8.

                “Welcome to SuJu’s Crazy Cool Kitchen Cooking Competition!” Kyuhyun announced as he waved his arms and smiled at the camera. He walked over to Izzy, who was still giggling about the silly title. “I’m Super Junior’s Kyuhyun, and as best brother, I shall be a judge alongside our sweet sister, Izzy!” The maknae turned to face her. “Izzy, will you please tell us all the terms of this contest?”

                Izzy flashed a beaming smile at the camera in front of her before explaining. “Alright, this cooking contest is a chance for the members of Super Junior to prove their love for their sister! Using the individual special ingredient placed on the counter in front of them, each group will have to make something edible. In the end, Kyuhyun and I will pick the winning food based on creativity, taste, and overall enjoyment! The best team will get a special prize and benefits.”

                The Super Junior members, aside from Kyuhyun, were sitting in groups of three behind different areas of the counter. Donghae, Yesung, and Ryeowook in one group, and Siwon, Shindong and Kangin in another. The remaining two groups were composed of Leeteuk, Sungmin, and Zhou Mi, and Eunhyuk, Henry, and Heechul. All of the men were huddled close together in their groups, discussing the best possible ways to incorporate their assigned ingredient.

                “But that’s not all!” Izzy’s shrill voice cut in. “In addition to making something for the competition, each member, including Kyuhyun, will have to bake their very own cupcake and decorate it. By 3 PM, they will all be given to me to judge. I will pick a best cupcake, and therefore this week’s best brother! So remember, decorate them and bake them with me in mind, okay?” She clapped her hands together as Kyuhyun announced the start of the competition, prompting a hectic flurry of multiple limbs as the members rushed around, trying to gather bowls, trays, and utensils before anyone else could reach them.

                It was a laughable scene, and the young woman couldn’t help but giggle as she watched the men run around. Her eyes naturally fell upon one dino-faced 26 year old.

                Donghae was tossing random ingredients into a mixing bowl as Yesung handed them to him, both ignoring Ryeowook, who was reading directions from the side of a cake mix box. Ryeowook only looked up when the other two gasped, finding out that too much sugar had been poured into the bowl. An amused expression on her face, Izzy turned her attention to another group.

                Eunhyuk’s team was the only one who wasn’t moving about in a rush. Instead of eagerly starting their culinary project, they were playing around with their secret ingredient. Henry had discovered that when hard enough, a block of cheese could be carved into a variety of little sculptures. The three men sat at their countertop, shaping the cheese with their butter knives and giggling.

                Izzy opened to make a sarcastic remark, but was stopped when she heard a scream. She whipped her head around and caught sight of Kangin cradling his left hand. “What’s wrong, oppa?” Her voice was strained, fighting to hold back her panic.

                “He didn’t know the stove was already on, and put his hand on it,” Siwon explained. Fear gripped his usually calm features. In the background, Shindong called for a first aid kit. Izzy began to make her way over to the injured Super Junior member, but before she could take a step, Donghae was already there.

                “Hyung, are you alright?” He asked, placing a hand Kangin’s shoulder.

                His face scrunched in pain, the older man replied, “Yeah, I’m okay. I’ve faced worse injuries.” At that moment the PD and another staff member came over and said they would take Kangin to a nearby clinic. They guided him away from the kitchen and out the house.

                “Alright guys, just keep on going. Kangin will be fine, it’s not a serious burn.” The assistant PD stepped up to take action. “The cameras are rolling.”

                A little apprehensive, Izzy looked about her as the Super Junior members continued about their cooking. She noticed Donghae with his arm on a nervous Siwon’s back, talking in hushed voices, and walked up to them. “Siwon, are you alright?”

                “No, I don’t.” He stoutly replied. “It’s my fault Kangin got hurt. I left the stove on, and forgot to put a pot or pan on the burner for safety.”

                Izzy immediately pitied the man, for she knew that Siwon must’ve felt terribly guilty. “Don’t worry, it’s a mistake anyone could have made.” Right after the words left , she winced. Somehow the words didn’t seem as comforting as Izzy would have liked.

                Donghae stepped in to salvage the situation. “Yeah, and it’s not entirely your fault. Kangin should have known better than to slap his palm onto a stove like that, even if it may have not been on.” He clapped the back of his dongsaengs neck. “Anyways, the best you can do right now is to keep cooking and make something Kangin would have been proud of.” Giving the younger man a final, reassuring grin, Donghae left to go back to his group’s countertop station.

                Glancing at Siwon, Izzy noticed an immediate change in his demeanor. She was in awe at how supportive and great Donghae had been in cheering his fellow member up.

                Leaving the ‘visual’ member of Super Junior to his cooking, Izzy decided to get to work as well. Clearing a space at the counter for herself, she poured brownie cake batter into a mixing bowl and expertly added eggs, butter, and other ingredients. Once she got the batter into the oven, the female patisserie dusted her hands and stood back proudly, watching her work bake. “Kyuhyun-ah,” Izzy called to her co-judge, beckoning him to come over. Putting an arm around him, she pointed at the oven. “After we’ve decided a winning team, I’d like you to decorate the cake, icing the winning members’ names, okay?”

                “Sure,” Kyuhyun replied. “It’ll be easy writing my own name.”

                At this, the Super Junior ‘sister’ chuckled. “Hey, if anyone’s going to be winning, it’s me.”

                “What are you two laughing about?” Donghae’s voice came from behind them, causing Izzy to jump. She took her arm off of Kyuhyun’s shoulder and spun around, facing 1/3 of the Dino Brothers trio.

