PART ONE.

~

Kaito felt somewhat bitter.

I wasted my weekend catering to the whims of this man, he thought sourly while prepping some blueberry cake batter in a glass bowl.

He should have seen this coming. Daichi's secrecy when making the request hinted at ulterior motives. It was likely because he knew Kaito would have refused if he knew he was going to be used as a personal pastry chef for the day!

How did I not suspect something fishy when that cake enthusiast mentioned needing me? With all the sugar he consumes, how is he not diabetic?

But there was something more pressing on Kaito's mind.

"Ahem, your uh.... you're not tired or anything?" Kaito tried his best to not to feel self-consious of the man leaning against the counter, closely observing his every move while being practically glued by his hip.

"No," Daichi replied, his attention fixated on Kaito's hands as he scribbled notes in a small diary.

I see. He has no sense of personal space, thought the young chef. "Could you... maybe shift to the side a little?"

Daichi took two steps away, but didn't look like he'd move another inch. Resigned to his fate, Kaito decided to distract himself by taking in his surroundings.

Daichi's house was grand, meticulously organized and spacious. The well-equipped kitchen alone surpassed Kaito's bedroom in size. He hadn't explored the other rooms, as he had been whisked away to this particular one upon entering the front door. Still, the exterior gave him a glimpse of the mansion's vastness.

"If you need anything else, just let me know," Daichi spoke up, noticing Kaito's wandering gaze.

"No, this is more than enough," Kaito replied, glancing at the array of baking ingredients on display. There are so many things I can't afford, like this brand of almond oil or this type of fresh cream... "Did you recently buy all of these?"

"Yes," Daichi straightened himself and raised an eyebrow. "Are they not good? I followed some online instructions on what to purchase."

You could have followed those instructions and baked for yourself, sir. But, of course, Kaito knew he could never utter such words to this man, given his imposing presence.

Standing side by side now, Kaito made a surprising realization: he was taller than Daichi by almost half a head. He had never paid attention to their height difference before, as their interactions had mostly been face-to-face with Daichi seated.

I always assumed we were the same height, Kaito thought, surreptitiously scanning Daichi from head to toe. Come to think of it, this is the first time I'm seeing him out of his suit. It's kind of refreshing...

Daichi was clad in a light gray long-sleeved V-neck t-shirt and matching cuffed cashmere sweatpants, sporting black mule slippers. His thick, mid-length, jet-black hair, usually slicked back neatly, now cascaded in soft, adorable waves. Perhaps it was Kaito's imagination, but the man's lashes appeared unusually long from this angle...

"What is it?" Daichi's voice interrupted Kaito's observations, sensing the prolonged scrutiny.

Kaito's eyes shifted evasively. "Nothing. I was just curious about your age, senior."

Raising an eyebrow, Daichi crossed his arms over his chest. "Shouldn't you reveal your age before asking mine?"

"I'm twenty-five," Kaito shrugged, nonchalant about who confessed first.

He'd been so confident about his age, that no wonder Daichi's next words baffled him.

"So young."

"Young?" Kaito blurted out. Did this man not hear me?

Tapping the counter with his pen, Daichi remarked coolly, "I'm thirty-three."

Kaito: "........."

Wait, his age starts with 'thirty'???

Sure, Daichi had a mature appearance, but not mature enough to have crossed the threshold of thirty!

Kaito couldn't help but smile incredulously. "You're kidding."

*

Daichi wasn't joking around. He went as far as showing his driver's license to Kaito, just to make him believe.

There was an eight-year age gap between them, but why did Daichi look like that? At most, Kaito expected him to be twenty-nine. He didn't even dare assume he had reached his thirties.

Kaito had encountered many people above thirty years old, and damn, most of them hadn't aged well. Now he was certain that they had simply let themselves go. Or was it because Daichi was wealthy?

He wondered if he would still look as fresh after hitting thirty. Now he had to know how Daichi managed to stay so fit despite consuming so much sugar!

"Here," Kaito suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when a plate of food was placed in front of him.

"I forgot to buy proper ingredients when I went out today," Daichi explained as he took a seat across from Kaito. "These were the only things I had on hand. Hope you don't mind."

"No, it's alright. Thank you for the food," Kaito expressed his gratitude and began to dig in.

He hadn't expected it to taste so amazing. Western cuisine wasn't his favorite, but Daichi had truly worked wonders with the spaghetti, stir-fried mixed vegetables, and spicy chicken pieces.

"It's delicious!" he beamed.

Daichi chuckled. "Flattery."

"No, I'm serious. You're surprisingly talented in the kitchen," Kaito said sincerely, his mouth still full.

Daichi was momentarily at a loss. Eventually, he responded, "I may not be the best baker, but I know my way around the stove. Next time you come over, I'll be better prepared."

