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Junseo wakes up with the sun, but he feels energized and excited in spite of the early hour.
Today being their day off, the dorm is peacefully silent at this time instead of thrumming with the white noise of six half-awake boys getting ready for their activities. Their manager went home the night before and Yongha went to sleep in his and Yohan’s shared room for a change. It almost feels like being at someone else’s house, in a sense, but Junseo finds he likes the novelty.
As for why he’s up so early, though he’s filled with enough determination to scale a mountain, the task Junseo set for himself is much simpler— or at least he figures there’s no reason it shouldn’t be simple. After all, he’s diligent, a fast learner, follows instructions well and has the previous experience of failure to know what not to do; all great qualities to have, in his opinion.
How hard can it be to properly bake a cake, then?
His first attempt at baking— second if one counts the tragic sponge born of the actual first attempt, and Junseo would rather not— had been passable at best. The cake didn’t taste half bad and was even pretty enough for Instagram, but it wasn’t as soft as he wanted and got too dry from being left in the fridge unprotected. He loved his hyungs for trying it anyway and commending his effort for the cameras, but he was still a little regretful that it wasn’t the roaring success he’d hoped for.
Junseo is better prepared this time around. He studied a recipe in advance, double checked it with his mom and even bought some new utensils and a cute baby pink apron that makes him feel competent and adorable, if he does say so himself. Starting early and counting on the other boys being generally heavy sleepers, he intends to surprise everyone with a cake in time for breakfast. A good one this time.
He places his notebook on the island and watches for the nth time as a smiling girl walks the audience through her recipe, a yellow cake she guarantees will be tasty and fluffy if he follows all the steps correctly. The video is as enthralling and satisfying as the first time Junseo watched it. He only hopes it’s as easy as she makes it look.
While the oven preheats, he measures all the ingredients and separates them neatly in bowls. He works quietly for some good minutes, the only sound other than his handicraft being the music pouring at a low volume from his notebook, until he hears his bedroom’s door opening again and Donghan shuffling in his direction. Junseo smiles at the sight of his disheveled hair and his narrowed eyes losing a fierce battle to stay open.
“Why did you get up so early?” He poses the question almost like an accusation. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Sorry, hyung, did I wake you? I tried to be quiet...”
He gets no answer as Donghan steps forward and hugs him by the waist. “It’s too early. Come back to bed.” The other boy’s voice is muffled from nuzzling his head on Junseo’s shoulder.
“I can’t, hyung, I’m working on something important here.”
Donghan raises his head to take a good look at the counter, slowly putting two and two together while he tries to blink the haze of sleep away from his eyes.
“Aw, baby,” he gives Junseo a dopey smile when it finally clicks. “You’re still upset about that? The cake was fine, you really don’t have to do this.”
“I’m not upset,” Junseo argues, gently untangling himself from Donghan so he can go back to greasing the baking pans. “I just want to make something nice for everybody, is all. And I’m gonna get it right this time.”
“Yohan’s stubbornness is rubbing on you,” Donghan rolls his eyes, but his tone is fond as he ruffles Junseo’s hair. “Alright, I’ll look forward to it then.”
“You better, I’m gonna knock everyone’s socks off!”
Donghan laughs and pads back to their bedroom, leaving Junseo to his project.
He gets started by sifting the flour, salt and baking powder together and setting them aside for later, then mixes the sugar and butter at low speed as instructed, thankful that their stand mixer isn’t too noisy. Within minutes he has a pale, aerated cream identical to the video. The good result right off the bat boosts his confidence and he starts to add the eggs, beating them one at a time while smiling to himself.
“Well well, aren’t we looking happy.”
Donghan is back, washed up and more awake now. He grins at Junseo as he rounds the counter to stand behind him, once again snaking his hands around the boy’s waist. Junseo turns his head slightly with a quirked eyebrow, watching Donghan’s smug face from extremely close. “I thought you’d want to go back to sleep.”
“And miss my boyfriend being all cute with that apron?” Donghan’s grin widens impossibly. “No way.” He presses the tiniest kiss to the base of Junseo’s neck before rounding the counter again to stand opposite him, leaning forward with his elbows over the marbled surface to survey his work. “So, going well?”
“Yeah,” Junseo answers dreamily, feeling a tingling sensation where Donghan’s lips touched— not to mention how his heart soars with the compliment. “See? The batter’s all fluffy already and I only added sugar and eggs so far.” He scratches his nose sheepishly. “Guess I really rushed it last time, eh?”
“In your defense, we were shooting a show,” Donghan reminds him kindly. “What’s next?”
“Milk, flour, salt and baking powder. The video says I’m supposed to add them slowly alternating the dry ingredients with the milk… another thing I didn’t do...” Junseo trails off as he gets to the task under Donghan’s curious gaze.
