A/n: I swear this will only be two parts. And the second part will come soon. (I hope.) Enjoy the fluff, it is rare and won't be found from me much. Only for you, my love~ (You know who you are.)

Jongin wasn’t sure how he had messed up so badly. Again. There was smoke everywhere and the smoke detector was making sure he knew it (as if he couldn’t guess as he was choking for oxygen) and he was passed the point of panicking – this happened far too often for him to really bat an eye at – as he searched for oven mitts to attempt to pull out the dying remains of his attempted dinner.

As he did so, he heard spluttering and grumbling, telltale signs that his roommate had just arrived in on the mess. He sounded more annoyed than anything as he went to crack open windows; they were both very used to this situation.

“Why?” Jongin groaned as he caught sight of his very blackened pizza. At least it wasn’t on fire anymore. “Why does this always happen?”

“Why do you always try to make things?” his roommate, Sehun, returned irritably from the other room. “You , and you aren’t any less, and all you’re accomplishing is a lot of . For everyone on the planet’s sake, you need to stop trying to cook.” When he had all the windows open, he headed into the kitchen to see the damage today, hands over his ears. Though the smoke detector was still beeping shrilly, he laughed at the charcoaled pizza.

“I’m not eating that,” he told Jongin. The beeping finally cut off a moment later, and Jongin groaned in relief while Sehun went to the freezer and pulled out a new pizza. “There’s a reason I bought two.”

“You bought two because they were on sale, jerk.”

“Whatever.” Sehun dodged his arm as Jongin tried to cuff him one.

“Is there any reason you couldn’t wait for me to get home so we didn’t have to waste the extra money?” Sehun asked. “You seriously have managed to destroy every meal this week. Where has all your laziness gone?”

Sehun was right. By now, Jongin would have long since given up. He tried to cook things now and then, but always failed, and wouldn’t bother again for a while. But this was the fourth time this week he’d attempted making dinner for them (and the fourth time he’d almost burned the place down), and he was still determined to do something right. Why did he have to be cursed with such a great lack in skills? He was pretty sure he had never done anything to deserve such a brutal punishment.

When Jongin didn’t give an answer, Sehun looked back at him, an eyebrow raised judgmentally until he caught sight of Jongin’s serious face.

“Bro, seriously, what’s up with you? Don’t tell me you’re having some… mid-mid-life crisis about this. I thought we had already accepted that you’re like, really bad with food and I was gonna be the one to make us stuff. And you can fill the place with flowers and tell me all about them as if I actually care.”

Jongin didn’t miss him when he swung at him the second time. “Shut up.” It wasn’t his fault he worked in a flower shop. It was his parents’ place, and it had been an easy job for him to get when he’d been sixteen. And then he’d just… never left. He didn’t have a reason to. His parents owned two shops in the city, and three in bordering towns, and Jongin was basically the only person who ever worked at his place, so he got a lot of hours (and good wages from doting parents). He could pay his bills and buy his food; there wasn’t much else he needed. Still, Sehun liked to make fun of him for it regularly. “Jerk.”

“Really though, what’s got you all into this whole thing now?” Sehun was still badgering. “Are you tired of living off ramen when I’m not around to cook for you?”

Jongin shook his head (though it was a little true). “I’m not saying. You’ll just laugh at me because you’re a huge jerk and a crappy best friend.”

“That’s not-” He cut himself off at the glare Jongin shot his way. “Alright, but you’re not any better.” Jongin shrugged. “Okay, but if I promise I won’t-”

“Your promises are meaningless, Oh Sehun,” Jongin told him. This was a fact. Sehun was, above everything, a liar and a brat. He liked to manipulate people (aka, Jongin) to getting his way and to ruining Jongin’s life, and Jongin fell for it too often, even if he knew better. And no, he was not letting this be one of those times.

“I swear on my mother’s life I won’t laugh,” Sehun said, eyes sincere.

“Your mother is going to die, then.” He was swatted with the pizza box, but Sehun still waited. “I’m not doing it. And that’s not gonna work on me,” Jongin added as Sehun brought out the pout. This was a far overused card on Jongin, but Sehun wasn’t giving up. He stopped everything else and turned, facing Jongin full-on, crossing his arms and waiting with a sad face. “Fine!” Jongin threw his hands up. “There’s this cute guy-”

“Knew it!” Sehun cried, grinning triumphantly. A second later, the smirk slid off his face. “Wait, guy?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jongin felt his ears growing a bit warm. It wasn’t like this was a big surprise; Sehun knew he liked guys.

“Oh.” Sehun looked a tiny bit more somber. “It’s, um… been a while, huh?”

They didn’t talk about The Last One. The last guy Jongin had liked. It hadn’t ended well, and Jongin had kind of been a mess for like, six months after that. The topic was a bit taboo in the house, and they never said his name. That was only part of why it was a big deal though, that Jongin had found a new guy interest.

Jongin was totally fine with being bi, and he was also totally used to liking both girls and guys. But for some reason, whenever he liked guys, it was always like, a super serious, all-or-nothing kind of deal. In other words, every single time he gave his all and got nothing in the end. With girls, he always seemed to have reasonable relationships, but with guys it was… well, Jongin went a bit crazy. And he knew it, very well, but that didn’t stop him from being over-the-top when it came to guy crushes and guy relationships. He hadn’t chosen this life, okay?

