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Post by Panda on Sept 26, 2023 9:56:42 GMT
"Mucked up my glasses, but that's fine, they were only cosmetic anyway," Rebecca responded, sniggering at Dae's behaviour. He must have taken the brunt of it, being so close to the stand mixer when it was switched on.
She peered down at the mixture's contents when offered, quite surprised. "We lost so much ingredient volume, though... Was that just part of the process? Baking is such a messy activity." She leaned back again, satisfied. "Now we just need to spread that out on a cake pan, and bake it. That'll form the base that we put the ice cream and meringue on. We're good at this!"
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Post by NIKI on Sept 26, 2023 16:51:21 GMT
"Woooww, I really thought those were real! That's kinda shocking. Well, I've worn those types of glasses for some photoshoots, too. Some people are really into that for some reason." He shrugs and smiles as he begins spreading out the horrible mixture into the neatly lined baking pans. Once that's done, he pops them into the preheated oven.
"Oh, we are good. Yu's gonna be shocked when he sees what we've made...!" Dae laughs, with less than a third of the whole process completed.
"So, what's next?"
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Post by Panda on Sept 26, 2023 17:57:08 GMT
"You mention Yutaro a lot. I take it the two of you are close?" Rebecca casually asked.
"We don't have a recipe here so I'm only going off what I know, but next is the meringue," she then said, not realising that it was far too soon to be making that. "So that's just eggs and sugar. Any good at breaking shells?" She tried cracking one into a mixing bowl, but as expected a few fell in. Frustrated, she began to meticulously fish them out with a larger piece of shell, like she'd seen someone do on YouTube.
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Post by NIKI on Sept 26, 2023 18:55:26 GMT
Dae stops to think for a second before replying. "Yep! We're good friends. It kinda just happened after we decided to room together back in the manor. He's quiet, but he's a really nice guy!"
"Um, I think I am kinda good? Let me try..." After Becky's done fishing, Dae steps up and tries cracking one. No egg shells fall in the bowl, but the way he broke it made the egg yolk break! "Oh NOOO!! Does that ruin it? I read somewhere that they only use the egg whites..."
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Post by Panda on Sept 26, 2023 19:11:34 GMT
Rebecca nodded, filing the information away.
"This recipe here calls for egg whites," she then said, reading an entry for a basic meringue which thankfully was available in the book. "It's probably the same for a Baked Alaska? Hmm... Best not to risk it, I think." She took the bowl and poured the contents down the sink. Unfortunately some streaks of yolk remained, which she was too lazy to wipe off. "There we go. Let's try breaking them into smaller bowls and only transferring them across if they're yolk-free." For once a sensible suggestion.
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Post by NIKI on Sept 26, 2023 19:40:03 GMT
"Alright... but we could use it for-" Dae watches on sadly as the eggs are wasted. "Ahhaha! Never mind!" He goes to retrieve the smaller bowls as per Rebecca's suggestion. He begins cracking eggs, slower this time.
"So... how did you find out about 4*SHORE? Are you a boyband fan?" Dae smiles, attempting to make conversation while the eggs are ready.
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Post by Panda on Sept 26, 2023 19:56:21 GMT
"I've listened to a few, over the years. 4*SHORE is the one that really stuck with me, though," Rebecca replied, preparing some eggs as well. As before, she was particularly fussy about shells, so managed less even with Dae going slowly. "How did you all come together? I mean, I know the official story, but I'd be interested to hear it from your perspective."
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Post by NIKI on Sept 26, 2023 20:54:48 GMT
"Ahaha! I'm glad you stuck with us~"
"Hm, let's see: We were all around the 14 to 15 age range... Kyu and I got scouted by the company, Arun, Val and Eike auditioned through an international convocatory, I think? Oh, and this hasn't really been said before, but that was supposed to be the original lineup! Can you believe it? 4*SHORE without Yunnie!" Dae places a hand on his heart like it had been wounded.
Even with the lineup change, it's still unclear why there's a 4 in the name.