“Wow,” the older boy exclaims a while later, after everything is mixed and they’re looking in awe at the soft, smooth batter. Junseo carefully splits the mixture between two baking pans and takes them to the oven to bake for about thirty minutes. He keeps watch over them for a few moments after he closes the door, saying a silent prayer for his cake’s success.
“You look like a dad leaving his kid at school for the first time,” Donghan comments with unconcealed amusement. “So what’s next, do we just wait for it to bake?”
“There’s the filling and the icing. What do you think I should make? We could go with meringue again, but I bought ingredients for a ganache…”
“Sorry, a what?” Donghan’s brows furrow in confusion.
“A ganache. I never made it before but it’s just cream and dark chocolate, it can’t be too difficult,” Junseo explains. “The girl I got the cake recipe from has another video that teaches how to make it.”
“As long as it isn’t too sweet,” Donghan shrugs. “Can I help?”
The ganache is, indeed, pretty simple work, only a matter of melting the chocolate in a bain marie, adding the cream and stirring delicately until the mixture is uniform and dense. Junseo chops the chocolate bar in thin strips much quicker with Donghan’s help. They pause to watch the window while the water boils; the sun is already above the horizon and that magic glow of sunrise has come and gone, but the view from their dorm is still amazing. It’s not often that they get to fully appreciate it.
“By the way,” Donghan turns to Junseo with a playful smile, “aren’t you forgetting something, Mr. Chef?”
“WHAT?”
Junseo almost trips in his frantic scramble back to the kitchen. He doesn’t hide the whine that rises to the back of his throat and seeps into his voice as he panics. “What was it? What did I forget? I swear I double checked everything before—”
“Wait, wait, baby!” Donghan grabs his arm and pulls him close before he can spiral further. “Uh… maybe I worded it poorly...” His voice goes lower with every word and he gives Junseo the apologetic look of a puppy caught doing something wrong. “I wanted to say you forgot my good morning kiss, that’s all…”
“Ohmygod.”
Junseo breathes out a sigh of relief and sags against Donghan. For a terrifying second there he truly thought he forgot something and fucked up the cake. He wants to give the other boy a stern look for it, but it’s difficult. For a man his size, Donghan has an incredible talent for making himself small when he wants to be cute; it’s very hard to stay stoic in the face of that.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you…” Donghan whispers, offering him a small smile. It slowly turns playful again when he sees Junseo calming down and his facade cracking. “But how about that kiss now, hm?”
Junseo gives him a very imperious eyebrow raise. “Help me with the ganache and I’ll think about it.”
It could easily be a one man job, but he’s happy that Donghan obliges. He always liked helping his mom around the kitchen and he finds cooking with his boyfriend fills him with that same sense of familiarity and being home— especially without the pressure of making entertainment out of it. It’s very relaxing.
(And, of course, he’d be lying if he said he doesn’t enjoy watching Donghan’s hands work as he pours the cream over the chocolate.)
“I like it,” Junseo decides after taking the ganache off the stove and trying a bit. It’s rich and sweet, but not excessively so. He’s curious to find how the texture will turn out after it cools. “Hyung, try this.”
Instead of taking the spoon he’s being offered, Donghan grabs Junseo’s wrist to put it out of the way and leans in to kiss him, pulling them flush together with a firm hand on his hip. It’s slow and tastes of chocolate and Junseo melts into it when Donghan deepens the kiss, only vaguely aware of the cream dripping on the counter as his grip on the spoon becomes precarious.
“It’s good,” Donghan comments with a filthy lick of his lips when they separate.
“Very smooth, Kim Donghan,” Junseo remarks, watching a twinkle of desire dance in Donghan’s eyes that he’s sure mirrors his own. “But I still want you to actually taste the ganache.”
“I don’t want Donghan tasting your ganache nowhere near where we cook, Junseo-yah,” comes a new voice from behind them.
“Ha ha,” Junseo deadpans over Donghan’s shoulder, both of them staring unimpressed as Daehyeon shakes with silent laughter from his own terrible innuendo. He’s surprised to see their leader actually bothered to throw on a hoodie instead of just walking out of his bedroom half-naked as is his habit.
“Anyway, why are you up so early?” Daehyeon asks, dividing a curious look between them. “I figured you two more than anyone would want to stay in bed longer without Hongbin-hyung here today.”
“That was my plan,” Donghan says at the same time Junseo proudly announces, “I’m baking a cake! Which I should be taking off the oven right about now, actually.”
Daehyeon seems to reach the same conclusion as Donghan did earlier; Junseo doesn’t miss the two of them exchanging a discreet meaningful look and Daehyeon opening and closing his mouth, visibly rethinking whatever he was about to say.
“I bet it’ll be delicious,” he says simply, giving Junseo an encouraging smile.
“Why are you awake, hyung?” Donghan asks. “Were we loud?”
