Work Text:
"Huening Kai, you are so dead."
"What?! I was just trying to bake a cake!" Kai throws his hands up, hip cocked dramatically as he surveys the chaos around him.
Taehyun mutters something under his breath — not that Kai really wants to hear it — and takes a sip of his cola, only to wince when it burns his already dry throat.
"I wasn’t trying to—" Kai starts, but the glare Taehyun levels at him cuts his protest short. He hunches his shoulders, trying to make himself as small as a six-foot-tall man possibly can.
"I’m sorry," he mumbles, voice small.
It doesn’t help.
Taehyun lets out a long, exhausted sigh and slides down the wall until he’s sitting heavily on the cold wooden bench. The weight of the situation hangs heavy between them — the burnt kitchen, the lingering smell of smoke, and worst of all, Taehyun’s injured cat, Hobak.
Kai’s heart twists with guilt. He stares down at his sneakers, lips pressed into a tight line. He just wanted to bake a cake. He didn’t mean for it to turn into...this.
"Alright, Kai," Taehyun finally says, voice hoarse but steady. "I love you, I really do. And I’m proud of you for taking up a hobby." He pauses, pinning Kai with a stare so earnest it makes Kai fidget. "But this has to stop. Seriously."
Kai blinks, pointing to himself incredulously. "This?"
"Yes. I know a senior—"
"No."
"Kai."
"Come on, Taehyun! You know how it is! I tried refunding the last three baking classes, and they refused because they said I was a lost cause! So I turned to YouTube, and honestly? I think I’m doing fine. I’ve been baking for almost two years now! Yeonjun eats my pastries all the time, and he never complains!"
Taehyun's jaw tightens. "Right. And that's why my cat is in there getting stitches."
The waiting room falls silent. A soft, pitiful meow drifts from behind the door, and Yeonjun’s voice coos comfortingly in response. Taehyun's eyes mist over, and Kai’s stomach sinks even deeper.
He averts his gaze, picking anxiously at his dry nailbeds, lips forming a miserable pout.
"Okay. Okay," Taehyun breathes, turning to him with an intensity that makes Kai shrink back. He grips Kai’s shoulders — maybe a little harder than necessary — and says, enunciating every word, "You. Cannot. Bake."
Wow. Taehyun can be terrifying when he wants to be.
"This has been a long time coming," Taehyun adds, voice a little softer but no less serious. "Yeonjun cried after eating your pastries, Kai. Cried. And he kept getting sick after visiting my house. He just... didn’t have the heart to tell you."
Kai’s mouth opens — then closes. Now that he thinks about it, Yeonjun had looked suspiciously queasy sometimes...
"No more excuses," Taehyun says firmly. "I talked to a senior. He’s friends with Yeonjun too. He agreed to teach you. Every Saturday. Five p.m. No takebacks. I already paid him."
Kai frowns, pulling out his phone when Taehyun gestures insistently. He unlocks it — panda home screen and all — and finds a text from an unfamiliar number.
Choi Soobin, it reads.
"This guy’s gonna teach me?" Kai squints at the name, then at Taehyun. "At my house—"
"Our house," Taehyun corrects, deadpan.
Kai groans. "You’re seriously leaving me alone with some weirdo? You think I’m that bad? Like, I need help just to break an egg?"
He pulls his best puppy eyes — the ones that always worked on Taehyun, his dad, and Yeonjun. (His mom and sisters? Immune. Unfair.)
Taehyun’s expression softens, but he points meaningfully toward the veterinary room.
"You owe me this," Taehyun says.
Kai scowls.
"And Yeonjun," Taehyun adds mercilessly. "And Hobak."
Damn it.
"Fine," Kai huffs, crossing his arms. "One class. If I don't like him, he's out."
"Not one class. I paid for a month. Four classes. Then you can quit if you hate it."
Kai groans dramatically, sliding down in his seat like his soul just left his body. "Darn you, Taehyun. Seriously."
