cooking 101 (part 1/2)
rating: pg
length: 12.7k
pairing: sehun/kyungsoo, side!suchen
summary: sehun is forced to apply for cooking classes by his best friend. kyungsoo is his dreamy cooking instructor
notes: originally written for astrongbreeze~
Sehun would’ve never imagined himself applying for cooking classes. Not in a million years. For all the seasons of Masterchef he’s binge watched, one would think he would be more interested in actually doing some cooking, but that isn’t the case. The reality is, Sehun has been living off instant noodles, take out and the occasional life-saving home cooked meal his mom brings him when she visits every 3 months or so.
But when his best friend Junmyeon, who happens to be a couple of years older than him and acts like Sehun’s (grand) dad, comes over one night and Sehun decides to prepare his very own signature dish, ramyun ttang, for him, what he gets is an earful and an ultimatum from the elder.
“I will call your mom immediately if I don’t see you cooking some proper food for yourself within a week. There’s a school downtown that happens to offer cooking classes. Here’s the phone number, call them,” Junmyeon threatens and hands a very surprised Sehun a rather fancy business card.
“You never complained about my cooking before,” Sehun pouts and puts on his best kicked puppy face.
“That’s because you’ve never cooked for me before. We always order out when I come over and now I know why,” Junmyeon makes a disgusted face and Sehun instinctively snorts at that.
“You are not that great of a cook either, just saying,” Sehun retorts taking a piece of the noodles and shoving it in his mouth. It really doesn’t taste that bad, he thinks. Junmyeon is just being dramatic.
“How have your survived all these years by yourself?” His best friend asks, eyeing him with disbelief.
Sehun shrugs and continues to eat his perfectly edible meal as an outraged Junmyeon, sitting by his side on the worn down couch, mumbles something about ordering pizza.
A week later, Sehun is sitting in class with about fifteen other people - most of them middle aged ladies - waiting for their cooking instructor, who is probably another middle aged lady. Sehun sighs, tapping his fingers on the desk. The room is a standard classroom, like the ones you have in every school, with desks, a board and a boring clock on the wall that seems like it’s broken but the reality is, time just doesn’t pass in school. He very much hopes cooking school isn’t like high school at all, or he won’t be coming back next week.
Suddenly, a bit of a commotion rises around him, making Sehun look in the direction of the door to see what’s happening, since people seem to have gathered there. And that’s when his eyes land on the most handsome man he’s ever seen since he’d watched Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic for the 250th time with Junmyeon, last week. He swears he can hear Celine Dion’s voice singing as soon as the man enters his field of vision. .
The man smiles softly at the overly excited group of women and asks them to kindly sit down. The big, brown eyes that lock with Sehun’s when he scans the classroom, takes Sehun a bit by surprise but he holds the other’s gaze and he can swear he sees the corner of the man’s gorgeous plump lips twitch slightly as if he is holding back a smirk. Interesting, Sehun thinks, amused. His own lips curve into a smirk that probably makes him look very smug but he doesn’t care. Sehun can already foresee the direction this is going and he likes it. He is ready to play this game.
“Good evening, everyone”, the man starts with a surprisingly deep and smooth voice that has Sehun immediately straightening himself in his chair. “I’m Do Kyungsoo, your cooking instructor.”
There’s a collective hum of understanding that fills the room before the instructor, Kyungsoo, clears his throat and the room is silent again.
“I’ve asked you all to gather here today because this is our first encounter and I’d like to go over a few things with you. However, this will not be our regular meeting place,” he explains and, again, his eyes land on Sehun but only for a brief second, much to the latter’s disappointment.
Kyungsoo looks very professional while explaining to them about the basic rules of the kitchen, and how they should behave in class, always putting their safety first. Everyone listens intently to what he says, but Sehun’s thoughts quickly drift away, his eyes traveling from Kyungsoo’s attractive face, to his no less attractive body. He is certainly not as tall as Sehun, but his proportions are well adjusted to his height. He’s not muscular but Sehun notices how temptingly the fabric of his white dress shirt clings to fairly thick biceps, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing slightly tanned arms. Sehun licks his lips involuntarily, unaware of Kyungsoo’s eyes on him, until someone kicks the foot of his chair and he’s brought back to reality.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your daydreaming, Mr..?” Kyungsoo is standing right across from him, have taken a few steps in Sehun’s direction.
“Oh. Oh Sehun,” he answers as best as he can, eyes fixed on Kyungsoo, although he can feel everyone in the room is looking at him. He feels his cheeks burn.
“Mr. Oh… May I call you Sehun?” The way Kyungsoo pronounces his name has the heat traveling from Sehun’s cheek to much lower regions.
Sehun nods affirmatively, resisting the urge to reply with a ‘you can call me anything you want’. Kyungsoo seems to study him for a moment, before continuing.
“So, would you like to introduce yourself and say why you chose to take cooking classes?
“Sure.” Sehun shrugs. “I was forced to by my best friend.”
A few looks of outrage are sent in his direction after he says that, but Kyungsoo’s face shows nothing but amusement at Sehun’s little confession.
“That’s… a valid reason to be here,” Kyungsoo says with a small smile then turns his attention to the rest of the class.
Just like that.
Sehun feels a little disappointed at himself. He thought he could hold the other’s attention at least for a few more minutes, but clearly, he overestimated his own charms.
For the remainder of the time, Sehun tries to focus on what Kyungsoo is saying, even if it’s hard, because the latter is so goddamn attractive it takes all of Sehun’s self control to not let his eyes dart back to Kyungsoo’s neck and the unbuttoned collar of his shirt. Maybe settling for watching Kyungsoo’s face is a good idea, but the man also happens to have very distracting lips as well. All the inappropriate thoughts populating his mind keep Sehun from listening to anything more than a few sentences here and there of what’s probably very important information.
Finally, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor and loud chatter drags Sehun, once again, from his straying thoughts. He gets up from his chair, stretching lazily before he makes his way to where Kyungsoo stands talking to a little group of women.
Standing a few steps away, Sehun waits until they all bid Kyungsoo farewell and Sehun is free to approach him, but before he can walk in Kyungsoo’s direction, the other is already turning to him with curiosity in his eyes.
“Can I help you, Sehun?” He asks politely, motioning Sehun to come closer which he does, until he stands next to Kyungsoo as the man gathers his belongings.
“Yes… No… Actually, I just wanted to apologize for being distracted earlier. I… have a lot on my mind.” That’s only half a lie because he does have a lot on his mind: a lot of Kyungsoo.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about that,” Kyungsoo directs him a small smile, throwing his messenger bag on his shoulder and finally turning his body fully to Sehun, facing him. “The first day is always boring like this. Unfortunately, I have to follow the school’s protocol and give an introductory class to the newcomers. I promise next class will be much more entertaining to you.”
A smirk directed at him, takes Sehun off guard and he takes a moment to process the words and what just happened, his mouth hanging open while he finds the words to reply but comes up with nothing so he only nods. He must look utterly dumb to Kyungsoo right now.
“See you next week, Sehun,” Kyungsoo says, and suddenly he is walking out of the empty classroom, leaving a flushed Sehun behind.
~~~~~~
“I’m glad to see you’ve been beaten at your own game. Please, I need to meet this guy, my new hero. I have to congratulate him!” Jongdae’s been teasing Sehun for about half an hour now, after he told him about his very attractive-slash-hot-slash-dreamy cooking instructor who had managed to render Sehun speechless which had never in the history of the universe (Jongdae’s words) happened before.
“Shut up.” He kicks Jongdae’s shin under the table. Jongdae protests but at that moment, Junmyeon arrives at the table with their coffee orders.
