#8
The awkward atmosphere had mostly eased by the time they were preparing dinner.
Thanks to the cheerful personalities of An Lei, Han Jiwon, and Hwang Yeonwoo, the eight of them decided to divide into two groups to share the work for dinner without any dead air.
“Anyone good at cooking?”
At those words, Bae Taeseong from the alpha group raised his hand.
“I’m not good at it. I’ll voluntarily step out since I’d probably start a fire if I’m in the kitchen.”
His offer to drive to the mart instead drew laughter from here and there.
“I’m not great at cooking either. Can I go shopping?”
At An Lei’s words, Han Jiwon shrugged his shoulders.
“Sounds good. I’ll be on the cooking team. What about Eungi-ssi?”
“I’m not bad with a knife.”
Han Jiwon began organizing the teams with familiarity.
“Then Choi Eungi-ssi and me, and… ah, Lee Chan-ssi said he’d go on the shopping team. What about Yoo Sanho-ssi?”
Yoo Sanho, who had been busily turning his head following the voices, let out a small “ah” sigh and said.
“I can cook.”
“That’s great. Then with Yoo Sanho-ssi and Kim Sehyeong-ssi, we’ll stay at the dorm. Is that okay? Since cooking takes time, you’ll probably need to leave right away.”
Han Jiwon’s explanation continued cleanly and clearly. It was gentle and mild yet contained a strange leadership quality, so the participants quickly found their roles without wandering around and began moving busily.
And Yoo Sanho, who went to the kitchen, found an apron, and tied the waist strings tightly…
* * *
‘Can Love Be Transferred Too?’ Rule number one: Do not reveal age or occupation until the designated date.
So that meant I couldn’t let them find out that my major was cooking.
I was inherently far from deceiving and hiding things. So to completely prevent getting caught, I tried to pretend I couldn’t cook and keep my distance from the kitchen, but…
‘Of all people, Lee Chan is on the shopping team!’
Right now when I’d only exchanged names with the other people, if I stuck with him, the fact that he was my X would be discovered immediately. Moreover, lying about not being able to cook when I was perfectly capable pricked my conscience.
So I tried to be in the kitchen but moderately, really moderately…
“What would be safe to make? Pasta?”
“Oh, good. Have you made pasta often?”
“Um… yes. But what I make is kind of like convenience food. It’s called one-pan pasta.”
“Ah, I know that. You just put everything in and boil it hard to reduce the pasta water?”
“Yes. It’s convenient.”
It would be convenient. But food tastes better the more care you put into it, and there are good reasons for standard recipes.
Besides, Lee Chan hated anything soggy. If I served one-pan pasta, he definitely wouldn’t even touch it. If I hadn’t known from the beginning it would be one thing, but knowing this, it was hard to just leave it alone.
“Um, excuse me.”
In the end, I squeezed into the gap between people who were discussing and worrying about the ingredients left at the dorm.
“I’ll boil the noodles for you, so it would be better to do it the usual way. The texture of the ingredients comes out better that way.”
“Oh. Is Sanho-ssi good at cooking?”
“Rather than being good, just a few things… not bad.”
And so now.
“Wow, Eungi-ssi and Sanho-ssi hold knives completely differently from the start.”
“Exactly. When we go thud, thud, thud like this, those two go chop-chop-chop-chop-chop.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone actually make onion sauce. Amazing.”
Choi Eungi and I, standing side by side in the kitchen, exchanged awkward glances.
He seemed convinced that I was a cooking major, but I was actually a bit confused.
‘Choi Eungi-ssi… is just good with knives.’
He definitely had good hand skills, but that was it. It was obvious that he was awkward with making sauces or complex cooking.
Still, since he was faster than anyone at preparing ingredients, it was reassuring just to be able to keep the other two people who held knives precariously away from the cutting board.
Thus, the division of labor among the four cooking team members proceeded smoothly. Choi Eungi from the alpha group handled ingredient preparation, and Han Jiwon from the same alpha group assisted with cooking while maintaining the atmosphere.
When I explained cooking methods while controlling the heat and adjusting seasoning, Kim Sehyeong from the omega group handled washing dishes and cleaning up.
Meanwhile, the shopping team that had bought snacks and alcohol arrived. Unpacking their bags while chattering, they had become much closer than before.