"You’ll survive," Taehyun says, patting his shoulder, clearly done with the conversation.
Kai sighs, flicking his dry nailbeds again. Well. At least if he absolutely hates this Soobin guy, he can guilt-trip Yeonjun until the end of time.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Let it be noted that Huening Kai sulks the entire week leading up to Saturday.
Yeonjun, bless his soul, tries to lift Kai’s spirits by making his favorite food and even buying him a plushie — a fat, squishy panda — but nothing works. Kai stays wrapped in a cocoon of pure misery.
When Saturday finally dawns, Kai makes a last-ditch effort to bolt from the house. But of course, Taehyun — who seems surgically attached to their couch for some goddamn reason — blocks his escape.
Huening Kai is this close to launching himself out of the living room window when Taehyun catches him in a chokehold, cutting off what little air he had left.
"Fine, fine! I’ll behave, I promise!" Kai wheezes, frantically tapping Taehyun's arm for mercy.
Taehyun doesn't release him until the clock strikes five — like some grim reaper waiting for the appointed time — and finally shoves him onto the couch.
"You better behave," Taehyun warns, voice deadly calm. "And don’t scare him away."
Kai blinks up at him, confused. "You’re not staying?"
"Nope," Taehyun says cheerfully, grabbing Yeonjun’s hand. "We’re going on a date."
Yeonjun beams, leaning down to press a kiss into Taehyun’s hair, and Kai dramatically gags.
Gay people and their perfect gay dates. It’s so unfair.
Why can't Kai have someone to kiss his hair? Or bake banana bread with? Or choke him a little?
(Okay, maybe not the last one.)
The doorbell rings.
Panic surges up Kai’s spine. Before he can even think, his body goes into full-flight mode: he dives behind the kitchen counter and crouches like a scared little gremlin.
He hears the door open. Muffled greetings. Taehyun's bright, eager voice. A lower, unfamiliar voice responding.
The door slams shut.
Kai wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans. His heart is jackhammering so hard he’s half-convinced he’s going into cardiac arrest.
Maybe he can still jump out the window. Maybe if he does a cool somersault mid-air, Taehyun will forgive him.
But it’s too late.
Soft footsteps approach.
And then—
"Hey."
Kai flinches so hard he almost bites through his own tongue.
Slowly — like he’s being hunted by a wild animal — Kai peeks over his shoulder.
The first thing he sees is deep maroon hair. Then — injustice of injustices — he sees that the guy is tall. Like, tall-tall. Kai has to tilt his head up to look at him, which feels wrong on a fundamental level because Kai himself is a whole 183 cm of majestic height, thank you very much.
And then, as if God Himself had decided to personally torment him, Kai realizes the guy is hot.
Unfairly cute, in a black hoodie with a cracked skull printed on it, ripped jeans hugging his thighs so sinfully well that Kai immediately averts his eyes.
Jesus Christ. he is supposed to HATE him. Why is he so cute. This is so messed up.
Kai's suing.
"Um. Hi?" the guy — Soobin, presumably — says again, waving awkwardly.
Kai lets out a noise that’s somewhere between a squeak and a whimper.
"I’m Soobin! Pleased to meet you, Huening Kai!" Soobin says brightly, smiling so wide his dimples pop out.
Fucking dimples. he hates this guy.
Mama Huening didn’t raise a quitter, though. Kai squares his shoulders, forces a tight smile, and reminds himself: You are a strong, independent boy. You can survive this.
"You know," Kai says, crossing his arms and aiming for intimidating but landing somewhere around 'pouting toddler,' "I've been baking for two years. I really don’t need any guidance."
Soobin hums distractedly, not even looking up from rummaging in his pockets. "Mhm."
The disrespect. The audacity.
Kai’s eye twitches violently.
Pretty boy thinks he's better than him. Hmph. he'll see about that.