“Hi handsome,” Jongdae beams at Junmyeon, as the brunette sits down by his side, placing a peck on Jongdae’s pouty lips.
“Please don’t do that. It’s gross,” Sehun protests, making gagging noises. It’s not a pleasant thing to watch when his friends start getting all lovey-dovey in front of him.
“It’s not gross. You’re just jealous, Sehunnie,” Jongdae teases and Junmyeon, by his side, laughs and pats Sehun’s head across the table.
“I feel like I’m out with my parents. This is too weird,” Sehun says, before taking a sip of his caramel macchiato.
Both of his friends laugh and Sehun scrunches his nose, slightly annoyed that he actually is a bit jealous. Junmyeon has been dating Jongdae for over a year now, and they’re a perfect match for each other. Sehun likes to tease Junmyeon about how perfect both of them are, but in reality, he wishes he had that kind of chemistry with someone. Of course, he will never admit that to either of them, especially not Jongdae. It would ruin his reputation as a cold-hearted bitch.
“So, how was your first cooking class?” Junmyeon asks after a few seconds of silence.
Jongdae opens his mouth to answer but Sehun glares at him before he says anything and, luckily, his friend gets the hint and resumes to drink his own coffee.
“It wasn’t an actual class, there was no cooking involved. We will start for real next week”, Sehun answers, carefully leaving out the part about having the cutest cooking instructor he’s ever laid his eyes upon - even if Kyungsoo is actually the first one he’s ever met.
“Well, I hope you listened to everything carefully so you don’t burn the kitchen or anything like that on your first day,” Junmyeon teases.
“Nah, don’t worry, I have that planned for the second day actually,” Sehun bites back, earning a snort in response.
“I’m glad you decided to keep attending the classes. I thought you would just give up after the first one.”
“Oh, but he has a very good reason to do it,” says Jongdae, with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows. Sehun should’ve known he couldn’t keep him quiet forever.
“Besides learning how to cook something that won’t give us food poisoning?” Junmyeon shoots them a confused look.
Jongdae sends Sehun a pleading look and Sehun merely tells him to go ahead and spill the tea, since sooner than later Junmyeon would find out about his embarrassing crush anyway. It’s actually quite impressive how much information Jongdae gathered from his brief talk with Sehun earlier while Junmyeon was getting their orders.
He is pretty sure a lot of what Jongdae tells Junmyeon is only assumptions he made from Sehun’s shallow narrative of what happened in the class, but it’s all very accurate. Even the bit about Sehun fantasizing about “all kinds of kinky activities including the cooking instructor pretty lips”. He never told Jongdae that, but his friends know him very well, after all, so he just shrugs the embarrassment off and keeps drinking his coffee in silence.
By the time Jongdae is done, Junmyeon looks not only very amused but also very proud of himself.
“I can’t believe my little Sehunnie is finally growing up. Having a crush on an actual person, not on a celebrity is a huge step into becoming an adult, you know?” Junmyeon says in an overly sweet voice, and tries to pinch Sehun’s cheek.
“Shut up.” Sehun bats his friend’s hand away. “I can’t help it that I’ve never met anyone interesting enough for me to have a crush on.”
“Except that chinese boy you met when you went to China, right? But I’m not sure he was real, either,” says Jongdae looking contemplative.
“He was very real!” Sehun protests, then adds, “I have my fairly decent Chinese to thank him for.”
“Mhmm,” Jongdae hums looking unconvinced.
Sehun lets the subject die and Junmyeon starts talking about their plans for summer vacation. He settles down on his chair, half listening to his friend’s discussion about where they should travel to, feeling lucky neither of them can read his thoughts. Because all of them involve a certain cooking instructor he’ll be seeing tomorrow.
~~~~~~
Sehun arrives for class quite early the next evening. Finding the classroom isn’t hard, but when he steps in the large room full of counters, stoves and kitchen appliances, he is surprised to see he is the first to get there. Apparently, he is the most committed person of his entire class, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the man that walks into the room, five minutes later. Kyungsoo doesn’t try to hide his amusement to see that Sehun is the first person there. He doesn’t seem surprised at all, merely lifting one of his eyebrows and greeting Sehun politely as he makes his way to the set of lockers by the wall, where he places his bag and coat, and retrieves a black apron from inside.
Sehun watches as Kyungsoo slips the apron over his head and ties it neatly around his waist, before coming to stand on the station next to Sehun’s. Then Kyungsoo smiles at him. A beautiful, heart-shaped smile that makes all the smiles Sehun’s ever seen pale in comparison.
“I don’t have an apron,” Sehun blurts out, dumbly, and Kyungsoo’s smile turns into a chuckle.
“Don’t worry, you can get one in the locker over there,” Kyungsoo motions to where he got his apron.
Sehun would’ve liked very much to engage in a long conversation with Kyungsoo about aprons, smiles and cabinets but people start to arrive for class and Kyungsoo gets busy and forgets all about him. Feeling neglected, Sehun retreats himself to a counter on the far corner of the room, and decides he would play it safe today. He needs to calm himself and keep a distance from Kyungsoo, and hopefully, get himself together so he can stop looking like he’s brain damaged everytime he opens his mouth to speak to the man.
“I need a volunteer to help me. Anyone?” Kyungsoo speaks, cheerfully, looking around the room.
Sehun realises he’s been drifting off again, but it’s too late because, choosing to ignore all the other hands raised, Kyungsoo picks Sehun as his volunteer for whatever they’re doing. Sehun has no clue what it is, but he promptly gets up from his seat and walks up to where Kyungsoo is standing behind a counter strategically positioned so every other person in the room could see what he is doing.
“Thank you for volunteering,” Kyungsoo says, without looking at Sehun, and the latter was going to protest that he didn’t volunteer but he decides otherwise.
“So, as I was saying, today’s class is rather basic… I’m assuming all of you are trained on the fine art of boiling water,” Kyungsoo’s tone is playful and everyone in the room laughs including Sehun, who suddenly feels lucky for being chosen to stand beside Kyungsoo.
“I’d like for each of you to pair up with another person so we can begin the class. Under your counters you’ll find everything you need… If you don’t know how to turn the stoves on, don’t hesitate to ask for my help,” he instructs, in a more serious tone.
Everyone starts doing as they’re told, and Sehun merely observes as Kyungsoo puts a saucepan with water to boil. Then he goes around the room inspecting everyone’s work and helping them if they need. Turns out they’re just cooking a simple pasta dish, and Sehun has no room for errors with Kyungsoo by his side telling him what to do and not do to, coaxing him, sometimes with a hand on his lower back that makes Sehun’s whole body tense and heat travel through all places.
When they’re finally done for the day, Sehun volunteers to stay and help cleaning. Kyungsoo seems very pleased and shoots Sehun one of those stunning and disarming smiles of his, thanking him for the help. They clean up everything in silence, except for Kyungsoo’s occasional humming of random melodies. Sehun smiles to himself, thinking that’s kind of cute. He sneaks a couple of glances in the other man’s direction, and notices how focused Kyungsoo is and how meticulously he does his work. Sehun is pretty sure, from what he’s observed of the other, that he is this way with everything he does.
Sehun steps outside after he’s done; two heavy trash bags in each hand. He throws them into the garbage can and wipes his hands on his apron.
“That’s unsanitary,” Kyungsoo’s voice comes from behind him, as the shorter man stands by Sehun side and hands him a bottle of hand sanitizer.
“T-thanks,” Sehun feels his cheeks burn, for what he assumes, is the 100th time in Kyungsoo’s presence. The other just has that effect on him.
