Written primarily to be contrary and address some points of fanon. Betaed by Eliza and Rune.

Jaejoong likes cooking. That doesn't mean he has a talent for it. It could be argued he likes it for precisely that reason; he doesn't have a talent for it, he doesn't have to do it, he's never going to make a career of it, and it's more useful than what he is doing for a career.

Sheer bloody-mindedness and years of practice mean everything he makes turns out edible, provided he's paying attention. It's like singing or dancing, but he owns his failures in the kitchen the way he doesn't in the studio (another arena in which bloody-mindedness has served him well, though to less obvious purpose than feeding a pack of starving teenagers). Of course, when he fails in the kitchen, even Changmin only picks at it, and Changmin will eat anything. So when even Changmin pushes his plate away untouched, Jaejoong takes note. Next time, he'll pay better attention.

Jaejoong may not have a talent for cooking. When it comes down to it, he may not have a talent for most of the things he's paid for, either. But if stubborness --bloody-mindedness-- is a talent, he's got enough of that to almost make up for everything else.

~END~