“Joonmyun, I’ve really screwed up this time”

Instantly panic alarms began to sound inside Joonmyun’s head. Screwed up how? Was he hurt? Was he in danger?

“No, no, nothing like that” Yixing explains when Joonmyun begins questioning him, “It’s just… well… I kind of told my parents that I would cook them some different Korean dishes for dinner tonight but… you see… I don’t really know that many dishes”

Joonmyun pauses for a moment, taking in what Yixing had told him. He had gotten himself into a panic over this? “… are you serious Yixing?”

“I wouldn’t have called you if it wasn’t an emergency!” Yixing shouts from the other line, Joonmyun pulling his phone away so that he wasn’t deafened, “Kyungsoo’s still moping about his love life, Baekhyun’s out of the country right now, and I asked Sehun, but he’s an even worse of a cook than I am! Please help me!”

With nothing better to do, Joonmyun agrees to help Yixing with his little predicament, smiling when he hears Yixing exclaim in relief. “Yeah, yeah, I know you owe me, give me twenty minutes tops and I’ll be over”

“You’re a saint!” Yixing replies, “Also… uh, would you be able to pick me up some stuff before coming over?”

Joonmyun stands in front of Yixing’s apartment door with two bags of food in his hand. The last time he had been here, he had been completely hungover after embarrassing himself the previous night. When he thought about it, it still embarrassed him even more. Hesitating slightly, he rings the doorbell and isn’t stood outside for long before he hears someone run over from the inside and throw the door open. When Yixing sees him, he throws himself onto Joonmyun and hugs his arm tightly.

“Thank you so much for doing this! You have literally saved my life!” he says, Joonmyun looking around embarrassedly to see if any neighbours had come out to see what the commotion was

“I already told you it’s fine Yixing” he replies with a laugh, gently pulling the latter off of his arm and following him inside the apartment “Besides, I didn’t really have anything else planned tonight apart from going to bed and watching films until I fell asleep”

Yixing takes the bags off of him and begins walking towards the kitchen, blabbering away as he does so. Joonmyun knows it’s nosy, but he allows himself this brief moment to properly snoop around what he can see. The apartment is much smaller than he remembers, but looks extremely comfy nonetheless. The living room is plastered with photos of Yixing and his family and friends in China, with a few of him and Kyungsoo and another guy he assumes is Baekhyun. On the sofa, some bedding is laid out and when Joonmyun finds what he assumes is Yixing’s bedroom, finds two large suitcases lying open on top of the bed.

“Where are your parents anyway?” he asks, finally joining Yixing in the kitchen

“I told them to go for a walk at the park across the road for a couple of hours. I told them that when they got back, there would be food waiting” Yixing replies as Joonmyun takes off his jacket and joins him in the kitchen.

“Right, what Korean dishes do you actually know how to make?” he asks, turning to Yixing when the latter remains silent, a blush appearing on his cheeks, “Yixing?”

“… I know how to make Kimchi and Jjajangmyeon but that’s about it. Otherwise I’m making dishes from back home or looking up stuff online” he admits, his blush deepening. Joonmyun wonders how he’s managed to survive by himself for so long.

“Well, that’s a start at least” he begins, washing his hands and looking at the ingredients they had to work with. “We don’t have enough time to make a lot of dishes, but I know a few we can make that’ll definitely wow your parents. Now pay attention Yixing, because after today I’m going to make you a Korean food expert, you hear me? No more Kimchi for weeks!”

Yixing playfully salutes Joonmyun’s mock seriousness and Joonmyun smiles warmly at the action, even laughing a little as Yixing laughs with him.

“There, that should definitely be enough to satisfy your parent’s hunger”

Setting the last bowl onto the table, Joonmyun steps back and looks at the food set out in front of them. Besides the leftover Kimchi and Jjajangmyeon that Yixing had left over, there was also some Soondubu Stew, Bibimbab, and Mandu. It took a lot longer than thought to make, there were too many dishes still left to be washed, and Yixing might have almost burnt himself and Joonmyun numerous times, but the look of satisfaction and relief on Yixing’s face was enough to make Joonmyun very happy in the end.

“It smells great, my parents are gonna love this!” Yixing says, turning to Joonmyun “Are you sure you don’t want to stay as well? It’s the least I could do for dragging you out”

“Really Yixing, it’s fine. Enjoy this quality time with them. Besides, I have plenty of leftovers to take home with me, and I have to be up early in the morning to help Jongdae with his cat”

The two wash the remaining dishes in a comfortable silence; Yixing washing, and Joonmyun drying. Both of them think the same thing; this was way too domestic. A number of times, Yixing was so nervous about being alone with Joonmyun and this close to him that he almost dropped a couple of the dishes and almost shattered them. Luckily, Joonmyun found the humour in it and laughed at his clumsiness. Unable to take the silence any longer however, Yixing waited until Joonmyun held his hand out for the next dish to be washed, and instead, splashed him with some water.

“Uh oh. My mistake” Yixing says unapologetically, Joonmyun’s eyes narrowing as a playful smile appears on his face and he splashes Yixing with some water back. A small water fight breaks out between the two of them that brings laughter and shouts from both of them, finally finishing when Yixing is laughing against the wall and Joonmyun has him trapped between his arms. When they realise what position they’re in, Joonmyun releases Yixing and they finish the remaining dishes in silence.

Joonmyun has his jacket on and the leftovers in a carrier bag ready to go just as Yixing’s parents return. Yixing helps with introductions between the three of them, and Joonmyun gets to work on his very basic Mandarin skills. There’s a particularly amusing moment when Yixing’s mum excitedly asks her son something to which Yixing’s face turns a deep shade of red and he whines in return, but when Joonmyun asks what had happened, he merely shakes his head and dismisses it.

“Get home safely, and don’t each too much in one go in case you’re sick” Yixing says at the door as Joonmyun nods his head and gives his own playful salute

“Don’t worry, I think I have enough here to last me until tomorrow evening as well” he replies, “Enjoy your time with your parents, make sure you use the sheet of paper I gave you well”

Yixing nods, biting his lip and hesitating before he hugs Joonmyun. Joonmyun is surprised by the gesture, but hugs him back before finally leaving. Yixing watches him walk down the hall before finally shutting the door.

Now that the rewrites are out of the way, I'm just exctied to get these new chapters up because- even though I wrote this- I just loved this chapter so much when I first read it ater it was finished. 

Also, for those who might be curious: 

Jjajangmyeon- noodles in black bean sauce 
Soondubu Stew- stew made with extra soft tofu cubes. Can be filled with either beef, pork, seafood, or kimchi 
Bibimbab- rice with beef, vegetables, and red chili paste. Also comes with an egg on top 
Mandu- Korean dumplings. Can be steamed or fried and can be filled with anything e.g. pork, cabage, and carrots. 

Until the next chapter!!