Remember to vote if you think Jimin is the cutest bean on the planet who you would sacrifice your whole family for, or if you like chips.

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Jimin

A day after elimination, Jimin found himself cooking again.

Woah, Jimin cooking on Hell's Kitchen? What a shocker.

The blue team was knee-deep in another challenge. The second challenge. With the signature dish out of the way, the challenges would get harder. The whole point of a challenge was to test creativity and knowledge, after all, so Jimin expected to work with countless cuisines, even some he wasn't familiar with, of which there were plenty.

His team, still packed with nine players (unlike the red team with their eight after last night), rushed around the loud as fuck kitchen. The sounds in the vicinity were overwhelming. There were sizzles from steaks, shouts from his teammates, and footsteps followed by calls of "Behind, behind" all over the place.

It made Jimin feel alive.

The challenge itself was far from simple. Jimin and his team were in pairs, assigned a dish to serve a wedding party. Five dishes, with one member solo due to the uneven number. The solo member was Jungkook (they didn't get to choose), and Jimin's partner was Chris, the one who had flirted (exaggerating, but Jimin was dramatic) with Y/n the previous night.

Dennis worked with Paul on a fish entree, Markus worked with Louis on a dessert, and Harold worked with Vinny on a hot app. Jungkook handled a cold app, and Jimin and Chris handled a steak entree. Jimin knew Jungkook, Paul, Chris, and Markus (the asshole who had gotten a one out of five during the signature dish challenge), but the others he hadn't spoken to much, and in the heat of the challenge, he had no opportunities to.

"How's that sear looking?" Chris asked from behind Jimin, and Jimin glanced at his handiwork. Inside his pan was a juicy steak that was looking as sexy as him.

"As perfect as my ass."

"Damn, that's a high ass bar." Chris snorted at his own dad joke. He paused to sigh. "Sorry. I'm a dad."

Yet another shocker.

"We got five minutes left. I'll start plating the garnish," Chris said, and Jimin didn't protest. The sooner they plated, the better. Presentation was a major factor in general, but that applied double when they were cooking for a wedding. Everything needed to look pretty and clean. Good thing Jimin was both of those, so he could reflect that on his plate.

How the challenge would work was both teams would present their dishes in order from the apps to the desserts. The bride and groom were present and ready to taste their dishes. Whatever one they liked more went to their wedding menu, which would be held in a few nights at Hell's Kitchen. Along with that, the dish they preferred would get the point. If the red team had a better steak (they wouldn't), they'd get the point. Whoever had the most points win.

Jimin did not want to lose; however, he knew it was inevitable that his team would lose at some point. He hoped the failures would come early in the season and the successes later, as the prizes for winning got better and better the longer the show went on. Besides, if he got a black jacket and became a finalist (he would), he'd only have to rely on himself for winning, not an entire team. That meant he could sweep challenges when the time came.

The last five minutes slipped by in a blur. Jimin handed off a perfectly-cooked steak to Chris. Any chef worth their title could tell if something was cooked well just by touching it, but Jimin sliced it to double-check.

He was confident, but he wasn't arrogant. Arrogance would shoot him in the foot.

And, no, not in the fun way.

The fun way being Y/n being the one doing the shooting.

But anywho.

"And, stop. Serve your dishes, please," Gordon said, and Jimin and his team did just that. The red team did as well, and they lined the dishes up in order of how'd they go. Cold apps first, then hot, then steak, then fish, then desserts. That meant Jimin could relax- well, no, he couldn't. If his team started losing points too fast, he'd probably do a backflip off the Golden Gate Bridge.

The dining room tables were all pushed to the side, and in their place was a single rectangular table with a white tablecloth and no decorations. It was narrow since it wasn't meant for anything other than quick tastings, which was what was happening in that moment.

The bride and groom stood next to Ramsay behind the table. They weren't in their wedding gear, of course, but they were fancy nonetheless. The bride had a sundress with brunette waves down both her pale shoulders, and the groom had a white button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his tan elbows that had no crust on them. Hey, good for him. Jimin wanted the skincare routine- pffft, no he didn't, he was Park motherfucking Jimin. No one's skin could match his.

"Please meet Ashley and Jared, the bride and groom for the upcoming Hell's Kitchen wedding," Gordon said, and the chefs gave them a round of applause. "They will be tasting your dishes and choosing which ones to keep. Let's start with the cold apps."

That was what they did. Y/n and Seulgi were on cold apps for the red team, so they brought their dome forward while Jungkook, the lone wolf, stepped forward with his cold app. The red team didn't have enough to handle all five courses, so Y/n and Seulgi, ever the confident duo, volunteered to take two, with their second one being desserts since they tended to be easier. Cooking two dishes in forty minutes was far from easy, but Y/n and Seulgi pulled through, from what Jimin could tell. He wasn't surprised. He said it once, he would say it again: Y/n could cook.

"Ladies first. Y/n, describe your dish for our guests, please."

Y/n smiled. "Today we have Prosciutto di Parma over figs with a sprinkle of Taleggio."

The entire blue team shared a look at that. All except for Jimin. He too had made a fancy dish. What? It was for a wedding. A Hell's Kitchen wedding at that. What were they supposed to do? Be basic?

The bride and groom dug in, and both of them made mmm noises that had Jimin sweating a bit. Yeah, he wanted Y/n to do well, but not beat his ass at the challenge well. If his team lost, that meant punishment. Jimin no no likey punishments. His pretty hands deserved better.

