Chocolate Soufflé [ 1 / 2 ]

[dddaehyun]

daejong
m | romance, smut | oneshot
PART 2



The restaurant "Banchan" was located in a pretty busy street, Jongup noticed. He'd never been in this part of Busan, with it's sharp steely facades and crystalline smooth edges. It was nothing like the calm, cozy district he lived in. Here, everything was buzzing with life, it was loud, exciting, bright. The sun setting above the ocean covered everything with a beautiful layer of glistening orange and Jongup knew that as soon as darkness would fall over the city, the bright neon lights of the advertisements adorning the buildings around him would light up the streets with the messy beauty of red, green, blue and yellow.

Jongup felt excited about working in this area. Unlike most of the people he saw here he didn't have millions of won on his bank account and five cars waiting in front of his mansion. He had parents who paid for his tiny apartment until he would get his first own paycheck and he drove an old dark green Jeep that was almost as old as himself, but he was determined to work hard and make enough money to pay back the money his parents spent on him. They were old and he didn't want them to worry about such things.

Glancing at his watch, Jongup exhaled a slow breath. It was almost time to go, after he'd arrived way too early and waited in his car for what felt like an eternity.

As he got out of his car, he suddenly started feeling nervous. Sure, he had applied for jobs before, but this was the first time that he got invited to an interview, and the thought alone made his palms sticky and his throat dry. He straightened his clothes, clean gray jeans, white dress shirt, neat black blazer, checking his brown hair in a shop window for the last time before making his way into the restaurant, the bag with his documents slung over his shoulder. He was almost placed at a table by a waiter, until he could tell him that he was here for the job interview. The man gave him a long, judging stare before nodding and leading him into the back.

Jongup felt his heart jump when they entered the kitchen. It was a large room dominated by blinding white porcelain and stainless steel, accentuated by colorful specks of all the ingredients that were being prepared here. To Jongup's surprise, only a single young man was handling all this, and he couldn't help the awestruck look that settled on his face as he admired the ease with which said man skillfully chopped a few carrots into slices so thin you could see the light filter through. The waiter next to him cleared his throat.

"Daehyun, Moon Jongup is here, for the job interview!"

The man, Daehyun, looked up, and only now Jongup got a full view of his face. He was handsome, almost pretty if Jongup had to specify, with smooth features and bright, intelligent eyes. His stare was sharp as he looked Jongup up and down before giving a small nod, turning around to a large sink to clean his knife and cutting board with skilled motions.

"Thank you, Youngjae."

"Be easy on him. Do you need someone to take over here until you're done?" the waiter asked but Daehyun shook his head, smiling a bit.

"No, I don't intent on leaving my territory," he chuckled and the waiter returned the smile, shaking his head slightly before leaving again.

Jongup glanced around nervously, watching how Daehyun went back to the counter, this time to slice a piece of what looked like fish into thin stripes. It looked incredibly professional and Jongup could feel his fingers itch with the urge to grab a knife himself and try it too, but he didn't have the job yet. Just when he was about to speak up, the other male bet him to it.

"How old are you, Jongup?"

"Uh, twenty. I finished high school a while ago."

"I see."

Silence fell around them again, the only noise coming from Daehyun's knife on the cutting board and something boiling and sizzling in a few pots and pans on the stove. Jongup shifted on his feet, unsure if he was supposed to do something or if he just had to wait or if he, pray not, was dismissed already. All of a sudden the young cook made his way over to a large freezer, taking out a large piece of frozen meat and walking back, dumping it into Jongup's hands. He just stared dumbfounded at the man, feeling his hands turn cold but he didn't dare to put down the meat, fearing that it might get dirtied on the counters even though they looked squeaky clean.

"Um..."

"Red wine or white wine?" Daehyun suddenly asked, not looking up from the pan where he was carefully roasting the fish stripes together with colorful vegetables and Jongup blinked, looking down at the meat in his hands.

"Uh, red wine?"

"Are you asking me?"

Jongup blinked, catching a glance from Daehyun before slightly twisting the frozen meat in his hands. He was pretty sure it was beef.

"No, I mean... yes, I mean uh... yes, red wine."

"You," Daehyun suddenly turned towards him, casually waving a large knife in his direction. "You're special, I like you. Cook something."

The last order made Jongup pale visibly and he almost dropped the meat before decided to just place it back where it came from. He barely took a handful of steps towards the freezer before he was stopped by a blade in front of his eyes.

"You know you can't just walk into the freezer in your street clothes."

The voice of the cook was calm, but Jongup swallowed nonetheless. He had no experience with job interviews, but he was pretty sure that this was not how things were usually supposed to be. He was thankful though, when Daehyun took the meat out of his hands and placed it back before checking on his pots again, seemingly ignoring Jongup completely.

"Um, what am I supposed to cook?" Jongup finally dared to ask, making Daehyun look up with an expression of curiosity and mild surprise.

"So you'd seriously cook something right here, right now?" he inquired and Jongup found himself shrugging with a nod and a small smile.

"Yeah."

He found himself soon growing more nervous under Daehyun's thoughtful stare, but he decided to just wait calmly, chewing on his bottom lip and shifting slightly on his feet. All of a sudden, the other male dropped the knife on the counter with a small clang and held out an arm towards him.

"Show me your hands."

Stepping forward, Jongup simply complied, letting his cold, damp right hand slip into Daehyun's soft, warm palms. The older lifted Jongup's hand up a bit, inspecting it thoroughly and then turning it around to make the palm face up, a surprised expression flickering over his face as he smoothed his thumb over the lines and small bumps on the rough skin.

"Where are these from?" he asked, looking up again and straight into Jongup's eyes, who shrugged again.

"Ever since I was young I used to help my mom with her garden, she loved fresh herbs and stuff, but gardening is hard work."

The silence that followed only lasted for a few tense seconds before the older male let go of him and went back to cooking.