"And at first, Val and I were reaaally mad that our debut date and concept had been changed to incorporate a new member last minute... we had been trainees for like, what, 2 years at that point? It doesn't matter- all that anger faded away instantly when we actually met Yun... he's just too adorable, you know that! He's the youngest in the group so we all just wanted to protect him, hahaha!"
"It's crazy to think about how we were before Yun. We used to butt heads a lot, but thinking about how Yun saw us made us want to try harder to resolve any issues we had. He has grown up a lot, I'm proud of him... Oh, I ended up just talking about Yun, hahaha! But he really is an important element to us coming together!"
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Post by Panda on Sept 26, 2023 21:10:51 GMT
"Right?! 4*SHORE just wouldn't be the same without him!" Rebecca enthused. This was probably the most animated she'd ever been during the contest, and the last egg she was supposed to be cracking lay sadly forgotten on the counter. "Some people look down on him, but he's the heart of the group, even if he's not a lead! Wow, I really can't imagine what 4*SHORE would have been like in that alternate timeline... Or I guess that would be 3*SHORE? No, wait..."
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Post by NIKI on Sept 26, 2023 22:09:15 GMT
"W-wait, people look down on him?! That's CRAZY STUPID. Yunnie's just gonna keep working hard and improving...!!! Ohh, they'll see..." Dae says infuriated... he's so blinded by his love and admiration for Yun, there simply wasn't a world where he could be looked down upon.
"Ah, we were supposed to have a darker concept before! Something a bit more edgy... but Yun's baby face made our execs reconsider, haha! We had a photoshoot with the old looks for that album, but I'd prefer if it remains buried for a little longer..."
All the eggs have been cracked (except the one Rebecca forgot) and the whites separated into the bigger bowl!
"Now we put it in the mixer with some sugar, right?"
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Post by Panda on Sept 26, 2023 22:34:18 GMT
"They'll learn! They'll have to! I'm sure the next album will make everyone fall in love with Yun, as they should!"
Her enthusiasm was dampened a little as an image of a 'darker, edgier' 4*SHORE arose in her mind. "The world isn't ready for that yet," she agreed solemnly.
She seemed a bit startled to be snapped out of it and have her attention returned to baking. Despite that, she quickly remembered the missing egg and added the whites of it, being meticulous like that. "Yeah, a mix of normal sugar and icing sugar. Then the mixer does the hard work for us!"
A few streaks of yolk lurked menacingly underneath the whites, awaiting their moment...
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Post by NIKI on Sept 26, 2023 23:17:06 GMT
"YES!!! Even just the photoshoots will shut them right up! And his parts in the songs are great this time..." Dae gushes about Yun a little more while dumping the sugar mixture into the bowl all at once.
"Well, here we go again!!" He turns on the mixer again! Thankfully, it does not explode this time. But there are other things going on...
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Post by Panda on Sept 26, 2023 23:36:55 GMT
Rebecca joined Dae in watching the mixer once it became clear it was safe this time. The contents came together, and it started to become vaguely meringue-like. Once it was done, she stuck a finger in to sample a small amount. "That tastes like meringue," she said, nodding. The mixture wasn't as foamy as it was supposed to be, though. The yolks had succeeded in their sabotage. The meringue was doomed...
Rebecca didn't realise, however, never having made it before. "Now... we wait. Once the sponge is done, we can assemble." The poor meringues, already suffering, would now deflate as they were left out for far too long before setting.
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Post by NIKI on Sept 27, 2023 4:30:24 GMT
"Great! Oh my god!" Dae marvels at the soon to be ruined meringue.
"..."
"Hey, Becky. Speaking of the sponge... did you set a timer for it? Because I didn't."
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Post by Panda on Sept 27, 2023 10:25:02 GMT
"I thought you'd done that! After you put it in the oven," Rebecca replied anxiously. "Normally I keep good track of the time, but I got distracted by all that 4*SHORE talk." Come to think of it, how did they even make the cake batter in the first place without cracking open some eggs?
"You'll have to just check it regularly. It's 25-30 minutes of baking time," she continued, not realising that the time should be reduced due to the smaller size they were making. "Meringues would have taken us... maybe 10, 15 minutes, so start checking 10 minutes from now! The test is poking it with a toothpick and seeing if it comes out clean." Something else she'd seen on YouTube.
