chapter 08 | pink frosting and flour

 

Sunggyu decides not to dwell on the fact that he was very close to kissing Woohyun again (which he discovers is a very difficult task). He instead resolves to focus mainly on keeping Hye Mi entertained and happy, which will hopefully in turn keep Sunggyu’s mind off Woohyun’s lips.

 

            They get the ingredients together, laying everything out neatly on the countertop. Woohyun preheats the oven to 350°F and joins Sunggyu and Hye Mi who are placing decorated paper cups into the cupcake pan.

 

            “Wow, Sunggyu, you look like a mother helping her daughter bake,” Woohyun says as he leans on the countertop beside Sunggyu. Sunggyu blushes and Hye Mi giggles.

 

            “Sunggyu can’t be a mom, though! He’s a boy! You’re such an egg head, Woohyunnie!”

 

            Woohyun fakes a hurt look, his hand over his heart. “I’m not an egg head!”

 

            Sunggyu looks at Hye Mi who has a mischievous glint in her eyes. She meets Sunggyu’s eyes and Sunggyu nods, somehow knowing what she wants. Sunggyu lifts her up as she grabs an egg and before Woohyun can react, Hye Mi smashes the egg on top of his head, a loud giggle escaping her tiny lips. “Now you are!”

 

            The room goes silent for a moment and Sunggyu wonders if they’ve gone too far now. Hye Mi and Sunggyu start backing up slowly, waiting for Woohyun to explode. They watch as Woohyun grabs an egg and looks directly at the two. Hye Mi squeaks and hides behind Sunggyu’s legs, using him as a shield. “Woohyun—”

 

            Woohyun lifts his arm, walking towards Sunggyu with long strides. When he catches up to Sunggyu he slams the egg down on Sunggyu’s head. Sunggyu gasps a little when he feels the cool yolk dripping down his hair. Woohyun smirks, shaking the excess yolk off his hand as he makes his way back to the counter.

 

            Woohyun reaches for the flour, dipping his hand into the bowl and bringing out a fistful of flour. “Woohyunnie’s mad!” Hye Mi squeals and runs away from Sunggyu, ducking under a stool.

 

            “Woohyun?” Sunggyu asks cautiously, side stepping along the wall of the kitchen. Woohyun approaches and Sunggyu takes this chance to run away but Sunggyu isn’t very athletic (he can barely get up the stairs without tasting blood) and Woohyun is fast.

 

            Woohyun throws the handful of flour at Sunggyu, showering him. Sunggyu doesn’t really think about it before he reaches for the bowl of flour and does the same to Woohyun. Now both covered in flour, Hye Mi pokes her head out of her hiding place and giggles sweetly.

 

            Woohyun grabs some more flour and bounds towards his sister. She screams and tries to run away but Woohyun’s catches her in his arms and covers her in the flour.

 

            A flour fight between the three ensues and by the end of it, they are all covered in egg and flour. Somehow they all end up lying sprawled out on the cool tiled floor, their chests heaving from exertion. Sunggyu feels sticky and utterly disgusting, his cardigan ruined and his shirt dyed brown from the cocoa.

 

            Woohyun gets up and pulls Sunggyu up with him. Hye Mi is already up and looking at her clothes. Sunggyu examines Woohyun and notes that the mussed up hair and clothes make him look very attractive despite being covered in egg and flour.

 

            “Maybe we should all go and wash up,” Woohyun suggests. “Sunggyu, you can use one of the showers. I’ll lend you some clothes, too.”

 

            Sunggyu can’t help but squeal on the inside; he’s going to shower at Woohyun’s home. Most people would kill to be able to do that.

 

            Woohyun leads Sunggyu to a bathroom that Sunggyu thinks is bigger than his own bedroom at home. “I’ll go get you some clothes. Feel free to use any of the bath products,” Woohyun says before slipping out of the bathroom and leaving Sunggyu alone.

 

            Sunggyu quickly strips down and hops into the shower, relieved to finally wash away the flour and egg. He uses the first shampoo he finds and blushes when he catches the scent; pine and the after-smell of rain. Sunggyu recognizes it as Woohyun’s addicting scent and the very scent that came to be his favourite.

 

            Sunggyu is tempted to put it back and find another one but he doesn’t because he, as creepy as it sounds, wants to use Woohyun’s shampoo. Sunggyu doesn’t think this is creepy at all (or that’s what he tries to tell himself); he just wants to smell like his crush at least once in his life. That’s normal, right?

 

            Sunggyu massages his scalp with his fingers, rubbing the shampoo into his hair. He starts to sing a tune and barely hears the door opening over the sound of running water and his own voice until he hears someone else.

 

            “I’ll just leave your change of clothes here,” Woohyun says. Sunggyu curses at himself in his mind for forgetting to lock the door but he’s glad that the shower walls are fairly opaque and Woohyun can’t see much more than a silhouette.

 

            Sunggyu mutters an okay and a moment passes before he hears the door shut again. Sunggyu lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding in and continues to wash his hair and body.

 

            He refuses to think about the fact that he is showering in Woohyun’s house and that Woohyun had just walked in on him. He refuses to let his mind start thinking about things that make his heart race and instead think about what’s for dinner or his essay that’s due in a few days.

