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Post by Panda on Sept 30, 2023 11:45:53 GMT
"Promoting 4*SHORE is the most meaningful cause there could be!" Rebecca countered. "But still... thank you."
She watched the meringue churn for a little longer. It wasn't looking any better. "I suppose it must be ready. I'm... not sure what happened here. Did we make a mistake with the recipe somewhere?" she acknowledged for the first time in the entire baking session. "That's disappointing, but it still tastes like meringue. We can still salvage it. Let's just make sure to coat the ice cream extra-thick to make sure it's insulated."
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Post by NIKI on Oct 1, 2023 9:40:18 GMT
"Ah, you're right, you're right!" Dae smiles sheepishly at the comment about promoting 4*SHORE.
"Huh, yeah, maybe we had to place it in the fridge or something before... oh, well." He says, almost having an epiphany. But instead, he started the assembly process.
"Okay, so, icecream goes on top of the 'cakes' with some space in the borders..." He scoops a generous amount of it on! "...And then, a THICK layer of our meringue!" He turns off the mixer and scoops half of the entire mixture for each horrible dessert. It already looks like it's going to be a mess.
"And now... we bake it?" His confidence in the dessert is wavering. It has to be cooked NOW.
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Post by Panda on Oct 1, 2023 11:25:39 GMT
"Now we bake it!" Rebecca confirmed. "For... I'm not sure how long. Probably only 5-10 minutes," she guessed, actually correct for once. "Let's check it occasionally, I think it just needs to start browning."
She carefully lifted up one of the """desserts""" and carried it over to the oven. Already, the gloopy meringue-adjacent substance was dripping down the sides, threatening to expose the ice cream core on top. She hastily stashed it in the oven, out of sight, out of mind.
"So, more downtime. Dae, I've been curious about something since you mentioned it earlier: what's the deal with your parents? Do they not approve of you being an idol?"
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Post by NIKI on Oct 1, 2023 21:42:05 GMT
"OH! I think I made it sound bad, but it's really nothing too serious- long story short, there's a bunch of classically trained artists and performers in my family! So my parents signed me up for this VERY famous school, since I was also interested in music." Dae recalls with a smile, occasionally glancing at the oven.
"It's not like I hated it or anything, I was happy going there, but it felt like my parents CHOSE it for me, you know? So, when I was approached with the idea of doing something like a boyband, I did the right thing and went to the audition without my parent's permission!" He laughs. "It just felt right. Um, of course they had to find out later, since it's not legal to sign a contract as a minor or something. They're still not very happy about it, but it's whatever. They didn't like, disown me or anything!"
"Ohh, come to think of it, Kyu went to the same school as me! But he was in there for ballet, so we never interacted... I only found out after we met as trainees."
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Post by Panda on Oct 1, 2023 21:57:56 GMT
"Wait, wait, wait. Kyu? Ballet?" Rebecca repeated, trying and failing to pair those two things in her head. Kyu seemed far too fiery and aggressive for that.
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Post by NIKI on Oct 1, 2023 22:40:44 GMT
"Huh? Yeah! Is that an obscure fact...? That dude's like a dance prodigy or something. I swear he took one look at our new choreo and learned it in just one minute, it's not just ballet he's good at!" Dae admits begrudgingly.
"Dancing's a bit harder for me since my center of gravity is so different from his." He smiles, discreetly calling him short.
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Post by Panda on Oct 1, 2023 23:35:03 GMT
"Ballet's just so much more... graceful, I suppose, than he is," Rebecca elaborated thoughtfully. "There's no denying his dancing ability, though!
"In any case, it's unfortunate about your parents. They'll come around eventually, I'm sure. Though, it has been a number of years already... Do you still keep in contact with them?"
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Post by NIKI on Oct 1, 2023 23:55:07 GMT
"Yyyeahh!" Dae replies unconvincingly. "They call me on like my birthday and new year's and stuff... It's fine, really." He fidgets with his necklace awkwardly.
"...And I guess I'll have to pitch the idea of a ballet dance cover from Kyu when I get back! I'm shocked no one really talks about that, it's not like he's ashamed or anything! But it really is like watching a whole different person when he gets into it, hahaha!"
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Post by Panda on Oct 2, 2023 8:16:37 GMT
Rebecca shrugged. "You're looking at someone whose mother died when I was too young to know her, and whose father I intentionally cut all contact with. No judgement here."
Then she grinned, changing the topic. "First the dark and edgy pre-Yun 4*SHORE, now ballet-dancing Kyu. You all have so much range!"
She checked the oven herself now, still keeping good track of the time. Maybe a little longer? Was it meant to look like that?
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Post by NIKI on Oct 2, 2023 15:06:26 GMT
He sighs. "...Thanks. And sorry you had to go through that."
He also grins, remembering something. "Speaking of range, did you know Yun was a child actor??" He starts, always happy to find an excuse to talk about Yun.
