Minseok

“Good morning, Minseok,” says my mother, in that sweet voice of hers.

“Morning, mother,” I reply, smiling as I sit down for breakfast.

“Your father had to hold a meeting,” she adds.

I just give a nod.

“I phoned Mrs Jung this morning to ask after Hyerim,” my mother continues. I glance up from my breakfast with vague interest.

“How is she?” I ask.

“Still in bed, apparently,” she replies, “She might have a head cold.”

“Ah, it’s my fault,” I grumble, “I didn’t mean to keep her out for so long.” I’m pretty sure she was faking it, though she did look rather pale and a slight headache in no way impaired her sass.

“I’m sure she’ll be alright, Minseok,” my mother says, a smile crossing her face. “You two seemed to have a lot to talk about.”

“Mm,” I mumble.

“What were you talking about, out of interest?” she questions as she pours herself more tea.

“Nothing much, really,” I lie. That was the wrong answer. “Well,” I amend, “We were discussing our favourite movies actually; we seem to have a few things in common.” Obviously, that’s a lie, but we did briefly discuss this topic last week.

“That’s lovely,” she says, “It must be nice to have similar interests to Hyerim.”

“Why?” I utter.

“Well, she’s a lovely girl, I like her a lot,” Mother says, moving her light brown fringe out of her eyes. “I’d love to have a daughter like her, I feel as though her mother doesn’t appreciate her enough.”

“I’m sure Mrs Jung would love to hear that,” I remark.

“Don’t you dare say a thing, Kim Minseok,” she says dangerously.

I chuckle. “Of course not, Mother. I barely speak to Hyerim’s mother as it is.”

“Same, actually,” she says with a laugh, “It’s only because Sunwon and Jeonwoo are friends that we met. I don’t have anything in common with that woman.”

“Do you ever get the feeling that she’s looking down on you?” I ask curiously.

“Sort of,” she admits, “I know what you mean.”

“She’s quite harsh to Hyerim, don’t you think?” I consider.

“We shouldn’t gossip,” says Mother, “But before we change topic, I do agree with you. I’m glad you care about Hyerim.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” I say with a shrug, “It would be wrong to not care at all.”

“Mm,” my mother agrees, giving me a knowing look. I frown. “Disregard what I last said,” she says quickly.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you to think I’m trying to influence your love life,” she says.

“Oh, well, I-”

“You should make your own choice,” she adds, getting up from the table, “But Hyerim would be a good choice.”

“I don’t think she feels the same way,” I disagree.

“You might be surprised,” she says, pointing her finger at me, “But what makes you think that?”

“Just a hunch,” I lie. I watch her leave the room in her smart black trousers and pale pink blouse.

I shake my head before finishing up. One of the maids come in to clear the table and I leave. I find myself walking in the direction of the kitchen, but enter from the side door. It’s fairly quiet as just one chef is washing the dishes.

“Ah, hyung,” he says cheerfully. He turns off the water and dries his hands. He is taller than me with a slim build and wavy caramel coloured hair.

“Jongdae,” I reply, a smile coming to my face. I decided to drop the formalities with Jongdae, since we’re almost the same age.

“What can I do for you?” he asks.

“You don’t have to do anything,” I answer. I lean on the counter with my hands in the pockets of my maroon checked trousers.

“Are you hungry? I could make you something,” he offers.

“I just had breakfast,” I say, shaking my head.

“Did you enjoy?” he questions, “Breakfast is my speciality, as is lunch, dinner and desert.”

I chuckle.“It was great; I just don’t have much of an appetite.”

“Hmm,” he says, making a study of me. “You’ve got something on your mind.” He kneads the dough on the metal surface in front of him.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes, hyung,” he answers. “Let me take a guess: you’re thinking about a woman.”

I give a sigh. “That much is true,” I admit.

“So, what’s going on?If you don’t mind me asking, that is,” he says in a cheeky tone.

“I can’t really talk about it when my parents are around,” I say.

“Ooh,” he says, eyes widening, “Is it serious?” I can spot the smirk behind his concerned look.

“Yah,” I utter, “It’s nothing like that.”

“Like what, hyung?” he says innocently. “Anyway, I can guess that it’s Hyerim you’re thinking of.”

“And how did you know that?” I drawl.

“Well, hyung, with all due respect,” he says, “You don’t talk to any other women.”

“That’s because there aren’t any other women,” I burst out. He looks at me. “Yes, you’re right, I don’t talk to any. The only ones who talk to me are all the same type and don’t interest me at all.” I’m rambling, but it’s true. Out of my group of friends, I’m the last guy that women take an interest it.

Jongdae nods. He lowers his voice. “Reckon they’re trying to set you up?”

I give a sigh. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Your parents never mentioned that before, about any girl,” Jongdae points out, “They never seemed to care about you getting married until now.”

“Yeah,” I agree, “But I’m twenty six now, and can’t help feeling as though they’re rushing me into something.”

