157. Only One Homemade Dish
157. Only One Homemade Dish
***
When Serin suddenly suggested they drop the formalities, Eunha looked at her for a moment.
The image of herself speaking casually to Serin and calling her name in a familiar way—Eunha couldn't quite picture it.
Even just imagining it now gave her a strange feeling.
'Serin.'
So she tried murmuring it once, if only in her head, and Eunha flinched slightly, embarrassed at herself.
"I... don't mind if you speak casually to me, Serin. Please call me whatever you're comfortable with."
"Um, Eunha, you say that, but you're not dropping the formalities at all...?"
At Serin's wry expression as she spoke, Eunha let out a small laugh.
"I really am comfortable like this."
Seeing Eunha speak so composedly on the surface, Serin's lips twitched for a second as she hesitated.
'Was Sua like this too?'
Looking at Eunha now, it felt like seeing my past self.
The day Sua had come over to help with my first stream, she'd approached me warmly and told me to speak casually. The words and actions I'd shown back then were almost exactly the same as what Eunha was showing now.
Then suddenly, she felt the current situation was different from when Sua had flustered and hesitated back then.
Back then, I'd clearly said that because I wanted to keep my distance from Sua, but now, the way Eunha was acting felt like it was simply her natural personality.
"Eunha?"
So Serin carefully broached it first. Eunha blinked and looked at Serin.
Contrary to what Eunha had expected, Serin speaking casually to her didn't bring any sense of resistance at all.
When Eunha didn't answer, Serin changed her tone and asked again.
"Eunha, is it uncomfortable if I call you like that?"
Eunha quickly shook her head.
"No. It's fine."
"I'm not trying to force you to speak casually to me either. Just tell me how you feel. We have the collab stream today, and we'll be spending time together tomorrow too, so I just thought it'd be nice if we were both comfortable with each other."
As Serin spoke slowly, looking into Eunha's eyes, Eunha smiled softly.
"I'd just like it if you spoke casually to me, Serin. I really don't mind at all."
Watching Eunha ask her to speak casually in that utterly composed tone of voice was itself a peculiar sensation for Serin.
After gazing at Eunha with an inscrutable expression for a moment, Serin finished deliberating.
Clap.
"...Having only one side speak casually is a bit odd, and me forcing you to speak casually is too weird as well, so let's just talk like before. Both of us."
This reality of them hesitating and exchanging words over something like this was funny for no reason.
It really was nothing.
Considering Eunha's characteristically calm personality, it felt like she just needed a bit more time, and it seemed like I was forcing her to speak casually for no reason. So I concluded that maybe the current state was better after all, and decided to drop the casual speech as if it never happened.
Eunha, who had been quietly listening to Serin's words, wore a regretful expression.
"I really am fine with it."
"I'm the one who's not fine with it."
"..."
Eunha, who had been about to say something, looked at Serin with a wistful air, then hesitated for a moment.
'Serin.'
She murmured it once more in her head, but only flinched her hand again. In the end, she couldn't actually say it out loud.
......
Afterward, as they continued making small talk about how each of them had been doing and how they were getting along now, Serin checked the time and asked with a start.
"Eunha. Now that I think about it, have you eaten lunch?"
"No, not yet."
Because of the 1 p.m. meeting time, she hadn't eaten lunch. Serin continued with a slightly apologetic expression.
"Then would you like to have lunch, even if it's something simple? I think it'd be better to eat at least a little before the stream."
If the stream started at 4 p.m., even if they kept it shorter than usual, it would run at least two hours. On top of that, the stream might unexpectedly go long.
"If you're the one preparing it, Serin, it would be rude of me to refuse, wouldn't it?"
...At Eunha's completely unexpected words, Serin froze for a second.
'Prepare it?'
Me, cook...?
She considered suggesting they just order delivery, but that felt too shabby, so she ended up nodding.
"Then let's have lunch together."
Come to think of it, there were side dishes in the fridge that Seoyun had made before she left.
Right, having home-cooked food for once isn't bad.
Seoyun is a good cook, after all.
