We draw cards out of a cup to determine our teams, and I am very much hoping to be with Ryo-hyung, simply because he doesn’t want me this time around. We laugh and joke about the strengths and weaknesses of the other members all the time, as we are definitely not all gifted in the same areas. Tang-hyung and I are more skilled in physical games, Nikko and Chita excel at trivial general knowledge, and Ryo and Lalo-hyung are the foodies. We all know what we’re good at and what we’re not, and we know that the fans watching do too.
It turns out to everyone’s benefit that Ryo and Lalo end up on different teams, so each trio will have at least some sort of fighting chance. Ryo does an actual dance upon realizing that he’ll be working with Tang and Chita, leaving Lalo to deal with me and Nikko.
“Hope you like losing,” Ryo taunts as he claps Lalo on the back. “Team RyoTaChi is taking the win today!”
Nikko frowns, like he’s concentrating, then punches his fist in the air. “LaLuKo will emerge victorious!”
“You really had to think about how to put our names together, didn’t you?” Lalo teases with an amused smile as Nikko nods.
I follow them both into the setup we’ll be using—two identically decked-out kitchens, side-by-side, which will give us theopportunity to annoy and possibly sabotage each other while we cook, the type of antics we know VOX loves.
Filming FLY has always been fun for me—and I think the other guys, too—because it gives us so many chances to do things we wouldn’t normally experience otherwise. If we are able to give our fans content they enjoy while we do it, that’s even better.
As we get set up at our stations and survey the ingredients we’ll be vying for as we decide what we want to use, the director tells us there’s an additional element to our pizza-making competition.
“Members of the Task Force staff will taste your final products and vote on which one they think is the most delicious.”
It’s almost comical how fast Nikko and I snap to attention, looking around for any additional people in the room we had not noticed yet. While there’s no guarantee that either Kija or Jase will be among our samplers, it seems like there would have to be a good chance they could be.
I try to focus as Lalo whispers to us the ingredients that he would prefer to have, but I honestly don’t hear much of what he’s saying. I think I catch bulgogi and sweet potatoes. Maybe pickles and mayo?
We play a warmup round of rock-paper-scissors to get started, and RyoTaChi quickly claims the shrimp and pineapples after Lalo and I both lose our battles. Nikko manages to secure spicy pork sausage, though, so it’s kind of a win.
Halfway through a geography quiz about cities and countries we’ve had concerts in, my attention shifts to the door of the studio because I am positive I hear Kija’s voice. Like a radio frequency I am always tuned into, I’m drawn to the sound.
I see him walk in with Jase just as the director gives me my question, something about one of the cities in America where we did a show on the last tour, and I totally miss what she’s asking. Kija has the sleeves of his dark grey shirt rolled up onhis forearms, cuffed almost at his elbows, with one hand in the pocket of his perfectly-tailored pants, leaning over as he and Jase look at something on one of the production screens. He’s so sexy that I want to launch myself over this counter and pounce on him without a care to who might see.
“Lux?” Lalo nudges me gently with his elbow. “Don’t you remember? You and Nikko went shopping there and brought me back that black ballcap I wear all the time.”
“No fair! That hint is too specific!” Tang shouts like he didn’t just tell Ryo there was a really famous clock in the city he was trying to guess.
Ignoring Tang, I smile because that was more than enough to tell me what I needed to know. “Chicago!”
Nikko gives me a high five along with a sneaky, “Get your shit together,” sort of look. I’m sure he is aware Jase is here too, but he is much better at keeping himself in check. Maybe because they’ve been together a while, and their relationship is so solid. I want to get to that point. Where it seems like there’s less to worry about and Kija and I can just exist together. Kija-and-Sun the same way they are Jase-and-Nikko.
The rest of the ingredients are split up before my turn comes around again, thankfully, and I do my best to keep my eyes toward the camera, knowing VOX will pick up on any little thing they think might be unusual.
When there’s a short break for us to move to a different part of the set for our last game, the others have noticed our guests as well.
“What is this?Bring Your Boyfriend to Work Day?” Chita jokes, giving both Jase and Kija the universal bro nod of recognition.
They respond back in exactly the same way at the same time, laughing as it starts a chain reaction with Ryo and Tang. I try not to stare, but I can feel Kija’s eyes on me, and it’s not helping me fight the urge to run to him.
After one more game that’s pure luck and no skill to get therest of the ingredients and some hints on how to use them—and not give anyone food poisoning—we’re back in our kitchens to officially begin the cooking challenge. Lalo tosses aprons at me and Nikko, then tells us we’re in charge of chopping up the toppings as long as we can promise not to lose any fingers.
“And what are you going to do?” I ask, purposefully sassy because I know VOX loves it.
“I figured I’d try to make the dough, unless you secretly memorized a recipe before we got here today,” Lalo says.
“Didyousecretly memorize a recipe before we got here today?” Nikko questions in a whisper so the other team can’t hear him. He looks so hopeful, it’s adorable.
Lalo shakes his head, spreading some flour out in the space in front of him. “Nope.”
“Damn,” Nikko mutters. He slides a cutting board down the counter with the sweet potatoes and pickles he’s supposed to cut, making room for me to work next to him on the spicy pork and hot chicken.
I think the next fifteen minutes might be the longest of my life as I try to concentrate on my task and not the fact that I know Kija is watching me. Every time I glance up—making sure to do something cute for the camera trained on Nikko and me—he’s already looking at me. There’s the faintest hint of a smile, just enough I can tell it’s there, but not so obvious that someone else would ask what he’s grinning about.
When the pizzas—or what we hope will be pizzas—are finally in the oven, we are allowed to scatter for a little while. I go to check my phone while Nikko immediately rushes to Jase’s side. Their relationship is possibly the worst kept secret at Task Force, so nobody is surprised.
