We all returned to the dorm at different times that night after our separate schedules. I made a trip to the library to do schoolwork after my workout with the permission of the managers and returned at 11:30pm, and I went to my room to find that Donghae was there already. I felt uncomfortable for a second after earlier that day, but then went inside and bowed slightly like nothing had happened. I then started spreading out my blankets on the floor.

I saw Donghae glance at me, but he didn't comment. I returned to my schoolwork on the floor, which I was beginning to think was impossible to finish. I then remembered that I had to cook breakfast the next morning, and that I had no idea how to do it. I got up and left the room to  knock on Ryeowook's. Ryeowook opened the door.

"Hi, Sunbaenim," I said, bowing. Ryeowook nodded and frowned.

"It's... it's about breakfast tomorrow," I said. "I was wondering if you could just give me a few instructions about what to do."

Ryeowook looked at me for a few seconds, but then nodded. "Follow me," he said. He went out into the kitchen. I breathed a sigh of relief that he was going to teach me what to do.

"You might have noticed that you don't really need to do a lot of the cooking; the fridge is stocked with the food that I've already made. So all you need to do is start the rice and make a few fried eggs with just the egg whites. The rest of it, you can just heat up in pots. If you don't feel comfortable, you can just use the microwave."

I nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"I usually just put all the vegetables and egg over the rice and put a bit of chili paste on top," he said.

"Okay," I repeated.

"I suggest you get up at 6:30 at least. Breakfast should be ready by 8."

"Sure," I said. "Thanks."

Ryeowook nodded. "Good luck," he said, and he went back to his room.

The next morning, I got up at 6:30 like Ryeowook suggested by alarm. Donghae and Sungmin made annoyed grunts, and I had whispered apologies to both before leaving the room as quietly as I could. I had never cooked anything before besides microwave dinners, so I was at a loss to cook rice for 13 people.

Thirteen cups? I thought, cocking my head. That might be too many since rice expands when it cooks... Maybe just ten? I scooped up ten cups of rice into the rice cooker. Was I supposed to wash the rice? I thought I saw Ryeowook do that on the first day so I ran water on it, swished it around with my hand a few times and drained it. Then I was hit with another dilemma; how much water was I supposed to add?

I contemplated for a few minutes. I was sure that the water level had to be higher than the rice. But by how much? As I added the water, I had another thought. Was I supposed to let the rice sit in the water for a little before starting the rice cooker?

Unsure, I looked around. Grasping at straws, I turned the rice cooker around, looking for possible instructions that might be printed there. Of course, there was none. I stood around stupidly around the kitchen for several more minutes, then I looked at the clock. It was already five minutes to 7, and I hadn't even started cooking. I sighed and rubbed my forehead nervously. No matter what happened, it couldn't be worse than not having done anything. I eyeballed the water level on the rice, and started the rice cooker. Thank goodness that part was automatic.

Vegetables, I thought to myself, and opened the fridge. The pre-cooked vegetables were there. Ryeowook said to heat them up, but I wasn't sure - aren't the vegetables supposed to stay cold?

Okay, I'll just follow Ryeowook's instructions. I put a pot on top of the stove, but then wasn't confident enough in myself. I opened the microwave instead. Wait... weren't these going to get cold by the time they were ready to eat?

Egg first then, I thought to myself. I opened the fridge and retrieved the carton of eggs. I had never separated egg whites from yolk before. I hesitated a little, then took out two bowls. I cracked open an egg into one bowl. The yolk had thankfully remained intact. I scooped up the yolk with a spoon to transfer it into the other bowl. It worked, and I was elated. I had done the same to six more eggs, then when I turned around, I knocked the carton over with my elbow, sending it to the floor with a crash.

"Ugh," I whispered with my eyes shut. I looked at the clock. 7:28. How, how, how?

Thankfully, the mess was contained within the carton itself and I had to do minimal cleaning. I opened the fridge again, and to my despair, I found that there were no more eggs. At that moment, the rice cooker beeped. I wasn't sure how to turn it off, so I just unplugged the power from the wall. I opened it to reveal the rice, but it looked much more like soup; the grains were fused to each other. How was I supposed to serve this to the members, who already hated me?

I had spent an hour cooking, with absolutely no result.

I crouched down with my face in my hands and I considered ordering breakfast from a store with my own money. Then I heard a soft alarm come from a room. Soon, Ryeowook had come out of his room.

"Is it done?" asked Ryeowook. He looked at me crouched down and clearly hid a smile.

I stood up. "No, I'm not doing too good," I said.

"I figured this would happen," he said. "I'll just do it."

I was more thankful to Ryeowook than I'd ever been, but I didn't express it.

"Uh, there are no more eggs," I said. "I can go across the street to the store to get some more."

"Did you look in the other fridge?"

"Other fridge?" I asked, perplexed.

"It's that cupboard-looking thing," he said, pointing. "Camouflage." I wanted to laugh, but stopped myself. I opened it to find two more cartons of eggs.

"Oh," I said, and took one out. "I can do this separating thing."

"How is the rice looking? Did you start it?" asked Ryeowook.

"Um... technically, it's finished," I said. "But I don't think it's edible."

Ryeowook walked over to the rice cooker and opened it. "Not bad for your first try," he said. "Too much water, obviously."

He scooped up some rice with a wooden spoon to look at its full state. "We could use this, still. I don't like to waste so much food."

He then put the rice in a pot and started boiling water with it. "We can just tell them we made porridge today," he said with a tiny smile. I almost smiled back, but reminded myself that I had messed up.

"I'm sorry I'm making extra work for you," I said.

"No, I expected this. I always just take a half-hour for making breakfast anyway," said Ryeowook.

"If I just watched you today, I could start making it by myself tomorrow," I said. "I'm sorry."

"Let me just take care of breakfast every day," he said.

"I'll get in trouble," I said. "I'm the youngest, I should be doing this."

"I'll speak to Jungsu hyung about it," said Ryeowook. "I'd rather be eating edible food that I've cooked than have to eat porridge every morning that you've cooked. I'm sure everyone would agree... including you."

"Sure, sunbaenim," I said. "Thank you."

He nodded and started working on breakfast.

*Author's note: I was going to have a bit more content in this chapter, but it was getting too long... expect a better chapter tomorrow, I guess. :P