Final.
Cooking 101Sehun would’ve never imagined himself applying for cooking classes. Not in a million years. For all the seasons of Masterchef he’s binge watched, one would think he would be more interested in actually doing some cooking, but that isn’t the case. The reality is, Sehun has been living off instant noodles, take out and the occasional life-saving home cooked meal his mom brings him when she visits every 3 months or so.
But when his best friend Junmyeon, who happens to be a couple of years older than him and acts like Sehun’s (grand) dad, comes over one night and Sehun decides to prepare his very own signature dish, ramyun ttang, for him, what he gets is an earful and an ultimatum from the elder.
“I will call your mom immediately if I don’t see you cooking some proper food for yourself within a week. There’s a school downtown that happens to offer cooking classes. Here’s the phone number, call them,” Junmyeon threatens and hands a very surprised Sehun a rather fancy business card.
“You never complained about my cooking before,” Sehun pouts and puts on his best kicked puppy face.
“That’s because you’ve never cooked for me before. We always order out when I come over and now I know why,” Junmyeon makes a disgusted face and Sehun instinctively snorts at that.
“You are not that great of a cook either, just saying,” Sehun retorts taking a piece of the noodles and shoving it in his mouth. It really doesn’t taste that bad, he thinks. Junmyeon is just being dramatic.
“How have your survived all these years by yourself?” His best friend asks, eyeing him with disbelief.
Sehun shrugs and continues to eat his perfectly edible meal as an outraged Junmyeon, sitting by his side on the worn down couch, mumbles something about ordering pizza.
A week later, Sehun is sitting in class with about fifteen other people - most of them middle aged ladies - waiting for their cooking instructor, who is probably another middle aged lady. Sehun sighs, tapping his fingers on the desk. The room is a standard classroom, like the ones you have in every school, with desks, a board and a boring clock on the wall that seems like it’s broken but the reality is, time just doesn’t pass in school. He very much hopes cooking school isn’t like high school at all, or he won’t be coming back next week.
Suddenly, a bit of a commotion rises around him, making Sehun look in the direction of the door to see what’s happening, since people seem to have gathered there. And that’s when his eyes land on the most handsome man he’s ever seen since he’d watched Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic for the 250th time with Junmyeon, last week. He swears he can hear Celine Dion’s voice singing as soon as the man enters his field of vision. .
The man smiles softly at the overly excited group of women and asks them to kindly sit down. The big, brown eyes that lock with Sehun’s when he scans the classroom, takes Sehun a bit by surprise but he holds the other’s gaze and he can swear he sees the corner of the man’s gorgeous plump lips twitch slightly as if he is holding back a smirk. Interesting, Sehun thinks, amused. His own lips curve into a smirk that probably makes him look very smug but he doesn’t care. Sehun can already foresee the direction this is going and he likes it. He is ready to play this game.
“Good evening, everyone”, the man starts with a surprisingly deep and smooth voice that has Sehun immediately straightening himself in his chair. “I’m Do Kyungsoo, your cooking instructor.”
There’s a collective hum of understanding that fills the room before the instructor, Kyungsoo, clears his throat and the room is silent again.
“I’ve asked you all to gather here today because this is our first encounter and I’d like to go over a few things with you. However, this will not be our regular meeting place,” he explains and, again, his eyes land on Sehun but only for a brief second, much to the latter’s disappointment.
Kyungsoo looks very professional while explaining to them about the basic rules of the kitchen, and how they should behave in class, always putting their safety first. Everyone listens intently to what he says, but Sehun’s thoughts quickly drift away, his eyes traveling from Kyungsoo’s attractive face, to his no less attractive body. He is certainly not as tall as Sehun, but his proportions are well adjusted to his height. He’s not muscular but Sehun notices how temptingly the fabric of his white dress shirt clings to fairly thick biceps, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing slightly tanned arms. Sehun his lips involuntarily, unaware of Kyungsoo’s eyes on him, until someone kicks the foot of his chair and he’s brought back to reality.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your daydreaming, Mr..?” Kyungsoo is standing right across from him, have taken a few steps in Sehun’s direction.
“Oh. Oh Sehun,” he answers as best as he can, eyes fixed on Kyungsoo, although he can feel everyone in the room is looking at him. He feels his cheeks burn.
“Mr. Oh… May I call you Sehun?” The way Kyungsoo pronounces his name has the heat traveling from Sehun’s cheek to much lower regions.
Sehun nods affirmatively, resisting the urge to reply with a ‘you can call me anything you want’. Kyungsoo seems to study him for a moment, before continuing.
“So, would you like to introduce yourself and say why you chose to take cooking classes?
“Sure.” Sehun shrugs. “I was forced to by my best friend.”
A few looks of outrage are sent in his direction after he says that, but Kyungsoo’s face shows nothing but amusement at Sehun’s little confession.
“That’s… a valid reason to be here,” Kyungsoo says with a small smile then turns his attention to the rest of the class.
Just like that.
Sehun feels a little disappointed at himself. He thought he could hold the other’s attention at least for a few more minutes, but clearly, he overestimated his own charms.
For the remainder of the time, Sehun tries to focus on what Kyungsoo is saying, even if it’s hard, because the latter is so goddamn attractive it takes all of Sehun’s self control to not let his eyes dart back to Kyungsoo’s neck and the ed collar of his shirt. Maybe settling for watching Kyungsoo’s face is a good idea, but the man also happens to have very distracting lips as well. All the inappropriate thoughts populating his mind keep Sehun from listening to anything more than a few sentences here and there of what’s probably very important information.
Finally, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor and loud chatter drags Sehun, once again, from his straying thoughts. He gets up from his chair, stretching lazily before he makes his way to where Kyungsoo stands talking to a little group of women.
Standing a few steps away, Sehun waits until they all bid Kyungsoo farewell and Sehun is free to approach him, but before he can walk in Kyungsoo’s direction, the other is already turning to him with curiosity in his eyes.
“Can I help you, Sehun?” He asks politely, motioning Sehun to come closer which he does, until he stands next to Kyungsoo as the man gathers his belongings.
“Yes… No… Actually, I just wanted to apologize for being distracted earlier. I… have a lot on my mind.” That’s only half a lie because he does have a lot on his mind: a lot of Kyungsoo.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about that,” Kyungsoo directs him a small smile, throwing his messenger bag on his shoulder and finally turning his body fully to Sehun, facing him. “The first day is always boring like this. Unfortunately, I have to follow the school’s protocol and give an introductory class to the newcomers. I promise next class will be much more entertaining to you.”
A smirk directed at him, takes Sehun off guard and he takes a moment to process the words and what just happened, his mouth hanging open while he finds the words to reply but comes up with nothing so he only nods. He must look utterly dumb to Kyungsoo right now.
“See you next week, Sehun,” Kyungsoo says, and suddenly he is walking out of the empty classroom, leaving a flushed Sehun behind.
~~~~~~
“I’m glad to see you’ve been beaten at your own game. Please, I need to meet this guy, my new hero. I have to congratulate him!” Jongdae’s been teasing Sehun for about half an hour now, after he told him about his very attractive-slash-hot-slash-dreamy cooking instructor who had managed to render Sehun speechless which had never in the history of the universe (Jongdae’s words) happened before.
“Shut up.” He kicks Jongdae’s shin under the table. Jongdae protests but at that moment, Junmyeon arrives at the table with their coffee orders.
“Hi handsome,” Jongdae beams at Junmyeon, as the brunette sits down by his side, placing a peck on Jongdae’s pouty lips.
“Please don’t do that. It’s gross,” Sehun protests, making gagging noises. It’s not a pleasant thing to watch when his friends start getting all lovey-dovey in front of him.
“It’s not gross. You’re just jealous, Sehunnie,” Jongdae teases and Junmyeon, by his side, laughs and pats Sehun’s head across the table.
“I feel like I’m out with my parents. This is too weird,” Sehun says, before taking a sip of his caramel macchiato.
Both of his friends laugh and Sehun scrunches his nose, slightly annoyed that he actually is a bit jealous. Junmyeon has been dating Jongdae for over a year now, and they’re a perfect match for each other. Sehun likes to tease Junmyeon about how perfect both of them are, but in reality, he wishes he had that kind of chemistry with someone. Of course, he will never admit that to either of them, especially not Jongdae. It would ruin his reputation as a cold-hearted .
