Change in attitude

Deciding to properly prepare himself for later, Ensen got up from the couch and began walking over to the kitchen.

Thinking about the evaluation the system had given him when he reduced his skill in cooking earlier, Ensen had begun to see some sense in it. Although he was still arrogant in this manner, he was beginning to recognize the flaws he had in his cooking.

Looking back to when his sister Julia had cooked him numerous times previously, he knew the night was going to be rough. Although she was significantly better than Ensen, she still needed to work on her skills quite a bit.

But Ensen wasn't going there for the sole purpose to eat, so he could manage it. Deciding to have a rather decently sized lunch in order to compensate for the lesser amount of food he would make later, Ensen opened the fridge and decided to make the ham and cubed vegetable abomination he made in the past.

But this time, he had done his best to throw away his arrogance towards cooking. Closely analyzing every mistake, Ensen managed to turn the ham over closer to the appropriate time so it was not horribly burnt. While it was still a little charred it was a massive improvement.

After a few minutes, he had finished cutting the vegetables and looked at the end product. Unlike last time, he did not see much to praise about it. Maybe his creativity, but that was about it.

Taking the finished product towards the table, Ensen carefully raised the ham and vegetable slices towards his mouth and took a small bite. His face quickly turned sour as he carelessly put the piece of ham down. As the ham hit the table the cubed bits flew everywhere as if hit by an explosion.

Looking down at the mess, Ensen muttered "Why did I even like this thing?" as he began to clean up his mess.

After picking up all of the cubes, Ensen decided to make something else as he was refusing to eat his creation at this point. After throwing the items away he decided to make an ordinary piece of toast with some butter on top. Luckily he managed to barely burn the piece of toast which was a large improvement for him.

After which he began to enjoy a steamy shower to help relax his anxious mind. A long time later, he left the shower with a slightly more relaxed mind as he walked over towards his bedroom to get into an outfit.

He wanted to dress nicely but also not overdress for the occasion. As such he simply grabbed some black jeans that he had barely worn before, a white shirt, and a grey and white plaid shirt.

Finished dressing, Ensen began to do some miscellaneous chores around the house since he had been too busy the past few days to worry about it.

After completing all of those chores, the clock on his phone had turned to 3 pm. With a slight nod, Ensen decided to do what he had considered earlier, baking some cookies for Kaitlin as a way to thank her for the paper.

Heading back into the kitchen, Ensen reached far into a nearby cupboard to grab a dusty, old white apron. After putting it on Ensen searched up a cookie recipe and began to make it.

Following the recipe to the letter, he achieved quick progress and had finished making the batter after around 20 minutes.

Preheating the oven, Ensen soon scooped the cookies onto a pan and put them into the oven.

While waiting for the cookies to finish, he had been catching himself up with his favorite online novels. Although he was a rather straight-forward and practical teacher, he still loved to get lost in a book for hours on end.

Hearing the timer go off, Ensen quickly took the cookies out and was delighted by both the smell and the appearance of the cookies. They seemed oddly… normal. Like an ordinary person with average skill in baking made them, which surprised Ensen a lot.

'Well, I guess losing my arrogance is better.' Ensen thought as he smiled in satisfaction while staring at the cookies. While baking wasn't necessarily considered cooking, it was heavily related. Needless to say, his baking had been questionable in the past

Letting them cool down for a few minutes, Ensen soon picked one up to test to see if he should even give them to Kaitlin. Surprisingly, the cookies were actually quite delicious.

Forcing himself to hold back from eating all of the cookies right then, Ensen turned his attention to a nearby piece of paper and pen he had grabbed.

Ensen proceeded to write both the ingredients and the link for the recipe on the paper to show that he was being sincere in his actions and not trying to cause any harm.

After digging through a drawer, he found himself a container and gently scooped all of the cookies into it. Noticing it was about time to leave, Ensen took both the cookies and the note as he proceeded to walk towards the door.

Putting the box of cookies down temporarily to put on his shoes, he soon exited his apartment and walked over towards Kaitlin's door. Bending down, he gently placed the box of cookies down to the left of the door with the note on top of the box. With a satisfied smile on his face, he began walking towards the elevator.

Unknown to Ensen, Kaitlin had been staring at him through the peephole since he had exited his apartment. After he had left after placing the items down, Kaitlin slowly began unlocking the locks on her door slowly while randomly looking through the peephole to ensure that nobody was there.

After she had been confident that there was nobody in the hallway, Kaitlin slowly opened the door slightly and grabbed the items on the floor, dragging them in quickly. Afterward, she closed the door with urgency and locked all of the locks.

Observing the box and the note on the ground, Kaitlin had a cautious look on her face. Opening the container, she saw quite a bit of golden-colored cookies with chocolate chips poking out. Picking them up, Kaitlin contemplated throwing them out when she decided to read the note.

Reading the message, Kaitlin gave off a slightly more relaxed aura as she decided to test one of the cookies herself. Opening the box, the tempting smell of fresh cookies drew her in. Picking up one of the cookies, her face suddenly gave off a stunning smile completely contrasting everything Ensen had known about her. Quickly finishing the cookie, she reached for another one.

After a few moments, the next cookie had disappeared into her mouth. Knowing she needed to slow down, she hesitantly forced herself to stop and put the lid back on the box. Carrying the box over to her kitchen counter, she lightly hummed as she continued about her day with happiness.

Unaware of the reaction that his cookies had caused, Ensen arrived at the elevator and began to descend. Quickly arriving at his car, he lightly sighed in nervousness as he pulled up the address that Julia had previously sent him.

Noticing that the address was in the upper-class area of town, Ensen seemed surprised as he started the car to drive towards the area.

Although Ensen had lived in the city for most of his life, he had never been in the location Julia's home was located although he knew where it was generally. As such, Ensen drove around aimlessly trying to find the street before finally giving up and resorting to using a navigation service on his phone.

With the help of the service, he had finally found the street and had begun driving down while looking at the house numbers.

The houses on this street were absolutely stunning. It seemed to blend more modern design with more traditional aesthetics. All of the houses had brick chimneys and multiple garages. The road itself was bordering on a popular walking trail which led to a small lake that most of the area used as a swimming spot and hiking area. Although most houses on the road had their own in-ground pools, the location was still amazing.

After driving slowly for a minute or so to read the house numbers, Ensen had finally found his sister's home. Pulling into the driveway which used small red and peach colored bricks to form a pattern, he parked behind a fancy two-door car. With an anxious mind and a rising heart rate, Ensen exited the vehicle and slowly locked it before steeling his heart and looking towards the door.

He could hear faint voices coming from the house. Walking on the little path they had, he followed the path through the front yard until he reached the modern front door.

With a nervous face, Ensen raised his hand slowly and knocked on the door. A few moments later the conversation he could slightly make out had abruptly stopped and he could hear somebody approaching.

Putting his hands behind his back to try to mask his slightly shaking hands. After a few more moments Ensen could hear the door being unlocked.