His eyes burn, and tears start to form, no matter how hard he fights them back. Gripping the knife, Poll glares at the culprit that dares to make him cry, and starts slicing them. These damn onions.

"Don't do it like that, baby," Eujae speaks beside him on the kitchen island. He then stands behind Poll, putting his hands above the male twin's to guide him on how to properly chop the vegetable. Over the smaller man's shoulder, he continues to explain, "You have to curl your fingers under. This way, you can avoid cutting your fingers."

Poll focuses his eyes on the cutting board, ignoring the way Eujae's voice tickles his ear, as he attentively listens to his boyfriend's instructions. He sighs in appreciation when the perfume of the man behind him offsets the pungent smell of the onion.

"And be careful. A painter like you can't afford to have an injured hand, after all," Eujae says before letting go of the male twin to return to his task of peeling the carrots and potatoes.

A shot of disappointment rises through Poll as soon as the warm feeling in his back disappears, but he plays indifferent about it.

"I use my right hand to draw though," he mumbles. He resumes slowly dicing the onions and realizes that it's indeed easier if he does it the way Eujae taught him.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't give the same care to your left hand. You still use it a lot when you're making art, right?"

Despite Poll agreeing in his mind, only the sound of the knife against the stainless steel chopping board answers Eujae's statements. Through the corner of his eyes, Poll notices the other man smirk and shake his head. His boyfriend must have been amused to watch him concentrate on mincing the onions.

He can't help it. This is his first time helping in the kitchen, and he finds himself actually enjoying it, although the memories of accidentally wounding himself with knives as a kid make him very cautious. Those past experiences caused him to be very wary of handling any sharp objects; he's only ever been comfortable using cutter blades since that's what he uses to sharpen his pencils.

Without pushing the conversation, Eujae rounds the kitchen island and goes to the other side, where the built-in sink is located, to wash the peeled carrots and potatoes.

Poll finishes cutting the onions into fine pieces. He puts the knife down on the white quartz countertop and admires his work, pride swelling inside him as if he had just completed another painting. Eujae told him that the smaller the chops of the onions, the better, so he's satisfied to see that he did a good job at it.

Feeling motivated, Poll gets a whole bulb of garlic from the storage basket under the kitchen island and starts to work on it. He frowns, growing a bit impatient, as he runs into trouble of removing the garlic's skin with his hand and separating the individual cloves.

Eujae comes back with the washed vegetables and a bowl of chuck beef. Upon seeing his boyfriend struggling with the garlic, he chuckles.

The male twin turns to him with a pout and gives him a pleading look like he's calling for help.

"Here. Let me show you a trick on how to quickly peel them," Eujae offers, smiling, as he takes the garlic from the smaller man's hand.

Poll observes Eujae intently as the latter pushes the garlic against the countertop using the heel of his palm, breaking the whole bulb. Eujae then throws the separated cloves into a glass jar, puts the lid on, and shakes it. After more or less twenty seconds, he opens the container and tips it over to let the contents out. The male twin picks a clove and stares in awe when its paper skin comes off with ease.

"If it's only for a single clove or two, you can use the flat surface of a knife to crush it, and the garlic will pop out of its skin," Eujae tells Poll before he squats down to look for something under the kitchen island. Taking out a red, flashy-looking, rectangular container, he stands up and puts it on the countertop.

The thing turns out to be a multifunctional vegetable-cutting machine, and Poll watches incredulously when Eujae uses it to dice the cloves of garlic and chop the carrots and potatoes.

Wide-eyed, the male twin asks, "So you have this thing and still made me chop the onions manually?"

Eujae flashes him a lopsided grin and answers, "Because you looked like you were having fun doing it, I couldn't find a good chance to bring it up to you." He places the machine back where he got it while he continues talking, "To be honest though, I don't always use this thing when I cook. Sure, it's convenient when I don't have plenty of time to spare, but whenever I have the chance, I still prefer to cut and prepare my ingredients the traditional way. There's just this strange satisfaction in knowing I've put a lot of effort into making food. Besides, I like cooking because it often helps to get my mind off the stressful things, and I enjoy doing the long process more."

"I understand." Poll nods; his eyes are on Eujae, who has yet to stand up. "I feel the same way about drawing. There are a lot of shortcuts to finish a traditional portrait now too, which are pretty helpful, especially for those who need to complete rush commissions. I use those tricks sometimes when a client is impatient and wants their order to be done as soon as possible. There's not much different with the finished products, whether I use shortcuts or do it step by step anyway, but at the end of the day, I still find the latter more rewarding, knowing I've spent more time and effort on it."

The understanding smile reaches Eujae's eyes; brown and blue reflect the warmth through the man's eyeglasses. Without taking his gaze off his boyfriend, he rises to his feet. He glances around the kitchen and then returns his attention to the male twin with a more serious expression.

"Since we're back on the topic of making art, you told Lia that you still want to paint me, right?"

Poll tenses, realizing that Eujae might have also heard him telling the young woman that he's now embarrassed to ask him about it. After remembering the whole truth about their first meeting and the humiliation he felt then, he no longer has the face to tell his boyfriend how he'd like him to become the main subject of one of his future paintings and that it's something he's wanted for a long time.