“So, anyway,” Sehun went on. “Who is this guy and what does he have to do with your terrible cooking life?”

So far, Jongin was doing well. Sehun hadn’t laughed yet, but Jongin hadn’t told him the worst of it. “No laughing,” he warned again. Sehun mimed zipping his lips shut. “Well. This guy comes into the shop sometimes and – I said no laughing!”

Jumping back with an evil grin, Sehun held his hands up innocently. “I’m not laughing!” he protested. “I’m just – smiling pleasantly at your great love story!”

“Oh please! You don’t smile pleasantly, Sehun. The only time you smile is when you’re mocking my pain! I’m not telling you anything more, then; you lost your chance.”

“Come on, Jonginnie, I wanna hear all about it,” Sehun whined, mocking him.

“Don’t call me that,” Jongin grumbled. “I’m your elder.”

“Sorry, gramps. Ow!” Now Jongin was the one grinning as Sehun held his abused shoulder. “Okay, you got me, now tell me about him.”

Jongin was scowling as he did. “He just like, comes in and buys flowers sometimes, and we talk sometimes and stuff and like… one time he mentioned he was looking for a girl who can cook as well as him and I might be trying to learn so I can impress him?” Oh gosh, he sounded so lame. He anticipated Sehun’s stupid obnoxious everything that was coming his way.

Surprisingly, Sehun wasn’t so bad. “Well, as totally – I’m not even gonna touch how much of a loser you are-” He was jumping out of the way of another attack as he spoke. “-Anyway, you did catch the part where he said girls, right? That probably means he wouldn’t be interested in you, Jong.”

As if Jongin hadn’t thought about that a billion times. “I know,” he mumbled. But there was a chance, right? Even if it was tiny, he still had to hold on to that until he got confirmation of otherwise. Sehun seemed to hear his thoughts.

“It’s alright,” he said comfortingly. “You never know. Unless you do?” Jongin shook his head. “You’ll have to ask him, then. Another thing, though – do you even know his name?”

“Of course!” Jongin answered hastily. “Do you think I’d be serious about some guy I don’t even know the name of?”

Sehun raised an eyebrow, seeming a bit less than convinced. “Did he actually tell you, or did you just read it off his credit card?”

Jongin felt himself blushing, and Sehun was smart to take a step away from him as he snapped, “Shut up.” Stupid jerk best friend.

“

It had been a very slow day at the shop, and Jongin was strongly considering closing up early. Wednesdays were never very busy, anyway, and it was far deader than usual, and there was only half an hour left until closing anyway. No one would even come in, probably.

He was very grateful that he decided to keep the place open, because just twenty minutes before the day ended, a customer did indeed come in, and Jongin’s heart skipped when he recognized the familiar face.

“Hello,” he greeted, trying not to sound awkward (unsuccessfully) at the appearance of the totally gorgeous guy that he was totally crushing on. Seriously, they’d met like, half a dozen times. The guy came in once a month, chatted a bit while choosing some flowers, and then left. Five minutes every few weeks, and Jongin was feeling whipped. Ridiculous.

“Hi Jongin,” he was answered cheerily, and it was silly for Jongin to get so excited over the fact that his eyes hadn’t glanced down to his nametag today.

“Hi.” Jongin’s voice cracked slightly, and he kind of hated himself. “It’s Kyungsoo, right?” As if he didn’t actually know.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo smiled warmly. Today, he didn’t wander through all the plants, though, just staying at the desk, and it made Jongin a bit nervous. Was there any chance he had just come in to see Jongin? “I’m in a bit of a hurry today, kind of running late. But do you have those – the purple flowers? I don’t remember their name, sorry.”

There were a lot of purple flowers in the world, and that was so not helpful, but Jongin knew what he meant anyway. “Hydrangeas?” he offered, and Kyungsoo’s face lit up, smile widening as he nodded. Kyungsoo had expressed his interest in the flowers before, and Jongin was creepy and happened to remember it. “Of course, I’ll go get them for you.”

“Thanks!” Jongin was kind of (very) disappointed that Kyungsoo wasn’t here to visit, but he supposed that was to be expected. He was lucky Kyungsoo had remembered his name. (Which, Jongin thought, was kind of nice because the boy could remember that but not the name of the flowers he liked. It was something, anyway.)

Still, it wasn’t time for those kind of thoughts; he had a job to do and Kyungsoo had said he was in a hurry. He probably had a date or something to be at. Jongin hurried over to where he knew the hydrangeas were and grabbed a bunch, taking them back to the desk.

“So, are these for your girlfriend, then?” Jongin asked lightly, as if he was just trying to make conversation and not being a total stalker.

Kyungsoo laughed. “No, no. I’m having dinner with my students. I like to have flowers to make my place look nicer.”

Students? “You’re a bit young to be a teacher, aren’t you?” Jongin wondered as he wrapped the flowers and rang up the price, secretly adding a discount.

“They’re from my cooking class,” Kyungsoo explained. Jongin was too slow hiding his reaction, and Kyungsoo looked a tiny bit embarrassed.  “It’s just a thing I did for a joke, but then it turned out it was pretty fun, and I make good money from it. It’s an all-guys thing, and I’m not a pro or anything, I just teach the basics, but… It pays the bills and, yeah…”

“That’s really cool,” Jongin couldn’t hold back from saying. Kyungsoo looked surprised.

“Really?”

“Yeah, where can I sign up?” Jongin asked, jokingly. He was pretty sure he was joking.