Next time, huh... Kaito couldn't help feeling a certain way. However, he played it cool and scoffed, "That doesn't sound too bad. I'll make you a dessert, and you can cook me a meal. A fair exchange."

"As long as the kitchen is finally being used for something," Daichi commented casually. Seeing Kaito's inquisitive gaze, he continued, "I'm too lazy to spend all day in there, so I usually order take-out or grab something from work."

Once again, Kaito couldn't fathom how this man's health hadn't suffered yet. "Senior, how often do you exercise?"

"I hit the gym in the basement frequently and go for a jog every morning. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Kaito replied and continued eating. He had already gotten his answer.

*

After spending almost the entire day at Daichi's place (though it had been against his will at first), Kaito discovered that he and Daichi had a lot in common.

Initially, Kaito hadn't taken Daichi's words seriously when he said "next time." However, when he was asked for another favor the following weekend, Kaito came to the realization that this was probably his life now. Each time he was "kidnapped" every other Sunday and "forced" to make desserts, he found more shared interests and hobbies with the older man.

He was surprised to learn that Daichi was also a low-key fan of the same nonsensical TV series that he was into, and that apparently, they had both served voluntary time in the military and had many stories to share about their different experiences.

It was a refreshing change of pace that Kaito never knew he needed, and he began to cherish those moments more and more as he spent time with Daichi.

He knew getting too close could be dangerous, but he couldn't help it. Thus, Kaito chose to ignore the alarm bells blaring in his head.

***

"Our Kaito has really become close with Mr. Businessman," Kasumi exclaimed with glee as soon as their head chef finally tore his eyes away from his phone screen. "Should we start preparing for a wedding?"

The man tactfully chose not to respond to her remark as he pocketed his cellphone. "Do you have so much free time? Get to work."

"Acting all serious now?" Kasumi nudged him playfully. "Come on, we all know you've been hanging out and chatting non-stop for over two months now. You two lovebirds didn't even invite us hiking last weekend. When's the confession happening?"

Kaito sighed. "You've got it all wrong. I don't see Daichi that way."

"Oooh~ you've moved on to calling him by his first name. It sounds much better, don't you think?" the woman grinned mischievously.

Well, Kaito didn't have much choice in the matter. A few days ago, Daichi had expressed his dislike for being called 'senior', claiming that it made him feel old.

But the man looked anything but old.

Kaito maintained his expression. "That still doesn't change anything. And I'm pretty sure he's straight."

"Did you ask him?" Kasumi raised an eyebrow, her tone judgmental.

"I don't need to ask to know the obvious," Kaito replied, his hands busy with a rolling pin.

"You know," Kasumi leaned against the counter, arms crossed, "I also thought you were straight when I first met you."

Kaito's movements paused. That was a point he hadn't considered yet. It was true that people always assumed he was straight before getting to know him. Maybe Daichi might also...

Shaking off the thought, he told Kasumi, "I simply admire him as a senior and a friend. Nothing more."

Kasumi snorted. "Whatever you say."

At that moment, Misa called out to Kasumi, mentioning something about an emergency. Kasumi soon left the studio.

The room fell into silence, only the sounds of the rolling pin flattening dough and Jiro's working knife could be heard.

"You've been unusually quiet," Kaito began without pausing his work. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were sick."

"Just thought it would be best to mind my own business," Jiro replied simply. "You wouldn't like what I have to say."

"I already know what you're thinking."

"Be honest, have you fallen for the guy?"

Kaito failed to respond immediately.

With a weary exhale, Jiro halted his task and turned to confront his friend, a tinge of exasperation coloring his voice. "You haven't forgotten what happened during your third year in college, have you? I thought you said you were never falling for another straight dude."

Summoning the events of that year brought a pang to Kaito's chest, a lingering ache from a certain straight man's betrayal he could never forget. The guy he had been involved with for over half a year had merely used him as a rebound, seeking solace after his girlfriend dumped him. But Kaito had eventually uncovered the painful truth—he was being cheated on.

"In the end, women are still better," the scumbag had told him on the fateful day of their breakup. "We had our fun, but I can't see myself getting serious or intimate with another man.'"

Since then, Kaito had made a solemn vow to himself, vowing to shield his heart from straight or bisexual men. And throughout his journey, Jiro had remained a steadfast pillar of support.

"I'm not falling for Daichi," Kaito muttered, his gaze fixated downward, evading eye contact.

"So, hypothetically speaking, if he were to have a girlfriend, it wouldn't affect you?" Jiro probed cautiously, seeking assurance that his friend wouldn't plunge headfirst into an emotional abyss.

Kaito finally lifted his eyes, his placid gaze meeting Jiro's. "Whether he has one or not is irrelevant to me. You don't need to worry."