But, oh well, now that Eujae already knows it anyway, he might as well pretend that it doesn't bother him at all and ask him directly about it. Aside from enduring another round of teasing, what else does he have to lose?

Here goes nothing, Poll thinks, steeling his nerves. With more determination, he holds Eujae's stare with his own. "Well, do you mind doing it?"

"I can do it on one condition," Eujae answers cryptically, his eyes flickering with something akin to deviousness.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he asks, "What is it?"

Eujae regards Poll with a contemplative expression. Taking a few steps closer, he stands in front of the male twin and puts his hands on the quartz countertop. His arms are on either side of the smaller man, trapping him between the kitchen island and his body.

"You have to tell me the whole truth about that incident in our first meeting. I just find it unfair that you had no problem telling the story to my cousin, but it seems like you want to keep it a secret from me."

At the intensity of Eujae's stare and tone, Poll gulps. He turns his head from left to right, glaring at the arms that cage him, contemplating if it's a good idea to try escaping from the man.

"I won't tease you anymore, promise."

In the end, he decides to trust the sincerity in his boyfriend's voice and brush aside the slyness in his eyes. Poll knows he can't run away from this confrontation forever after all. It's bound to happen sooner than later, so it's better to face it head-on now.

"There's just something I found confusing about everything you told Lia," Eujae says. Ever so slightly, he tilts his head to the side. "So I get the gist. You never meant to hate me, and you forgot about that part of the incident because, well, selective memory. You wanted to be friends with me from the beginning, but you ended up shouting at my face after we bumped into each other. I might have missed this one detail since I didn't hear everything clearly while you were talking to Lia, but I'm curious to know what exactly pushed you to lash out at me."

"Your face," Poll answers curtly, thinking that the less he talks, the sooner this whole interrogation will come to an end. But he should have known that this kind of approach is not something that will work on Eujae.

"My face," the taller man repeats, raising a brow, a hint of amusement coloring his tone, "The same face that you found attractive the first time you saw it. So just because you thought I was handsome and you wanted to be friends with me, you started a fight with me?" Appearing so sure of himself, Eujae adds, "Then I was right for saying it was just your desperate and unique, if I may add, way of getting my attention."

"That's not what I meant!" Poll cries and repeatedly smacks his boyfriend's chest with the sides of his fists. "Why do you keep twisting the story to feed your arrogance? And you promised you were not gonna tease me anymore!"

Contrary to what Poll expects him to do—that is, budge and let him go—Eujae takes his hands off the countertop only to enfold him in his arms.

In spite of his protests, the smaller man instinctively holds on to his boyfriend's shoulder, welcoming the hug.

"Because you keep beating around the bush and wouldn't give it to me straight, so I had to make my own interpretations of it," Eujae reasons out. He places a kiss on Poll's forehead before leaning away with a grin. "So are you going to tell me the truth yet?"

Since it's the only weapon he has against the other man's wisecracks, Poll pouts. "I meant to apologize to you at that time. But it's not like you would have easily forgiven me even if I had, right? What with you being pissed at me at that time as if I'd stolen everything from you. Although, now I understand. Maybe I would have been that upset too if someone ruined my tablet and my clothes."

While Poll expects his answer to shed some light on Eujae's concern, it seems to only raise more questions. Confusion crosses the eyes behind the glasses, and wrinkles form between Eujae's brows. In a skeptical voice, the man says, "But I wasn't pissed at you. Not until you started yelling and blaming me for everything that had happened. And of course I would have forgiven you if only you didn't pull that attitude on me."

The male twin blinks, uncertain if his boyfriend is telling the truth or just making up excuses. As he examines Eujae's no-nonsense expression, Poll fails to find any sign of deception in the man. Equally perplexed, he answers, "But you had this dark look on your face at that time, as if it were the end of the world."

"I had?" There is no ounce of pretense in the question; the few words scream genuine bafflement. "I was pretty sure I wasn't put out that you bumped at me and spilled the paint on my clothes. I mean, I didn't have the time to be frustrated with something else because..."

Eujae falters, his eyes increasing in size as though something hits him. He must have remembered an important detail about their first meeting, and Poll wonders if he had gone through the same experience of forgetting a critical part of that incident too. But he's aware that's unlikely to be the case.

"Oh God, no way," Eujae mutters.

Amidst the confusion, neither bothers to disentangle themselves from the embrace. Eujae's arms remain around the male twin's middle while Poll moves his hands from the taller man's shoulders to the back of his neck.

Poll plays with the hairs on his boyfriend's nape as he listens to the rest of what the latter has to say.

"You said I had a dark expression when I looked at you then. I might have actually been frustrated, but I swear it wasn't all about you," Eujae continues, sounding desperate to make himself clear, "When I was on my tablet at that time, I was doing a bit of scalping in the crypto market while I was waiting for Lia. You already have a little idea about online trading, right?"

