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The Chef x The Movie Emperor
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June 26th of the Stellar Year 2422
Cheraw the largest municipal city and capital of/on Luna Fang Ping, the largest of the 3 moons that orbit Terra Anka PXD2422, which is the capital of The Golden Dragon Star Nexus Empire.
Ozarka Tech University of Fine Arts, Technology and Agriculture – Culinary Arts Test Kitchen & Dining Room
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Nix's P.O.V.:
The Head Chef Instructor stood there just scrutinizing the food and drinks he just presented him and the other instructors as well as his fellow classmates. His face was unreadable as he stepped forward and took a taste of each of the samples Nix had designated for him and the other instructors to try.
He put in extra effort when plating them since he knew it would be heavily judged, after all this was still his class and this would be graded. He stood steadfast as he watched Chef Han Shi-eon as she meticulously tasted each sample, never showing any sign of what she was thinking.
He was calm and collected as he not only had faith in his craft. He not only has honed his craft to perfection but also pays a lot of attention to every detail. He truly has a deep love for food and how it can bring people together who would normally would not typically get along or even interact.
Food is not only a necessity to live, well can that truly be said in this day and age, but it is a love language in itself. It can be used to say, "I love you", "I'm sorry", "you mean a lot to me", "my condolences", "get well soon", along with so many other things. It is a way to share hospitality that doesn't even need words to convey.
'There is nothing better than sitting down with people you love and sharing a delicious meal with them. I guess that is just another thing I have Draco to thank for.' Nix thought to himself and felt the corners of the polite smile, he was sporting, slightly drop. Simultaneously he felt his heart prickle and it would be a lie to say that it did not take him aback. 'What was that?! I must have imagined that, right?' Nix continued to quickly analyze the feeling he just had while Chef Han Shi-eon continued to taste and Analize his dishes.
He thought of Draco and that same prickling feeling arose back up in his heart. Just as a moment ago he was caught off guard and that troubled him. He did not have much time, but he knew it would drive him nuts if he did not quickly figure out what this feeling was trying to say. It made him feel unease for some reason and that... well he was not sure how it made him feel exactly. Thinking all this he decided to focus really quick and work through it.
'Other than when I unintentionally hurt and made my poor baby Solaris cry, this is the first time in over 20+ thousand years that he has felt this feeling or rather pain, but why? It is not like he actually had feelings for Draco... no it could not be that so it must just be that Draco meant more to him as a friend then he realized. Yeap, that's it'
Nix thought to himself as his emotions were starting to go a bit haywire, but he managed to keep his facial expressions schooled and did not give away his true thoughts or feelings. The last thing he needs is for everyone to misinterpret things at this moment. Well, it is not like he wants these people to know his true self or feelings anyways, so it is whatever.
Solaris who had heard all of his Mama Nix's thoughts since he forgot to hide them in his moment of inner turmoil could not help but role his eyes and take a deep and heavy sigh. His Mama sure is something else.
'I wonder when he will stop lying to himself. When will he finally allow himself to heal? Does he still feel like he doesn't deserve happiness or love? I knew his scars ran deep but I thought he had made progress with Draco... wait maybe he did and is just now figuring that out! Oh, wait this is gonna get good then. I cannot wait to see how he will handle Choi Yongbok, after all they are both dominants so there is a strong possibility, they will at least be attracted to one another. It is not love but it is enough, for now at least.' The little phoenix-dragon couldn't help but chuckle as he thought all this to himself while keeping his thoughts private unlike Nix.
At the same moment Nix came to a conclusion about what he must be feeling Chef Han Shi-eon finished sampling the dishes and taking notes before looking up at him with sparkling eyes that were red at the corners. 'What the hell is with that reaction? Wait it must be the spice. Shit was it too much?' He thought to himself before Chef Han Shi-eon could even open her mouth to give him her assessment and grade.
-Chef Han Shi-eon: - "I can honestly say I have never in all my years, have tasted anything like this! The food is as flavorful as it is fragrant and yet it is all perfectly balanced! I am not even sure what ingredients you use Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan, but I am beyond interested to know.
-Nix: - "Thank you Chef Han Shi-eon, it means a lot coming from you." He said as he bowed deep to emphasis his gratitude. "Actually, most of the ingredients are ones that I have made and cultivated and are all part of my final thesis. I look forward to presenting everything to you then. After all you will not have to wait long."