                “We’re obviously giggling at how ridiculous your face looks right now.” Reaching over to a nearby countertop, she dipped her finger into a bowl of icing and plopped some neatly onto Donghae’s nose. She smiled at her masterpiece, then winked and twinkled her fingers, walking away from the stunned man.

                For the rest of the contest, the young woman helped out each team here and there, giving little tips on how a certain dish could be made to taste a little better, or how a dish could be cooked a little bit faster. The male idols responded to her advice well, thanking her profusely when the result came out better than expected. Even Donghae grabbed her hand and kissed it multiple times in gratitude when his team’s cookies came out of the oven nice and soft.

                “Okay guys, time to hand in your individual cupcakes! Place them behind your name card on the dining table in the next room, and I’ll go judge them!”  

                Izzy smiled to herself as she gazed upon the myriad of cupcakes in front of her. Each one was so unique, so adorable, she almost didn’t know which one she would pick. Almost.

                Her eyes scanned the row of cupcakes until they rested upon the one behind the tag labeled “Donghae”. When she looked at the cupcake, she was surprised. It was completely devoid of any t at all: no frosting, sprinkles, or even toothpicks. Just a round, dark brown surface. But Izzy understood once she found Kangin’s cake. Even though he was absent, someone had made and decorated a cupcake for him, putting much effort into each carefully placed sprinkle, each layer of colored frosting. There was even a cute little strawberry on top. Kangin’s cupcake was definitely the best looking one of them all.

                Donghae must’ve spent all his time on Kangin’s cupcake, Izzy concluded. With a satisfied little nod of the head, she made her decision about the best and worst brothers, and walked back into the kitchen. The judging process for the team goods had to start.

                4 unique plates presented themselves to the judges. A blueberry pie, a beef bun, chocolate chip cookies, and, the most different, saltine crackers topped with mini cheese sculptures. “I can see you put a lot of effort into making this, guys,” Izzy joked.

                Heechul glared back, a defiant look on his face. “We customized the cheese for you. Specially made, imported from the land of Heechulfingers.” His explanation just evoked more giggles and smiles from Izzy.

                “Yeah,” Henry piped up. “I even carved this cheese after your likeness,” he pointed at a particularly crude block of cheese. Its model peered closer at the cheese bust.

                “Is there a reason my nostrils are bigger than my eyes?” She giggled.

                “That’s how they look in real life!” Henry shot back, a teasing glint in his pupils. Izzy’s eyes rolled in skepticism, and she let the matter pass. 

                The maknae and the female tasted each plate, then huddled close to whisper thoughts on each plate. Coming to a conclusion, Izzy shooed Kyuhyun away to go ice the cake she had made. In the meantime, the other Super Junior members spent quality time with their ‘sister’. Gathered in the living room, every person comfortably sprawled on the couch, the floor, or some other chair and told jokes, related stories, and sang the latest hit songs. This hangout ended when Kyuhyun came in and called everyone back in the kitchen to look at the cake.

                “Here it is!” Kyuhyun pulled the metal top off the tray, and everyone stared at the cake in wonder.

                 The icing on the top had been looped into an unreadable, scrambled mess.

                 “What is that supposed to be?” Henry was the first to speak what was on everyone’s minds.

                 “It spells the winners’ names,” Kyuhyun proudly proclaimed.

                 Izzy sighed and pinched the bridge between her eyes. Then a smile reappeared on her face and she looked back up at the maknae. “Kyuhyun-ah, your icing writing is so neat that I can’t even read any of it at all, and I already know who the winners are.”

                 At once, all the men exploded. “Yah, Cho Kyuhyun!” “You stink at this!” “Who won? Who won?”

                 Izzy escaped the crushing horde around her and hopped up onto the counter, raising both hands to call for attention. “The winning team was.. the makers of the blueberry pie! Leeteuk, Zhou Mi, and Sungmin!”

                The three members cheered and clapped each other’s backs, congratulating one another. Izzy beamed. To her, it seemed as if they had just won yet another music award, not just a pointless cooking competition.

                Then she picked up the aluminum tray from behind her and cleared , garnering attention once again. “And I have picked the best and worst brothers.” Everyone looked at her with hopeful eyes, but Izzy avoided all their gazes and glanced at Donghae, who was smirking as he did the cattle-herd move from SNSD’s Oh! dance. Ryeowook gave his hyung a strange look from behind, but didn’t seem to think anything suspicious about it and his eyes went back to silently hoping for the best brother title.

                Izzy held up a cupcake and suspended it in the air above the opening of the trash bin. “The worst brother is.. Henry!” She dropped the chocolaty treat and let it thump to the bottom. “Since he tells me it’s obvious I have huge nostrils.” Every man except Henry cackled, relieved to not be the worst. Izzy held up another cupcake. “And the best brother is.. Donghae!”

                All the men except for the chosen winner gaped in surprise.

                “You’ve got to be kidding,” Shindong groaned.

                “No. For once, I’m serious!” Izzy replied. “Although Donghae may not have been the best brother to me, he was a great one to his fellow Super Junior brothers. I admire you for that.”

                An excited Donghae ran up to Izzy, picked her up off the counter, and carried her around, cheering. “Yeeeesssssss!” The feeling of the dancer/singer’s strong arms wrapped around her waist should have felt uncomfortable, or awkward, but Izzy found herself liking being held by him. Not that I’d ever tell him that, she thought to herself.

A/N: Hey, just wanted to advertise a little something here: If you guys want to try something new in writing, check out my friend sarang's Today More Than Yesterday writing challenge! There'll be weekly contests and prompts, and the prize is possibly a oneshot or graphic! Just check it out, pleease? <3 I'll update faster if you do! (Okay maybe I won't but I'll try my best!)