Hwayoung certainly looked pale as she followed the last four girls out of the stage and into the kitchen. The projector flickered on, and suddenly we were staring at the school's large kitchen. Four counters and one large counter in the middle filled with all sorts of food and ingredients was there.

"What are we going to do?" You groaned. "What if Hwayoung fails?"

The judge escorting them there stopped them before they walked in. "This is a last-man-standing battle." She said. "You are forbidden to help one another. That is the rule."

Jieun and Kisa looked nervously at Hwayoung, who was starting to shake.

'You may begin." She said, and let them into the kitchen.

"Like I'll help any of you." Krystal sneered as she pushed past them to the counter of food, grabbing whatever she could get her hands on.

Jieun and Kisa did the same, and Hwayoung quickly joined in. She wasn't even sure what she was getting.

Oh, crap! What am I going to do? Yoseob oppa and ~~~~~~~ sunbae and all the other sunbaes are expecting me to do well! And I want to win, so I can kiss.................................AAAAAAGH!!! NO, WAIT!!!! I DON'T WANT TO KISS HYUNSEUNG SUNBAE!!!!! THERE ARE PLENTY OTHER GUYS I CAN KISS!!!!.....................................But who?

Confused and frantic, she grabbed some garlic and started chopping it up haphazardly.

"What's she trying to make?" You whispered to Yoseob.

"Who knows?" He muttered back. "All she knows how to make is popcorn, and that's from a microwave."

Meanwhile, Krystal seemed to be making some sort of salad, Jieun was making some sort of dessert, and Kisa was making pizza.

"Ooooh, pizza is Kisa-ah's specialty!" Dongwoon said quietly. You nodded. "It's delicious. She's going to be competition, that's for sure."

Hwayoung, meanwhile, still didn't know what she was doing. Looking around, everyone was busy. Krystal was slicing tomatoes for the salad. Jieun was making homemade chocolate mousse, and Kisa was already putting the dough and cheese in the oven.

"She's not doing anything." You whispered, mortified. "She doesn't know what she's doing! What's going to happen to her?"

"~~~~~~-ah, be a bit more faithful." Hyunseung said quietly. "I'm sure Hwayoung-sshi will get an idea. She's much more capable than you realize."

You and Yoseob stared at him in wonder.

What am I going to do?!!!

Jieun and Kisa looked at her, worried, but Hwayoung shook her head. They weren't allowed to help her.

Looking around nervously, Hwayoung ran to the counter for more ingredients just as Krystal was going to get another tomato. They crashed headlong into each other, Hwayoung being strangely clumsy. The tomato fell to the floor.

"Oh, great! Now it's bruised!" Krystal snapped crankily. "I can't use it for my salad! Good going, Hwayoung!"

"S-s-sorry....." Hwayoung stammered meekly. But Krystal wasn't done ranting.

"Why did you even enter this competition anyway? Who are you planning on kissing?"

"N-no one....." Hwayoung stammered again, blushing.

Krystal flipped her hair and sneered at her. "Then why did you even enter this contest? If you don't have any motivation to win, then there's no point for you being here!" With a flounce, she grabbed the bruised tomato anyway and stalked back to her counter.

Hwayoung was still splayed out on the floor, thinking hard. Unknowingly, Krystal just gave her some good advice.

What am I doing here? If I didn't want to kiss someone, why did I even bother joining? I need motivation in order to win.............

She immediately thought of Hyunseung, and her resolve firmed. Determined, she stood up and walked briskly over to the counter. She looked around, thinking hard.

Then she had it----she remembered something from when she was eight years old.

Yoseob was on a school trip and Hyunki was gone somewhere, and she was all alone in the mansion. She spent the time lying on the floor of the large kitchen, drawing pictures. Meanwhile, servants bustled around to cook lunch.

Soon, the smell began to get the better of Hwayoung. She stood up and walked over to the stove, where the chef was busy stirring something in the pot.

"What is it?" She demanded.

"It's spaghetti, Hwayoung-sshi." The chef said cheerfully. "You see? You boil the spaghetti sticks until their noodle-like and soft. You add tomato sauce, too. And you stir it so it doesn't get stuck."

Hwayoung watched, fascinated, as the pot of spaghetti smelled better and better as it cooked. "I want to try." She interrupted.

"As you wish." The chef said happily, lifting Hwayoung up so she could stir the pot. It was awkward since it was her first time cooking anything, but she did it for a long time until the chef said "That oughta be good enough, miss. Now we add some vegetables to give it more flavour. And meatballs!"

The chef let Hwayoung put everything in and stir some more. When it was done, the chef told Hwayoung to let it sit and then they'll eat it for lunch.

The door opened and Yoseob called out "I'm home, Hwayoung!"

Hwayoung ran to the door and tackled the nine-year-old Yoseob into a bear hug. "Oppa!" She squealed. "I cooked food!"

"You did?" Yoseob said admiringly. "No way! What is it?"

"Spaghetti!" She pulled Yoseob into the dining room. A few minutes later, Hyunki appeared, lured by the smell of the food.

The chef served the three of them the spaghetti. "Is it good, oppa? Is it good?" She asked excitedly and nervously.

Yoseob ate a large mouthful and grinned. "It's delicious, Hwayoung. How about we'll make our own spaghetti someday, the two of us. Okay?"

"Okay, oppa!" Hwayoung said happily.

Almost as if she was possessed, Hwayoung searched through the ingredients until she pulled out a box of spaghetti sticks. She opened it, took out a pot, filled it with some water, and poured the spaghetti sticks inside. At the same time, she found a large jar of tomato sauce and took that to her counter as well.

"What's she doing?" You wondered.

Yoseob grinned. "I think she finally remembered how to make a dish."

Hyunseung smiled, but said nothing. He watched the screen intently.

After a while, the noodels were soft, and Hwayoung poured the tomato sauce inside. She stirred it carefully, let it sit, stirred it again, let it sit. She added the garlic she chopped too. She added in more cut vegetables and stirred. Meanwhile, Krystal was putting the finishing touches on her salad. Jieun was adding the homemade chocolate mousse to her mini cheesecake, and Kisa was adding mushrooms and pepperoni slices to her pizza.

"Two minutes left until the time is up." A voice spoke out from the speakers above them.

Hwayoung was nervous again. The spagetthi wasn't cooked long enough, but there was nothing else she could do. She grabbed the pot and poured some onto a plate. The meatballs were added later, and then she sprinkled the cheese she grated over it.

"Times up!" The voice said just as she put on the finishing touches. "The judges will now be entering the kitchen."

The judges walked in and began to eat the food.

Krystal:

Kisa:

Jieun:

Hwayoung:

The judges tasted each one and whispered to each other as the girls clustered next to each other nervously.

Finally, a judge cleared his throat and spoke loudly and clearly so everyone, including the people still in the auditorium,  hear.

"We have decided. The winner of the Miss Cube contest is................................"

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Cliffhanger!!!! LOLS. :)

Anyhoo, you won't believe how much my mouth watered when I was searching up gourmet cheesecakes for Jieun's picture. They looked SO DAMN DELICIOUS!!!!!