"Cut your nails as short as possible," he suddenly said with a calm tone, stirring something in one of the pots. "File them down until they're completely smooth. Wash your hands and use lotion for your skin. You're going to start tomorrow at seven in the morning."

"I'm... I have the job?"

"Yeah."

Jongup felt his heart leap with joy and he already took a step towards the other wanting to hug him in his happiness but he stopped himself quickly enough upon realizing that this was his new boss now. Quickly dropping his arms to the side again he caught an amused look from Daehyun, then he clumsily wrestled his papers out of his bag.

"Do I need to sign a contract somewhere? These are all my documents, I didn't really know what to bring, though, but here are my last school certificates and this was an internship and here's my contract since I'm living here in Busan now and I also have a driver's license, just in case, because-"

"Wow!"

Jongup quickly clamped his mouth shut upon realizing that in his eagerness he'd been bombarding the older man with words, pretty much catching him off guard. Lowering his eyes, Jongup cleared his throat in embarrassement.

"Sorry, I got... a bit over-excited, I guess..."

"It's okay," Daehyun replied and Jongup looked up upon hearing him laugh lightly. "But you gotta go talk to Yongguk about your papers, I'm not good with that stuff."

"Oh... oh! I'll do that then! Where do I find him?"

"The guy you met earlier, Youngjae, just ask him to take you to Yongguk, okay?"

"Okay, um... thank you, really. I promise I won't disappoint you!"

"I'll cook you if you do that," Daehyun replied with a playful grin and Jongup couldn't help but laugh as he nodded, stuffing his papers back into his bag.

"I'll get going then."

"Yeah. Tomorrow, seven in the morning, be on time."

"Of course."

Jongup was almost out of the door to the restaurant when the young cook called him back, making him almost stumble into the counter next to the door.

"Last question, do you like cheesecake?"

"I love it," Jongup replied spontaneously, frowning in question but Daehyun just shooed him out of the kitchen.

Working at the restaurant was different from what Jongup had expected, to be honest. During his first weeks he did nothing but carry boxes of incredients or run errands, fifteen hours a day, until his arms and legs felt like heavy lead and he barely made it into his bedroom a little after midnight only to fall asleep instantly, getting up barely six hours later. He quickly felt more drained than ever, and his measly first paycheck after four weeks didn't really help much as he wondered if he shouldn't look for a better job, maybe.

Sure, he loved working at the Banchan, his colleagues were friendly and his boss, Daehyun was a nice guy too, and since they were so close in age they quickly treated each other more like friends than colleagues, but in the kitchen he reigned with an iron fist and almost excruciating rigor. And not once had Jongup even been allowed to so much as touch a knife, much less use one to cook.

The restaurant only opened at three in the afternoon on weekends, so he could at least enjoy a calm saturday morning today, staying in bed and glancing at the blue sky out of his window. Summer had slowly turned into fall over the now seven weeks he'd been working at the restaurant, and so far he hadn't been able to send any money to his parents. At least he'd been able to pay his rent on his own now, that made him feel a bit better.

But he wanted to become a cook, so when was he going to actually learn how to cook? He was pretty sure carrying boxes didn't help all that much.

Sighing in frustration, he turned around on his stomach and buried his face in his pillow, squirming slightly. He was close to dozing off again when all of a sudden the doorbell rang and out of instinct he shot up from the bed, not caring about his disheveled hair or his lack of proper clothing. Both the mailman and his neighbors could very well deal with his superman boxers.

Opening the front door he felt his throat dry abruptly. Suddenly he really wished for more clothing.

"Good... morning," Daehyun greeted him tentatively, giving him a long look and an amused grin and Jongup felt heat rush to his cheeks.

"Good, uh... morning hyung. What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, the older pushed past him into the small apartment and Jongup felt a rush of panic as he closed the door and hurried after him. He couldn't really say his apartment was tidy. Daehyun had already found the small kitchen area in a corner of the living room, placing his bag on one of the counters and then looking around curiously.

"You don't have a microwave," he suddenly stated before Jongup could say anything. "Do you cook here?"

"I used to," the younger replied nervously, shifting a bit. "Now I usually eat at the restaurant though or make quick stuff like salads, I don't really cook here anymore since I work... um, so much."

"Do you want to work less?" Daehyun inquired with a curious smile and Jongup cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well, I'd... like to work differently, actually..."

"Clever answer. What do you want, then?"

"I want to cook, of course."

"Why?"

The simply word caught Jongup completely off guard and he found himself staring at his boss with wide eyes. Daehyun raised his eyebrow with a smirk and Jongup swallowed, realizing that the older was testing him. He was expecting a serious, honest answer, and he had to give it right here, right now, standing awkwardly in his living room in nothing more but his blue red boxers, hair a mess, mind still half sleepy. Nonetheless, his answer could only be one thing, so he shifted slightly, glancing around the room.

"I love cooking," Jongup said slowly, licking his lips. "It’s one of my favorite things to do. To share my parents’ recipes that I grew up with is just something very special to me."

He looked up nervously upon receiving nothing but silence as an answer, finding that Daehyun's smirk had turned into a rather thoughtful expression instead. The older tilted his head a bit, humming softly before suddenly smiling.

"What's a recipe your mom used to cook for you?", he asked and Jongup didn't have to think long about that one.

"She made great pasta."

"Then let's make pasta."

Jongup stared dumbfounded for a moment before glancing down at himself, clearing his throat awkwardly upon realizing that he was still half naked.

"Can I... put on some clothes first, maybe?", he asked and Daehyun laughed in amusement before nodding yes.

Cooking with Daehyun was even more interesting that just watching him, Jongup quickly noticed. The older had a calm passion for what he was doing and it was fascinating to watch his slender hands work skillfully with the small variety of ingredients they had. As he carefully added pepper and chili to what would soon become their pasta sauce, he glanced over at Daehyun who was calmly cutting two chicken breast halves into small cubes. Obviously the older noticed him because he looked up with a smile.

