Pancakes & Butterflies

16. Pancakes

When in need, there's no Junhyeon.

Jiwoong and Matthew's relationship started abruptly. It was nothing like Jiwoong had planned, so it kept bothering him. He wanted something sweet to think of when they'd later be celebrating their anniversary- obviously not the fight they had. So he made it an excuse that he hadn't 'properly' asked Matthew out, and what better way to do it than making a classic tower of pancakes that Matthew absolutely loved?

The problem was, however, that Jiwoong wasn't a great cook. Now he wouldn't possibly go and ask Matthew for help, so he contacted the second best cook he knew- Kum Junhyeon. Unfortunately, he had to go out of town for personal reasons, hence he was only met with Taerae who turned out to be just as bad.

"Taerae yah, you can't even make the batter." Jiwoong frustratingly said. His brother pouted, but couldn't deny it.

"It's not my fault. Junhyeonie makes everything for me."

"Yeah, yeah, spoiled brat." Jiwoong sat down on the couch. Poor guy had been watching tutorials after tutorials but he'd either burn the cakes or flip them when they're undone, making a mess. He knew tutorials wouldn't save him. He needed someone who knows the abcds of cooking at least. And his right hand man was always Hanbin.

"Hyung?" Hanbin asked through the the other end of the call.

"Hanbin ah, I need someone who can help me make pancakes for Matthew."

"Ohh, are you gonna surprise him?"

"Sort of." Jiwoong asked, "Can you manage?"

"Hmm, I guess I can ask around. Leave it to me."

"Aww thank you Bin! You're actually the best!" Jiwoong happily cut the call. Taerae looked at him funny, "Never seen you saying that to him. What happened to you? Did love change you overnight?"

Jiwoong giggled only, going back to checking the batter. In about twenty minutes, the bell rang. Since Taerae was searching for another 'easy-to-understand' recipe, Jiwoong went to open up, thinking it would be his best friend.

He met Gunwook though, and immediately tightened his jaws. Guy must have visited him to ask about last night.

"So, where's the batter?" Gunwook asked, leaving him startled.

"Huh?"

"Aren't you making pancakes?" The younger asked again, "Hanbin hyung called me. I'm here to help."

"Wait, hyung sent you?" Taerae asked, "You know how to cook?"

"Not really." Gunwook chuckled, "But how hard can it be, right?"

"Well.. it's pretty hard." Jiwoong went near the stove, and showed him the pile of wasted pancakes, "I mean..."

"Wah.. you're really bad at it!" Gunwook laughed. Jiwoong tried to laugh too, but he was still confused, why the younger hadn't said anything about Matthew. He took the initiative therefore, asking, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be angry? Like, super mad with me?"

"Why?" Gunwook asked.

"Well, you said yesterday that you'd court Matthew and then I- we got together that is. Aren't you salty or upset or heartbroken even?"

Gunwook chuckled, "Hyung likes you, you like hyung. You two got together. Why would I be mad?"

"Cause you like him too?" Jiwoong asked. Taerae had found his tea, so he silently listened to their conversation. Not that they tried to hide it anyway.

"I like him doesn't mean he has to end up with me. Yeah, I took him out to eat, but I did that to make him feel better. Don't worry, I wasn't trying to make a move or anything."