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Y/n

Great.

Just great.

It was time for the most infamous challenge in Hell's Kitchen history.

The dreaded blind taste test challenge.

It was one of the most dreaded challenges because it required no cooking. Yep, you read that right: not a single pan would be touched during that challenge. All they would do was taste ingredients while blindfolded and with headphones on to block out sounds, and the person who got the most out of four would win the challenge. If multiple people got fours, they would continue on until someone messed up, but Y/n doubted more than one person would get a four. For starters, there were five of them left, and another thing to consider was how difficult the challenge was.

The five remaining chefs—the black jackets—stood in the dining room in front of the pass and outside the kitchens. Gordon had a small, round table set up while all the other tables were pushed off to the side. Gordon still had his pencil tucked behind his ear despite them being nowhere near service time yet. She respected the dedication to that pencil. Gordon and that pencil had a better relationship than half of the marriages in the United States.

Maybe more than half.

"I'm sure you guys are ready for the blind taste test, yes?" Gordon asked, and the chefs responded with a hesitant yes, chef. Y/n's voice cracked in the middle of it, but the other four speaking covered it up. "Oh, come on." Gordon chuckled. "I need a chef with an excellent palate. Today, we're testing that, and the one who scores the highest will get an amazing reward."

Well, consider Y/n enticed. Any reward on Hell's Kitchen was incredible. Even if it wasn't her personal cup of tea, she'd at least get out of doing any punishments, same with prep. Many times, the losers had had to do prep for both kitchens. That gave Y/n a break. A much-needed one. The party didn't count as a break; that had been babysitting the drunks. All three of them recovered, at least.

"We'll go individually since we're no longer in teams. First up, we'll have Chris. Start us off strong, yeah?"

Gordon had a black blindfold and headphones ready on the table. Chris approached, and Gordon placed the blindfold on, same with the headphones.

"Can you hear me, Chris?" Gordon asked. Chris didn't say anything, so that meant they were in the clear.

The producers brought over the tray of four small samples of food. Y/n couldn't tell what they were. They were all cubed to make the shape the same, that way they could better hide what the ingredient was. Gordon grabbed one of the countless small sample spoons and scooped a pink cube onto it. He held it up so the other four chefs could see.

"Hot dog."

Oh, wonderful. Y/n would never get that. Not because she didn't know what hot dog tasted like, but because she wasn't confident in her abilities to get the simple stuff. She could tell what a filet tasted like and all that, but things like hot dogs and corn? Nah, she'd fail.

Gordon tapped Chris' shoulder, and Chris opened his mouth for the hot dog. Gordon planted it inside, waited, and then adjusted the headphones so he could speak to Chris.

"What is that?" Gordon asked, and Chris clicked his tongue.

"Pork, chef."

Well, Chris deserved bonus point for guessing the right animal.

Gordon pulled the headphones back with a chuckle. "Hot dog."

"Oh, shit."

Y/n laughed with her teammates and watched Gordon demonstrate the rest of the blind taste test challenge. What was up next were tomatoes, which Chris got, and then duck, which Chris also got, and then spinach, which Chris didn't get. A two out of four. That didn't sound great, but for the blind taste test, that was actually a fantastic score. Getting more than one was an accomplishment.

"Who's next? Seulgi?"

Seulgi rubbed her head and nodded before trudging over to the table to face Gordon Ramsay, who laughed at her.

"Drank too much yesterday?"

"Maybe."

"Well, you have to focus now, young lady."

Gordon put the blindfold and headphones on, checked to see if she could hear (she couldn't), and then commenced the second blind taste test. She got filet (which she guessed correctly), lettuce (which she also guessed correctly), olives (which she didn't get), and avocado (which she also didn't get). Another two out of four. Three would be the leader, and there were three chefs left.

Seulgi returned and smiled at her mini victory. Jungkook went next, and his ingredients were in the same ballpark: simple but challenging if you thought too hard about it. Poor Jungkook got a one out of four, being the lowest-scoring chef yet. But that meant it was Y/n's turn, and she swallowed and prepared herself for what was to come. They had waters so they could cleanse their tongues after each test, but Y/n was so nervous she doubted she'd even remember to drink.

The blindfold came on, as did the headphones, and her senses disappeared. She had seen the test on TV time and time again, yet she hadn't considered how numbing it could be. It felt like she was lost in a void, and it had her jittery for a moment, but she calmed herself when the tap from Gordon came. She opened her mouth, and in came a cube she chewed and made sure to taste every second of. It was definitely fish, but what one? There were countless to choose from, but thanks to the thickness and also just a plain guess, she said the right one.

