The two had arrived at school on time and didn't skip anything. That being said, as it is Tuesday, their second subject is assigned as Home EC, so they had to switch classrooms. To be more precise, they had to move to where they could cook. Not only this, Home EC classes usually make students pair up, which was difficult for Yuu, as Sora had a girlfriend he can be with. Well, the past Yuu, that is.
"I want Yuu to be the Main Chef today!"
Aoi, holding Yuu's hands as they walked to the Home EC classroom said enthusiastically.
"If you don't mind it, then I don't mind it as well." Yuu calmly replied to her.
"Uwaah—these two… so early in the morning…."
"Wha—"
Yuu got completely swallowed up in his space with Aoi that he forgot there's people around him. Specifically behind him is the class, or rather, the school prince, Kurokami Sora, holding hands with a girl, both having a dissatisfied face.
"You're right, it's amazing they can act like how they are at home so easily here at school. It's amazing, I'd say."
"Th-That's…. Hina!—" Aoi, red up to her face exclaimed at the girl Sora was linking hands with.
Hoshizora Hina, a cute, small beauty, and Aoi's best friend, and of course— Sora's girlfriend teased Aoi with a smirk on her face, as if she enjoys teasing her.
"Haa— you two, stop teasing Aoi."
"What do you mean, Awagami-san. You act like you're not included, but you're clearly embarrassed, you know? Your voice might hide it, but your face won't." Hina said with a smirk on her face.
She was right about Yuu being embarrassed, his face was beet red even when he nonchalantly scolded them.
"Ah, we're here."
That being said, the four chatted for a while and hadn't noticed that they had already arrived at their location— the Home EC classroom. As Asahi Gakuen is a top-rated school, this classroom is equipped with high quality equipment and materials, so they won't have any problem using them.
"Well then, is everybody here?"
The moment the four entered the classroom and went to their stations, which was close to the the instructor, Haruka Fuuka who had exclaimed loudly.
"It seems so. Then—" the instructor walked to the side a bit and pulled down a screen with a recipe along with a picture on it.
"French, huh…"
"What?"
"Nothing…"
Yuu however, quickly noticed what dish this is and muttered to himself.
"Alright! The dish I want you to prepare today is a simple, french Steak-Frites."
"Eh, but, isn't the recipe… empty?" A student raised his hand on an obvious question. It is true that even though the screen is pretty wide, it only contained an image.
"Ah, that's right. Steak-Frites is a pretty simple dish containing literally steak and fries after all."
"Then?"
"You have it your way. Use the information you learned in your lessons and implement it on this dish. That being said, Asahi Gakuen will cover everything already, so you can use any ingredients you wish."
"Yes!" All students answered in unison.
"Then, an hour and a half should be enough. Start!"
Thus, the class, or rather, the cooking had started. This is not really a competition and the recipe is pretty easy, so the students are as calm as water as they move, taking ingredients.
"Well then. What do you plan, Chef Yuu?"
"Please don't call me that…"
"Yes, yes. Mr. Chef." Aoi continued to tease Yuu on their station, without moving a bit.
"What, we go here with you two flirting, I leave for ingredients and you two are still flirting?!" Hina, who appears to just have returned with Sora after taking their batch of ingredients.
"..." Aoi simply sulked and Yuu stayed calm and collected as he thought of the recipe.
"Yuu?"
"Awagami?"
Hina and Aoi called Yuu in unison in which he immediately turned to them.
"This is just a class with a simple recipe. Are you seriously thinking so hard about it, Awagami?"
"Well, we'll still be graded by our dishes… but…"
"But?"
"I never cooked simple dishes…"
"..." Hina couldn't comment on that, instead, she said "well, I don't really know what you cook, so I don't mind what you do. That said, time is ticking."
"Ah, that's fine. I already have one."
"Eh, really?! What is it?!" Aoi said enthusiastically with sparkles in her eyes.
"Calm down, calm down. I'll bring the ingredients, in the meantime, can you prepare two pans and one pot?"
"Sure, but… is that all I'll do?"
"You'd be mad at me if it was, so of course not."
"Ehh… there's no way I'd be mad at you." Aoi said as she left their station, leaving a whisper "...dummy…."
That whisper alone was enough to destroy the hearts of men around them.
"Seriously… control the sugar your girlfriend releases, man…." Sora sighed behind Yuu.
"Hm?" Yuu was already out of their station as well, on the way to get the ingredients. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing…"
A few seconds passed, Yuu returned with the ingredients in a tray.
"Well then—"
The two put on their aprons and Yuu handed some of the ingredients to Aoi.
"Will you peel and slice this, Aoi? You know how fries look, don't you?"
"Of course I do. And… leave it to me!"
Aoi started elegantly peeling the potatoes handed to her. On the other hand, Yuu immediately turned on the gases on one pan and the pot on Aoi's side, filled with oil and a thermometer.
"Well then—" Yuu placed the meat on a board and started seasoning it with salt and pepper.
After that, Yuu placed it on his pan which was already hot with oil, so he started cooking the steak, or rather, searing it on the hot oil. After getting his desired crust on the steak, he threw in butter, cloves of garlic, and a few herbs, and started spooning the melted butter atop the steak, basting it.
"And finally—" without removing it, Yuu placed the pan on the preheated oven and baked it to fully cook the meat.
"Well then? What should I do next, Chef Yuu?"
"Seriously, stop calling me that…. Anyways, can you double fry the potatoes?"
"Sure, Chef Yuu!"
"Nn…."
Aoi teased him with an angelic smile on her face that made everyone who was looking, their heart throb. For Yuu's case, he had already seen this smile of hers, but he still can't do anything against it, he just becomes weak against, not having anything against it, so he couldn't stop her from calling him Chef.
