Cooking Lesson (2)

"Then let's run the lesson while we're making dinner anyway."

Hyunsoo usually picked up groceries every three days on his way home from work, and that restock day was tomorrow. Which meant that tonight, the evening before, their ingredients weren't exactly abundant.

"You said this was for living on your own, so we'll skip anything complicated. I can't make those anyway."

He mulled over the menu for a moment. Ordinary, simple home cooking was well worth attempting—nothing too fussy, of course.

"Is there a dish you'd like to try?"

"I want tonkatsu!!"

"...Why are you answering. I asked Yukino."

"I wanna eat tonkatsu!"

At Little Hana's stubborn cry, Yukino glanced sideways, then spoke with careful hesitation.

"Um... tonkatsu?"

"You don't have to worry about my daughter's feelings. Please just say whatever you'd like."

"Watashi is fine with anything. I'll follow Master's decision!"

In the end, the baton came back to him without much to show for it.

"Then let's go with the most practical option... kimchi fried rice."

Fried rice. Aside from ramyeon or a fried egg, it was just about the easiest thing you could make, and you could toss leftover scraps in a pan and call it done. Was there a better dish for someone living alone?

They'd made kimchi stew yesterday and still had kimchi sitting out. Perfect.

"Fwied rice!"

"That's right. Dinner tonight is fried rice."

The three of them, Hyunsoo included, drifted naturally into the kitchen. Little Hana could have stayed in the living room and rested, but she insisted on tagging along and joining the lesson herself.

Once they were inside, Hyunsoo put a question to his student.

"To cook, the first thing you obviously ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have to do is take out the ingredients. So—what are the two most important ingredients for kimchi fried rice?"

It was an absurdly easy question. The answer was sitting right there in the name of the dish.

Surprisingly, though, Yukino didn't answer at once. She hesitated. Hyunsoo could understand that. She was a foreigner; it might take her a while. She seemed fluent in Korean on the surface, but there were surely corners of the language she still struggled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with that he couldn't see.

When Yukino failed to answer, Little Hana shot her hand into the air and shouted.

"Me!"

"...All right. Go ahead."

"Pork!"

"Wrong. Meat would be nice, sure, but it's optional, not required. There's something much more important. Think carefully."

"Hmm..."

Big Hana and Little Hana both clutched their heads and sank into grave contemplation.

Was this really that hard of a question?

Then Big Hana lifted her head and thrust her hand up. The sparkle in her eyes said she was certain. Satisfied that she finally seemed to understand what he'd meant, Hyunsoo smiled and called on her.

"Yes, Yukino."

"The two most important things! Those are...!"

She dragged it out so long that father and daughter both locked their eyes on her mouth. After a brief silence, the answer finally arrived.

"......"

"Wow! That's the right answer! Hyunga got it right!"

"Hehe. Yare yare. This much is a piece of cake."

Love and sincerity.

Well. Those really were two essential ingredients when making kimchi fried rice.

Needless to say, Hyunsoo did not accept that as the correct answer.

"Wrong."

"Ehh? Doushite?!"

"Hyunga got it wrong..."

"Chigau! Watashi was not wrong!"

Watching the two of them slide straight into a comedy routine, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hyunsoo sighed and revealed the answer.

"The most important ingredients in kimchi fried rice are obviously kimchi and rice. I'll let it slide this time, but from now on, please answer seriously instead of joking around."

"Hai..."

"Hyunga didn't joke. She got it wrong 'cause she really didn't know."

"Nashi-chan, hidoi..."

Hyunsoo started taking out the ingredients and lining them up on the counter. Since the goal was to keep it simple, the list itself was humble.

"That's only five?"

"Yes. You have all of these at home, right?"

"Hai!"

Of course she should. A house without even these ingredients wasn't a place people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lived.

"Ah, I might not have sesame oil..."

"Buy some. Tomorrow. Immediately."

"Tomorrow, immediately?"

"Yes. If you're going to start cooking, you at least need sesame oil."

"Hai..."

She really hadn't been cooking at all, it seemed. A little worried, Hyunsoo asked just in case.

"You know how to fry an egg, right?"

"Mochiron!"

"Pardon?"

"Ah—that means 'of course.'"

Ah. One more useless piece of trivia acquired. If he got closer to Yukino, his Japanese knowledge might grow quite a bit.

Anyway, if she could fry an egg, that meant she knew the basics of handling a frying pan. Which meant fried rice shouldn't be too hard either.

