“Is there anything I can help with?”
Hyeol went into the bathroom saying he was going to wash his hands, and I approached Baek Woojin and asked. I’m terrible at cooking, but I could help from the side.
“I think we just need to boil some miso soup.”
“Ah, then… onions and…”
I was thinking of the ingredients needed for miso soup and quickly tied on an apron.
Pop.
But suddenly one of the apron shoulder straps fell off.
“Huh, why did this suddenly fall off…”
I felt embarrassed for unintentionally breaking someone else’s household item.
Click.
Then Baek Woojin, who was stir-frying the fried rice in the pan, turned off the gas range and immediately approached me.
“Turn around.”
“Ah, I’m really sorry…”
Despite my apology, Baek Woojin silently took off my apron, folded it in half, and wrapped it around my waist again.
“Huh…?”
After the knot was tied, the apron became the shape that’s mainly seen in Japanese restaurants or cafes, tied only around the waist.
“…There’s a lot of extra fabric.”
“What?”
Baek Woojin, who was tying the strings around my waist, muttered quietly, so I turned my head back to look. My eyes met directly with Baek Woojin’s.
And he came closer to me.
What, what is this…?
It was the moment I felt his face was too close. He whispered in a small voice near my ear.
“Chae Seungyeon-ssi’s waist is so thin that there’s enough string left to make a ribbon.”
“……”
How is that my fault… Seungyeon’s body is naturally frail…
“Ugh.”
“Is it tight?”
Baek Woojin moved his hands to tie the strings tightly, but stopped when I groaned.
“Ah, a little… Please tie it just loose enough for a finger to fit… Eek…!”
As soon as I spoke, swoosh, Baek Woojin’s finger slipped into my side. I knew it already, but the difference in finger thickness was so great that I couldn’t help but shiver.
“Are you alright?”
“S-sorry. I was startled…”
It seems I wasn’t the only one surprised. Baek Woojin turned me around by my waist and looked at me with worried eyes. I strangely couldn’t avoid those black eyes that came close.
Clatter.
That’s when it happened. At the sound of noise nearby, we both turned our heads at the same time.
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
Jeonghan was placing utensils on the dining table one by one and apologized with an embarrassed face. Thinking that he had witnessed this whole scene made my face heat up.
“Uh… ah, no. On-onions… was I taking them out?”
I quickly escaped from Baek Woojin’s embrace and hurriedly opened the refrigerator.
I must be crazy, what did I just do in front of a child…
Baek Woojin also stood still in that spot for a moment, then turned on the gas stove again and continued frying the fried rice. I was in the middle of taking out onions, green onions, and zucchini from the refrigerator and washing them with water.
“Wow, Seungyeon-ssi! You’re wearing an apron!”
Eunseong-ssi suddenly entered the kitchen and raised his voice. The young master also peeked his head out with sparkling eyes.
“Please sit down, we’ll do it.”
“Can I take some pictures?”
“What? Pictures?”
I thought he had come to help, but suddenly he wants to take pictures.
Click, click.
“Oh…!”
Eunseong-ssi took pictures with his phone without permission.
“Wow… I really took good ones, today I’ll use these… Ack!”
While Eunseong-ssi was excitedly shaking his phone looking at the pictures he took of me, Hyeol appeared from somewhere and kicked Eunseong-ssi’s foot.
“Hyeol…!”
When I shouted in surprise, Hyeol quickly snatched Eunseong-ssi’s phone and deleted the pictures.
“Dad… are you okay?”
Jeonghan quickly approached Eunseong-ssi, who was rolling on the floor in pain, to check his condition.
“Owww! My foot…! My pictures…!”
Eunseong-ssi rubbed his hurt foot with his hand and made a crying face like a child.
“Geez… Dad, you can’t take pictures carelessly. You’re a lawyer too, so you know that well…”
When Jeonghan handed over the phone he received from Hyeol while scolding him, Eunseong-ssi made some excuse, then soon bowed his head deeply saying he was sorry.
“That’s right, sunbae. Seungyeon hyung in an apron really was pretty, but… taking pictures without permission was too much.”
“Look who’s talking.”
I don’t know where he learned such words, but Hyeol glared at the young master’s hand with flashing eyes. Seeing him holding a phone, it seems the young master was also planning to take pictures.
“Oh oh, the fried rice seems to be done?”
Even in the midst of all this, Baek Woojin silently continued frying the rice and dissolving miso in a pot to make soup. I quickly tried to continue what I was doing.
“Oh, should we give the kids their rice first?”
“Yes, please put fried eggs on top too.”
He handed me pretty fried eggs on a plate that he had made at some point.
“Ah, yes…”
While placing the fried eggs on top of the fried rice, my heart became a little unsettled.
No matter what happened, it seemed like Baek Woojin always took care of my affairs… It strangely bothered me that he passed over the earlier situation as if nothing happened.
“You must be hungry, eat the fried rice first.”
“Yes, thank you for the meal.”
After taking care of the children’s food first, I also hurriedly started cutting with the knife. I hadn’t even cut a few times when a shadow fell darkly over the cutting board.
“Seungyeon-ssi, shall I help you a bit?”
It seems his foot that was kicked by Hyeol had already recovered. Eunseong-ssi came up close to me and asked.
“No, it’s fine…”
“Oh my, if you cut onions like that, your eyes will sting.”
“It’s fine…”
Even though I repeatedly refused, Eunseong-ssi took the knife from my hand and started cutting the vegetables. I was surprised that he was unexpectedly good with the knife.
“I do some cooking. Sometime at our house…”
Clang.
When I looked in the direction of the sound, I could see Hyeol lifting up a sharp fork with gleaming eyes.
“Well… you don’t have to come…”
Eunseong-ssi trailed off his words and silently continued cutting again.
“Seungyeon hyung, what’s this?”
At that moment, the young master asked while looking at Baek Woojin’s book that was at the edge of the dining table.
“Are you reading this, hyung?”
“No, that’s…”
“Seungyeon-ssi, shall I cut the zucchini for you too?”
“Ah, yes…”
“Hyung, this is deodorant? Did you buy it?”
“What?”
“Uncle doesn’t know when he sees it?”
Just as I was wondering when the pheromone deodorant had come out, Hyeol approached next to the young master.
“No, why is that…”
“Dad doesn’t seem to use it, so I was going to use it for him instead.”
While saying that, Hyeol sprayed the deodorant on the young master’s face.
“Ack!”
“Hyeol!”
I had hoped it wouldn’t happen, but he did it. I hurriedly checked the young master’s face.