“WHAT?!”

Sungjong dramatically yelled at the top of his lungs in shock. Every head turned towards our direction as I bowed my head apologetically and grabbed Sungjong’s arm to make him sit down.

He looked around wearily and scratched the back of his head as he smiled apologetically to the other customers who too, were enjoying their lunch break on a casual Monday morning.

“He kissed you?! And you only decided to tell me now?!” He whispered harshly, outraged that his one and only cousin didn’t trust him.

I shook my head and looked down in embarrassment,

“It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you Jongie… I just. Um. I couldn’t really –“
 

Sungjong looked at me, a smirk now replacing his anger.

“That good eh?”

I looked up with a blush on my face and smiled widely,

“Better than you can even imagine.”

I continued to pick the pieces of red capsicum out of my Japchae, playing around with my food to get rid of the horrid vegetable that was hidden in between the strands of the clear noodle. I sighed in frustration as Sungjong ate them directly out of the plate I had placed the red pieces in, working hard just to separate the pieces from the bowl. He looked at me with a sly smile and continued grabbing the pieces one after the other.

The bell in the restaurant rang as an indication of another pair of customers coming in, hoping to beat the clock in time for their next class.

I looked up and saw the back of a familiar tall young man, dressed in a grey hoodie with skinny jeans. He held the door open for a moment longer to let his partner come through the door.

It was only then that there was no mistaking it. The shiny black hair, gently combed to the side, slightly falling in front of his eyes, was Myungsoo dressed in an equally casual attire as Sungyeol.

I sat up straight and waved at them to get their attention. I had gotten off the phone with them yesterday about meeting up sometime, and we organised a dinner for next week. But, I guess fate just couldn’t wait, ha.

“Myungsoo! Sungyeol!” I yelled at them across the restaurant.

Thank goodness I didn’t attract any unnecessary attention, as the restaurant was already three quarters filled with eagerly chattering students, businessmen and the alike.

Their eyes flickered in recognition and widely smiled in response. I gave a light chuckle as Sungyeol bounded over to our table, Myungsoo obediently trailing behind.

“What are you guys doing here?!” I exclaimed in surprise, curious as to why Sungyeol, who never went to class, and Myungsoo who was doing an internship at a law firm near Broadstine, was downtown near the university.

“Oh, I had to pick out my subjects for the new year, and Myung has a day off. So here we are!” He waved around a bunch of subject brochures before grabbing the available table next to ours.
 

Myungsoo grabbed eagerly at the menu and gave a sigh of relief.

“Yah, this kid here made me walk around the whole campus searching for some café or something that didn’t even exist. Seriously, Sunggyu you should reopen your café at the university, that’d make Sungyeol go every day to class for sure. Rather than lazing around doing nothing but watching Korean dramas.” Myungsoo said with a hint of annoyance, but cheekily poked Sungyeol’s cheek with a soft smile of affection.

Sungyeol nodded eagerly and he too scanned his eyes down the menu,

“Yeah, that’d make me go to University every day, but that doesn’t mean I’d go to class.” He laughed, making us all shake our heads with amused smiles. Because we all knew that was actually true.

After a good hour of catching up and confirming our plans for next week, we bid our goodbyes to the couple as I needed to go back to class early to work on my music assignment with my partner, Jonghyun.

“So, we’ll see you next Friday, yes?” Sungyeol eagerly nodded, with a strand of spaghetti hanging out of his mouth as he gave his a toothy smile, unfortunately revealing bits and pieces of his chewed up lunch within his mouth.

Myungsoo looked at him disapprovingly and gave us a small wave and a light smile as he proceeded to grab a napkin to wipe off his boyfriend’s messy eating.

Sungjong accompanied me to my next class as he was headed in the same direction for an acting rehearsal for a play that was being put on by the Drama department, which starred both him and Key. Of course, I was expected to come, but that was a few weeks away – though apparently, not long away enough, because rehearsals had started becoming hectic and a stressed Sungjong is not a nice Sungjong.

He gave me a quick wave as he spotted his friend heading up the stairs and I nodded in reply, distracted by the vibration of my phone in my back pocket.

I once again juggled my books, balancing everything expertly, as I had to reach behind me to grab my flashing phone, indicating a text message.

'Hey Gyu, want to come over to my place tonight? I’m cooking!'

I imagined Woohyun exclaiming, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

I immediately smiled and fumbled a reply, still juggling my books around, indicating that I’d be around his place at 7pm.

It wasn’t the first time I had been to Woohyun’s apartment, but it’s the first time that he’s cooked for me. During the past few months, Woohyun had graduated as a trainee and moved up the ladder to become better recognised for his skill, rather than being underestimated by his looks and age. The head chef, complete with restaurants that were competing amongst the best (and had the Michelin stars to prove it) took a great interest in him and chose him as his own apprentice.

Woohyun was thrilled, of course, and I’m surprised that for the first time he actually had some time to cook up a meal for tonight. These last few months have been so chaotic for him, as he had to move around different restaurants around the city, tasting different cuisines to get inspiration, and of course, constantly studying the do’s and don’ts of cooking.