They both stay like that, in silence, watching the almost empty street. It’s a starry night, Sehun can see, even though it’s hard to since they’re in the city and the lights and pollution get in the way. Sehun gives the bottle back to Kyungsoo, after pouring some of the liquid on his hands. The thing smells citrusy, the scent invading his nostrils. Suddenly, Sehun wonders what Kyungsoo must smell like. They’re close enough for him to be able to pick up the other’s scent but they’ve been cleaning for over half an hour and by now they both must smell of cleaning products.
“Thank you for staying and helping clean up, you really didn’t have to,” Kyungsoo finally breaks the silence.
Sehun looks at him, and notices Kyungsoo staring at the sky, just like he was before. He smiles softly at that.
“It’s no problem, I like cleaning,” that’s a straight up lie. Sehun hates cleaning. His apartment is actual proof of that. He takes a mental note to remember to clean his place, in case he ever invited Kyungsoo there.
Kyungsoo snorts like he picked up on Sehun’s lie.
“No one likes cleaning,” Kyungsoo replies, but his tone is playful. “Well, maybe I do. But I’m weird like that.”
“You’re not weird!” Sehun says, a little too loud and a little too quickly which makes Kyungsoo’s eyes widen and the corner of his lips curve in a smirk.
“I mean… Lots of people like cleaning, you know… I’m sure it’s a perfectly normal….activity to enjoy,” Sehun thinks he probably needs to stop talking. But Kyungsoo is chuckling and unexpectedly places a hand on Sehun’s shoulder.
“You’re funny,” Kyungsoo states and his eyes are on Sehun again; his gaze quizzical, warm and friendly.
“Thank you, I’ve been told I’m a master of comedy,” Sehun replies, letting out a laugh himself. Kyungsoo’s hand on his shoulder is a welcoming pressure.
Sehun secretly wishes Kyungsoo would never stop touching him. Maybe it’s too early to be having these kinds of thoughts about his innocent and oblivious cooking instructor, but he can’t help it. He is drawn to Kyungsoo like a magnet. He can’t pull away, and more importantly, he doesn’t want to.
“Do you need a ride home?” Kyungsoo breaks the silence.
“Thank you, but I don’t want to give you any trouble. I’ll just take the bus,” Sehun answers.
“Are you sure? I can drive you home,” Kyungsoo insists, casually, when both of them are inside and gathering their belongings to head out.
Sehun stops by the entryway, backpack thrown over his shoulder, weighing the offer. Then he decides he will take it since it means spending a little more time alone with Kyungsoo, even if he is a complete idiot around the man 99% of the time. It’s worth it.
Once they’re inside Kyungsoo’s car, Sehun notices a faint smell of citrus, like the hand sanitizer he borrowed from Kyungsoo. Clean freak, he thinks, and giggles to himself before he can hold it back.
“What is it?” Kyungsoo asks, as he fastens his seatbelt.
“Nothing, it’s just that your car is really clean,” Sehun blurts out, still amused.
“Well, thank you. I do like my things clean, tidy and citrus scented,” Kyungsoo says in a teasing manner and winks at Sehun.
Sehun takes a while to process the fact that Kyungsoo winked at him, so the words get lost on him between the loud beating of his heart and the sound of the car’s engine starting.
~~~~~~
Sehun is attending his economics class at university, one of the few he still takes regularly, when his phone vibrates in his jeans’ pocket. It’s probably Junmyeon wanting to know what time he is free to go bowling on Friday. Junmyeon always has something planned for Fridays. This week, it’s bowling. It would be him, Junmyeon, Jongdae and some friend of Jongdae’s whom Sehun’s never met. According to Jongdae, this would be a double date thing so Sehun is not looking forward to it at all. There’s only one person he’d want to go to a double date with, and that person isn’t Jongdae’s mysterious friend.
Sehun takes the phone out of his pocket and checks the message. It’s not from Junmyeon like he expected, though, and he can barely contain himself when he sees who it’s from. The message reads:
From: kyungsoo hyung
“I’m sorry to bother you, Sehun, but I’d like to ask you if you can come to class a little earlier on monday. I would like your help with some stuff. If you can’t it’s ok too. Just reply to me asap.
X
Kyungsoo (your cooking instructor)”
The giddiness that takes over Sehun almost causes him to fall off his chair, but he catches himself in time, still staring at his phone. Kyungsoo is asking him for help. With something he doesn’t know but he’s definitely helping Kyungsoo with it, no matter what, even if it’s hiding a body inside the fridge after cutting it in little pieces. Sehun shakes his head lightly, dismissing the absurd thought. Kyungsoo is too much of a gentleman to kill even a fly.
Having recomposed himself and his thoughts, Sehun replies with a “Yes, I can totally help, I’ll be there!!! :-) PS: I have your number saved, remember? You gave it to me the night you gave me a ride home.”
After hitting send, Sehun realizes, with dread, he had put a nose on his emoji and now Kyungsoo would never trust him again. Goddamnit, Oh Sehun.
~~~~~~
On Monday, Sehun arrives to class half an hour earlier than he was supposed to. Kyungsoo isn’t there yet, so Sehun sits on one of the counters, feet dangling as he plays some stupid race game on his phone he has already won twice but he’s too lazy to download a new one so he just plays it again and again whenever he’s bored. With his back to the door, he doesn’t notice when someone else enters the room, until there are hands on his hips and Kyungsoo’s face emerges by his side. Sehun would’ve jumped out of his seat and screamed if he wasn’t frozen in place and astounded by the gorgeous face looking up at him; although, his heart is racing incredibly fast and his stomach feels like it’s doing backflips.
“You’re early,” Kyungsoo says and his hands squeeze Sehun’s hips softly
“I told you I would be here,” Sehun swallows thickly, hyper aware of the other’s touch.
“Well, then we should get to work.”
The hands are gone, and Kyungsoo is walking over to the set of cabinets where the ingredients are stocked. Sehun jumps off the counter to the floor and follows the shorter man, hands on his hips as he watches Kyungsoo close a door then open another until he find what he is looking for.
“Chilli powder,” Sehun says, when Kyungsoo hands him the bag.
“Yes! We’re making kimchi.” Kyungsoo claps his hands together in excitement and proceeds to get all of the other ingredients and hand them to Sehun who places them carefully on the counters like a good assistant.
“I’ve never attempted to make kimchi before,” Sehun confesses, trying to balance four cabbages on his hands as Kyungsoo hands him another.
“I figured, since you’re taking a basic cooking class. But don’t worry, It will be easy,” Kyungsoo reassures him with a small smile.
Sehun learns later that Kyungsoo was lying out of his (perfectly shaped) ass. Making kimchi is not easy in the slightest. He doesn’t know how his mom does it, or how Kyungsoo does it, but he certainly can’t do it. It’s not that it’s a complicated recipe with lots of technique involved, but all the little steps and details just seem to go right over Sehun’s head and next thing he knows he ends up with a red soggy mess of cabbage, chili and water. Lots of water. Because he forgot to drain the cabbage after rinsing it and now he’s some kind of cold kimchi soup that probably tastes terrible.
“It’s okay, not everyone will get it right the first time. That’s what cooking is about: practice,” Kyungsoo tries to comfort him, patting his back in reassurance.
“Most people in the class got it right,” Sehun pouts, looking around bitterly at all the excited ladies with their perfect kimchis.
“Most people in this class have been cooking since both you and I were toddlers,” Kyungsoo whispers to Sehun, who snickers and nods in agreement.
