You were sitting in front of Jaejoong in your new classroom. You had finally started middle school. Jaejoong oppa was still depressed over what had happened to his father a few weeks earlier. Jaejoong was excused for the last few weeks of school. He was still recovering from the funeral. You had been there with Jaejoong as he and his mother wailed for their loss. You made the shivering Jaejoong watch as his uncle put his father’s coat on the roof. You held his hand as his father was buried.

During school, you couldn’t help but look over at his empty seat. You missed his laugh, his smile, his sweet way of scolding you when you got too excited. You were glad that the new school year had started. Jaejoong’s mother had thought it would be best to go back to school, to make new friends and be happy. You agreed with her. When you saw Jaejoong in the neighborhood he was always as white as a paper and never smiling.

The students were piling into the classroom. There were several people you hadn’t seen before. You smiled at Jaejoong, hoping he would meet these people and let them into his heart. You hoped they would close the gaps in his heart that you just couldn’t fill. “Jaejoong oppa, please try and make some new friends! Laughter is the cure for everything!” He swatted your hand away. You were a little shocked, but you had grown used to him being grumpy. This was what you were learning to expect of him.

“Jaejoong-shi? Kim Jaejoong?” You turned to the front of the classroom to see the owner of the voice. A few rows across from you a girl was standing next to her seat. She was looking at Jaejoong with a smile. “It is Jaejoong-shi! I can’t believe we are meeting again!” She looked at him, then you, then Jae again. “Is there something wrong?” She let worried eyes show. He looked at her, he felt her worry, he felt her caring. You mumbled something about telling her at lunch. You didn’t want her near Jaejoong any longer.

Push

“That must be so hard for you! I am deeply sorry for your loss. Is there anything I can do to help?” Jaejoong just shook his head. You were together in the classroom eating your lunches. Your lunch was just something you had picked up at the convenience store, but Jae’s lunch something you couldn’t describe. It was like he was expressing his sorrow by creating amazing dishes. The girl, Yooeun, seemed to notice. “Jaejoong, you’re a true magician. I wish you could teach me how to make something like that!”

You noticed her lunch was extravagant as well. ‘Am I the only one that can’t cook?’ You didn’t say it. Jaejoong smiled. You liked it when he smiled. You wanted her to keeping singing praises, just so he would smile. It hurt, just a little, because it wasn’t you he was smiling at, it was her.

Push

You were wondering whether to join a club or not. You didn’t really have any special talents. You didn’t count being able to lie and make things up off the top of your head a talent. What good did it have? You didn’t see the point in joining a club yourself, but Jaejoong joining a club would have been a wonderful idea. He would be with people, and his mind would be away from his father. You had thought of a club that focused on cooking. That would be good for him, but bad for you. You had inherited your mother’s cooking skills, you couldn’t cook.

You didn’t know that Yooeun was thinking along the same lines. While you were pondering, she had asked the teacher to start a cooking club. The teacher had agreed, if she could get five members. She immediately put Jaejoong’s name on her list. When you found out you wanted to join too. You wanted to be with him, to see him get better, to see his smile, to taste his cooking, and to keep Yooeun and him apart!

But you still couldn’t cook. “I don’t see how that is a problem. You can learn how to cook in the club! And if you don’t feel comfortable doing that, then you can be an official taste tester!” This girl, she was a real angel.

When you heard about the problem with needing members you and Jaejoong quickly coaxed your brother into joining. When he learned about the purpose of the club he thought of the perfect person to join your club.

Push

You were standing in kitchen of the home ec room with Jaejoong and Yooeun sitting in the seats. Yunho and his friend were sitting across from them. “So Yooeun, this is my brother Jung Yunho and his friend…?” You looked at the tall mystery man.

He smiled. “I’m Shim Changmin. Yunho told me this is a cooking club and I had to join.” Yunho chuckled at his friend. “I’m not really a cooker, but I love to eat! I swear, if they let me, I would eat during each class! This should really help fill me up before I go home and have a snack.” You all laughed at him. You could tell he was quite serious though. You looked at Jaejoong to see him laughing, but he was covering his mouth again. ‘Aish, I told him I didn’t hate his laugh, why does he always cover it up?’

Yooeun looked over at Yunho, “Well you two can be our tasters, but can you cook?” Yunho nodded his head. He was lucky. He had taken after Appa and could make simple things. “Great, then we will go with Jaejoong’s suggestion and make something easy to make. Cookies!” You smiled widely. Jaejoong knew that his cookies were your favorite.

While the three were baking you and Changmin chatted casually. You both couldn’t wait to pig out. The smell of sweets was intoxicating. Each batch of cookies being made smelled different. When they came out of the ovens you would see if they tasted different.

Yunho set out all his cookies on a plate and you each took one. Changmin took three, but who was really counting? “Hyung, the taste okay, but… did you add a little too much flour? These are really stiff.” To prove his point Jaejoong tapped a cookie on the table.

You laughed at him, but still supported him. He could still cook better than you could. At least none of his burned. Jaejoong’s were ready next. His had the same scent of sweet chocolate as the other cookies he had made you. You broke your cookie apart like you always do and let the melted chocolate form a bridge between the two pieces. Your first bite tasted like happiness. Jaejoong’s happiness. Being in the cooking club surrounded by good people had made him and his cooking happy.

Yooeun’s cookies had also been ready, but she had only left out five and packed away the rest in a cute container. She was going to give away the rest to the teachers and her parents. She really was an angel. Her cookies were sweet as well. She had made the perfect sugar cookie. Everything was balanced, as if everything was going to be okay. Like nothing could ever go wrong. Jaejoong nibbled on his cookie with a smile, and you chomped your cookie down with your eyes frowning. You wanted to be the one making him smile, but the fact that he was smiling made you feel better. Just a little.