I Can't Cook

The Debut

When we returned to the dorm and about 10 o'clock that evening, I found out that the reason for the large number of beds was actually because Super Junior shared a dorm with DBSK.

I had heard of DBSK before. They were a Korean band and they had already begun to promote in Japan, which was how I knew them.

According to Siwon, DBSK were rarely at the dorm because they were always promoting overseas.

Most of the members ignored me as I went around cleaning the dorms, but some of them, mainly Heechul, Youngwoon and Sungmin made a point of throwing more litter onto the floor. Their immature behaviour was starting to get on my nerves. They could all relax after a day of just dancing and messing around, but I had to walk after them and pick up all of their rubbish, clean their house and make their food.

Not only that, but half of them didn't even call me by my name. Jungsu and Hangeng called me 'maid'. Heechul, Yongwoon, Kibum and Sungmin thought it was hilarious to come up with the most insulting, annoying or embarrassing names possible and see if I would respond. Their favourites included 'dog', 'slave', 'babe' and 'honey'. Oh, and I almost forgot, this is a fun one: ''.

Then there was Jongwoon. I didn't know if he was being mean or whether he just genuinely couldn't remember my name. He called me everything from 'Hen' to 'Nen'. I mean, does that even sound like a real name?

"Hey Ben, can we have something to eat? I'm starving." Jongwoon walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa, in front of the TV.

"It's Jen," I waited for an apology but there was none. "Yeah. What would you like?" I asked patiently.

"Kimchi soup." He said, not looking at me. My heart dropped.

"I'm sorry but I don't know how to make Korean food." I murmured, embarrassed.

He looked at me with annoyance. "Then learn. Quickly."

I bit my lip. I guessed I had to do it. It was part of my job description anyway. I my heel and walked into the kitchen, absolutely clueless about what to do.

Thankfully they had a few recipe books lying around so I was able to find a recipe. I would have to times the ingredients in the recipe by 6 in order to serve 12 people. I checked the cupboards and the fridge and thankfully they had enough ingredients.

I started to cook, not entirely sure if I was doing it right, but hoping that it would taste nice.

It started to smell nice and this scent attracted the Super Junior members to the living room so quickly it was scary. Donghae and Hyukjae came over to ask what it was. So far, along with Siwon and Ryeowook, they seemed to be the nicest towards me so I asked them if I was doing it right.

They tasted the food in the pan, told me what I needed to add and walked back out of the kitchen. I smiled and bowed deeply to them, exceedingly grateful. Although I hadn't even been working there for a day, I already felt like I'd made some enemies, so the fact that there were a couple of people who were being nice to me meant a lot.

I continued cooking with a smile on my face until I'd finally cooked enough for all of Super Junior, plus myself. I served it all onto plates and took them through to the table. The members were already sitting there, laughing and joking. I handed out the plates and stepped back to watch their reaction.

Jongwoon nodded after one bite and continued eating. Siwon and Hyukjae smiled at me after tasting it. I smiled back shyly. However Youngwoon wasn't impressed. He screwed up his nose in disgust and spat it out of his mouth.

"What the hell is this ?" He exploded. I stepped backwards surprised. "Even I make better food than this and it's not my job to cook for twelve busy people." I bowed in apology and lowered my head in shame.

"Hyung." Donghae warned.

"Don't 'Hyung' me!" He shouted across the table. "She's supposed to cook us food that's edible. That's her freaking job! And she screws up on the first day. Tell me I don't have a right to get angry."

I felt my lip tremble. This was too much.

"Hyung, it's not that bad." Kibum muttered. Youngwoon turned towards him, fuming. He opened his mouth furiously.

"Youngwoon she's never cooked Korean food before. Give her a break." Jongwoon spoke without taking his eyes off his food.

Youngwoon looked like he was about to say something else but thought better of it. He stood up, slamming his chopsticks down on the table, and left the room.

I just stood there, not knowing what to do, while everyone continued eating. The atmosphere was considerably more tense, but nobody seemed too bothered.

"Hey. Can you just leave? Please." Jungsu snapped at me. I stepped back, flustered and went back into the kitchen to eat my dinner. As I ate, I heard the laughs and jokes from earlier return.

I hesitated. Youngwoon hadn't eaten anything yet. I knew he hated me but it was my job to look after him, even though I presumed he was older than me.

I put down my bowl and got out some more ingredients. I sighed. What to make...

Everyone else had finished eating and returned to their respective rooms when I finally finished making Youngwoon's food.

I walked into his room and bowed. He looked at me annoyed, so before he could say anything, I set the plate down on his desk.

"I'm very sorry. I know my Korean cooking is not very good, but I think you should eat, so I made you some noodles." I bowed again and left the room. Jungsu and Donghee were standing outside. They nodded at me in approval. I think Donghee even smiled a little. I bowed to them and went to wash the dishes.

It took about half an hour as they didn't have a dishwasher, but when I finally finished, I was able to eat my cold kimchi soup. It was okay, I guess. Nothing special. But I hadn't eaten all day so for me it was divine.

"Jen." Siwon walked into the kitchen. I turned around, surprised.

"Would you like something?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Go home. It's an early start tomorrow. You have to be here at 6am and you haven't unpacked yet."

"But what if-" I thought of the other, more scary members. What if they realised I'd gone home early?

"Don't worry about the others." He assured me.

I hesitated, wondering whether it really was a good idea, but then I remembered how tired I was. Maybe it would be a good idea. I would be able to work harder the next day and have more focus.

I nodded and smiled at him. "Thank you." I whispered.

"No problem." He grinned and walked me to their front door. "See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." I repeated, before I walked out and returned home.

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