Still, your boyfriend did promise that it would be a fun experience, and you decide to trust him despite your skepticism about this whole ordeal. You have to admit that Jaehyuk has a way with his words, such that he almost always manages to convince you to do something with him even if it means stepping a little out of your comfort zone. Needless to say, it begins with you showing up at the dorms with the ingredients he’d asked for, and Jaehyuk greets you immediately with an apron matching the one he wears, a cheeky smile on his face as he insists on helping you put it on. Of course, the other members are there as well, teasingly promising to leave you both alone in the kitchen as per Jaehyuk’s wishes.

Thirty minutes pass by the time you both finish setting everything up, but now that you’re ready, the two of you find yourselves staring flatly at the empty mixing bowl, contemplating how to start.

“I guess we should start with the dry ingredients?” You suggest, and Jaehyuk nods, opening the bag of flour first.

“The biggest measuring spoon I have is for half a cup. How many do you think we need?” Jaehyuk tentatively scoops one into the bowl, and you glance at it dubiously.

“If we’re eyeballing it, I’d say add three more,” you offer, and Jaehyuk laughs softly.

“You don’t know? I thought you said you’d baked before,” he teases, following your directions regardless.

“Yeah, using cake mix! I never said I’d done it from scratch,” you retort. Jaehyuk laughs again, continuing to add flour to the bowl until he freezes and turns to you with a blank expression on his face.

“Wait, how many cups was that?”

You groan. “I thought you were counting!”

“Oops,” Jaehyuk smiles sheepishly, innocence painting his features.

“This is already a disaster,” you sigh.

The two of you continue with the rest of the ingredients, Jaehyuk teasing you endlessly, while you complain about how terrible the cake is likely to come out. The two of you mostly remain undisturbed, save for Jihoon's entrance to “help crack the eggs,” when in reality he spends more time laughing at your miserable attempt than actually helping out. Of course, he’s shortly followed by a rueful Hyunsuk, coming in to apologize for the second leader’s actions and promptly dragging him out.

By the time the both of you finish, wiping the spilled cocoa powder off the counter and dusting the flour from your cheeks, you decide to taste the batter. You carefully scrape a small bit off the edge of the bowl and lick your finger, a thoughtful look crossing your face.

“Something’s off,” you comment, your nose scrunching a little at the oddly salty flavor. 

“Let me try,” Jaehyuk insists, the ends of his mouth curling up as he leans forward toward you without warning. Cupping your face in his hands, he smoothly presses his lips to yours, the small smirk still evident on his mouth moving softly against yours. His tongue momentarily swipes across your lips, and you let out a gasp at the sudden move. Before you can even finish processing it, your boyfriend pulls away, a twinkle in his eyes as he licks his lips clean of the bit of batter he managed to capture.

“Jaehyuk!”

“Doesn’t taste that bad,” he shrugs nonchalantly, although you don’t miss the mischievous grin he attempts to hide.

“You’re such a flirt,” you groan, crossing your arms and turning away, if only to hide the smile threatening to break past the corners of your lips.

“What? You’re the one who told me that I didn’t have to ask to kiss you anymore!”

“Just put the cake in the oven!” You whine, your back still facing Jaehyuk out of embarrassment.

“I thought you said it needed something?”

“Oh, right!” You turn around at that, striding towards Jaehyuk’s fridge with a newfound confidence. You overlook the suspicion in your boyfriend’s stare as you grab a small lemon and proceed to squirt some of the juice into the batter. You face him with a satisfied smile, hoping he’d understand your intentions, only to be met with a raised eyebrow.

“We put a little too much salt, and lemon is supposed to balance it out,” you explain, and Jaehyuk nods, although his expression is still slightly doubtful.

“I thought we were making a chocolate cake?”

You shrug. “It’s a chocolate lemon cake now.”

Jaehyuk seems to accept your answer, scooping the batter into the cake pan you’d prepared and sliding it into the oven.

It’s about forty-five minutes later, when the two of you are finished with dishes and soaked to the bone from a splash fight, that you decide to check on the cake. You peer through the oven door, frowning as you take in the misshapen cake, a bit creasy and sunken in the middle.

“Uh, Jaehyuk? Did we remember the baking soda?”