BRING YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER WITH YOU AND GET A CHANCE TO AVAIL OUR LIMITED EDITION TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CAKE THIS HOLIDAY!

Dark brown eyes shoot daggers at the words written on the shop's white message board before they shift down to the few cakes in the acrylic display case.

Poll scans the different flavors one by one—caramel, strawberry, vanilla—and then stops to stare longingly at the one remaining chocolate cake. He likes the others too. A cake is a cake, after all, but if he's given the choice, he'll take the chocolate any time of the day.

Unfortunately, because of a ridiculous product promotion, he may be forced to celebrate this Christmas Eve without having his favorite dessert.

Sighing, he turns to the male counter attendant.

"What if I don't have a significant other? Don't I really get the chance to avail your triple chocolate cake?" he asks, despite already knowing the answer to the question.

The young employee appears regretful as he gives Poll a faint smile. "Sorry, Sir. It's a requirement to become eligible for the promo."

With a deep scowl, Poll rereads the announcement on the message board. What kind of nonsensical product publicity is this anyway? It's not even Valentine's Day, so why is this store doing a sales promotion that favors only those who have romantic partners? Who made the rule that only couples have the right to enjoy a triple chocolate cake on Christmas Eve? They already get the significant other, so why do they still get the cake?

This is blatant discrimination against single people.

Through the glass walls, the male Torres twin looks over the busy street and contemplates whether he should go to another bakeshop.

But this is already the third one he's visited. Since there are only a couple of hours before Christmas, people are doing their last-minute shopping, and the two cake stores he went to earlier were already sold out.

Resigned, Poll decides to settle with the other flavors. Just as he is about to pick the strawberry cake, he hears someone speak behind him.

"Do you want that chocolate cake, Apollo?"

The familiar voice, uttering his real name, makes his heart miss a beat. Wide-eyed, Poll whips around.

It's been since the other day when they went back home from the nearby town. It's been more than a day since the guy confessed his romantic feelings for him. While Poll promised that he wouldn't run away from him after that, he doesn't think he will ever get used to the way his heart beats faster and his stomach flutters every time the man is near him.

With his mouth agape, Poll regards the newcomer. He can't see where exactly his gaze is directed, can't tell the color of his contact lenses today or if he's wearing any, because of the pair of sunglasses that are hiding his eyes. But judging by the way his head is turned to the side where the shop's message board stands, Poll can only assume that the man is reading the advertisement too.

Without bothering to greet him, the male twin blurts out, "W-what are you doing here?"

Eujae faces Poll, a smile forming on his lips. He lifts his shades, placing them on his brunette hair, and reveals his amber eyes.

"Why do I feel like that question has become your default greeting to me, and it would feel strange if you stopped asking me that? I was just passing by when I caught sight of you here." Eujae takes a few steps and stands next to Poll to survey the desserts in the transparent case. "So do you want to buy their triple chocolate cake?"

Turning back to the said cake, Poll mumbles, "I want to, but it's on promo only for those who have lovers, so I'll just go for the strawberry cake."

An unreadable expression crosses Eujae's face, making the male twin puzzled.

"What?" Poll asks with a quizzical frown.

The other man shakes his head before reaching out to pat Poll's head affectionately. "Go order it then, and I'll wait for you. I brought my grandparents' car today since I was assigned by my family to buy some stuff for this Christmas. And I'm done with the shopping, so I can bring you home before I go back."

Poll is going to argue and tell the man that there is no need for him to drive him home, that he can take care of it himself, but he remembers that this is Eujae he's dealing with. Recent events have made him fully aware that this guy will not take no for an answer once he decides on something he wants to do.

As Poll returns his attention to the store clerk, he notices the creases between the young clerk's brows as if he's in deep thought. The worker looks back and forth between the two college students before his gaze stops at Poll.

"You're buying the strawberry cake? I thought you want the chocolate one?" the shop attendant asks, sounding confused, "You can get it now that your boyfriend is here."

Poll's face heats up at the comment, and he stares at the young employee as if he has gone nuts. "Wh-what? He's not my boyfriend!"

Eujae, on the other hand, seems to be amused as he lets out a soft chuckle.

