Oh Sehun deserves an acting award. For someone who has revealed his inner feelings openly, he is acting way too cool and nonchalant. Last night, when Sehun told me he was jealous of Baekhyun and me, I was totally caught off guard. Never had I expected Sehun to be so vocal about his feelings. It's either he has been pretending to be like a stone all this time or he has had enough and decided to release his pent-up emotion once and for all. I doubt it's the former but it's just so unbelievable how that kiss managed to trigger him and force him to step out of his comfort zone and spill his deepest emotion out. But before I could give any reaction, Sehun had gotten down from the car and returned to the bedroom like nothing happened. He slept like a log, while I didn't get a wink of sleep because his words wouldn't stop running in my mind. When he woke up, he acted like the confession didn't happen and I am so puzzled by his behaviour. Is he embarrassed? Or is last night just my imagination? 

"Chef Bae has injured her foot and she will be taking around two weeks of medical leave. So Jungwoo, Areum, you guys will follow the other mentors for the time being."

Jungwoo raises his arm right after Sehun made that announcement, an excited smile lingering on his face, "Do we get to choose who we want to follow?" 

"Why? Is there any senior chef here whom you deem is not fit to be your mentor?" Sehun shoots a question back, emotionless icy eyes staring right deep at Jungwoo, as if challenging the poor guy and to see if he has the guts to make any rebuttal.

Jungwoo shakes his head vigorously, the excitement got replaced with panic immediately, "No, no! I-I am just asking."

"Why shouldn't we let them choose?"

I tilt my head sideway upon hearing Jongin's question and the trainees begin to look at one another in confusion. Even Sehun and Baekhyun direct their attention to Jongin's interruption. Mina and I happen to make eye contact but I shrug in return because I have no idea what my bestie is up to. 90% of the time, I can't predict what's going on in Jongin's brain either. 

"What do you mean?" Sehun's voice turns less intimidating, as compared to the one he used on Jungwoo. 

"I mean, the trainees are always the ones receiving and following our instructions without any complaint and I think we should give them freedom occasionally, shouldn't we?" Jongin chortles, "Since it's only a temporary placement, why not let Jungwoo and Areum choose who they want to follow?"

Sehun doesn't say a thing. Neither did Baekhyun because I know Baekhyun is super chill and the current situation doesn't seem to concern him. 

"Jungwoo, Areum, who do you guys want to work under?" Jongin goes ahead to ask, even though Sehun hasn't stated his stand.

"I want to work under Chef Kim!" Jungwoo doesn't hesitate for a single second to make his choice because everyone just seems to love Jongin, and according to Lucas' review, based on his first-hand experience, Jongin is like the best and coolest mentor ever. Jongin claps and welcomes Jungwoo to his team, seemingly a tad too happy to be chosen by Jungwoo, which left me befuddled because I know Jongin and Jungwoo aren't like the closest buddies here. If I were to pick someone among the trainees, aside me, who has a strong bond with Jongin, it would be Lucas. 

"What about you, Areum?" Jongin asks me, with a devilish grin that I can recognise as a bad sign instantly, after knowing him for almost my entire life, "Do you want to work under Chef Oh or Chef Byun?"

Crap! I finally connect the dots and, YOU KIM JONGIN, YOU SET ME UP! Jongin had made that suggestion not for the interests of the trainees but to put me in a difficult spot. Everyone has their gazes fixed on me, including Sehun and Baekhyun, and I haven't felt any more stressed than what I am feeling currently. This is not about a trivial mentor selection anymore, this is a love battle, a fight between men's ego. And with so many pairs of eyes on me, the pressure is making me sick.

"I-uh..." My eyes fleet between Baekhyun and Sehun. The former smiles at me, while the latter puts on an indifferent expression, which I can tell is a facade to mask his uneasiness as his dilating orbs have betrayed him. What should I do now? Should I pretend to faint on the spot so I don't have to make a choice? Or should I pretend to have a stomachache so I can escape from this tensed atmosphere? Either way, this is all because of Kim Jongin! How dare he gloat in happiness after landing me in trouble?

"I am glad that we are working together again!" 

Mina chirps and I nod brightly, even though I feel awful deep inside. In the end, I didn't make a choice and time has been wasted because of my indecisiveness, so Sehun made me join his team, quoting that I am wasting everyone's time for taking my own sweet time to choose. Even though Sehun made my life easier by making the decision for me, I didn't feel a sense of relief being put in his team. Not that I am worried about hurting Baekhyun because I clearly didn't make that choice and Baekhyun didn't seem to take any offense, but my 6th sense is telling me that Sehun is pissed off with me. He didn't once spare me a glance after we all split into our groups and even when he was giving lesson, his vision was only on Mina, Taeyong, and Somi, like I don't exist at all. There are two possible reasons to his sudden aloofness. One, he is afraid that gossips may arise, hence he steers clear of me, in case anyone thinks he is biased towards me. Two, he is annoyed that I didn't pick him right off the bat and he is ignoring me on purpose. I should apologise to him but I can't do it with all the trainees around because I know Sehun hates talking about personal stuff at work. And that unsettling feeling in me wouldn't go away because I need to explain myself so badly. 

When we are tasked to work on the Risotto at our own work station, Sehun still doesn't pay any attention to me. He walks around to check on the other three but not me; even Taeyong notices that Sehun and I are a little off. When Sehun is out of our sight, Taeyong turns to me and mouths, "Are you and Chef Oh okay?" I shrug in return, and he casts a concerned look. I don't know how to feel about this whole situation.

"I hope you are watching your Arborio rice and not slacking off and let it overcook."

Taeyong and I jolt and look away from each other when Sehun caught the two of us interacting behind his back. Even though he was directing his words to the two of us instead of talking to me directly, I am contented because he finally paid attention to me. And that was the only time he made eye contact with me, albeit just for a few seconds. 

"Chef Oh!" I call, grabbing the attention of not just Sehun but also the other trainees in my team, "I need help..." My voice trails off because I am feeling a little conscious by their curious look, not to mention the way Somi wriggles her brow because yay the engaged couple is finally interacting with each other. Sehun sighs, but nevertheless, he walks towards me and asks me what help do I need.

"How long should I stir my rice for after adding the butter?" I ask, despite knowing the answer. I am just trying to create opportunity for us to talk between the two of us. 

Sehun takes a look at my rice before he crosses his arms, a deep fro