face and cleansed his teeth, he rolls into bed, the feel of his silky pajamas making him all the more sleepy. He yawns, stretching his arms out towards the headrest when he hears a beep go off from his phone. He immediately picks it up, checking to see the notification. He laughs at himself when he sees it's a simple email notification. He takes a longing look at his background picture before shutting his phone off and laying it back on his bedside table. He rolls over and in a matter of minutes, is out cold.

The man walks in and plods over to Gray's side. He squats on his hindlegs, his face level with Gray's sleeping one.

"You really remind me of a woman," the man says as he slides Gray's hair away from his face. He holds it there for a few before disappearing and leaving Gray to his dreams and subconcious desires.

Author's Note: Anddddd any suggestions or criticisms are always welcomed and extremely appreciated for this fic! Thanks for catching this train you beautifully y people.