 

            When he finishes showering, he steps out of the shower and wraps a towel around himself. He grabs the change of clothes and quickly slips into them, taking the towel and drying his hair with it. The clothes almost fit and are a little baggy in a few places. He wears a simple graphic tee and a pair of sweats that are comfortable and a little too long.

 

            He exits the bathroom and heads back down to the kitchen where Hye Mi is already starting to clean up. Sunggyu joins her and they silently work until Hye Mi asks Sunggyu a peculiar question.

 

            “Do you like Woohyunnie?”

 

            Sunggyu blushes but figures it’s just an innocent question. “Yes, I like him,” he answers.

 

            “I mean like like. You do like like him, right?”

 

            Sunggyu resolves to learn how to not blush so much. “What?”

 

            “I can see the way you look at him.”

 

            “And how do I look at him?”

 

            “Like how my parents used to look at each other when they were in love.”

 

            Sunggyu freezes. How can this little girl see things like this? She’s smart or just observant. Sunggyu wonders if he’s really been that obvious, though. If Hye Mi knows, does that mean Woohyun knows? Sunggyu sighs and nods. “Yes, I like like him,” he admits quietly. “But he doesn’t like like me,” Sunggyu adds.

 

            “Yes he does. He looks at you like how you look at him. I don’t think he knows it yet but he like likes you.”

 

            Sunggyu looks at her, his eyes widening a little. She continues, “When you aren’t looking, he looks at you like how you look at him.”

 

            Sunggyu doesn’t want to get his hopes up. He figures he’ll just be hurt in the end and he really doesn’t want that.

 

            “Do you want to hear something?” she whispers.

 

            “Sure.”

 

            “Woohyun’s lonely. He doesn’t think I can see it but I can. I know what he does with the people he brings home. I know he doesn’t like like them. He just brings them home because he’s lonely. I know he didn’t do anything with you because you’re different.”

 

            Sunggyu is shocked by what he’s hearing. It really can’t be possible, can it? Woohyun doesn’t like him. After all, he’s not popular. He isn’t attractive. He isn’t very talented. He’s awkward and has almost no confidence in himself. He’s just Sunggyu.

 

            “Can you promise me something?” Hye Mi asks quietly.

 

            Sunggyu nods and waits for Hye Mi to explain. She leans in and whispers into his ear, “Can you make Woohyun not lonely? He needs someone just like you to make him happy. Please don’t leave Woohyunnie.”

 

            Sunggyu looks at her and examines her face. She looks genuine and Sunggyu can feel his heart breaking at her expression. “Of course. I promise,” he whispers.

 

            “Pinky promise?” she holds out her small pinky expectantly, waiting for Sunggyu.

 

            Sunggyu complies and laces his pinky around hers. “Pinky promise.”

 

            “You can’t break pinky promises ever, okay?”

 

            Sunggyu nods and smiles at her. Woohyun is very lucky to have a sister like her. Sunggyu’s finger stays laced with Hye Mi’s as they smile at each other and Woohyun takes that moment to walk into the kitchen, eyeing them carefully.

 

            “What are you two doing?” he asks as he makes his way to them, cleaning supplies in hand.

 

            Hye Mi giggles and Sunggyu winks at her. “Nothing,” he answers. Woohyun doesn’t really look convinced but he decides to ignore it anyways.

 

            The three of them start cleaning up the huge mess they’ve made and after a while they are back to baking again. Sunggyu is surprised how well he is able to talk to Woohyun now. He doesn’t stutter so much and although his voice is still very quiet, he seems to be able to actually hold a conversation with Woohyun. He wonders if it is because he’s learned about Woohyun now and knows some of the truth. Or maybe it’s because of Hye Mi. Either way, he’s content. He’s not sure if Woohyun actually likes him like Hye Mi says but he decides that he is happy with just liking Woohyun secretly.

 

            When the cupcakes are finally done, they lay them out so that they can decorate them. Sunggyu readies the pink frosting and they begin to work. Woohyun scoops a dollop of frosting up on the tip of his finger and calls Sunggyu’s name. Sunuggyu turns to him and Woohyun pokes Sunggyu’s nose, leaving the pink frosting behind. Sunggyu goes cross-eyed as he stares at the pink adorning his nose.

 

            Woohyun thinks this is utterly adorable as he watches Sunggyu pout and wipe the frosting off. “What was that for?”

 

            Woohyun shrugs and turns his attention back to decorating the cupcakes. Sunggyu decides that the pink frosting looks really good and he scoops some up with his finger, tasting the sweet frosting with a satisfied sigh following.

 

            “You’ve got some frosting there,” Woohyun says and Sunggyu raises his eyebrows.

 

            “Where?”

 

            “There.”

 

            “Here?” Sunggyu wipes below his mouth, totally missing the pink frosting left on his lips. Woohyun sighs and leans closer.

 

            “Here.” Woohyun closes the gap between the two. The kiss is more innocent than the other they had shared in the classroom and Sunggyu can feel Woohyun’s tongue swipe over his bottom lip before Woohyun pulls away.

 

            Woohyun his lips and grins. “Tasty,” he says.

 

            Sunggyu doesn’t know how much his heart can take anymore. 

 

Trust the child, Sunggyu. Trust the child!