Key would like to think that he life had changed after cooking for the son of one of the richest men in Seoul, however, truthfully, nothing had really happened. Head Chef Song still seemed to hate him, placing him in charge of the most popular starter on the menu after Kim Jonghyun had praised him, but no promotion came his way. Key's nerves were visible the first day that he was placed in charge of the starter, however the friendly smiles that Senior Sous Chef Jung sent his way calmed him a little.

Kim Jonghyun continued to attend the restaurant before opening hours, however Key was spared having to cook for him again, Chef Song (and Chef Jung, when Chef Song was unable to) starting their shifts earlier to accommodate him, Chef Song making Key nervous during his practice with his glares.

Key groaned as he entered the kitchen at Le Cordon Bleu-Sookmyung Academy for an unplanned practical assessment. At least for all his other assessments he had been able to prepare, for this one he would have to rely on natural talent and hope that it was something that he at least had some prior knowledge of. He tossed his bag under the workstation before moving to wash his hands thoroughly and collect a clean set of chef's whites, pulling the jacket on over his teeshirt and fastening it before securing the apron around his waist, finishing with a crisp, white hat.

"The dish I want you to prepare today is boeuf en croute." Key's teacher said, writing the French dish on the wipe board at the front of the kitchen. "All the ingredients you will require are in the refrigerators and pantry."

Key heard a number of other students moan as the name of the dish was revealed. Not only was it a dish which they had never prepared before, but it was a complex one, requiring the beef to be cooked perfectly and the pastry surrounding it to be crisp. Key had watched TV shows about the dish, read recipes and cooking instructions, but had never attempted the dish himself, the beef too expensive to waste.

"You have until the end of the lesson. Begin." Key's teacher took a seat at the front of the kitchen as the students started to mill around.

Key headed straight for the refrigerator, taking a fillet of beef and moving it back to his workstation, setting to work on sealing the meat before placing it back in the refrigerator to chill (making sure that he had labelled the plate with his name). Key then started on the stuffing for the dish, cooking mushrooms, shallots and garlic before adding red wine, stirring, placing into a bowl and placing in the refrigerator next to his beef.

The puff pastry was the next step for Key, and the step that he felt most confident about, having made puff pastry from scratch both at university and whilst at work. Once it was complete, he cut the sheet of pasty in two equal parts, placing the chilled beef in the centre of one before topping with a neat layer of the mushroom stuffing before laying the remaining piece of puff pastry on top, pinching and folding the pastry to seal the contents, cutting away excess pastry as he went. Key then brushed the pastry with an egg wash before placing in his pre-heated oven and praying for the dish to turn out as he wanted.

Key paced the kitchen as he waited for his boeuf en croute to cook, peering into the oven to check that the pastry was browning, that the juices weren't escaping, and to save his own sanity. After 15 minutes he removed his dish, checking the temperature of the beef before plating up and calling over his teacher to mark his work.

"Have you prepared this dish before?" Key's teacher asked, turning the plate to inspect Key's work.

"No, chef." Key answered, suddenly worried about his work. "I have watched shows where it has been prepared, and read instructions before though."

Key's teacher nodded, before taking the cutlery besides the plate and slicing into the pastry parcel, revealing the beef, slightly pink, and the moist mushroom stuffing.

Key watched carefully as the teacher ate a mouthful of his dish, looking for any sign on his face to say if he had passed or fail.

"Pass." The teacher said simply, before making notes on his clipboard and moving onto the next student.

Key grinned, taking a bite of the boeuf en croute himself, the pastry crisp and the mushroom stuffing perfectly complimenting the beef. It was good, and Key wanted desperately to have another chance to cook the dish, however his wages barely covered his living expenses without stretching to buy expensive meat. Key shrugged, before eating more of the pastry covered beef, he might as well enjoy it while he could.

~###~

The walk from La Bella Napoli to Key's apartment took 8 minutes exactly, however some nights it seemed to take far longer, especially when all Key wanted to do was crawl into his bed and sleep. He had a bad night at work, somehow managing to burn out the bottom of one of the pans he was using (the pan probably shouldn't have been in the kitchen in the first place) and had been scolded by Chef Song for ruining the ingredients that were in the pan at the time. He then had to personally apologise to the customer whose food he was preparing for the wait, his face flushed as he walked through the restaurant, feeling each customer's eyes following him around the room. Chef Song had also made him stay after shift to clean the kitchen, making sure than each work surface was perfectly clean before he allowed Key to leave.

Key groaned as he pressed his key into the lock of his apartment, pushing open the door and kicking it closed as he stepped into the small apartment, untidy from his rush to get to school in the morning. Key sighed before picking up his dirty clothes and tossing them into the laundry hamper, then moving to make his bed, straightening the quilt and setting the pillows back at the head of the bed. He looked around the one room apartment, it wasn't much, but it was home. He smiled before flicking on the TV and stepping into the kitchen, grabbing a packet of ramyeon before settling in front of the TV, half watching whatever was on the screen as he ate the dry noodles, not feeling like cooking after doing so all day.

If Key was lucky he would get a phone call from Taemin to discuss whatever gossip the younger had overheard whilst working, or maybe a call from Minho, the tall, bug eyed delivery guy Key had befriended (and who Taemin had a crush on, Key found out whilst questioning Taemin on his motives for arriving early at work). Key stared at his phone, willing it to ring, not wanting to inconvenience Taemin or Minho by calling them first - he was sure that they both had lives and other friends beside him.

Key almost jumped a mile as he felt his phone vibrate in his hand, the loud ringtone reverberating around the small apartment. It was only a text, but a text message was better than nothing.

Hyung! He gave me his number today! What do I do?

Key grinned as he read the short message from Taemin, fingers hurriedly typing a reply.

Call him, or text message him. It's what normal people do :)

Things were looking up for Taemin and his love life, and Key felt a satisfied smirk make its way to his face. He had been the one to encourage Minho to give Taemin his telephone number, knowing that Taemin was too shy to make the first move, and Minho was too damn oblivious of the younger male's feelings.