Last time on Masterchef (Sea of Quanta edition)

"This fish is f#cking raw!!"

"It's because I haven't cooked it yet!!"

"Yeah you have to wrestle with it to take its meat."

[Multiple Leviathan lifeforms...]

"Aghhh!!!"

"Oohh!! He did it!"

(Disclaimer : none of the dialogues above except the warning of Leviathan lifeforms have been mentioned in the previous chapter, it was all John Y/n's schizophrenia acting up)

You managed to cook for Sa a simple dish gathering the exotic ingredients you found in the Sea of Quanta, although the result is not the best one possible, but it was enough to warm your heart and make you excited and bring you one step closer to winning her heart.

Now you are standing not too far from her, observing the Sea of Quanta, a common hobby that she often does.

"..."

The view of the Sea of Quanta is... Not like the normal aquariums obviously, it is the realm of otherworldly, countless unimaginable things happen here in front of you, yet you could not tell what is what.

After all, the explorations and information regarding this Sea of Quanta has been only known by a select few... You were not one of them.

After a few moments, you heard Sa asking.

"What are you doing?"

Her tone is still as cold as ever.

"Watching the Sea."

"Why?"

"Well... I want to see what you are doing."

"I am not merely watching the Sea."

"Oh... So... Whatcha doing?" - You turned to her, only to see that she still had her gaze fixed onto the Sea. Not looking at you at all.

"None of your concern."

"Oh..."

You looked rejected, and turned your eyes to the Sea again.

"..."

"..."

The awkward silence lasted for quite a while now. You are sure that Sa is focusing on whatever she is doing.

"Well... Is it fun?" - You asked, tried to stir up another conversation.

"..."

"Like um... What part of it are you looking at?"

"..."

"...love you."

"Stop."

"Nuh uh."

"..."

"Love you~"

"Ugh." - Sa closed her eyes in annoyance, the first time you see her express something that well. "Will you please stop? I don't have spare time for you."

"Okay dear~"

"Stop calling me that."

Sa's tone has slightly changed when you started to tease her with your love, but she is still far from opening her heart to you. You are happy because things seem to be going onto the right path.

"Alright~ I will go catch some fish for dinner~"

You said then you happily walked away to the door, about to get outside. Sa did not object or seem annoyed when you mentioned you were going to cook again...

Outside of Sa's domain.

It is like watching an animal planet, everything is so wild out here, the amount of raw energy flowing endlessly in the Sea of Quanta, the strong currents that reside in some dangerous yet exotic fishes...

"Gotta catch them all."

You dived into the strong current.

Moments later, you emerged while fighting a giant fish 30 times your size trying to eat you, as you try your best with both of your legs to prevent it from closing its mouth.

"Aehhhh!!!!"

Suddenly, the fish was lifted out of the current and all of its bones got removed, they all exited through the tail, leaving its flesh all behind... And you were carried out of its mouth then placed down gently right outside of Sa's domain.

To your surprise, Sa was standing right there, looking at you and the fish, unamused.

"It's just a fish, you can't handle it?"

Sa asked mockingly, without even looking at you and with that tone... You couldn't help but to chuckle.

"Hahaha... I thought you were busy, but since you came out here to save me... It means that you looked forward to my cooking, right?" - You smiled.

"On a second thought... Good luck fighting its whole family tree." - Sa turned around and walked back into her domain.

"Wait what family tree?"

A bunch of giant fishes emerged from the current and all aimed at you.

"Ahhhh!!!"

A few moments later...

Sa was sitting there, looking as cold and mighty as always... When the door opened, she looked over, to see a beaten up you bringing inside a dish... You served her a dish of egg fried rice with a dish of seafood...

The aroma is even more tempting than the dish she got served before, she couldn't help herself but to gulp, it seems like her body has regained the old habit towards food...

She picked up the spoon, and enjoyed the fried rice...

You watched her eating slowly, admiring the beauty of her, you couldn't help but to smile.

"Where did you learn to cook?" - Sa asked.

"Well... My old man is a chef, it's kinda a family thing so he has forced me to learn... I never liked it, but I sure hope to learn more... So that I can cook better meals for you, my dearest." - You said, the last line completely caught her off guard.

"... hmph, seems like you have no fear..."

"Why would I need to be afraid of someone I love so dearly?"

You said with a teasing voice, you can sense Sa's irritation rising.

"...since you have so much free time around with all this foolishly loving stuff... Maybe I can get you to help me on a... Certain things."

"Aye?"