"There's this cereal ad he was in that we love reciting any time anyone eats cereal, but specially if it's him. He thinks we're really lame... he always gets so embarrassed, hahaha!! But it's so adorable!"
Dae also approaches the oven. "Oh, YIKES, is it melting?? Or is it supposed to do that...?"
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Post by Panda on Oct 2, 2023 15:31:25 GMT
"Every Baked Alaska I've ever seen has held its shape..." Rebecca said, biting her thumb nervously. Gushing about Yun would have to wait. "This is twice now! We've done everything correctly, but once it goes into the oven, it comes out wrong." She grabbed the oven mitts to pull the poor desserts out before they could get any worse. The egg mixture and some of the ice cream had melted and combined into a gloopy substance that was spilling over the sides of the 'sponge' bases.
"I can only conclude... that the baking process has failed," she declared solemnly.
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Post by NIKI on Oct 4, 2023 5:17:28 GMT
"Ahhh, it did. That damn oven..." Dae hangs his head, also blaming the oven for this misfortune.
"Hey, do you think... it could still be edible? I mean, the ingredients are all good, and it 'cooked', so should we try it at least??" He suggests, looking at the horrible thing skeptically.
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Post by Panda on Oct 4, 2023 9:49:50 GMT
"The meringue should taste fine. Ice cream is ice cream. And I don't see what could be so bad about a giant cookie!" Rebecca replied. "I'm sure it will at least taste good."
She took a spoon and carved out a piece. The 'sponge' base was unexpectedly tough, and she had lean into it to cut through. Then, she sampled it.
The sugar-egg mixture, which had combined with melted ice cream, was sickly sweet goop. Choosing Neapolitan meant the three flavours had also combined when melted, exacerbating the unpleasantness.
Below that was the still-intact insides of the ice cream. That was fine. Professionals had made it, and it would have tasted great if not mixed with the rest.
Lastly... some kind of floury, sugary, and somehow leathery substance made its presence known. The less said about that, the better.
The dessert was
not good.
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Post by NIKI on Oct 4, 2023 15:07:22 GMT
Dae also grabs a spoon, but he changes his mind last minute and ends up only trying the ice cream. Traitor.
"...How is it, Becky?" He asks fearfully.
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Post by Panda on Oct 4, 2023 16:44:43 GMT
"It's... quite bad," Rebecca admitted reluctantly. "Even as someone who used to eat expired food, it's bad... It might be funny to feed it to people to see their reactions, but at the same time I'd really rather people didn't learn of this." She sighed, before putting the spoon down and stepping away from the monstrosity they'd created. "Your thoughts?"
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Post by NIKI on Oct 6, 2023 7:47:50 GMT
Dae looks defeated. Ashamed, even, of this horrible result. He takes another spoonful of the icecream, but he grimaces as he tastes a bit of the almost-meringue.
"Yeah, I- I think it's best if we just don't mention this to anyone else. It's not really our fault, but it's still a little, um, embarrassing. I really thought we'd get it first try..."
"Maybe we should try making macarons next time, they're just cute and simple!" They're not.
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Post by Panda on Oct 6, 2023 10:06:48 GMT
"Macarons... I really don't have the motivation anymore," Rebecca replied wearily. "But, 'next time', maybe I'll be feeling up to it. For now, this never happened." She took their creations and emptied them into a bag, which she sealed before unceremoniously dropping into the bin. Only the most determined of dumpster divers would find traces of what they'd done today.
"We're done here," she declared. A mountain of unwashed plates, pans and kitchen tools loomed behind her, thoroughly ignored. "Still, it was good to talk! I'm going to have to track down that cereal ad you mentioned, once I get off this awful show. Yun, but somehow even more of a baby? I have to see that!"
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Post by NIKI on Oct 8, 2023 9:00:40 GMT
"Ahhh, now that you mention it, I'm kinda tired too..." Dae says, also planning on skipping cleanup. He grimaces as their fail dessert is thrown away.
"Heheh, there's a real treasure trove of baby Yunnie TV ads!!! They're a bit buried, but who knows, maybe someone's already compiling them as we speak. Some shoreties are really good at sleuthing for this sort of thing, haha!"
"Anyways, I actually came here to touch up my hair, so... I'll go do that now." He lifts up some hair strands. Sure enough, his hair has grown out a bit since the start of the game and the pink was much lighter than before.
"Glad I ran into you first, though! That was fun. We HAVE to try this again, okay?? See you around, Becky!!!" Dae smiles, waves and leaves into the bunks to grab a slightly large bag of hair products and locks himself in one of the shower rooms, effectively escaping the large mess left behind by mostly himself.
SURELY he'll clean it later.
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Post by Panda on Oct 8, 2023 11:04:04 GMT
"Of course! I need to go clean my glasses in the meantime." Rebecca returned the wave, then also left to go do something other than dealing with their mess.
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