“I’ll do better next time,” he says, trying to convince himself more than anyone.
“That’s the spirit,” Kyungsoo says enthusiastically, then turns to the class. “Well done, everyone. Today, I would like to ask of you that you each clean your stations before you leave and until next class.”
When Kyungsoo turns his attention back to Sehun, who is sharing the same station as him, once again, the latter is still sadly staring at his failed attempt at kimchi.
“Do you wanna go to my place?” Kyungsoo asks, and Sehun immediately looks at him, surprised once again, but this time he’s better at hiding it.
“What for?”
“We can… practice making this one more time,” he continues, sounding a bit unsure. “That means, if you want to, of course.”
Sehun can feel his legs going all wobbly and his heart and tummy starting to do their little dance which he’s used to by now. But he’s resolved on not letting this opportunity pass.
“Sure. I would love to,” he answers, and his smile joins Kyungsoo’s, before they both start cleaning the mess around them.
Kyungsoo’s apartment is exactly how Sehun had imagined it: clean, tidy, with minimalist furniture and decoration, but not in an aseptic way. It still feels like home. It still feels like Kyungsoo. Sehun takes in the pleasant scent of the place, and how harmonically everything falls into place. Including Kyungsoo, who’s standing in the middle of the living room, as he beckons Sehun to come in.
The latter follows him, taking his shoes off and trailing behind Kyungsoo into the large living room. The couches are an immaculate white, with comfy beige pillows thrown on top in a way to appear careless but Sehun knows Kyungsoo better than that. To the right, there’s a kitchen, spotless and well organized. There’s a hallway on the left that probably leads to the other rooms and then, wide sliding glass doors that reveal a balcony; the city lights gleaming outside.
“Nice place,” Sehun says after taking a looking around.
“Thank you, I’m glad you like it.” He seems to blush a little at Sehun’s words which is a first.
“Do you want anything to drink? Coke? Water?” Kyungsoo seems to reflect a bit, then asks hesitantly, “wine?”
Realization dawns upon Sehun and he chuckles.
“I am twenty-three, don’t worry, I can drink alcohol, but no thanks.” Sehun is so amused at Kyungsoo’s embarrassed expression, especially because it’s a rare sight, he has to hold back a laugh.
Kyungsoo’s lips curve up into a small smile and he motions Sehun to follow him to the kitchen where they repeat the ritual from earlier that evening; Kyungsoo grabs the ingredients and Sehun organizes them on the counter as neatly as he can manage, wanting to make the other at least a little proud after the previous disaster.
Then they’re chopping vegetables, side by side, sometimes bumping into each other or passing each other kitchen supplies or ingredients. They do work pretty well as a team, Sehun thinks to himself, happy that he gets to spend time with the other like this. Sehun is glad his initial crush, albeit still there, has given way to something else he’d dare call liking? Yes, he likes Kyungsoo, as a friend and as a cooking instructor and as his crush. But he feels the word crush doesn’t apply to this context anymore. Kyungsoo is more than just a crush, by now. With his incredible knife skills and impressive knowledge of spices and herbs. Kyungsoo with his deep, but smooth, voice, with his right words said at the right times; his reassuring gestures and comforting smiles, has become a major part of Sehun’s life.
“Ouch!” Sehun exclaims, dropping the knife and inspecting his now bleeding finger. “Shit!”
“Sehun? Are you okay?” A concerned Kyungsoo grabs a hold of Sehun’s injured finger, taking a look at it. His brows furrowed, he inspects the cut carefully. “Thank goodness it’s nothing serious. You won’t need stitches.”
“It hurts like hell though,” Sehun says through gritted teeth. It does hurt a lot, especially when Kyungsoo places the finger under the water tap and lets the water run over the cut. A stream of curse words leave Sehun’s mouth and he makes a mental note to let Kyungsoo know his mother raised him better than this but right now, “it stings like a fucking bitch, I’m never holding a goddamn knife ever again unless it’s made of harmless plastic.”
“You’re such a cry baby,” Kyungsoo is cackling at Sehun’s reaction, but still holding the other’s hand carefully under the stream of water.
“You’re not the one who got mutilated, alright?” Sehun protests, making his best puppy face at Kyungsoo but the other still laughs at him.
“Let me go get the first aid kit, so we can take care of that properly,” Kyungsoo says, wrapping a cloth around Sehun’s bleeding finger and disappearing through the corridor.
Sehun resigns to sitting on one of the tall stools by the kitchen counter, waiting for Kyungsoo to come back. He must admit that it was extremely adorable the way Kyungsoo was so concerned about him right when he got hurt. Thank god for mutilated fingers.
When Kyungsoo comes back, he carefully cleans the cut and wraps a bandage around Sehun’s finger, and all the while Sehun watches him, eyes sparkling and a small smile, because Kyungsoo sure is a sight to behold. The way he pouts when he is concentrated on something, and the way his thick brows furrow not only when he is worried but when something is demanding his attention; all that has Sehun enthralled and he realizes, in that moment, that he’s fallen. Hard.
After Sehun’s injury, Kyungsoo decides it’s better if he finishes cooking by himself, to prevent any more accidents. There’s no complaints from the injured party, who’s more than happy to sit and watch Kyungsoo do his thing. Sehun finds himself mesmerized by the way Kyungsoo moves around the kitchen so naturally, like it’s his natural habitat.
“So how come you became a cooking instructor?” Sehun asks, breaking the silence.
“My professor, actually, he offered me a job,” Kyungsoo answers, knife in hand, as he stops chopping onions to talk to Sehun.
“Your professor?”
“Yeah, I’m studying to become a chef. I graduate this year, actually,” Kyungsoo says a bit proudly but not in a conceited way.
“Wow, you’ll be Chef Do,” Sehun smirks at Kyungsoo who lowers his head shyly, smiling softly.
“Hopefully,” Kyungsoo says before resuming his task of chopping onions.
When dinner is finally ready, Sehun helps to set the table a bit clumsily but, thankfully, without breaking anything. They eat in a comfortable silence, both not realizing how starving they were before the food is on their plates, warm and delicious. Sehun goes for seconds and that makes Kyungsoo very happy.
The younger learns how much Kyungsoo likes to cook for others, not only teach them how to cook. In fact, Kyungsoo’s dream is to be a Chef in a big restaurant and, eventually, open his own. Sehun listens attentively to the man talk about his plans for when he finishes his studies and eventually shares a bit of his own aspirations, even though they’re still all over the place and Sehun isn’t so sure about what career he wants to follow.
“You’ll figure it out, you’re still young,” Kyungsoo reassures the other, a fond expression on his face.
“So are you, stop talking like an old man,” Sehun says jokingly. “I found your driver’s license, you’re not even that much older than me, hyung.
“What? You found my driver’s license?” Kyungsoo looks baffled.
“I did. It fell from your pocket when you were picking up the bowls,” Sehun says nonchalantly, and reaches for his pocket where he kept the piece of document.
“Give it back!” Kyungsoo shrieks reaching for it from across the table.
“What are you gonna give me in return?” Sehun is actually surprised by his own boldness, but that doesn’t stop his pulse from quickening.
“I won’t ask you to demonstrate your incredible cooking skills, all by yourself, in front of the whole class, next Wednesday.”
“Fine,” Sehun surrenders, handing Kyungsoo the license as the other laughs at Sehun’s defeated expression.
“For your information, I think you would do just fine, I’m a great teacher,” Kyungsoo says smugly.