"Scallops, chef."

The headphone peeled back so Gordon could answer. "Correct. Good job."

Y/n grinned, and after settling herself, she got the second one. It was a vegetable of some kind, but she couldn't tell what one. She knew she had to guess, and she did the best she could.

"Celery, chef."

Gordon took off one of the headphones to speak. "Cucumber."

Well, at least she got the crunch part right. The actual ingredient, though? Nope. Oh well. At least she had gotten one so far. If she could just get one more, she'd be happy.

And then the next one came. She chewed and chewed, trying her best to decipher it. It was a fruit. She didn't know what one, but- oh, wait. Wow. Y/n was a dumbass.

"Strawberry, chef."

Gordon lifted one headphone. "Correct. Good job."

Yay. She got two out of four correct so far, with one more left. If she got it wrong, she wouldn't be too hurt. At least she scored better than Jungkook. Haha. What a loser.

The last one came, and she did the same tactic as before by trying her best to take her time, though Gordon wasn't a patient man. She knew it was a meat of some kind, but what? There were more meats in the world than Y/n could count. But it was dry. That gave her a hint.

So, she threw a guess to the wind.

"Turkey, chef."

The headphones came off, same with the blindfold, and she saw Gordon's smiling face.

"Congratulations, you got it right. You are now in the lead with a three out of four, and only Jimin is left."

Jimin batted his eyes at her, and she snorted and went back in line so Jimin could take a turn. He got geared up, and once Gordon was assured Jimin couldn't hear anything, the test commenced, starting with mango.

Jimin chewed it and gagged. "Oh my God, ew. Chef, why are you giving me mango?"

Welp, looked like Jimin got one right within like... ten seconds.

"Is that your guess?" Gordon asked after lifting the one headphone side, and Jimin nodded. "Well, you got it right. Good job."

Jimin rushed for water with the help of Gordon, and he kept gagging and cursing for having to eat mango of all things. And then, Gordon gave Jimin another cube, and Jimin was quick to answer.

"Salmon, chef."

Gordon's eyebrows shot up as he held up the one headphone side. "Again, correct. Good job."

Jimin smiled, and although Y/n couldn't see his eyes due to the blindfold, but she knew his eyes were smiling with him, even as he ate the third piece and answered just as fast as he had before.

"Pumpkin."

"Another one right. Can he get the last one?"

Gordon informed Jimin he was correct, and then he moved to the last one. If Jimin got it right, he won. If he got it wrong, he and Y/n would move into a tiebreaker Y/n knew she'd lose, so part of her wanted Jimin to win so she didn't have to embarrass herself guessing again.

Gordon held up a piece of cheddar cheese before he handed it over to Jimin, who ate it without hesitation.

Jimin chewed on it, swallowed, and then smiled. "Cheddar cheese, chef."

Of course Mr. Perfect got all of them right.

Jimin took off his blindfold and headphones and celebrated without even waiting for Gordon to confirm if Jimin was right or not (which he was). He turned to Gordon and beamed.

"I got a perfect score, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Gordon chuckled. "Congratulations, young man, you won the challenge, which means you get to stay at the Terranea Resort, a 5-star resort with one thousand dollars in your pocket to spend however you please on food, drinks, and other amenities, not to mention you get a free spa visit for your poor muscles. Terranea is known for its wonderful spa treatments."

"Thank you, chef," Jimin said with a small bounce and a higher voice than usual.

"It's a two-hour drive, so pack a book for the drive to and from. And before you go, you get to choose one more person to come with you, but only one."

"Well, fuck me, we all know who he's gonna choose," Jungkook said, and Jimin smirked and outstretched his arm to Y/n, who bounced to his side and flung Jungkook off.

"Suck my nuts, Jeon. I scored second-highest, you scored lowest. Cry me a river, I deserved this."

Jungkook huffed and puffed but didn't disagree. How could he? She had a point. Regardless of if she was Jimin's girlfriend or not, she had received the second-highest score, and that gave her some advantage, right?

"Alright you two, go upstairs and get ready for your day."

Y/n and Jimin giggled as they dashed away and didn't bother saying bye to the losers. They sprinted up to the dorms and almost stumbled over each other in the process, laughing and kissing as they tried to pack the few things they needed for a short stay at such a luxurious resort. They just needed swimsuits, a change of clothes, and some entertainment. but otherwise, they were set. Set for a spa day and... wait, was that a date?

Was Y/n about to go on her first date with Park Jimin?

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