"Something wrong?" he asked and Jongup shook his head, motioning his hand.

"No, I was just wondering what's next."

"Always ask," Daehyun replied with a lecturing tone underlying his smile as he checked the fridge. "Oh, you have shrimp?"

Jongup blinked for a moment before nodding.

"Ah, yeah. I like salad with shrimp."

"Well, you can get new ones at the restaurant, we're going to use these now. Wash the cutting board and the knives please."

Stepping aside a bit, Jongup did as he was told quickly, watching curiously out of the corner of his eyes how Daehyun took a small shrimp out of the plastic box and inspected it. When the cutting board was clean, the older took all shrimp out of the box and laid them out before turning to look at Jongup again.

"I guess you know how to peel and devein shrimp?"

"Oh, yeah I do."

Jongup was about to start working on the shrimp when Daehyun placed an onion on another cutting board before he filled a glass with cold water. Deciding to listen to the older about always asking his questions, Jongup lowered his hands and turned to Daehyun with a curious look, pointing at the glass.

"What's that for?"

"I'm going to cut an onion," Daehyun replied, looking through the few knives Jongup owned to find the sharpest one. "So I'll keep a sip of cold water in my mouth, this way I won't cry. I have a reputation after all."

He laughed lightly and Jongup chuckled before they both got back to work in comfortable silence. Daehyun kept a large sip of cold water in his mouth while he was cutting the onion and obviously it worked well, he didn't cry. Jongup on the other hand moved a step or two away from him, earning himself an amused look from the older. After cutting a few slices of bacon and chopping a bit of garlic, they added everything to the pasta sauce while the penne were cooking in slightly salted water. Jongup was quite amazed, it took barely twenty minutes to get a whole meal together and the delicious scent wavering through his room made his mouth water, reminding him that he didn't even eat any breakfast yet.

"You know what's the best thing about cooking at home?" Daehyun suddenly asked as he tossed the pasta and some grated parmesan and Jongup shook his head curiously. "You get to eat it all yourself."

Jongup laughed, setting his kitchen table for two and trying to clean his counters and the living room at the same time as inconspicuous as possible. He still felt somewhat uncomfortable that his boss saw his tiny, cramped apartment, now he knew that he didn't live in a nice loft like the older probably did. But he could still try to make the best out of it and show that he very well knew how to tidy up. For some reason he felt the need to impress his new boss. As they finally sat down to eat, Daehyun cleared his throat.

"Jongup, I have a favor to ask," he said and Jongup looked up, tilting his head in question. "I know I made you work really hard since the beginning, but could you work longer today?"

Jongup hesitated for a moment, moving a piece of chicken on his plate with his fork while looking at Daehyun. He could see clear discomfort in the older male's eyes, obviously he felt embarrassed for asking.

"How much longer is longer?"

"Um, I don't know for sure yet, but it'll be a while after midnight..."

"Okay, sure."

For a moment, Daehyun looked surprised and slightly taken aback and Jongup couldn't help the bright smile that spread on his face as he continued eating in silence. Over the past weeks of working with Daehyun, he'd noticed that the older was adorably socially awkward as soon as he had to leave the familiar confines of his kitchen. There, surrounded by stainless steel and fresh ingredients, he felt comfortable and at ease, but he got shy and nervous as soon as he had to interact with people outside of his territory. He didn't even go out to greet customers of the Banchan when they requested to see the cook of their delicious meals. One of the waiters, usually Youngjae, had to deliver an excuse that Daehyun was too busy to leave the kitchen at the moment. According to Yongguk, the owner of the Banchan, the only time Daehyun had actually ever set foot into the dining area was a year ago for the official committee that awarded the restaurant with a Michelin star for 'very good cuisine in its category'.

Now Daehyun was sitting across from him and suddenly Jongup realized just how young he looked. He'd seen Daehyun cook a lot during the time they worked together now, but it was in that single moment at his slightly wobbly old kitchen table that he understood just how much of a genius the older must be when it came to cooking, considering he was just twenty two years old. Not many already have a Michelin star at that young age.

"Don't you want to know why you have to work longer?" Daehyun suddenly interrupted Jongup's thoughts, making him jump slightly in his chair.

"Oh, I trust you to have a good reason, hyung."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then I'll still have a paycheck for it, right?"

Daehyun laughed softly at that, nodding slowly and eating another forkful, eyes set on Jongup across the table.

"Right, I asked Yongguk for a pay raise for you?" the older stated calmly after a few seconds, making Jongup almost choke on his own food.

"You did what?"

"You deserve it, after all the work. Also, you only have to come to the restaurant at nine in the morning now."

"Really?" Jongup couldn't really hide his surprise as he lowered his fork. "Why"

"To be honest I was testing you," Daehyun stated, glancing down at his plate almost shyly. "You know, I'm... really ambitious about cooking..."

"I've noticed," Jongup grinned, earning himself a playful glare from the older.

"As I said, I'm really ambitious about cooking and I prefer to work alone. But since the Banchan has been growing in popularity and number of customers, I simply needed a helping hand. I just wanted to make sure that whoever got the job was the right one, so I decided to put you through some tough work first."

"For like, a few weeks," Jongup added with a smile and Daehyun shrugged casually, a warm smile on his full lips.

"Hey, we're talking about cooking here, not some dull office job. Cooking is like sport, you have to be fit enough to do it properly, and you gotta have enough passion for it to endure the parts that are not exciting."

Jongup nodded in understanding, another question popping into his mind.

"How did you get into cooking, hyung?"

"Ah," Daehyun exhaled slowly, smiling as he glanced around the room for a moment before looking back at Jongup. "I started cooking when I was about ten. I have memories like when I was six or seven with my mom, and when I was twelve I started getting real serious about cooking."

