Chapter 2

Previously

Taehyung, on the other hand, surprised the judges when he announced his sponge would be lavender-flavored, with a lemon curd and rosemary whipped cream filling.

continuation

The judges were skeptical, but Taehyung flashed them a winning smile, and Jungkook was impressed with his confidence; those flavors were a gutsy move, especially since Taehyung’s recipe consisted of a few haphazardly-scribbled lines of instructions on the back of a pastry bag. The blatant disorganization gave Jungkook a small heart palpitation, so he tried to keep his eyes on his own hands as he worked, avoiding the increasingly-cluttered happenings at Taehyung’s station.

Each contestant was assigned a camera person, tasked with following the contestants around and occasionally asking questions for tidbits they could include in post-production. Jungkook’s area remained fairly quiet; unless his camera man probed him with a question, Jungkook didn’t speak, instead focusing his energies on the task at hand, determined to created the most perfectly-balanced shortcake possible within the time frame.

Taehyung, on the other hand, chatted with his camera woman non-stop, laughing and joking in that deep, husky voice. Jungkook couldn’t stop his eyes from flicking over to his competitor every few minutes, even if the utter disarray on Taehyung’s benchtop made him internally scream. The glimpses of Taehyung’s focused pout and easy smile were worth it.

“Five minutes remaining!” one of the hosts shouted.

Jungkook was putting the finishing touches on his shortcake, piping whipped cream in perfectly even dollops, carving his final decorative strawberry into the shape of a flower. He finished with one minute to spare.

He stepped back with a satisfied sigh, wiping his hands on his apron. He glanced at Taehyung, then did a double take; his station was an absolute mess, as if a tornado had ravaged the area in an effort to get flour on every possible surface, leaving bowls and whisks and spoons haphazardly strewn about. Taehyung had somehow managed to get flour in his hair and a smear of lemon curd on his cheek. He was softly smiling as he arranged a decorative sprig of lavender atop his cake, which had whipped cream and curd fit to burst from the middle, his sponges dyed a light purple. It was chaotic…. But Jungkook kind of liked it.

The judges made their rounds, critiquing the contestants. When they arrived at Jungkook’s station, they complimented his neat piping skills and commended his balance of flavors. A job well done, Jungkook thought proudly.

Then, the judges moved to Taehyung. They eyed his cake warily, and after tasting, they gave mixed reviews; one judge loved the flavors, bright and floral and unique. The other wrinkled their nose at the rosemary whipped cream, claiming the lemon curd was too tart, the sponge too sweet.

The feedback didn’t seem to faze Taehyung in the slightest. Jungkook marveled; hearing even one criticism of his baking would make him want to shrivel up into a raisin. Still a competitive, highly determined raisin, but a raisin, nonetheless.

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