February 12
When the clock hit 7PM, Taiga excitedly walked towards his kitchen to prepare dinner. Juri promised to stay for the night and he wanted to surprise him by preparing the first meal he had learned–fried rice.
Taiga got all the ingredients out of the fridge and chopped them into pieces–bacon, carrots, onion. He was careful but a little bit faster than before. The leftover rice was also out of the fridge. Taiga was supposed to turn the stove on and start cooking when he remembered the small whole green cabbage Juri had bought for him the last time.
Since it would just be the two of them, he cut a quarter from the cabbage and shredded it into smaller pieces.
He couldn’t deny that he was excited about it–it'd be his first time cooking for someone. He had high hopes that he wouldn’t mess this one up. After the burnt chicken incident a year ago which was supposed to be their first home date meal, Taiga never attempted again to cook for Juri. His boyfriend usually does the cooking or they just have food delivered.
Little did Juri know, he had been studying a lot and without the internet , he wouldn’t be in such a position of holding a spatula, stir-frying the almost-finished fried rice.
As soon as he turned the stove off, his phone started ringing. Quickly towel-drying his hand, he reached his phone and caught the clock that read 7:53PM before answering.
“Hey, are you almost here?” Taiga asked, with a hint of excitement in his voice, that he failed to hide. He did not hear a response right away but instead, he could hear a typing sound, with the keyboard ticking and familiar voices of Juri’s colleagues talking about finishing reports.
“Juri?” Taiga tried to call his boyfriend’s attention.
“Hello, Taiga?” Juri answered as the sound of typing abruptly stopped.
“Still at the office?”
Juri inhaled. “That is the reason for my call, love. I’m actually--we’re still stuck with a lot of reports due tonight--”
“Then, we can just cancel your sleepover tonight.” Taiga butted in. He could feel Juri’s hesitation in saying the words. Taiga didn’t want to burden Juri into feeling sorry for not going home to him. He tried his hardest to sound all right as he looked over at the stove.
“Are you sure?” Juri inquired. “I can still drop off at your place, but I might arrive late.”
“Silly, don’t do that,” Taiga said. “Plus your apartment is near your work, just go straight home and go to sleep, okay? Don’t wanna see your pretty face with dark bags under your eyes.”
He heard Juri chuckle and that alone dissolved his growing disappointment. “Sure, love. I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”
“All right, then. Take quick breaks, okay?”
“Gotcha. Love you!”
Now what should he do with the fried rice masterpiece that stares at him?
February 13
Who would have guessed that seafood at a discounted price could get Taiga giddy?
Ah, no one, of course. First, money has never been an issue–thanks to his parents for giving him a good life, and of course his work, too. Second, well, yeah, he doesn’t really bother looking at the prices before putting them inside his shopping basket. So the first time he saw the discounted price, it had him very pleased with his newfound discovery.
Just thinking about his shrimp fried rice, Taiga’s mouth watered. After all, he could say that he already did a great job judging from last night’s meal. Too bad, the love of his life wasn’t able to take a bite.
Taiga was grinning from ear to ear as he prepared everything. As if he was filming a cooking video, the chopped onions, scallions, and carrots–each on a clear little bowl were carefully lined up on his countertop. Ah, shoot. He almost forgot about the cabbage sitting inside his fridge. He already had taken a quarter last night, and unexpectedly, he liked the taste of it with his fried rice. Just like the rest of the children, he didn’t like eating his greens. However, when he grew up, green vegetables didn’t seem as awful as he deemed it to be.
With a sharp knife in hand, the cabbage crunched as he cut it confidently. Maybe being a chef could be a career for him. Hmmm…
Taiga was already a little too happy with the result of his shrimp fried rice. Sure, his mom’s cooking is way better, but hey, his meal tasted decent. Surely, Juri wouldn’t be too strict with his cooking since this is his first–well, second time to cook for him.
Now for the waiting game. Taiga’s eyes were locked on his phone, waiting for the time to turn 7. When it was 7:01, Juri’s face flashed on his screen.
“Hey, love.” Juri’s voice was the sweetest.
“Hey.” Taiga could feel his heart’s increasing beats.
“How’s your day, sweet pea?” Juri’s background changed, and Taiga assumed that his boyfriend was already inside his car.
“Sweet pea, hmmm… that’s new.” Taiga hummed. “Well, my day’s good. I went out earlier to shop.”
“Did you get new clothes? Have you already tried them on? I wanna see.” Juri sounded excited.
Taiga was just about to speak but was stopped when he heard knocking sounds from Juri’s end.
“Hold on a second–Yes?”
“Hey, don’t run away. Let’s meet at the ramen shop.”
“No, I’m not running away.” He heard Juri answer, chuckling. “Let’s just meet there.”
“Alright. See you in 10 minutes.”
That felt like a punch in his already growling stomach.
“Still there, love?” Juri called. “The team wants to have ramen tonight, so we’re going.”
Taiga could feel the waters forming in his eyes so quickly he had to blink it away. “Sounds nice. Have fun.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” Taiga managed to change the tone of his voice. He wouldn’t want Juri to worry about him just after a hard day of work. “What ramen are you getting tonight?”
“Oh, I’m not yet sure, I’ll decide later.”
Taiga heard the ignition start, the car’s engine roaring to life. “Drive safely. I love you.”
“Love you!”
