Chapter Text
Like most people, Kenny wasn’t very fond of flying. There was just nothing comfortable about sitting in the same cramped seats for several hours breathing recycled air while surrounded by hundreds of strangers. The only thing that made the experience slightly more bearable was the fact that he had downloaded an entire new drama to watch and had secured the perfect aisle seat to stretch his legs. He had already stuffed his carry-on in his overhead bin and settled down in his seat, popping a piece of gum in his mouth as he waited for everyone to finish boarding when someone stopped beside him.
“Excuse me, I think you’re in my seat.”
Kenny looked up, sliding his headphones off one ear to give the dude more attention. They weren’t playing anything yet, so he had already heard the question, but he wasn’t going to take them all the way off when he was pretty sure the guy was barking up the wrong tree. “Sorry, but I don’t think I am. This is my seat.”
“Are you sure?” The guy looked down at his phone and then back up, a small frown gracing his admittedly cute features. “It’s just—I’m pretty sure this is seat 7C, and that’s where my boarding pass says I’m supposed to sit.”
Kenny frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense. My seat is 7C. Here, look.” He opened up his phone, swiping over to his boarding pass. “Yeah, right there, 7C.”
He angled it for the other see, but he tilted it too far, and his screen lock had been turned off for once in preparation for binging his drama, making the whole thing rotate sideways, and aw shit. It seemed his recently cracked screen protector had apparently been obscuring a very important detail.
“That says 17C.”
Kenny’s cheeks burned. “I see that now. Shit, sorry, I’ll get out of your way.”
He fumbled for his seat belt, trying to stand up but the damn thing just didn’t want to unbuckle until finally he got it. With a relieved sigh, he did his best to avoid eye contact and scooch past the poor stranger whose seat he had stolen, but well, the aisles weren’t very big, and Kenny didn’t always have the best coordination, so of course he tripped over the hem of his maybe slightly too oversized sweatpants and knocked their shoulders together, causing the other man to drop his phone.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, here let me get that for you,” he bent to grab it, but the stranger was already moving to do the same, and because his life wasn’t already a big enough joke, their heads bonked together with a comically loud knock. The man reeled back with a groan, hand pressed to an already reddening spot, and ouch, Kenny knew he had a hard head but not that hard. “Shit, sorry again.”
He was beginning to feel like a broken record, but the other man just waved him off. “It’s fine. You should just… go sit down already.”
“Right, yeah, sorry.” They were causing a bit of a traffic jam. He was lowkey surprised that a flight attendant hadn’t come to make them move yet, but he supposed they were all busy letting people on or stuck dealing with that family of five at the back who were trying to force people to swap seats so they could all sit together. It was a mess. A mess that he was unfortunately going to be sitting closer to. He turned away to go find seat 17C but didn’t get more than two steps before—
“Wait, you’re forgetting your carry-on.”
“My bad,” Kenny hurriedly pulled it from the overhead compartment; perhaps a little too hurriedly. It banged against the side and when he tried to set it down, there was a crack before it started to list to the side. Well damn, it looked like that one wobbly wheel had finally given up on him. He could just hear Nathan gloating now about how he should’ve listened last week when he told him to buy a new one. Ugh, this was going to be a pain to haul across the airport later. “Do you want some help with yours?” he asked, looking down at the shorter man. After all he had done to him, it would only be polite. and really even for people who were above average height, it could sometimes be a little awkward lifting bags so high up, especially if the bins were already half full like they were now and you had to really wedge it in there.
“No thanks, I got it,” he said, and with practiced ease, lifted his suitcase over his head and slipped it into its spot. It was a shame his coat was so thick (and fancy, Kenny was more than a little jealous) because he must have some well sculpted muscles hidden beneath it. Alas, it was probably a good thing he couldn’t embarrass himself more by ogling.
“Right, um, have a good flight,” Kenny said, giving him a little wave before disappearing to find his actual seat. Thankfully it was still in the aisle, but in a more active area of the plane. Fewer businessmen popping an ambien to take a nap or pulling out their laptop to get work done; more families traveling to another country for their holiday break. Thankfully the noise cancelling on his headphones should be enough to block out any crying babies, but still, he had a feeling it was going to be a long flight.