"Oh, sorry." The young man gives an apologetic bow. "I thought you looked really close to each other, and I failed to consider that you might be siblings because I'd never seen brothers who were that sweet in public. Even male friends."

"S-sweet..." Poll whispers incredulously.

"I know it's not my business, so I'm really sorry. I didn't mean anything bad by it."

Brushing his hand against the back of his friend's head again, Eujae tells the worker, "It's okay. No harm done so there's no need to go that far. This guy was just embarrassed, and he didn't mean anything bad by his reaction either." Eujae glances at the message board again and back at the counter. "But there's something I'm curious about. If we were actually a couple, would that make us eligible to avail of this cake?"

The male attendant nods. "Definitely."

"Even though we're both guys?" Poll asks.

"Yeah?" the employee replies in a deadpan. "The promo just said to bring your significant others, and it didn't say you have to be of opposite genders. As long as you're a couple, then it's not a big deal even if you're both guys."

"But we're not a couple," the male twin mutters before addressing the man beside him, "I... I haven't agreed to date you."

"So there's that. We're not yet together because this guy is still playing hard to get with me."

"That's not true!" Poll hits Eujae's arm with the side of his fist. "You were the one who told me to take my time!"

Rubbing his upper arm, Eujae ignores Poll as he continues talking to the clerk. "So what I wanted to say is, is it not possible to make an exception for us?" he asks softly, switching to his well-mastered cajoling tone. "This guy really loves sweets, especially chocolate cakes. It's already the last one anyway, so won't you let us have it? It will mean a great deal to us if you do. And who knows, he might finally agree to go out with me once I get this cake for him, so that won't make much of a difference if we're dating now or a little later, right?"

The young attendant gives Eujae a hard stare, and then his eyes shift to Poll.

"Wait here for a moment," he says, without directly answering Eujae's questions, and walks out of the counter.

Just as the worker disappears somewhere in the back of the store, Poll turns his awed eyes to the other man. "I can't believe you actually smooth-talked him into giving it to us."

"That's because I'm charming," Eujae replies with a grin. "So are you falling for me now?"

The male twin ignores the quip and mutters, "And you said you only sweet-talk people you like."

"But this is different. Wait, are you jealous?"

Glowering, Poll huffs, "Of course not! Why would I?"

"Exactly. You don't have a reason to be jealous, Apollo." Eujae touches the side of Poll's head to play with the few strands of his hair. "It may be a habit to talk nicely to other people, but it's true that I'm only this sweet to those I genuinely care about. Also, you're the only person I've ever wanted to seduce. But to be honest, it's kind of making me pleased to know that you're jealous."

A gentle smile rests on Eujae's lips, but it's his intense gaze that makes Poll breathless and mesmerized.

Someone clears their throat, causing the male twin to break out of the trance and move a step away from Eujae.

When the male employee comes back to the counter, he places a Polaroid camera on top of the acrylic display cake and states in a salesperson's tone, "To avail our limited edition holiday triple chocolate cake, we need you to take a couple's photo of you as a proof that you're together."

"What? We have to take a picture?" The bulletin board behind the counter catches Poll's attention. He didn't notice it earlier because he was too busy lamenting the fact that he might not be able to get his chocolate cake, but now he can see the different photos that are pinned to the board. Aside from the pictures of couples, there are some group photos of families and friends and some selfies of people wearing animal costumes. Poll supposes the latter ones were from the bakeshop's previous product promotions.

With his voice laced with uncertainty, Poll inquires, "Are you gonna display it here in your store too?"

"Not necessarily," the young attendant answers, shaking his head, "You guys have the choice if you want us to post it here in our store or if you'd rather take it with you as a remembrance. But if you choose the latter, you have to make an additional payment for the photo."

Poll purses his lips, thinking that this promotion is indeed absurd. Why do they ask for a couple's photo if it's not required to leave it to them anyway?

He isn't given the time to decide when Eujae declares in a rather pleased voice, "Then we'll take both the cake and the photo."

After picking up the Polaroid camera from the counter, Eujae puts his arm around Poll's shoulder to pull him closer. He then positions the camera in front of them.

The male twin feels blood rush to his face, surprised when Eujae plants a kiss on his cheek at the same time as the man presses the shutter button.