Kyungsoo didn’t seem so sure. “You would – really? You’d join?”

Oh gosh, he was taking him seriously, and Jongin couldn’t tell him he’d been kidding because Kyungsoo actually seemed kind of – not hopeful, exactly, but… happy at the idea that Jongin might actually be interested.

“Yeah – yeah, sure,” Jongin nodded. “I mean – I’m actually really brutal when it comes to food, unless I’m eating it. My roommate would be overjoyed if I took some classes so I could at least make some decent ramen.”

Kyungsoo broke into a precious smile. “Great! Do you have a pen? I can write down all the details for you.” Jongin was a bit dazed. This had all just happened. This was all happening right now and woah, woah, he could be getting to spend time with Kyungsoo more often. Somehow, he conjured a pen and spare paper, and then Kyungsoo was jotting down an address and times – Thursdays at seven; Jongin internally cleared his Thursday evenings for the next twenty years.

“The place is a restaurant downtown, we just borrow their kitchen since they’re closed in the evenings,” Kyungsoo was explaining, Jongin only half listening as he watched Kyungsoo adding his number at the bottom. “If you get lost or need anything, just call me, my phone’s always on me.” Jongin just nodded, at a loss for words. How had he actually managed to do this? Was this actually real?

Sehun’s gonna kill me.

He was still speechless when Kyungsoo left, having forgotten to pay for his flowers.

“

“No, I can’t do it. This is a bad idea and I’ve changed my mind, I’m not going.”

“Jongin, you’re not gonna be a total wimp about this.”

“Yes I am. I’m a wimp, I’m wimpy and weak and pathetic, I don’t care. I’m still not going.”

“I swear to God, Jongin-”

Jongin now had less than an hour until Kyungsoo’s cooking class started, and he was sitting on the couch at home, refusing to give in to Sehun’s badgering to get him to go. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t spend that much time with Kyungsoo, doing the thing he was absolutely brutal at and making a total fool of himself. No thanks. He could stay home and feel sorry for himself.

“Just think about it,” Sehun was going on. “I mean, every time you mess up, you can be all, ‘Senpai, help me! Show me how to do it, transfer all your talents to me with your tongue-‘”

“Sehun!”

Sehun snorted. “Okay, maybe that’s not day one stuff, but still. You have to go and have him teach you his ways. He’s the one who asked you to come, right? You’d be a total jerk if you stood him up like that.”

“It’s not a date, Sehun,” Jongin returned. “I’m not going.”

“Fine then, have fun next time he comes into the shop and is totally heartbroken and wondering why you never showed.”

Ugh. Jongin hadn’t thought of that, and he didn’t want to now. He could just picture Kyungsoo’s face, all disappointed and just… Dang it Sehun.

“Okay, okay,” he huffed, officially hating his best friend at the two-hundred percent level. Seriously. “I’ll go – if you come with me.” He grinned, knowing he’d won this. As if Sehun would go to a stupid cooking class. (It was stupid to Sehun, not Jongin.)

Jongin did not like the way Sehun was smirking. He wouldn’t actually… “Deal.” His jaw dropped. “I’ll take you up on that. No take-backs. I wanna meet Mr. Romeo anyway, see what he’s like and everything. And I’ll get to laugh at you the whole time while you ruin your own life. Were you thinking I wouldn’t want to go for some reason?” Sehun added, and Jongin hated his life so much. “Because everything about this screams perfect for Sehun. And hey, maybe I’ll learn some new cooking tricks or something.”

This was so unfair.

“

They showed up at the restaurant bearing its “closed” sign with a note underneath saying, “Do Kyungsoo’s Cooking Lessons”. He wouldn’t have gone in if Sehun hadn’t already left him standing outside the door. Jongin could not let Sehun be alone near Kyungsoo for any amount of time, or there would be very bad consequences (both for him and Sehun). So instead, he hurried in after the other, grumbling about nothing as he had the whole way there.

Sehun was already through the restaurant, heading towards what was obviously the kitchen door. Jongin’s heart was beating faster with each step, and he reached the younger at the door, where Sehun was waiting. There were sounds coming from the other side, soft chattering. Jongin pulled out his phone and checked the time; still a few minutes early. When he pocketed it again, Sehun gestured at the door to say, You first, and Jongin took a deep breath before pushing his way in.

There were nearly ten people scattered around the room, washing their hands or pulling on aprons or organizing the area on the counter in front of them. The conversation seemed to be flowing amongst them all casually, as though they were all familiar with one another. Jongin was suddenly far more grateful for Sehun’s attendance; at least if he was the outsider, he wasn’t alone.

At the sound of the door, heads turned to take in the new guests, but Jongin did his best to ignore them, eyes searching for the one face he would recognize. It wasn’t hard to find him. When Jongin came in, Kyungsoo glanced his way and then gave a wide smile, immediately heading towards him and Sehun, leaving behind whoever he’d been talking to a second before.

“You actually came!”

Jongin felt a bit fuzzy at how happy Kyungsoo sounded just because he’d showed up. “Of course,” he mumbled, offering a shy smile. “Is it okay that I brought my roommate with me? He said he wanted to, y’know, check it out too. This is Sehun,” he introduced without looking the other’s way. He could feel the look Sehun was giving him without having to actually see it. “Sehun, this is Kyungsoo.”

“Do I call you sunsaengnim, then?” Sehun joked, and Kyungsoo gave a laugh.