“So, how was your first cooking class?” Junmyeon asks after a few seconds of silence.
Jongdae opens his mouth to answer but Sehun glares at him before he says anything and, luckily, his friend gets the hint and resumes to drink his own coffee.
“It wasn’t an actual class, there was no cooking involved. We will start for real next week”, Sehun answers, carefully leaving out the part about having the cutest cooking instructor he’s ever laid his eyes upon - even if Kyungsoo is actually the first one he’s ever met.
“Well, I hope you listened to everything carefully so you don’t burn the kitchen or anything like that on your first day,” Junmyeon teases.
“Nah, don’t worry, I have that planned for the second day actually,” Sehun bites back, earning a snort in response.
“I’m glad you decided to keep attending the classes. I thought you would just give up after the first one.”
“Oh, but he has a very good reason to do it,” says Jongdae, with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows. Sehun should’ve known he couldn’t keep him quiet forever.
“Besides learning how to cook something that won’t give us food poisoning?” Junmyeon shoots them a confused look.
Jongdae sends Sehun a pleading look and Sehun merely tells him to go ahead and spill the tea, since sooner than later Junmyeon would find out about his embarrassing crush anyway. It’s actually quite impressive how much information Jongdae gathered from his brief talk with Sehun earlier while Junmyeon was getting their orders.
He is pretty sure a lot of what Jongdae tells Junmyeon is only assumptions he made from Sehun’s shallow narrative of what happened in the class, but it’s all very accurate. Even the bit about Sehun fantasizing about “all kinds of activities including the cooking instructor pretty lips”. He never told Jongdae that, but his friends know him very well, after all, so he just shrugs the embarrassment off and keeps drinking his coffee in silence.
By the time Jongdae is done, Junmyeon looks not only very amused but also very proud of himself.
“I can’t believe my little Sehunnie is finally growing up. Having a crush on an actual person, not on a celebrity is a huge step into becoming an adult, you know?” Junmyeon says in an overly sweet voice, and tries to pinch Sehun’s cheek.
“Shut up.” Sehun bats his friend’s hand away. “I can’t help it that I’ve never met anyone interesting enough for me to have a crush on.”
“Except that chinese boy you met when you went to China, right? But I’m not sure he was real, either,” says Jongdae looking contemplative.
“He was very real!” Sehun protests, then adds, “I have my fairly decent Chinese to thank him for.”
“Mhmm,” Jongdae hums looking unconvinced.
Sehun lets the subject die and Junmyeon starts talking about their plans for summer vacation. He settles down on his chair, half listening to his friend’s discussion about where they should travel to, feeling lucky neither of them can read his thoughts. Because all of them involve a certain cooking instructor he’ll be seeing tomorrow.
~~~~~~
Sehun arrives for class quite early the next evening. Finding the classroom isn’t hard, but when he steps in the large room full of counters, stoves and kitchen appliances, he is surprised to see he is the first to get there. Apparently, he is the most committed person of his entire class, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the man that walks into the room, five minutes later. Kyungsoo doesn’t try to hide his amusement to see that Sehun is the first person there. He doesn’t seem surprised at all, merely lifting one of his eyebrows and greeting Sehun politely as he makes his way to the set of lockers by the wall, where he places his bag and coat, and retrieves a black apron from inside.
Sehun watches as Kyungsoo slips the apron over his head and ties it neatly around his waist, before coming to stand on the station next to Sehun’s. Then Kyungsoo smiles at him. A beautiful, heart-shaped smile that makes all the smiles Sehun’s ever seen pale in comparison.
“I don’t have an apron,” Sehun blurts out, dumbly, and Kyungsoo’s smile turns into a chuckle.
“Don’t worry, you can get one in the locker over there,” Kyungsoo motions to where he got his apron.
Sehun would’ve liked very much to engage in a long conversation with Kyungsoo about aprons, smiles and cabinets but people start to arrive for class and Kyungsoo gets busy and forgets all about him. Feeling neglected, Sehun retreats himself to a counter on the far corner of the room, and decides he would play it safe today. He needs to calm himself and keep a distance from Kyungsoo, and hopefully, get himself together so he can stop looking like he’s brain damaged everytime he opens his mouth to speak to the man.
“I need a volunteer to help me. Anyone?” Kyungsoo speaks, cheerfully, looking around the room.
Sehun realises he’s been drifting off again, but it’s too late because, choosing to ignore all the other hands raised, Kyungsoo picks Sehun as his volunteer for whatever they’re doing. Sehun has no clue what it is, but he promptly gets up from his seat and walks up to where Kyungsoo is standing behind a counter strategically positioned so every other person in the room could see what he is doing.
“Thank you for volunteering,” Kyungsoo says, without looking at Sehun, and the latter was going to protest that he didn’t volunteer but he decides otherwise.
“So, as I was saying, today’s class is rather basic… I’m assuming all of you are trained on the fine art of boiling water,” Kyungsoo’s tone is playful and everyone in the room laughs including Sehun, who suddenly feels lucky for being chosen to stand beside Kyungsoo.
“I’d like for each of you to pair up with another person so we can begin the class. Under your counters you’ll find everything you need… If you don’t know how to turn the stoves on, don’t hesitate to ask for my help,” he instructs, in a more serious tone.
Everyone starts doing as they’re told, and Sehun merely observes as Kyungsoo puts a saucepan with water to boil. Then he goes around the room inspecting everyone’s work and helping them if they need. Turns out they’re just cooking a simple pasta dish, and Sehun has no room for errors with Kyungsoo by his side telling him what to do and not do to, coaxing him, sometimes with a hand on his lower back that makes Sehun’s whole body tense and heat travel through all places.
When they’re finally done for the day, Sehun volunteers to stay and help cleaning. Kyungsoo seems very pleased and shoots Sehun one of those stunning and disarming smiles of his, thanking him for the help. They clean up everything in silence, except for Kyungsoo’s occasional humming of random melodies. Sehun smiles to himself, thinking that’s kind of cute. He sneaks a couple of glances in the other man’s direction, and notices how focused Kyungsoo is and how meticulously he does his work. Sehun is pretty sure, from what he’s observed of the other, that he is this way with everything he does.
Sehun steps outside after he’s done; two heavy trash bags in each hand. He throws them into the garbage can and wipes his hands on his apron.
“That’s unsanitary,” Kyungsoo’s voice comes from behind him, as the shorter man stands by Sehun side and hands him a bottle of hand sanitizer.
“T-thanks,” Sehun feels his cheeks burn, for what he assumes, is the 100th time in Kyungsoo’s presence. The other just has that effect on him.
They both stay like that, in silence, watching the almost empty street. It’s a starry night, Sehun can see, even though it’s hard to since they’re in the city and the lights and pollution get in the way. Sehun gives the bottle back to Kyungsoo, after pouring some of the liquid on his hands. The thing smells citrusy, the scent invading his nostrils. Suddenly, Sehun wonders what Kyungsoo must smell like. They’re close enough for him to be able to pick up the other’s scent but they’ve been cleaning for over half an hour and by now they both must smell of cleaning products.
“Thank you for staying and helping clean up, you really didn’t have to,” Kyungsoo finally breaks the silence.
Sehun looks at him, and notices Kyungsoo staring at the sky, just like he was before. He smiles softly at that.
“It’s no problem, I like cleaning,” that’s a straight up lie. Sehun hates cleaning. His apartment is actual proof of that. He takes a mental note to remember to clean his place, in case he ever invited Kyungsoo there.
Kyungsoo snorts like he picked up on Sehun’s lie.
“No one likes cleaning,” Kyungsoo replies, but his tone is playful. “Well, maybe I do. But I’m weird like that.”
“You’re not weird!” Sehun says, a little too loud and a little too quickly which makes Kyungsoo’s eyes widen and the corner of his lips curve in a smirk.
“I mean… Lots of people like cleaning, you know… I’m sure it’s a perfectly normal….activity to enjoy,” Sehun thinks he probably needs to stop talking. But Kyungsoo is chuckling and unexpectedly places a hand on Sehun’s shoulder.
