Every wonderful day must come to an end. However, Noah refuses to let the day end without having a nice romantic dinner. Okay, ‘romantic' could be too much. For two people who are not even friends, having dinner in a fancy French restaurant with candles and an orchestra can be awkward. Oliver has become more open toward him, and Noah doesn’t want to make any mistake otherwise, they will go back to square one.

Knowing Oliver's interest in culinary, Noah is eager to bring Oliver into the fancy dining of Michelin star cuisine, yet at the same time, he also doesn’t want Oliver misunderstands him while Noah himself can’t truly understand what he is actually doing with Oliver just yet.

Noah admittedly fancies the pretty pastry chef.

But to say all the effort he made right now is to pursue him is seemingly not the case either. He's not condoning a romantic relationship as a fruit of betrayal. Nothing good comes from gaining happiness from hurting others. He knows at least until that far.

While the angel within keeps reminding him of every wise word he ever comes across, making sure his moral compass is still intact. Another part of his nature still battling from giving up. He may appear carefree and going with the flow, but he wouldn’t reach where he is now if not because of his competitive demeanour.

Letting Oliver go with the hope the feeling for him would disappear altogether is impossible. In this bottomless swamp where no one could see the end of it, Noah has dipped his feet too deep. It may drown him someday. But the curiosity of what beauty is hidden within, overcomes his fear.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Noah asks when they both walk through the restaurant row in one street in the capital district.

After putting the shopping inside the trunk, Oliver surprisingly suggests where he wants to eat dinner. He may sense Noah’s agony in an attempt to ask him to stay longer for dinner, or Oliver just being considerate to buy dinner since Noah literally helped him all day. But either way, Noah is excited.

“Yeah, I’m sure the place is around here, actually not too far from our bakery. I walk past it often and they are always full of a crazy long line. Don’t you think it’s fascinating to think people are willing to line up just for eating? The food must be that good. I always wanted to try at least once but no one I could really ask to tag along” Oliver shrugs nonchalantly, and carefully walks through the flow of the bustling street.

Noah gently grabs his shoulder and manoeuvres Oliver to his side when he almost crashes into someone running with hot coffee in their hands. “What about Jonah? Or Evie? I bet a girl on her age would be perky to eat in a viral restaurant, she would have something to brag on her social media”

Oliver groans, “I can already hear Jonah’s never-ending complaint about the long line, enough to drain me and deprive my appetite first. And don’t mention that little brat. She said she was afraid to bump into someone she knows while having dinner with a guy almost twice her age.”

Noah laughs behind his scarf, “She was just joking, Olly. Everyone who sees you for the first time could mistake you for a high school teenager”

“What the- was that a compliment or you are being sarcastic?” Oliver’s button nose wrinkled, feigning disgust.

“I’m serious!” Noah argues between laughter and bumps his shoulder on Oliver’s lightly, “Wanna bet the waitress will ask for your id if you order alcohol later?”

Oliver scoffs, shaking his head with a suppressed smile, hiding his sheepishness by punching Noah’s arm meekly. “Don’t talk to me, you cheesy menace!”

Although Noah strides in light steps and has a permanent gentle smile on his lips, his mind wanders to something else. Oliver doesn’t have someone he could ask to try a new restaurant. It is rather heartbreaking when he has a boyfriend. Yet again, eating at such a crowded place with Taylor means Oliver should be ready to be scrutinised by the public. The press will check on his background and dig deeper into their relationship.

Not everyone manages to live with thousands of pairs of eyes watching their every move. All the more, Oliver is someone who values hard work and integrity. If his bakery and career in general, get more attention for a reason other than because of the quality of his product and work ethic, it will greatly hurt his pride. Henceforth, Noah completely understands Taylor’s decision to keep his relationship with Oliver a secret.

But still, Noah can’t help but think of Oliver’s feelings. Taylor and Oliver may be in the same relationship, but what Oliver’s been through must be harder than Taylor. Watching someone he genuinely likes, sharing affection with someone else, introduced as someone else’s fiance on every news or gossip column, loudly announcing every progress of their life as a goal couple; every single trivial story, whether it was true or not could deeply hurt Oliver more than he wanted to admit.

How many times does Oliver have to give in? What does he gain from this unhealthy relationship and what does he have to lose? Or whether this whole ordeal has permanently changed something within him?

Can a few exchanges of kisses and brief intimacy redeem the overflowing of insecure thoughts, gnawing jealousy, and perturbing paranoia that Oliver has to swallow regularly like bitter medicine? Unless it would cure nothing.

Oliver is one of Taylor’s choices. While Taylor is Oliver’s only one.

They never stand on an equal footing, to begin with. Regardless of Noah’s selfish desire, he feels bad for Oliver and his complicated love, and perhaps that’s what keeps him staying on Oliver’s side despite knowing there will be no place for him in Oliver’s heart.

Now they are walking side by side while casually throwing jokes at one another. Noah wonders what he’d do at this moment if Oliver is his boyfriend.

He will gently slip his finger between Oliver’s cold ones, tug it to a halt so he can properly face him, brushing his knuckle on Oliver’s blushing cheek, admiring his radiant smile at him before softly pressing a sweet kiss on his lips, in the middle of passing people which gradually turns into blurred insignificant cameos, leaving the entire world moving in fast forward while Noah keeps his little bubble with Oliver remains slow. Ageless.

