Lu Han is barely eighteen when he becomes one of Beijing's most famous French restaurants' sautė cook. It is hard, being the youngest in the busy kitchen, senior chefs press him a lot; scream at him, order him around, sometimes even mock him. Still, he stays strong, as it is his dream, his passion. He works harder than anyone else his age, his focus is only in the kitchen; cooking orders, and he loves every second of it.

Lu Han is twenty when he gets promoted to be the sous chef. It is better, instead of getting his face screamed at he gets whispers behind his back. Everyone in the kitchen keep a distance from him, but he doesn't mind as long as they cooperate well to his orders and somehow make it work. He can't be any happier.

Lu Han is twenty-two when he is sent to Seoul. He touches the cold utensils in the unfamiliar kitchen, closes his eyes and just breathes, feels the new atmosphere and lets it seep into his skin. This is where he will be working from now on, as the head chef. The corner of his lips quirk up to form a small content smile, and opens his eyes, only to see a figure standing a meter away from where he is. Tall, nice body, and skin tone one shade darker than most people. He smiles, adorable, Lu Han thinks.
"Hi, I'm Jongin!" he says. Lu Han blinks, "Oh, hello. I'm Lu Han..." He extends his hand forward. "Lu Han? The Lu Han? The new head chef from Beijing?" He gasps, "Pleasure to meet you, chef!" Instead of shaking his hand, Jongin goes for a hug. Lu Han is a bit startled, and Jongin can feel his tensed shoulders. "Sorry..." he chuckles, "I'm the pâtissier, by the way"

It has been five weeks since he started working in Seoul. He goes to the market early mornings to get fresh ingredients and make orders of stocks with Jongin. He stays behind in the kitchen at the end of the day, making sure everything is clean and in the right places with Jongin's help. Lu Han really enjoys working with him.

Jongin reminds Lu Han of himself back then. Young and passionate, but he is more...carefree. Lu Han admires him for that, and for his beautiful creations of sweets too.

It is one of those weekends when they are trying to develop or make new recipes together. The kitchen is empty and quiet, save for the sound of Jongin's knife against the cutting board and his occasional hums.
"Ouch!" Lu Han looks up from arranging different kinds of potato for his petite pommes anna, "You okay?" He wipes his hands and walks to Jongin's station where he was chopping dark chocolate blocks for his black forest croquembouche.
"Yeah, it's just a cut..." Lu Han frowns seeing some blood trickling from the younger's finger. He quickly grabs the first-aid box and pulls Jongin to lean on the kitchen counter, who hides his hands to the back, "Hyung, it's okay, really, I'm-" but Lu Han is having none of that. He takes Jongin's palm and gently dabs a disinfection cotton around the cut to clean the blood.
That is when he notices how rough Jongin's palm is. There are scars, and some bits of skin are even peeled. He steals glances of the younger who won't face him and, Lu Han blinks, Jongin is actually blushing. "What is it?" The head chef asks, now carefully applying iodine. Jongin shyly peeks from his bangs when Lu Han blows cooling air to his finger. "It's- um my...my hands..." He mumbles, "T-they are ugly... You know, from all the sugar and heat..."
Lu Han tilts his head slightly, so that's why Jongin never shakes hands. He thought the younger just likes to hug people. He wraps a band-aid around Jongin's finger and hums. "They are beautiful..." Lu Han whispers.
He wants to say more, wants to say that the roughness of his palms tell his life story, that Jongin shouldn't be shy about it, because that is what has brought Jongin to this point, that it is something he should be proud of. But Lu Han opts for a simple yet meaningful smile, caressing Jongin's palms before putting the first-aid box back and continue to his cooking. "Thank you, Lu Han hyung..." Jongin smiles that adorable smile of his, folding his palms together as if to keep the warmth from Lu Han's touch.

Lu Han is almost twenty-three when he realizes his feelings for Jongin. At first he thinks he just feels comfortable and at ease around the younger, but then Jongin's smile makes him smile, he thought the most beautiful sound is when he put meat on a sizzling heated pan but Jongin's laugh proves him wrong, Jongin's touch makes butterflies in his stomach, and he wants to take care of Jongin. Lu Han likes how the blue chef coat sticks to Jongin's body perfectly, covering his broad chest and muscly arms, the color complimenting his pretty skin tone. Unlike how loose it is on his skinny body, and makes him more pale than he already is.

"Hyung?" Jongin puts his hand on Lu Han's shoulder. "Y-yes?" He stutters, but manages to put on a smile. Jongin smiles back, leaning in to brush his nose softly against the older's and whispers, "Nothing..." He cups Lu Han's red cheek and places a soft kiss. Lu Han sighs in content at the feeling of Jongin's rough palm on his skin, the three words are swirling in his mind.