~Chapter 45 – Candy & Fondant~

            “Let’s get this mess going!” grinned Chanyeol as he stood before Sehun and Luhan with all his candy making gear.

            “Yeah, this lesson will be the best!” cheered along Baekhyun.

            Luhan raised an eyebrow amusingly at Baekhyun’s statement.

            Baekhyun noticed and laughed “Okay maybe the lesson will just be average like the others’ lessons but we’ll definitely be entertaining!”

            Sehun eyed Baekhyun and Chanyeol warily; knowing how rowdy the two could easily get, Sehun wondered who would end up being the ones entertained at the end of this lesson.

            “Yes! That’s definitely for sure!” agreed Chanyeol as he pecked Baekhyun quickly and ushered the shorter out of the kitchen station “Now Chanyeol’s candy making lesson will begin!”

            Baekhyun applauded with a giggle and prodded Luhan who was sitting next to him, having the older join in on the applause too. Sehun simply stared blankly, as Chanyeol gave a bow and grinned.

            “Thank you! Now let’s really get started, I’ll be showing you guys tips on how to make pulled sugar!” Chanyeol turned back to his supplies and began pouring the cup of sugar that had been set on the side into a medium pot along with some water “Okay so when you guys combine the sugar and water make sure there’s just a bit less water than the sugar because we want to make a syrup not a soup.”

            “So a smaller water ratio to sugar is better in this case?” asked Sehun to clarify.

            “Yes,” nodded Chanyeol “It’s important to get the measurements and ratios correct in order to make the pulled sugar.” He reached over to grab a bottle with white powder in it “Then you have to add the cream of tartar, this raises the acid level of the entire mixture and helps the sugar to crystallize it’s a very important ingredient but you only need to add about a few drops depending on how much you’re making, so all you have to do is mix it with a bit of water before hand as the sugar boils. The same goes for the corn syrup it gives the candy a shine that’s appealing to the eyes.”

            Sehun and Luhan nodded taking the note down mentally.

            Chanyeol turned to place the pot of sugar and water on to the stove top to heat up, afterwards going to make the cream of tartar with water mixture. When the sugar seemed to have boiled just right, Chanyeol stuck a candy thermometer in to it “Temperature is also really important factor too so it's best to use a candy thermometer, and luckily the sugar is just the right temperature right now.” He put in a few drops and mixed it into the boiling sugar lightly.

            “Now after this heats for a bit longer we can add in the color or flavor that we want for the candy, so any requests?” asked Chanyeol with a smile.

            “Ooo how about red and cherry flavor?” asked Luhan excitedly.

            Chanyeol smiled at Luhan before lifting up two small green droppers “Alright green and lime flavor it is!”

            Luhan’s expression fell to a pout “Why ask if you were going to pick!?”

            “Well I was going to let my audience participate but then I realized I couldn’t find the other colorings or flavors,” answered Chanyeol sheepishly, “except of course for green and lime flavor, haha.”

            “Just consider it lucky that Chanyeol found a normal flavor for us to eat, you have no idea how often he experiments with flavors,” muttered Baekhyun under his breath so Luhan and Sehun could hear.

            “But-,” Luhan stopped his protest when he saw the seriousness in Baekhyun’s expression.

            “Have you ever tried almond licorice dragon fruit flavor?” asked Baekhyun.

            Luhan gave Baekhyun an incredulous look “I didn’t even know that existed!”

            “Well let me tell you it apparently does and guess who made the candy and guess who tried it?” sassed Baekhyun.

            Sehun and Luhan both gave pitying looks to Baekhyun.

            “Exactly,” shuddered Baekhyun who was probably reliving the nightmare taste.

            Luhan now had a relieved look on his face as Chanyeol added the coloring and flavoring to the boiling sugar, mixing it in.

            When the sugar reached the right temperature Chanyeol took out a special candy mat and turned the heat of the sugar off. Picking up the pot of melted sugar candy, Chanyeol poured it on the top of the mat “Now we have to let this cool for a few seconds until it’ll be malleable and easier to handle because it’s really hot right now, you’re going to need to put on these heat proof cooking gloves to make sure you don’t burn yourself.”

            Chanyeol put the gloves on and then took the candy into his hands, swiftly rolling the glob of bright green candy and pulling it out to stretch and twist it back in and roll again, repeating the steps a few more times, Chanyeol was able to make a thin rod of the candy. He cut that piece off and shaped it in to a heart, happy with his overall work, a cheesy smile on his face, he handed the heart shaped candy to Baekhyun. “A sweet for my sweet,” Chanyeol said cheesily.

            Baekhyun couldn’t help but grin back at Chanyeol excepting the candy that the other was handing to him “Thanks Chanyeol but you’re the sweetest,” reaching over to Chanyeol, Baekhyun pulled on the taller’s collar bringing their lips together in a kiss.

            “And I’m getting cavities,” muttered Sehun.

            Luhan heard what Sehun said and giggled “Even so you can never have too many sweets.”

            Sehun gave a light snort as he thought ‘That only applies to your sweets, Luhan.’

            The noise however caught Chanyeol’s attention as he was finally released from Baekhyun’s grasp, the sight of the younger seemed to have brought an idea to Chanyeol’s mind “Sehun, why don’t you give pulling candy a try? Luhan can go after you. In order to be able to pull candy well you need to be able to stay completely focused that way it reduces any mistakes or possibly injuring yourself due to the high temperature of the candy, you don’t want to burn yourself, this would be good practice. Consider this a bonus sub-lesson, Baekhyun and I will try to distract you but you need to concentrate and make the heart shaped candy like the one I made for Baekhyun.”

            “Sure,” replied Sehun without complaint as Chanyeol handed the heat proof gloves to him.

            As Sehun put on the gloves, Luhan helped to fold Sehun’s shirt sleeves upwards so they wouldn’t get in the way, causing the two to miss the mischievous look that Baekhyun and Chanyeol shared.

            Sehun stood behind the counter, hand taking hold of the candy glob the same way Chanyeol had and he began pulling and stretching it.

            After the third twist of the green candy blob, Baekhyun spoke up “So do you two need some other tips too aside from the dessert lessons? Like bedroom tips for your fun times together?”

            The poor innocent candy that was in Sehun’s hands was instantly smooshed together between the maknae’s palms as Luhan made incoherent noises.

            “WHAT!?” spluttered Luhan who turned completely bright red as he shot Baekhyun a gaping expression, “NO, WAIT, DON’T REPEAT THAT!”

            Sehun who seemed twice as embarrassed at Baekhyun’s sudden question unconsciously squished the candy tighter in his hands.

            “Um, Sehun that’s not how you make pulled candy,” pointed out Chanyeol trying to hold back his laughter.

            Baekhyun however didn’t restrain himself as he howled with laughter at Luhan and Sehun’s expressions as he teased “Remember you need to remain focused, Sehun.”

            Sehun shot Baekhyun a glare and resumed what he was doing, feeling too embarrassed to actually make a rebuttal to the other.

            After Sehun worked the candy with his hands a few more times, he began to pull it to stretch it out creating a long strip of ca