"Today, we’re starting simple!" Soobin says, pulling out a crumpled paper. "Banana bread!"
Kai opens his mouth to retort something scathing — like "Banana bread is for babies" — but Soobin abruptly jogs out of the room.
Kai blinks after him, deeply confused. What the hell? Did I hallucinate that entire conversation?
A moment later, Soobin lugs in a massive polythene bag and drops it onto the counter with a thunk so dramatic it could've been soundtracked by an action movie.
Without missing a beat, he rolls up his sleeves — revealing strong, veiny forearms — and flashes another blinding grin.
Kai clutches at the counter for balance.
He cannot survive this.
He will not survive this.
"Let’s get started!" Soobin chirps, slapping the recipe onto the counter and pushing the bag toward Kai.
Kai scoffs loudly and crosses his arms tighter over his chest, glaring at him.
He already hates this guy.
He also maybe wants to kiss him a little bit.
Which is honestly very concerning.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kai has never hated bananas more in his entire life.
They're mocking him. Sitting there on the counter all smug and yellow while he fumbles around like a toddler on his first day of school.
Soobin, of course, is moving around the kitchen like he was born in one. Whistling a little tune. Smiling like they’re besties already. Wearing that goddamn hoodie and looking like a Pinterest dream boy.
Kai, meanwhile, is trying very hard not to combust.
"First, we mash the bananas," Soobin says brightly, handing him a bowl and a fork.
Kai narrows his eyes suspiciously. A test. This is a test.
If he mashes the bananas wrong, he’ll think Kai's a loser.
Kai attacks the bananas with the fork like he’s avenging his ancestors.
Soobin makes a small choking noise beside him, like he’s trying not to laugh.
Kai scowls harder. "What. Am I doing it wrong?"
"No, no!" Soobin says quickly, waving his hands. "You’re, um, very passionate. I respect that."
Kai grits his teeth and mashes even more violently out of spite.
Soobin leans casually against the counter, peeking into the bowl. "Okay, now... mix the wet ingredients in."
Kai sets the fork down, grabs the eggs, and tries to crack one confidently — but the shell crumbles in his hand like a sad little tragedy, dripping yolk everywhere.
Soobin claps a hand over his mouth, eyes wide with suppressed laughter.
Kai’s soul leaves his body.
"This is stupid," Kai mutters, wiping his hand on a towel. "Banana bread is stupid. Baking is stupid. Eggs are stupid."
He refuses to meet Soobin’s eyes because if he sees him smiling he might genuinely throw himself into the oven.
"It’s okay," Soobin says kindly, reaching out — and Kai freezes because holy shit he's touching him — to pluck a bit of eggshell from Kai’s arm.
The contact lasts half a second. Maybe even less.
Kai's heart, however, decides to punch through his ribcage and perform a tap dance across the kitchen floor.
He chokes on his own saliva.
"You good?" Soobin asks, stepping back and tilting his head. His maroon hair flops a little and Kai has the wild, shameful urge to fix it for him.
"I'M FINE," Kai yells, way too loud, and Soobin jumps.
The awkwardness settles over them like a weighted blanket.
Kai wants to dissolve into the floor.
Soobin clears his throat. "Right. Um, let's move on to the dry ingredients?"
"Sure," Kai says weakly, voice cracking like he’s going through puberty again. He grabs the flour bag — but it’s heavy and his hands are slippery and of course it slips from his grip, exploding into a glorious white mushroom cloud.
Both of them freeze, coughing, blinking through the flour storm.
Soobin's maroon hair is dusted white. His hoodie, his jeans, even his lashes are coated.
He looks like a deranged snow angel.
And he still manages to smile. A big, dimpled, disgustingly cute smile.
Something warm curls dangerously in Kai’s stomach.
"Okay," Soobin says, voice light despite the fact that their kitchen now looks like a literal war zone. "Maybe... maybe we start with cookies next time instead."
Kai wheezes out a laugh before he can stop himself.
