Ideal type? This is hard. Let’s see… My ideal type is probably someone who knows how to cook! Since I’m a cook myself, I want to discuss about different herbs and spices with her. I’d also like it if she dresses well and has long wavy hair. Someone who isn’t too uptight and knows how to have fun?

“Yaaah-” Jeon Jungkook howled, cracking three eggs and battering the heck out of them as soon as he found the wire whisk that had magically disappeared only moments ago. He stopped a few seconds later, dusting off his hands and apron as he sluggishly walked to the living room. He stared intently at the television before turning his head and giving his respected senior and close friend a look of approval. A big grin made its way to his face and he added, “Eunwoo-hyung, seeing you on television is giving me the chills! I feel like I have just become good friends with a celebrity… Oh wait, I am, aren’t I?”

Eunwoo laughed, his ears glowing red and his cheeks hot as a boiling tomato. He has been featured in several cooking variety shows for quite some time now but he still can’t seem to get accustomed to the attention he has been getting because of it. “What are you talking about? What celebrity? Stop with that nonsense and concentrate on your cheesecake instead, hm? Remember add the eggs to your cream cheese mixture after you’ve beaten them nicely.”

“Copy that, chef!” Jungkook replied playfully, hopping back to the kitchen. He quickly finished beating the eggs and poured them into a large stainless steel bowl with the cream cheese batter that he had made earlier. He then carefully blended the two ingredients together but stopped midway after remembering what Eunwoo had said in his interview. Jungkook puckered his lips ― a habit he did when he was in a deep thought ― and let out a faint sigh. He tiptoed back to the living room and looked cautiously at Eunwoo from behind the wall but decided to head back to the kitchen after much deliberation. Jungkook crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Jeon Jungkook was at the age when he believed no one can stay single for long especially with a face as handsome and a career as flourishing as Eunwoo’s. He was popular amongst women (and even men) and he recently became a regular at a television show. But why didn’t he have a girlfriend? Why was a man of that caliber and of marriageable age still single? Was he secretly dating by any chance? Is that even possible? Jungkook found himself in a tight spot. He was desperate to find answers to the questions circulating fervently in his head but there was this underlying feeling that said he should not pry on other people’s business.

The 23 year-old boy from Busan has known La Yeon’s celebrity Sous-chef for about a year now. After being promoted to Sous-chef, Cha Eunwoo was tasked to mentor the newly hired Commis Chef, Jeon Jungkook, and that was how they met. Thanks to their shared passion for food and cooking, they grew very close in spite of the , and have even decided to speak casually with each other (to the latter’s behest). However, despite their friendship, Jungkook still knew too little about Eunwoo.

Nevertheless, a man like Cha Eunwoo was not without rumors. Jungkook has heard multiple accounts from their colleagues at work saying Eunwoo had been dating someone until just last year but no one has ever really confirmed or denied it. Park Chanyeol, who Jungkook knew as Eunwoo’s best friend, was doing a pretty good job of keeping mum about the latter’s personal life despite the many queries he gets from interested ladies, taleteller and gossipmongers, and people like Jungkook.

Jungkook opened his eyes, feeling a surge of urgency take over his body as he murmured, “It’s now or never.” He walked to the kitchen counter as his probing eyes quickly landed on Eunwoo. A devilish smile escaped his lips. He leaned over, resting his arms on the curb, and squinted his eyes.

“Hyung, weren’t you too specific back there?”

“What do you mean?” Eunwoo questioned, peering above the kitchen counter to see what Jungkook was up to before getting back to the cook book he was reading.

“Your ideal type…” Jungkook’s words was masked with nonchalance. “It sounded to me like you were describing someone.”

Eunwoo paused for a while, feeling the weight of an undisclosed past knocking disruptively on his mind. He quickly gathered his thoughts, eyes turning from one place to another, as he nervously flipped to another page. “Oh, you mean the interview? Nah, it was nothing.”

The look on Eunwoo’s face said otherwise and his indecisive answer only made Jungkook even more curious. “Nothing? But it definitely sounded like you were describing someone…”

Jungkook wore an impish grin and removed his apron, quickly running to the living room where Eunwoo was. He jumped to the couch next to the latter and zoomed in on him, eyes wide open. “Hyung, are you dating someone? Already?”

“Already?!” Eunwoo exclaimed. He paused, his brain involuntarily malfunctioning, pursing his lips as he gathered himself. He cleared his throat, wishing he hadn’t reacted the way he did, and looked at the young lad who was now b with ardent curiosity. He gently patted his mentee’s head and smiled.

“Of course not…”

“Oh…” Jungkook backed out, staggered by Eunwoo’s subdued but serious tone. Eunwoo’s eyes signaled a warning that Jungkook shouldn’t ask any longer making him feel like he had just stepped into a landmine- a boundary he should never have crossed- and decided that that was enough questions for the day. “I better get back to baking! Ah, right. Congratulations on becoming a regular at Please Take Care of my Refrigerator hyung. Fighting!”

Eunwoo examined Jungkook’s eyes bewilderingly, wondering if Chanyeol had run his mouth again. The latter was quite the gossip. Although he has been very quiet these past months, there was really no telling when Chanyeol slipped his tongue. Yet Eunwoo brushed the thought off knowing Jungkook was quite the imaginative boy himself. What do you expect? Jungkook was young and inquisitive, of course he would try to ask him about his love life. Eunwoo knew Jungkook was dying inside and he felt sorry for keeping him in the dark, but he believed it was a topic he (or anyone who had been involved) should stay away from. Eunwoo believed he and Seungwan had the right to quietly move on. He chortled and answered, “Thank you, Jungkook. I’ll do my best.”

Jungkook always has a way of reminding Eunwoo the quintessence of youth and what it was like being immersed in something you absolutely love doing. To him, seeing Jungkook was like seeing himself ten years ago- young, vulnerable, straightforward and mischievous. 

As a young boy, Cha Eunwoo had a knack for cooking. His parents always say he inherited this trait from his late grandmother who owned a traditional Korean restaurant back in the days. She was a feisty woman, full of passion and wisdom, and he remembers clearly how she ran her restaurant business with an iron fist. She was his first teacher and mentor, and was such a big influence on him.

Eunwoo, just like his grandmother, loved the grueling yet fulfilling process of preparing food in itself. There was just something about the smell of freshly picked herbs, exotic spices and stimulating condiments in the kitchen that he loved. He found pleasure in seeing people enjoy his cooking, and was a certified foodie. He was especially a fan of pastries and strongly believed that they embody the true essence of cooking: having just the right amount of everything.

Unbeknownst to many, Eunwoo was very strict when it came to measuring ingredients. He was not one to eye everything and see how i