“If we’re done with that, we’re going to add milk and fresh cream. When using dairy products, you should always check the expiration date first. You need to check the package for the date to make sure it’s fresh.”
“Hmm… the date is well within range.”
“Great. Let’s add it in. One cup of milk and just a little bit of fresh cream.”
“I get the one cup, but how much exactly is ‘just a little bit’?”
“About this much, just by eye.”
Kwon Jaechin squeezed the fresh cream into the glass bowl. The contents gushed out, getting a bit on his hand. Without much thought, he licked off the cream from his hand, when he felt a gaze from above. Seo Uiwoo was staring at him intently.
Their eyes met – Jaechin’s under the shimmering gray of Seo’s eyes – and for some reason, Jaechin felt an itch inside. Deep within his ribs, inside his heart, he felt discomfort.
“It’s dripping.”
The fresh cream was running down his fingers. Kwon Jaechin slightly frowned, feeling like he became the heroine in some B-grade drama. Getting cream on himself, licking it off, and being caught – all typical drama clichés. Not a role fit for a robust-bodied, age-worn, stoically-faced, corporate warrior like Jaechin.
Pretending it was nothing, Jaechin casually pulled out a kitchen towel and wiped his hands.
“Cooking can often be like this. You can wipe it with a kitchen towel or wash it in the sink.”
“Yes, it happens often, doesn’t it?”
“Now that we’ve added all the ingredients let’s mix them. Stir it like before and then strain it through the sieve hanging on the wall.”
“Jaechin, do you often lick your fingers while cooking?”
Aiish.
“Should I lick it too? Some splashed on my hand.”
Seo Uiwoo paused stirring with the whisk. There were a few droplets of a pale, milky mixture of milk and fresh cream on the back of his hand. Jaechin ripped off a kitchen towel and vigorously rubbed it on Seo’s hand.
“Why would you lick it, Seo Uiwoo, when you don’t eat food? No, that’s enough.”
“Yeah, right, I don’t eat. So will you lick my hand for me?”
“Stop talking nonsense and strain it through the sieve. You should strain it twice. The more you strain, the smoother and tastier the eggs will be.”
“Jaechin.”
“What.”
“I don’t get it. Have I really never cooked once in the past four years? Why didn’t I, when it’s actually quite fun.”
“…”
“Hmm, there are so many types of sieves. I wonder if this size is right… Even though it’s my kitchen, I completely forgot that I have these tools.”
Seo Uiwoo picked up a sieve and began straining the egg mixture. He diligently followed Jaechin’s instructions and strained twice thoroughly. He looked up with a bright smile as if he was done, but Jaechin couldn’t find the right response.
He felt as if his insides were being squeezed, as if his heart was being seared with an iron.
‘Is this okay?’
To be with Seo Uiwoo…
With the Seo Uiwoo of the first round… I haven’t sent him off yet, but I wonder if it’s okay to spend carefree laughter with the Seo Uiwoo of the second round.
There’s probably nothing wrong, but still, it wasn’t entirely comfortable. It was suffocating, like being under a massive stone.
“Jaechin? I think it’s all done.”
“Ah… Yes, well done. That, we’ll put it in a frying pan and make scrambled eggs.”
“Frying pan, frying pan, found it. This should do.”
“Put the pan on and set it to a gentle, barely-there low heat. Sprinkle some olive oil… and now use a wooden spatula, it has to be wooden. Otherwise, you’ll scrape off the pan’s coating. Stir gently and slowly.”
“Okay.”
After briefly instructing, Kwon Jaechin folded his arms.
With just one explanation, Seo Uiwoo managed to do it quite well.
The scrambled eggs gently stirred on low heat were shaping up to a decent form. Jaechin hadn’t told him to turn off the heat, but Seo, feeling it was done, turned off the gas by himself.
“Wow, it’s done. I did it. Cooking. Will it taste good? Huh?”
An excited Seo Uiwoo brought the plate with bright, uplifted eyes. The large, white plate seemed to fly over to him by itself, perhaps moved by his abilities.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
