Bound to the Alpha

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Jhune's POV

Something felt off. There was a strange sense that something was missing. I tilted my head and squinted at it.

I carefully examined the dish in front of me, touching my chin as I slightly furrowed my brow.

My eyes widened as I suddenly realized what I had forgotten. I quickly grabbed some grated cheese and pepper, sprinkling them on top of the carbonara.

Now it looks perfect!

A wide smile spread across my face as I admired how well my dish had turned out.

Flashback*

I sat dejectedly on the stairs, lost in thought about what to do next.

I couldn’t sleep, my mind racing with thoughts about what happened earlier. My body ached from tossing and turning as I struggled to fall asleep.

I remembered Russel texting me earlier, saying to take care of Zack. What should I do? I don't even know what that means.

I glanced back at my phone screen and started typing a message for Russel.

After pressing the send button, I rested my chin on my hand again and stared into space. After a while, my phone beeped.

Surprised, I looked at it again. I didn’t expect him to reply that fast, especially since it’s already late at night.

I furrowed my brow. Why is he still awake? Is he working?

Well, that makes sense. I recalled him calling Zack heartless for making him do all his work. Poor Russel. I shook my head at the thought.

[Russel: Dish? Are you going to cook for him?]

That was his reply when I asked him what kind of dish Zack would like.

[Me: Uh, sort of.]

I replied. He responded to my message right away.

[Russel: Zack is not a picky eater. Anything would be fine as long as it doesn't have peanuts; he's allergic to those.]

I hadn’t even finished reading his reply when he texted again.

[Russel: But if you really want to cook for him, it’s better to make his favorite dish.]

[Me: His favorite dish?]

[Russel: Yes. Cook carbonara. He’ll definitely like that.]

Carbonara?

I immediately went to Google to search for it. I nodded to myself as I read the recipe I found online.

I also looked for a video tutorial on YouTube on how to cook carbonara. This time, I’ll make sure I do everything right.

I cringed as I remembered my last attempt at cooking. That was embarrassing.

I headed straight to the kitchen, turned on all the lights, put on an apron, and started preparing the ingredients.

I started by cooking the spaghetti in salted water until it was just right.

While the pasta was boiling, I mixed eggs with grated Parmesan cheese and plenty of black pepper.

In a pan, I cooked bacon until it was crispy, then tossed in the drained pasta I had just taken out.