"Twelve? That's pretty young!"

"Yeah, people tell me that a lot. But you know, I have lots of older siblings, and as they started to leave the house, I went from cooking once a week to twice, three times, and so on. After a while, it was just like making the bed."

"Wow."

"What about you?" the question was directed back at Jongup and he let out a thoughtful hum.

"I used to just help my parents a lot, in the house. I'm an only child, so the focus was always on me, somehow. I helped my dad with his car, or my mom with her garden, or in the kitchen, you know, cutting vegetables or pounding meat. It was fun work as a child and somehow it never stopped being fun, so..." Jongup shrugged and smiled. "I’m a home cook and love to read about food, but I’m not trained as a chef. I’m just really into cooking and passionate about it."

A moment of calm silence followed, and Jongup noticed how Daehyun's smile got just a bit brighter as he nodded.

"You know why there aren't that many really good restaurants? Why it's worth stars and awards when someone is a really good cook?"

"No," Jongup shook his head. "Why?"

"Because barely anyone has passion for cooking anymore," Daehyun answered, a sad tone underlying his words. "It's food, and we need it to survive, but most people take it for granted, they rely on instant food and microwaves without bothering to actually learn and understand what's so great about cooking your own food."

"I've noticed."

Daehyun exhaled a long sigh, taking a glance at his watch and as Jongup checked his own, he saw that it was barely ten in the morning.

"Jongup, the truth is, a commitee is coming to the Banchan today and I have to cook for them. They're going to see if the restaurant if worth a second star and that... would really mean a lot to me. So everything, absolutely everything has to be perfect and I could really... use a helping hand, you know?"

"Hyung, I already told you I'd be there to help you," Jongup replied with a smile, trying to hide his inner excitement about cooking for such a prestigious commitee. "So don't worry, okay? Just tell me what to do and I'll be the best two helping hands you've ever seen. I can even turn on a light switch with my nose if I have to."

The laugh that bubbled up Daehyun's throat made the younger smile even more.

"You're an idiot, but... thank you, really. Now let's wash up and go."

"Go? Go where? The restaurant?"

There was a bright glint in Daehyun's eyes as he slid out of his chair to carry his plate over to the sink.

"Nope. Today I'm going to really teach you how to cook, so we have to go somewhere important first. Don't worry, we have time for that."

Jongup nodded obediently, feeling his heart beat faster at the prospect of finally getting to learn something.

Ten minutes later Jongup found himself in the passenger seat of Daehyun's black Ford Mustang, after the older had steered him over the parking lot and away from his own car. He let his fingers linger on the belt a bit longer, whistling as Daehyun slipped into the driver's seat.

"Nice car."

"Oh, thank you," Daehyun smiled, letting the engine roar to life before steering out of the parking lot. "I worked part time jobs since middle school to be able to save money and then for the past three years I spent every paycheck on getting her back into this good condition, because believe me, she was basically dying when I got her as a present from my parents."

"She?" Jongup grinned, watching a faint pink rise on Daehyun's cheeks as the older trained his eyes on the streets.

"I, uh... I just call her Baby..."

"That's cute."

"Baby?"

"No, that you call her Baby."

"Shut up..."

Jongup couldn't help but grin wider when the blush on Daehyun's cheeks got a bit deeper. It was kind of amusing to tease him every once of a while, even though he kept it down, not daring to go further than occasional teasing remarks because the older was still his boss and therefore held the power to fire him. Glancing back at the street he noticed that they were leaving the city center and driving towards the ocean.

"Where are we going?"

"Oh, since I decided to really start teaching you how to cook," Daehyun smiled at him from the side, eyes not leaving the street. "The first thing you need to learn is where you get the best incredients, so we're going to the markets. Fish market first, Busan is famous for that one, after all, and the Banchan is known for serving great fish dishes and sea food. I want to show especially that to the commitee later today."

Jongup nodded, excitement rushing through his veins. Finally he would be allowed to cook in that wonderful kitchen.

Jongup found the restaurant closed two days later when he arrived for work in the morning. It was dark inside and he got no reaction when he rang the bell, so he pulled out his cellphone, dialing Yongguk's number. The owner should know what was up. It didn't take long for him to pick up the call.

"Yes?"

"Hyung?"

"Oh, Jongup! Wow, I'm sorry, I forgot to call you!"

"Yeah, I figured," Jongup replied calmly. "Did something happen?"

Yongguk was silent for a few long moment and Jongup couldn't help but worry. The only reason for the restaurant to be closed would be if the kitchen was closed and that would mean this was about Daehyun. Jongup felt a strange twist in his stomach.

"Something happened, kind of," Yongguk finally said. "Daehyun got the news, from that commitee... He didn't take it too well, so I sent him home and closed the restaurant for three days until he's feeling better. You should go home too, don't worry about your money, you still get it."

"I'm not worried about my money, hyung... Where is he right now?"

"Daehyun?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think he'd like to see anyone right now..."

"Hyung, please."

"Well, fine..."

It didn't take Jongup long to find Daehyun's address. The ranch house near the ocean was small, but welcoming, vegetables and herbs growing in a small garden together with colorful flowers and a few fruit trees. After parking his jeep next to the black ford standing on the driveway, Jongup got out, trying not to make too much noise on the white pebbles as he walked up to the house. Yongguk had told him that Daehyun kept a spare key hidden in a small bird house, allowing him to get into the house without having to ring the bell. Maybe Daehyun was resting and in that case he didn't want to wake him up.

The inside of the house was neat and cozy, white and cream dominating the walls, accentuated by warm red and orange. A few colorful drawings covered the walls. Jongup quickly found the living room, but it was just as quiet as the rest of the house. With determination, Jongup made his way to where he guessed the kitchen to be.

