He stared blankly at the ceiling above him, his back against the carpeted floor of a certain five membered idol group’s dormitory. It had been almost a month since he’d last met his girlfriend due to their conflicting schedules, but there was just something that ticked him off about how they were about to spend their time together today.

Mark frowned slightly; if it wasn’t because he loved his girlfriend to death, there was absolutely no way that he would be doing this today.

“What are you lying around for?” A sudden voice suddenly rang in his right ear.

He shifted himself to face her, a smile finally appearing on his face (or was that a pretence?).

“I was just thinking about how much fun we’ll be having together.” Mark lied, hoping she wouldn’t harp on how obvious his lie was.

“You don’t even like baking.” Wendy raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Or cooking. Or anything that have to do with heat and fire.”

“Wow. Did you just magically realised that?”

“Mark!”

The young man finally sat up, giving Wendy a resigned look. “Fine, fine. We’ll bake, but I still don’t for the life of me understand why I’m helping you bake for Seulgi’s birthday.”

“It’s because you’re my boyfriend.” Wendy stated as though that was the most natural excuse in the world. “Now, we should hurry and start or you’ll be stuck here all day.”

Mark didn’t actually mind if he was stuck with Wendy in her dorm all day, heck, he’d be more than willing to lock himself up with her for eternity. The baking bits, however, was what put him on an edge. Seeing his girlfriend on her way to the kitchen, Mark decided that perhaps baking wasn’t so bad to begin with if he could spend some time with her. He trudged after her and was soon surprised to see the many baking ingredients already lined up at the countertop.

Wendy definitely came prepared, unlike him.

“Hmm, there’s flour and there’s the oreos and oh, baking soda.” Wendy nodded seriously towards each and every ingredient. It almost felt as if she was greeting them. “Something’s missing.”

“Um… butter?” He tried to be helpful as his eyes glazed over the countertop. “Sugar?”

“Oh, right! Sugar!” Wendy scurried off to her cabinets. “If we didn’t have sugar, the brownies would turn bitter.”

Damn right. Bitter like him.

“Who needs sugar when we already have you?” Mark smirked, resting his right hand against the countertop.

“That’s cute and all,” Wendy ignored his smug look. “But if there’s no sugar, the brownie would not only turn bitter, but the mixture wouldn’t really blend well together.”

The guy frowned, wondering how in the world a pipsqueak like her could be so smart-mouthed.

“Pfft. Baking nerd.”

“Right!” The girl seemed oblivious to his disheartened posture. “Mark, dear, could you please preheat the oven for me?”

Now she calls me dear.

“Sure.” He answered calmly. “Let’s see. Am I supposed to turn these round buttons here?”

“Yeah. Set it to 180 degrees, please and thank you.”

Mark nodded enthusiastically, but soon found himself in a dilemma. He was utterly sure that he was supposed to turn those round buttons things but he was also definitely sure that a light was supposed to light up somewhere. The young man waited for a few seconds but found that the oven wasn’t functioning as much as he wanted it to be. Mark was definitely positive that he did the right thing. Years of watching Barefoot Contessa wouldn’t fail him, would it?

“What are you doing?” Wendy suddenly crept up behind him. “Why are you just… staring blankly at the oven?”

“Um, it’s not turning on. I was sure I set it to 180 degrees just now but nothing’s happening. Could it be faulty?”

“Um, Mark?” The girl shook her head empathetically. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but isn’t it because you’ve forgotten to switch on the oven in the first place?”

“Hmm?”

True enough to Wendy’s words, Mark found that the switch was still off and the guy found himself quite pink in his cheeks.

“H-Haha!” He scratched his head sheepishly. “Pfft. I knew that. I just wanted to see if you’re as much of an expert at baking as people say you are.”

“Right…” Wendy finally played along. “Thank you for that.”

“N-No problem.”

“Anyway, do you think you can help me sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt together? You can just follow the measurements in that book over there.”

Mark nodded his head again and awkwardly made his way back to the countertop. He grabbed the bag of flour and untied it; his eyes quickly roaming around to find a bowl and the sieve she mentioned.

“Two… tablespoons of flour?” He tilted his head in confusion.

Years of watching Barefoot Contessa told him that there had to be more flour involved. Mark frowned, re-reading the contents of the recipe carefully. He shook his head a little, instead opting for the measurement cups before him.

“They probably meant two cups.” He gave himself a reassuring nod. “Here we go. One… oh. It spilled.”

The man reached out for the kitchen towel, only to find that he had knocked over the bag of flour to the floor.

“Ah, .”

“Oh my God!”

He pursed his lips nervously, looking extremely guilty with each passing second. Wendy only sighed in exasperation, wondering if asking Mark to bake with her was a bad idea. She didn’t know he was going to be this messy or clumsy.

“Er, I guess you can say that the flour was meant to be on the flour? Get it? As in floor? Er…” The young man laughed nervously but soon stopped when Wendy’s face only turned less expressive.

“Mark… I know you said you hated baking… but destroying the flour doesn’t make it better.”