Right after the call ended, Taiga’s shoulders fell. He and Juri didn’t have any plans for tonight anyway, so why did he even assume that Juri would be going to his apartment after work? Disappointed with himself, Taiga got a bowl and filled it with shrimp fried rice.
February 14
Moving on from yesterday's letdown, Taiga woke up happy and smiling. One, it’s Valentine’s day. Two, they will be spending this day together–after their work hours anyway. He couldn’t wait for the night to come.
Still adamant about having Juri get a taste of his fried rice meal, Taiga got to work as soon as he arrived home that afternoon. Two days of practice made him a little bit better than yesterday. He was quicker with the chopping, too. Thank heavens, no bloodshed so far.
Garlic and scallions chopped. Carrots diced, although lesser in quantity than the previous days but Taiga would make it work. And lots of peeled shrimp. He carefully uncovered the cabbage from the plastic wrap and took another quarter. Maybe he should think of another recipe to make with the remaining cabbage. That should be for another day, for now, he must focus on his cooking. Taiga should make this dinner special, it was Valentine’s Day anyway.
But what if Juri gets caught up with work? What if he had to work overtime because of that huge project they’ve been working on? What if he ends up spending Valentine’s Day alone? Damn, would Juri come home to him tonight?
Biting his lips, Taiga stared at the finished shrimp fried rice on the deep fan, sitting on the stove. The smell was so enticing, making his mouth watered. Fingers crossed, Juri comes home to him.
Taiga went to his bathroom to get himself ready for their home date.
Their second Valentine’s Day together ended. Juri brought him to a nice fine dining restaurant in the city and ordered some good steak with the finest red wine. They even exchanged chocolates! Taiga laughed at himself remembering that a week before Valentine's, he was getting embarrassed just thinking about making chocolates for Juri, thinking that the latter wouldn’t like it. His heart flutters, seeing Juri’s flustered face, cheeks tinted in pink, as the latter handed him a small red box with homemade chocolates inside. Taiga thought that both of them were cute, getting shy and giving each other Valentine's gifts.
As soon as Taiga got inside his home, his eyes landed on the stove. Yeah, his heart was full. But he couldn’t shake the feeling of dismay that it had already been three days, and yet he was the only one who got a taste of his cooking.
Next time, Taiga convinced himself, that Juri would be able to eat it. But for now, he was already too tired, and he wouldn’t need to think about his breakfast the next day.
February 15
Taiga was dead-beat. It was just that day at work when as though someone wished the whole team to experience unfortunate events. Fortunately, he was able to get off from the shackles of the corporate world, just for the night though.
One of his house rules is to never let outside clothes touch the places he lies down–couch and bed. There he was, his body slumped on the couch and his face buried in his tiger plush toy. Tonight was an exemption.
He didn’t realize that he had fallen asleep and was just woken up when his phone rang–the song from his favorite band pulled him away from his slumber. With eyes half-opened, Taiga picked up the phone.
“I’m on my way to you,” Juri said, with a hint of excitement. That was more powerful than any caffeine.
“Did–Ah, wait–Did we have–did we have any plans for tonight? That…I may have forgotten?” Taiga pulled himself up from the couch. He instantly saw his reflection on the TV. His hair was everywhere.
“Oh.” Juri paused. All he could hear was a rustling sound. Or maybe that was from his end as he scrambled to tidy up his place. “Do you have plans for tonight? Honestly, I want to stay over for the night. I’m sorry for not saying a thing. I thought Fridays were supposed to be–it’s alright. I’ll just come tomorrow?”
“No, no, no!” Taiga exclaimed. He was already in the kitchen, pulling stuff out of his fridge. “But can you give me at least thirty minutes? I left work a little later than usual and fell asleep. I’m still a mess. Let me just clean for a bit. Please.”
Taiga was fully aware that he wasn’t the best cook in town. But he already had practice! The last three batches were close to perfection, at least for him who is used to eating at the best restaurants. Alright, maybe saying they were close to perfection was a bit too much considering the meal he had finished cooking ended up looking and tasting like it was made by some amateur who shouldn’t be in the kitchen.
Taiga was weeping inside. Who messes up fried rice? All you have to do is turn the stove on and toss everything in. What could go wrong? In Taiga’s case–EVERYTHING. The garlic and scallions were burnt. Peeled shrimps were almost rubbery. His fried rice was all sad-looking shredded cabbage because he thought that using the remaining cabbage was a good idea, not taking into consideration the amount of rice he had. And of course, Taiga had to make it too salty for Juri’s first time tasting his homemade food.
Wow, he really just gave the love of his life the taste of the ocean on a February night.
“Taste yum!” Juri chirped, taking another sip of tea.
“Liar,” said Taiga. “Stop eating. You’d end up sick with how salty this is.”
“But you made this for me. I should finish this one.” His boyfriend had a coughing fit after taking another bite. Taiga decided to take away his bowl for his own good. After Juri had calmed down, they stared at each other before bursting into laughter.
“Damn, too much love will literally kill you,” Taiga noted. “You don’t have to finish eating that. I swear, I now make the best fried rice–not that one though, but I swear!”
“Yeah, yeah, I believe you.” Juri teased, walking towards him to wrap an arm around him. “You’re the best chef in the world who serves all the salt and a little bit of others.”
“Oh my gosh.” Taiga covered his face with both of his hands.
They ended up eating at a family restaurant that night, avoiding any food that came from the waters because Juri kept on making jokes about it. He and Juri had a fun dinner, the hard day from work long forgotten. All is well.