Sehun snorts, but the atmosphere is light and easy and realization hits him, once again: spending time with Kyungsoo is probably his new favorite thing to do.
part 2 ☼
length: 12.7k
pairing: sehun/kyungsoo, side!suchen
summary: sehun is forced to apply for cooking classes by his best friend. kyungsoo is his dreamy cooking instructor
notes: originally written for astrongbreeze~
Sehun would’ve never imagined himself applying for cooking classes. Not in a million years. For all the seasons of Masterchef he’s binge watched, one would think he would be more interested in actually doing some cooking, but that isn’t the case. The reality is, Sehun has been living off instant noodles, take out and the occasional life-saving home cooked meal his mom brings him when she visits every 3 months or so.
But when his best friend Junmyeon, who happens to be a couple of years older than him and acts like Sehun’s (grand) dad, comes over one night and Sehun decides to prepare his very own signature dish, ramyun ttang, for him, what he gets is an earful and an ultimatum from the elder.
“I will call your mom immediately if I don’t see you cooking some proper food for yourself within a week. There’s a school downtown that happens to offer cooking classes. Here’s the phone number, call them,” Junmyeon threatens and hands a very surprised Sehun a rather fancy business card.
“You never complained about my cooking before,” Sehun pouts and puts on his best kicked puppy face.
“That’s because you’ve never cooked for me before. We always order out when I come over and now I know why,” Junmyeon makes a disgusted face and Sehun instinctively snorts at that.
“You are not that great of a cook either, just saying,” Sehun retorts taking a piece of the noodles and shoving it in his mouth. It really doesn’t taste that bad, he thinks. Junmyeon is just being dramatic.
“How have your survived all these years by yourself?” His best friend asks, eyeing him with disbelief.
Sehun shrugs and continues to eat his perfectly edible meal as an outraged Junmyeon, sitting by his side on the worn down couch, mumbles something about ordering pizza.
A week later, Sehun is sitting in class with about fifteen other people - most of them middle aged ladies - waiting for their cooking instructor, who is probably another middle aged lady. Sehun sighs, tapping his fingers on the desk. The room is a standard classroom, like the ones you have in every school, with desks, a board and a boring clock on the wall that seems like it’s broken but the reality is, time just doesn’t pass in school. He very much hopes cooking school isn’t like high school at all, or he won’t be coming back next week.
Suddenly, a bit of a commotion rises around him, making Sehun look in the direction of the door to see what’s happening, since people seem to have gathered there. And that’s when his eyes land on the most handsome man he’s ever seen since he’d watched Leonardo Dicaprio in Titanic for the 250th time with Junmyeon, last week. He swears he can hear Celine Dion’s voice singing as soon as the man enters his field of vision. .
The man smiles softly at the overly excited group of women and asks them to kindly sit down. The big, brown eyes that lock with Sehun’s when he scans the classroom, takes Sehun a bit by surprise but he holds the other’s gaze and he can swear he sees the corner of the man’s gorgeous plump lips twitch slightly as if he is holding back a smirk. Interesting, Sehun thinks, amused. His own lips curve into a smirk that probably makes him look very smug but he doesn’t care. Sehun can already foresee the direction this is going and he likes it. He is ready to play this game.
“Good evening, everyone”, the man starts with a surprisingly deep and smooth voice that has Sehun immediately straightening himself in his chair. “I’m Do Kyungsoo, your cooking instructor.”
There’s a collective hum of understanding that fills the room before the instructor, Kyungsoo, clears his throat and the room is silent again.
“I’ve asked you all to gather here today because this is our first encounter and I’d like to go over a few things with you. However, this will not be our regular meeting place,” he explains and, again, his eyes land on Sehun but only for a brief second, much to the latter’s disappointment.
Kyungsoo looks very professional while explaining to them about the basic rules of the kitchen, and how they should behave in class, always putting their safety first. Everyone listens intently to what he says, but Sehun’s thoughts quickly drift away, his eyes traveling from Kyungsoo’s attractive face, to his no less attractive body. He is certainly not as tall as Sehun, but his proportions are well adjusted to his height. He’s not muscular but Sehun notices how temptingly the fabric of his white dress shirt clings to fairly thick biceps, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing slightly tanned arms. Sehun licks his lips involuntarily, unaware of Kyungsoo’s eyes on him, until someone kicks the foot of his chair and he’s brought back to reality.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your daydreaming, Mr..?” Kyungsoo is standing right across from him, have taken a few steps in Sehun’s direction.
“Oh. Oh Sehun,” he answers as best as he can, eyes fixed on Kyungsoo, although he can feel everyone in the room is looking at him. He feels his cheeks burn.
“Mr. Oh… May I call you Sehun?” The way Kyungsoo pronounces his name has the heat traveling from Sehun’s cheek to much lower regions.
Sehun nods affirmatively, resisting the urge to reply with a ‘you can call me anything you want’. Kyungsoo seems to study him for a moment, before continuing.
“So, would you like to introduce yourself and say why you chose to take cooking classes?
“Sure.” Sehun shrugs. “I was forced to by my best friend.”
A few looks of outrage are sent in his direction after he says that, but Kyungsoo’s face shows nothing but amusement at Sehun’s little confession.
“That’s… a valid reason to be here,” Kyungsoo says with a small smile then turns his attention to the rest of the class.
Just like that.
Sehun feels a little disappointed at himself. He thought he could hold the other’s attention at least for a few more minutes, but clearly, he overestimated his own charms.
For the remainder of the time, Sehun tries to focus on what Kyungsoo is saying, even if it’s hard, because the latter is so goddamn attractive it takes all of Sehun’s self control to not let his eyes dart back to Kyungsoo’s neck and the unbuttoned collar of his shirt. Maybe settling for watching Kyungsoo’s face is a good idea, but the man also happens to have very distracting lips as well. All the inappropriate thoughts populating his mind keep Sehun from listening to anything more than a few sentences here and there of what’s probably very important information.
Finally, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor and loud chatter drags Sehun, once again, from his straying thoughts. He gets up from his chair, stretching lazily before he makes his way to where Kyungsoo stands talking to a little group of women.
Standing a few steps away, Sehun waits until they all bid Kyungsoo farewell and Sehun is free to approach him, but before he can walk in Kyungsoo’s direction, the other is already turning to him with curiosity in his eyes.
“Can I help you, Sehun?” He asks politely, motioning Sehun to come closer which he does, until he stands next to Kyungsoo as the man gathers his belongings.
“Yes… No… Actually, I just wanted to apologize for being distracted earlier. I… have a lot on my mind.” That’s only half a lie because he does have a lot on his mind: a lot of Kyungsoo.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about that,” Kyungsoo directs him a small smile, throwing his messenger bag on his shoulder and finally turning his body fully to Sehun, facing him. “The first day is always boring like this. Unfortunately, I have to follow the school’s protocol and give an introductory class to the newcomers. I promise next class will be much more entertaining to you.”
A smirk directed at him, takes Sehun off guard and he takes a moment to process the words and what just happened, his mouth hanging open while he finds the words to reply but comes up with nothing so he only nods. He must look utterly dumb to Kyungsoo right now.
“See you next week, Sehun,” Kyungsoo says, and suddenly he is walking out of the empty classroom, leaving a flushed Sehun behind.
~~~~~~
“I’m glad to see you’ve been beaten at your own game. Please, I need to meet this guy, my new hero. I have to congratulate him!” Jongdae’s been teasing Sehun for about half an hour now, after he told him about his very attractive-slash-hot-slash-dreamy cooking instructor who had managed to render Sehun speechless which had never in the history of the universe (Jongdae’s words) happened before.
“Shut up.” He kicks Jongdae’s shin under the table. Jongdae protests but at that moment, Junmyeon arrives at the table with their coffee orders.