He thought it over for a moment, then made his decision.

"All right. Then Yukino, you'll make it yourself. Right now."

"What?? Watashi, right now?"

"Yes. Fried rice isn't hard. You can do it. I'll teach you from the side, so let's give it a try."

"...Wakarimashita!"

Yukino nodded with a look of grim resolve, solemn as a soldier heading off to war.

"Here! Hyunga!"

Little Hana piled on, holding something out as if conferring a medal: the apron Hyunsoo usually wore when he cooked.

Yukino stared at the apron she'd been given, then put it on with a reverent air.

The result was truly astonishing.

Whoa...

Hyunsoo couldn't help but marvel. He'd thought her chest was large, but the apron made it far more pronounced—almost as if it were floating in midair. Compared to how the same apron looked when he wore it, the difference was enormous. Not an inch of skin showing, and still this provocative. Afraid that staring any longer would lead somewhere unwelcome, he forcibly turned his head away.

"Um... Master, could you tie this for me?"

At her voice he looked back, and the sight that greeted him was even more dizzying. She was stiff; her hands couldn't reach her back—asking him to tie it wasn't strange in itself. The problem was that her back view was extremely dangerous. Having already had those thoughts, he was even more conscious of it.

Hyunsoo coughed as casually as he could and tied the knot. Being careful not to let his hands touch her back made it take a little longer.

"Daddy's being weird. His nostrils are flaring."

"Eh? Don't tell me..."

"No, no! That's a misunderstanding!"

Despite his vehement denial, Yukino, still facing away, trembled, then said:

"...Does watashi smell weird?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Sumimasen! The truth is, watashi went out today and used being busy as an excuse not to shower! I usually just stay home, so..."

"No. You don't smell. Don't worry."

It took several more exchanges before Yukino accepted that she did not, in fact, smell. Having somehow slipped out of the situation thanks to her misunderstanding, Hyunsoo could only breathe a sigh of relief. Then he scolded himself harshly.

Don't think weird thoughts, Bae Hyunsoo.

She was a neighbor, and he was obviously going to see her often. If he developed feelings, it would be a disaster. More than anything, it wasn't going to happen anyway—it would only hurt everyone. Especially Hana.

And he'd already decided he wouldn't date anyone.

Lest his heart waver, Hyunsoo thought of her.

Following Master's instructions, I set about making the fried rice.

"First, put oil in the pan... That's sesame oil!"

"Det?"

So olive oil and sesame oil were for different things.

"Sauté the Spam slowly... It's going to burn! Turn it down to low!"

"Are... Watashi likes the burnt taste, so daijoubu!"

"...Fine. Next."

There were a few small problems.

"Stir-fry the kimchi, and put the rice in now."

"Rice, deploying! Ah! Atsui!!! The oil splashed!"

"It's fine. You won't die."

"That's so mean..."

Thanks to Little Hana comforting me, I recovered quickly.

"It's finally done..."

I topped it with the fried eggs I'd made earlier, and three steaming servings of kimchi fried rice were complete.

At the same time, I confirmed that the quest I'd received earlier was progressing. Probably like the streaming quest—clearing Sub Quests would raise the Main Quest's progress.

Then we gathered around the table together and ate the kimchi fried rice I'd made.

"Itadakimasu!"

At last I scooped up a spoonful and tried it.

"Ugh. Salty..."

"Yeah. Too much salt, as expected."

"I-it's fine. Watashi likes salty food."

"It's bad for you, so fix it."

"Hai."

Still, it wasn't inedible, so we polished off every last bit of the kimchi fried rice.

"Gochisousama deshita."

"That means you enjoyed the meal, right?"

"That's right!"

"I've noticed that in Japan they always greet each other before and after meals. In Korea a lot of people don't. Looking at that, there really is a cultural difference."

Well. I was originally Korean, though.

He was right—I used to just eat without saying much of anything, but after the change I diligently greeted every meal.

"Master. Thank you for today. You too, Nashi-chan."

"I'm the one who should thank you for staying with our Hana. Oh, and here's my contact info."

Wow. First time I'd ever received a business card.

The card read Assistant Manager Bae Hyunsoo, and had a phone number on it.

"Hyunga. You're leaving already...?"

"Hana, Unnie needs to go home and rest too."

"Play a little longer before you go! Please? You're right next door anyway!"

"Etto..."

What should I do?

I was a little tired and wanted to rest, but I also didn't want to refuse Little Hana's request. I was still hesitating when—

Huh?