“No, just Kyungsoo is fine,” he assured him. “You two can go on down to the end, we’ll start in a second.” Jongin nodded and quickly obeyed, Sehun following after him.

“Do you think he’ll let me call him senpai?” Sehun uttered as they went. “Or are you the only one with that privilege?” A second later, he was whining as Jongin’s arm swung out to hit him in the stomach. “Ouch! You have become way too violent with me lately, this needs to stop.”

“You need to stop,” Jongin hissed back. “You’re a total brat, you know that?” Sehun only winked, proving his point.

A moment later Kyungsoo was calling everyone’s attention and briefly introducing Jongin and Sehun to the others. Then he told them all to start off with a really easy task, to make a green onion pancake for him to assess, and then he would go over everyone’s individually with them. After he was done that, he went over to Jongin, offering a reassuring smile.

“Pancakes aren’t hard, right?” he asked lightly.

“Trust me, for Jongin, cereal is hard,” Sehun put in before Jongin could say a word. Jongin shot him a glare, but Kyungsoo’s smile widened.

“That’s okay, I’ll help you out then,” Kyungsoo promised Jongin. Then to Sehun he added, “It won’t be too much for you, will it? You can always ask me for help.”

“I think Jongin will be taking up most of your time,” Sehun replied. “But I’ll survive. I’m not as bad as him.”

Jongin was blushing and frustrated by this point because really, Sehun, was it so necessary for him to keep throwing him under the bus like that? He was making him sound like Korea’s Worst Cook or something. But somehow, this only seemed to encourage Kyungsoo.

“No worries, Jongin-ssi,” he smiled. “I might not be the best but I can show you all the basic stuff. You’ll be doing great in no time.” Then he moved over to an empty spot on the counter. Jongin followed, and Kyungsoo’s eyes were on him expectantly, as if waiting for him to start. “What do you need to make a pancake?” he asked lightly.

“Um, a pan?” Jongin offered. “And pancake mix.”

“Yes, but we like to make things here from scratch, so there is no pancake mix,” Kyungsoo told him amusedly. Jongin just said that he had no idea what to do, then, hoping Kyungsoo would just explain it all for him. But Kyungsoo wasn’t letting him get away so easily. “What do you think is in pancake mix?”

“Flour?” he guessed, and Kyungsoo nodded encouragingly. “And, I dunno, water.”

“You can use water, but we’ll use milk, okay? It makes it better.” After that, Kyungsoo instructed him to get out a bowl and walked him through everything he needed to do, and it really wasn’t so hard. He figured if all the ingredients were written down, he could do this again. All there was to it was mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. But he knew that was the easy part; what was hard was not destroying the pancake once the heat was on.

Immediately after Kyungsoo told him to turn on the burner in front of them, he started laughing and Jongin felt embarrassment, even though he didn’t know what Kyungsoo was finding so funny. The smaller gently reached forward and turned the burner’s heat down to half of what Jongin had had it at.

“You’re going to burn it at that heat,” Kyungsoo said softly.

“Yeah but it takes longer when it’s down low like that,” Jongin argued, trying not to sound whiny. He just didn’t like waiting forever for his food, wasn’t that understandable?

“For some things, you have to be patient, Jongin-ssi,” Kyungsoo replied, and his smile reached his eyes and made Jongin melt a bit. “And in cooking, a lot of things require a long time, but that’s how they turn out really well.”

And Jongin appreciated the thought, but he still was not the patient type. “I officially know why I can’t cook,” he announced. “I am impatient and needy. The whole waiting thing isn’t… me.”

Kyungsoo just patted his back lightly, sending waves through Jongin’s nerves. “You’ll learn,” he promised.

At the very least, Jongin would try. For Kyungsoo.

“

Meanwhile, Sehun was watching from the opposite counter in amusement as Jongin got all flushed and flustered every time Kyungsoo spoke to him. At one point Jongin turned, undoubtedly feeling Sehun’s gaze on him, and shooed him away with his hand in annoyance. Sehun just laughed, turning back to his counter area. Unlike everyone else’s there was nothing there. Sure, he’d said he’d come with Jongin, but he didn’t actually care about the cooking part.

“Do you need some help?”

Sehun raised an eyebrow, turning to see another guy – the one beside him – who was indeed speaking to him. Right. He’d forgotten about clueless onlookers, who undoubtedly thought he was some hopeless newbie and desperately seeking Kyungsoo’s attention too.

The guy offered him a grin at his success of gaining Sehun’s interest. “I’m like, totally helpful. I can run you through everything no problem.”

Who was this guy? Sehun frowned, unsure if this guy was joking with him or not (he really couldn’t tell). “No thanks,” he declined, because that was his answer either way. “I’m just here Jongin-watching.”

“Who what?” the other’s brow furrowed, and Sehun pointed towards Jongin’s back.

“That guy I came here with. I only came because he asked me to, since he – uh, he’s friends with Kyungsoo, sort of.” Even if Sehun liked to tease Jongin about things, he wasn’t about to tell this stranger about Jongin’s crush or whatever. He wasn’t that mean.

“Oh,” the guy replied, looking a tiny bit put out, though he added with enthusiasm, “I’m like Kyungsoo’s best friend. I don’t think I know your friend – what was his name again?”

“Jongin.”

“And what was yours?”