His place was nearly as messy as mine, but instead of the carpet being filled with music sheets and scrunched up paper from failed song lyrics, his was filled with scribbles from his quick note-taking, as well as recipes he had thought up and written on his list of ‘foods to try creating into a dish’. Maybe I’ll get some time tonight to help him pack up a bit, I bet it’s a like a pigsty up there.

“Hyung, are you even listening to what I’m saying?” A sharp jab in my arm directed my attention towards a slightly pouting, brown haired dinosaur looking flock of hair, oops I meant to say, Jonghyun.

Kim Jonghyun was assigned, well, more like forced himself, to be my partner for this music assignment we were given, to be due in a couple of weeks. When I mean forced I meant that Jonghyun had literally hung on to my arm until I said yes, but then again, I didn’t mind because frankly, Jonghyun has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard, and he happened to be one of my closest friends at the university. Oh, and did I mention he’s dating Key?

We were thinking up ideas for the song we had to present in front of the rest of the students in our lecture class. After about three hours of vigorous thinking and heated discussion, we decided to settle with a ballad, as that would bring out our voices the best. He was to lead, and I was to harmonise and do the adlibs. It evened out, as we both were comfortable in our own range and we both loved music, singing and performing.

“I reckon in C.”

“But B’s better for our range. We can reach so many more notes and even octaves in that key.” I tried to reason with the most stubborn man I have encountered, like ever.

“Hmm. True. Yeah okay, B it is then.” He gave a nod in agreement as we finally decided on a key to write our song in.

Now for the lyrics, oh boy, this was going to take a while.

Three hours later, we, surprisingly, managed to come up with the some chords, and a bunch of lyrics which could be altered to fit in with the music perfectly. We would need a few more working lessons before we could get on with rehearsing and perfecting it, but I know it wouldn’t take too long because we are both hardworking and aim for the best we could achieve. I guess that’s why I like Jonghyun, we share a lot of similarities.

The clock ticked straight on the dot, signifying five o’clock. Our lecturer clapped his hands and thanked us before he grabbed his briefcase and got as fast as he could out of the lecture hall. I guess we’re not the only ones who hate being trapped inside all day, I smiled bitterly.

I gathered the scattered pages and blunted pencils, along with their sharpenings, off the table we had been working intensely on for the past few hours with a satisfied sigh. Jonghyun gave me a thumbs up before walking out the doors, calling Key on his speed dial, immediately breaking into a cheesy grin and his voice going a few octaves higher when talking to his diva. I had a quick check of my phone to see if there were any messages, before calling Woohyun to tell him that I’d be there in a couple of hours.

It was nearly seven pm when I stood in front of Woohyun’s grand apartment, located right in the middle of Seoul. It was exceptionally large for a studio apartment, complete with an ensuite bathroom, a walk in closet, a large study area, and of course, a large kitchen bench, perfect for Woohyun’s experiments.

Tonight, however, was filled with a warm atmosphere, as Woohyun’s favourite American pop bands hummed loudly in the background. The door was unlocked, as I gently turned the knob, sauntering in the all familiar hallway, my boyfriend oblivious to the desperate sounds of the doorbell ringing for a couple of minutes.

Woohyun was fitted with a pink apron and a wooden spoon in hand as he mixed a béchamel sauce together in a saucepan. In another frying pan was a kilo of peeled prawns, about to be cooked with a variety of different herbs and spices.

I gave a light chuckle as I watched him dance around the kitchen, flipping each pan, sprinkling a whole array of different ingredients around, and all at the same time, singing to the latest song on the Billboard charts.

It wasn’t until I sat right down in front of the kitchen bench, which also acted as the dining table, that the said man who sang his heart out to a wooden spoon caught my eye and immediately laughed.

“Well. I ought to call your manager and tell him his man is slacking off on the job.” I mischievously grinned at him, whilst picking an olive off the antipasto platter that was prepared neatly on the table. He nodded with an embarrassed laugh and kissed my cheek as he greeted me.

He stood up tall, straightened his apron and cleared his throat.

“Now sir, for the menu tonight is champagne based lemon cream sauced seafood linguini with smoked trout, with an entrée of garlic and chilli prawns, along with an antipasto platter which I see you have already helped yourself to.” He declared in an authoritative master chef voice, which erupted a deep laughter from the both of us.

“I think you’d make a mighty fine chef, Hyun, the Michelin stars are already coming your way!” I smiled sincerely into his eyes, letting him know that I genuinely believed that he would one day, become one of the best chefs in Korea, or even in the world.

He laughed softly as he shook his head in modesty, before turning off the stove, oven and the extra set of lights above the cutting board, in preparation for the delicious meal he had cooked up for the both of us. I grabbed a couple of wineglasses and poured some champagne into each of them, setting them next to the white plates already set out in front of us, complete with the required cutlery on either side of the plate.

The linguini dish looked absolutely amazing, the different colours from the seafood, especially the light pink centre piece of the smoked trout, blended in the béchamel sauce beautifully. The smell was mouth-watering, and I could swear I was about to salivate right here on my plate if I didn’t get a chance to eat it soon.