“Wow, I was really startled earlier. On the way here, some car cut in really aggressively, you know?”
An Lei’s bird-like chattering could be heard.
“I was frozen in shock thinking something terrible would happen, but Bae Taeseong-ssi in the driver’s seat rolled down the window and shouted in this incredible voice. Asking if that’s how you drive, just.”
“Ah…”
Han Jiwon, who had only been listening to that story from afar, touched his brow. A troubled smile hung on his face.
‘Does he dislike fighting?’
Well. Among the alpha group participants, he had a particularly gentle and kind impression. I could understand how he might feel he didn’t match well with Bae Taeseong, who had a rough feeling about him.
I was setting aside the fried garlic in a bowl separately when I heard a familiar voice. It was Lee Chan.
“You must have been more startled being in the passenger seat. Are you okay now?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
I glanced back.
My roommate who was supposed to share a room with me, An Lei, was a beauty with an exotic impression. With his gorgeous and bright appearance, plus several piercings in both ears, he seemed to sparkle every time he turned his head.
A completely different person from me – fresh and cheerful. Such a person…
“Ah! We bought flowers. Lee Chan-ssi, could you help arrange them in a vase?”
“Sure, why not. Give them here. You’ll hurt your hands.”
My hand stirring the contents of the frying pan stopped abruptly.
Lee Chan who didn’t even glance my way. Lee Chan being affectionate to other people. Lee Chan mingling with those who weren’t me, using the kind of voice he usually used for people he wanted to look good to.
‘Wow, this isn’t easy.’
My stomach churned. I had been fine until we met at the dorm, but seeing this made the emotions I had kept well suppressed start stirring again.
I suddenly became curious. Even though they hadn’t revealed it, everyone in this dorm was here with their X.
But how could everyone be so okay like this? It was fascinating to see them exploring each other joyfully and excitedly. There weren’t many people showing signs of being shaken.
Was I the only one being so foolish? Had everyone else sorted out their emotions well after breaking up, while only I was slow to learn and adapt…
“…ho-ssi.”
“…”
“Sanho-ssi.”
An arm stretched out and gripped my wrist tightly, pulling it back. I looked up in surprise.
“What are you thinking about so deeply? You’ll get hurt like that.”
“Han, Han Jiwon-ssi.”
Light brown eyes stared down at me intently. He had a pretty and gentle face, but being this close, he was much taller than me.
“Are you okay?”
What kind of expression was I making right now? I don’t know. I suddenly felt suffocated as if my breathing was blocked.
Han Jiwon’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me silently for a moment.
“Sanho-ssi. There’s a pouch on my bed in my room on the 3rd floor. There’s hand cream in there – could you bring it for me?”
“…What?”
The corners of his mouth lifted, drawing a gentle curve.
“My hands crack easily, so I carry it around. Everyone’s touched water. Could you do me this favor?”
Even though I thought why he was specifically asking me to do something he could just go get himself, it wasn’t a difficult request, so I nodded saying I understood.
Strangely, while going up and down the stairs memorizing where his room on the 3rd floor was, my heart calmed down a bit. The strange emotion that had been rippling up to my throat settled down again, so now even when I exhaled deeply, the inside of my chest didn’t tremble anxiously.
“Are you feeling better now?”
Han Jiwon, who received the hand cream from me, smiled. He glanced around briefly and then whispered quietly to me.
“Sanho-ssi isn’t being strange, so don’t worry.”
He knew I was shaken because of my X. I bit my lower lip and answered quietly, “Yes.”
“…Thank you.”
Dinner and a simple drinking session took place in a harmonious atmosphere. Conversations continued noisily about food preferences, alcohol preferences, drinking capacity, and soon the topic flowed to ideal types and things considered important when dating.
“Our roommate! What about Sanho-ssi?”
An Lei, sitting across from me and next to Lee Chan, asked me.
“What kind of person does Sanho-ssi like? Your ideal type!”
“I…”
As I opened my mouth, Lee Chan’s gaze flew over. His faint smile somehow seemed to be saying: Yoo Sanho, your ideal type is me, isn’t it?
I was just about to open my mouth, somewhat annoyed by that confident attitude.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