“Sehun,” he answered. “It hasn’t changed,” he added, just to be a jerk, picking out the other’s grammar. Not that he’d actually told the guy his name in the first place, but still, his name was and always would be the same.

“Sehun,” the guy repeated, unfazed by Sehun’s comment. “Right. I’m Chanyeol.”

I didn’t ask. Sehun didn’t say that, because it was just natural for people to give their names after they’d asked someone else’s. Also, a thought was occurring to him, and it would likely be better for him to be nice if he wanted to talk to this Chanyeol about it. So he offered something of a smile and said, “You know a lot about Kyungsoo, then, being his best friend and all.”

“Of course,” Chanyeol nodded eagerly as Sehun finally seemed to be brightening towards him. “He’s like a little brother. I’ve known him for years, we know all each other’s secrets. Not that we really have any secrets. I’m a really open guy.” There was the tiniest implication of… something in his words that Sehun decided to ignore.

“Then, would you be able to tell me something about him?” Sehun wondered, and earned another nod. Sehun’s voice dropped as he went on. “Does Kyungsoo like guys, by chance?”

Chanyeol’s playful manner dropped in an instance, and Sehun was worried for a second just how much he’d offended the practical stranger. Maybe gay wasn’t a thing Chanyeol talked about; maybe he was super homophobic to the point where the suggestion of it disgusted him. Did those kinds of people actually exist? He knew people weren’t always gay friendly around their – well, country, but…

Then again, hadn’t Sehun just thought Chanyeol was hitting on him? Maybe he was just protective of his little brother. “Why, are you interested in him?”

Sehun was shaking his head before he could even process the – was that disappointment or hopeful eagerness, or somehow, maybe, both? – in Chanyeol’s features. “Definitely not,” Sehun assured him. “I mean – being with Jongin as long as I have, obviously I’m not against it. But yeah, no, I don’t even know Kyungsoo.”

Again with that let-down excitement look. How did he even express both at once? “You’re – you’re with him?”

“Pardon me?” Sehun backtracked, trying to think of what he’d said to suggest that, and then his eyes widened. “Oh – ew, no. Gosh no. I meant like – we’ve been roommates for years. I’ve gotten used to him being sometimes-gay or whatever. But I would never – no.” Not that he didn’t love Jongin – which he would never actually admit – but he didn’t ever even want to think about Jongin romantically, whether he was a y… guy or not. His dorkiness far outweighed his iness, and just. Jongin was Sehun’s best friend. That was it.

“So, you and him aren’t – and you don’t like Kyungsoo-?”

“No – is Kyungsoo gay or not?” Oops. He said that a bit loud, but fortunately when he glanced at the other, Kyungsoo was preoccupied with Jongin and paid no notice.

Chanyeol bit his lip, seeming hesitant. “Well, if he was, it’s not really up for me to tell people who he doesn’t even know about it. But… he’s not.”

All that effort, just to be disappointed. Well, Sehun could hardly say he didn’t try. Poor Jongin. But maybe the Kyungsoo guy would be gullible enough to fall for Jongin’s good looks, rethink his attraction to the male . Jongin really was attractive, as long as he didn’t start talking and let all his dorkiness ruin everything for him. Sehun would have to let him know that (even though he had a million times already).

For the rest of class, Sehun didn’t really make any much attempts of talking to Chanyeol, but Chanyeol made conversation with him anyway. And Sehun could tell he was flirting but he didn’t tell him off for it, and he blamed Jongin for that; Chanyeol might tell Kyungsoo that Sehun was a jerk and then Kyungsoo might reflect that onto Jongin, who knows. Look at how nice I am. I have to put up with all this for your sake, he thought with a glare towards Jongin’s back.

The class went for over two hours, and Sehun was exhausted and overjoyed when it ended, because Chanyeol talked a lot and Sehun hadn’t actually had any trouble with anything Kyungsoo had asked them to do. He couldn’t even say it was all worth it because Jongin didn’t seem to be in much of a better mood as they walked home either.

“What’s up with you?” Sehun asked him as he shoulders seemed to only slump further and further.

“I at everything,” Jongin sighed, sounding pitiful. “Even Kyungsoo thinks I was terrible. I mean, he didn’t say it, but it was obvious. I’m probably like the worst student he’s ever had.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Sehun agreed, and Jongin frowned at him.

“You’re supposed to cheer me up,” he groaned. “Gosh, you’re so useless.”

“I just came to your stupid class and had to endure the most annoying guy ever for your sake, thank you!” Sehun shot. “He like, guilted me into coming back again, even though I refused a hundred times. I’m not going, by the way. He wasn’t even subtle, like he was obviously trying to hook up with me. I couldn’t even tell him to screw off, since he’s Kyungsoo’s best friend. You’re freaking welcome.”

Jongin finally seemed to perk up at that. “His best friend? Liked you? As in, gay like? You don’t think that means Kyu-”

“Don’t bother,” Sehun cut him off. “I already asked. He said Kyungsoo was straight.” Jongin went back to being miserable again. “I think this one’s a dead-end, man. Might as well start looking for someone else.”

With a sigh, Jongin gave a non-committal, “Yeah,” and Sehun knew he was far from giving up yet. Of course.

Why did his best friend have to be so stubborn?

“

The next week Jongin spent being really miserable, and endlessly trying to make things again. Especially pancakes; he made at least twenty pancakes, about two of which were socially acceptable. He really did try not turning the stove to full heat, but he’d always end up cranking it eventually because it was just so slow. He hated sitting there watching it; he got impatient and would flip it too soon, or would leave it alone for too long and come back to find it charred. Who even had time for stuff like this?