The room looked a lot like the kitchen at the restaurant, just smaller. Jongup halted his steps for a moment before slowly rounding the counter in the middle, exhaling softly. Without a word he settled on the floor next to the older, shoulder to shoulder, leaning his back against the counter and pulling his legs up a bit. Daehyun kept staring ahead with a solemn expression, a tub of ice cream in his lap and a large spoon in his hand. Both of them remained silent for long minutes, as Daehyun pretty much ignored Jongup while the younger was trying to think of something to say. The young cook beat him to it, though.

"Why are you here, Jongup?"

Daehyun looked calm and rather collected, but Jongup could tell from the slightly strained tone of his voice, that he had been crying not too long ago.

"I wanted to see if you're okay."

"Do I look okay to you?"

"Not really."

"Hm, so honest."

Silence fell again. Daehyun kept eating his ice cream, pretending to be oblivious to the way Jongup was watching him.

"Yongguk told me," he finally said after a while, startling the older a bit. "About the news."

"Oh," Daehyun breathed softly, lowering the spoon again and biting his bottom lip. "Well, then you know what a failure I am."

"Don't say that."

Turning to the side to face the older, Jongup leaned his shoulder against the counter. He couldn't help but feel a bit helpless, not knowing what to do to cheer Daehyun up again. He understood that he was sad about not getting that second star and Jongup felt the need to make him happy again. Daehyun sighed.

"But it's true, I did my best and still failed."

"Well, then I failed too, since I helped you."

"You barely did anything, though..."

"Still, we worked together in that kitchen, so we failed together, if you want to think that we failed."

"You don't have to say such nice things just because I'm your boss, Jongup."

"No," the younger smiled and got himself a second spoon before sitting down again and eating a spoonful of ice cream. "Yongguk is my boss. I'm saying such nice things because you're my friend."

That finally brought a smile to Daehyun's face and he shifted a little closer until they were sitting shoulder to shoulder again, moving the tub of ice cream so that both of them could reach it easily. They ate in silence again, simply enjoying each other's company and comfort.

"Are you disappointed?"

Daehyun's sudden question made Jongup turn his head towards him, frowning in question as he let the ice cream melt on his tongue. After a second he shook his head.

"No, why?"

"Because you chose to learn from someone who can't even get a second star."

"But I'm learning from someone who already has one star and that's already pretty damn fucking amazing, if you ask me."

Daehyun laughed lightly and shook his head.

"Don't curse, idiot."

"But I fucking mean it."

Jongup chuckled, balancing himself with a hand on the tiled floor when Daehyun shoved his shoulder.

"Hey, we're not working, you can't push me around like you do in your kitchen."

"We are in my kitchen, though."

"Well, you still can't push me around since we're not at work."

"When am I ever pushing you around at work?"

"You're like Gordon Ramsay sometimes, hyung."

"Wow, excuse you!"

With a laugh, Jongup pushed himself up, letting Daehyun stay on the floor as he opened the fridge, taking out a few ingredients and then looking through cupboards and shelves to find a bowl and a pan. He calmly went to work, pretending not to notice how Daehyun was watching him from his spot on the floor. He walked around the older whenever he had to reach the counter before finally placing a pan filled with a thin layer of batter on the stove.

"What are you doing?" Daehyun asked, finally deciding to satisfy his curiosity.

"I'm making pancakes."

"Pancakes?"

"My mom used to make them when I was sad because I failed a test or competition. I thought you'd like them too."

"Oh... thank you."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jongup watched how Daehyun pushed himself up from the floor, putting the tub of ice cream back into the freezer before placing two plates, knives and forks on the counter. The bunch of pancakes was done in no time and soon, Jongup found himself standing across from Daehyun on the counter, elbows placed on the white marble while eating pancakes with thick chocolate and vanilla sauce. The small smile was still playing around Daehyun's lips and Jongup was proud of himself for achieving that. He preferred to see the older smile.

Jongup ended up coming to Daehyun's house quite often during the following months. They would talk about random things mostly, anecdotes about school times and family meeting, favorite recipes or other interests, anything that came to mind to get to know each other better. They would cook dinner together, usually simple but delicious meals, kimchi, grilled chicken, side dishes, whatever Jongup wanted to learn about, Daehyun would show him. After eating the results of each cooking lesson in Daehyun's living room they would usually enjoy the view over the ocean, still talking about this and that, until Jongup had to leave to get back home.

At the restaurant Jongup was now allowed to cook freely together with Daehyun, following his instructions and preparing more and more spectacular meals for the countless customers. He always loved cooking at home, but it was somewhat different to cook at a prestigious, for wealthy and spoiled customers. Of course, not everything was rainbows and sunshine. There were bad days too, when Daehyun scolded him for burning a steak or accidentally tipping over a pot of soup. He still had to spend a few hours a day carrying boxes of ingredients or running errands to the market, and Daehyun was still excruciatingly rigorous. But to Jongup, it was all okay since he could now send some money to his parents every month. He wasn't earning a fortune as an assistant, but he'd quickly understood one of Daehyun's first tenets. You don’t come into cooking to get rich.

But Jongup wasn't here for the money anyways, not primarily. Sure, it was reassuring to have enough money to make a living, but he knew that he would want to work as a cook even if it was the worst-paid job in the world. Ever since he was in middle school, he loved throwing ingredients together or watching his mom in the kitchen. Cooking had always fascinated him and now he was just happy to be able to do what he loved the most with someone who was just as passionate as himself.

Daehyun.

Over the months, Jongup had quickly realized that maybe there was more about his feelings for the older man. That maybe the bubbly feeling in his stomach when he was around the older was more than just admiration for his skills as a cook. But Jongup wasn't all too scared about it, this wasn't the first time he experienced having a crush on someone and it had been back in middle school already when he came to terms with being gay, thankful for having the support of his family. Nonetheless he couldn't help but wonder what Daehyun would do if he suddenly confessed to him?