It's small and ugly but genuine and Soobin's eyes light up like he’s just won a prize.
Kai covers his face with his hands immediately, horrified.
No. NO. He can’t like him. He is supposed to be mad and broody and tragic. Not giggling like a dumbass in a cloud of flour.
"So..." Soobin says, still grinning. "Friends?"
Kai peeks out between his fingers, cheeks burning.
"...Fine," he mutters. "Friends." God.....He is such a sucker for pretty boys. Goddarn him. If probably Soobin tells him to dress like a clown, he would absolutely do it just to see those dimples again and it's been barely a day since he met him. Ugh he is such a simp.
Sue him.
For now, he adds silently.
Because if Soobin keeps smiling at him like that, Kai's doomed anyway.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
It takes them another forty minutes and two near-death experiences (one involving a very suspiciously smoking oven) before they finally get the banana bread into the pan.
Kai is covered in flour, egg, sugar, and possibly existential regret. His hair is sticking up in every direction. His jeans are dusted white. His hoodie is half untucked.
Soobin doesn’t look much better, but somehow still manages to pull off the charming disaster aesthetic.
When they finally slam the batter into the oven, Kai collapses onto the floor with a dramatic groan.
"I hate baking," he announces to the ceiling. "This is the worst day of my life. I hope the bread burns."
Soobin snorts and slides down next to him, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "You don’t mean that. You had fun."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not!"
"Did tooooooo," Soobin sings, poking him in the side with his toe.
Kai yelps and bats him away, scandalized. "Physical violence? Wow. I’m calling Taehyun."
Soobin laughs — full and warm, and Kai hates how good it sounds, hates how it bubbles into his chest and makes him want to laugh too.
Instead, he turns his head stubbornly to the side, nose scrunching.
Soobin watches him for a second. Then says, softer, "You’re not bad at it, you know."
Kai glares. "We had to fish an eggshell out of the batter with tweezers."
"Details," Soobin says, waving a hand. "You have... potential."
Kai rolls his eyes so hard he almost gives himself a headache.
The oven dings, and both of them flinch.
Kai immediately points at Soobin. "You open it. I’m not risking my life again."
Soobin chuckles and pushes himself up, moving to the oven. Kai watches — totally not admiring the way his hoodie rides up slightly to show a flash of waist. Nope. Not at all.
The banana bread looks — well, it's bread-shaped. A little uneven. Maybe a little burnt around the edges. But it smells... surprisingly good?
Soobin carefully sets it on the counter, pulling two forks out of the drawer like a man on a mission.
"Moment of truth," he says solemnly.
Kai drags himself up and takes the fork Soobin hands him. He stabs a piece off suspiciously.
"You first," he demands.
Soobin shrugs, pops a bite into his mouth — and immediately beams.
"It’s good!" he says, honestly amazed.
Kai raises an eyebrow. "You’re lying."
"I swear!" Soobin insists, holding up a hand like he’s taking an oath. "Taste it!"
Still suspicious, Kai reluctantly nibbles a piece.
...and okay. Fine. It's not bad. A little chewy. A little dense. But the banana flavor actually came through and it’s weirdly comforting.
"See?" Soobin says smugly.
Kai grumbles something noncommittal and stabs another piece.
Then, without thinking — blame the exhaustion, blame the sugar, blame Soobin's stupidly pretty smile —
Soobin breaks off a bite with his fingers and holds it up to Kai’s mouth.
Like it’s normal. Like it’s casual.
Kai blinks at the offered bite. Then at Soobin, who’s still smiling, totally unbothered, like this is just something friends do.
His brain bluescreens.
This is not normal. This is an attack. A gay assault.
Kai, against all better judgment, leans forward slightly and lets Soobin feed him the bite.
Their fingers brush. It's electric.
Kai chews mechanically, not tasting anything, brain screaming HE FEEDS ME LIKE A BABY BIRD WHAT DO I DO.