“You’re funny,” Kyungsoo states and his eyes are on Sehun again; his gaze quizzical, warm and friendly.
“Thank you, I’ve been told I’m a master of comedy,” Sehun replies, letting out a laugh himself. Kyungsoo’s hand on his shoulder is a welcoming pressure.
Sehun secretly wishes Kyungsoo would never stop touching him. Maybe it’s too early to be having these kinds of thoughts about his innocent and oblivious cooking instructor, but he can’t help it. He is drawn to Kyungsoo like a magnet. He can’t pull away, and more importantly, he doesn’t want to.
“Do you need a ride home?” Kyungsoo breaks the silence.
“Thank you, but I don’t want to give you any trouble. I’ll just take the bus,” Sehun answers.
“Are you sure? I can drive you home,” Kyungsoo insists, casually, when both of them are inside and gathering their belongings to head out.
Sehun stops by the entryway, backpack thrown over his shoulder, weighing the offer. Then he decides he will take it since it means spending a little more time alone with Kyungsoo, even if he is a complete idiot around the man 99% of the time. It’s worth it.
Once they’re inside Kyungsoo’s car, Sehun notices a faint smell of citrus, like the hand sanitizer he borrowed from Kyungsoo. Clean freak, he thinks, and giggles to himself before he can hold it back.
“What is it?” Kyungsoo asks, as he fastens his seatbelt.
“Nothing, it’s just that your car is really clean,” Sehun blurts out, still amused.
“Well, thank you. I do like my things clean, tidy and citrus scented,” Kyungsoo says in a teasing manner and winks at Sehun.
Sehun takes a while to process the fact that Kyungsoo winked at him, so the words get lost on him between the loud beating of his heart and the sound of the car’s engine starting.
~~~~~~
Sehun is attending his economics class at university, one of the few he still takes regularly, when his phone vibrates in his jeans’ pocket. It’s probably Junmyeon wanting to know what time he is free to go bowling on Friday. Junmyeon always has something planned for Fridays. This week, it’s bowling. It would be him, Junmyeon, Jongdae and some friend of Jongdae’s whom Sehun’s never met. According to Jongdae, this would be a double date thing so Sehun is not looking forward to it at all. There’s only one person he’d want to go to a double date with, and that person isn’t Jongdae’s mysterious friend.
Sehun takes the phone out of his pocket and checks the message. It’s not from Junmyeon like he expected, though, and he can barely contain himself when he sees who it’s from. The message reads:
From: kyungsoo hyung
“I’m sorry to bother you, Sehun, but I’d like to ask you if you can come to class a little earlier on monday. I would like your help with some stuff. If you can’t it’s ok too. Just reply to me asap.
X
Kyungsoo (your cooking instructor)”
The giddiness that takes over Sehun almost causes him to fall off his chair, but he catches himself in time, still staring at his phone. Kyungsoo is asking him for help. With something he doesn’t know but he’s definitely helping Kyungsoo with it, no matter what, even if it’s hiding a body inside the fridge after cutting it in little pieces. Sehun shakes his head lightly, dismissing the absurd thought. Kyungsoo is too much of a gentleman to kill even a fly.
Having recomposed himself and his thoughts, Sehun replies with a “Yes, I can totally help, I’ll be there!!! :-) PS: I have your number saved, remember? You gave it to me the night you gave me a ride home.”
After hitting send, Sehun realizes, with dread, he had put a nose on his emoji and now Kyungsoo would never trust him again. Goddamnit, Oh Sehun.
~~~~~~
On monday, Sehun arrives to class half an hour earlier than he was supposed to. Kyungsoo isn’t there yet, so Sehun sits on one of the counters, feet dangling as he plays some stupid race game on his phone he has already won twice but he’s too lazy to download a new one so he just plays it again and again whenever he’s bored. With his back to the door, he doesn’t notice when someone else enters the room, until there are hands on his hips and Kyungsoo’s face emerges by his side. Sehun would’ve jumped out of his seat and screamed if he wasn’t frozen in place and astounded by the gorgeous face looking up at him; although, his heart is racing incredibly fast and his stomach feels like it’s doing backflips.
“You’re early,” Kyungsoo says and his hands squeeze Sehun’s hips softly
“I told you I would be here,” Sehun swallows thickly, hyper aware of the other’s touch.
“Well, then we should get to work.”
The hands are gone, and Kyungsoo is walking over to the set of cabinets where the ingredients are stocked. Sehun jumps off the counter to the floor and follows the shorter man, hands on his hips as he watches Kyungsoo close a door then open another until he find what he is looking for.
“Chilli powder,” Sehun says, when Kyungsoo hands him the bag.
“Yes! We’re making kimchi.” Kyungsoo claps his hands together in excitement and proceeds to get all of the other ingredients and hand them to Sehun who places them carefully on the counters like a good assistant.
“I’ve never attempted to make kimchi before,” Sehun confesses, trying to balance four cabbages on his hands as Kyungsoo hands him another.
“I figured, since you’re taking a basic cooking class. But don’t worry, It will be easy,” Kyungsoo reassures him with a small smile.
Sehun learns later that Kyungsoo was lying out of his (perfectly shaped) . Making kimchi is not easy in the slightest. He doesn’t know how his mom does it, or how Kyungsoo does it, but he certainly can’t do it. It’s not that it’s a complicated recipe with lots of technique involved, but all the little steps and details just seem to go right over Sehun’s head and next thing he knows he ends up with a red soggy mess of cabbage, chili and water. Lots of water. Because he forgot to drain the cabbage after rinsing it and now he’s some kind of cold kimchi soup that probably tastes terrible.
“It’s okay, not everyone will get it right the first time. That’s what cooking is about: practice,” Kyungsoo tries to comfort him, patting his back in reassurance.
“Most people in the class got it right,” Sehun pouts, looking around bitterly at all the excited ladies with their perfect kimchis.
“Most people in this class have been cooking since both you and I were toddlers,” Kyungsoo whispers to Sehun, who snickers and nods in agreement.
“I’ll do better next time,” he says, trying to convince himself more than anyone.
“That’s the spirit,” Kyungsoo says enthusiastically, then turns to the class. “Well done, everyone. Today, I would like to ask of you that you each clean your stations before you leave and until next class.”
When Kyungsoo turns his attention back to Sehun, who is sharing the same station as him, once again, the latter is still sadly staring at his failed attempt at kimchi.
“Do you wanna go to my place?” Kyungsoo asks, and Sehun immediately looks at him, surprised once again, but this time he’s better at hiding it.
“What for?”
“We can… practice making this one more time,” he continues, sounding a bit unsure. “That means, if you want to, of course.”
Sehun can feel his legs going all wobbly and his heart and tummy starting to do their little dance which he’s used to by now. But he’s resolved on not letting this opportunity pass.
“Sure. I would love to,” he answers, and his smile joins Kyungsoo’s, before they both start cleaning the mess around them.
Kyungsoo’s apartment is exactly how Sehun had imagined it: clean, tidy, with minimalist furniture and decoration, but not in an aseptic way. It still feels like home. It still feels like Kyungsoo. Sehun takes in the pleasant scent of the place, and how harmonically everything falls into place. Including Kyungsoo, who’s standing in the middle of the living room, as he beckons Sehun to come in.
The latter follows him, taking his shoes off and trailing behind Kyungsoo into the large living room. The couches are an immaculate white, with comfy beige pillows thrown on top in a way to appear careless but Sehun knows Kyungsoo better than that. To the right, there’s a kitchen, spotless and well organized. There’s a hallway on the left that probably leads to the other rooms and then, wide sliding glass doors that reveal a balcony; the city lights gleaming outside.
“Nice place,” Sehun says after taking a looking around.
“Thank you, I’m glad you like it.” He seems to blush a little at Sehun’s words which is a first.
“Do you want anything to drink? Coke? Water?” Kyungsoo seems to reflect a bit, then asks hesitantly, “wine?”
Realization dawns upon Sehun and he chuckles.
“I am twenty-three, don’t worry, I can drink alcohol, but no thanks.” Sehun is so amused at Kyungsoo’s embarrassed expression, especially because it’s a rare sight, he has to hold back a laugh.
