The Chef x The Celebrity
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✨─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───✨
~ Date: June 26th – Interstellar Year 2422 ~
~ Location: Luna Bellflower Moon ~ Terra Anka PXD2422
~ The Golden Dragon Star Nexus Intergalactic Empire ~
✨─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───✨
🐦🔥 [ Phoenix ☯ POV ] 🐦🔥
Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan had always walked Beyol Joon to school because it was only slightly out of the way to the nearest public transport station. The original had cherished that time with his little brother, taking quiet pride in being the one to take care of Joon for a change. Phoenix found that he enjoyed it too. The walk gave them a small pocket of morning that belonged only to the two of them, and after everything that had happened at breakfast, that felt more precious than he expected. Still, as he glanced at the road ahead, he could not help thinking it might be wise to invest in a personal ship for the family—and maybe a hover van large enough to fit everyone comfortably.
'Solaris, I think I should look into getting a personal ship for the family, maybe one with autopilot too. I think it would make things a lot easier on everyone. I also—' His thought cut off when a small group of alpha teens stopped talking and not only shamelessly gawked at Phoenix, but even took a few steps toward him as if they had been bewitched.
Beyol Joon tsked under his breath and pulled Nix closer, practically tucking him against his side like a priceless artifact being smuggled through a suspicious market. "Ignore them, Hyung. I have you." His glare sliced toward the alpha teens. "If you brought a mask and sunglasses, put them on before you reach the terminal. I hate that I cannot take you all the way to school myself. Do you think I can apply for emergency brother-leave? 'Sorry, Teacher, I cannot attend morning practice because my hyung is too pretty to be unsupervised.' That sounds reasonable to me. Symptoms include stress, brotherly rage, and sudden urges to commit social violence."
"Aw, Maknae" (막내). You are too cute, you know that?" Phoenix said, his teasing softened by genuine warmth. "Thank you for watching out for me, but I promise I can handle myself. I brought the dark sunglasses, the black mask, and my scent blockers. I will put them on before we split up. Besides, they are only looking. No one has actually approached me, so breathe for me, okay?"
Beyol Joon puffed up so fast he looked seconds away from hissing at the entire sidewalk. "Looking is one thing," he said, just loud enough for the alpha teens to hear, "but that is not looking. That is ogling, and it is sleazy. If even one of them opens his mouth to catcall you, I swear to the heavens, I will bury him where he stands." He paused, then added with deadly seriousness, "Metaphorically. Probably. Unless he deserves it."
"Hyung, you really have no self-awareness, do you?" Joon complained, somehow sounding haughty, worried, and whiny all at once. "If Mom and Dad had not put you in Taekwondo when you were five, I would never let you leave the house unsupervised. I would make you wear a tasteful warning sign: 'Danger: Beauty Hazard. Approach with manners or perish.'"
Phoenix was so stunned that he stopped walking and simply stared at his little brother.
"Beyol Joon, breathe." Phoenix softened the command with a smile and reached over to lightly poke his brother's puffed cheek. The puff deflated with an offended little huff. "If I did not know better, I would think your protective instincts had staged a coup and appointed themselves head of security. I am grown, I can defend myself, and I promise I will be more careful from now on. So worry a little less, be happy I have fans, and support me the way I have always supported you."
Phoenix meant it. He knew how close the original and Joon had been, and he had no intention of weakening that bond. The original had always been his little brother's biggest supporter, and Phoenix planned to continue that with his whole heart. He only hoped Joon would let himself be supported in return. Maybe it was selfish, but Phoenix could not help wanting that. For the first time in far too long, he had a family who was alive, who loved him, and who stood close enough to feel like friends as well as blood.
At that, Beyol Joon grabbed Phoenix's hands and blurted, "Of course!" much louder than he clearly meant to. His ears turned red at once, but he pushed on, determined to make Phoenix understand. "Of course I support you. I am your biggest fan, Hyung. I even have an anonymous fan account so I can follow your updates properly and fanboy without you finding out." His eyes darted away. "It is very professional. I have folders, tags, emergency reaction templates, and three backup usernames. Do not judge my dedication."
Joon thought he had been caught in all his overprotective panic. His feelings were tangled, but not in the ugly way people might misunderstand. Phoenix was his hyung—his fragile, stubbornly brilliant older brother—and Joon had spent years watching him shrink beneath other people's cruelty. Now that Phoenix was finally standing bright enough for others to notice, every protective instinct Joon possessed wanted to put itself between his brother and the world.
Maybe Phoenix's dominant omega presence made that instinct worse. Even betas could be affected by a dominant omega's aura, especially when the omega in question looked elegant, vulnerable, and entirely unaware of the chaos he caused by simply existing. Still, Joon knew the difference between attraction and family. This was fear, loyalty, admiration, and years of bottled-up worry crashing into each other all at once.
What Beyol Joon did not know was that Phoenix had already seen the blush climbing all the way to his ears. He chose to ignore it and let the moment pass. The original Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan had trusted his brother completely, and with everything Phoenix now knew about Joon, he trusted him too.
Before either of them realized it, they had reached Beyol Joon's high school. Phoenix nudged Joon lightly with his elbow to pull him out of his thoughts. Joon startled so hard he nearly stepped sideways, letting out a sharp little gasp and clutching his bag strap like an offended noble maiden in a historical drama. Phoenix pressed his lips together until they trembled, fighting for his life against the urge to laugh.