Soobin just watches him, dimples on full display, looking so happy and sweet and proud that Kai feels like his soul is being slow-cooked along with the banana bread.
"You’re not so bad, Huening Kai," Soobin says softly.
Kai almost chokes.
He covers it up with a cough and glares at the floor, muttering, "Don’t get used to it."
Soobin only chuckles — warm, fond, terrifying.
And Kai, heart pounding, stomach flipping, realizes two things:
1. He's absolutely doomed.
2. He's absolutely signing up for every Saturday baking session for the rest of his life.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The next Saturday, instead of usual routine of waking up at 12.30 pm, Huening Kai wakes up three hours early because of nerves.
He tries to play it cool, obviously.
He tells Taehyun (who immediately sees through him) that he’s totally fine, and that it’s just another dumb baking lesson with some dumb guy with dumb dimples, and he’s definitely not thinking about it nonstop.
"Sure," Taehyun says, not even looking up from his phone.
"You’re totally not standing in front of the mirror practicing how to say hi."
"I’m NOT—" Kai screeches indignantly, tripping over himself, cheeks burning.
Yeonjun just snickers from the couch and mouths "he totally was" behind his hand. The traitor!
By the time 5 p.m. rolls around, Kai is a nervous wreck.
He’s dressed in his nicest hoodie (the one with the tiny embroidered stars on the sleeves) and his least flour-stained jeans.
He even sprayed a tiny bit of cologne that he stole from Taehyun’s room. (Taehyun will kill him later but whatever.)
And then — the bell rings.
And then — Kai’s brain short-circuits all over again.
Because Soobin is standing there — tall and warm and soft in an oversized baby blue sweater, hair flopping into his eyes, holding a bag of supplies with a shy little smile like he's happy to be here.
"Hi, Kai," he says, voice so gentle it might actually physically knock Kai over.
Kai makes a sound that is definitely not human and waves frantically, almost hitting the doorframe.
This is going great.
Today, they're making sugar cookies.
("Simple and easy," Soobin had said. "You can't mess it up!" , Kai’s pride had immediately screamed "challenge accepted.")
Everything actually goes okay for the first half hour.
The dough comes together, no one burns anything, no cats are injured.
Kai feels himself getting a little bolder, a little cockier — cracking jokes, nudging Soobin with his hip when he passes him the cookie cutters.
Soobin laughs every time, dimples on full blast, and Kai thinks he could literally die happy right now.
He also kind of wants to lean his head on Soobin’s shoulder. But like. In a totally non-suspicious, totally bro way.
Obviously.
And then as nothing even goes right, ever for Kai disaster strikes.
It starts because Soobin flicks a tiny bit of flour at him, laughing when Kai shrieks dramatically.
Kai gasps — betrayed.
"Oh. You wanna go there?" he says, grinning wickedly.
Soobin only grins wider.
Five minutes later, the kitchen is an absolute battlefield.
Flour covers everything — the counters, the floor, them. Kai has a streak across his nose, Soobin's sweater is no longer blue, and they’re both laughing so hard they can barely stand.
At one point, Kai lunges forward, trying to smear a handful of dough on Soobin's cheek — but Soobin dodges — and they crash into each other, chest to chest, faces way, way too close.
The laughter dies.
Kai freezes, wide-eyed.
Soobin’s hands are still on his waist. Kai’s hands are gripping the front of Soobin’s sweater. Their noses are almost touching.
The air goes electric.
Soobin's smile flickers — then softens — then fades entirely, replaced by something heavier, hungrier, something that makes Kai’s knees actually tremble.
Neither of them move.
Neither of them breathe.
It would be so easy — so easy — to just lean in a little more. Close the tiny, aching gap between them.
Kai thinks, wildly, holy shit I'm gonna kiss him I'm gonna—
But before anything can happen —
"HEY, DID YOU GUYS BURN THE HOUSE DOWN YET?"
Taehyun’s voice blasts from the hallway.