Kyungsoo’s lips curve up into a small smile and he motions Sehun to follow him to the kitchen where they repeat the ritual from earlier that evening; Kyungsoo grabs the ingredients and Sehun organizes them on the counter as neatly as he can manage, wanting to make the other at least a little proud after the previous disaster.
Then they’re chopping vegetables, side by side, sometimes bumping into each other or passing each other kitchen supplies or ingredients. They do work pretty well as a team, Sehun thinks to himself, happy that he gets to spend time with the other like this. Sehun is glad his initial crush, albeit still there, has given way to something else he’d dare call liking? Yes, he likes Kyungsoo, as a friend and as a cooking instructor and as his crush. But he feels the word crush doesn’t apply to this context anymore. Kyungsoo is more than just a crush, by now. With his incredible knife skills and impressive knowledge of spices and herbs. Kyungsoo with his deep, but smooth, voice, with his right words said at the right times; his reassuring gestures and comforting smiles, has become a major part of Sehun’s life.
“Ouch!” Sehun exclaims, dropping the knife and inspecting his now bleeding finger. “!”
“Sehun? Are you okay?” A concerned Kyungsoo grabs a hold of Sehun’s injured finger, taking a look at it. His brows furrowed, he inspects the cut carefully. “Thank goodness it’s nothing serious. You won’t need stitches.”
“It hurts like hell though,” Sehun says through gritted teeth. It does hurt a lot, especially when Kyungsoo places the finger under the water tap and lets the water run over the cut. A stream of curse words leave Sehun’s mouth and he makes a mental note to let Kyungsoo know his mother raised him better than this but right now, “it stings like a ing , I’m never holding a goddamn knife ever again unless it’s made of harmless plastic.”
“You’re such a cry baby,” Kyungsoo is cackling at Sehun’s reaction, but still holding the other’s hand carefully under the stream of water.
“You’re not the one who got mutilated, alright?” Sehun protests, making his best puppy face at Kyungsoo but the other still laughs at him.
“Let me go get the first aid kit, so we can take care of that properly,” Kyungsoo says, wrapping a cloth around Sehun’s bleeding finger and disappearing through the corridor.
Sehun resigns to sitting on one of the tall stools by the kitchen counter, waiting for Kyungsoo to come back. He must admit that it was extremely adorable the way Kyungsoo was so concerned about him right when he got hurt. Thank god for mutilated fingers.
When Kyungsoo comes back, he carefully cleans the cut and wraps a bandage around Sehun’s finger, and all the while Sehun watches him, eyes sparkling and a small smile, because Kyungsoo sure is a sight to behold. The way he pouts when he is concentrated on something, and the way his thick brows furrow not only when he is worried but when something is demanding his attention; all that has Sehun enthralled and he realizes, in that moment, that he’s fallen. Hard.
After Sehun’s injury, Kyungsoo decides it’s better if he finishes cooking by himself, to prevent any more accidents. There’s no complaints from the injured party, who’s more than happy to sit and watch Kyungsoo do his thing. Sehun finds himself mesmerized by the way Kyungsoo moves around the kitchen so naturally, like it’s his natural habitat.
“So how come you became a cooking instructor?” Sehun asks, breaking the silence.
“My professor, actually, he offered me a job,” Kyungsoo answers, knife in hand, as he stops chopping onions to talk to Sehun.
“Your professor?”
“Yeah, I’m studying to become a chef. I graduate this year, actually,” Kyungsoo says a bit proudly but not in a conceited way.
“Wow, you’ll be Chef Do,” Sehun smirks at Kyungsoo who lowers his head shyly, smiling softly.
“Hopefully,” Kyungsoo says before resuming his task of chopping onions.
When dinner is finally ready, Sehun helps to set the table a bit clumsily but, thankfully, without breaking anything. They eat in a comfortable silence, both not realizing how starving they were before the food is on their plates, warm and delicious. Sehun goes for seconds and that makes Kyungsoo very happy.
The younger learns how much Kyungsoo likes to cook for others, not only teach them how to cook. In fact, Kyungsoo’s dream is to be a Chef in a big restaurant and, eventually, open his own. Sehun listens attentively to the man talk about his plans for when he finishes his studies and eventually shares a bit of his own aspirations, even though they’re still all over the place and Sehun isn’t so sure about what career he wants to follow.
“You’ll figure it out, you’re still young,” Kyungsoo reassures the other, a fond expression on his face.
“So are you, stop talking like an old man,” Sehun says jokingly. “I found your driver’s license, you’re not even that much older than me, hyung.
“What? You found my driver’s license?” Kyungsoo looks baffled.
“I did. It fell from your pocket when you were picking up the bowls,” Sehun says nonchalantly, and reaches for his pocket where he kept the piece of document.
“Give it back!” Kyungsoo shrieks reaching for it from across the table.
“What are you gonna give me in return?” Sehun is actually surprised by his own boldness, but that doesn’t stop his pulse from quickening.
“I won’t ask you to demonstrate your incredible cooking skills, all by yourself, in front of the whole class, next wednesday.”
“Fine,” Sehun surrenders, handing Kyungsoo the license as the other laughs at Sehun’s defeated expression.
“For your information, I think you would do just fine, I’m a great teacher,” Kyungsoo says smugly.
Sehun snorts, but the atmosphere is light and easy and realization hits him, once again: spending time with Kyungsoo is probably his new favorite thing to do.
~~~~~~
“Stop looking like you’re going to a funeral and cheer up,” Jongdae elbows Sehun’s ribs playfully while they walk towards the bowling center.
“For your information, this is my resting face. I can’t get rid of it, I was born with it,” Sehun says nonchalantly and earns a sigh from Jongdae who seems to finally give up and goes back to clinging to Junmyeon.
“It will be fun, Sehunnie, Baekhyun is a cool guy,” Junmyeon says and Jongdae agrees vehemently. Sehun snorts.
“I don’t doubt that, it’s just that I’d rather…”
“Be on the hot cooking instructor’s lap, we know,” Jongdae cuts him off and Sehun feels the burn spreading from his cheeks to his ears and neck. He fights the urge to kill Jongdae with his bare hands, instead taking a deep breath and entering the building before the other two. Sehun can faintly hear Junmyeon scolding Jongdae for what he said and that pleases him just a little.
Bowling is definitely not Sehun’s favorite activity in the world, especially when his finger is still healing from the little knife accident the other night. As expected, he even more than usual tonight. Jongdae’s friend, Baekhyun, and his partner for the match, isn’t that good of a player either but he doesn’t seem to care much, which Sehun is slightly thankful for.
“You guys are not even making an effort,” Jongdae complains, when there’s a huge gap on the score favoring Jongdae and Junmyeon’s team.
“I’m injured!” Sehun protests.
“Next time be more careful when your boyf-,” Junmyeon’s hand is on Jongdae’s mouth before he finishes the sentence but to not much avail.
Baekhyun, sitting by Sehun’s side, gasps loudly and covers his own mouth with his hand as an embarrassed Sehun just slides down on the bench, questioning all his life choices, especially in the friends department.
“I didn’t cut my finger like that, just saying,” Sehun mutters and Baekhyun turns to him, startled and nods frantically.
“I figured. Don’t worry, I know how Jongdae is,” Baekhyun says, waving off Sehun’s concerns.
“Thanks,” Sehun replies.
The game is nearly done, only two rounds left and he can go home to his comfy couch and microwaved popcorn. Junmyeon manages a strike on the last round and Jongdae is jumping on his back almost instantly and half-yelling half singing ‘We Are The Champions’ as both Sehun and Baekhyun laugh at the silliness of their friends.
That’s when Sehun’s vision goes black as a pair of hands cover his eyes. Jongdae stops shouting and everyone is quiet around him, as Sehun reaches to cover the hands with his own. They’re smaller than his, soft too, but can feel some callouses here and there. The hands are warm and strangely familiar. Sehun knows to whom they belong.
“Kyungsoo hyung.”
The hands leave his eyes and then Kyungsoo is in front of him, having jumped over the bench. He is smiling, and in casual clothes. Not the dress shirt and black pants Sehun always sees him, but jeans and a tshirt and he is wearing glasses. Black, thick framed glasses that make him look utterly cute and Sehun wants nothing more than cup his face on his hands right now and….