As quick as the kiss happened, it ends. Eujae leans away and observes the camera while the printed photo starts to pop out.

The feeling of the man's lips lingers on Poll's face. Once he recollects himself, he splutters, "Wha–why... There was no need to kiss me like that!"

Eujae takes the photo as soon as it finishes ejecting. Placing the camera back on the counter, he examines the printed image. He stares at it for a while before he directs his gaze to the male twin. "Well, we have to make it as believable as possible, right? Anyway, this turned out very nice. You looked like a ripe tomato."

The male twin refuses to spare the picture a glance even when Eujae holds it out to him. He doesn't even need to be told that he was as red as a ripe tomato to know that he did look like one. "It's not like we're gonna leave the photo here and it's not like the store attendant doesn't already know that we're not a real couple, so why do we still need to make it believable? Who are you trying to convince?"

Eujae seems to make a sheepish grin, but Poll has been accustomed to the man's behavior to know that his expression is anything but embarrassed.

"Alright, you caught me," Eujae admits, "It was just tempting to kiss you because you were acting so cute. Don't be mad anymore, alright?"

Accepting that it's pointless to argue with the man and remembering that someone is watching them, Poll turns to the shop clerk to claim his prize.

The young employee packages the dessert without asking further questions.

Poll's mood becomes a hundred times better as soon as the box of chocolate cake is in his hands. With a bright smile on his face, he walks out of the store with Eujae.

Still on cloud nine, the male twin doesn't notice when his companion has led him to his car. Even then, he finds no reason to complain.

On the way, Eujae stops by a supermarket while Poll chooses to wait in the car since he's been feeling tired from earlier's search for a good Christmas cake. Eujae comes back shortly with a red paper bag in his hand.

They reach the Torres residence in a span of a few minutes. Once Poll steps off the car, Eujae immediately follows him.

"I think you forgot something, Apollo."

Poll looks down at his hand to check if he's brought the right box of cake with him. When he confirms that he didn't make a mistake, he asks, perplexed, "What is it?"

"My goodbye kiss."

Before Poll can react to the statement, the other man is in front of him, gently holding his hand and placing a chaste kiss on his forehead.

Eujae moves his mouth close to the male twin's ear and whispers, "There was not enough time to find you a good gift for this Christmas, so I thought I'd just give you some kisses."

Poll freezes while warm sensations tickle every part of his body. Expecting a pair of soft lips brushing against his forehead once more, Poll shuts his eyes tightly.

Instead, he feels a rough, warm hand around his wrist, and something falls on his palm.

His eyes fly open to check the thing that Eujae has given him, and he learns that it's the red paper bag's string hanging from his hand.

Opening the gift, Poll takes out a pack of triangular-shaped and bite-sized confectioneries, which are individually wrapped in foil paper. He gapes upon recognizing what those sweets are.

They are kisses, alright.

Hershey's chocolate kisses.

"Are you disappointed? Were you looking forward to the other kind of kisses, huh?"

"Of course not! I wasn't looking forward to something else!" Poll pouts and frowns. Returning the pack of small chocolates to the paper bag, he mumbles, "But I didn't get you anything."

"It's fine. Just being able to see you today is enough for me. Also..." Eujae curls a hand under Poll's chin. For the nth time, he throws the male twin off the loop as he presses his lips on his face.

Eujae might have intended to give him another kiss on the cheek, but his mouth landed so close to Poll's. The corners of their lips brush against each other.

Whether it was intentional or not, Eujae doesn't mention it when he pulls away.

"I'll take these kisses in exchange for the chocolate kisses," Eujae says, smiling and looking satisfied with his pun. He turns on his heels, but not before stealing another peck on the cheek from the male twin.

Poll remains frozen in place, gawking the entire time Eujae walks back to his car and drives away. Dazed, he teeters toward their house with a box of cake and a bag of chocolates in his hands.

His twin sister greets him when he enters the living room.

"Oh, you're back. You were out for a long time. Were you able to get your choco–" Tem breaks off her question, and a concerned frown appears on her pretty face. "Why is your face so red?"

"It's... it's hot outside!" Poll answers in a high-pitched voice before he rushes to the dining area, paying no mind to his twin sister's suspicious gaze.