"Made this cupcake for you, enjoy, baby girl."

It's not exactly rocket science for me to figure who is the person who put a gift in my locker, but not to my trainee friends. The girls huddle around me as they make wild guesses about the sender.

"Seems like Areum has a secret admirer," Somi nudges my shoulder, "I wonder who made a cupcake for you."

"Could it be... Jaehyun?" Joowon snaps her finger, "I saw the two of you dancing pretty intimately in the club last Friday! Maybe Jaehyun has a crush on you!"

Mina takes the handwritten card from me and inspects the card like a detective, "This handwriting doesn't seem to be Jaehyun's handwriting. I saw his handwriting before. Maybe it's Taeyong?"

I shake my head at their answers. Seriously, Jaehyun? Taeyong? I only see them as friends and I am very sure they they are not romantically attracted to me. If any of them knew that Baekhyun has a thing for women in yellow top and jeans, they would have made out something from the yellow icing on the cupcake. The first I met Baekhyun, I happened to be in a yellow off-shoulder top and ripped jeans. Maybe that's what attracted him. 

"What if this is from one of the head chefs?" 

Jennie doesn't speak much but whenever she says something, she is always so spot on. I am starting to fear this intelligent girl. Maybe she has some hidden superpower, or maybe she has a strong instinct in relationship related stuff. Either that, I have to be more wary of her.

"Who? Chef Oh?" Somi laughs, follows by Mina, "What if this cake is poisoned? Maybe this is a sign of a bad omen that is going to happen."

Maybe if Somi doesn't make the cut for being a chef, she can be a scriptwriter with that livid imagination of hers. And please, Oh Sehun should know the consequences of messing with me by now. He wouldn't dare to feed me poison.

"Let's not ponder over it anymore. It's just a cupcake."

We all gather in the kitchen and I am surprised to see all the head chefs there except for Oh Sehun. That's strange, even though Sehun woke up a few minutes later than me, he drives, so he should reach before me. Crap. He can't possibly faint on his way to work, can he? I merely gave him a bite on his neck and although I was a little aggressive, Sehun isn't that easily defeated. 

"Sorry, got caught in the jam."

My worry got washed away when I see Sehun entering the kitchen, safe and sound, in one piece. If anything happens to him, how am I going to answer to Mrs and Mr Oh? Sorry, your son passed out because I bit him?

"Hmm, isn't it weird for Chef Oh to wear turtleneck now? It's freaking Summer."

"I know right, but not like we understand how the minds of extraordinary people like Chef Oh work."

When I overheard the discussion between Taeyong and Mina, I can't control my laughter and I end up releasing a giggle as I recall last night's event. Of course he had to wear a turtleneck, otherwise, how is he going to explain to others about the big, red hickey on his neck? People are going to think that he had a wild night last night but in reality, nothing ual happened, he got into a fight with a monster but ended up with a bruise. Such a great sight to see Sehun at my mercy. But I am not completely unreasonable, I did clean up the room after venting my anger.

"Seems like someone is very amused by her own joke. Care to share? Trainee Park Areum."

I only realise everyone has their gaze fixed on me when I heard my name being called by Oh Sehun, who is sending daggers at me. Everyone has caught me making a fool out of myself and I can feel my cheeks burning from the embarrassment. 

"N-Nothing, sorry," I retreat and I try to hide myself behind Lucas as much as possible. Glad he is tall enough to shield me from the devil.

"I have an announcement to make. There will be a slight adjustment to the groupings and from today onwards, Somi, you will work under me. While for Areum," He turns to me with a subtle devilish smile that sends chills down my spine, "You will work under Chef Bae."

What? I avert my eyes from Sehun to Joohyun and I caught the intimidating expression on her pretty face. Honestly, it doesn't matter whether I work under Sehun or Joohyun because I will still get tortured no matter what. Joohyun and Sehun are the same species, they share the same braincell. Plus the fact that I am her crush's fiancee, there is no way Joohyun is gonna make my life easier.

"Is Chef Bae scary?" I whisper to my new partner, Jungwoo.

"A little, especially when you screw things up. She is like the female version of Chef Oh."

What am I even expecting? Hoping that Jungwoo would disagree with me and insist that Joohyun is an angel? She is far from an angel. I already know about Joohyun's character, didn't I? When Joohyun appears, she lays out the different ingredients on the workstation. Jungwoo and I jolt when she slams the metal bowl on the metal desk. Not sure if she has done that on purpose or by accident.

"I have high expectations for my trainees and I hope all my trainees take my lessons and notes seriously. Since Areum is new, I shall explain my rules again. Firstly, if you don't know anything, ask me. If I find out that you are just smoking through and you keep quiet about it, I am not going to be nice about it. Secondly, I don't want to treat you guys like babies and you should never think that just because you are an only apprentice, you have lesser responsibility on your shoulder. Get rid of that mentality if you have it. I want you guys to will treat every practice and lesson like you are cooking for real customers. Thirdly, if you respect me, I will respect you. Areum," Joohyun calls me, and my heart beats uneasily, "I don't like the way you talk to Sehun when you were under him. You were rude and you showed zero manners to your mentor. He didn't kick you out of the programme but I will, if you treat me with that disrespect."

Not sure if I am being sensitive but Joohyun sounded especially displeased when she mentioned that Sehun didn't kick me out of the programme, as if she was jealous. Well, of course she is, she hates me because I am engaged to the man that she loves. If there is one person, beside Sehun, who wants me out of here, it would be Joohyun. And the icy cold glare that she sends to me is like declaring war with me. I gulp. Help! I am innocent.

"Understood?"

I nod. I still want to live a long life.

"Great, today we will be making ravioli and as easy as it seems, ravioli is not that simple. You have to roll the dough into thin sheets, no thicker than a coin. If you do, you have failed. Too thick, it's like chewing on rubber. Too thin, the filling will spill out. So make sure to seal the edges properly too."

Joohyun then proceeds to demonstrate, starting with the dough, which is essentially the most important part of the pasta dish. Like what Joohyun said, if the thickness of the dough is estimated wrongly, the whole dish will be ruined. 

"The secret to great ravioli doug