Lay and D.O. were the best cooks in EXO. That was a fact no one could deny. Lay loved making sweets and breakfast goods, while the other specialized in entrees, traditional Korean food, and cupcakes.

"There was a time that I wanted to become a chef," said D.O. as he swiftly chopped some onions; he, Lay and you were preparing lunch for everyone today.

Yes, even you—the girl who could not cook to save her life.

~

It was a weekend, and EXO wanted to spend it being all lazy, goofing around the dorm and playing board games. You scolded and glared at them, saying how nice the weather was and how much of a good day it was to play some soccer outside. But not even Lu Han wanted to do that, and his laziness infected everyone. Unable to persuade them, you sighed in defeat, and decided to join Chanyeol, Kai, Baek Hyun and Suho in a game of Tong-Its, while the rest played Scrabble.

Boring Scrabble.

Your legs grew numb by the fourth round of Tong-Its; your hands were clammy after shuffling the cards for so many times; and your back and shoulders started to hurt. You violently scratched your head. You shot up, throwing your cards to the ground.

“Damn it, dudes, it’s such a beautiful day and you want to spend it playing inside?!” You pointed to each one of them, “I challenge all of you to a game of basketball! Soccer! Tennis! Tao, Xiumin, Baek Hyun, let’s spar! Let’s do it!” you shouted, pulling your hair out. Usually you were calm, and usually you had so much self-control that the words 'outburst' and 'frustrated' weren't even in your dictionary. You were never one to express your feelings so openly, so expressively, and it was usually because you never really felt strongly for something at any given time. But there were days that you hated being calm, that your self-control had gone past its limit, when you just wanted to move and do physical activities because on those days, the sun was kept hidden by clouds, and the breeze was just perfect for a nice round of soccer and basketball. Today was a day like that, and you couldn't begin to fathom why on earth these twelve boys, who were rowdy and easily excited, would rather spend it inside and be couch-potatoes.

“We’re too lazy today, Noona,” Se Hun yawned, not the least bit surprised at your uncharacteristic explosion.

“What? I can’t believe all of you!”

You glowered at Lu Han, your eyes turning into angry slits. “This is your fault, man. Laziness is a contagious disease, and we all know that you’re the source,” you blamed him.

Lu Han rubbed his eyes, your words not fazing him. “If you want to do something that involves movement, why don’t you help D.O. and Lay? They’re about to cook lunch,” he replied, not even looking at you; he was lounged on the couch, his cheek resting on his left palm, while his right hand held the remote. He shifted from one channel to another, not stopping to watch a particular one for even a while. He was just simply channel-surfing to pass the time. Lu Han yawned.

You were disgusted at how your boys looked like such pigs today. “…Fine; I’ll do it, but only because it’s the only way to get out of this stuffy, unproductive room filled with lethargic people. But no regrets if you die of food-poisoning, all right?” You dragged Lay and D.O. to the kitchen, and locked the door.

~

“Why didn’t you?” you asked D.O., handing him the garlic he requested. You observed how gracefully, but quickly, his hands worked at slicing and dicing.

D.O. smiled at you, “Because, Noona, if I did, I wouldn’t be here attending this college, and spending time with you.”

You laughed and patted his head, “That’s cute, Kyung Soo, but you’re no exception; I still hate men.”

“Kyung Soo, someone will kill you if he finds out what you just said,” Lay warned, submerging the pasta into boiling water. 

“I know, I know! Hyung, don’t tell him, all right!” D.O. pleaded, his eyes turning into big saucers.  

Lay chuckled. “Of course I won’t. What do you think of me?” At that, D.O. sighed in relief and returned to chopping his herbs and spices.

“All right, while the pasta’s being cooked, I’ll start making some tarts.” Lay rolled his sleeves up, and took out a few sheets of wax paper and a hand-mixer. “Noona, can you please get me some sugar? It’s in a pink container in the pantry.” Lay asked you, busy laying out his paper on the kitchen island. You nodded, and opened the pantry. You scanned its compartments up and down, and when you finally found and opened the said container, it barely had a teaspoon’s worth of sugar.

“Uh, Lay, we’re out of sugar.” You showed him the container.

“Darn.” Lay removed his apron and headed towards the back door. “Noona, is it all right if I leave you with the pasta and sauce? I’ll just go and buy some sugar. Don’t worry, D.O. will help you, but try to do it on your own because he still has to make the salad, and stuff the chicken.”

You gaped. “What? Yixing, wait! Why can’t I be the one to buy instead? Are you insane, letting me take over your work?”

He shook his head. “I buy sugar in a different place; it’s cheaper there, but it’s quite far. Besides the tarts for today, I plan to bake a pie tomorrow, so I’ll be needing a whole lot.” Without another word, Lay dashed out, leaving you staring at the door, dumbfounded.  Everyone knew you couldn't cook, so what the hell was Lay thinking?  Did he really just entrust to you the pasta, the sauce, and most of all, the very  lives of his friends and himself? 