Both of them jump apart like they’ve been tasered. Kai trips over the bag of flour. Soobin stumbles into the counter.
It’s a mess.
A stupid, awkward, disaster of a mess.
Kai’s heart is hammering so loudly he’s afraid Soobin can hear it.
Soobin clears his throat, raking a hand through his floury hair. "Uh. Um. We should, uh. Clean up."
Kai nods violently. "Yes. Clean up. Lots of cleaning."
Neither of them looks at each other for a full cleaning session. Though after that no baking happens, after Yeonjun finds them mid cleaning and the word is spread to Taheyun who makes it abundantly clear that neither will leave the kitchen until it was spotless and even denies the kind Angel Yeonjun who offers to help. The demon, sometimes Kai wonders how they got together. Soobin had left quietly after that, with a heartfelt apology extended to Taehyun and Yeonjun who brushed over it but when Kai did the same thing, Taheyun first manhandled him and then forgave him.
Unfair.
Later that night, when Kai’s lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with his heart still racing, he gets a text from Soobin.
Soobin 🐰 [9:02PM]: had fun today :) thanks for not actually murdering me lol
Kai stares at it for a second.
Then, impulsively, he texts back.
Kai 🐧 [9:03PM]: u owe me a real baking lesson next time
Kai 🐧 [9:03PM]: like a serious one
Kai 🐧 [9:03PM]: no distractions
He bites his lip, hovering, second-guessing, panicking—
Soobin’s reply comes in immediately.
Soobin 🐰 [9:04PM]: deal. no distractions. 😉
Kai stares at the winky face, heart exploding in his chest.
He shoves his face into his pillow and lets out a loud, muffled scream.
He is so doomed.
So so so so doomed.
And maybe — maybe he doesn’t mind that much.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Kai tries to play it cool when Soobin arrives for their next baking session.
He fails miserably.
Because first of all — Soobin walks in like he owns the place. Black hoodie again, ripped jeans, a little silver chain around his neck this time that Kai definitely should not be staring at.
"Missed me?" Soobin teases, flashing that heartbreaker smile.
Kai sputters. "Pfft. In your dreams."
He did. Several times.
Soobin just laughs and sets the bag of ingredients down.
"Today, chocolate cupcakes," he announces, already reaching for the bowls. "Let’s make it messy."
Kai has no idea how prophetic that sentence is about to be.
Because ten minutes later Kai is struggling to whisk the batter — it’s thick and heavy and keeps resisting — when suddenly he feels arms slide around his waist from behind.
He freezes. Like Literally freezes like a deer in headlights.
Because Soobin is pressed up against his back. Chest warm and solid. Breath fanning lightly against his ear.
"Here," Soobin murmurs, voice a low hum against Kai’s skin. "You’re doing it wrong."
Kai nearly drops the whisk right then and there.
Soobin’s large hands cover his, guiding the whisk in smooth, easy circles, and Kai’s whole body is going haywire. His brain short-circuits. His knees wobble. He’s not even sure he remembers what baking is anymore.
"You just have to be firm," Soobin murmurs, voice dipping dangerously low. "But gentle."
Kai thinks he might actually explode on the spot.
He elbows Soobin weakly. "S-Stop flirting with me and focus!"
Soobin just chuckles, not moving an inch away.
"You sure you want me to stop?"
God fucking damn it.
By the time the batter is ready, Kai’s face is redder than a tomato, his hands are shaking, and somehow there’s flour all over his cheeks — courtesy of Soobin smudging it there "accidentally" when they were "adjusting his grip."
This man is an actual menace.
So Kai decides: two can play this game.
When Soobin leans down to pipe frosting onto a cupcake, Kai sneaks up behind him and flicks a little bit of flour onto the back of his hoodie.
Soobin turns slowly, eyebrow raised.
"Oh. You’re dead."
Kai just grins, feeling bold.