“Nah, I just woke up and couldn’t sleep again,” Daehyeon shrugs. “Then I figured I’d get a headstart on breakfast. Junseo-yah, can you clear up a bit of the counter for me?”
“I’ll do it,” Donghan volunteers promptly.
Which leaves Junseo to his cake. With the utmost care, he brings it out of the oven and to the counter, where his hyungs also stop what they’re doing to marvel at how fluffy and golden the layers are and how easily they come off the pans when he inverts them on plates. Instead of putting the cake in the fridge like before, Junseo lets it cool off at room temperature like his mom does, but it’s a true exercise of patience when all he wants is to see his labor completed. He lies on the bunk where Yongha usually sleeps to kill time on YouTube while Donghan and Daehyeon start to cook.
It soon becomes clear that nobody will be sleeping in today. One by one the other boys start filing into the living room, woken by their stomachs and attracted by the smell of food like cartoon characters being dragged by invisible hands. Yohan is the last to get up; by the time he joins the other boys, the two eldest are way ahead on making breakfast, Yongha flits about trying to mooch food from them and Junseo is in the process of assembling his cake with Seokhwa’s help.
“This is weirdly therapeutic,” the latter remarks, gracefully fixing a ragged edge on his side of the icing. “I think I understand now why some people like to bake when they’re stressed.”
“Yongha, make yourself useful and go set the table. Food’s almost ready.” Daehyeon says, swatting the boy’s hand away from the food with a spoon. Yongha pouts but does as he’s told, stage whispering mock complaints about authoritarianism that make the corners of Daehyeon’s mouth twitch suspiciously.
Junseo pays no mind to any of that, too focused on admiring his creation. The ganache icing didn’t end up perfectly smooth in spite of his and Seokhwa’s combined efforts, but the more he looks the more he likes the swirly homemade appearance, and he takes a picture of it for posterity. He only hopes his cake tastes as good as it looks.
After breakfast, they all gather around the counter for the moment of truth.
“So is this some kind of redemption arc?” Yohan chuckles while examining the cake. He has the air of someone who’s finding the whole thing funny and endearing at the same time. “In the presentation aspect, at least, you already succeeded. This looks amazing.”
Junseo doesn’t quite manage an answer. Though he felt confident during the entire baking part, he’s nervous now that it comes to actually tasting what he made. “Listen, hyungs, there’s no cameras and no staff this time, so y’all have to be honest and tell me if you don’t like it and what I can improve, got it?” The other boys nod their assent. “Cool. Here we go, then...”
“Wait!” Donghan exclaims. He rushes to the fridge and returns with a plate of thinly sliced strawberries, smiling softly at Junseo. “Here.” He says, placing the slices on the plate around the cake. The red fruit makes a nice contrast with the chocolate. “Just for decoration. A tribute to the brave cake that walked so this one could run.”
“Right.” Junseo nods and actually smiles this time, nerves somewhat soothed by Donghan’s sweet gesture. He grabs the knife and cuts a circle in the middle of the cake first, then the slices. There’s a general gasp of anticipation from the other boys when he plates the first one; the layers of chocolate in between and outside the yellow cake certainly make it look appetizing.
“It looks like a birthday cake,” Yongha comments exactly what Junseo is thinking. “Well, here goes…”
Junseo keeps a careful eye on his members as they take their first bites; Daehyeon and Yongha tentative and small, Seokhwa and Donghan enthusiastic, and Yohan again digs in with extra gusto, shoving in half of his slice in one big bite. And then, as though in slow motion, he watches their expressions changing— first to surprise, then to disbelief, until, finally— to delight.
The reactions are a far cry from before, and Junseo knows it’s a hit. The hyungs break out in a chorus of appreciative sounds and compliments that they heap at him, but his absolute favorite has to be Yongha and Yohan nodding vigorously and barely managing to make out twin near-moans of “I'shogood!!” around mouths full of cake, all while already helping themselves to seconds.
“Aren’t you gonna try your own cake after all that work?” Donghan asks, smiling at Junseo from ear to ear and prodding him with the blunt side of his fork.
“Got distracted with everyone’s reactions,” Junseo explains. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s incredible,” Donghan says earnestly, offering him a bite. “Like you.”
“Ey, hyung, I just followed instructions,” Junseo scrunches his nose at the sap but opens up.
It’s tasty and fluffy exactly as promised, with an added velvety texture from the cooled ganache that marries well with the batter. In hindsight, Junseo almost can’t believe how easy this was without rushing steps and doing everything properly. And the most important part that makes him absolutely ecstatic: his hyungs genuinely like it. He baked a damn good cake. He feels giddy and euphoric when he looks at Donghan again, his boyfriend returning his smile with a knowing look.
Beaming at his own success, Junseo cuts a slice of cake for himself, though not before picking up his phone again, tapping into his YouTube app and subscribing to cake girl’s channel with a thankful whisper of, “I owe you one.”