“Yoora!”

I raised my brows in surprise as I balanced my phone on my ear with one hand. With another hand, I began to continue writing my essay.

“What’s up, Baek?” I asked, feeling slightly amused by his enthusiastic greeting.

“Lessons today~” he sang on the other end of the line, to which I took as a sign of my best friend’s possibly disintegrating sanity.

“Baek, what the hell is wrong with you?” I question, setting down pencil with a frown.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” he said happily. “Can’t I just help my best friend?”

“Yeah, but why are you so...” I trailed off, trying to find a way to subtly say that he was being border line worrisome, “happy?”

He didn’t answer but just hummed a tune under his breath; the song that he wrote for Soojin.

“Soojin.”

I could almost see his grin. “Yah, get dressed and get down.”

I heard the sound of pattering pebbles on my window again and sighed in disbelief. I pulled open the curtains to see Baekhyun standing below my window, hands in his pockets as he tilted his head up to look at me.

“Come on,” he urged, his voice carrying both through the phone and from below me.

I leaned against the window sill, shaking my head before hanging up. “Ten minutes!” I yelled down at him, before closing the curtains and looking for some clothes to wear.

“Baek, where are we going?” I asked as we trudged along the streets. The weather was shady enough for us to walk without having the sun burn our heads while the clouds looked clear with no foreboding signs of rain. It was a pleasant day, and it matched Baekhyun’s mood.

“Girls like chocolates, don’t they?” he asked.

I was confused with his manner of answering. “Yes.”

“And guys love it when a girl makes chocolates for them,” Baekhyun said with a wink. “We’re going to a make-your-own chocolate confectionary.”

“There’s something like that?” I asked in surprise, trying to keep with his long strides.

“Yup. I know a friend whose family runs it. It’s not far, just a couple of blocks from here.”

“Baekhyun, I know you’re excited and all, but slow down, please. I’m not that fit.”

Baekhyun just rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand, tugging me closer to his side. “Now you can keep up,” he said, before suddenly sprinting down the street. I shrieked in surprise and was forced to follow. His grip was tight, hand tightly entwined with mine as he led me down the sidewalk, dodging people and lampposts. He glanced back sometimes, and I could see the laughter in his eyes, the glint of joyous freedom.

When we reached our destination, we were panting but smiling. I supposed Baekhyun’s enthusiasm got to me, and I found myself laughing throughout the whole journey. Baekhyun himself was laughing, lips stretched into a grin every time he turned and yelled at me to hurry up.

“You’re crazy, Baek,” I said, hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

“You should know the consequences of being friends with me,” he replied, straightening himself up and flashing me a bright smile. He trudged towards the door, still breathing heavily, and pulled it open.

“After... you,” he said, chest rising and falling rapidly.

I stepped through the door and was met with instant relief when the air conditioner blasted cool air onto my face, drying the sweat on my forehead and seeping through the clothes on my body. Baekhyun stumbled in after me, and he, too, closed his eyes as he relished the cool air.

Around us were shelves and shelves of chocolates, all in a variety of shapes, flavours and designs. There was a chocolate house preserved in a glass case in front of the counter, with sugar panes, a roof made out of cookies, and candy canes forming an arch in front of the door. The air was suffused the sweet smell of sugar and cocoa, a lovely and delicious aroma.

“What happened to you?”

A boy had appeared from behind the counter, wearing a brown cap and a white shirt. He had a pleasant-looking face, with large eyes, fair skin and straight brows. He stood just a few inches shorter than Baekhyun, and had a shy smile that made me instantly take a liking to him.

“We ran,” Baekhyun replied, coming forward to stand nearer to him.

The boy raised his brows. “Why? Last time I checked, it wasn’t going to rain.”

“For fun,” Baekhyun replied with a playful smile.

The boy just stared at him oddly and shook his head, deciding it was best he didn’t ask. He turned his attention to me. “Who’s she? Your girlfriend?”

“Naw, friend. My best friend actually,” Baekhyun said, flashing a quick glance at me and gesturing me to come forward.

“Yoora, meet Do Kyungsoo, son of the owners of the Do Chocolate Confectionary. Kyungsoo, this is Yoora.”

I smiled and uttered a ‘hello’. Kyungsoo returned my greeting in kind and then turned to Baekhyun.

“So, what are you looking for?” he asked, his voice immediately taking on a business-like quality.

“We’re not here looking for chocolates; we’re here to make it.”

Kyungsoo nodded and gestured for us to follow him. “Out the back then.”

He took us through a pair of heavy metal doors, into a room with white walls that was lined with cabinets. Two long counters stood at the centre, running the horizontal length of the room; and three refrigerators were backed up against the back wall, like three metal sentries overseeing the goings on of this kitchen.