He steps forward, close enough that Soobin has to lean back slightly to avoid bumping noses.
"What, scared?" Kai says in a low, teasing voice.
He places his palms flat against Soobin’s chest — feels the fast thump-thump-thump of his heartbeat — and corners him against the counter.
There’s barely an inch between them now.
Kai tilts his head, smiling sweetly up at him.
"You're the one who said messy baking is fun, right?"
Soobin swallows hard. His hands twitch at his sides. His mouth opens — closes — opens again.
For the first time, Huening Kai has Soobin completely flustered.
Victory tastes sweeter than any cupcake.
Just when Kai thinks he’s won — Soobin’s hands snap out, grabbing Kai by the waist — and in one easy, effortless motion, he lifts Kai up and plants him on the counter.
Kai gasps — hands clutching Soobin's shoulders instinctively. Their faces are so close now. So close he can see the little flecks of gold in Soobin’s dark eyes.
So close he can feel every single ragged breath against his mouth.
"You," Soobin says lowly, voice rough like gravel, "are a menace."
Kai blinks, still breathless. "Takes one to know one."
And then — finally —
Soobin leans in and kisses him.
Hard.
Desperate.
All heat and teeth and soft sighs. Kai fists his hands in Soobin's hoodie, pulling him closer, heart hammering wildly against his ribs.
It’s messy. It’s a little clumsy. It tastes like sugar and flour and something that’s been brewing between them since the very first second they met.
And it’s perfect.
When they finally break apart, panting, Kai just stares at him, dazed and blissful.
"You’re lucky I like you," Kai mumbles, cheeks flaming.
Soobin just grins — smug and stupidly adorable — and kisses the tip of his nose.
"You have no idea how lucky," he whispers.
And Kai thinks — as Soobin leans back in to kiss him again — that maybe baking disasters aren’t so bad after all.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After The Kiss, everything shifts.
Everything.
Soobin texts more now. Constantly. Stupid things like "thinking about u" or "saw a panda keychain n thought of u 🐼" and Kai hates how much he smiles at his phone like a lovesick idiot.
They are disgustingly into each other. Taehyun has already threatened to spray them with a hose. Twice.
And today— Today is their first official date.
Kai insists on baking something for Soobin before they go out.
It's a terrible, terrible idea.
Cue Taehyun screaming in the background.
Somehow, Kai manages to burn two batches of cookies and set off the smoke alarm — but the third batch?
Miraculously edible.
They’re just chocolate chip cookies... maybe a little charred on the bottom... but still cute, because Kai draws a smiley face in frosting on top.
He packs them in a little paper bag and clutches it like a life raft when Soobin rings the doorbell.
When Kai opens the door —There stands Soobin, looking like a goddamn dream.
Black leather jacket. White tee. Silver chain again. Casual but still stupidly hot.
Kai almost drops the cookie bag out of pure nerves.
"You look—" Kai starts, but then Soobin is already stepping forward, sliding an arm around Kai's waist to tug him in, and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.
"You look perfect," Soobin says quietly.
Dead. Huening Kai is dead on arrival.
They try to have a normal meal.
They really do.
But it's hard when Soobin keeps stretching his legs under the table, "accidentally" brushing Kai's knees with his boots.
Or when Kai keeps biting his straw every time he laughs, and Soobin just sits there looking completely wrecked like the simping loser he is, Bold of Kai to state that when he is just as down bad.
At one point, Kai drops his fork, leans down to get it, bumps Soobin’s leg, and somehow ends up bumping heads with him under the table.
They both come up red-faced and giggling.
It’s disastrous. It’s adorable.
It’s so obvious they are stupidly in love already.
The waitress winks when she drops off the check.
After dinner, they walk hand-in-hand back to Kai’s place, swinging their hands a little.
Kai gives Soobin the bag of cookies shyly.
"Made these for you," he says, ducking his head.
Soobin stares at the bag like it’s the most precious thing in the universe.