“I didn’t destroy anything.” He muttered grumpily. “I was reaching out for that kitchen towel, trying to wipe off the excess flour that did dropped. Not on purpose, I may add.”

“Fine. Just clean it up. I’ll do the sieving.” Wendy sighed.

The man did as he was told, quickly obeying her in the case that she starts nagging more.

You see, when Wendy Son started her infamous naggings, she wouldn’t stop.

There were so many witnesses to this infamous fact. Joy, Yeri and even Seulgi. Even the supreme Irene wouldn’t be able to stop the little pipsqueak when she starts rolling her tongue. Mark sometimes wonder to himself on how someone so small could leave big scars.

Scars to his ears, that is.

“Um, Mark?” Oh hell no. “Why’s there so much flour in here?”

“It’s only one cups’ worth.” He raised an eyebrow, dusting off the remaining flour at the kitchen sink. “Is there a problem?”

“The problem is that we only need two tablespoons of it.” Wendy countered with her own raised eyebrow. “Didn’t you read the recipe?”

“Isn’t that too little? I mean, I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure Barefoot Contessa will frown at how little flour there is.”

“Mark, dearie.” The girl half laughed. “We’re baking brownies, not a cake. We don’t need that much flour.”

“Oh.”

At her statement, his shoulders drooped sadly, already feeling disheartened at how horrible he was in baking or what he thought was baking in the first place. Seeing the state that he was in, Wendy couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, causing the young man to frown even more.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry.” Wendy gazed at him adoringly with her eyes. “I promise this will end soon.”

“It’d better.” Mark noticed how sorry she felt towards him. Perhaps holding on a little longer wouldn’t hurt. Yeah, for Wendy. “So? Any other things I can help you with?”

“Hmm…” Her eyes roamed the countertop. “How about cracking the eggs and separating the whites from the yolk?”

“Sure-”

“Oh, scratch that.” Wendy interrupted him before he could agree. “Er, could you just crush the oreos?”

He stared at her in disbelief, wondering if he heard her right.

“You don’t trust me with the eggs, do you?” Mark pointed an accusing finger towards her.

“O-Oops?” Wendy chuckled awkwardly.

“Wendy!”

“I mean,” The girl defended herself. “You’re so great at making a mess, anyway. Why not use that talent in crushing oreos, right?”

Mark clucked in disapproval, although his legs were already walking towards the oreos at the corner. The little frown never left his face, but he did what he was told anyway, although begrudgingly.

He put in his whole effort in crushing those damn oreos, although one could clearly see the frustrations he pitted against those poor guys. He nodded his head proudly when he was finally done with the task, turning around to tell Wendy of his accomplishment.

It surprised him, however, when he saw her already starting to melt the chocolate chips.

“You’re so fast!” He exclaimed in surprise, placing himself right behind her. He peeped over her shoulders, noticing that the chocolates were already bubbling. “How’d you do things so quickly?”

“It wasn’t that I was quick.” Wendy answered indifferently. “It was just so that you were slow in crushing the oreos.”

“T-That’s…”

“And that’s okay.” She finally turned to look at him. “I mean, I did asked something difficult of you. After all, baking isn’t exactly your forte.”

“Who are you and what have you done to my girlfriend?” Mark muttered under his breath but she heard him just fine.

The girl narrowed her eyes, almost wanting to kill him for killing the mood just now. Can’t a girl be nice and just receive a good, firm thank you?

“All I’m saying!” She emphasised her words loud and clear. “Is that I feel bad for making you bake with me on our off days together!”

“I was just playing with you.” He gave her a quick tap on her head, leaving the girl to blush at how worked up she had gotten over his words. “I know I hate baking and all, but hey, baking with you could be quite fun, I guess. If I looked at it a certain way.”

“I’m glad you think that.”

“And I’m sure you feel that same exact way too.”

“Uh… Actually…”

“You don’t?” Mark frowned.

“Aside from the occasional messes you’ve made… I guess, yeah.”

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you? That I’m horrible at this baking thing.”

Wendy shook her head, not feeling an ounce of guilt. After all, facts have to be stated when it’s up there in your face, doesn’t it?

“Nope.” There seemed to be a firmness in how she said it. “Speaking of messes, could you help me clean the oreo crumbs that got onto the floor? We wouldn’t want ants to be crawling all over later.”

“It’s not that messy!” Mark defended himself.

“But…”

“Ergh, fine.” He raised his hands up in defeat. “I’ll clean it up. Geez, you’re such a baking perfectionist sometimes.”

Mark started cleaning his work area, while Wendy expertly carried on with her baking. He soon found himself in a trance, lost in the sight before him.

There was a light smile on her face, one that Mark had seen so many times before. She looked as if she didn’t have any care in the world and Mark soon realised that she probably felt that way too. It felt heart-warming to know that baking had this effect on her. It was as if she destressed from her schedules by baking.

He almost felt bad that all he did was grumble and made a mess throughout.

“Earth to Mark!” He suddenly came face to face with Wendy, her eyes an alarming gleam.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“I should be the one asking that question.” Wendy pulled at his cheeks. “I thought I told you to clean. But here you are daydreaming.”