Nodding in understanding, Jiro returned to his task, but not before imparting a word of caution. "Just in case, if you know you're gonna get hurt in the future, then don't get too close. I'm saying this for your own good."

"Right..." Kaito acknowledged, though deep down, he couldn't help but ponder: If Daichi really had a girlfriend, he'd have at least told me or vaguely mentioned it.

'If he were to have a girlfriend, it wouldn't affect you?'

Kaito chose to bury such thoughts.

"You guys!" Kasumi's boisterous entrance ruptured the tranquility of the room, instantly startling the two friends. "Guess who just waltzed in with a gorgeous lady on his arm? Mr. Businessman! They were chatting and laughing like there was no tomorrow!"

Jiro briefly averted his gaze to gauge Kaito's reaction, only to find his expression unchanged. "Don't jump to conclusions. She's probably just another colleague of his."

"Oh, so I'm overreacting, am I?" Kasumi shot a disbelieving glance at him. "I've never seen her before, and she's not even dressed formally. Of course they're not colleagues."

"Perhaps his sister?"

"I would never forget his sister's face!"

"Alright, calm down," Jiro raised his hands in surrender. "I still don't understand why you're so worked up. So he has some female friends, big deal..."

"Tsk, I'm just protecting my ship from potential destroyers," Kasumi retorted, winking mischievously at Kaito, who had moved to the sink to rinse his hands.

Sensing Kasumi's gaze on him, Kaito deflated her romantic notions. "Please spare me from your fantasies."

"Wah— Just indulge me once in a while, Kaito," she grumbled, sulking as she resumed her work. "Just once, pretend you and Daichi are an item."

"To satisfy your fujoshi dreams?" Kaito chuckled, but Kasumi refused to be appeased. In the end, he decided to play along. "Fine, I'll humor you. I'm certain it's nothing, Tachibana. Daichi wouldn't cheat on me."

Kaito could almost envision Kasumi's invisible bunny ears perking up, her face glowing with delight. "Yasss! It's a confession! A confession! Woo-hoo!"

This is exactly why I don't participate in her shenanigans, Kaito thought helplessly, knowing he would be reminded of this moment for months to come. Just as the thought crossed his mind, his cellphone buzzed—a message from Daichi.

[Let's grab a drink after work.]

An involuntary smile tugged at Kaito's lips as he swiftly replied, then refocused on his work.