“You know how we charge, right?” Kyungsoo asked, addressing Baekhyun. “Price depends on the weight and the type of chocolate you use, also the type of decorations.” He led us to the cabinets, opening and closing the doors to show us everything we could work with inside. “Bowls and trays are below the counter, along with the other utensils. You can get the frozen ingredients from the fridges.” He pointed to them. “And recipes are in the first drawer in the counter. I have to man the store up front, but you can call me if you need help.”

“Thanks, man. You’re the best,” Baekhyun said. Kyungsoo nodded and left the room, leaving us to ourselves.

“Well,” Baekhyun said, “we better get started.”

“So what gave you the idea for the chocolates?” I asked as we stood in front of the stove, watching the cocoa powder and butter mixture slowly begin simmer.

We doubled the mixture, since Baekhyun was planning on giving some to Soojin. I on the other hand, was somewhat doubtful to give mine to Luhan. Chocolates were an ideal component for a confession, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it yet. It would be even worse if Luhan rejected me. He wouldn’t do it in a mean way, I know that; Luhan was too much of a nice guy. But I didn’t think I could live down the embarrassment if I rethought it and realised that I had acted too fast, had become too sure of myself. And even if he did accept it, I had no idea how it would taste; I was worried that I might end up choking the poor boy.

I didn’t dare to voice out my thoughts to Baekhyun. He’d chide me, tell me to have more confidence, and I’d be left helpless to answer. I’d be a hypocrite if I tried to find an excuse; I had encouraged him to do his best to get the girl he liked, and here I am, not even trying for the guy I had a crush on.

I supposed whether the chocolates would go to Luhan or just end up in my fridge was a matter to ponder over at a later hour.

“I was talking to a few of guys yesterday,” he said as he watched me begin to sift the flour into a bowl. “And I asked them what they want the girls they like to do for them. A lot of them said they’d like it if the girl made something for them. Then I thought of this place.”

“What about you?” I asked. “What do you think?”

“I think anything she makes for me would taste great,” Baekhyun said with a smile.

I hoped these chocolates would come out well.

“Hey, I don’t think you’re doing that right,” Baekhyun said, stepping closer to me. “This is how you do it.” Before I could react, he reached into the bowl and flicked some flour into my face.

I stood there, frozen for a moment as they flour settled on my clothes, my hair and my skin. Calmly, I set down the sieve, and then reached into the bag of flour next to me and threw it at Baekhyun. His eyes widened and he dodged, but not before a puff of flour landed over his face and torso.

“Oh, it’s on,” he said, emerging from below the counter with an evil smirk.

A few minutes later, we stood in front of the sink, washing the dishes. Our faces were completely powdered with flour, and Baekhyun’s hair had tufts of white in it. I was sure I looked the same, if not worse. Baekhyun had seized the flour bag the minute he declared war, and I was left squealing and scurrying behind counters as he aimed handfuls of flour at me as if he was throwing snowballs.

Kyungsoo had appeared in the kitchen when he heard the commotion, and his eyes widened as he took in the mess we made. We apologised profusely and promised that we’d have this kitchen cleaned up before we went home. Kyungsoo didn’t look angry as he listened to our apologies. In fact, he looked almost amused as he took in our sorry sights.

The chocolate was done, left to cool in the fridge. We had mopped the floor and cleaned the counters. All that was left was the dishes piled up in the sink, courtesy of Baekhyun and his tendency to switch utensils after using one for fifteen minutes.

“This is all your fault,” I told him as I scrubbed the dishes. He was tasked with drying and stacking them, and was standing next to me with a dish cloth.

“Lighten up, Yoo. It’s just a little mess,” he said as he flicked my hair off my shoulders in a playful manner.

“Little?” I repeated in disbelief. “Dude, we had to practically scrub the whole kitchen!”

“Hey, you’re the one who ran all around the kitchen,” he pointed out.

“So it’s my fault for trying to dodge your attacks?”

Baekhyun jutted out his lip and pretended to look thoughtful. “Maybe if you’d just stayed still, it would have been easier for me to dump flour on your head. Then we’d only have to clean up one part of the kitchen.” He grinned at his idea.

I turned off the tap and turned to him. Baekhyun’s eyes widened and he began to back away, realising what I was about to do.

“Yoo, put the sponge down. We can talk this out –”

He didn’t get to finish what he was saying. He didn’t notice the small puddle gleaming on the tiles as he stepped on it. He didn’t know what happened when the soles of his shoes suddenly slipped, his legs giving away under him. I didn’t even think he heard me scream his name when the back of his head collided with the floor.