“Ugh!” he yelled out in frustration Thursday afternoon, after flipping his pancake too soon and turning it into a blobby mess. He turned off the stove and the pan off the hot element, leaving it there and storming off to his room, falling on his bed and punching his pillow.

“You okay man?” Sehun called from his room across the hall.

“No!” came Jongin’s voice, muffled by his pillow. “I’m not going tonight!” He hit the bed again, and then added, “Or ever.”

“What?” Sehun got up from his own bed and crossed over to Jongin’s room. When he spoke again, his voice was closer, in Jongin’s doorway. “You’re not gonna get any better if you don’t get help you know. And what about Kyungsoo?”

“What about Kyungsoo?” Jongin shot back without lifting his head. “You said it yourself, he’s straight.”

“Yeah, but if you don’t go back, he’s just gonna think you’re a failure. You have to be a man about it. And who knows, maybe he’ll be so impressed by your determination that your gay will rub off on him and he’ll start swooning over you.”

Jongin looked up, and Sehun raised an eyebrow at him encouragingly. But rather than looking heartened, Jongin simply chucked his pillow at the younger and put his head back down again. A second later, he grumbled, “Give that back.” Sehun rolled his eyes.

“You’re the one who threw it,” he pointed out. “Get it yourself.”

Groaning, Jongin sat up and went to retrieve the pillow, hitting Sehun with it before he went back, which Sehun anticipated and blocked.

“You gotta step up your game, man,” Sehun went on, earning a scowl. “I mean your gay game. Your gayme. Ha.”

“You’re such a freaking loser,” Jongin told him, looking very unimpressed. He glared for a moment longer and then buried his face back in his pillow. “Go be lame somewhere else.”

Undeterred, Sehun moved to sit in Jongin’s spinning desk chair, pushing himself off the table to rotate slowly. “I’m the loser, and yet you’re the one sitting and sulking on your bed because you’re incapable of making a pancake and impressing a hot guy.” Jongin gave no reaction. “Seriously, you’re one of the only guys I know – probably the only guy – who can make other guys go gay for him. You’re hot enough to make anyone question themselves, and I’m never saying this again, but you’re actually pretty cool and like, really boyfriend-worthy. And this is all super embarrassing for me to say so you better be listening.”

After a long moment, Jongin glanced up slowly with a devastatingly sad look on his face. Sehun gave a nod and then went on, “Because I’m such a nice guy, I’ll even go with you again, so you don’t have to be alone. Okay? I’m wonderful, I know, and you totally don’t appreciate me, but out of the goodness of my heart I will go and suffer for your sake.”

“Why are you encouraging me now?” Jongin mumbled. “You’re the one who told me not to bother.”

“Yeah, but now you’re being all pathetic and it’s pitiful,” Sehun returned. “I pity you. At least put up a fight before just giving up.” There was a tiny glint of spirit in Jongin’s eyes, and Sehun jumped on that, knowing he’d won. “Go get ready. The class is in like an hour and you still need to clean up and stuff.”

It still took further encouraging, but forty minutes later they were heading out the door, Sehun slightly hating himself for agreeing to go back again. Maybe that Chanyeol guy wouldn’t be there. As if he could be that lucky (and he couldn’t).

Jongin’s bad mood seemed to have gone down a bit, at least, as they headed to the restaurant. He was anticipating seeing Kyungsoo again; the other had spent almost all of the last class time with Jongin, watching over him and prodding him in the right direction, and then explaining everything afterwards. That much, at least, had been great, even if it had been obvious that Kyungsoo thought Jongin . He would just have to get better, right?

They arrived just a couple minutes early again, everyone else already there as they took their seats. Sehun sat beside Jongin this time, avoiding the gaze of the guy who had been bothering him the previous week. Being the last two to come in, however, it was hard not to be noticed, and the guy came over anyway.

“Hi Sehun,” he said cheerily, and Jongin glanced up at him in amusement. He looked very bubbly and enthusiastic – the opposite of Sehun, especially right now. It looked like Sehun was doing his best not to glare. Jongin just nudged him subtly and held in a laugh.

“Hi,” Sehun said, sounding very forcibly not bitter. “Uh, Changyeon, right?”

“Chanyeol,” the other corrected smoothly, not looking perturbed by Sehun forgetting his name.

“Right, of course.” Jongin held back a snort at the sarcasm threatening to drip out of Sehun’s words. Chanyeol didn’t seem to notice. “This is my friend Jongin,” Sehun introduced casually. “Jongin – Chanyeol.”

“Hi,” Jongin offered, and Chanyeol glanced his way for the first time, never seeming to even have realized Jongin was there. To his surprise, Chanyeol’s mouth fell open, looking stunned for a second before blinking slowly. Then he gained his composure and dipped his head slightly, looking a bit mischievous.

“Is your friend single?” he asked Sehun, and Jongin couldn’t help laughing. Playful, then; a prankster. Sehun usually got along with people like that, in a weird way.

