December 23

Clink. 

While holding his keys, the handsome man closed the door of his unit. And just like yesterday, he once again saw a box of sweets. 

He picked it up. It was a box of pink macaroons.

Smiling, the handsome man carefully closed the box again and helplessly looked at the door next door. 

He knew these sweets came from his neighbor.

The handsome man, then walked forward towards the elevator with a box of macaroons and a bunch of keys.

...

...

...

With what happened yesterday, Luca failed the opportunity to get another ticket. Nevertheless, unknowingly, there's this satisfaction in his heart that keeps blooming everytime he gave that handsome man a shared of his favorite sweet. 

So, even with that lost, Luca didn't care much. 

On the other hand, the gingerbread man was still the same. Stalking Luca from the distance with its palm size snow flake while hugging it's candy cane. 

The gingerbread man  stared at Luca who just came back after talking to his supervisor, because of his absence yesterday. Seeing the faint curved of his lips, system 1225 can't help but rolled it's candy eyes. 

System 1225 opened it's mouth, as if wanting to say something, only to close it once again. Seeing the look of satisfaction reflecting in those eyes and it can't help but swallowed the words it wanted to say. Especially, it knew those words were enough to shatter this man's little happiness.

After all, those sweets Luca gave to the handsome man, may be his favorites but Luca actually didn't know how to bake at all. 

So, those sweet was not his own, but actually bought outside. Thereby, it didn't know why it's host looked like that. It was that look, that was proudly giving away his own creation.

Truth speaks, those sweets were the rations Luca bought last time when he came to the supermarket. He bought it in a certain Cafe on their way home.

And in their way, although, Luca was angry at the system. Because of that certain Cafe, Luca talked to the system for a bit, just so he could proudly introduced his favorite Cafe. 

"The sweets here is the best. And according to the ladies at the counter, these sweet were modified version of their boss. After going around in the world for few years, the cafe boss manage to perfected some sweets using low price ingredients but the quality is still there. That's why, the prices here is much lower than other cafe. Not only did the owner did a good job creating such delactable confectioneries in low prices, the outer appearances of those delicacies were also comparable to a master piece." 

The system was so shocked that time, that it actually thought it's host was possessed. Luca spoke so much word within that day, introducing the cafe like he was the owner. 

The system actually wanted to check if Luca was sick that day, but it was afraid that if it disturb the proud Luca while talking about the cafe and the owner, it might become a bulk of bread crumbs the next seconds. 

So, even in doubt, the system choose to remind silence and listen to Luca's bragging about the cafe. 

Unbeknownst to Luca, the cafe owner he was talking about that day, was actually his neighbor. 

That's why, the system could only quietly watched Luca as he gave the handsome man the sweet he created himself.

Looking at the little smile on Luca's stiff face, the system smirked and a glint flash across it's eyes, as it murmurs.

"...it's not enough. The host progress is so slow. There's only two days left before Christmas. I might have to use that method."