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Post by NIKI on Sept 27, 2023 14:41:00 GMT
"Okay, okay! Got it. A toothpick..." Dae prepares a single toothpick and sets a kitchen timer (crab shaped) for 10 minutes, this will go over well. He totally put at least one egg in there. Yeah...
In the meantime, he goes back to admire their wonderful meringue creation.
"..? Wasn't the meringue... more than this?"
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Post by Panda on Sept 27, 2023 15:40:12 GMT
Rebecca went over to look, stared at the mixture in confusion, and then double-checked the meringue recipe. It didn't seem to mention anything about this (because the recipe cooked the meringues immediately).
"I suppose it just... does that over time? Or perhaps we're supposed to periodically re-mix it to keep it airy?" she suggested, sounding much too confident for someone so clueless.
On the bright side, at this point the dessert was in such a poor state that overmixing the meringue couldn't make things any worse.
"So, do you have any fun 4*SHORE gossip to share?" she asked, to pass the time.
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Post by NIKI on Sept 27, 2023 20:41:32 GMT
"Yeah, it's probably supposed to do that. Let's just mix it again once the cake's done, then!" Dae leans on a counter while they wait for the atrocity to finish baking.
"Oooh, going straight for gossip, huh? Oh, the things I know about these guys, you'd be shocked..." Says the guy with the most rumours about him. "Nah, I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. Um, but I don't really know what could count as fun gossip for you... Like how Kyu is actually secretly terrified of my pet bunny? HA!!" He laughs, but gets noticeably sadder after the mention of the bunny...
4*SHORE fact! Kyu and Dae have a sort of rivalry going on! They're always 'jokingly' insulting each other and are super competitive when it comes to team events, awesome...!
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Post by Panda on Sept 27, 2023 21:56:12 GMT
Rebecca laughed about the bunny fact. "That sounds like Kyu alright!" She imagined his reaction, watching the two gossip about him on TV like this. Then she realised that Kyu, and the others, would be watching their friend struggling through a killing game, and sobered up. Abruptly swerving the topic, she continued, "I know you're extremely famous, but I kind of hope that no-one's watching this... You'll have a lot of supporters, and friends, back home, but they can't do much to help you here."
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Post by NIKI on Sept 28, 2023 1:01:42 GMT
"...I don't know about that- We promoted the show for a bit when I was confirmed as part of the cast. Maybe some shoreties really are watching or at least have watched some of this. I know 4*SHORE's been busy lately preparing for the album launch, so maybe they haven't been able to watch? And my family doesn't really keep up with my idol activities, so I don't have to worry about them seeing me in here, I guess!" Dae overshares.
"At the same time, I wonder WHERE this is being broadcasted? Like, I don't think REAL murder can be shown on any regular channel! So I guess there really is a chance that no one is watching. Or that people think the death that happened was staged..."
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Post by Panda on Sept 28, 2023 11:54:36 GMT
Rebecca gleefully filed the unexpected new Dae-fact away for later consideration, before nodding. "You know how Bozo sometimes talks about this show's 'fandom'? It's always 'oh wow, we have TEN whole people talking about this right now', or him casually revealing that they're mostly basement dwelling internet trolls. I really doubt this is being broadcasted on any regular channel. It might not even be on actual TV, they're probably uploading it to the internet somewhere." She paused. "Then again, maybe they're airing an edited, sanitised version on actual TV... It would explain why no-one's come to rescue us, if the outside world thinks nothing's going on."
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Post by NIKI on Sept 28, 2023 17:33:21 GMT
"Oh, you're right. That's wild to think about! We're safe in everyone else's eyes... I wonder if maybe a regular unedited live version is broadcasted online somewhere and there's also a version made for TV?"
*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*
"AH! The sponge..!" Dae gets startled by the timer going off and fumbles with it trying to turn it off. Once he succeeds, he puts on an oven mitten (crab pincer shaped) in one hand, and takes the prepared toothpick in the other. He opens the oven... the cake smells like cake, at least. But it doesn't look right.