“Hyerim’s a nice girl, though,” Jongdae considers, “She even complimented my cooking.”

“That’s because it’s your cooking,” I state. Jongdae laughs.

“You should give her a gift,” he suggests.

“But I don’t like her,” I argue.

He just shrugs. “She can have some of my rice cakes, your mother asked me to make some earlier.”

“It might make her feel better,” I agree.

“Feel better?” he repeats. “Is she ill?”

“She felt unwell last night, so she and her parents left a little early,” I explain.

“Ah,” he says, “Well, my rice cakes can cure any disease.”

“That’s a rather big claim.”

“I wasn’t being serious,” he laughs, “But they improve your mood.”

“Can I have some, too, then?” I ask.

“Sure, hyung,” he says, “They’ll be done soon.”

“Thanks, Jongdae,” I say, before leaving the kitchen.

I walk down the corridor towards my mother’s study.

“Mother?” I call, poking my head around the door.

“Yes, dear?” she asks, looking up from her book.

“Do you think Hyerim would like some rice cakes to cheer her up?”

“Why, is she sad?”She looks confused.

“No, I mean, because she isn’t feeling well,” I ramble.

“That sounds like a great idea,” says Mother, “Take them round before lunch. Your father said he should be back by then.”

“Alright,” I agree, “Thanks.”

I head to my room to change, as I’m still wearing the white t-shirt I slept in. I exchange it for a dark blue roll neck to go with my checked trousers. I consider putting on a coat, but the weather seems too warm. Heading back down to the kitchen, I see that the rice cakes have been made.

“Here, eat this,” says Jongdae, feeding me a rice cake. I give him a thumbs-up.

“I’ll take these to your mother, these are for you, and you can take these to the Jung’s house,” he says. He gestures to two prettily wrapped boxes, a larger one and a smaller one.

“Why are there two boxes for Hyerim?” I ask after finishing the rice cake.

“Oh, the other one’s for someone else,” he says.

“Who?”

He starts to blush.

“Tell me who it is,” I demand with a grin.

“Alright,” he concedes, “She’s a maid who works for the Jung family.”

“No way,” I utter, “What’s her name?”

“Jisoo,” he says, his face turning redder.

“Ooh, lucky you,” I tease, “Are you trying to woo her?”

“Actually we’re already courting,” he says.

“Congratulations.”

“Well, go and take your girl some rice cakes,” he commands, shooing me away.

“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter. “She’s not my girl. But I’ll take these for your girl, shall I?”

“Yes, please, hyung,” he answers with a grin.

“Alright, see you later,” I call over my shoulder as I leave the kitchen with the two boxes.


Hyerim

There is a knock on my door.

“Yes, Jisoo?” I call.

“Eonni,” she says, entering my room, “How are you feeling?”

I’m still lying on my bed in my pyjamas and it’s nearly eleven am. I thought, if I was faking a headache last night, why not keep playing today as well? I’ve been watching K-Dramas on my laptop because I don’t want to study.

“Oh, I’m alright, I suppose,” I consider.I sit up.“I should probably get dressed.”

“Do you still have a headache?” she questions, “I can get you something for it.”

“No, it’s gone now,” I say guiltily. “But if you could just bring me a coffee?”

“Of course, eonni,” she says, bowing before leaving the room.

I get dressed in a white button-down shirt and black jeans. I thought I might as well get out of my pyjamas, since I feel like going for a walk later. The point, of course, is to get as far away from my parents as possible. After dressing and brushing my hair, I decide to head downstairs to have my coffee.

“Jisoo, don’t bother bringing it upstairs,” I call as I descend the stairs, “I’m hungry as well, so I’ll eat downstairs.”

“Miss…?” she says hesitantly, the mug of coffee on the table beside the front door, which is open. She’s answered the front door to… Minseok. My gaze pans round to the short young man who is clad in a cosy blue roll neck and maroon checked trousers, with a pair of brown boots on his feet.

“Hyerim,” he says, “I didn’t know whether you’d be up.”

“Well, I am,” I state, my hand frozen on the banister. I shake off my surprise and reach the bottom of the stairs where Minseok is standing.

“I brought these rice cakes to cheer you up,” he says. I wordlessly take the box from him. “And I’m told that these are for a Jisoo?” he adds.

“That’s me,” Jisoo says, her eyes wide.

“You can probably guess who they’re from,” he says, handing a smaller box to her.

“Thank you,” she says with a bow.

“Thanks,” I add, bowing as well.

Minseok gives a bow.

“I hope you like them, my chef is very talented.” He inclines his head before turning and walking down the driveway.

Jisoo blinks before closing the front door.“That was kind of him,” she considers.

“Minseok or Jongdae?” I tease. “Anyway, let’s eat these in my room; you can take a break for a bit.”

“Okay, eonni,” she says, smiling as she follows me back to my room, where we eat the sweet cakes and chat about girly things for once.

Notes

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