“Sehun-ah, what a coincidence!” Kyungsoo’s voice and demeanor is cheerful and that immediately changes Sehun’s mood. He is sure that won’t go unnoticed by his nosey friends, but he will worry about that later.
“Totally! I didn’t know you liked bowling, you don’t seem like the type,” Sehun admits.
“I know you think I play chess for fun, sitting behind a mahogany desk in my dark office full of books, but I do go out with friends and stuff, sometimes,” Kyungsoo says sarcastically but playfully and he only has eyes for Sehun now. He doesn’t seem to notice the other three people standing there, until Sehun stands up and clears his throat awkwardly.
“Hyung, these are my friends Junmyeon, Jongdae and Baekhyun,” Sehun introduces them and they all greet each other politely. Jongdae does try to linger on the handshake a bit too long, a mischievous grin on his face, but Junmyeon pokes his ribs and he lets go of Kyungsoo’s hand.
“Do you want to join us, Kyungsoo? We’ve just won the game against these losers, but we’re up for another round.” Sehun sends Jongdae a death-glare that the other seems to ignore.
“I would love to, but I need to head home. I have cooking classes to prepare,” Kyungsoo says and Sehun’s hopes and dreams of his friends not finding out that Kyungsoo is his cooking instructor are crushed and he’s now bracing himself for the slaughter.
“Ohhh…. Oh,” an almost manic grin appears on Jongdae’s face, who makes his way to Kyungsoo as fast as a fox after its prey, immediately hooking an arm under Kyungsoo’s and pulling him aside and away from the group.
“Great,” Sehun mutters to himself.
“It’s okay, Sehun, you know Jongdae is not entirely clueless,” Junmyeon tries to ease Sehun’s worries but he doesn’t sound so sure himself, looking over his shoulder suspiciously at where Jongdae and Kyungsoo are standing, chattering.
“Anyone care to fill me in?” Poor neglected Baekhyun asks, timidly and suddenly Sehun remembers he is there.
“Ah, it’s nothing really, just…” he begins to explain but stops mid sentence as he sees Kyungsoo laughing and looking at his direction. Their eyes meet, as Kyungsoo continues to laugh, the sound always melodic and pleasant to Sehun’s ears now feels like a bucket of water being thrown at him. And Sehun freezes. His heart drops to his stomach and he is certain, now, that he will murder Kim Jongdae.
“What the hell did you tell him, Jongdae? I swear if you told him anything that might give away my totally platonic feelings for him, I swear I will…” Sehun is fuming. Not because he is angry at his friend, but because he is angry at himself for leaving him alone with Kyungsoo. He is currently on his couch with Jongdae sitting by his side looking chill as ever, eating popcorn and staring at Sehun like nothing has happened. They came to Sehun’s apartment after bowling, to get takeout and watch a movie, and Baekhyun and Junmyeon are currently arguing about what to order. Sehun offered to cook for them, but it would take time and they’re all starving, and still not trusting Sehun’s newly acquired cooking skills.
“You need to calm down. I already told you, I didn’t tell him anything important,” Jongdae says, with a grin on his face. Then he shoves some more popcorn into his mouth, and proceeds to satisfiedly munch on it.
Sehun huffs and turns his attention to the tv screen. That’s when his phone vibrates. He picks it up and it’s Kyungsoo’s name on the screen. Before he can help it, Jongdae is by his side looking over his shoulder curiously.
“Already? You guys can’t get enough of each other,” he teases and Sehun merely glares at him before standing up and locking himself in his room, very teenager like.
Sehun fumbles with his phone for a bit before he answers the call, with a shy ‘hello’.
“Sehun? Hi, it’s Kyungsoo.”
“Hey, hyung, what’s up?” Sehun tries to sound as casual as possible, ignoring the way his heart is beating as fast as a drum.
“Nothing, I was just wondering if you’ve any plans for Sunday,” Kyungsoo’s tone is expectant.
“If sleeping until noon, then marathoning Star Wars are considered plans, then yes.”, Sehun jokes, drawing a laugh from Kyungsoo on the other end of the line.
“I was wondering if you’d like to come over and spend the day. I’ll cook you a nice lunch and we can watch a movie or something.” Kyungsoo sounds hesitant, like he is scared Sehun will reject him which would be impossible in this world and probably in most parallel worlds too.
“Sure, that would be awesome,” Sehun answers, promptly.
“Ok, that’s great then. I’ll pick you up at eleven, so we can go somewhere first, alright?” Kyungsoo sounds almost relieved and Sehun resists the urge to squeal, because the thought of Kyungsoo wanting to go out with him this much, to the point that he would feel disappointed if Sehun turned him down, is unreal.
“Cool! I’ll be waiting.”
They wish each other goodnight and that’s when Sehun realizes he’s been smiling the entire phone call, and that said smile is still not subsiding. Saying he’s happy is an understatement. He is going out on a sort-of-date with Kyungsoo, in exactly 36 hours - he should set an alarm for that, he thinks -, and he can barely contain his enthusiasm, bringing his pillow to his face and screaming onto it. Sehun doesn’t want any of his friends to know about his date with Kyungsoo or there would be endless teasing, so he will tell them later, if he can get away with the dopey smile plastered on his face when he steps out of the room.
~~~~~~
Sunday can’t come fast enough and by the time Saturday night comes Sehun’s nerves are a mess to say the least. He’s been ignoring Junmyeon’s phone calls all day in favor of curling up on his couch and daydreaming about the next day and all the things he and Kyungsoo will do together. It’s a bit pathetic, but he doesn’t care, only snapping out of it when he realizes he needs a shower and to actually eat something other than chips.
What Sehun ends up doing is cleaning his whole apartment, probably for the first time since he moved in, and when he’s finally done with the cleaning, he is exhausted enough to fall asleep as soon as he lays in bed, still making sure his alarm is set to 9 A.M. so he has enough time to get ready before Kyungsoo comes pick him up.
Kyungsoo arrives at exactly eleven, the next day, parking in front of Sehun’s building and waving at him from the driver’s seat. Sehun would tease the man for being so punctual but he is focusing on keeping his overly excited self in check. He doesn’t want to this up.
“We are going to the farmer’s market first, to buy some stuff I need for lunch, then we will head to my place, ok?” Kyungsoo says after they greet each other, starting the car.
“Oh, so this whole thing was just an excuse to give me another private cooking lesson?” Sehun teases, smirking at Kyungsoo whose eyes are on the road.
“Actually, yes. Sorry about that,” Kyungsoo replies and Sehun resists the urge to pout, but then Kyungsoo is laughing.
“What is so funny about tricking me into thinking this was a date?” Sehun blurts out without much thought to what he’s saying, but it’s too late to catch himself when he does realize he just said the word ‘date’. .
“A date? What made you think this was a date?” Kyungsoo asks, feigning shock
“I-I don’t know,” Sehun stutters, turning to look at the window trying to hide the blush creeping up his face. He hears Kyungsoo chuckling and a hand being placed on his shoulder.
“It is a date, silly. I was just messing with you,” Kyungsoo says softly, probably sensing how embarrassed the younger is. “I’ll do all the cooking today, you can just watch. I’ll make something special for my favorite pupil.”
Oh, . Sehun’s eyes widen in shock, head turning to look at Kyungsoo, because he is not sure he heard that right. Did Kyungsoo just call him his favorite? And did he just confirm that they’re on a date? Sehun can feel himself melt into the car seat, dumbstruck and speechless but with a warm feeling in his chest that spreads all over and makes him want to say and do silly things. He tries to keep his cool, though.
“Hey, you okay there?” Kyungsoo squeezes his shoulder before retreating his hand to the steering wheel.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I just didn’t know I was your favorite,” Sehun manages to say, surprised that he can still form a sentence correctly.
“Really? I thought I had made it pretty obvious from the start, Mr. Oh,” Kyungsoo is smirking.
“So you were really flirting with me that first day?” Sehun asks, recalling their first encounter and how he was pretty sure Kyungsoo was totally into him before he told himself he was crazy and just started crushing on the man so hard he probably became oblivious to anything else.