“Keep calm, Noona,” D.O.’s voice soothed you, “Lay-hyung’s an old-fashioned guy; he still uses a recipe book. See, it’s right there,” he pointed to the opened book on the island. “I’ll try to help you as much as I can, but I can’t promise you anything. Stuffing four chickens will take a lot of time.”

You sighed. “All right, I understand. I’ll do my best!”

Surprisingly, making the sauce wasn’t that difficult. You mentally thanked Lay because he decided to cook a simple dish of Tuna Carbonara today, and not something like Seafood Marinara or that expensive pasta dish he once fed you: it had truffle oil, assorted mushrooms and some white wine in it. You remembered how wild and gigantic the fire was on the pan the moment he poured wine into it.

Compared to that exquisite, complicated dish, Carbonara sauce only needed three essential ingredients: cream, tuna, and mushrooms—all of which were canned, and needed not to be cooked.

“How are you, Noona?” D.O. questioned, placing his stuffing into the second chicken.

“I’m doing great!” you cheered, stirring the mixture inside the pot. You actually felt proud of yourself for getting this far. “Thank goodness it’s just Tuna Carbonara; I would kill Lay if today’s dish had been one of those fancy pastas with wine and what-not.”

D.O. approached you, and took a whiff of the sauce. “Hey, it smells pretty good! Can I try some?” You nodded, and gave him a spoon.

You felt pathetic, your heart beating fast as D.O. took a sip of the sauce. What the hell were you nervous for? It’s just Carbonara sauce! But maybe that was the real reason behind it. You would feel frustrated with yourself if it tasted bad—it’s just Carbonara sauce, for Pete’s Sake! If you can’t cook even that, then you can’t cook anything at all!

You cringed as D.O. took his dear, sweet time thinking of what to say about the sauce.

“Damn it, Kyung Soo, just say that it’s horrible. I know I can’t cook! Damn, this is Lay’s idea. That unicorn—“

“Noona, calm yourself; it’s delicious!” D.O. grinned.

You blinked.

“Really?” He gave you a thumbs-up.

“You’re not joking, are you?” He shook his head.

“Thank goodness!” You could breathe again, and your stiff shoulders relaxed at his words. “That’s great news! I mean, it better be. I would have felt awful if I found out that I can’t even make something as simple as Carbonara.”

“Wow, Noona, this is the first time I’ve seen you be so unsure of yourself. I didn’t know you would have such an insecurity.”

“Well, Home Economics was the never my best subject when I was in Junior and Senior high school.”

You took a spoon, and tasted the sauce. You blinked in awe. “Hey! D.O., you’re right, it’s not that bad! Whoah, I can’t believe I actually made this! This is amazing!” The sauce had just the right amount of creaminess; it wasn’t too fluid nor too viscous. You didn’t put too much tuna nor too many mushrooms either, so the over-all taste wasn’t too heavy.

You were pleasantly surprised with yourself. But you also felt pretty stupid for being so shallow.

“See, Noona? You shouldn’t let your past hinder your future!”

You chuckled, “Thanks for the encouragement! And while I do feel pretty proud, I don’t think I want to risk it and go on another culinary adventure! Remind me to strangle Lay after lunch, all right? I can’t wait to thank him for almost giving me a heart attack.”

~

“Uwaah!” Tao’s eyes gleamed as he stared down at the food on the table: Tuna Carbonara, four stuffed chickens, Caesar Salad, and Lay’s tarts.

“Let’s eat! Let’s eat!” he urged, gesturing for everyone to hurry up and sit down.

“Noona, Noona! Which did you cook?” Se Hun asked you, a playful smile on his face.

“Good thinking, Se Hunnie. Now we know what dish to avoid,” Lu Han said, smirking at you.

“Noona! Don’t believe a word Hyung says! I bet your food tastes great!” Se Hun defended you, a determined look on his face.

You ruffled his hair. “I won’t, don’t worry, little bro. D.O. and Lay themselves said that it was pretty good, so I will not let my roommate’s words break me down. And it’s the pasta dish, by the way.”

“We’ll eat every last bit of it then!” the maknaes exclaimed, and ravaged the Carbonara, placing a big serving of it on their plates.

You smiled as you watched EXO laugh and stuff their mouths with a bit of everything. The boys had big grins on their faces, and they all looked silly with sauce and bread crumbs stuck to the sides of their mouths. Even Kris and Suho, who were usually the most poised ones, hungrily ate their meals.

And then there was Lu Han, who said to be cautious of the pasta.

It was ironic, because he looked the happiest as he consumed the dish you cooked.

And you could’ve sworn that it was he, and not Se Hun nor Tao, who had the biggest serving of pasta on his plate. 

Author's Note:

Hello again, everyone! Just another boring chapter focusing on characterization! 

AND OMG, I've finally reached 30! Shallow happiness is shallow, but wow, I can't believe I've managed to write for that many already!

:))

Anyway, thank you to all those who commented! It seems everyone is excited for yet another jealous!Lu Han!

Again, thank you for reading, subscribing and commenting!

If you have time, why not drop a few words? I enjoy reading what you think about the chapter!

Next chapter: You were Lu Han's Romeo.