-Chef Han Shi-eon: - "I look forward to it with sincerity! I know it will be a great one based off of this spread and presentation alone. I will reluctantly step back so that the other Chef Instructors can step forward and sample it all as well before we allow the students to proceed with sampling everything as well."
She said with a small smile on her face that showed her reluctance to step away from all the new and exciting, delicious delicacies in front of her but also the excitement for others to try this new and amazing food that her top student not only came up with but honed and perfected.
Chef Han Shi-eon had always known that Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan had immense talent, but he had always shied away from social interactions and always did his best to avoid catching other's attention.
She was not sure why, but she had a guess, it was related to his secondary status but that was only her conjecture as he had never said one way or the other and she would never be so presumptuous to ask.
Nix was now watching the other Chef Instructors as they taste tested his dishes and could not help but feel proud as a two of them struggled to handle the spice but found themselves craving more of it. He knew this would happen, after all its a slow heat.
'I wonder how they will handle it when I use some spicy pepper corn that numbs the mouth. Sigh, I really miss that feeling but thankfully I will get to introduce it here, so I don't have to do without it.' Without realizing it a beautiful and shining smile formed on his jadelike face.
He was smiling so sweetly that his eyes turned to crescents and everyone in the room was momentarily stunned by the ethereal image before them. Is this really the shy, cold, introvert that never says more than necessary nor ever socialize with them outside of class?
They were already all taken aback when they saw him bustling about in the kitchen. Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan had looked absolutely breath taking in his new chef's wear that fit him to perfection showcasing his drool worthy figure and to top it off he was not wearing a face mask for once.
In all the years they had been attending university together Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan had never reviled his face nor wore anything that was not baggy and just plain boring. It was as if he was purposely trying to hide himself away from everyone.
What Nix's classmates could not understand was why? But then again seeing him like this they could kind of understand, after all Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan had always been the top of their class so he probably wanted to be judged by his abilities and hard work alone and not by his looks.
His classmates were torn between Nix's ethereal beauty and the mouthwatering dishes in front of them. The spell was broken when the first student tasted the food and let out an obscene moan that snaped the other students out of their reverie as they all rushed to try the food. If someone made that kind of sound, then it had to mean the food tasted even better then it looked and smelled.
It took everything in the culinary arts students to remain civilized and form a que to try the food. Each of them just wanted to rush in and grab a bite of everything. For those who had already tried their sample of the food had to use every bit of their self-restraint not to fight for another taste!
"Haha, ya'll calm down. I had anticipated everyone liking it so I made enough for everyone to have a late lunch. I promise I made enough for everyone. All I ask is that no one takes any leftovers home nor tell anyone about it since this is part my graduation thesis." He said with the smile still on his face but towards the end his eyes turned fierce as he looked everyone in their eyes. The students as well as the instructors understood so they readily agreed.
With that Nix went and brought out all the rest of the dishes and they all sat down to eat family style. Once He explained how everyone should eat and explained the correct table etiquette and how to use chopsticks, everyone started to fill their bowls with rice and then went for the other dishes. It was a bit comical to watch everyone struggle so eagerly to use the chopsticks, but they were all too excited and stubborn to not use them.
Only Chef Han Shi-eon knew how to use chopsticks, but he wasn't too surprised as she was one of the very few in the empire that came from a family that kept their traditional names from Earth. He was even more surprised that it was a Korean name at that. He gathered that Chef Han Shi-eon must come from a lineage that dated back to Korea on Earth just as his family had.
Thinking this way, he decided to carefully and gracefully ask about it. As it turns out his hunch was in fact correct, and just as his family, her family made sure to pass down and keep several long-standing family traditions which included using chopsticks as a way to honor their ancestors and heritage.
Chef Han Shi-eon had even told him that her family had oral stories about the food that their ancestors back on ancient Earth used to eat, However the knowledge of how to make those dishes had long since diminished. She even told him about how she had always longed to try some of those dishes but knew that it was something she would never get to experience in this lifetime.
He could not help but filled moved as he did understand her sentiments and thus, he quietly explained to her that these dishes are in fact inspired by some old family recipes and stories that his own family had passed down but was never able to recreate due to the lack of ingredients. He explained how he made his whole doctoral thesis around it and was even able to bring back or at least something like the original ingredients.