And it was. The drama was fantastic and helped him kill most of the time, but once it was over and he tried to take a nap, he just couldn’t fall asleep. Not even because anyone was being particularly loud; he vibe was just off, which was weird because Kenny was normally one of those people who could fall asleep anywhere. All in all, he was tired and stiff by the time they disembarked. He didn’t see Mr. 7C as he exited the plane, but he did see Nathan, waiting for him by pillar.
He headed over to him, suitcase clattering as he dragged it along on one wheel, so of course Nathan clocked it right away. “Oh man, did it seriously break? I told you you should’ve bought a new one.”
“Haha, you were right. I guess you can help me pick out a new one before we fly back home.”
“Hopefully that won’t be too soon.”
“Definitely not. We’re going to win this thing, and even if we don’t, I already took the time off. I’m not going home until I absolutely have to.”
Nathan laughed. “Good point. Plus I don’t think my family will forgive me for missing Christmas unless we win this. Seriously, why did I agree to compete with you again? I’m not even that good at baking.”
“I don’t know, because you’re my best friend, my ride or die, my brother from another mother who loves me very much and wants to help me accomplish all my dreams?" Kenny leaned on Nathan’s shoulder, batting his eyes at him. He had auditioned for several baking shows over the years but the Winter Wonderland Sugar Snowflake Holiday Baking Championship was the first to ever cast him. Winning this could be his big break. Not only would it give him exposure and the money he needed to open his own bakery, but it would finally prove to his family that baking was a real career and dropping out of college wasn’t a mistake. Plus, it was filmed in Verse, a small country in Asia that was known for being especially picturesque in winter.
It was probably the last detail that really convinced Nathan to compete with him. He wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic about baking as Kenny was, but he needed a partner to compete, and ultimately he trusted him. “Also it’s not like you’re a bad baker. You’re just not as great as me,” Kenny said, and honestly, whatever he lacked in technical skills, he could make up for with moral support.
“Wow, thanks. I really feel the love.” Nathan shrugged him off. “Come on, I think the baggage claim is this way,” he said and started walking.
“Wait, don’t leave me.” Kenny hurried after him.
They found the conveyor belt carousel with their flight information and waited. Nathan’s bag came first, his nondescript dark green suitcase made a little more distinguishable by the bright red ribbon tied around its handle. Kenny’s black suitcase was supposed to have a matching ribbon, but as they watched, none of the bags that came out of the gates had one. Kenny frowned.
“Maybe it fell off?” Nathan suggested.
Kenny wasn’t so sure. He had triple knotted it to be safe, but maybe it had snagged on something and gotten torn. At least it should have a sticker and two separate tags with his name on it. He’d just have to check each suitcase that came out. He weaved his way up to the edge of the conveyor belts, but as bag after bag was claimed, he failed to find it until in the end, there was only a single garish neon orange suitcase left spinning on its own until the next flight arrived.
“Well, fuck.”
They reported it to the airline who unfortunately wasn’t much help. Oh, they would try to look for it, but it seemed missing luggage was quite common around the holidays, and there would be no telling how long it would take to turn up, assuming it was ever found at all. Thank god Kenny had packed all his essential items in his carry-on like his passport, his laptop, and of course most importantly, his recipe book. Hopefully he’d have time to go shopping before the first round of competition or else he’d be baking in a hoodie and sweatpants, which was always a good vibe at home, but perhaps not on international TV.
In the end, he didn’t have to beg Nathan for his extra green sweater. The competition organizers had been generous when they planned their itinerary, so he had an extra day to adjust to the time zone change and go on a miniature shopping spree. The whole town was super festive with every store decked out in glittering tinsel, twinkling lights, and colorful baubles. Kenny was not immune to the holiday spirit, ending up with perhaps too many cheesy Christmas sweaters. Oh well, it matched the competition vibes.
They had to be up before dawn for the first day of filming, taking a taxi from the hotel to the Christmas tree farm they were shooting at. Although really calling it a farm was an understatement.