Woohyun pulled up a chair across from me and took off his apron before sitting down. He grinned at me before picking up a metal fork and stabbing it into a piece of seasoned prawn.

“Say ah-“ He laughed childishly before reaching the fork towards my already open mouth.

“Hyun, this is delicious! Just everything, it’s just so perfect. Thank you.” I complimented him with a bright smile as soon as I finished chewing the succulently cooked crustacean.

“Oh, by the way, maybe later tonight we can bake a cake together or something? It’s Sungjong’s birthday tomorrow, and I'm sure he'd love it.” He asked me, a strand of linguini hanging out of his mouth.

I laughed and leaned forward with a napkin to wipe the cream sauce off of his lips,

“Sure, that sounds great.” I smiled at his thoughtfulness for my cousin.

We continued to devour the plates filled to the rim with food, and enjoyed a few moments of random chatting, occasionally observing what was happening outside the glass windows, where the lively and colourful lights of Seoul city stood.

After a couple glasses of more champagne, a slight blush in both of our cheeks and a more than satisfying meal inside our stomachs, we cleaned up and starting taking out the ingredients for a classic chocolate cake. I took the eggs and milk out of the fridge, chucking it carelessly on the kitchen bench, before grabbing a large metal bowl and its mixing machine that accompanied it.

Woohyun grabbed an extra red apron off the hanger of his pantry and tied it gently around my waist as I continued gathering the flour and blocks of chocolate from the cupboard above me. I stood there for a moment, silently thinking of everything I needed.

Now, what was I missing?

Ah! Vanilla essence. I immediately reached for the top shelf, where I had spotted the brown coloured bottle last time I was at Woohyun’s place. I could barely reach it and ended up stretching my arm and on my tippy toes before Woohyun finally realised why I was taking so long in the pantry, and grabbed it without a single strain or any effort. He grinned at me slyly, as if challenging me to question his ability.

I scoffed in reply and went back to the kitchen bench to open up the bags of flour in order to measure the right amount.

Woohyun efficiently cracked the eggs, before pouring the rest of the ingredients into the mixing bowl. He turned away to throw out the egg shells, while I continued to place the - dare I say - perfectly measured amount of flour into the bowl. Oh oops, nearly forgot the sugar.

I leant across to grab the sugar, and was about to start pouring in the sugar before the mixing bowl had started mixing. Woohyun stood with his eyebrows furrowed slightly, before he realised he had forgotten to put a cover over the abnormally large bowl.

But it was already too late.

Before we knew it, we were both covered in flour, with some wet pieces in our hair to complete the messy chef look. Thankfully we weren’t soaked in the egg mixture, and we stared at each other silently for a few long seconds, the machine still mixing away innocently, before laughing our heads off at how careless we were.

“Yah! I thought you were meant to be a chef!” I hit him lightly on the arm and pouted at the sticky mixture that was stuck in my hair.

“And I thought you were done already! Why else would I turn on the machine?” Woohyun reasoned with me, a little distraught at his flour covered face. He rubbed his eyes before in pain as he realised he had rubbed the dry mixture deeper into his eyes.

I laughed before pushing his hands away, prohibiting him from rubbing it even more. He’d regret it even more later, trust me.

“Oh stop it, you’ll make it worse. Here.” I lightly blew into his eyes, trying to clear the dry powder away from his sore, reddening eyes.

He mumbled a couple of words in defeat before giving a small nod. I wiped a wet tissue across his eye, clearing it of any excess flour before giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

“There you go princess, all ready to conquer the world of chocolate cake and all its associated icing and absolutely delicious ganache?” I laughed childishly, teasing the already pouting Woohyun, before turning away to continue pouring the sugar into the mixing bowl.

As I reached for the cover to put over the bowl, to avoid another flour explosion in the kitchen, Woohyun’s hand stopped me and he looked at me, emphasising his pout even more.

I looked at him curiously and raised my eyebrows, “What now, princess? Stop being so dramatic, you.” I poked him on the nose, trying to get my hand free out of his grasp.

He leant in and stopped inches above my lips before looking into my eyes with a threatening glare. If it were anyone else, I would’ve been scared out of mind, man, now I know how Woohyun’s dad feels when he gets glared at.

“Kim Sunggyu, I dare you to call me princess one more time.” He whispered, emphasising and articulating each word to make sure I understood.

I slowly nodded, my eyes wide, as he slowly smiled and gently leaned in to kiss me on the lips.

I once again felt the fainting sensation overcome me, and I swear I could have melted into the floor if Woohyun had not quickly pulled away, as fast as he had leaned in,

He mischievously smirked before whispering in my ear,

“Now I’m ready, princess.”

#

updated! sorry about the wait, but i'm finally on holidays! yay, but they're filled with studies again :( but i'll try my best to update more now!

and yes, this chapter was a bit of a drag, and ended with yet another cheesy date, but then again, whats a woogyu fluff without a flour/baking kiss? ;)

tell me how you liked it! and any more suggestions for a date would be awesome!

<3