Remember to vote if you would do literally anything for Jimin just to see him smile like that, or if you think unicorns are pretty.

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Y/n

"I hate my life. I hate everything. I hate California. I hate America. I hate stairs. I hate elevators. I hate walking. I hate those bird ladies who wake you up every day at nine sharp because they need to have a fucking opera performance with their two million parrots at that exact time every fucking day."

Y/n stared at Jimin as he paced in the common area of the dorm, all sweaty from cooking with his dark locks flat on his perfect face. He nibbled on his nails for a beat before he turned to her. The two of them were alone in the common area, Y/n sitting on the couch with Jimin standing. The women were in the shared room to pack for their trip to a ranch to ride some horses. Yeah, that was their reward, and it was awesome. Y/n loved animals, so she'd take the excuse to ride a horse all day.

Maybe she could ride Ji-

Anyway.

"I hate spinach. I hate mangoes. I hate any drink that isn't water or alcohol. I hate myse- well, no, I don't. I'm hot. But I hate everything else," Jimin continued with a huff.

Y/n quirked a brow. "Even me?"

"No, you don't count. You're pretty. Pretty people get a pass."

Well, Y/n couldn't argue with that logic. She gave pretty people a pass every day. Sure, it was toxic, but Toxic by Britney Spears was her favorite song, so it fit.

She bet Jimin could fi-

Anyway.

"All you have to do is decorate the venue. Honestly, that's not bad compared to other Hell's Kitchen punishments," she said, and he sighed and placed his hands on his snatched waist.

"It's the principle. I didn't do bad, but I get punished. It's unfair."

"Life isn't fair." Y/n paused to stand with him and approach, placing her hands over his, and he leaned into her touch. "Look, I know it sucks. Literally. I mean, I got the punishment last time. But if you take it negatively, you won't learn anything."

"What am I gonna learn? The difference between blue and pink confetti?"

"Jimin," she said, softer, and he stopped his constant sarcasm. "You're around a crap ton of chefs. You're obviously good at what you do, but maybe you can learn something from them. Take this as a learning opportunity instead of a punishment."

"Kinda hard to do that when it's... y'know... a punishment."

"Hey, come on, you know what I mean. Please try. Please? For me?"

Jimin hesitated, and then, he smiled and shrugged. "Okay, okay. I'm not a glass half empty kind of guy anyway. I'll try for both you and myself. How's that?"

"Better."

"But, I still hate everything. Especially that fucking parrot lady. What a bitch."

Jimin squeezed her hands, and Y/n chuckled at his demeanor, watching as he stepped back in time for Chris to pop out of the boys' dorm with his blue jacket on, like Jimin. Both of them had sweat stained on them, though it looked better on Jimin. Chris was attractive, but he was twice her age. But he had no gray in his hair, so hey, good for him.

Maybe she liked older men...

Y/n, shut the fuck up for once.

Y/n scolded herself in her mind for those thoughts and instead greeted Chris with a nod he returned. The rest of the blue team departed their room like a cult, and Jimin peeked back at her with a sad smile that time.

"Guess duty calls. Have fun with the horsies, okay?"

"Sure will. I'll imagine one of them is you."

"Ooh, Y/n, don't entice me to skip out on punishment," Jimin said with a wink that was more like a blink. He grunted and cursed. "I will never wink right. Whatever. Ignore that weak attempt at flirting."

"Jimin, with all due respect, you're so hot you could make yellow look good, so that, in my eyes, was a good attempt."

"I knew I liked you for a reason."

Jimin booped her nose—something he seemed to be growing a habit for—and skipped off to join his team. Jimin went right for Jungkook and buddied up with the disgruntled, taller man. Then, the blue team was gone to succumb to their punishment, leaving Y/n with seven women she didn't know well. Seulgi was about the only one Y/n cared about, though Felicia was creeping up her list, too. They hadn't talked much, but Y/n knew an icon when she saw one.

Y/n went to change into leggings she didn't care about (so they could get muddy and ruined) and a shotty t-shirt that had seen better days. She had packed some shitty clothes for the sole purpose of anticipating rough housing and messiness with some rewards. Yeah, she expected to win. She was the best, after all.

"I haven't gone horseback riding in thirty years," Karen said, donning a similar fit as Y/n. She opted for contacts instead of her typical glasses, which meant more of her wrinkles on her tan skin showed. She had wrinkles, sure, but she had fantastic hair, especially for someone her age. A full head of healthy hair with not an ounce of gray? Y/n wished that could be her when she aged.

"I haven't gone horseback riding at all," Fiona said, her voice medium-pitched and a bit scratchy. Not an age scratch, but more an accent. Like a Brooklyn accent due to the way the words sounded deeper yet somehow less enunciated at the same time.

"Don't worry, girls," Felicia said with her iconic fur coat on and ready for action. "Felicia will handle this."

Karen eyed her. "In that coat?"

"Fashion doesn't discriminate. I could be swimming, golfing, or horseback riding, and this is the fit that chose me." Felicia did a twirl to show off the coat more. "It. Chose. Me."

"Well, alright." Karen shrugged and smiled, showing her chipped canine. "I just worry you'll stain it."