"Moment of truth, Becky...." He carefully pokes the cake, which didn't rise at all by the way. Probably the lack of enough eggs and baking powder. It's... kinda crunchy?
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Post by Panda on Sept 28, 2023 17:53:27 GMT
Rebecca frowned. "Okay, that doesn't look right. Is there... something wrong with the oven, maybe?" She gave the appliance a quick once-over, but didn't really know what to look for so stepped back in disappointment.
"What now? I don't particularly like the idea of doing all of that again."
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Post by NIKI on Sept 28, 2023 18:06:42 GMT
Dae looks disappointed at the result as well. Hey, at least the toothpick is clean! "...Mayyybe it could soften a little once we put the icecream on it? There's nothing wrong with a cookie base, right? We're making our own thing!" He sets the 'cakes' down on a counter to cool down.
"Ooh! What type of icecream do you like, Becky?! This is important."
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Post by Panda on Sept 28, 2023 19:44:17 GMT
"True." Rebecca nodded. She flicked to a different page in the recipe book, then tapped emphatically on the page for cookies. "Flour, butter, eggs, sugar... it's the same set of ingredients. I'm not sure on the specifics, but we must have made a cookie base." She paused again. "Oh, maybe it's the chocolate chips I put into the mixture? You're right Dae, let's stick with this!
"As for ice cream... Chocolate! It has to be chocolate! But... maybe we could do a Neapolitan sort of thing? Make sure there's something for everyone. What's your favourite?"
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Post by NIKI on Sept 28, 2023 22:19:03 GMT
"YEAH!! Chocolate rules! Hmm, but my favorite's definitely something with berries in it. Almost any kind! So, Neapolitan sounds like a great idea!" Dae replies, not knowing strawberries aren't actually berries what a freaking fool.
He goes looking through the freezer and triumphantly takes out a BIG tub of neapolitan icecream.
"I guess production had the same idea! How do we assemble these things?!"
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Post by Panda on Sept 28, 2023 23:21:05 GMT
"Excellent! So, as I understand it, we put a big dollop of ice cream on top of the cake base, leaving a bit of room around the edge. We surround the ice cream with meringue, then bake it for... well, that part I'm not sure on. But the cool part is that the meringue acts as an insulator, so the ice cream doesn't melt! After that, we'd either serve it immediately or put it all in the freezer to keep the ice cream core cool."
She was mostly there. She didn't realise that the whole thing should be frozen before baking, not having a recipe to follow for this part. This probably didn't matter though, given the state of the other components.
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Post by NIKI on Sept 29, 2023 7:31:24 GMT
"Wait, what? Can meringue really do that..?" Dae looks at their poor, poor meringue, which has melted even more since the last time they checked.
"Oh, right, we have to re-mix it!" He turns on the mixer in hopes of recovering the once decent meringue...
"Hey, you know me from 4*SHORE, but I barely know anything about you. So, what's your story?" Dae asks, a throwback to the intro phase.
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Post by Panda on Sept 29, 2023 10:24:15 GMT
"Oh, me? I'm nothing special. I had a shitty upbringing, so I worked my ass off for financial stability. I'm a secretary for now, but my plan was to work my way up through the company. Then I heard about a TV show where I could win $100,000,000..." Rebecca replied, a bit vaguely. "Some of the others here probably have deep, meaningful goals for coming on this show, but I just wanted a life where I didn't have to want for anything. No more, no less."
She watched as the pathetic egg mixture was churned. It looked a little more meringue-like. A little.
"I'll be honest, I always imagined my 'backstory', as it were, would earn me some points with the crowd. To no avail, it seems. So much for supporting the underdog."
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Post by NIKI on Sept 30, 2023 7:57:41 GMT
"Honestly, I think everyone came here for similar reasons. There's nothing really deep or meaningful about mine, at least. It's all about making money and promoting... I'm always happy to promote our group, but you know what I mean!"
"And I don't believe your story's nothing special! Working to support yourself is hard and super impressive. But you probably already know that, haha! The audience here is just... well..." Dae shrugs and grimaces.
He goes to look at the """""meringue""""" again. He seems worried.
"Do you think it's ready now? It's been going for a while..."
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