“Hi handsome,” Jongdae beams at Junmyeon, as the brunette sits down by his side, placing a peck on Jongdae’s pouty lips.
“Please don’t do that. It’s gross,” Sehun protests, making gagging noises. It’s not a pleasant thing to watch when his friends start getting all lovey-dovey in front of him.
“It’s not gross. You’re just jealous, Sehunnie,” Jongdae teases and Junmyeon, by his side, laughs and pats Sehun’s head across the table.
“I feel like I’m out with my parents. This is too weird,” Sehun says, before taking a sip of his caramel macchiato.
Both of his friends laugh and Sehun scrunches his nose, slightly annoyed that he actually is a bit jealous. Junmyeon has been dating Jongdae for over a year now, and they’re a perfect match for each other. Sehun likes to tease Junmyeon about how perfect both of them are, but in reality, he wishes he had that kind of chemistry with someone. Of course, he will never admit that to either of them, especially not Jongdae. It would ruin his reputation as a cold-hearted bitch.
“So, how was your first cooking class?” Junmyeon asks after a few seconds of silence.
Jongdae opens his mouth to answer but Sehun glares at him before he says anything and, luckily, his friend gets the hint and resumes to drink his own coffee.
“It wasn’t an actual class, there was no cooking involved. We will start for real next week”, Sehun answers, carefully leaving out the part about having the cutest cooking instructor he’s ever laid his eyes upon - even if Kyungsoo is actually the first one he’s ever met.
“Well, I hope you listened to everything carefully so you don’t burn the kitchen or anything like that on your first day,” Junmyeon teases.
“Nah, don’t worry, I have that planned for the second day actually,” Sehun bites back, earning a snort in response.
“I’m glad you decided to keep attending the classes. I thought you would just give up after the first one.”
“Oh, but he has a very good reason to do it,” says Jongdae, with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows. Sehun should’ve known he couldn’t keep him quiet forever.
“Besides learning how to cook something that won’t give us food poisoning?” Junmyeon shoots them a confused look.
Jongdae sends Sehun a pleading look and Sehun merely tells him to go ahead and spill the tea, since sooner than later Junmyeon would find out about his embarrassing crush anyway. It’s actually quite impressive how much information Jongdae gathered from his brief talk with Sehun earlier while Junmyeon was getting their orders.
He is pretty sure a lot of what Jongdae tells Junmyeon is only assumptions he made from Sehun’s shallow narrative of what happened in the class, but it’s all very accurate. Even the bit about Sehun fantasizing about “all kinds of kinky activities including the cooking instructor pretty lips”. He never told Jongdae that, but his friends know him very well, after all, so he just shrugs the embarrassment off and keeps drinking his coffee in silence.
By the time Jongdae is done, Junmyeon looks not only very amused but also very proud of himself.
“I can’t believe my little Sehunnie is finally growing up. Having a crush on an actual person, not on a celebrity is a huge step into becoming an adult, you know?” Junmyeon says in an overly sweet voice, and tries to pinch Sehun’s cheek.
“Shut up.” Sehun bats his friend’s hand away. “I can’t help it that I’ve never met anyone interesting enough for me to have a crush on.”
“Except that chinese boy you met when you went to China, right? But I’m not sure he was real, either,” says Jongdae looking contemplative.
“He was very real!” Sehun protests, then adds, “I have my fairly decent Chinese to thank him for.”
“Mhmm,” Jongdae hums looking unconvinced.
Sehun lets the subject die and Junmyeon starts talking about their plans for summer vacation. He settles down on his chair, half listening to his friend’s discussion about where they should travel to, feeling lucky neither of them can read his thoughts. Because all of them involve a certain cooking instructor he’ll be seeing tomorrow.
~~~~~~
Sehun arrives for class quite early the next evening. Finding the classroom isn’t hard, but when he steps in the large room full of counters, stoves and kitchen appliances, he is surprised to see he is the first to get there. Apparently, he is the most committed person of his entire class, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the man that walks into the room, five minutes later. Kyungsoo doesn’t try to hide his amusement to see that Sehun is the first person there. He doesn’t seem surprised at all, merely lifting one of his eyebrows and greeting Sehun politely as he makes his way to the set of lockers by the wall, where he places his bag and coat, and retrieves a black apron from inside.
Sehun watches as Kyungsoo slips the apron over his head and ties it neatly around his waist, before coming to stand on the station next to Sehun’s. Then Kyungsoo smiles at him. A beautiful, heart-shaped smile that makes all the smiles Sehun’s ever seen pale in comparison.
“I don’t have an apron,” Sehun blurts out, dumbly, and Kyungsoo’s smile turns into a chuckle.
“Don’t worry, you can get one in the locker over there,” Kyungsoo motions to where he got his apron.
Sehun would’ve liked very much to engage in a long conversation with Kyungsoo about aprons, smiles and cabinets but people start to arrive for class and Kyungsoo gets busy and forgets all about him. Feeling neglected, Sehun retreats himself to a counter on the far corner of the room, and decides he would play it safe today. He needs to calm himself and keep a distance from Kyungsoo, and hopefully, get himself together so he can stop looking like he’s brain damaged everytime he opens his mouth to speak to the man.
“I need a volunteer to help me. Anyone?” Kyungsoo speaks, cheerfully, looking around the room.
Sehun realises he’s been drifting off again, but it’s too late because, choosing to ignore all the other hands raised, Kyungsoo picks Sehun as his volunteer for whatever they’re doing. Sehun has no clue what it is, but he promptly gets up from his seat and walks up to where Kyungsoo is standing behind a counter strategically positioned so every other person in the room could see what he is doing.
“Thank you for volunteering,” Kyungsoo says, without looking at Sehun, and the latter was going to protest that he didn’t volunteer but he decides otherwise.
“So, as I was saying, today’s class is rather basic… I’m assuming all of you are trained on the fine art of boiling water,” Kyungsoo’s tone is playful and everyone in the room laughs including Sehun, who suddenly feels lucky for being chosen to stand beside Kyungsoo.
“I’d like for each of you to pair up with another person so we can begin the class. Under your counters you’ll find everything you need… If you don’t know how to turn the stoves on, don’t hesitate to ask for my help,” he instructs, in a more serious tone.
Everyone starts doing as they’re told, and Sehun merely observes as Kyungsoo puts a saucepan with water to boil. Then he goes around the room inspecting everyone’s work and helping them if they need. Turns out they’re just cooking a simple pasta dish, and Sehun has no room for errors with Kyungsoo by his side telling him what to do and not do to, coaxing him, sometimes with a hand on his lower back that makes Sehun’s whole body tense and heat travel through all places.
When they’re finally done for the day, Sehun volunteers to stay and help cleaning. Kyungsoo seems very pleased and shoots Sehun one of those stunning and disarming smiles of his, thanking him for the help. They clean up everything in silence, except for Kyungsoo’s occasional humming of random melodies. Sehun smiles to himself, thinking that’s kind of cute. He sneaks a couple of glances in the other man’s direction, and notices how focused Kyungsoo is and how meticulously he does his work. Sehun is pretty sure, from what he’s observed of the other, that he is this way with everything he does.
Sehun steps outside after he’s done; two heavy trash bags in each hand. He throws them into the garbage can and wipes his hands on his apron.
“That’s unsanitary,” Kyungsoo’s voice comes from behind him, as the shorter man stands by Sehun side and hands him a bottle of hand sanitizer.
“T-thanks,” Sehun feels his cheeks burn, for what he assumes, is the 100th time in Kyungsoo’s presence. The other just has that effect on him.