Yuna giggled in the corner, and Y/n went over and wrapped her arm around Yuna's shoulder, guiding her out of the dorm first. Yuna's eyes bulged, but Y/n only laughed and had the poor, shy girl leading the crowd instead of blending into it.

"Come on, it'll be fun. You and me, yeah?"

Yuna nodded, and Y/n kept her grin. The girls made it past the boys decorating Hell's Kitchen for the upcoming wedding. Ashley and Jared were back and directing them, though the wedding planner did most of the organizational work, from what Y/n could tell. Jimin flashed her his classic eye smile, and she took a mental picture.

Then, the girls were off. Ramsay wasn't with them, though that wasn't a shocker. If Y/n's memory served her well, Gordon didn't start joining in on rewards until later, when the competition got more serious. He wanted the rewards to be about bonding and bringing the teams together, and Y/n made a mental note to do just that.

They made it to the ranch via a limo twenty minutes later. The ride consisted of Felicia teaching Karen about all the fashion tips and tricks. Not one peep of Missy. No one remembered her already. It took all of Y/n's brain power to remember her name.

The ranch smelled like manure. No surprise there. But it was charming, almost. It was good to be out in California's bright, hot sun with giant stacks of hay, wooden fences, and huge horses all around them.

There were four ranch workers, all girls wearing cowgirl boots and denim overalls, standing at the front gate. It was a massive ranch with a wide open range behind it for running. Or, as large as it could get in California, considering there was less open land than other states, like Florida.

"Now this is the life," Felicia said, clutching the openings of her fur coat and clicking her tongue. "I'm gonna have a field day with this."

"Or a field ride," Y/n said, and Felicia snorted and agreed.

Karen ooh and awwed at everything, Yuna stuck to Y/n like her life depended on it, and Diya pranced around like she had been to the ranch a million times.

Diya's dark locks bounced as she did a small twirl like Felicia had back in the dorm. Her bright smile stretched her soft cheekbones, and she had a cute button nose that made her already-large lips appear larger.

"I've always wanted to ride a horse."

The rest of the team cheered her on, and within ten minutes, they were riding off through the trees that made Y/n feel like less than an ant. Seulgi, much to Y/n's surprise, rode next to her. They weren't going too fast, but it was a decent trot that could hike up to far more of a sprint soon.

The cameramen were on horses, too, and Y/n had respect for the way the men handled those cameras like they weighed nothing. Just looking at them had Y/n wishing she could keel over. Thank goodness she chose a chef career instead of a Hell's Kitchen camera operator.

"You did good today," Seulgi said, and Y/n snapped her head up at that.

"Who? Me?"

"I'm riding next to you, dumbass."

The team had split off into pairs since the dirt road wasn't wide enough for more than that. The instructor was at the front and directing the pace, and behind the woman instructor was Karen—who laughed like a little girl—and Ophelia—who teased Karen the entire time and gave her a high five. Then came Seulgi and Y/n, and behind them Felicia and Fiona, and then the enthusiastic Diya and the quiet Yuna.

Y/n had meant to stick with Yuna, but the struggle of getting on horses and learning how to ride them had separated them. Oh well. Diya was sweet enough, so Y/n was confident Yuna would be alright.

Y/n stared at Seulgi's sharp profile before answering. "Well, thank you. You did good, too."

"I know. I always do."

Well, she wasn't wrong. She hadn't messed up a single thing since joining the competition.

"Where did you go to school?" Y/n asked, ignoring Seulgi's previous words.

"I didn't. Learned cooking from my dad. Used to do it at midnight. I lost count of how many school days I missed because of those late night cook offs." Seulgi paused to chuckle, and then, she wiped the expression off her face. "But that's the most you're getting out of me. I'm here to win, not to make friends. I'll play as nice as I can in the kitchen, but that's it. Don't talk to me otherwise."

"That's kind of hard to do when you approach me to talk, Seul."

Seulgi glared when Y/n said the nickname, but Y/n wasn't deterred. If anything, that had her narrowing her gaze further.

"We don't need to be friends, but maybe we should know each other's cooking backgrounds. That'll help in the kitchen, don't you think?"

Over the years, Y/n had learned the best way to handle disagreements was to use logic. Preferably logic that pandered to the other person. Seulgi was all about the cooking and winning, so Y/n made it about the cooking and winning, all as an excuse to get to know Seulgi more and maybe, just maybe, chip away at her rocky exterior.

Seulgi shrugged. "I suppose that's not a bad point. Not a good one, but not a bad one either. I'll think about it."

Think. She would think about it. That was better progress. At least Seulgi had a heart somewhere beneath all that... Seulgi.

With that, Seulgi went ahead, passing by her teammates no matter if it caused them to stumble a bit. She went to the front with the instructor and abandoned Y/n. Yuna came up, and Diya lingered behind but stayed in talking distance, and Y/n thanked them both. Diya's sweet smile eased Y/n's soul, and Yuna's quiet support gave her motivation to keep battling in Hell's Kitchen. To win. To get that grand prize of a job and cash.

All she had to do was never give up.

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Remember to vote, comment, and follow if you think Jimin is the most beautiful person in the galaxy, or if you think dinosaurs are cool.