‘Totally,” Kyungsoo nods, and Sehun just stares at the man trying to figure out if he’s being messed with or not.
“I knew I wasn’t imagining things,” Sehun concludes aloud, feeling a bit proud of himself. He didn’t misread the signs then, Kyungsoo is into him, that’s a fact.
“Now, the question is, are you into me or is this just a one-sided thing?”
Sehun almost chokes on air at the question. Fine, he is used to Kyungsoo being straight-forward like that but this is way unexpected and, suddenly, Sehun forgets how to speak. He opens his mouth to say something but, instead, he lets out a grunt that earns a puzzled look from Kyungsoo.
“Should I take that as a yes, you’re into me or a no, you’re not and I just made a fool out of myself?” He asks, and Sehun needs a moment to gather his thoughts, his heart beating too loud in his ears making it impossible for him to think straight.
“I’m totally into you since the day we met and I’ve been planning our wedding ever since I laid eyes on you. We are having two kids and a dog and our house will have a huge backyard with a pool in it. There, I said it,” Sehun is pretty sure his face is as red as the red light in front of them, but he’d be damned if he even cared at this point.
Sehun turns to Kyungsoo who looks very surprised, but also amused, a little smiling pulling up the corners of his lips, and that’s when the man unfastens his seatbelt and leans forward towards Sehun who is frozen into place. And then Sehun feels it, before he can even process the situation; the feel of Kyungsoo’s lips on his. It’s soft and tender, the kiss. Sehun doesn’t move, except for a hand he places on Kyungsoo’s arm, as to steady himself. Kyungsoo’s eyes are half closed, eyelids fluttering and when the man temptingly moves his lips against Sehun’s, the latter shuts his eyes tight and lets out a soft moan.
Kyungsoo is an incredible kisser, coaxing Sehun to part his lips, gently, which Sehun does, so his bottom lip fits between Kyungsoo’s and the latter and nibbles on it lightly.
Sehun thinks he can keep kissing Kyungsoo forever, while his hand comes to cup Kyungsoo’s face as he draws forward to deepen the kiss. But that’s when they’re reminded of where they are, the sound of horns and yelling dragging them back to reality as the light just turned green.
“,” Kyungsoo cusses, breaking their kiss and sitting back behind the wheel. He is smiling, as he restarts the car and starts driving again. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?” Sehun asks, still feeling the ghost of Kyungsoo’s lips on his. He reaches for his lips with his fingertips but suddenly remembers that Kyungsoo is there by his side and he does not want to appear as dazed as he feels.
“I’m not apologizing for kissing you, I’m apologizing for doing something extremely unsafe, but I couldn’t control myself. You just looked really kissable, it seemed like the right move,” Kyungsoo replies.
“It was definitely the right move,” Sehun smiles to himself.
Kyungsoo takes a deep breath next to him, slapping his own thigh before announcing, “let’s do some shopping, then.”
They don’t take very long at the farmer’s market, what with Kyungsoo having a list of everything he needs on his phone, and knowing his way around the place from probably spending all his Sunday mornings there, Sehun imagines. Sehun has never been to the market before, though, so they do take some detours, Kyungsoo wanting to show Sehun around and make him taste the ‘best fried squid ever’.
“You know, she refuses to tell her secret ingredient to make them taste so delicious,” Kyungsoo tells Sehun while they enjoy their snacks, and the aunt who owns the stand merely laughs and waves him off.
“You really love food, don’t you, hyung?” Sehun more states than asks and Kyungsoo nods vehemently, still munching on the squid.
“It’s my passion. Cooking is like, what I was born to do, you know?” The man’s eyes glisten as he talks. “I can’t see myself doing anything else, really.”
“I think that’s amazing, that you’re so passionate about something.”
“What about you? What are you passionate about?”
They’ve reached the car, Kyungsoo having made his way around it to get into the driver’s seat and Sehun doesn’t know how to answer that, because he is still trying to figure out his life and his goals so he says, jokingly: “You… hyung”.
The younger’s words make Kyungsoo stop reaching for his car keys, looking up at Sehun’s -eating grin, a bit perplexed.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you say that and you can stop calling me hyung now, since we’ve kissed and stuff,” Kyungsoo replies after a few seconds, then unlocks the car door and gets in.
“But I like calling you hyung,” Sehun protests, a beginning of a pout on his lips.
“If you pout, I’ll have to kiss you again,” Kyungsoo warns, gaze traveling to Sehun’s lips.
“Really?” Sehun’s eyes sparkle at the prospect of kissing Kyungsoo again.
That seems to be the cue for Kyungsoo to get closer, leaning forward to place a peck on Sehun’s lips.
“That’s all you’ll get for now,” the promise in Kyungsoo’s words has Sehun’s chest filling with anticipation.
It comes as no surprise that cooking is in neither of their minds when they get to Kyungsoo’s place. As soon as they step in the apartment, hurriedly kicking their shoes off, bag of groceries forgotten in a corner by the door; there are lips smashing against lips, exploring fingers trying to find each other’s sensitive spots, and limbs tangled when they finally manage to stumble their way to Kyungsoo’s couch. They kiss hungrily and eagerly and hard, breaking it off from time to time, only to catch their breaths before their lips are locked again. Sehun loves it. He loves the way Kyungsoo’s lips claim his own, possessively and skillfully, eliciting sounds from him he never even thought he could make.
At some point, during their frantic make out session, Sehun ends up on Kyungsoo’s lap; legs straddling the other, and even though, Sehun is much taller than Kyungsoo, the position is not awkward or uncomfortable. Kyungsoo’s hands travel to Sehun’s , giving it a tentative squeeze and making Sehun arch his back in response then grind down against Kyungsoo.
“,” Kyungsoo lets out, voice hoarse, and Sehun takes note this is the second time that day, that the other curses.
They’re not kissing, anymore. Instead, their foreheads are touching as they catch their breaths. Sehun stares at Kyungsoo’s red, swollen lips from all the kissing and resists the temptation of capturing them with his own once again. Kyungsoo, under him, looks a little out of breath; chest heaving and eyelids half closed.
“Are you hungry?” Kyungsoo breaks the silence, his hands coming to rest on Sehun’s hips. The latter grunts in response, hiding his face on the crook of Kyungsoo’s neck.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Kyungsoo says, chuckling.
“But it’s a no,” Sehun whines, lips grazing against the soft skin of the other’s neck.
“Lunch won’t cook itself, you know?” Kyungsoo pats Sehun’s as a means of making him get out of his lap which Sehun does reluctantly, sitting down on the couch.
“You look better when I’m sitting on your lap,” Sehun states and Kyungsoo merely gazes at him, shakes his head and makes his way to the kitchen.
It’s a lie. Kyungsoo looks incredibly attractive at all times, but Sehun feels like acting petty since he’s been deprived of Kyungsoo’s lips and touches. He already doesn’t feel like sharing Kyungsoo with whatever it is and that includes any activity that doesn’t involve them making out. But, then, Sehun figures he can always try and claim Kyungsoo back. With that thought, he makes his way into the kitchen as swiftly as he can, sneaking up behind the shorter.
“What are you making?” Sehun asks after encircling Kyungsoo’s waist with his arms and resting his chin on the other’s shoulder.
“My mom’s famous beef stew.”
“So is that like a family recipe? And I get to taste it? I feel very special right now,” Sehun says teasingly, placing a tender kiss on the other’s shoulder. Kyungsoo snickers. “Why aren’t you wearing an apron, though? Isn’t that like, the first rule of cooking or something?” Sehun adds.
“It’s not but I’m glad you reminded me. Can you get it for me?” Kyungsoo motions to a hanger on the wall where there are several aprons.
Sehun hums in response and frees Kyungsoo from his hold to go and get the cute light pink apron with a cupcakes pattern.
“I like this one,” Sehun declares, before handing Kyungsoo the apron. “Here, let me tie it for you.”
Sehun expects protests, but instead Kyungsoo’s arms fall to his side and he patiently waits while Sehun works on tying the straps. He manages to spot a bit of a flush spreading across the surface of Kyungsoo’s nape and he smiles to himself, pleased.