“I-Itf hasn’tf evenf beenf thatf longf!”

“Mark… the brownies are already in that oven. Trust me. You did took that long. What were you daydreaming about anyway?”

There was definitely no way he was telling Wendy that he was admiring her. Maybe later; when baking was off her mind and she was no longer Wendy Son the baking goddess but Wendy Son the usually shy girlfriend.

“I… I’m on it!”

“Too late.” Wendy laughed. “I’ve already got rid of the crumbs. Maybe you can help by clearing the melted chocolate over there?”

“On it.” He quickly headed towards the bowl. “Wendy? Wouldn’t it be a waste to throw this away?”

The girl shrugged her shoulders, continuing to clean the dirty countertop. “You can eat it if you want.”

A little idea popped into his head, and the smirk on his face was anything but innocent. Mark gave a mental pat on his own back at his genius idea. This was the greatest plan ever to get back at her for her naggings today.

Mark Tuan, you are a smart man.

“Wendy?” He stood a little too close to her.

She turned to face him, wondering if there was another mess somewhere (somehow). “Yeah?”

The girl felt something sticky on her cheeks, before coming face to face with her boyfriend that was smiling too widely for her liking.

“You didn’t.” She gasped in surprised.

“I did.” He grinned smugly. “Oh hell yeah, I did.”

“You…” Wendy glared accusingly, her eyes quickly scanning for that bowl of melted chocolate. “I can’t believe you! We were supposed to be cleaning. C-L-E-A-N-I-N-G.”

“You said to clean the kitchen, not clean after ourselves.” Mark tried to stifle in his laughter.

“I’m not going to play along.” The girl huffed. “I’m going to clean. C-L-E-A-N.”

“Aww, you’re no fun Wendy.”

“It’s not that I’m uptight but I thought you were going to finish off the chocolate.” She reached out to grab a tissue. “I mean, I actually wanted to have some as well if you know.”

“Nuh-uh.” His hands stopped her from reaching out for the tissues. “Not on my watch.”

“Mark… It feels sticky and uncomfortable. I want to get it off.”

It happened so suddenly, taking her by surprise. She felt warm lips on her cheeks - no, those were definitely not his lips. The stickiness from the chocolate disappeared and only a wet feeling lingered.

“Y-Y-You! You me!” Wendy stuttered in embarrassment.

“What’s the problem?” Mark smirked. Ah, Wendy Son the shy girlfriend has returned. What a sweet feeling. “I thought you said it felt uncomfortable and sticky? I got rid of it for you and got to taste the chocolate as well. Killing two birds with one stone.”

“I…” The girl was as red as a tomato. “You…”

“Ah, I get it. You wanted a taste as well. Should I put some chocolate on my cheeks to help you with that?”

“F-Fat hope!”

Honestly, all Wendy wanted to do at that moment was to crawl into the deepest corners of the world (read: maybe even hell) and perhaps disappear forever. It annoyed her how she still gets startled at Mark’s little antics.

He shook his head teasingly, smearing some chocolate on his lips.

“May I?”

“You…” Her cheeks turned even redder. “Ergh. Whatever.”

She felt his lips right on hers as soon as she made her approval. The kiss tasted different than all their other kisses; obviously sweeter due to the melted chocolate smeared on his lips. She quickly found it disappointing when the chocolate disappeared and his lips left hers again.

“Don’t be sad.” Mark gave a cheeky laugh. “There’s still a lot of chocolate left. We could always do it again.”

“Ergh.” Wendy covered her face in embarrassment. “I can’t believe you.”

“It’s called revenge.” He patted her head softly. “This is payback for all the nagging just now at my mess.”

“But…”

“Sometimes being messy isn’t all that bad you know.” Mark teased. “If I hadn’t swiped some chocolate on you, I wouldn’t have had an excuse to kiss you.”

“I hate you.” Wendy continued covering her face in embarrassment.

He laughed again, pulling her in closer for a hug. He her hair softly as she finally rested her head against his chest.

“I can’t believe you.” A wide grin made its’ way on his face. “We’ve been dating for so long and you still get embarrassed at these things.”

“I can’t help it.” Her voice sounded muffled as she continued hiding her face in his shirt. “When your boyfriend is extremely good looking and charming, you’ve got no choice but to always be embarrassed at the things he does to you.”

He felt his heart light up at her words and proceeded to cup her face with his big hands. He saw her eyes waver slightly, but he continued gazing adoringly at them anyway.

“I happen to think that my girlfriend is equally as good looking and charming too.”

Wendy smiled shyly, content at how the day turned about. She narrowed her eyes affectionately and was just really thankful that someone like him was by her side. Perhaps one day she’ll tell him, that it wasn’t baking that destresses her but the fact that he was right beside her like this.

As for her nagging… Wendy would like to think that one wouldn’t nag if one doesn’t care for that person in the first place.

“Well,” Mark suddenly gave a coy cough. “I guess that’s why we’re a couple. You could say that we’re… a mess-make in heaven. Get it? Mess-make? Match-make?”

“Oh, Mark.” Wendy sighed. “You’ve just ruined the mood yet again.”

But I still love you anyway.