They both stay like that, in silence, watching the almost empty street. It’s a starry night, Sehun can see, even though it’s hard to since they’re in the city and the lights and pollution get in the way. Sehun gives the bottle back to Kyungsoo, after pouring some of the liquid on his hands. The thing smells citrusy, the scent invading his nostrils. Suddenly, Sehun wonders what Kyungsoo must smell like. They’re close enough for him to be able to pick up the other’s scent but they’ve been cleaning for over half an hour and by now they both must smell of cleaning products.
“Thank you for staying and helping clean up, you really didn’t have to,” Kyungsoo finally breaks the silence.
Sehun looks at him, and notices Kyungsoo staring at the sky, just like he was before. He smiles softly at that.
“It’s no problem, I like cleaning,” that’s a straight up lie. Sehun hates cleaning. His apartment is actual proof of that. He takes a mental note to remember to clean his place, in case he ever invited Kyungsoo there.
Kyungsoo snorts like he picked up on Sehun’s lie.
“No one likes cleaning,” Kyungsoo replies, but his tone is playful. “Well, maybe I do. But I’m weird like that.”
“You’re not weird!” Sehun says, a little too loud and a little too quickly which makes Kyungsoo’s eyes widen and the corner of his lips curve in a smirk.
“I mean… Lots of people like cleaning, you know… I’m sure it’s a perfectly normal….activity to enjoy,” Sehun thinks he probably needs to stop talking. But Kyungsoo is chuckling and unexpectedly places a hand on Sehun’s shoulder.
“You’re funny,” Kyungsoo states and his eyes are on Sehun again; his gaze quizzical, warm and friendly.
“Thank you, I’ve been told I’m a master of comedy,” Sehun replies, letting out a laugh himself. Kyungsoo’s hand on his shoulder is a welcoming pressure.
Sehun secretly wishes Kyungsoo would never stop touching him. Maybe it’s too early to be having these kinds of thoughts about his innocent and oblivious cooking instructor, but he can’t help it. He is drawn to Kyungsoo like a magnet. He can’t pull away, and more importantly, he doesn’t want to.
“Do you need a ride home?” Kyungsoo breaks the silence.
“Thank you, but I don’t want to give you any trouble. I’ll just take the bus,” Sehun answers.
“Are you sure? I can drive you home,” Kyungsoo insists, casually, when both of them are inside and gathering their belongings to head out.
Sehun stops by the entryway, backpack thrown over his shoulder, weighing the offer. Then he decides he will take it since it means spending a little more time alone with Kyungsoo, even if he is a complete idiot around the man 99% of the time. It’s worth it.
Once they’re inside Kyungsoo’s car, Sehun notices a faint smell of citrus, like the hand sanitizer he borrowed from Kyungsoo. Clean freak, he thinks, and giggles to himself before he can hold it back.
“What is it?” Kyungsoo asks, as he fastens his seatbelt.
“Nothing, it’s just that your car is really clean,” Sehun blurts out, still amused.
“Well, thank you. I do like my things clean, tidy and citrus scented,” Kyungsoo says in a teasing manner and winks at Sehun.
Sehun takes a while to process the fact that Kyungsoo winked at him, so the words get lost on him between the loud beating of his heart and the sound of the car’s engine starting.
~~~~~~
Sehun is attending his economics class at university, one of the few he still takes regularly, when his phone vibrates in his jeans’ pocket. It’s probably Junmyeon wanting to know what time he is free to go bowling on Friday. Junmyeon always has something planned for Fridays. This week, it’s bowling. It would be him, Junmyeon, Jongdae and some friend of Jongdae’s whom Sehun’s never met. According to Jongdae, this would be a double date thing so Sehun is not looking forward to it at all. There’s only one person he’d want to go to a double date with, and that person isn’t Jongdae’s mysterious friend.
Sehun takes the phone out of his pocket and checks the message. It’s not from Junmyeon like he expected, though, and he can barely contain himself when he sees who it’s from. The message reads:
From: kyungsoo hyung
“I’m sorry to bother you, Sehun, but I’d like to ask you if you can come to class a little earlier on monday. I would like your help with some stuff. If you can’t it’s ok too. Just reply to me asap.
X
Kyungsoo (your cooking instructor)”
The giddiness that takes over Sehun almost causes him to fall off his chair, but he catches himself in time, still staring at his phone. Kyungsoo is asking him for help. With something he doesn’t know but he’s definitely helping Kyungsoo with it, no matter what, even if it’s hiding a body inside the fridge after cutting it in little pieces. Sehun shakes his head lightly, dismissing the absurd thought. Kyungsoo is too much of a gentleman to kill even a fly.
Having recomposed himself and his thoughts, Sehun replies with a “Yes, I can totally help, I’ll be there!!! :-) PS: I have your number saved, remember? You gave it to me the night you gave me a ride home.”
After hitting send, Sehun realizes, with dread, he had put a nose on his emoji and now Kyungsoo would never trust him again. Goddamnit, Oh Sehun.
~~~~~~
On Monday, Sehun arrives to class half an hour earlier than he was supposed to. Kyungsoo isn’t there yet, so Sehun sits on one of the counters, feet dangling as he plays some stupid race game on his phone he has already won twice but he’s too lazy to download a new one so he just plays it again and again whenever he’s bored. With his back to the door, he doesn’t notice when someone else enters the room, until there are hands on his hips and Kyungsoo’s face emerges by his side. Sehun would’ve jumped out of his seat and screamed if he wasn’t frozen in place and astounded by the gorgeous face looking up at him; although, his heart is racing incredibly fast and his stomach feels like it’s doing backflips.
“You’re early,” Kyungsoo says and his hands squeeze Sehun’s hips softly
“I told you I would be here,” Sehun swallows thickly, hyper aware of the other’s touch.
“Well, then we should get to work.”
The hands are gone, and Kyungsoo is walking over to the set of cabinets where the ingredients are stocked. Sehun jumps off the counter to the floor and follows the shorter man, hands on his hips as he watches Kyungsoo close a door then open another until he find what he is looking for.
“Chilli powder,” Sehun says, when Kyungsoo hands him the bag.
“Yes! We’re making kimchi.” Kyungsoo claps his hands together in excitement and proceeds to get all of the other ingredients and hand them to Sehun who places them carefully on the counters like a good assistant.
“I’ve never attempted to make kimchi before,” Sehun confesses, trying to balance four cabbages on his hands as Kyungsoo hands him another.
“I figured, since you’re taking a basic cooking class. But don’t worry, It will be easy,” Kyungsoo reassures him with a small smile.
Sehun learns later that Kyungsoo was lying out of his (perfectly shaped) ass. Making kimchi is not easy in the slightest. He doesn’t know how his mom does it, or how Kyungsoo does it, but he certainly can’t do it. It’s not that it’s a complicated recipe with lots of technique involved, but all the little steps and details just seem to go right over Sehun’s head and next thing he knows he ends up with a red soggy mess of cabbage, chili and water. Lots of water. Because he forgot to drain the cabbage after rinsing it and now he’s some kind of cold kimchi soup that probably tastes terrible.
“It’s okay, not everyone will get it right the first time. That’s what cooking is about: practice,” Kyungsoo tries to comfort him, patting his back in reassurance.
“Most people in the class got it right,” Sehun pouts, looking around bitterly at all the excited ladies with their perfect kimchis.
“Most people in this class have been cooking since both you and I were toddlers,” Kyungsoo whispers to Sehun, who snickers and nods in agreement.