Indeed, there was nothing to worry about.

~~~

PART TWO.

~

Or so he'd thought.

"This is an old friend of mine, Aoi Nishiyama," Daichi introduced the twenty-eight-year-old woman to Kaito later that day, just as Kaito was closing up the bakery. "She'll be joining us. I hope you don't mind."

Mind? He couldn't help but mind!

If only Daichi had given him a heads-up about the unexpected addition to their outing. Kaito could have concocted some excuse to avoid the situation altogether.

But it was too late for that now.

Masking his true feelings behind a friendly smile, Kaito exchanged polite greetings with the woman after Daichi had introduced him as his 'little junior companion'.

Little junior companion...

Junior companion...

As if Kaito's mood hadn't already soured enough.

They arrived at a familiar restaurant and settled into a window booth, engaging in casual conversation while placing their orders. Miss Nishiyama had recently returned to Japan from the States and decided to pay her "friend" a visit on a day when Daichi happened to be visiting the bakery. And now, here they were. As a working professional in the business sector, she had plenty to discuss with Daichi, especially with all the fresh ideas she had gathered from her time overseas.

Kaito chimed in with occasional comments to avoid appearing rude or antisocial, but deep down, he longed to disappear from that place.

When he wasn't speaking, his mouth was occupied by food or beer.

"So, you're a pastry chef," Aoi's voice suddenly snapped him back to reality.

Unbeknownst to him, Daichi had excused himself at some point, leaving Kaito alone with the woman.

"That sounds like fun. Did you choose this career because you love sweets?" she inquired.

Pouring himself yet another glass of beer, Kaito didn't bother to lift his gaze as he explained, "No, I chose this career because I happened to excel at it."

"Is that so?" Aoi chuckled softly and sighed. "It's rather peculiar. You don't have a sweet tooth, yet you're a pastry chef, while Daichi is obsessed with sweets but couldn't even make the simplest biscuit. It's almost as if your roles were reversed."

"You two must have known each other for a long time," Kaito remarked. "You had so much to talk about."

Aoi shyly tucked a strand of her long, brunette waves behind her ear. "Well, Daichi didn't mention it, but we were actually engaged a few years ago."

Kaito's tipsy mind instantly sobered, and the glass he held paused mid-air.

Daichi had been engaged to this woman?

Placing the glass back on the table, Kaito was curious to know what had led to their sudden separation.

"We'd been dating for nearly two years and had just gotten engaged when it happened. After I got promoted, my work was transferred to Washington," Aoi explained, a touch of melancholy in her smile. "Daichi wasn't keen on the idea of a long-distance relationship. He said it would be suffocating, so we called off the engagement. At that time, I often wondered how he could make such a decision so easily, even suspecting he might have been seeing someone else behind my back. But he wasn't..."

The abruptness of the decision Daichi had made left Kaito contemplating. Had the guy truly been afraid of handling the distance? Two years together surely meant he had some level of love for her, right?

.... Did he still love her?

"I'm surprised he hasn't dated anyone since then," Aoi continued. "Or maybe he has but just doesn't feel comfortable telling me. Since you've known him, has there been any woman who usually hangs around him? Or does he have a crush on someone?"

"He never even mentioned being engaged before," Kaito said, lifting the glass to his lips once more. "I doubt he'd tell me if he was seeing someone."

"Oh..."

"But if he isn't, do you plan on winning him back?" he suddenly asked, catching the woman off guard. "Now that you're back and all."

Aoi possessed an undeniable allure, her voluptuous figure, wide eyes, and fair complexion casting a spell on those who beheld her. The rosy flush on her cheeks and the touch of red lipstick only enhanced her already captivating features, leaving no room for doubt—Daichi would struggle to ever forget her.

Kaito's gaze roamed over the woman, his emotions complicated. He'd always wondered about the type Daichi was into. So it's the mature-looking ones, huh?

There was no need for Aoi to utter a single word, since her flushed face spoke volumes. She was clearly still in love with the man.

Daichi returned to the table, seemingly oblivious to the charged atmosphere that lingered (or perhaps he chose to ignore it). The pair he had momentarily left behind displayed no signs of abnormality, concealing their emotions with practiced ease.

Kaito continued drinking himself into oblivion, that by the time Aoi decided it was time to take her leave, his face had turned a brilliant shade of crimson, and his eyes were heavy-lidded, lost in a hazy stupor.

Through the window, he watched as Daichi accompanied the lady to a waiting taxi by the roadside. Curiosity gnawed at him, wondering what the two of them could still be conversing about, considering Aoi's evident reluctance to step into the vehicle. After a few anxious minutes, she relented, embracing Daichi before finally relenting and disappearing inside as the car drove away.

"That was nerve-wracking," Daichi slumped back into his seat across from Kaito, releasing a breath he didn't realize he had been holding as soon as he returned. He reached out for a beer bottle, only to discover it was empty. "You finished this one too?" he asked, a mixture of resignation and humor coloring his words.

"You two didn't seem particularly interested in drinking," Kaito replied nonchalantly, a lazy shrug accentuating his indifference.

With a sigh, Daichi motioned for a waiter and ordered another bottle. Just as Kaito made a move to claim it, Daichi swiftly intervened.

"Have you forgotten you have work tomorrow?" he chided, his tone laced with concern.

"I can handle a little sake..." Kaito grumbled, his voice tinged with mild resentment.

"I'd rather spare you the agony of a hangover," the older man retorted, nudging the bottle further away to keep it out of Kaito's reach.

"Tsk, treating me like a child," Kaito muttered, his resentment palpable.

A snicker escaped Daichi's lips as he poured himself a glass. "How can I not when you're behaving like one?"

Kaito found no suitable retort and simply leaned back in his seat, fixating his gaze on the dimly lit street and the passers-by. After a while, he broke the silence.

"How come you never told me you were engaged before?" he asked, his voice laced with a mix of curiosity and reproach.

"You never asked," Daichi replied matter-of-factly.

Kaito scoffed, his disbelief evident.

"It happened years ago, so why would I suddenly bring it up?" Daichi continued, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, you never seemed interested in those kinds of conversations."

Daichi's observation struck a chord. Kaito had never shown the slightest inclination to discuss matters of the heart. While he freely shared stories about family and friends, the realm of love and relationships remained untouched. Daichi had assumed Kaito simply had no interest in such topics—a fact that suited him well, as he himself had little to say on the matter. His younger sister often teased him, claiming he was as inept at romance as he was passionate about desserts, joking that he should have been happily married with three kids by now.

"And besides," Daichi concluded, "the engagement was merely a formality to appease our families."

Kaito snorted, his skepticism evident. "Just a formality, huh?" he remarked dryly. "Two years is a long time. You must have cared about her, didn't you?"

Daichi pondered the question seriously, retracing the steps of his past. "Yeah, I suppose you could say that. There was a time when I could envision a married future with her, and it didn't seem so bad..."

Without warning, the twenty-five-year-old rose abruptly from his seat, startling Daichi. "I'm going to the restroom," he announced, his steps slightly unsteady.

Daichi watched him depart, shaking his head slowly. What's got him so pissed all of a sudden?

~~~~~~~