“Whoa,” Kenny said, pressed against the window as they turned onto a long winding driveway, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Christmas trees in my life. It’s like a whole forest of them.”
Nathan nodded. “No kidding. I thought it was gonna be some little local farm, not the richest ranch ever.”
The farmhouse they were pulling up to was practically a mansion with not one but two nearby barns, each painted classic red but made more festive with colorful lights hanging from their candy cane striped trim. On top of one of the barns was Santa and his sleigh, the full set of reindeer led by Rudolph and his gleaming red nose. In front of the other one was a whole gingerbread family, complete with an adorable frosting-furred dog. A bunch of people were going in and out of that sne carrying cameras and boom mics and a bunch of other stuff Kenny couldn’t identify from afar.
Their driver chuckled. “You should have seen it earlier in the season. They had even more trees then but of course, most of this year’s crop has already been sold. The royal palace gets first pick and then everyone and their mother is driving out here to get one. Most people around here like to decorate for Christmas early.”
Wow, so cool. He couldn’t believe actual royalty had bought from here, although that would certainly explain why it was so grandiose. Kenny and his family had always just used a plastic Christmas tree. It was less mess and less stress, but now he was wondering if maybe he’d been missing out. Getting out of the car was like taking a big whiff of a candle. Pine and fir filled the crisp cold air, just sharp enough to burn on the first inhale before his nose got used to it.
A producer spotted them almost immediately, hustling over with a clipboard. “Good morning! You must be Kenny and Nathan. It’s great to see you.” She introduced herself and then began showing them around.
As if the outside of the barn wasn’t enough, the inside was even more impressive. It was like stepping into Santa’s workshop but like as a kitchen. There was a judges table up front with a ginormous Christmas tree next to it and then thirteen individual stations. Each one had some essentials, their guide explained, like flour, sugar, salt, etc, and then there was a big pantry in the back with all the other ingredients they might need. They did a quick walk around, stopped by where the crew was set up to get their mic packs and do a few other technical things, and then were left off to the side to wait until filming began. In the meantime, they were free to help themselves to the snack bar.
“I’m so nervous, I don’t even think I can eat.” Nathan said, clutching his stomach. Kenny kind of understood the feeling. Like on one hand, the nerves were definitely starting to hit now. Being on set made the competition feel so much more real, and it would really suck if they had come all this way just to be eliminated in the first round. On the other hand, Kenny was never one to turn down free food, and he hadn’t woken up with enough time to eat at the hotel.
He squeezed Nathan around the shoulder. “Relax. We’ve got this. Do you at least want something to drink? It looks like they have coffee and apple cider and ooh, hot cocoa.”
“Maybe just a water?”
“Boring, but okay. I’ll be right back.” There were some water bottles off to the side. Kenny grabbed one for Nathan and then put one in his bag for later, because he knew he was probably going to want it. He skimmed over the selection of food before settling on a almond croissant, but for his drink, he needed no deliberation. He went straight for the hot cocoa. They had a little station for it with all the possible fixings like marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles, and little peppermint spoons. It was great. He made his drink and turned around, starting to head back to Nathan, but he had forgotten that the snack bar was up on a little platform. He took a step expecting solid ground beneath him and was met with empty air.
Time slowed. Hot cocoa sloshed in his cup. His poor croissant was crushed in his grasp. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for impact. An impact that never came. His fall was stopped short, halted by a pair of strong warm arms. Kenny’s eyes shot open, looking up into the face of his savior and— “Oh my god.”
“Hello again.” He was greeted with a soft smile on the face of a very familiar stranger.
“Airplane Guy! What are you doing here?” Seriously, what were the odds?
He laughed a little. “It’s Seok actually, not Airplane Guy, and I’m a competitor.”
“Really? Me too!” Kenny grinned, and it was only then that he realized Seok was still supporting his weight. He blushed and quickly straightened up. “Um, thanks for catching me.”
Kenny cleared his throat and went to take a sip of his drink only to find the cup almost empty. He frowned down at it. Where had it all gone? The answer was obvious. “Oh my god, your shirt. Shit, I’m so sorry. Hold on, I think I have some napkins somewhere.” He rummaged through his bag.