“All set,” Sehun declares before taking a step back as to admire his work.
“You were just dying to do that, weren’t you? That’s why you pointed out I wasn’t wearing an apron.” Kyungsoo’s eyes barely lift to look at Sehun who’s now leaning against the kitchen counter observing the other male.
Sehun brings a hand to his chest, feigning outrage.
“I was merely trying to help. You wouldn’t want to get sauce all over your clothes. You’re kind of a clean freak.”
Kyungsoo snorts at both Sehun’s reaction and his blatant lying, but he looks entertained and his eyes are fond when they gaze up in the taller’s direction.
“How about making yourself useful and helping with these vegetables?”
Sehun really wouldn’t mind helping but he’s just discovered how much he enjoys watching Kyungsoo cook, so he protests: “But you said you would do all the cooking today!”
The kiss that comes as a reply is unexpected but not unwelcome and makes Sehun’s heart skip a beat. He wonders for how long his body will respond like that whenever Kyungsoo shows him affection. Not that he is complaining. The erraticness of his heartbeats are a small price to pay for the soft press of Kyungsoo’s lips on his.
“Then go explore or something. You’re making me nervous standing there and watching me.”
Sehun’s eyes gleam with anticipation.
“Is there anything off limits?” He asks.
“No. Just please don’t do anything weird like going through my drawers and sniffing my clothes.”
“Oh my god! Who do you think I am?”
Kyungsoo chuckles. “I am joking! I know you would never….maybe.” He narrows his eyes and seems to reflect upon something, then resumes to laugh at Sehun’s offended expression.
Sehun frowns and replies: “I was going to steal a pair of underwear but, now, I won’t so I can prove you wrong.” He doesn’t wait to see Kyungsoo’s reaction
“You better not touch my underwear, Oh Sehun!” Kyungsoo shouts, but Sehun is already gone from the kitchen, mind focused on all the mysteries about Kyungsoo he is about to unravel.
First stop is Kyungsoo’s office which Sehun has been dying to see since the man mentioned he had one. Sehun opens the door, carefully, like he’s about to enter the Chamber of Secrets, and peers inside. The room isn’t very big, but it’s nice and cozy. There’s a big desk that takes most of the space and a pair of armchairs, all in matching tones of blue. Behind the desk there is a large set of windows and the walls on each side are lined with bookshelves.
Sehun starts inspecting the books and finds, unsurprisingly, that they’re mostly cooking books written in several languages. He is quite impressed. He didn’t know Kyungsoo spoke more than one language, but there are many things he still doesn’t know about the other man, although he’s very determined on changing that.
There are a few pictures on one of the shelves, instead of books, and Sehun can’t help but smile when he spots a particular one showing Kyungsoo as a little kid hugging a stuffed penguin. It’s probably the cutest thing he’s ever seen and Sehun stares at it for way too long, wishing he could squish kid Kyungsoo’s cute chubby cheeks.
Then Sehun finds a photo album hidden between a book about french cuisine and a guide to patisseries around the world. Everything is so well organized in Kyungsoo’s little library, Sehun finds the album placement a little odd. Retreating to one of the armchairs, Sehun starts flipping through the photograph filled pages. They’re mostly pictures from Kyungsoo’s teenagers years, and mostly seem to have been taken during school activities. There are several pictures of teenager Kyungsoo with what looks like a soccer team and some of him standing or running across a soccer field.
The graduation pictures come towards the end of the album and those have Sehun laughing out loud because Kyungsoo looks incredibly cute despite sporting the most terrible haircut Sehun has ever seen.
A knock on the door, and Kyungsoo is entering the office, his eyes going from Sehun to the album in his hands before he walks towards where Sehun is sitting, propping himself up on the arm of the chair.
“Having fun?”
“Lots of fun,” Sehun answers and continues,”I would never guess you played soccer in high school. You seem like more of a mathlete.”
The comment earns Sehun a light slap to the back of his head
“Don’t let looks deceive you. I was the captain of the soccer team and I even got offered scholarships because of my skills.”
“So when did you go from soccer player to soon-to-be chef? Sehun asks, placing a hand on Kyungsoo’s thigh. The latter’s gaze follows Sehun’s hand and then he covers it with his own, twining their fingers.
“I lost interest, I guess.” The man shrugs. “I was in the team because all my friends were too and it was fun, but after I graduated everybody went to the different universities and I realized I didn’t want to play soccer for a living.”
Sehun hums in understanding. He can’t stop staring at their hands on Kyungsoo’s lap and a warm feeling takes over him. It’s like the coming of summer, even though it’s still autumn, Sehun thinks. That’s the perfect metaphor for Kyungsoo’s presence in his life. Yes, it’s cheesy, and, yes, it makes Sehun internally cringe at his own sappiness but he doesn’t really care anymore.
“I really like you, hyung.” The words leave his lips before he can hold them back.
Kyungsoo looks surprised at first, but the expression soon gives way to a smile.
“I like you, too.” He gives Sehun’s hand a light squeeze before adding, ”I don’t waste my delicious beef stew recipe on just anyone, you know.”
~~~~~~
On monday, after having the best weekend of his life, Sehun arrives at cooking class a bit later than usual. He forgot he had a massive paper due tomorrow, so he spent the entire day working on it like the good student he is, only stopping to reply to Kyungsoo’s texts from time to time. They’d been texting each other since Kyungsoo had dropped Sehun off the night before, only pausing so they could both get some sleep. They talked about silly stuff and sent each other pictures throughout the day. Sehun actually attempted to cook a proper lunch for himself, and it wasn’t a total disaster. He sent a picture of the food to Kyungsoo and the man replied with a picture of him doing a thumbs up.
Most people have already arrived, but when Sehun looks around trying to spot Kyungsoo, he’s met with two very familiar faces, grinning at him from behind one of the counters. Sehun walks fast to where Jongdae and Baekhyun are, folding his arms, a questioningly look on his face.
“What are you two doing here?”
“We decided to apply for cooking classes, too!” Jongdae answers excitedly. Beside him, Baekhyun nods frantically.
“Actually, Jongdae dragged me here but I don’t mind since I have the afternoon off,” he says, shrugging.
Sehun has to fight the overwhelming urge to drag both of them out of the class by their collars because that would be very rude of him, so Sehun decides he will deal with his friends later. What’s worrying him more is that Kyungsoo hasn’t arrived yet, and he knows the man well enough to know that Kyungsoo is never late. Sehun checks the time on his phone. Twenty minutes late. This isn’t like Kyungsoo at all.
People are starting to get impatient and Sehun reassures them Kyungsoo must be getting here soon, even though he hasn’t replied to any of Sehun’s texts in the past two hours. Then, when he’s about to text Kyungsoo again, the latter arrives. And he looks just fine, not one single piece of his perfect self missing. Sehun sighs with relief.
Walking up to Kyungsoo quickly, Sehun doesn’t notice he isn’t alone at first, until he is standing beside a distracted Kyungsoo and a tall man joins them shortly after. Sehun doesn’t have time to utter a word to Kyungsoo, because he is already addressing the class and apologizing for the delay. Apparently he had to pick up his friend, Chanyeol at the airport and they got stuck in traffic.
Everyone seems to be understanding, but Sehun’s eyes immediately shoot up towards the tall, red haired male, standing a few steps back. Then Kyungsoo finally turns to Sehun, who is just standing there with a sour expression and a bad taste in his mouth.
“I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your texts, my phone ran out of battery.” He did look sorry, so Sehun’s anger subside just a tiny bit.
“It’s fine, I was just worried,” Sehun lies through his teeth. He had been more than worried and now he is really mad, he doesn’t exactly understand why, but he is pretty sure it has to do with Kyungsoo’s friend and the way he is just standing there like he didn’t just steal thirty precious minutes of this very important cooking class.
Then Kyungsoo turns to the man and beckons him to come closer.
“This is my friend, Chanyeol. He came to visit for a few days,” Kyungsoo introduces them.
“So you’re the famous Sehun.” Chanyeol grins and they shake hands briefly.