"Well whatever—" Yuu turned to hid side and took the rest of his ingredients, one is specifically placed on a bottle.
Yuu started cooking the ingredients for the sauce and eventually finishes it, placing it in a small bowl. Simultaneously, the steak had also finished, so he removed it from the oven and let it cool down.
"Here, Yuu."
Aoi handed a bowl of fries, perfectly golden brown and is also seasoned perfectly to the taste.
"This is perfect, Aoi."
"It is? Yay!" Aoi cheerfully smiled at him.
"Lastly— plating!"
And so, Yuu started plating the dish with the help of Aoi… handing over the ingredients…. That said, Yuu started with the fries on partly half the plate, the steak sliced up to reveal its beauty of the perfectly cooked center, and finally, topping the steak with a drizzle of the sauce.
"Seriously?...." Hina, dumbfoundedly surprised, looked at their dish with awe. "Isn't this… a little high class?!"
It is true that as simple as the recipe is, Yuu and Aoi's dish looks so beautiful.
"To top it off, you only spent a little over half an hour…"
"Hehe— isn't Yuu amazi—"
"Look out!"
Aoi was simply walking back and forth in front of Sora and Hina, but she accidentally tripped to her own foot and almost fell.
"Are you all right?"
Luckily, Yuu wasn't holding the plate and was just in time to catch her, leaving any injuries away.
"Ah— mmm…."
"Geez…. You should be a little more careful in the kitchen."
"Yes. I'm sorry…."
Yuu scolded Aoi as he held her hand, pulling her up to stand back up, and not realizing something—
"..." the two were completely face to face with each other, staring into each other's eyes. "Ah, sorry!" until Yuu immediately pulled away, leaving the two's faces bright red.
"..."
"Are you okay, Hina?" Sora asked Hina beside her who was wearing the same dissatisfied face as earlier.
"These two… geez!" Hina stepped away from their station and started pushing Yuu "Just go already, you stupid couple! You're bothering everyone with the sweetness you two are releasing!"
"..."
Yuu couldn't make a comment on this, same goes for Aoi, both just sulked silently with a fairly flushed as they got pushed towards the table the instructor is sitting on.
"Oh, you're quite fast. I see, Awagami huh…. Looks like the blood runs quite strongly, seeing your dish alone."
"Please don't say that, Haruka-sensei—"
"Fuuka—!"
The instructor insisted on being called her first name, even by her students, so Yuu simply gave a wry smile, unable to decline her.
"Fuuka-sensei…"
"Right! Then, let's see what you got there."
Fuuka purposely emphasized him, and Yuu already knew what this means. Of course, Aoi as well knows this.
"That's right, Aoi—" Yuu reached out his hand and Aoi gave him the plate, and placed it on the table.
"Hoh~" Fuuka smiled in awe of the beautiful dish, especially the steak itself.
"𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘬-𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘤 𝘚𝘢𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦. Please—"
Fuuka was smiling about two things. First, to evaluate such a beautiful dish should ensure it's deliciousness, specifically the beauty of the meat itself, the perfect color and aroma. And second—
"As expected of Mr. Awagami's son. His cooking skills run through your blood, eh?"
That sentence alone led the whole room quiet, confused as to what it meant, except for one person.
"A Michelin Starred Chef's son, huh. That nickname won't be so bad, would it, Yuu?"
"E—EH?!?!???!?"
Aoi basically spilled the beans with a smile to what it meant, making the whole room surprised.
"Haa— no, don't call me that, I might get mad if you do."
"Ehhh— alright…" Aoi grabbed his arm and pouted, squeezing it tightly, meanwhile Yuu patted her head which caused her to smile again.
"... they're back at it again, aren't they, Sora."
"Yeah, and they don't even realize it…"
"..." Hina sulked beside Sora, and followed a whisper "...how enviable…"
"What?"
"N-Nothing—! But… we have to go to their house after knowing that, right?"
"Yeah, we definitely have to…."
The two discussed their plans to raid their house, but they had forgotten they weren't that far apart from their target.
"I can hear you, you know." Yuu turned around and smirked at them. "Well, I don't really mind having to cook for you two as well for today."
"Really?! Then we'll go! We'll definitely go!"
Hina was cheerfully and fully showing how cute she is while she exclaimed.
"Well then— let's give it a taste—" Fuuka took a fork and knife by her side, and sliced a portion of the steak. That being said, the knife looked like it just fell through the meat, showing how tender it is, after that, Fuuka stuffed the meat with a slightly bit of sauce to her mouth, and indulged it for a second.
"Yeah…. Let's see…." Fuuka finished chewing but didn't say anything much. She placed her utensils down, and took a piece of the fries, and had also stuffed it in her mouth, or rather, took a bite from it.
"..." Fuuka hidingly wrote something on her paper, likely her grading sheet, without letting the two see it.
"I give up. This is a perfect score. I can't say anything else other than it being perfect. The tenderness of the meat, the crispiness of the fries, the richness of the sauce and the way it harmonizes with the meat, everything is too good. As expected from the son of Michelin Star Chef, Awagami Ryuuto!"
"Haa— that's great. Thank you very much!"
"Thank you very much!"
The two expressed their gratitude in unison by bowing their heads.
"Well then, anyone next?"
The two left the teacher's table and returned to their station with two chairs and sat side by side.
"You really didn't hold back, huh…."
"Well, I only cook the best food I can do, so it just naturally turned out like that…."
"Eh? Naturally? That's quite scary…."
"That aside, what are you gonna cook for us?!" Hina was enthusiastically asking him, clearly excited to eat Yuu's dishes.
"Well, I guess you'll have to wait for it?"
"Ehh, that's boring…"
"Hahaha—"