"You're so pretty. Like a doll!"

What else can this guy do to make him even more lovable in Eujae's eyes?

With an adoring smile, he watches the male Torres twin glow at the sight of the woman in front of them. Poll's eyes twinkle, and his expression breaks into a grin.

Eujae can't blame him for being awed. Indeed, the woman is nothing short of beautiful. With her light green maxi dress and the artificial white and pink roses that sit atop her long, curly blonde, Elaine Castillo looks like a nature goddess who has stepped right out of fantasy novels.

Well, she did just step out of a theater performance. The play ended a while ago, and the two college students are now in the backstage area, taking advantage of the theater staff's short break to talk to her.

"Thank you. And you're a darling." Elaine mirrors the male twin's radiance. She draws near to the young man and wraps her arms around him. Beaming at her son over Poll's shoulder, she asks, "Where did you find this adorable little creature, honey?"

"He's my friend, Ma," Eujae answers with a chuckle. Noticing Poll's stiff posture in his mother's embrace, he adds, "Sorry, Apollo, I forgot to warn you that my mother loves hugging people she finds cute."

Elaine pulls away from Poll. Her hands move to the young man's shoulders, and she gives him a once-over. "Oh, so you're the Apollo."

Eyes wide with marvel, Poll manages to mumble, "I... you can call me Poll. I don't really like to be called by my real name."

"Hm? But I just heard my son call you Apollo."

"That's because..." The male twin glances at Eujae with a scowl, his bottom lip slightly sticking out.

Understanding flashes across the older Castillo woman's face. She approaches her son and touches the side of his head. "Ah, right. I get it. It's because it's this pushy little devil. Someone who has a cunning way of making people yield to his whims and getting what he wants."

Eujae leans down to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. "It's nice seeing you too, Ma," he says, amusement evident in his voice.

"So did you, boys, watch the play?" Elaine hooks her arm around her son's before facing Poll again. "How did you find it?"

"It was enjoyable!" Poll answers excitedly, "I thought it was just a simple love story with a little magic. I was surprised when the MC's crush turned out to be another boy. But they were very cute, and the story's very cute. And you were so good at playing the role of the MC's older sister too! You did look like a college student even though you already have a college son in real life."

Laughter plays in her hazel eyes when Elaine looks up at Eujae. There is a silent question there, as if she wants to know if her son's friend is always this lively.

Grinning, Eujae says, "This guy loves to watch anime, and I think he found the performance earlier just as exciting."

The older woman hums thoughtfully. "It's nice to hear that you had a fun time watching it, Poll. But were you not weirded out when you learned that it was a love story between two boys?"

Poll looks confused for a second, before he murmurs, "I just thought it was a nice story and it was not a big deal even though the leads were both males. A good love story is still a good story whether it's all about a boy and a girl, or both boys. Or both girls."

The adoration grows stronger inside Eujae upon hearing Poll's statements. He exchanges pleased glances with his mother.

A soft Japanese music chimes out, breaking the pause between them. Eujae has heard the song before, and he doesn't need to look at Poll to know that it is his ringing phone.

The male twin excuses himself, saying it's his mom, before stepping away to take the call.

As soon as Poll is out of earshot, Elaine squeezes her son's arm. In a rather melodic voice, she remarks, "What a lovely child. No wonder my son looks so head over heels for him."

Eujae freezes while his mother is still embracing his upper limb. Wide eyed, he gives the older woman an inquisitive stare.

Elaine lets out a gentle laugh. As if she already knows what Eujae is thinking, she says, "C'mon, honey, I can see it from miles away. Even though I witnessed it only for a short period, I can tell that the fondness in your eyes every time you look at him is different from the affection that you give to Lia. In fact, it's very similar to the look in your father's eyes every time he stares at me."

She disentangles her arms from her son, only to hold his face in between her hands. There is no time for Eujae to recover from surprise and ask questions to his mother when the woman continues to talk, "I'd really love to stay and know more about your Apollo, but our team is so busy right now and I need to go back to help them. Why don't you bring that boy home on our holiday break so we can have enough time to hang out with him? I'm pretty sure your Pa would love to meet him too."

Bringing the young man's face to her height, Elaine pecks him on the forehead. "I'll see you on Christmas," she tells him with a tone of finality. Without waiting for a response, she walks back to her coworkers and leaves her son staring incredulously at her back.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

There are still four days before Christmas, but the holiday spirit is everywhere.

Kaleidoscopic fairy lights and twinkle bulbs adorn the establishments, irradiating the busy streets at night. As Eujae surveys the jazzy Christmas trees near the entrances of most shops, he wonders if there is an on-going contest for the best in decoration among the stores.

Yuletide music plays over and over from everywhere while promenading children sing along with it. The festive atmosphere carries the smell of freshly made street foods and rice cakes.

Poll stops to watch an old male street vendor put a batter lined with banana leaves inside a terracotta oven. Standing next to the male twin, Eujae catches the glimmer of amazement in his brown eyes.

"Do you want it?" he asks while his right hand is already in his pocket, fishing out his wallet.

"I can pay for it," Poll comments but doesn't make a move to take his own money out.