“I’ve never heard of you,” Sehun says and Kyungsoo’s eyes widen but Sehun ignores it and it hits him. While he is standing there, looking at that complete stranger, Chanyeol, that what he is feeling is not anger but jealousy. Pure, stingy, jealousy. It’s such a foreign feeling, and Sehun’s body is reacting so strongly to it, Sehun feels dazed.
Finally, he turns around and storms out of the room, leaving a perplexed Kyungsoo behind.
It’s raining when Sehun steps outside. The swirl of emotions clouds any judgement and reason he has left, and he just keeps walking. Not caring about where his legs are taking him. Soon, he is soaking wet, but he just keeps walking. It surprisingly helps him clear his head just enough for him to stop and breathe and try to figure out where he is. It’s a good thing that he’s not lost but that doesn’t do anything to help his state of mind, which currently is feeling completely and utterly stupid.
Sehun wants to punch his own face, but he guesses he already looks dumb enough standing on the sidewalk under the heavy rain without even a jacket on.
Deciding it’s better to just walk home, since he’s already halfway there, Sehun resumes his walking at a faster pace this time. His head is still filled with thoughts of what happened earlier, imagines of Kyungsoo’s bewildered expression popping out here and there causing a dull ache in his chest.
When he finally stops in front of his building, Sehun notices he’s left his keys in his backpack. Great. That’s probably the universe punishing him, he thinks. Defeated, Sehun sits on the steps. Thankfully, it stopped raining, but he’s freezing nonetheless while he accepts his fate: he will freeze to death in front of his building for being jealous of his boyfriend’s friend. Sehun can’t decide if that’s a drama plot worthy reason to die or not.
After what feels like an eternity, a car stops in front of him. Sehun, hoping it’s one of his neighbors coming to rescue him from his doom, gets up and makes his way down the steps, only to stop suddenly when he sees who steps out of the car.
“I brought your backpack,” Kyungsoo says, smiling softly at him. He looks apologetic and Sehun feels, again, the urge to bang his head against the nearest wall. He’s been such an idiot.
“T-thanks,” Sehun manages to get out, his own voice sounding foreign to his ears.
Sehun takes the backpack Kyungsoo hands to him, then they’re standing in front of each other, the silence thick and uncomfortable. Sehun wants to reach out and apologize, but he can’t seem to find the words and he’s hating himself more and more for it with each second that passes. There’s a tightening in his chest, a knot on his throat, but he desperately wants to say he is sorry, because Kyungsoo can just turn around and leave at any second even though he doesn’t seem like he wants to leave.
“I’m sorry,” Sehun pushes the words out, easier than he’s expected. “I’m sorry I acted like a complete idiot. I got jealous and I wasn’t thinking straight and…”
Sehun stops talking when Kyungsoo takes a few more steps towards him and throws his arms around his neck, drawing him into a tight hug. It takes Sehun off guard, but he hugs Kyungsoo back, encircling the latter’s waist with his arms and resting his chin on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Relief washes over Sehun as the seconds pass and they’re still in each other’s arms. Then Kyungsoo breaks the silence, his voice no more than a whisper against Sehun’s ear: “I’m sorry too.”
They finally let go of each other, but Kyungsoo is still close enough for Sehun to see his face clearly, even in the poorly illuminated street.
“I know this is all new to you. And I should’ve been more thoughtful. I should’ve told you I was picking Chanyeol up at the airport, even if it was last minute. You were worried about me, then I showed up and acted like nothing happened.” Kyungsoo says.
“Yeah, but I overreacted,” Sehun replies, cheeks hot with shame that Kyungsoo is apologizing when he was the one clearly in the wrong here.
“I know, but I’m not blameless either, so that’s why I’m apologizing.”
Sehun nods. “I have never felt jealous before in my entire life, and it’s not something I want to experience again. ” Sehun lets out a breathy laugh. Thanks to the man standing in front of him he feels less of a jerk.
“I can’t promise you anything. You clearly love me and want me all to yourself so that might happen more often than not,” Kyungsoo shrugs, chuckling softly as he takes Sehun’s hand.
Sehun thinks of protesting but a squeeze on his hand and the next words Kyungsoo says stop him from doing so.
“You’re not alone, though. I also love you and want you all to myself” Kyungsoo teases and then he’s pulling Sehun along up the stairs by the hand. “Now let’s get you inside and out of this wet clothes, or you’ll get sick.”
Sehun is so thankful that he just lets himself get dragged up to his apartment, feeling very much like he’s in a dream while Kyungsoo towels his hair and gets him a new change of clothes even though Sehun is capable of doing all of that by himself.
At some point, Sehun asks if Kyungsoo would mind staying over. Sehun is so content that everything turned out fine after he’d been sure he’d screwed everything up for good that he doesn’t even stop to think that this is Kyungsoo’s very first time in his apartment and that this is the first time they’re spending the night together. It’s really a night of firsts but they already feel so comfortable around each other that everything feels natural.
Kyungsoo is in the kitchen making Sehun some soup against the latter’s protests that he didn’t need to, so he just answers that he wouldn’t mind it at all. Staying over, that is. Sehun can’t help but smile to himself. After they eat, they simply curl up on the couch, with Sehun half lying on top of Kyungsoo, as they drift off into slumber.
~~~~~~
“Jongdae, please be careful with those. I don’t wanna have to glue a storm trooper’s decapitated head back to its little body,” Sehun shouts back at Jongdae who is trailing behind him, clearly carrying more boxes than he’s capable of.
“I can’t believe Kyungsoo agreed to let you move in with him knowing that half your is Star Wars merchandise. Where are you even keeping that?”
“None of your business,” Sehun replies, settling the boxes he’s carrying on the floor carefully.
Asking for his friends help to move in with Kyungsoo proved to be a pain in the , and Sehun wishes he’d taken Kyungsoo’s offer to pay for actual movers to do the job. But it’s fun nonetheless, even with Jongdae’s constantly complaining that his back, his feet, his legs and even his scalp hurt from doing all this exercising.
They’re almost done with the boxes, so Sehun decides to take a break and goes in the kitchen to see what Kyungsoo is up to. His boyfriend had been cooking all morning, making all these delicious food for everyone to eat later. He’d helped Sehun pack everything for the last three days so Kyungsoo hadn’t had time to cook at all and he said he was suffering from withdrawal so Sehun told him he was excused from moving in duties today, and Kyungsoo promptly started to plan the meal as a thank you to Sehun’s friends for helping.
Sehun stops, leaning against the door frame and watches as his boyfriend moves around the kitchen, humming softly to himself.
Who would ever imagine his lack of cooking skills would lead him to meet someone as wonderful as Kyungsoo? And that someone as wonderful as Kyungsoo would fall in love with him and they would start a life together? The universe is really a mystery, Sehun thinks to himself. It’s been a little over a year since they’ve met and started dating and he still constantly catches himself marveling at the wonder that is his boyfriend, Do Kyungsoo.
He is so whipped, he can’t even blame his friends for constantly teasing him for it.
“Whatever you’re cooking it smells delicious,” Sehun says, making Kyungsoo turn around and look at him smiling.
“Come here.”
Sehun walks up to Kyungsoo, giving him a peck on the lips. Kyungsoo is wearing an apron with a penguin wearing a chef’s hat on it, that Sehun had bought him on their six month anniversary. He also has his glasses on, which Sehun loves.
“You look adorable,” Sehun says, placing his hands on Kyungsoo’s hips and drawing him closer.
“You look sweaty.” Kyungsoo chuckles, reaching to run a hand through Sehun’s bangs which were a bit sticky. Sehun closes his eyes briefly reveling into the touch.
“We’re almost finished, so I can help you set up the table if you want.”
Kyungsoo nods, his hand playing with the little hairs on Sehun’s nape. Fighting the urge to lean in and kiss Kyungsoo because he know he won’t be able to stop himself if he does so, Sehun sighs.
“Did I already tell you that I love you today?”
“Yes. About five times,” Kyungsoo answers rolling his eyes.
“That’s because I haven’t be able to fully express my love for you recently, if you know what I mean,” Sehun smirks. “We’ve been so busy with all of this.”
The words draw a loud laugh from Kyungsoo who simply nods and brings his boyfriend for a kiss. And Sehun can’t help it but feel like he’s the luckiest person in the world, when his lips lock with Kyungsoo’s.
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