“Don’t bother.” Seok paused his motions with a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s already stained. Rubbing it with napkins will only make things worse.”
Right, of course. But wasn’t something better than nothing? Even if it would probably take cold water and a strong detergent to fully clean Seok’s white shirt, shouldn’t they at least try to blot off some of the excess liquid? Kenny stared at the stain. It was so big. An apron might cover some of it, but not the whole thing, which could’ve been fine if this wasn’t the first episode. How was Seok supposed to make a good impression on the judges if he looked like a mess? Kenny’s stomach churned with guilt.
“I have an extra sweater,” he said, unzipping the big pocket of his backpack, “I sometimes get a little messy when baking so I thought it might be good to have a back up one, but I think you need it more. You know, if you want it.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly do that. It would be improper.”
Improper? Kenny mouthed to himself. So stilted. So formal. So lame. “Bro, it’s just a sweater. Take it,” he said, and when Seok still looked hesitant, he faked a pout. “I’ll be sad if you don’t.”
“Okay then, if you insist. Thank you, I appreciate it.” Seok took the bundled sweater from him and went to change.
While he was gone, Kenny went to refill his hot chocolate—this time putting a lid on it—and then sought out Nathan. He wasn’t where he had left him. Instead, he was off talking to someone, his previous nervous expression replaced with a more relaxed smile. Kenny grinned. “Hey.” He waited for a break in the conversation to slide up next to them. “I got your water.”
“Finally.” Nathan cracked it open and took a big swig. “What took you so long?”
“Oh my god, it’s the craziest thing. You remember Airplane Guy, right?” Kenny had told him all about it after the flight. “Well, he’s here!”
“Really? That’s wild.”
“Right? And he’s a competitor. The bad news is I kinda sorta embarrassed myself in front of him again.”
Nathan snorted. “Of course you did. What did you do this time? Steal the last muffin?”
“Worse, I spilled hot chocolate on him. But it’s fine. I gave him a sweater to borrow.”
Nathan looked him up and down before grimacing. “Yeah, I’m not sure that’s much better.”
“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” Kenny looked down at his sweater, tugging it out to get a better look at the gingerbread man on the front, complete with sparkly pompom buttons. It was festive and fun and the perfect fit to kick off the competition.
“Nothing, it’s just a little…tacky.” Nathan didn’t even have the guts to maintain eye contact as he insulted him.
Kenny gasped, clutching at his chest. “Wow, okay. I see how it is. And to think I almost bought you a matching one.”
“Yeah, no, I’m glad you didn’t.”
There was a giggle from beside him. “I think it’s cute,” the guy Nathan had been talking to said.
“Thank you!” Kenny exclaimed, "See, um, sorry, what’s your name?”
“Aito.”
“See, Aito likes it! And he clearly has good taste.” Not even in a joking way, no, Aito had good taste for real. He was dressed in a nice burgundy turtleneck with perfectly fitted slacks and tasteful expensive-looking accessories and wow, maybe Kenny really didn’t know how to dress. “I’m Kenny, by the way. You’re really pretty.”
And even prettier when he blushed. “Ah, thank you.” Aito must’ve caught sight of something over his shoulder because he tilted his head, brow furrowing. “Is Seok Airplane Guy?” he said, mostly to himself but Kenny and Nathan heard it.
Kenny’s eyes widened. “You know him too?!”
Aito nodded. “Yes, he’s my competition partner.” Ah, crap, that meant he had probably already heard all about Kenny. Hopefully he wouldn’t judge him too harshly. “Seok, over here!” He waved.
Kenny turned around, and oh. Oh no. He was so cute in his sweater. It was designed to look like an elf costume with little jingle bells attached to the collar, and Seok looked like he would fit in perfectly at the North Pole. Kenny would so hire him to have around his workshop.
Aito giggled. “Nice sweater.”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure it’s my style,” Seok said, which Kenny knew was just a polite way of saying he hated it while Kenny was still in earshot. “Thank you for letting me borrow it.” He smiled, and Kenny blushed.
“It’s nothing.” And oh god, why did his voice have to betray him by cracking? Had he not embarrassed himself enough already?