Poll nods, and Eujae then proceeds to tell the story of how he made a misstep while trading, which, needless to say, caused him a loss that day. And while it wasn't a big amount, he ended up internally scolding himself for being stupid to think that it was a good idea to make online trades when he was in a place where he could be easily distracted.

Throughout the story, the male twin finds himself having a hard time processing the fact that what started their dispute that day was all a misunderstanding.

"When you bumped into me then, I got even more frustrated with myself because I was thinking it was my first day in college and I was already causing someone trouble," Eujae finishes the retelling with a sigh. "That expression you saw on my face that day might have been me being annoyed at myself and not at you."

"But I caused more damage to you that time than you did me," Poll points out quizzically. "So how did you come up with the idea that you were the one who caused me trouble and not the other way around?"

"Oh, so now you're admitting that it was your fault? Then you might as well confess your longtime crush on me."

Flushing in embarrassment and annoyance, Poll tries to break free from Eujae's hold by pushing him on the chest. Unfortunately, the action only causes his mind to focus on a thought that he has been struggling to push aside since earlier. Feeling the firm chest against his palms reminds him of the shirtless image of Eujae during their beach outing and the fact that the man has a gorgeous body behind all those stylish clothes.

Damn perverted brain. He berates himself and shakes his head in the hope of getting rid of the inappropriate picture. And damn you too, Eujae.

"Okay, okay. Don't be mad anymore. I just couldn't help but tease you because, like I always say, your reactions are too cute." Eujae chuckles and then peppers Poll's face with kisses.

Since he is weak to his boyfriend's affections, Poll has no choice but to indulge him. He also needs the distraction anyway. Wrapping his arms back around Eujae's neck, he asks, "If that was the case, then why didn't you tell me the truth from the beginning? We could have saved years of hostility if only you said you were not mad at me."

"But you didn't even give me a chance to explain my side, and with the way you acted, I assumed you were not the kind of person who would listen to anything I would say. In the end, I got pissed for real, so I began to talk back."

A thoughtful frown settles on Poll's face as he goes over everything he learned this day. "Then have we been arguing and fighting with each other all those times for nothing?"

Eujae's mouth curves up, creating the kind of smile that always manages to make the butterflies in Poll's stomach come alive.

"You can look at it that way," the man whispers with eyes full of fondness. "Or you can look at it on the positive side. To be honest, I believe that those fights we had were what ironically brought us closer to each other."

Before Poll can ask what he means, Eujae pulls him closer and rests their foreheads on each other. His mouth brushes against the smaller man's, their breaths mingling, as he continues in a low, rather sensual voice, "I took notice of a lot of things about you because you kept getting under my skin. I started to give you so much damn because you seemed to always want to have an argument with me and just wouldn't leave me alone. You always managed to test my patience during those times. But even then, I found it hard to ignore you. I wouldn't have given a hang about how you looked every time you talked and smiled at other people had you treated me the same way from the start."

There is no time to let Eujae's confession sink in, no time to respond when the man clears the small distance between their faces and presses their lips together, engaging the male twin into a slow, heated kiss.

Poll's head reels when Eujae skims his tongue against his lips before slipping it inside and licking every corner of his mouth. The male twin holds on to his boyfriend tighter to stop his shaking legs from caving in. However, his limbs should be the least of his concerns when even his rationality verges on collapse. Nothing seems to make sense at the moment, but at the same time, everything feels so right.

The ground disappears under Poll's feet as Eujae lifts him, letting him sit on the countertop. Caution signals go off in the smaller man's head, but he pays no heed to them. Because if there's a danger zone that he's willing to trespass, it's those things that involve Eujae.

Yet he understands that his boyfriend is not a person who will push him into something that he's not prepared for. Eujae leans away after some time, mouth parting to catch his breath.

Excitement surges through Poll, discovering how dark Eujae's brown and blue eyes have become. The passion in the man's gaze is unmistakable, and Poll decides that he likes the sensation it causes him, loves the thrill of knowing he's being desired.

The male twin spends a minute to collect himself before he picks up their conversation, acting nonchalant as if they didn't just have a fervent kiss a while ago.

"So do you think if we'd started being friends, things would have been different between us now?" Poll grips the front of Eujae's shirt while he remains seated on the countertop.

The fire in Eujae's eyes softens as he touches Poll's face. "Not exactly, but there's one thing that I'm pretty sure would have stayed the same. No matter how our first meeting had gone, I know we would have ended up with each other. That unfortunate incident could have turned out differently, and even then..." After giving the male twin a chaste kiss on the lips, he breathes, "I would still have fallen in love with you."

As Poll studies his boyfriend's gentle expression, he begins to realize how lucky he is to have won this man's heart. Gorgeous, smart, kind; Eujae Nigel is the epitome of every person's dream guy. And this attractive and affectionate lad is now his significant other.

The male twin may not be as outspoken as Eujae when it comes to his romantic feelings, but at least he can admit to himself that he too would have fallen in love with the man, regardless of what kind of past they had.

With the urge to show his adoration for him, Poll gets off the kitchen island so he can properly hug Eujae. Snuggling into his boyfriend's arms, he mumbles, "Seriously, what a sweet talker. But I guess it's part of what I love about you too."