It took every last ounce of Phoenix's self-control not to laugh out loud. Seriously, how could Joon be this cute? How had no one managed to snatch him up already? Joon quickly tried to regain his dignity by pretending nothing had happened, but he still could not quite look Phoenix in the face. When Phoenix noticed the tips of his ears turning red, the temptation to tease him became impossible to resist.
Nix grinned. "Maknae, what had you so lost in thought? Scandalous daydream? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Crush?" His grin widened as Joon's shoulders shot up toward his ears. "You can tell Hyung. If you need a wingman, I am available. If you need advice, I am also available. And if you need the very important lecture about playing it safe, I may already have educational diagrams prepared."
Beyol Joon nearly tripped over his own tongue. "What? No! Absolutely not! What do you take me for, a pervert?" His face went redder, and he lifted both hands as if physically warding off the conversation. "I was reviewing for my math test. Numbers. Equations. Very pure academic suffering. Also, I am single. Tragically, dramatically, mathematically single. My love life is a desert, and somehow you brought safety lectures to the sand."
Phoenix could not take it anymore and burst out laughing. Joon, who had been proud of how quickly he had produced the sudden lie—thank you, math test—felt his brain short-circuit all over again as Nix's smile bloomed bright and unguarded. His laugh was melodious enough to stop more than one student near the front gate. For a moment, everyone simply watched as Nix laughed until his eyes glistened with unshed tears. Joon groaned and dragged one hand down his face. "Great. Publicly bullied by my own hyung before first period. Wonderful. Very supportive family environment."
*Maknae is the Korean word for youngest. Here, Nix uses it as a term of affection and as a nickname for Beyol Joon. = )
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☆ .* ☽ .* 🐉 ~ ☯ ~ 🐦🔥[ ᴄʜɪʙɪ ᴍɪɴɪ ᴛʜᴇᴀᴛᴇʀ ]🐦🔥 ~ ☯ ~ 🐉 *. ☽ *. ☆
☯ Mrs_TNT / Tiff ☯: So, Chapter 23 was supposed to be a simple walk to school.
Nix🐦🔥: It was simple. I walked. Maknae panicked. Strangers stared. Very educational.
Beyol Joon: Educational? Hyung, you caused a public safety incident by existing with your face uncovered.
Nix🐦🔥: My face is not a weapon.
Beyol Joon: Debatable.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Mama's face has area-of-effect damage. I have personally observed emotional splash damage up to three meters.
Nix🐦🔥: Solaris, do not encourage him.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: I am not encouraging him. I am validating field observations. I also drew a diagram.
Beyol Joon: Finally. Scientific support.
Nix🐦🔥: Absolutely not. Neither of you are allowed to form a research team about my face.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Too late. I have notes, diagrams, and a tiny pointer stick.
Beyol Joon: I have witness statements.
Nix🐦🔥: From who?
Beyol Joon: The alpha teens who forgot how sidewalks work.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: And the students who stopped breathing when Mama laughed. I counted. Very concerning. I recommend sunglasses, a face mask, and emergency snacks.
Nix🐦🔥: Snacks do not solve public attention.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Snacks solve morale. Morale solves panic. Therefore, snacks solve everything.
☯ Mrs_TNT / Tiff ☯: I'm starting to think this trial is biased.
Beyol Joon: It is not biased if we are correct.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: I second the correctness. Also, as Chief Snack Officer, I request a larger budget.
Nix🐦🔥: Who appointed you Chief Snack Officer?
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Me. It was unanimous.
Nix🐦🔥: You were the only voter.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: A decisive majority.
Beyol Joon: I support this administration.
Nix🐦🔥: Maknae, you threatened emergency brother-leave.
Beyol Joon: A reasonable workplace accommodation.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: I would sign the form.
Nix🐦🔥: You do not have hands.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: I have talons, confidence, and excellent stamp pressure.
Beyol Joon: More than enough.
Nix🐦🔥: I cannot believe I am being outvoted by my baby brother and my baby dragon-phoenix.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: We are small, but organized. I made minutes for this meeting.
Beyol Joon: Speak for yourself. I am tall, responsible, and suffering from Hyung-related stress.
Nix🐦🔥: You are eighteen.
Beyol Joon: Exactly. Practically ancient.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Ancient Maknae requires snacks and back support.
Beyol Joon: See? Solaris understands me.
Nix🐦🔥: Solaris understands snacks.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Snacks are the foundation of peace, family unity, and responsible beauty management.
☯ Mrs_TNT / Tiff ☯: Readers, please appreciate Maknae's suffering.
Nix🐦🔥: Please do not encourage him.
Beyol Joon: Too late. I accept sympathy, praise, and protective younger-brother rights.
Nix🐦🔥: Younger brother.
Beyol Joon: Emotionally older when you act like this.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: I second this motion and submit supporting evidence: Mama forgot his sunglasses three times in spirit, even if not in reality.
Nix🐦🔥: Motion denied. Evidence rejected.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Mama does not respect proper meeting procedure.
☯ Mrs_TNT / Tiff ☯: Final verdict?
Beyol Joon: Hyung is a beauty hazard.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Mama requires supervision, snacks, sunglasses, warning labels, and maybe a tiny velvet rope for crowd control.
Nix🐦🔥: I need new management.
☯ Mrs_TNT / Tiff ☯: Denied. See you next chapter.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Bring snacks.
Beyol Joon: And a face mask.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: And my tiny pointer stick.
Nix🐦🔥: I hate it here.
🐉Solaris🐦🔥: Mama says that, but he is still staying.
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