"It's fine. Let me buy it for you. You already treated me during lunch, right?"

Because it seems like Poll still wants to argue, Eujae dismisses him by turning to the seller and placing an order for the rice cake.

The old vendor looks back and forth between the two young men, and then his eyes settle on the taller lad. "Is he your younger brother?"

The question draws a snicker from Eujae. Shaking his head, he replies, "No, sir. He's my friend."

"I'm older than him," Poll mumbles.

The curious gaze of the old man flicks to the shorter one. "Ah, is that so? How old are you, lads?"

"We just both turned twenty-one this month," Eujae answers with a polite smile.

"I see." The vendor nods before he begins preparing the young man's order. After packing the flat, round rice cake in a food carton, he picks two banana muffins and two cheese muffins from his basket trays and places them in a separate paper box.

Eujae hesitates when the old vendor hands him the kraft bag that contains both food boxes.

"But we didn't order the muffins, sir."

"On the house." The old man pushes the bag into Eujae's hand. "Take them as my birthday treat to the both of you. And it's the season of giving, so it's fine. Take them."

With bows and wide smiles, Eujae and Poll thank the generous seller and leave him their wishes for his business to grow.

They resume wandering aimlessly while Poll starts to eat the cheese muffins on the way. The noise fades out by degrees as they get farther from the town center.

Scanning their surroundings, Eujae realizes that they have reached a public garden. Despite being away from the multiple lightings of the downtown area, the place is still bright. With the help of the few street lamps, Eujae can make out some of the blooming flowers around them. There are mostly blue and purple hydrangeas, some red and white roses, a few pink carnations here and there, and orchids of different species and colors.

He turns his gaze skyward. Clouds are nowhere to be seen tonight. Brilliant stars and a full moon grace the clear sky.

The light wind glides by, faintly prickling Eujae's arms. A soft sneeze snatches his attention.

Reaching for the back of Poll's shirt, Eujae pulls the hood over the smaller man's head. "Should we go back?"

The male twin shakes his head. "I didn't expect that it was gonna be this cold outside at night since it's always hot in the afternoon."

They chance upon a wooden bench in between two starburst bushes. Once they are seated, Poll opens the food carton and pokes the baked rice cake with a disposable fork. After taking a bite, his expression radiates with relish.

All the time, Eujae contents himself with observing him.

As if remembering that he is with someone, the male twin turns to Eujae and says, "Hey, you should try the cheese muffin and this rice cake. They're not very sweet. I feel bad that I'm the only one eating here."

Eujae smirks. "Then why don't you feed me, Apollo?"

"Never mind then. I'll just finish all of these myself."

"So stingy. Even though it's my birthday, youmpf–" Eujae lets out a muffled chuckle when a large slice of rice cake makes its way right into his mouth.

"How is it? It's not very sweet, right?" Poll asks as he withdraws the fork, innocence coloring his voice, as if he didn't just shove the food into his companion's face.

The sweet and salty taste of the rice cake, mixed with the fruity and milky flavor of the coconut, pervades Eujae's tongue. He hums in response to the male twin's question as he chews on the food.

Looking satisfied with the wordless feedback, Poll returns to feasting on the rice cakes and the rest of the muffins.

As he takes in the view of the delighted guy, his female friend's query during the King's Game incident resurfaces in Eujae's mind.

He had been asked before about what his type was, and the reply he gave then was not very specific.

Someone he can spoil.

He said those words not only because he loves to dote on people dear to him, but also because, at that time, he could not think of any particular trait that he believed would make him attracted to someone.

Beauty is subjective, and he's not one to have opinions about people based on fixed standards. Despite his dating experience, he could not find a definite answer to the question.

But that was then, and this is now.

If someone were to ask him the same thing today, he's sure he could easily provide a detailed response.

He likes someone with soft, dark hair and brown eyes that often light up with different emotions. A cute guy with equally adorable lips, which he'd really love to kiss. Someone who's a couple of inches shorter than him and would perfectly fit in his arms. Someone who's feisty but a sweetheart in his own way. A person whose smile can make his day. One who's a fan of anime, a sucker for sweet foods, a fervent gamer, and a great drawing artist.

He likes someone who's specifically named Apollo Helios Torres.

Because he learns that this is how having an ideal type works. People fall in love with someone, not because that person fits their standards. It's the other way around; people fall in love with someone, and that person becomes their standard.

Eujae heaves a wistful sigh.

Day by day, he finds himself falling deeper and deeper for Apollo. He has repressed his romantic emotions for a while.

Maybe it's time to let the feelings breathe.

"By the way, you said that there's something else you wanna tell me, right?" Poll stuffs his mouth with more rice cake and stares at Eujae with anticipation.

Instead of saying anything, Eujae aims his forefinger above them.

The male twin cranes his neck to follow the direction that he's pointing.

Words don't float in the air. The heavens are void of the answer, so the confused frown that Apollo casts upon him is justifiable.

"What is it?" Poll demands, his face shining under the bright stars.

Eujae smiles, and in the cold breeze of the December night, he lets his warm words be carried by, "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"