Just One Day (A Series of BTS One-Shots)

~ Kim Seokjin ~

You had recently moved out of the family home and started living on your own. All of the responsibilities were piling up in a mountain that did not seem to be getting any smaller. Between your job, family matters, and moving, you barely had any time at all. You had been living off of cold cuts and mooching off your mother's cooking whenever given the chance, but it had to stop. You were an independent adult woman who had to learn how to cook a decent meal. Eventually, you were planning on getting married and even you weren't naïve enough to believe that every man came with chef's hat and culinary expertise.

Work was slow so you had the chance to browse through local ads on the internet. Surprisingly enough, you found an advertisement for an international cooking class tonight a place called Behind the Sauce Cooking. Thanking your lucky stars, you signed up immediately. The class started right after you got off from work and gave you an opportunity to finally learn how to cook a meal for yourself.

Sighing contentedly, you saw that is was closing time at the office and so you got everything ready for your very first cooking class.

You pulled up to the parking lot of a well lit shopping center and immediately saw the sign Behind the Sauce Cooking. You made your way to the entrance of the small business. A friendly receptionist pointed you in the right direction and once inside the room, you saw around ten young adults like yourself, a couple of teenagers, and a few senior citizens all waiting for instruction to begin.

Everyone stood in rows, filling out tables filled with exotic ingredients and aprons. You took your place next to a rather handsome guy adjusting an apron around his waist and introduced yourself.

"Hi, I'm Y/n. This is actually my first time coming to this sort of thing. And you?"

"Oh, I'm Jin, nice to meet you. Don't be nervous, it's actually pretty fun." He smiled and you were left in awe of his beautiful facial features.

"So you've done this before?" You asked gaining a bit of confidence.

"Oh yeah, I love to cook. I'm pretty good at traditional dishes, but I came to learn something new. I can help you if you have any problems." He flashed another breath-taking smile.

"Thanks," you said just as the instructor called everyone's attention.

"Ok everybody, welcome to Behind the Sauce Cooking, my name is Chef Goo and I will be guiding you today. I assume you all have pretty basic skills concerning the kitchen; however, always remember to wash your hands and be careful around hot surfaces. With that said, I'm sure you're all aware that this is an international class so we will be learning how to make something all the way from the south end of North America - tacos."

You grin happily with this new information since you absolutely adore Mexican food. 

Chef Goo continues, "Alright, so first things first, everyone is going to need a cooking buddy to help out and make sure everything goes to plan."

You immediately look at Jin and release a relieved breath to see him looking at you too. You both bump fists sealing the partnership.

"Now that you have partners, unwrap the pouch in front of you containing corn tortillas and grab a couple to put in the oven at low heat to make them warm."

"Hey Y/n, do you know where the corn got lost? In the maize." Jin chuckles and you have to bite your tongue to not laugh.

Chef Goo goes on, "After that, unwrap the ground beef in the packet on your station, set the saucepan to enough heat and spread the meat around until it's all brown." 

You do as your told with Jin at your side starting up the stove.

"The meat is going to take a while, so gather up as many vegetables as you want and make a salad for your tacos."

Jin gathers a cutting board with different veggies and says, "Lettuce get started Y/n." 

"Don't beet around the bush Jin." You smile, enjoying these punny moments.

"Hey! People don't usually go along with my jokes, you're a keeper." Both of you giggle while cutting up vegetables and keeping an eye on the simmering meat. 

An loud voice booms after a bit, "Once the meat has a nice brown color, add tomato sauce and a bit of white wine."

You never would of thought to put all of these ingredients together, it's a good thing you came today. 

Chef Goo says, "Ok, now, all that's left is to add your ingredients together into a shell. There's also some rice and refried beans already cooked over there on the counter if you all would like. I thought it best to teach you all the most basic skills in making tacos before making it all more complicated."

Being a picky eater, you just grab a plate and build your taco nice and simple without stuffing it to the top. Jin, however, had a taco overflowing with meat, lettuce, rice, beans, and he even added cilantro that he found.

"Now comes the best part of the class! You get to eat your creations! If all went well, your meals should be delicious." Chef Goo goes around evaluating the outcomes of all the students. Some were munching away happily while others were spitting out the contents into a trash can.

You hesitantly take your first bite and are pleasantly surprised that you made something actually edible without instigating a fire. You look at Jin who is basically halfway done with his meal and you start to laugh at his stuffed cheeks. 

He swallows and asks, "What? I made this and it's good, it'd be a shame to waste it."

You chuckle and continue eating.

"So that's it for this class, if you're interested in learning some Italian cuisine, next week we're making pasta." Chef Goo informs the class and a couple of heads bob up and down already making their way to next week's sign-up sheet.

"So Y/n, are you thinking of coming next week?" Jin asks.

"Of course, I need to learn everything I can. Let's go sign up together, it'll be fun." You smile  and start to get up when a hand is placed on your shoulder.

"Um... I'm afraid I can't come next class." Jin looks at you looking a bit crestfallen. "I have a really time-consuming job and this was just a way to relieve some stress. I don't get very many days off, but I wanted to get out of the house and I found that I had a lot of fun with you today."

"Oh... I mean... I understand of course, but I was hoping for us to get to know each other some more." You can't help but feel disappointed by this news.

"I know, I'm sorry we could only spend one day together, but let me leave you my phone number just in case you want the recipe to something I already know how to cook. We could also do this again some other time if we're both free." Jin looks hopeful and you can't help but agree with your new friend.

You both exchange numbers quickly and walk out of the establishment together. 

The moon hangs high and bright in the night sky as you and Jin say goodbye to each other and head in completely opposite directions.