amagiri
Summary: Changmin gives up his Friday evening to help a clueless Yunho learn how to cook.
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There are a lot of things that Shim Changmin would like right now. A drink. A Michelin 3-star restaurant in the heart of downtown Seoul. Hell, he'd even be willing to ride the subway for 20 minutes to eat at that really good French restaurant again.
Instead, he's here.
His situation is vaguely reminiscent of dealing with his grandparents. Just as he is a computer wizard to them for simply owning a smartphone, there are people out there who think being a restaurant critic involves being a talented chef. This offends his best friend Kyuhyun greatly, who is a Certified Sommelier working at an upscale steak house.
"Man, all you have to do is complain about poor service and underdone food and people think you're some kind of culinary genius. I had to shell out money and take a test!" he would gripe, prompting Changmin to reply with,
"Whatever. Just smell the wine, tell them where it's from and they'll think you're a magician."
Changmin thinks his current predicament must be a result of Kyuhyun's thinly veiled indignation at all the times he's been called a magician (sure enough, not all those times have come from Changmin either). He's being begged to give cooking lessons to a friend of Kyuhyun's coworker Donghae. Apparently, Donghae had been asking around for a teacher as a favor, and Kyuhyun had oh-so-helpfully offered Changmin up as a sacrifice.
As a bachelor who's long tired of instant meals, Changmin does actually know how to cook. And considering how much he eats, it often turns out to be cheaper as well. He sticks to simple recipes without a lot of hard-to-find ingredients and complex steps, and he's content with that. People might think otherwise due to his job as restaurant critic for a local lifestyle magazine, but he's not that picky of an eater. At the very least, he finds that a good assortment of condiments can cover most of his dishes shortcomings. Pickled vegetables, chili oil, salt...
In any case, he's made food for his best friend in the past and even been complimented about it, so he knows this gig isn't about humiliation.
Just torture.
"Tell him I'm busy," Changmin protests over the phone.
He can practically envision Kyuhyun grinning ear to ear on the other end. "Shim Chwang, it's too late. I'm cancelling our plans on Friday so that you can help this guy."
Changmin rolls his eyes. "You're so virtuous."
"Yeah, I know."
The hapless person in question is someone Changmin has met before, but only once and in passing. His name is Jung Yunho, and he makes his living as a back-up dancer for various idol groups. Beyond that, Changmin knows nothing. They crossed paths a couple months ago at a party for their mutual friend Heechul. There had been some quick introductions, barely audible over the bass in the club, and then they had moved on. Honestly, Changmin would have forgotten the other man's name by now had it not been for the way his hips had moved on the dance floor that night. Yunho was fit, as expected for a professional dancer, and Changmin had admired everything from his thighs to his biceps while seated at the bar overlooking the floor.
Changmin huffs to himself as he gets off the phone with Kyuhyun. He'd much rather watch this Jung Yunho shake his ass than teach him how to cook to impress someone else. But with a resigned sigh, he gets to tidying up his apartment. This cooking lesson is going to be at his place because 1) he already has the equipment, and 2) he doesn't trust a grown man who doesn't know how to cook to have a clean kitchen.