"I will explain more in my decertation, but I felt compelled to tell you a quick summary now. I can see how moved you are by it and know that you would be able to appreciate it on a much deeper level than others." He said while looking her straight in the eyes watching and awaiting her response.
He was only a tad surprised when tears weld up in her eyes before she quickly blinked them away and thanked him profusely. She thanked him and they all silently scarfed down the delectable food and drinks. Everyone was pleasantly satiated and did not think they could possibly consume anything more for the time being until Nix brought out the deserts.
To everyone's complete amazement they did indeed find room for these equally delicious and amazing deserts and drinks. When asked how he came up with all this he just smiled and replied that he would explain all that after he presented his decertation in about 2-3 weeks' time. Everyone begrudged agreed as they all understood that it was part of his final and most important project for his degree, although that did not mean they were not foaming at the mouth to find out.
Chef Han Shi-eon stood up and addressed the whole room once everyone was done. She announced that since Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan had not only made such an astonishing meal for everyone but also had already cleaned up behind himself in the kitchen that he would be dismissed early today and would not be required to deep clean the test kitchen with the rest of the class.
One boy in class who happened to be a recessive alpha rose from his seat and deeply bowed to Nix to show his gratitude for the meal while saying "thank you truly Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan for the meal. It surpasses anything I have ever seen, smelled or tasted before. I feel honored you shared it with us all today." The rest of the class chimed in, with a chorus of "thank you Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan".
To which he just nodded his head and relied simply, "Thank you all it was my pleasure truly. Also please call me Phoenix if you don't mind." He flashed another brilliant smile that caused everyone in the room to blush and make their hearts skip a beat.
He quickly washed up his bowl and chopsticks and grabbed his cup of matcha milk tea with boba and got ready to leave. Chef Han Shi-eon approached him and told him he passed todays assessment with flying colors, and she even gave him the next 2 days off from attending the lectures if he did not want to come. He readily agreed, thanked her and waved to everyone as he left.
He was going to head home early and with any luck he could make it to Joon-ah's swim meet.
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Cheraw the largest municipal city and capital of/on Luna Fang Ping, the largest of the 3 moons that orbit Terra Anka PXD2422, which is the capital of The Golden Dragon Star Nexus Empire.
Ozarka Tech University of Fine Arts, Technology and Agriculture - Campus
3rd Party's P.O.V.:
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Everyone could not take their eyes off of a young man clad in a stunning white and dark purple chef's coat that emphasized his slender waist and elegant black striped chef's pants that could not hide his round and perky butt. He looked ethereal as the sun shone on him as he made his way to the front gate of the university as he was presumably on his way home.
There were several people who wanted to run up to him and talk to him, but they were all intimidated by his godly good looks. They could not help but feel unworthy as if the man standing before them was in fact a god. All they could do is watch him as he confidently strode towards and awaiting black hover van.
Whispers and decisions of who the young man might have surrounded him and yet the young man never showed any sign that he heard or rather was bothered by the on lookers and the gossip pertaining to him.
Although his identity was unknown it was safe to speculate that he was part of the Culinary Arts department, with his attire. A few brave souls quickly took pictures of him and posted them to the school's forum to see if anyone knew who he was.
Unfortunately for those who waited for the answers with bated breath, no one was able to answer the question of the young man's identity and would have to wait for those in the Culinary Arts department to let out of class and see the form.
Among the crowd of admires there was one who's eyes were filled with contempt and disgust as they took in the sight of everyone fawning over this newcomer. Her golden eyes shone with the malice that was rising within her. She was the school's bell, and she would be damned if someone thought they could take that title from her!
She had made up her mind to put this man, whoever he is in his place, and make sure he never covets what is not his. She was filled with so much furry that she forgot her surroundings and stomped away but not before a young man with beautiful deep emerald, green eyes captured a video of the whole scene including the school's bell's reaction and look of disdain, contempt and furry regarding the young man and everyone's reaction to him.
The handsome young man with beautiful deep emerald, green eyes smiled and could not wait to share this bit of news with his best friend who was obvious to the stir and ruckus he just caused simply by finally being himself. He would make sure to call Phoenix later that evening, for now he had class to attend.