"Wah, this is so delicious!" Seok Jin said in between his chewing, referring to the soya bean noodles he was happily slurping on. We sat in front of each other in the noodle shop and because Seok Jin was craving for warm noodles, we decided to eat there. The weather was cold as well, as it's early December and it was just perfect for warm soup.

"The noodles are really chewy," I told him and he nodded his head. Even though it's a local dish, we are never tired of eating it. Korean cuisine is not something to be looked down upon. Each dish is rich not just in flavour, but also culture. Food is what brings people together right?

"About yesterday," Seok Jin said after emptying his bowl, "Thank you so much for helping the boys."

"Ah, it's really nothing! I hope you like the surprise party."

"But, aren't you tired? You went to work again after having a long day yesterday."

"It's alright, Seok Jin-shi, I got used to it already. And thank you for the meal!"

●

"Thank you for the meal, Seok Jin-shi," I thanked him again after we got out of the noodle shop.

"You're welcome, Chae Sun-ah. I still have lots of time today before I can go home, so can I still tag along with you? Are you okay with it?" He asked. Feeling bad for not giving him his present and at the same time to give back for the lunch, I told him I'm okay with it.

"But I need to buy some groceries first. Will you be okay with that?" I asked him and he nodded in excitement, "I love buying groceries! I do that with my mom most of the time so I could help you."

I chuckled as we head down to the nearest supermarket. We walked in sync, and briskly, considering the weather is very cold and it has been snowing quite often lately. I tried to steal a look at Seok Jin who kept his hands inside his coat pockets, trying to keep warm.

I grabbed a trolley and was about to push them to the fruits section when Seok Jin took the trolley from me, "I'll do it." I know he's a gentleman and there is no way someone like me could deny his kind offer so I just said okay. I picked a bag of green apples and placed them in the trolley as he sampled some oranges. Then I went to get a lot of instant noodles. 

"Do you cook at home?" Seok Jin asked and I shook my head, "Not really."

"Ah, no wonder," he said and picked up the instant noodles that I placed on the trolley and placed most of them back.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked him, "why are you putting them back?"

Seok Jin laughed, "It's not good to eat ramyun so often," he lectured, "So, I'm gonna teach you how to cook a meal today." My eyes widened at his words. Kim Seok Jin? Teaching me how to cook? I must have hit the jackpot.

●

When we reached my house, Seok Jin happily made himself comfortable, even though it's a little bit disorganised and started taking out the groceries and putting them in correct places. Fruits in the fridge, ramyun and chips in the shelf, and the rest to make food that he was going to teach me. I quietly get rid of the mess in my house while he happily muttered to himself about what to cook today.

"Seaweed, rice, eggs, cucumber, gogi (meat), carrots, crabstick...," Seok Jin muttered to himself, "We can make kimbap today! Chae Sun ah, ppali"

I hurried over to the kitchen to find all the kimbap ingredients placed neatly. Seok Jin passed me the eggs, "Crack them all, mix it in a bowl with a little salt."

I did what he said as he washed the vegetables. As I was beating the eggs with a fork, Seok Jin looked really excited to make kimbap. His eyes shine while peeling off the outer skin of a carrot with the back of a knife. I took a pan and heat it up before drizzling it with a little bit of oil.

"Seok Jin-shi," I called, "Should I scramble the eggs or...?"

"No, no, no!" He said as he left the carrot and looked over to my pan, "You're supposed to spread the oil out before pouring the eggs in." He took the pan and give it a mix and then carefully pouring the yellow mixture to fill the entire pan. "Once the bottom side is done, flip it over, like this!" He exclaimed while flipping it over with a spatula, "Don't make the eggs brown."

Once it was done, he put the cooked eggs aside on a plate and did the meat. As it was already marinated, all we have to do is just cook it. We did the carrot next, by cutting them into thin strips and sauteing them with salt. Once the cooking is done, we placed them neatly on a plate and it's finally time for the rolling! But at this stage, I wasn't sure if the kimbap is going to be a success or not. Seok Jin noticed and asked me what was wrong.

"When I was younger," I told him, "Mom used to make kimbap but every time I rolled it, it burst."

Seok Jin chuckled, "Same, but my mom told me a secret about it." 

"Jinjja? There is a way for that?"

"Of course! Come, I'll teach you how," he said as I watched him placed