"have you ever baked?" i asked whilst tying my apron. i mumbled a soft command to ask the slender man before me to turn so i can tie his apron as well. kai complied and turned. "yeah," he answered. my head tilted up to look at him but the guy bashfully looked away. "i was helping lea but i ended up overbaking the cake. i was banned from the kitchen since then." he inaudibly mumbled, however i managed to hear it. i stifled a laugh, hands flying over to my mouth.
"that's alright. i promise you that you won't overcook the cookies today."
"trust me, they will burn."
"it won't. i'll take care of it." i cutely smiled at him. kai pursed his lips in tight-lipped smile. i grabbed my phone and scrolled through the instructions to refresh my mind. "alright, let's get the ingredients out on the kitchen island.. two hundred and fifty grams of butter, five hundred grams of flour, two-hundred and fifty grams of sugar, six egg yolks, and a pinch of salt."
"uhm.. is this salt or sugar?"
i looked up from my phone, "sugar."
kai hesitantly placed the small bottle on the countertop. he looked clueless and awkward around the kitchen and stiffly moved around. i giggled, finding him adorable. "what?" he mumbled and i shook my head, muttering a nothing in response. i moved towards him and placed my hands on his tensed shoulder. "relax." i massaged his shoulders and slowly, they eased.
"i'll sift the flour and you can mix the butter and sugar until it's creamy." i instructed, placing a bowl and mixer in front of my friend. however, before i took the flour to sift it, i turned the radio on. i observed kai creaming it. his hands were slightly shaky as he turned the mixer on. it was going decently well so far.
'you ought to know that i think we're one and the same.. i don't think we could help it, no, i don't think we could help it.'
'we don't talk much.. guess 'cause nothing has changed and i'm not sure i like it and i'm so tired of fighting.'
i softly sang along as i sifted the flour. slowly, the kitchen was filled with the soothing melodies of the song. other than the radio, the sounds of metal and the mixer resonated loudly. outside, light drizzle began to take place. i watched the rain droplets race their way down the glassy window. i returned my gaze to the flour, watching the substance cascade down like a gentle snowfall, landing in the bowl with a hushed whisper.
'if i told you, you know how to go and break my heart in two cause i would anyways.. we'd end up like always.'
'you know me, you better show me that you could say it to my face. cause you know we're the same. there's worse things i can take.'
kai stole a glance at me, a small smile playing on his lips. he was swaying his body to the melody and i copied his actions. the music seemed to bridge any gaps of awkwardness.
however, the calm atmosphere was soon disrupted by a sudden fumble. kai, in an attempt to add the sugar, accidentally spilled a bit on the counter. he blinked, sheepishness spreading across his face. "oops..."
it took me a moment to register the mess. i chuckled, reaching for a kitchen towel automatically. "no worries, accidents happen."
as my reached out to wipe the mess, my elbow accidentally knocked the bowl of floor i had sifted. a loud gasp left me as my hands reached out to prevent the bowl from falling but, unfortunately, the metal landed on with a huge thud, snowing white all over my floor.
"double oops," i sighed, frowning as i eyed the ground.
kai, ever the gentleman, bent down to help me clean the mess. we exchanged amused glances, and soon the air was filled with laughter again. as we worked in tandem, wiping down the counters and sweeping up the flour. a mischievous thought crossed my mind. with a sly grin, i grabbed a handful of flour and playfully tossed it onto kai. i stifled a laugh, watching his face and hair get tainted with bits of white. his eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment, the kitchen fell silent. but then, without missing a beat, he retaliated, grabbing his own handful of flour and tossing it in my direction.
"hey!"
"you can't just splatter my face with flour and expect me to do nothing in return!"
laughter echoed as we engaged in a spontaneous flour fight, the powdery substance floating in the air like tiny particles of joy. both of us had our fair share of hits on our bodies. however, i do personally think kai looked more like a ghost than me with all that white.
"you've asked for it!" he yelped, dodging my throw. the flour stained more area on the floor than it did before. it would be hassle for me to clean after this but that's another matter for me to worry about- for now.
unbeknownst to us, our bodies got closer in the playful chaos. i only noticed when i realized how my hand had knocked his chest in an attempt to throw another ball of floor. kai had noticed it a well, causing us to clear our throat. i backed off a little, feeling flustered all of a sudden. i avoided his gaze and turned my back, cheeks tinged with a faint blush.
"uh," i coughed. "maybe we can continue with the baking before the day gets dark." i murmured. kai nodded. i had began to sift the flour once more whilst kai offered to clean the snowy floor. as soon as i had sifted the flour and added the other ingredients, i felt kai's presence behind me. his warm breath fanned against the back of my neck, causing my breath to hitch.
"are we using chocolate chips now?" his voice was in a soft murmur. his hand holding the pack of chocolate chips came into my sight and i grabbed it with a nod.
"i'm so excited to taste it. bet you'll make it good." i glanced at him, watching the male plop himself on the kitchen stool. he had his hands on his stomach, rubbing it.
"we'll make it good." i corrected him.
"you're the one baking."
"but you're helping me." i added a large amount of chocolate chip. "come here." i gestured him over, "we need to portion and roll the dough now."
"how'd i do that?"
i presented him a cookie scooper. "use this. don't use your hands and eyeball the cookie. if not, the cookies won't be evenly baked." kai hummed and took it. i demonstrated how to do it first and soon, he caught up. he made a few mistakes at first but after my several aiding, he scooped it well and placed it on the baking sheet. a satisfied grin found itself to my face as we both placed the last few scoops.
"after we put it in the oven, we can go clear this up." i added, then looked up at kai's face. "and we can clear your face up too." kai playfully rolled his eyes at my remark and helped me carry the tray. i had already preheated the oven. he slotted it in whilst i placed a timer.
"we can take it out after 9 minutes."
"okay!"
silence fell between us. kai leaned forward to watch the cookies bake. i leaned against the counter. however, the peaceful solace we had was ruined by me as i let out a harsh cough. my body vibrated as i covered my mouth.
to my dismay, i had coughed up a bit too much blood onto my hand.