"Eunha, you can look forward to it."
***
Clack. Clack. Clack!
Watching the dishes being placed one by one onto the dining table in the living room, Eunha found herself looking at Serin again without realizing it.
Whether Serin was the type to prepare food in advance, the sight of her taking side-dish containers out of the fridge and arranging them onto separate plates was oddly fitting in itself.
Preparing food with that pure white silver hair and exotic appearance—it suited her so well. It felt like seeing another side of Serin, and Eunha couldn't help but keep her eyes on her.
Serin bustling about as she set the table looked almost idyllic.
"..."
And when she looked at the food placed on the table, even the dishes themselves were all beautifully presented.
Colorful vegetable side dishes neatly decorated the table, while the stir-fried sausages, each carefully scored, added a charming little touch.
Seeing that among the side dishes were a few she'd only ever seen at famous Korean restaurants, Eunha even found herself thinking that Serin's cooking skills were far from ordinary.
And no wonder—there were already eight side-dish bowls on the table.
And now, on top of that.
Bubble bubble...!
Along with the sound of the boiling pot, Serin's appearance as she cooked suited her quite well.
'Serin even makes the food herself.'
Honestly, since she'd said it would be a light lunch, Eunha hadn't expected much, but this was completely unexpected.
Moreover, she knew Serin lived alone in this spacious officetel. Even when she carefully glanced around, it was truly spotless.
From the moment she'd first stepped inside, the interior of the officetel had nothing to criticize. So much so that she wondered how it could be this clean.
Tap!
At the sight of Serin cracking eggs into something, Eunha couldn't help but admire her.
'How can a person be so flawless?'
From her unbelievable skill in Another World to the private life of Serin that she'd unintentionally gotten a glimpse of today.
To Eunha, every single thing about Serin was close to perfection.
It was hard to believe even while seeing it with her own eyes that someone could live alone and still live so ideally.
Usually, a person who's good at one thing tends to show at least a little weakness elsewhere.
Being good at one thing meant being able to focus on that one thing, so an ordinary person couldn't be good at everything else too.
Eunha, in fact, had plenty of weaknesses when it came to cooking.
She never even thought about cooking normally, and she had no interest in it. Before becoming a pro player, even when she lived at home, she'd been used to the cooking of a woman who handled it professionally, so she'd never even taken an interest in cooking.
And even her family had never expected such things from Eunha.
Bubble bubble...!
When the pot boiled again, Serin carefully scooped up a spoonful to taste it.
Eunha, who had been watching Serin as if spellbound, didn't know what was in the pot. But when Serin's expression brightened after tasting it, she could guess.
'It must be delicious.'
Serin preparing lunch with such a domestic air looked almost mysterious in itself.
An ideal image that seemed like it could only come out of a novel.
'Wasn't "all-around beauty" practically coined for Serin?'
Even as she was thinking such thoughts, when Serin put on red pot holders and carefully carried the pot to the table, Eunha's gaze drifted over on its own, wondering what dish it was.
Slip.
Soon, when Serin lifted the pot lid with her gloved hand, endless white steam rose up, revealing the inside of the pot.
A pure white color.
"Eunha... you like steamed egg too, right?"
Serin asked casually. Eunha nodded as if it were only natural.
"Yes, I like it."
Serin took off the pot holders, set them nearby, and smiled.
"There isn't much I've prepared, but please eat plenty, Eunha."
Among the many dishes, the only one Serin had made herself was the steamed egg.
All the other side dishes were ones Seoyun had made, which was why she said that.
"Yes, Serin. I'll enjoy it."
But Eunha, who had no way of knowing that, smiled brightly, wondering how Serin could even be so humble.
And so the two of them picked up their spoons and chopsticks.
The first dish Eunha went for was the braised beef, which looked well-seasoned.
The meat disappearing between her bright red lips—Serin watched it quietly and waited for a reaction. For some reason, she felt like she had to.
"Serin... why is this braised beef so good?"
When Eunha asked as if surprised, Serin smiled and shook her head.
"Oh, it's nothing special."