“I’ll do better next time,” he says, trying to convince himself more than anyone.
“That’s the spirit,” Kyungsoo says enthusiastically, then turns to the class. “Well done, everyone. Today, I would like to ask of you that you each clean your stations before you leave and until next class.”
When Kyungsoo turns his attention back to Sehun, who is sharing the same station as him, once again, the latter is still sadly staring at his failed attempt at kimchi.
“Do you wanna go to my place?” Kyungsoo asks, and Sehun immediately looks at him, surprised once again, but this time he’s better at hiding it.
“What for?”
“We can… practice making this one more time,” he continues, sounding a bit unsure. “That means, if you want to, of course.”
Sehun can feel his legs going all wobbly and his heart and tummy starting to do their little dance which he’s used to by now. But he’s resolved on not letting this opportunity pass.
“Sure. I would love to,” he answers, and his smile joins Kyungsoo’s, before they both start cleaning the mess around them.
Kyungsoo’s apartment is exactly how Sehun had imagined it: clean, tidy, with minimalist furniture and decoration, but not in an aseptic way. It still feels like home. It still feels like Kyungsoo. Sehun takes in the pleasant scent of the place, and how harmonically everything falls into place. Including Kyungsoo, who’s standing in the middle of the living room, as he beckons Sehun to come in.
The latter follows him, taking his shoes off and trailing behind Kyungsoo into the large living room. The couches are an immaculate white, with comfy beige pillows thrown on top in a way to appear careless but Sehun knows Kyungsoo better than that. To the right, there’s a kitchen, spotless and well organized. There’s a hallway on the left that probably leads to the other rooms and then, wide sliding glass doors that reveal a balcony; the city lights gleaming outside.
“Nice place,” Sehun says after taking a looking around.
“Thank you, I’m glad you like it.” He seems to blush a little at Sehun’s words which is a first.
“Do you want anything to drink? Coke? Water?” Kyungsoo seems to reflect a bit, then asks hesitantly, “wine?”
Realization dawns upon Sehun and he chuckles.
“I am twenty-three, don’t worry, I can drink alcohol, but no thanks.” Sehun is so amused at Kyungsoo’s embarrassed expression, especially because it’s a rare sight, he has to hold back a laugh.
Kyungsoo’s lips curve up into a small smile and he motions Sehun to follow him to the kitchen where they repeat the ritual from earlier that evening; Kyungsoo grabs the ingredients and Sehun organizes them on the counter as neatly as he can manage, wanting to make the other at least a little proud after the previous disaster.
Then they’re chopping vegetables, side by side, sometimes bumping into each other or passing each other kitchen supplies or ingredients. They do work pretty well as a team, Sehun thinks to himself, happy that he gets to spend time with the other like this. Sehun is glad his initial crush, albeit still there, has given way to something else he’d dare call liking? Yes, he likes Kyungsoo, as a friend and as a cooking instructor and as his crush. But he feels the word crush doesn’t apply to this context anymore. Kyungsoo is more than just a crush, by now. With his incredible knife skills and impressive knowledge of spices and herbs. Kyungsoo with his deep, but smooth, voice, with his right words said at the right times; his reassuring gestures and comforting smiles, has become a major part of Sehun’s life.
“Ouch!” Sehun exclaims, dropping the knife and inspecting his now bleeding finger. “Shit!”
“Sehun? Are you okay?” A concerned Kyungsoo grabs a hold of Sehun’s injured finger, taking a look at it. His brows furrowed, he inspects the cut carefully. “Thank goodness it’s nothing serious. You won’t need stitches.”
“It hurts like hell though,” Sehun says through gritted teeth. It does hurt a lot, especially when Kyungsoo places the finger under the water tap and lets the water run over the cut. A stream of curse words leave Sehun’s mouth and he makes a mental note to let Kyungsoo know his mother raised him better than this but right now, “it stings like a fucking bitch, I’m never holding a goddamn knife ever again unless it’s made of harmless plastic.”
“You’re such a cry baby,” Kyungsoo is cackling at Sehun’s reaction, but still holding the other’s hand carefully under the stream of water.
“You’re not the one who got mutilated, alright?” Sehun protests, making his best puppy face at Kyungsoo but the other still laughs at him.
“Let me go get the first aid kit, so we can take care of that properly,” Kyungsoo says, wrapping a cloth around Sehun’s bleeding finger and disappearing through the corridor.
Sehun resigns to sitting on one of the tall stools by the kitchen counter, waiting for Kyungsoo to come back. He must admit that it was extremely adorable the way Kyungsoo was so concerned about him right when he got hurt. Thank god for mutilated fingers.
When Kyungsoo comes back, he carefully cleans the cut and wraps a bandage around Sehun’s finger, and all the while Sehun watches him, eyes sparkling and a small smile, because Kyungsoo sure is a sight to behold. The way he pouts when he is concentrated on something, and the way his thick brows furrow not only when he is worried but when something is demanding his attention; all that has Sehun enthralled and he realizes, in that moment, that he’s fallen. Hard.
After Sehun’s injury, Kyungsoo decides it’s better if he finishes cooking by himself, to prevent any more accidents. There’s no complaints from the injured party, who’s more than happy to sit and watch Kyungsoo do his thing. Sehun finds himself mesmerized by the way Kyungsoo moves around the kitchen so naturally, like it’s his natural habitat.
“So how come you became a cooking instructor?” Sehun asks, breaking the silence.
“My professor, actually, he offered me a job,” Kyungsoo answers, knife in hand, as he stops chopping onions to talk to Sehun.
“Your professor?”
“Yeah, I’m studying to become a chef. I graduate this year, actually,” Kyungsoo says a bit proudly but not in a conceited way.
“Wow, you’ll be Chef Do,” Sehun smirks at Kyungsoo who lowers his head shyly, smiling softly.
“Hopefully,” Kyungsoo says before resuming his task of chopping onions.
When dinner is finally ready, Sehun helps to set the table a bit clumsily but, thankfully, without breaking anything. They eat in a comfortable silence, both not realizing how starving they were before the food is on their plates, warm and delicious. Sehun goes for seconds and that makes Kyungsoo very happy.
The younger learns how much Kyungsoo likes to cook for others, not only teach them how to cook. In fact, Kyungsoo’s dream is to be a Chef in a big restaurant and, eventually, open his own. Sehun listens attentively to the man talk about his plans for when he finishes his studies and eventually shares a bit of his own aspirations, even though they’re still all over the place and Sehun isn’t so sure about what career he wants to follow.
“You’ll figure it out, you’re still young,” Kyungsoo reassures the other, a fond expression on his face.
“So are you, stop talking like an old man,” Sehun says jokingly. “I found your driver’s license, you’re not even that much older than me, hyung.
“What? You found my driver’s license?” Kyungsoo looks baffled.
“I did. It fell from your pocket when you were picking up the bowls,” Sehun says nonchalantly, and reaches for his pocket where he kept the piece of document.
“Give it back!” Kyungsoo shrieks reaching for it from across the table.
“What are you gonna give me in return?” Sehun is actually surprised by his own boldness, but that doesn’t stop his pulse from quickening.
“I won’t ask you to demonstrate your incredible cooking skills, all by yourself, in front of the whole class, next Wednesday.”
“Fine,” Sehun surrenders, handing Kyungsoo the license as the other laughs at Sehun’s defeated expression.
“For your information, I think you would do just fine, I’m a great teacher,” Kyungsoo says smugly.
Sehun snorts, but the atmosphere is light and easy and realization hits him, once again: spending time with Kyungsoo is probably his new favorite thing to do.
part 2 ☼