“Trust me, it could be worse,” Nathan chimed in, “Kenny bought this one Rudolph sweater with a 3D nose that actually lights up. It’s hideous.”
“Wait, Nathan, you told me it was hilarious.”
“Yeah, hilariously hideous.”
Wow. At least Seok and Aito found his suffering funny, giggling as Kenny pouted. He didn’t even get a chance to defend himself before a producer interrupted him, announcing that they needed all contestants to gather outside. Apparently they wanted to film them walking into the barn for the “first” time. They were instructed to all try and look awed at the set design, and for some people that might be hard, but personally, Kenny was a great actor.
Him and Nathan were separated from Seok and Aito as each duo entered separately. However, in a hopefully happy coincidence, they found themselves reunited with stations right beside each other. Kenny made eye contact with Seok, waving from beneath the counter where hopefully the camera wouldn’t see it. Seok's eyes crinkled and he gave him a little wave back.
The set was almost oppressively silent; every contestant was waiting with baited breath. Beside him, Nathan flinched as a door slammed. Every eye was locked onto the big Christmas tree as a solitary, handsome figure emerged from behind it.
“Hello, and welcome to the Winter Wonderland Sugar Snowflake Holiday Baking Championship! I am your host, Prince Hyuk of Verse!”
Whispers broke out. Holy shit. It took all of Kenny’s self-restraint not to swear while mic-ed up.
Nathan gripped his arm, squeezing it tight. “An actual prince? Kenny, did you know about this?”
“Of course not,” Kenny hissed, “Ugh, I should’ve dressed hotter.”
Nathan coughed to smother a laugh.
“But you can all call me Hyuk,” The Prince continued, “while we’re in this barn, the only title that matters is being called the Christmas Champions of the Winter Wonderland Sugar Snowflake Holiday Baking Championship. This year our theme is the 12 Days of Christmas. I’m sure you all know the song, right? Let’s sing the intro together.”
Hyuk started them off. “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me—” he sang in a beautiful voice. He gestured for them to continue.
“A partridge in a pear tree~” Two dozen voices joined together to sing the line, some with more enthusiasm than others. Kenny was one of the most enthusiastic, which may have been partially because he knew he was a great singer and never hesitated to show off his voice.
Hyuk clapped his hands together. “Great! You all are amazing singers! Since today is the first day of competition, I want you to make me a pear dessert. It can be cake, pie, cookies, whatever you want as long as it features pears as the star ingredient. You’ll have two hours to finish this challenge, starting…now!”
Everyone immediately jolted into motion. In some ways, the first challenge was the easiest one. With 13 teams, you had lower odds of ending up on the bottom, and while everyone wanted to start the season off on a high note, aiming for first wasn’t the greatest priority.
On the flip side, it was harder because no one knew their way around the kitchen. It took them longer to find the ingredients and tools they needed, and every oven was different. 45 minutes for a perfectly tender cake at home might result in burnt or underdone cake here. Plus, after coming all this way, through online applications and auditions and time off and traveling, no one wanted to be the first to go home. How they did today would set a precedent for the rest of the season, and everyone wanted to make a good first impression on the judges.
As they worked, Hyuk walked around the kitchen, stopping by each station to ask about what they were making and have each contestant do a brief introduction. Kenny was in the middle of making a caramel syrup when he came over to them. “Hi Kenny and Nathan. Welcome to the show. What are you two preparing for us today?”
“Hello,” Kenny said, “we’re making a Spiced Pear and Walnut Upside Down cake.”
Hyuk looked intrigued. “That sounds delicious.”
Nathan laughed, “I sure hope so.”
“You’ll have to save me a slice,” Hyuk said with a wink, “So, tell me a little bit about yourselves. How do you know each other? What inspired you to compete in the Winter Wonderland Sugar Snowflake Holiday Baking Championship?”
“Y’all ready need a shorter name for that.” Nathan said.
Kenny laughed, moving the caramel off its burner so he could be more present in the conversation.