Would he be disgusted? Would he turn him down with that cute, timid tone of his voice that always appeared when he wasn't in his safe zone called kitchen? Maybe he should confess to him in his kitchen, or at his house, where he was more relaxed and less shy, maybe while they were cooking, maybe then Daehyun would even...

Jongup yelped loudly when he suddenly rolled over the edge of his bed, landing on the hardwood floor with a low grunt, all tangled up in his blankets. Groaning faintly he rolled around on his back, staring up at the treacherous edge of his mattress and feeling his blood rush hot to his cheeks upon realizing what his previous train of thoughts had been about.

Confessing to Daehyun. Him actually returning his feelings.

Sighing softly, Jongup disentangled himself from his blankets and stood up, trudging into his kitchen not even bothering to cover up a wide yawn. He had let the heater run all night, now enjoying a toasty warm apartment while countless tiny white snowflakes sailed down in front of his windows. Winter had arrived much faster than Jongup expected, quickly covering all of Busan and the rest of Korea with an endless layer of cold white fluff, while the temperature rarely ever rose over zero degrees, even during the day.

It was barely a week left until Christmas and Jongup wondered what Daehyun was going to do on that day. Filling a large mug with freshly brewed coffee he smiled. He wouldn't confess to Daehyun, but he could still ask him out. On a Christmas date.

All between friends, of course.

The Banchan closed early on Christmas Eve, a little after six in the evening. Nonetheless it was already dark outside.

Jongup shivered as he pulled his coat tighter around his body, watching his breath leave his mouth in small puffy white clouds. Out of the corners of his eyes he saw Daehyun and Yongguk leave the restaurant, the older locking the large doors and then bidding goodbye before leaving down the street. Daehyun turned to his Ford parking a few steps away, and Jongup jumped at the chance, hurrying over before he could get into his car.

"Daehyun, wait!"

The looked a bit startled when he turned around, but his expression immediately morphed into a smile upon recognizing him.

"Jongup, why are you still here? I sent you home two hours ago."

"I know, I... was waiting for you," Jongup replied slowly, adjusting his scarf around his neck. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, okay. What is it?"

The younger hesitated for a moment, clearing his throat and glancing around the street. He usually wasn't a coward, but now it took him a few seconds to gather enough confidence. He wanted to make sure every word came out properly.

"I was wondering if you wanted to maybe... drink a coffee somewhere?"

"A coffee?" Daehyun asked, a small smile playing around his full lips that gave Jongup a confidence boost, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I'm... I'll be alone on Christmas, so I thought I could spend it with you, maybe? I'd even cook for you!"

Daehyun laughed softly, nodding and shoving his car keys back into his pockets as he pointed down the street.

"I heard they have great coffee over there."

"Do you remember Himchan?"

Jongup looked up from his coffee and over at Daehyun on the other side of the small café table, nodding his head.

"Yeah, he's the one who plays the piano at the restaurant sometimes," he replied, smiling. "What about him?"

"I think Yongguk is crushing on him."

The younger spluttered, momentarily choking on his coffee, glaring at Daehyun when the older laughed instead of helping him. As soon as he caught himself again, Jongup cleared his throat, still surprised by the sudden news.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, Himchan is majoring in music, right? So he only comes to the restaurant two or three times a week to play. And coincidentally Yongguk always leaves his office upstairs when he's there."

"Hm, that makes sense..."

"And you know what's the best?"

There was an expression of excitement on Daehyun's face, fingers fumbling with the handle of his hot chocolate mug. Jongup thought it was cute.

"And what is that?"

"I think Himchan is crushing on Yongguk too."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Daehyun nodded, sipping at his hot chocolate and licking his lips. "He always asks for Yongguk's feedback on his playing, even though we all know he's a fucking piano prodigy."

"Did you just curse?" Jongup blinked, getting an amused grin in return.

"Yeah?"

"You surprise me everyday, Daehyun."

"I'm full of surprises, baby."

Jongup gave a playful snort, leaning back when Daehyun reached over the table attempting to swat the side of his head. Poking his tongue out at the older, Jongup shrugged.

"I think it'd be cute, though."

"What, cursing?"

"No, Yongguk and Himchan."

A strange expression flashed over Daehyun's face and he glanced down at his mug, slowly tracing his thumb against the edge of the porcelain. Jongup watched how the older chewed on his bottom lip, obviously thinking about something.

"So you don't think it's... um, disgusting?"

"What?" Jongup frowned. "You mean because they're both guys?"

"Yeah..."

"No, why should I be?" Jongup couldn't help but smile a bit wider, shaking his head and sipping his coffee and inhaling deeply through his nose, pulling all of his courage together for his next words. "I'm gay myself, that'd be kind of contradictory, don't you think?"

Daehyun was silent for long seconds after Jongup's sudden revelation, and the younger couldn't help but shift in his chair a bit, feeling a thick lump in his throat upon realizing that maybe he'd said that a bit too quickly. He opened his mouth to break the tense silence, but Daehyun was faster, smiling softly, a faint pink dusting over his cheekbones.

"If Youngjae turns out to be gay too," he chuckled lightly. "We'll be a restaurant with exclusively gay staff members."

"I heard he's dating a high schooler, Junhong or something."

"Wow."

All of a sudden, Daehyun laughed, shaking his head and finally looking up at Jongup again, flashing a smile. The younger smiled back immediately, feeling his heart beat faster upon realizing that Daehyun basically just admitted that he was gay too. All of a sudden, there were so many possibilities that Jongup felt his palms turn sweaty and he sat his mug down, afraid that he might drop it. Clearing his throat, he decided to be straight forward.

"So, since we established that now... maybe we could, um... drink a coffee together more often?"

"Just coffee?" Daehyun replied with a smile, making Jongup grin even wider.

