Snow. Yongsun woke up, sleep still in her eyes, and looked out of the window. Snow – lots of it. It had only been a light flurry the night before. As she and Byulyi were drifting off to sleep, snuggling under the warm duvet, Yong had assumed it would melt before even reaching the ground. But now, a thick white mantle covered everything. Quite romantic… until she realized. . There’s no way in hell I can get to the bakery now.

Whose idea had been to spend Byulyi’s birthday weekend in a cabin in the woods anyway? Being away from the world for a while sure had its appeal. Life as an idol could and did get quite overwhelming, quite often. But getting snowed in had not been part of the plan. And getting snowed in meant no cake for Byulyi on her birthday.

That was simply not acceptable to Yongsun. She sighed. She thought back on Byulyi’s last birthday, how her girlfriend had enjoyed her delicious strawberry cake then, her hamster face scrunched up in delight as she took the first bite. She loved Byulyi so much that sometimes she thought her heart was going to explode. The younger girl deserved the world. Yongsun could not give her that, but she’d be damned if she didn’t give her a birthday cake at the very least.

There was only one thing left to do - baking one herself. Yong had never baked anything before, and was a pretty hopeless cook overall. But she could see no way around it now. How hard could it be? Better get started, she thought, reluctantly tearing herself away from her girlfriend’s warm sleeping frame. She walked into the kitchen, barefoot, and shivered as she opened the fridge and observed its contents.

Eggs, ok, we got some of those left. Mackerel. Pikachu-shaped schnitzels. Those won’t do. Kimchi? Kimchi tastes great in every dish. Can a cake be considered a dish, per se? Mmh, maybe not. Let’s skip the kimchi, just this once. Yogurt! That’s a suitable ingredient. She took a couple of eggs and a yogurt cup out of the fridge and closed it.

Now on to the pantry. Chocolate spread – that’s a hard yes! No flour, though. We didn’t think we would need any when we stopped for groceries on our way here. Flourless cakes are a thing, surely? There’s some silken tofu here. It could help me bulk the cake up instead. Feeling inspired, Yongsun rummaged through some more useless items in the pantry, probably the owner’s possessions or stuff left behind by previous visitors. She found a small yellow packet. Baking powder! Yes, every cake needs a rising agent.

Satisfied, she lined her ingredients on the counter and then proceeded to mix everything in a stainless steel bowl, breaking the tofu apart and pressing it with a spoon to drain out more liquid. We want the cake to be moist. On a whim, she decided to add a pinch of sugar for good measure. Chef’s kiss.

Now, the oven. Yongsun glanced at the clock. They had both slept late and it was 11:30am already. Byulyi was going to wake up soon and everything had to be ready. She turned the oven up to 500°F, so that the cake would bake quicker. Ah, , I don’t have a baking tray. Well, this bowl will have to do. The shape will be a bit weird. Taste is what matters anyway. In went the bowl.

Yongsun set the oven timer for 30 minutes and headed to the bathroom to wash up and apply some makeup, wanting to look pretty for Byulyi on her birthday. When the timer finally went off, she hurried back to the kitchen. A wisp of black smoke was coming out of the oven.

“OHSHIIIIIIIITTTTTT - I need an oven mitt – shi - me sideways – !” Yong swore loudly as she slammed drawers open and shut. No luck. A kitchen towel would have to do. She armed herself with one, and, bracing herself, cracked the oven door open.

Yong’s lungs filled with smoke and she coughed. Ok, I need to get it out of there and see what’s salvageable. She turned the oven off, and then opened the door all the way through. She approached the mixing bowl, eyes stinging from the smoke, kitchen towel in hand. Here we go, careful, careful, caref –

“Yong! I heard you cursing, what is happening?” A confused, very sleepy Byulyi stood on the door frame.

Yongsun jumped at the sudden interruption just as she was taking the bowl out of the oven. She screamed in surprise. The kitchen towel was too thin to protect her hands. The bowl was heavy with charred ingredients and hot like lava. She dropped it, and watched in horror as it hit her left foot, before landing on the floor.

Everything around Yong went quiet for a couple of seconds. The side of her foot felt almost cold. The floor is freezing, she thought, maybe I should go get my slippers. And then the pain hit her like a wave. She couldn’t help but whine, and, as much as she tried, she could not control the hot tears falling down her cheeks.

When she saw Yongsun getting hurt, Byulyi was immediately wide awake, and didn’t lose a single second. Yongsun felt a hand behind her knees and another on her back, and suddenly she was being lifted up and carried to the bathroom. When they got there, Byulyi gently placed her still weeping girlfriend on the edge of the bathtub, with her feet inside, making sure Yongsun was sitting comfortably and not in any danger of falling.