Nathan kept cutting the pears as he talked. “Kenny and I went to the same college but didn’t meet until we were both working part time at a bakery. Kenny had already been there for awhile when I started working as a cashier, and while I initially wasn’t that interested in baking, being around it so much inspired me to give it a chance, and I found out I really liked it. Even once I graduated and started working in computer science, I kept doing it as a hobby while Kenny pursued it more seriously. When he asked me to compete with him, I just couldn’t say no.”
Kenny nodded. “I’ve always enjoyed baking, and then when I was in college, I had a bit of an, um, identity crisis and decided it’s what I wanted to do with my life. I dropped out and started working at the bakery full time, but well, my real dream is to someday open a bakery of my own. Winning this show would really help me with that.”
“That’s an admirable goal.” Hyuk said. A producer off to the side tapped his wrist. Hyuk’s eyes flickered to him and then back, smile becoming a little wider but also a little more strained. “I look forward to seeing what you’ll bake for us. Good luck.”
He wasted no time moving on to Seok and Aito’s station. The counters weren’t very far apart. If Kenny listened, he could hear everything they were saying, and while he should probably fully dedicate his attention to his baking, he couldn’t resist the urge to eavesdrop.
Seok dipped his head in a bow as Hyuk stopped in front of them, and aw shit, should Nathan and Kenny bowed to him? Probably, but you know what fuck it. They were Americans. They didn’t bow to anyone.
“Aito, Seok, it’s good to see you. What brings you to today’s competition?”
Seok said something generic but sweet about how he had been baking since he was a child and wanted to share his baking with others. Aito agreed, adding that he hoped to show off some flavors from his country, which huh, interesting. Kenny had known they weren’t American, but now he wondered where exactly they were each from.
“What do you plan on doing with the money if you win?” Hyuk asked.
Seok straightened up. “If we win, we plan on donating the money to several local charities to support causes that are important to us. We will match each amount with donations from our own personal funds, which we promise will be donated regardless of our final placing in the show. As much as we love baking and would like to win, one of our main goals this season is to draw more attention to these charities and hopefully inspire viewers at home to support their community this holiday season.”
Kenny dropped his spoon, wincing as it clattered super loud against the ground. He crouched down to pick it up, hiding his expressions from the camera because seriously, what the fuck? Now Kenny felt bad for using the prize money for something so selfish, but in his defense, opening a bakery was expensive. Seok and Aito must be super rich to just throw that much money around. Like seriously, did they even need to be on this show?
He took a deep breath and stood back up. Whatever. It was fine. This was just more motivation to win, right?
In the end, neither of their teams won the first round. Seok and Aito’s pear tart was beautiful but slightly over baked with safe, simplistic flavors landing solidly in 5th. Kenny and Nathan’s cake fared slightly worse, placing 8th because apparently the presentation was a little sloppy, it was somewhat underdone, and it had a touch too much cardamom. That last point was probably Kenny’s fault for measuring it with his heart instead of using an actual teaspoon. Oops. It was fine. At least neither of them were in last place.
The losing couple was sent home in solemn silence, and then filming was wrapped up for the day. Except not really, because as it turned out, they still had to film confessionals. And okay, Kenny had always known they weren’t filmed in real time—he had watched enough reality TV to spot the inconsistencies and also knew it just wouldn’t be practical—but it still felt odd to have to try and talk about past events in the present tense. The producers guided him and Nathan through several questions, lowkey prodding them to be over the top with their answers, which was actually fine because Kenny was a diva who lived for the drama. Plus, this was television. Great baking wasn’t all that mattered; no, if he wanted to keep the viewers interested, he had to have a strong personality. Although maybe it was a good thing these were filmed in pairs because it meant that when he tried to go too over the top, Nathan was there to keep things grounded.
He had hoped to speak to Seok more before he left, and maybe apologize once again for the sweater situation because he heard a couple of comments about the elf outfit, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. He didn’t see him or Aito when they finished filming.
“Ready to go?” Nathan asked, bag already slung over his shoulder. Kenny nodded, skimming the set one last time before leaving the barn.
Today may not have been great—between his hot chocolate embarrassment and mediocre dessert, it had lowkey sucked—but tomorrow would be better. He just knew it.