"Wow," Ashley said through a bite of food. She laughed and apologized, swallowed, and returned Y/n's smile. "This is so rich. So few ingredients but so much flavor. I love it."

Seulgi and Y/n said a quick thank you as Jared turned to give his feedback.

"I agree."

"Smart man," Gordon said, and laughter broke out from all sides of the dining room. Then, it was Jungkook's turn to present his appetizer. Cold app, anyway.

"What I have for you today is a cranberry chicken salad. Not as elegant as the ladies, I admit, but I was going for a refreshing start to clean your tongues of all the alcohol."

Ashley chuckled and scooped up a chunk of the colorful bits of salad. "Smart man."

The bride and groom ate and ate, and once again, mmm noises occurred. They ate a few bites before Ashley decided to speak up first.

"I think you accomplished your goal. It's refreshing, colorful, and the chicken is just enough to tide us over until our entrees come. It's great."

Jared, through a mouthful of salad, said, "I agree."

More laughter, especially from Jungkook. Something Jimin admired about Jungkook was as much as he had that lone wolf persona with the whole cold bad boy fanfic shit going on, he knew how to please customers, from what Jimin could tell. Then again, it was early in the competition. It'd be a tough competition, too; most of the chefs could cook. Few scored lowly in the previous challenge (aside from fucking Markus), and Jimin preferred it when there were more obvious chefs to weed out. Whatever. He wasn't nervous. He was the best chef there.

"So, Ashley, Jared, which dish would you like to keep?" Gordon asked, and Ashley sighed.

"Gordon, is it possible to keep both?"

"Both? Well, look at that, the red and blue teams just earned a point."

Jungkook congratulated the ladies, and they congratulated him as well. That tied them with one point each. The hot apps went next, with the ladies scoring another point since Harold couldn't fucking cook to save his life. That meant it was steak time, and Jimin and Chris would go up against Fiona and Karen.

Jimin carried the dome to the bride and groom, setting them down. That time, Jimin and Chris got to go first, and Jimin lifted the lid to reveal the steak underneath.

"We wanted to put a unique spin on our dish. French, since nothing says elegance like France, right? The official name is Tournedos Rossini, but that's just a fancy way of saying a filet mignon with foie gras, and for garnish we put the meat over a bed of spinach."

Chris had seasoned that spinach, so if it didn't turn out good, Jimin would do another backflip off the Golden Gate Bridge. The steak was perfect, but the entire dish needed to be perfect.

"Presentation-wise, it's beautiful," Gordon commented while the bride and groom dug in, to which Chris and Jimin thanked him. It was pretty. With a perfect steak over green spinach, it was colorful but had elegance to it. Plus, no one could beat the smell of a freshly-cooked filet mignon.

"Wow. So far, everything has been delicious, and this is no exception," Ashley said. Jimin didn't believe that. Anything Harold touched was a fucking monstrosity, and that bitch had done the hot apps that cost the blue team a point.

Again, Chris and Jimin thanked her, and again, Jared's comment was, "I agree." Of course, Gordon made fun of him for that.

Next was Fiona and Karen's dish, which was a classic beef wellington with mashed potatoes and sauteed asparagus. The dish was met with praise; however, in Jimin's opinion, it was too safe. It was a wedding at Hell's Kitchen of all places. No, Jimin had no clue why anyone would be suicidal enough to have their wedding at Hell's Kitchen, but that was besides the point. The point was Hell's Kitchen was the place to be bold. And that meant-

"We'll keep the beef wellington."

Fucking shitstick on a fuck bitch salad.

That was three points for the red team, one for the blue. Unless they scored both points in the next two rounds, they had no chance. That was to tie, let alone win, and Jimin had a feeling the winner would be crowned based on the best overall dish (if they were to somehow pull off a tie, but fucking Markus was coming up).

Jimin was polite nonetheless and thanked Ashley and Jared for trying his food, and with Chris, he returned to his spot. Well, at least their dish wasn't bad. Looked like the wedding party wanted something more classic, and he could respect that, although he didn't agree with it. If they wanted a beef wellington, why not dine at Hell's Kitchen any other day, where it was available on the menu as usual? Whatever. Jimin didn't make the rules.

Next was Paul and Dennis on a fish entree, and Jimin nibbled on his nails—a habit he had picked up from his mother—while awaiting the results. Somehow, Paul and Dennis pulled ahead and gave them a point, keeping them in the game, but they had to win the next round.

And fucking Markus had made the dessert. With Vinny, and Jimin didn't know much about Vinny, but Jimin had no confidence in Markus.

The duo approached, Jimin still nibbling on his nails, and he watched Y/n carry her dish forward with Seulgi as a supporting figure. Y/n and Seulgi, of course, knocked it out of the park with yet another spectacular dish. Jimin had a feeling they were the two strongest on the team, and he didn't want to go up against them.

Then came motherfucking Markus.

Markus lifted his dome to reveal a fucking monstrosity of a dessert. It had strawberries almost falling off the plate and a cake the size of Jimin's head there. That too almost fell off. Ashley and Jared were appalled, same with Ramsay. Poor Ramsay didn't do anything other than facepalm and groan, muttering oh dear oh dear oh dear, since saying it one time wasn't enough.

It was safe to say the blue team lost the challenge.

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