Noah would proudly brag about Oliver to his co-worker, he wouldn’t ever shut up about wonderful his boyfriend is, celebrating their anniversaries, planning romantic vacations to famous holiday destinations, visiting various reputable restaurants, posting every photo of their date, and showing everyone that he is the luckiest man in this universe.

/Ha…what am I thinking?/ Noah facepalms, erasing the subconscious grin from ridiculous daydreaming.

“What’s wrong?” Oliver leans in to peek at Noah’s face after hearing a loud sigh from him.

“Nothing, just hungry,” Noah grins. Doesn’t want to add more burden on Oliver’s shoulders.

“Hang in there, we have arrived! See, that’s the line” Pointing at the Japanese-style vendor with wooden finishing and ethnic lantern bulbs, Oliver quickly joins the queue. “We are lucky the line is short, maybe because not many are insane enough to wait in this temperature?” he bounces on his feet to fight the cold when shoving his hands on his coat is not enough. Noah chuckles with Oliver’s excited face despite his watery nose and ruddy cheeks.

“We still at least wait for 30 minutes tho, not to mention if they keep adding their order” Noah smirks, following Oliver to get in the queue.

Oliver leans on the fence, facing Noah where in front of them are 4 more couples waiting their turn to get a call from the waitress. “So to make our sacrifice worth it, we also should order everything on the menu”

“Eh? And are you sure you can finish it all? You don’t look like someone with a big appetite”

Giving a lopsided smirk, Oliver waves his slender hand off. “Every chef must like eating, that’s our source of inspiration. But...they are picky as hell.  Some of my colleagues would refuse to eat overpriced pasta. Well, some of these fancy pasta restaurants only serve one fork-swirled noodle for $15 when they only need a few bucks to make. And when you ask for extra cheese for your burger they might charge you an extra $1.50 when actually that slice of cheese costs about 29 cents, the same goes with a pizzeria. One of my friends in the culinary academy wrote the whole essay for that but now he owns a breakfast café which sells plain pancakes for $10” he giggles while warming his freezing hands with his breath.

“Wow…I never give a thought about the real price for cheese inside my patty. For common people, it’s a normal price but I guess it’s different for people who run the same eatery business. I mean, it makes sense if you guys are picky, you can easily make your own pasta and burger at home. Yet, if a butterfingered like me tries to cook and burn the entire kitchen, it would cost more than $1 for extra cheese, for sure” Noah shudders with his own thought.

Oliver chortles, “What? I thought you are a delicate person”

“Delicate? Oh, you don’t know how many times I shattered glassware in the lab. Kerry, my chemist even dares to nag his own boss for destroying his new scent invention”

“Well, I can’t blame him,”  Oliver nods approvingly.

“Hey! Which side are you on?” Noah barks, his eyes suddenly bulge wide, only this time not at Oliver’s tease but because of something that is written on the vast billboard LCD behind the pastry chef.

‘Jackson Lewis gifted Taylor Kim a luxury sports car for his birthday, check out their exclusive interview tonight only on Buzz TV’

Two familiar faces are trading a loving gaze with one another, convincing the entire nation how admirable and heartfelt their love is.

“What’s wrong Noah?” Oliver is about to turn his head and follow Noah’s gaze when Noah out of impulse puts both of his gloved hands on Oliver’s ears and stops him.

“Nothing, it's just I’m shocked seeing your ears are so red, I thought they were gonna fall off. you can get frostbite.” Pretty smooth for someone who sucks at lying. At least he doesn’t stutter. “Here wear this” taking off his wool scarf and circling it around Oliver’s neck. The thick bundle hides half of Oliver’s small face but he is visibly comfortable with the lingering warmth from the fabric.

“Uh…thanks,” he mumbles, flustered. Touching the soft scarfs that smell exactly like Noah’s perfume. For the owner of a perfume company, his personal choice is quite simple and subtle. The sweet scent of lemongrass and calming pine. Smells like someone who is just fresh out of the shower. Oliver gives himself a mental shake after realising he’s digging too much into it. “What about you? Aren’t you cold?”

With a warm smile that could melt every snow that touches the ground, Noah fixes the wrinkled folds on the shawl. “Nah, I’m fine, not cold at all. I was stuffing my shoes with hot packs before we walked”

Just petty cold is bearable for him rather than to see Oliver’s excitement of culinary hunting flattered after seeing the news. Noah may not be able to block all information about Taylor and Jackson from Oliver but at least whenever Oliver is with him, Noah will make sure there will be no nuisance that can ever touch him.

“So, is there a menu in your bakery that is actually overpriced? I honestly thought your cookies are too expensive” Noah changes the subject smoothly.

“Hey, that’s because of the macadamia nuts. I use the most expensive nuts in the world! $25 per pound. It’s much better than a dry-ass cookie from this famous coffee shop”

“But there are only a few sprinkles of those nuts on the top, I don’t think that could be worth $9.5 each” Noah fires back with a smug grin.

“Well...that’s true” Oliver clears his throat, scratching his cheek sheepishly. “I try to build an exclusive image for that particular cookie by choosing the premium ingredients. My target is prestige-seeking consumers and price is a common parameter for judging the food quality, so higher mark-up is necessary”

“Okay,” Noah nods, staring fondly at Oliver who cutely tries to defend himself. “So… you agree your cookie is overpriced?”

“Oh my god! Do you even listen to me???” Oliver lunges to pinch Noah’s arm, causing him to jump and lets out a high-pitched yelp. “Stop condemning my $9 cookie when you sell $1000 cologne yourself!”