“Um, yeah,” Sehun said awkwardly, apparently not catching on to the joke. “But…”

“I’m not really your type, huh?” Chanyeol turned to Jongin, looking mock-disappointed. “You prefer someone who’s more…” Chanyeol made a gesture to suggest s, and Jongin snorted. He was very tempted to try and set this guy up with Sehun now. He remembered what Sehun had said before they came here – You’re probably the only guy who can make others go gay for him. Would he be able to make a guy (see: Sehun) go gay for someone else (read: Chanyeol)? That would be fun; he’d be able to tease Sehun about that one forever.

The fun was cut short though when Kyungsoo came into Jongin’s view – entering from the back room wearing an apron and carrying six heavy-looking bags of flour. Without thinking Jongin was up and rushing over, grabbing some of the bags to carry for the older.

“Oh, hi Jongin! You don’t have to-”

“I don’t mind,” Jongin assured him immediately. He could feel Sehun judging as he passed, ignoring the blushing feeling because I know it’s cheesy, shut up. Kyungsoo told him to leave a bag for every two people, and Jongin had them distributed in under a minute, before he bowed and went back to his seat. All the way at the other end of the kitchen, Jongin felt too far away from Kyungsoo now. He mentally told himself that if he came back, they would have to get there earlier so he could sit near Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo had other plans in mind, anyway. Once the chatter died down, he told them all to move up and sit around where he was so they could all see what he was doing. Lucky for Sehun, when they pulled up their chairs Chanyeol sat right beside him, and Jongin was overly pleased.

“So, Jongin,” Kyungsoo said, and Jongin’s eyes widened, staring up at him. Was he in trouble? “And Sehun. This is how we do the class; one week I get you guys to make something on your own, the next I teach you and then you go and make what you learned. Okay?” Jongin nodded slowly. He had to pay attention then, so he could remember what he was supposed to be doing later. “If you have questions you can ask any time,” Kyungsoo added.

“Alright then,” he continued when they were settled again. “Cupcakes! I wanted to make actual cakes, but a lot of you aren’t really at that level yet, so – tiny cakes.” And with that he was launching into preparing mix and even distributions and then he was sticking his batch in an oven. It all went very fast, and Jongin pretended to keep up but he was honestly lost after the first step. Kyungsoo told them to all pair up and begin making their own cupcakes, saying when they were done he would show them how to make icing and frost the cupcakes.

When they were dismissed, Jongin looked to Sehun, assuming they would be partners, but Chanyeol was a step ahead, already grabbing Sehun’s attention (literally; he had a hold of Sehun’s arm). Sehun shot Jongin a desperate, silent plea, but Jongin waved him off.

“I’ll probably be better alone,” he shrugged. “I’ll make my own disaster.” The other students had all paired off already; Jongin could accept being alone.

“No way,” Chanyeol said. “Let’s just make a group.”

“Chanyeol, are you harassing people again?” Jongin looked over and saw Kyungsoo looking their way, frowning slightly.

“No!”

“Yes,” Sehun threw in under his breath. Then his eyes widened and he grinned Jongin’s way, making eye contact as he added louder, “Jongin has no partner.”

Jongin was only confused as to Sehun’s intent for a second before Kyungsoo spoke up. “I can work with you, Jongin-ssi.”

Sehun was smirking as Jongin felt his heart stutter, and he couldn’t decide if he wanted to kill Sehun or thank him. He just shot him a glare and then said, “That’d be great.” He pretended not to see Sehun mouthing Senpai as he turned to meet Kyungsoo’s eyes.

He didn’t get to be excited about any of it for long, though, because soon he was facing a bunch of foreign ingredients and his mind was totally blank about what he was supposed to be doing with them. What was the order he mixed them in? And how much of everything went in? He should’ve taken notes or something.

“Stuck already?” Jongin jumped a bit as Kyungsoo spoke up beside him, watching the subdued panic in his features and looking humoured. Jongin tried not to pout; he was just a source of entertainment to Kyungsoo.

“A little,” he mumbled in response. “I forgot how to start.”

It wasn’t a lie, but honestly he’d forgotten just about everything now that the other was in close proximity. Kyungsoo just smiled, touching his arm lightly. “That’s alright; that’s what I’m here for.” Jongin nodded slowly, and then Kyungsoo was guiding him once again. He didn’t just tell Jongin what to do; he would ask each time, What’s next? And Jongin would have to try to remember (aka, guess). Eventually through this process they were successful in making the mixture, and then came pouring it into the little cupcake pan.

Jongin figured all he had to do was fill up each wrapper to the top and it would all be good, but as he started on the first one Kyungsoo stayed his hand gently, giving his head a tiny shake.

“What did I do wrong now?” Jongin wondered aloud, feeling embarrassed. He wanted to do at least one thing on his own without Kyungsoo’s interference, but apparently he was just seriously incapable of anything when it came to food (besides, of course, eating).

“Don’t put too much in each, or you’ll run out before you fill all twelve,” Kyungsoo instructed softly. “Or you’ll realize you’re getting low halfway through and then you’ll have lesser filled ones than your first ones. Fill them all about halfway, and then divide what’s left over amongst them again.”

As he did as he was told, Jongin was questioning how people could be this meticulous about food. What if he was really hungry, and just wanted to get these things in the oven so he could eat them? He supposed he could just make them before he got hungry, but that wasn’t how Jongin’s mind worked. He filled his needs as they made themselves aware to him, and this whole patience thing was really not accommodating for that.

In another minute, he was sticking his pan into the oven and twisting an old-fashioned timer to thirty minutes. He looked around, feeling proud of his success – finally – when he realized they were the last pair to have finished. Even with Kyungsoo, he was apparently hopeless.