Jongup stretched with a low groan when he woke up, squinting his eyes to adjust to the light of the pale winter sun, trying to decipher the time on his alarm clock. For a moment he was startled when he didn't find his alarm clock where it was supposed to be. But then again, his nightstand looked somewhat different too, more like a coffee table...

Sitting up abruptly, he suddenly remembered that he was in Daehyun's living room, lying on his soft couch. He'd driven Daehyun home the previous night after they had spent hours at the café. Daehyun had invited him to stay over the night so that they could spend Christmas together... and Jongup had agreed without a second of hesitation. He smiled, biting his lips as he remembered the evening at the café. The date. Because that's what it had been, a date. Neither of them had mentioned anything about dating, but he was pretty sure things were obvious.

He could hear noise in the kitchen and after a few minutes of dozing around he pushed himself up, hesitating for a moment when he noticed that he was only wearing sweatpants and a wife-beater Daehyun had given to him. Shrugging lightly, he decided that the older wouldn't be bothered, considering he had seen him in nothing but colorful superman boxers.

Before he made his way into the kitchen to join Daehyun for breakfast, or more like lunch, considering it was almost noon, he located his bag, pulling out a rectangular present, wrapped in beige and white paper, together with a small, light brown ribbon.

He stopped in the doorframe for a moment, holding the present behind his back and watching Daehyun for a few moments.

The older was stirring something in a pan that smelled suspiciously like scrambled eggs and bacon, making Jongup's stomach grumble and he smiled. Daehyun was wearing an oversized white shirt and Jongup could only guess the pattern of his black and white boxers because the shirt was so large it covered them almost completely, revealing long slender legs.

With a smirk, Jongup silently placed the present on the counter that served as a kitchen table too, before walking up behind Daehyun and playfully blowing a soft breath against his neck. Daehyun let out a startled scream, spinning around and clutching his chest, cheeks burning red as he stared at the younger with wide eyes.

"God fucking damnit, Jongup! Don't scare me like that!"

"I'm sorry," Jongup laughed, moving away to set the table. "You just looked too cute."

"Them I gotta stop with that if you keep scaring me like that."

"Nah, don't stop, I like you being cute."

Jongup grinned wider when a bright blush spread over Daehyun's cheeks, watching him turn around quickly and clearing his throat, stirring the scrambled eggs. They ate in calm silence until Jongup decided to push the small present over to Daehyun. The older gave him a confused look, lowering his fork and slowly picking up the rectangular present.

"What is this?"

"A christmas present. Open it!"

"Jongup, I..." Daehyun seemed to hesitate. "You don't have to give me a present, I don't even have one for you..."

"Oh, don't worry," Jongup replied, smiling encouragingly. "Open it, please. It would mean a lot to me, seriously."

"But..."

Daehyun opened his mouth to protest, but Jongup shot him a playful glare that shut him up. He stared down at the present for a second or two before letting out a small sigh and slowly pulling the ribbon open. The thin piece of fabric fell off and he pulled the wrapping paper apart. A small frown played over his face as he obviously tried to figure out what he was holding there. It was a rather plain, red notebook, looking a bit tattered and torn, held together by a few patches of fabric here and there, thin strips of fabrik and paper bookmarking various pages.

"It's my mother's old recipe book," Jongup explained slowly, watching how Daehyun's eyes widened cutely. "Her eyes are getting worse, but she doesn't need it anyways, because she knows all of her recipes by heart anyways. She gave it to me when I finished high school, and I thought it'd be better of with someone like you, who actually has the skills to make something out of these recipes, you know?"

"Jongup, I can't take this, it's-"

"Please. Keep it and in return teach me how to cook the recipes collected in this book, Daehyun. I told you my mother's recipes mean a lot to me and I don't know anyone who would be a better teacher."

Silence fell again, as Daehyun slowly flipped through a few pages with an awestruck expression on his face, while Jongup watched him, smiling calmly. He knew that he'd chosen the right present for the older, for his teacher, his friend, the boy he was more and more falling in love with. The happiness on his face made the butterflies in Jongup's stomach flutter even more.

"What are you going to do for New Year's Eve?"

Jongup looked up from the dessert of chocolate mousse and fruits that he was artfully arranging on a small plate, glancing over at Daehyun who was disemboweling a large salmon.

"I don't know yet, I'll probably stay at home and light a few fireworks? My parents are on a mediterranean cruise, something they always wanted to do, so I don't have to go back to Seoul to visit them."

"You know, Yongguk is planning some kind of New Year's party with fireworks on the roof and all, lots of people are invited. I'll be responsible for the buffet."

"Cooking?" Jongup couldn't help but frown, pushing the plate aside for Youngjae to take later, reaching for another to repeat the dessert. "Why don't you visit your parents?"

"Didn't I tell you? They died a few years ago."

Jongup froze, dropping a strawberry and quickly picking it up again to throw it into the trash. Turning to look at Daehyun he watched him clean the cutting board from salmon innards.

"I'm... sorry, I didn't know, hyung..."

"It's fine," Daehyun replied, flashing a smile. "Really, don't worry about it. My father had lung cancer, my bother had breast cancer, they died just a few months apart from each other, first my dad, then my mom. I was in middle school back then, over the years I learned how to cope with it."

"Oh, okay... Well, I'll be here then, helping you with preparations for that party thing."

"Jongup, you really don't have to-"

"Don't let it get to your head, I just don't have anything to do."

Jongup laughed and rounded the steel counter when Daehyun motioned to swat him with a towel. He felt excitement curse through his bones at the thought of spending New Year's Eve with Daehyun.

New Year's Eve came fast. After the buffet was prepared, Yongguk ordered them to mingle with the rest of the party guest, insisting on it no matter how much Daehyun was struggling and pouting. It took both Yongguk's and Jongup's convincing, together with Youngjae rushing to Daehyun's house, to force the older into a simple black suit with a gray dress shirt and a black tie. Patting the suit down, Daehyun pouted, sending glares at them, but Yongguk just grinned.

