Drowning in the Distance

XXI | Y/N

I lean against the counter, smiling at Jaemin from six or so feet away as he pulls a freshly-baked cake from the oven, pulling out a cutting board, placing the cake atop of it and closing the oven door in one swift movement; entirely in his element. He glances up, feeling my presence looming to his side, a singular, perfectly shaped eyebrow raised in my direction. I look at him for a moment, just admiring him. I'd seen him ramble on about cooking before, but seeing him do it is different. He looks so at peace, so calm and collected despite the sheer amount of food he's produced in the last few hours. I think about that first meeting, me clutching Junnie against my chest, him in that football jersey. I feel my heart swell, adoration for the boy flooding my chest as I part my lips to speak.

"I wanted to see the master at work. I feel like I'm in an episode of MasterChef. Now all we need is Gordon Ramsay stood at the side, calling me an idiot sandwich, or a fucking donkey or something." I chirp, sending him a cheeky grin. He laughs, shooting a wink back at me before pulling his oven mitts off, throwing them to the side. I watch in awe as he assuredly twirls his chef's knife, as though he'd been cooking for the last forty years, watching the blade deftly slice the small cake into seven neat, even pieces with a flourish. I let out a noise of surprise at the movement, leaning just a little bit closer to get a better view as he grabs a fresh strawberry from a punnet to his left and squints at it. He places it at the corner of the chopping board, leans over it and makes a few cuts here, a couple of snips there, in absolute, unbreakable concentration. He holds it up in his gloved hand after only a few seconds, his eyes crinkling as he grins widely. Though I can't see the smile, with the face mask covering half of his face, I can tell he's proud of it. I let my eyes flicker down to the thing sat between his fingers, and my jaw drops. The plain, old strawberry is completely transformed. Instead of a red bulb, an intricate and beautiful flower sits in his hand, the layers peeled back to reveal reds, whites and even shades of pink. "Jaemin! How the hell did you do that? That's incredible! You should go to children's birthday parties with that sorcery." His cheeks flush pink, but he shrugs casually, placing the piece of fruit atop of a slice of the cake, perfectly placed and incredibly aesthetically appealing.

"As much as I hate strawberries, I've been practicing for next month when Jeno and I visit my mum. They both love the stupid things." He says, face flushing an even deeper shade of pink, but sending me a look that screams: this is no big deal. I call bullshit. This is a big deal, the biggest fucking deal. I stare at him, mouth hung open and eyes wide. Him and Jeno are back together, and he's taking him to see his family? Oh my God. He chuckles at my gormless state clearly amused with my inability to speak at this information. "Yeah." He nods, grinning from ear to ear as he looks over at me, eyes sparkling. "I hate to admit it, but you were right, Y/N. He loves me. He really does. These past few weeks without him have been fucking torture. I love him. As scary as that is, I think I'm ready to face that fear." His grin is unparalleled, happiness like I've never seen plastered across his face. He seems to bounce on his heels, practically buzzing with joy. "He's coming for lunch tomorrow. He said he's all up for testing out the hospital cuisine and acting out an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. We're gonna give it a try." I stare at him for a moment, my jaw still dropped as I process this information. He's going for it. He's giving himself a chance at love. I almost tackle him into a crushing hug, taking a step forward, but I catch myself before I can close the distance between us and actually do it. I look around, desperate to find something that- aha! I grab a kitchen mitt, pulling it on so that I can stretch out my arm, so that I can reach out and take his hand in mine, albeit with a little bit of a barrier. Tears well in my eyes as I sniff, trying to hold back the overwhelming emotions that threaten to spill over the surface. I shake my head, finally managing to open my mouth to speak, pure happiness making me feel like I'm floating five feet off of the ground.