“Hold your foot up baby, I need to make sure the water is not too warm nor too icy before we can cool the burn,” Byulyi instructed, as she turned the bathtub faucet on and placed her hand underneath to check the temperature. As soon as she was satisfied with it, she motioned for Yongsun to put her foot under the running water. She then straightened up, and moved to hug her girlfriend from behind, gently pulling Yongsun back a fraction so she could lean against her.

Yongsun sniffled and sighed. She fought against herself to stop crying, and this time won the battle. The cool water was already helping with the pain. What was helping even more, was that she was engulfed in Byulyi’s warm hug, in her sweet scent. And that Byulyi knew what to do. Yongsun felt comforted.

“Ok, we’re gonna be here for five minutes at least, so why don’t you tell me what happened? What were you doing in the kitchen?” Byulyi spoke softly, her voice still raspy from having just woken up.

“I was trying to bake you a cake, and –“ Yongsun suddenly remembered. “Oh. Happy birthday, Byul-ah.” She awkwardly tried to twist herself to kiss her girlfriend, while keeping her foot in place. Byulyi didn’t immediately catch on and didn’t move, so all Yongsun managed to do was to plant a smooch on the younger’s forearm. Byulyi stifled a laugh, and lowered herself a bit to kiss her girlfriend properly. Yongsun's lips were warm and inviting, but the position was too uncomfortable, so Byulyi broke the kiss after a while.

“Why on earth were you baking me a cake? What about the one we were supposed to pick up at the bakery?” Byulyi asked.

“Did you look outside at all when you woke up?” Yong answered with another question.

“Not really. I heard you were shouting and I got worried, so I just ran to the kitchen straight away. Didn’t even have time to go to the toilet, and let me tell you, the running water isn’t helping.” Byulyi grinned. “What’s happening outside? Zombie apocalypse finally here?” She roared, pretending to bite her girlfriend on the neck.

Yongsun chuckled. “Silly girl. There are, like, forty inches of snow outside. We’re snowed in. The bakery is probably closed, and even if it isn’t, there’s no way we could get there until they clear the roads.”

“Being snowed in with you isn’t too bad. I can think of worse ways to spend my birthday,” replied Byulyi in earnest.

“Even if there’s no cake?”

“Even if there’s no cake. ”

“Even if you’re spending your birthday morning taking care of me instead of relaxing?”

“I love taking care of you. And in a way, you took care of yourself when you decided that at some of us needed to be first aid trained in case of emergency, and made me and Wheenie attend that session. You see, baby, you may be a walking disaster in the kitchen, but you’re a good, far-sighted leader” Byulyi reasoned, half teasing.

“HEY! I’m not a walking disaster!” Yongsun burst out in a huff.

Byulyi laughed her belly laugh that Yongsun loved so much and held her girlfriend tight. “Yes you are. You’re my Yeba. You’re so talented, the hardest working person I know and the best leader to me and the kids. Not to mention, insanely beautiful and insanely hot. And you’re an amazing girlfriend. But, Yong, you are a total walking disaster.”

“Aigoo. I guess you’re right… about all the nice things you said.”

“I can say more nice things to you after we get your foot sorted out. Here, enough with the running water, I think.” Byulyi said as she turned the faucet off. “Wait a sec – don’t move – I need to go get something from the kitchen.” Yongsun moaned at the sudden loss of contact with her girlfriend as Byulyi walked out of the bathroom.

After a minute, Byulyi was back from the kitchen with a roll of cling film. She also took a towel off the bathroom rack and approached Yongsun. Sitting on the toilet, Byulyi placed the towel on her own lap and motioned for her girlfriend to move so that she could dry her feet. She took her time doing that, sneaking in a mini foot massage and squealing at the elder’s tiny feet. When she was done, she kissed the toe on Yongsun’s offended foot softly, before proceeding to cover it with cling film. “To make sure it doesn’t get dirty or infected,” she explained matter-of-factly, “we’ll keep an eye on it and maybe put some aloe gel on it later. Call the doctor if it gets worse.”

“Thank you, babe.” Yongsun smiled at the younger, her eyes shining. She extended her arms to wordlessly ask for a piggyback ride. Byulyi stood up and obliged, chuckling at her girlfriend’s cuteness. She knew the elder’s foot was not in such a bad shape, but Byulyi’s own personal rule that she lived by was to never turn down any occasion to spoil and cuddle Yongsun.

“I should be the one thanking you, Yong,” Byulyi said quietly as they were walking out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. “It was sweet of you to try and bake something for me just so that I didn’t have to go without cake on my birthday. And I’m sorry you got hurt while you tried.” Byulyi almost teared up.

“Hey, no, don’t mention it. I’m sorry I couldn’t produce a better result. And I’ll be fine, as long as you keep taking care of me.”

“Always.” Byulyi gently laid her girlfriend on a chair. She turned around to place a kiss on her forehead and then on her lips. “Now,” she continued, “I’ll clean up and handle lunch. You’re not allowed near the oven ever again.”