Cinnamon

Larythzza always wore two rings on her middle finger, one right on top of the other. The golden one she put on first she had gotten on a trip abroad. It had small crystals in the ring, and had a design indicating the country from whence it came. The second ring, one that she put on top because it was just as important, was her grandmother’s. Her grandmother passed away some time ago, leaving her with her wedding ring.

Both were very special to her, and she didn’t want to lose them.

She had them currently in a small bowl set aside on the counter. Larythzza was rolling out dough for cinnamon rolls, cutting the edges so the rolls would come out even when she rolled it into a log later on. Cinnamon was layered onto the dough, and she rolled it into a log, cutting those into rolls and setting them into the pan.

The five young men she was living with were enthralled at first by her baking, and then one by one would leave the kitchen. It didn’t bother her too much, because she knew they’d be back later once the timer dinged the end of the baking, and the scent of cinnamon had filled the kitchen and the rest of the dormitory.

One, however, had stayed in the kitchen, keeping his eye on her the entire time. Seungho would even eat small bits of the dough, just to see her wrinkle her nose in distaste, her eyes giving away that she actually didn’t mind that he had eaten raw dough.

They had a flirty friendship, and displayed this sort of affection often, much to the chagrin of the other boys. Said boys would groan and walk out of the room if any public display of affection was, so to speak, displayed. The youngest, Mir, even said, “God, get a room already!” Larythzza would just blush and duck her head, Seungho smirking at her reaction.

Currently the pair was sitting in the kitchen watching the cinnamon rolls rise as they baked in the oven. She was straddling her chair, her arms resting on the back of it. He was walking around grabbing random things off of the counter and tossing them in the air, doing various aerial tricks with the item before placing it back where it was.

Larythzza was in her own little world, thinking about anything and everything.

About how the only reason she was here was because the members of MBLAQ needed someone to straighten them up, and they chose her, of all people. Their manager said the boys had gotten a little out of hand at their dorms, it always seeming to be unkempt and they acting unruly. She insisted that’s just them being boys, but the manager insisted, so she complied.

About how she was pretty sure the boy in the room liked her, and she liked him too. They flirted every chance they got, but it never got any further than that. She wanted more, and she wondered if he did too.

About how she needed to put her rings back on. She had forgotten about them for a moment, her head somewhere else. She hopped up from the chair and went to the bowl she had placed her rings in, only to find it empty of any jewelry. Where…? she thought, as she palmed the counter, searching for her rings. “Seungho?”

“Yeah?” he answered.

“Where are my rings?” she turned towards him, confusion etched on her face. “I left them right here and–“ She stopped talking when she noticed her rings adorned both of his pinky fingers. “Seungho?” she asked, her tone mildly serious. “Can I have my rings back?”

He twisted one of the rings around and replied wryly, “Well, I don’t know. Can you?” He smirked at her, continuing to spin the ring around.

She glared at him. “I want my rings back.” She started to walk towards him when he stood up and walked in the opposite direction, the island in the middle of the kitchen between them. She repeated her statement again, moving towards him and he moved away, moving in the opposite direction of wherever she tried to move.

She faked a direction and was able to grab the back of his jacket. “Give me my rings back,” she stated clearly.

“No,” was his curt reply.

The conversation went back and forth with the same words exchanged as Larythzza latched onto him and climbed onto his back, riding piggyback as she attempted to get her rings back, reaching out towards his hands. Soon enough they were both laughing, her cry of, “Give me my rings back,” turning playful, Larythzza smiling in spite of herself. Seungho’s reply turned playful as well as his face moved closer to Larythzza’s until they were close enough to kiss, her head on his shoulder.

“Give me my rings back?” she whispered, in a last ditch effort to reclaim her rings.

He looked at her lips and back to her eyes before leaning in and kissing her softly. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. He pulled away and answered, “Okay.” He took her ring she had gotten abroad off his left hand and grabbed her right hand, slipping it on her middle finger, and then took her grandmother’s wedding ring off and placed it on top of her other ring.

She smiled a serene smile and replied, “Thank you,” before leaning in and kissing him. The kiss would’ve lasted longer if the timer for the cinnamon rolls hadn’t gone off, and if the other members hadn’t rushed into the kitchen upon the sound of said timer.

The first words out of Mir’s mouth were, “WHOA. When I said ‘get a room’ I meant it,” when he saw Larythzza and Seungho standing very close to each other.

Larythzza merely opened the oven and grabbed a oven mitt, taking the cinnamon rolls out, turning to the others.

“Who wants a cinnamon roll?”