As with the previous week, the rest of the night didn’t go much better. He needed Kyungsoo’s help every few seconds making the icing (though on the bright side, he got to eat a lot of icing – more than he likely should have – and that was always a good thing), and then actually icing the cupcakes (which was disastrous). It didn’t help that nearly every time he asked Kyungsoo for help or got redirections from the older, Jongin could hear Sehun snickering behind him. The only thing that kept him from turning Sehun into a punching bag right then and there was the thought that he would have all week to take his revenge – and he would.

“

Between beating up Sehun and trying desperately to cook something right again, the next week went by fast for Jongin. Thursday night haunted him now, torn between his eagerness to see Kyungsoo (and have him basically all to himself for two hours) and the humiliation of Kyungsoo having to see him – literally – at his worst.

The third class went no better than the first two, where Kyungsoo had them make bibimbap; Jongin’s dignity saw its worst hits then. (Kyungsoo seemed to think his comments were harmless. “I’m guessing you’ve never fried an egg before,” and “You have a rice cooker at home don’t you?”; to which Jongin replied that, yes, he did – its name was Sehun and it was his everything-cooker.) Things only seemed to improve infinitesimally at the end of the night, when Kyungsoo reminded the class that next week he was holding dinner at his place, so there would be no class. Jongin had known about Kyungsoo’s class dinners – it was what had brought him to these classes – but he had forgotten all about them. Before he could even ask where he was supposed to be going next week – and if he was even invited; maybe you had to have a certain skill level (which Jongin was at zero, so he undoubtedly wouldn’t meet whatever it was) – Kyungsoo came over to him, holding his hand out to give Jongin a slip of paper.

“You should give me your number,” Kyungsoo told him, as Jongin read the paper – an address and a time, just like before. Jongin’s eyes widened and he looked up at the suggestion; he swore Kyungsoo turned a bit pinker, and Jongin felt guilty (not to mention embarrassed) for reacting so obviously. “So I can message you this stuff, I mean. You didn’t lose my number did you?”

As if he could ever. Jongin shook his head, mumbling, “I’ll just... message you now so you have my number.” And he did so, typing out a quick greeting and sending it, feeling his heart beating slightly nervously.

“Don’t be sending him weird pictures,” Chanyeol warned Kyungsoo mock-sternly, coming out of nowhere as he was in the habit of doing (especially after class when, like now, Jongin was trying to get his last few minutes in with Kyungsoo). “Not everyone appreciates derpy anteater pics as much as you do.”

“Be quiet,” Kyungsoo shot, and he was definitely blushing now. “I only sent you those once because you’re so obsessed with those stupid animals.” Chanyeol grinned, looking proud of that fact. “And I was only filling that desire for you because I was drunk.”

“Drunk and aloooone,” Chanyeol added, and if they hadn’t both been shooting Jongin odd glances, he would’ve assumed they had both forgotten he was there. He kind of got the feeling that he wasn’t wanted there anymore, but he didn’t know how to leave without making things awkward.

“You don’t know that I was alone,” Kyungsoo returned defensively, and he turned back to Jongin, very intentionally turning his shoulder against Chanyeol as if to say Go away now.

Chanyeol didn’t seem to take the hint. “You’re always alone,” he teased, before mouthing to Jongin, Loner, and pointing at Kyungsoo’s back. Then he took his leave, and Kyungsoo offered Jongin an exasperated, pitiful look.

“Best friends,” he sighed, and Jongin nodded, glancing around for Sehun, who had attracted Chanyeol back to him already. “Somehow, they’re the worst friends.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Jongin agreed. “You don’t live with him, do you?” Kyungsoo shook his head. “Lucky.”

“I do have to give him a ride home though, so I think I should take him away before he starts harassing everyone else too much. You’ll be there next week though, right?”

Somehow, it sounded like he doubted that Jongin would show, as if somehow Jongin would be able to not show up next week. (Literally, unless one of his parents died or something, he was in no way not going to Kyungsoo’s house to eat with Kyungsoo. No way.) All he told Kyungsoo though, was, “Of course.”

“Great!” (Jongin felt a bit gooey at the older’s universe-brightening smile. Kill me.) “It’s at five then, and – oh!” In about two seconds he went from calm enthusiasm to epiphanic excitement to almost-nervous reluctance, and Jongin was totally lost. “I just remembered you work down at that flower place.” Ugh. Why? Why did he just remember that, and why – just why? His parents could’ve owned a bakery or a winery or anything, but no, he had to be a flower boy. Kill me. “I always drop by there, I could pick you up and take you to my place if you wanted? It would save you having to find it yourself.”

Oh gosh. I actually died. His shameful employment had somehow brought him to the gates of Heaven – or at least to Kyungsoo’s car, which was close enough; all he had to do was step inside.

“Really? Yeah, that’d be great,” Jongin said, trying to sound very not lame and overly excited, staying super calm instead (which definitely did not reflect the circus of feels going on inside him presently). “Thanks.”

With that, Kyungsoo’s smile returned, and he waved his hand. “No problem. I’ll see you next week then.”

And somehow, Jongin felt like he had made progress; as if Kyungsoo had asked him on a date rather than been polite enough to offer him a ride. At least for that moment, Jongin felt like he was more than just one of Kyungsoo’s students, and deluded though he may have been, he floated on those feelings the whole way home.