"See, much better, you hermit. Now I can finally show my favorite cook to the world."

"Your favorite cook?"

"You're my only cook, learn to take a compliment, dongsaeng."

Daehyun glared a bit more, but allowed Jongup to lead him out of the kitchen and up to the roof of the three-story house. Jongup was wearing a black suit too, sporting a dark green dress shirt underneath. Unlike Daehyun he wasn't wearing a tie, he was just the assistant after all.

"Jongup?"

Daehyun's voice was timid and he felt the older's fingers curls into the sleeve of his suit. Turning to face the older, Jongup tilted his head.

"Yeah?"

"Can I please just stay on the side where no one will notice me?"

"Sure," Jongup nodded slowly, placing a hand on Daehyun's shoulder and leading him out onto the roof and over to the side.

The roof of the house was illuminated by lanterns, spreading warm orange lights, large heaters hidden under the tables all around gave of a nice warmth against the cold winter air, while smooth and classy decorations in white, blue and light brown accentuated the roof. Everything looked expensive but not exorbitant, matching perfectly with the high class guests standing around, holding glasses of champagne and making small talk about business, families and money.

Jongup followed Daehyun as the older took a glass of champagne from one of the tables around before making his way over to the edge of the roof, leaning his elbows on the broad railing and glancing down at the street. Standing next to the older, Jongup took a sip from his own glass and looked at him.

"Why are you so... timid around people?" he finally asked what had been on his mind for months now.

"I'm just naturally shy," Daehyun replied softly, smiling softly at him. "When I was a child I never really enjoyed being the center of attention and somehow that didn't change."

"Ah, well... I think it's cute."

"You have to stop saying that."

"Why? It makes you blush and that's even cuter."

"Jongup!"

The younger laughed lightly, sipping at his champagne again and keeping his eyes on Daehyun, watching him as he stared over the city and the ocean that stretched out like a black sheet against the dark horizon. Just like the dark waters of the ocean, Daehyun's eyes reflected the light of the moon and the stars. It was a beautiful sight.

"You know, I really like you, Daehyun."

"I-I know."

"I just wanted to say that."

Leaning his elbows on the railing, Jongup let his gaze follow where Daehyun had been staring. Out of the corners of his eyes he saw a smile appear on the older's face as he twisted his glass in his hands.

Work at the Banchan went back to normal a week after New Year's Eve. Snow was falling heavier then ever, forcing Jongup to wake up extra early every morning to dig his car out of a pile of snow. When he arrived at the restaurant a little before nine in the morning Youngjae would greet him with a smile as he set the tables, artfully arranging cutlery and embroidered cloth napkins while telling him that Daehyun already made coffee. Daehyun would greet him with an even wider smile, pushing a large cup of coffee towards him over the counter, black but with lots of sugar, just like Jongup liked it.

On this particular morning, however, his coffee was still in the large coffee machine, while Daehyun was wrapping a bandage around his left hand, looking up when Jongup walked into the kitchen.

"What happened?"

"It's just a cut, nothing new."

Frowning, Jongup put his bag down and walked over, reaching for Daehyun's hand.

"Well, I've never seen you cut yourself during work," he said slowly, unwrapping a part of the bandage to wrap it up properly. "So it is something new."

"I'll be fine, don't worry."

Daehyun was smiling calmly, moving his fingers a bit after the bandage was wrapped tightly, finding that he could still move his hand without much trouble. Jongup nodded and went to change into his work clothes before joining Daehyun in the kitchen again.

They worked in their usual silence, only occasionally sharing a smile or a few words, unless Daehyun was teaching him a recipe or a useful cooking trick. Within minutes after starting to work, the delicious smell of various meals was wafting through the kitchen and Jongup could hear the faint noise of customers filling the restaurant after it opened its doors thirty minutes after nine in the morning. Most of the people frequenting the Banchan were wealthy business people, holding meetings or enjoying a friendly business lunch with work partners. In the evening, men in suits and golden watches would take out pretty women in expensive dresses and sparkling jewelry.

Jongup wasn't all too fond of such an exorbitant display of wealth, but the spoiled taste buds of these customers were a daily challenge and he always loved challenges.

Daehyun was roasting chicken breasts in a pan together with various herbs, onions and almonds, occasionally sprinkling a few drops of white wine over the sizzling white flesh. The scent was breath-taking and as soon as Jongup was done with the appetizers he was preparing, he peered over Daehyun's shoulder to see what he was doing.

"Almonds?"

Daehyun jumped in surprise, shooting him a mild glare before concentrating on the pan.

"They give the chicken a nice aroma, and later I can grind them into a paste of crème fraîche together with fresh herbs, chopped vegetables and just like that I get a delicious addition to the meat that will keep the chicken flesh from tasting too dry."

"And nothing goes to waste."

"Exactly."

"How's your hand?"

"It hurts slightly," Daehyun shrugged, moving his left hand a bit. "But not bad, so I'm fine."

"Ah, right! I wanted to invite you to my birthday!"

"Well, that's a change of topic..." Daehyun grinned and flipped the chicken breasts in the pan to roast the other side. "Are you planning a party, you know how I am with parties..."

"No, don't worry," Jongup shook his head, taking a wet cloth and slowly wiping down the steel counters, not looking up at the older. "I was more hoping that... it'd be just you and me?"

He heard a small chuckle.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Would you say yes if I did?"

"Hm, I think I would."

For a moment, Jongup was too surprised to actually get out any words, just staring at Daehyun who was calmly roasting the chicken breasts in the pan. Clearing his throat, Jongup took a hold of his tongue again.

"Well, then... will you go on a birthday date with me?"

"Of course," Daehyun smiled widely, pressing a sudden peck to Jongup's cheek before gently pushing him over to the stove. "Now check up on the tuna, will you?"

The younger complied immediately, smiling as he felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest.