Golden ◂ NCT Jaemin

17 ◂ Eggs

◂ 17 ▸

Jie watched Jaemin doubtfully. He held a couple of eggs in his hands, urged her to take them. 

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jie said under her breath as she took them. 

"It's not that hard," Jaemin noted. "Just put them in the pan and wait." 

"It's going to catch fire," she said with absolute conviction and a horrified expression as she walked up to the stove, eyes stuck on the endless black of the pan's surface. 

She trusted herself. She was confident in herself. But cooking? 

No. 

"It won't," Jaemin reassured half-heartedly. 

Jie hesitated but nodded eventually. "We'll see," she mumbled before putting oil into the pan and turning on the heat. 

Meanwhile, Jaemin started cutting vegetables and fruits whilst also looking after the porridge that was bubbling happily in its pot. He threw glances at Jie every now and then as he watched her anxiously glare at the pan. 

He didn't realize that he had started smiling at the unusual sight. He hadn't seen her like this before. There was suddenly no confidence left in that usually so strong girl. 

Jaemin hadn't expected that the first thing that would get her to show him this side of her would be a couple of eggs and a frying pan. 

"Can I put them in yet?" she asked, which pulled him out of his thoughts. 

Jaemin quickly cleared his throat, stopped smiling. "The oil isn't hot yet," he said as he went to grab a few plates. He placed them on the kitchen counter. "I actually asked you to help me because I need to talk to you about something." 

Jie merely nodded, still focusing on the pan. "Go ahead." 

Jaemin took a step back towards the kitchen's entrance. In the next room sat the rest of the boys. They were busy playing games and chatting, not minding whatever was going on inside the kitchen. 

"It's about the job."

"That's the sole reason why I am here in the first place," she noted.

"Yeah but I don't want you to be surprised later, so I need to tell you now," he explained. 

His consideration visibly surprised her. She gave him a doubtful look, yet didn't say anything. 

"The guy we are going after today isn't the one I am trying to catch but I need information from him," Jaemin explained. He let his mind wander off for a second as his eyes got stuck on the girl's, who was still busy glaring at the pan. 

"You can put them in," he said to her, pointed at the eggs. Jie obeyed right away, cracked them open and let them fall into the hot oil. 

She took a tiny step back at the loud sizzling. 

"It shouldn't be too hard. We just need to get into the apartment and get access to his laptop," Jaemin continued explaining, whilst also taking care of the rest of the food and looking after the girl. 

"The problem is that the building is owned by Dragonhead," Jaemin added. He was curious just how exactly she would react to that. Surprised or uneasy. Something like that.

However, she offered him nothing the like. She merely hummed, nodded to show that she understood. 

"So the building has a high security level, I assume," she pointed out. "But I don't think that's why you are telling me that." 

"It's not," he agreed. "It's about lawyer Go." 

The girl's worried expression turned blank. After all that Jaemin had said so far, hearing the name alone was enough for Jie to pause completely. The heat and the sizzling suddenly felt far away. The boy she was standing next to almost disappeared.

Almost, only, because he soon walked up behind her and gently pushed her away from the stove, as he grabbed the spatula that was lying on the counter next to it. 

"That's why I didn't want to tell you in front of the others," he mumbled under his breath. His voice was surprisingly gentle. He turned to look at her after flipping the eggs. "Jie?" 

"Thanks," she mumbled. 

Though Dragonhead was stationed in China, the gang had business in other nearby countries as well - including Korea. And any operations led there needed a supervisor, someone close to and trusted by the gang's leader. 

This was lawyer Go. 

"Have you met him?" Jaemin asked. 

"A few times only." She looked anxious at the thought alone. "Taeyong knows all about it." 

As he put the eggs onto one of the plates, Jaemin suddenly understood that, 
"That's why Taeyong said that he doesn't want you to be seen by a lot of people. I was wondering about that." 

Jie hummed. "Don't worry, I'll be careful." 

"Alright," he said, clearly satisfied. 

"By the way," Jie began. "Why are you being considerate? Not wanting me to get caught off guard about this all doesn't seem like something you would do for me." 

Jaemin couldn't exactly disagree with that. However, he wasn't quite sure himself. There was something about the things she said to him. Something about the cracks in her persona that started to get more and more clear. 

There was a chance that he had misjudged her. Somehow he didn't want to see her all flustered and uneasy in front of all the others. 

He shrugged. "I just felt like it." 

And then he took a couple of plates and whatever else he managed to carry with him and left for the living room. 

Jie held back a smile at his reaction before she followed him into the next room. 

◂ Eggs ▸

I didn't update in ages and I am super sorry for that,, but to make up for it I am giving you several chapters at once~

I hope you enjoy them!