"You baked for me?" Soobin says, voice suddenly so soft that Kai nearly melts into a puddle on the sidewalk.
"Yeah," Kai mutters. "Hope you don't die or anything."
Soobin just laughs — full and bright — and laces their fingers tighter.
"I'd die happy," he says simply.
Kai punches his arm. Soobin yelps dramatically. Kai kisses him anyway.
Right there under the streetlights.
___________________________________________________________________
The next Saturday, Kai had invited Soobin over. With Taehyun and Yeonjun away in Daegu visiting Taehyun’s cousin, Beomgyu, the apartment was unusually quiet—and perfect for a night in.
Soobin had dropped him off earlier with a kiss that was far too sweet for someone who wasn’t planning on staying the night, so Kai did what any completely normal, not-at-all lovesick person would do: he invited him over. Soobin, of course, agreed instantly—like the hopeless romantic he is.
At exactly 8 p.m., the doorbell rang.
The rich, savory scent of takeout hit Kai before he even reached the door, and he practically skipped over to open it. Soobin stood there, dimples deep and arms full, balancing two steaming bags of food.
Kai grinned.
Soobin barely took ten seconds to kick his shoes off—one landing half on the rack, the other definitely not—and didn’t even bother with his socks before he was already halfway to the kitchen, bags of takeout swinging dangerously in his hands. He barely places it on the table before he is pressing Kai back against the door, laughing into his mouth when Kai squeaks in surprise.
"Missed you," Soobin says, voice low and rough, forehead pressed against Kai's.
"You literally just saw me like four hours ago," Kai teases breathlessly, but he doesn't exactly push Soobin away.
Instead, he grabs Soobin's jacket and tugs him toward the living room.
"Come on," Kai says, cheeks flushing. "Let’s—um. Watch a movie or something."
Soobin smiles like he knows exactly what Kai’s trying to do — pretending things are normal, pretending he's not still trembling a little from how hard they kissed right now.
But he follows. Always follows.
They flop down on the couch, a tangle of limbs. Soobin immediately throws his arm around Kai's shoulders, tugging him close, letting Kai curl into his side.
For a few minutes, they actually try to watch the movie. Something mindless and animated — Kai’s pick.
But then— Soobin’s hand starts tracing lazy circles into Kai’s waist. Kai starts absentmindedly playing with the chain around Soobin’s neck.
The movie becomes background noise. The real action is the way Kai keeps stealing glances at Soobin’s lips. And the way Soobin keeps squeezing Kai’s hip a little tighter, a little more possessive each time.
Finally, Soobin tips Kai’s chin up with one gentle finger.
Their eyes lock. The tension crackles like static electricity between them.
"You're really bad at pretending you're not staring," Soobin murmurs, grinning.
"Shut up," Kai whispers back — but he’s already leaning in.
And then Soobin kisses him again. Harder this time. Deeper.
Kai gasps into his mouth, clutching at Soobin's hoodie like it's the only thing anchoring him to the earth.
Soobin crowds him back into the cushions, hand sliding up under Kai's shirt, fingertips brushing over warm skin — not rushing, just feeling, like he’s trying to memorize every inch of him.
Kai lets out a tiny, broken sound when Soobin pulls back just enough to kiss down his jawline, down his neck, nipping lightly at the skin.
"You drive me crazy," Soobin says against Kai’s throat, voice rough like gravel.
Kai fists his hands tighter in Soobin’s hoodie. "Good," he says breathlessly. "You deserve it."
That earns him a playful bite to the shoulder, and Kai yelps and shoves Soobin half-heartedly — which somehow just flips the both of them until Kai is straddling Soobin's lap, both of them laughing breathlessly.
Kai cups Soobin's face between his hands, wide grin fading into something softer as he kisses him again, slower now, savoring it.
And somewhere between kisses, between quiet laughter, between tangled hands and whispered words—
The movie ends.
The credits roll.
Neither of them notice.