#𝐱𝐱:𝐱𝐱 |✦| ࿐ ࿔ ⸢𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: feel free to let me know if anything needs to be changed.⸥

[lgcjaejin]

☆ —Cheese Sauce and Small Talk

@lgckai

Jaejin stood in the Type Zero dorm kitchen, stirring the pot of cheese sauce as it thickened on the stove. The rich aroma of butter and cheddar wafted up, mixing with the faint, comforting scent of garlic bread warming in the oven. It wasn’t anything special—just mac and cheese, a little salad, and bread—but it was the kind of meal that always felt like home.

He glanced at the empty plates he’d set out on instinct and exhaled a small laugh. Old habits. Cooking for a crowd was second nature after years of feeding his family, but tonight it was just him. Everyone else was out—training, meetings, or off doing who-knows-what. The dorm felt almost eerie without the usual chaos.

Jaejin pulled the bread out of the oven, setting it on the counter to cool. He looked at the ridiculous amount of food he’d made and shook his head. What was he going to do with all this? He wasn’t that hungry, not really.

Then it hit him: Kai.

He wiped his hands on a towel, leaning back against the counter as the idea settled. His roommate was the only other one home tonight. Their relationship wasn’t bad—friendly, even—but it hadn’t gone much beyond small talk and the occasional shared laugh. Jaejin had always kept a bit of distance from the others, unsure how to really open up, but maybe this was a chance to start. Sharing a meal didn’t require much vulnerability, and it beat eating alone.

Deciding quickly, Jaejin turned off the stove and grabbed the tray of garlic bread. He hesitated in the hallway outside their shared room, the silence of the dorm pressing in on him. What if Kai wasn’t hungry? What if this felt weird?

Still, he knocked lightly, his knuckles rapping three times against the door.

“Kai?” His voice came out soft but steady. “It’s me, Jaejin.”

He waited, the towel still clutched in his hand.

“I, uh… made dinner. Just something simple, mac and cheese and stuff. Thought you might want to join me?” He let out a small, nervous laugh, glancing down the hall as though someone might catch him. “No pressure or anything. I just figured… it’d be better than eating alone.”