CHAPTER 13 – CUPCAKES

Today is Saturday. Jinah get grocery shopping duty from her mom. She goes by herself this time, because Yoona hang out with her boyfriend as usual, Jaebum has band practice with his classmates in the school and her parent attended a wedding party. Aunty Kang usually goes back to her two-hours-drive-away home in the countryside. So that’s why the grocery shopping duty usually falls to the Im siblings. The frequency to do the grocery shopping is twice in month. Unfortunately for Jinah, she has the most frequent visit to the grocery than her siblings.

Jinah enters E-Mart, and starts to put some foods and drinks in the shopping cart. She crossed one by one the things on the list that already on the cart with pencil. Two bottles of 1 kg low fat milks, A bottle of 1 kg full cream milk, one block cheddar cheese, A jar of Nutella, A cardboard of eggs, A box of Honey Stars and Koko Krunch, Meat, Seafood… and the list continues. Jinah skillfully moves from one aisle to another. From fresh food counter, frozen section, daily need and so on.

Jinah was in baking section, selecting the most perfect condition of chocolate garnish and checking the expired date when suddenly someone approaches her. The last thing she had to do after this is buying fruits.

“Excuse me, miss. Do you know which flour that I supposed to get if I want to make cupcakes?” A really deep voice asked Jinah.

Jinah automatically turn toward the person and take one step back. The man who’s asking her question is really tall. But not the height that made Jinah take one step back, it’s the appearance change of that person. She’s sure yesterday his appearance is different from now.

“Miss?” The man asks again in playful manner while raising his eyebrow.

“Kris?” Jinah come back from shock. “What are you doing here?”

The Kris Wu in front of her right now is not blonde anymore. Now his hair is dark brown and not being pushed up as he usually do. His bangs falls to his forehead. He wears a grey shirt and grey long coat with black jeans.

P.s : minus the sungglasses, bags and passport

Kris grinned. “I’m buying ingredients to make cupcake. But I don’t know which flour I supposed to get. Is it tapioca flour? Rice flour? Or Wheat flour?” he asked in confusion while pointed to the opposite side where the various flour located.

“You? Make cupcake? Why it does not sounds right?” Jinah pushes her cart and walks closer to the flour aisle. It isn’t like you can encounters someone like Kris any day in supermarket and ask you about flour to make cupcake. What an unexpected encounter!

Kris only smirked and follows right behind her with his own cart. Jinah takes one package of flour then gives it to Kris. "You can use this. It's an all-purpose flour."

"How many cupcakes you can make with this?" Kris asked innocently while holding the flour package in his arms.

"A half dozen perhaps,” Jinah guessed.

“Uh... I might need one more package,” Jinah takes one more package and give it to Kris. Kris immediately placed the flours in his shopping cart which already filled with two carboard of eggs, butter, sugar, milk, colourful ceres and two bottle of Orange Juice.

“Why are you making cupcakes anyway?" Jinah asked with curiosity.

"Today is my mother's birthday. So my siblings and I plan to give something special for her. And we decide to make homemade cupcakes because it looks easy than make the real birthday cake," Kris explained.

Jinah nodded and little bit amused because Kris actually can speak more than one sentence in one go. Suddenly silence occured between them. “I better go. Have fun on making the cupcakes!” Jinah said. She starts to push her cart to fruits section when Kris suddenly spoke.

“Do you know what else should I need to make cupcake?”

Jinah stops. “You need the icing butter and baking powder,” she said after thinking and observes the things in Kris’s cart for awhile.

Kris blankly looking at Jinah. He’s confused. “I don’t have any idea everything you said just now, Jinah.”

Jinah chuckled. Kris really look adorable in his counfused face. “Why bothered to make cupcakes if you don’t even know the ingredients?”

“My sister insists,” Kris replied nonchalantly.

Right on the cue, A girl bounces to Kris in cheerful steps. “Gege... Look! These can be used on top of the cupcakes!” Wendy said while showing a package of colourful choco candy sheel to Kris.

“Wonderful!” Kris said in the same glee tone.

Jinah amused while looking at Kris and his sister interaction. “So, Jinah... anything else we need?” Kris turned to face Jinah again. Wendy also faces Jinah and smiles at her.

Jinah bites her lips for a second. “Come on, I’ll help you to look all the ingredients for cupcakes,” She pushed her cart to another side of baking section.

Kris and Wendy looking at each other in relieved because someone finally help them to figure out the cupcakes ingredients. They follow Jinah like a puppies.

“By the way, this is my sister. Wendy. Wendy, this is Jinah. My friend just like all EXO oppa and she’s your senior in school too,” Kris introduces Jinah and Wendy to each other.

“I know! she’s the one you’re going to give the-” Kris suddenly clasps Wendy’s mouth to stop her talking.

Jinah turned in wonder and raised her eyebrow when she find Kris clasping Wendy’s mouth and giving her a pointed glare. Kris immediately let go his hands from Wendy’s when he realized Jinah looking at them. “She’s really talkative,” Kris grinned awkwardly.

Wendy pouted and glared at Kris. “Nice to meet you, Jinah eonnie,” Wendy turned to face Jinah and smile at her.

“Nice to meet you too, Wendy,” Jinah smiles back to Wendy. She assumes Wendy is a really friendly person because Wendy calling her with ‘eonnie’ right away.

Jinah stops at the aisle that contained all kind of baking ingredients. She takes baking powder and icing butter not far from it. “These are the essential things for cupcakes. If you don’t have these, your cupcakes will absolutely fail,” Jinah placed them on Kris’s cart. Wendy and Kris nodded listening to Jinah.

Jinah observes the aisle again “Aaa... you can make your cupcakes with variety of flavours! You only need to add these essences. There are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, matcha and blueberry,” Jinah checks the avaibility of the flavouring on the shelf.

“Strawberry! Mom loves strawberry,” Wendy chirped in excited tone.

Jinah chuckled and placed the strawberry essence to the cart Kri’s hold. “You also can make colourful icing with this food colorings. But the colours are not complete. There are only yellow, red, pink, blue and purple,” Jinah frowned while looking at the shelf where the food colorings locate.

“Let’s choose pink, blue and purple. They are our family member favorite colour,” Wendy suggested.

Kris only observes Jinah and Wendy in silent while the two ladies look so concentrate to choose the best package and check the expire date.

“Okay, then you are set,” Jinah said in final when all the cupcakes ingredients have placed in the cart.

“I guess so,” Wendy peeked their shopping cart. Kris only nodded.

Jinah starts to walk and push her own chart again to her final destination, fruit section. From the corner of her eyes, she can see Kris and Wendy still following her. Jinah stops on her track and stares at the two Wu siblings. Kris and Wendy also stop their step like cats get caught after steal a fish. “You guys know how to make cupcakes, aren’t you?” Jinah narrowed her eyes.