Hana POV

I placed the many side dishes halmeoni had prepared on the table and also laid out the chopsticks, rice and bowls. I felt a little weird, intruding into what seemed like a very family-based occasion, and when I mentioned this to Hoya, he reassured me that it was no problem, he was always bringing his friends to visit her. I nodded.

"Quick! Hoya! Get the heatproof mat! The handles are hot! Near the kettle!" Halmeoni exclaimed as she rushed toward the table with two pink ovenmitts and a large pot of boiling soup. Hoya rushed over to help her while I grabbed the mat near the kettle.
As the soup made it's way closer to where I was standing, my nostrils flared instinctively.
I sniffed and wiped my nose. The smell wafting from the pot was.....unique. It wasn't, by any means, unpleasant whatsoever but the scent left my nose stinging a little and made my eyes water. I choked a little and Hoya snorted. He gave me the 'look', meaning that he understood where I was coming from and to not say anything. I nodded slightly and held my breath.
"Aigoo, you two, stop making secret signals to each other! Do that later, when you're alone! Right now, drink the soup I made....I spent all day making this!" She beamed widely and began to distribute the soup to Hoya and I's bowls.
I turned red. "Halmeoni, aigoo, we're not - "
She cut me off. "Less talk, more drink!"

She sat opposite Hoya and I at the table, lacing her fingers and smiling expectantly at us. Hoya nudged me under the table. I took a deep breath and took a sip of the soup.

The taste was.......worse than it smelt. Was the even possible? The flavours of salted fish, sour pickle, burnt garlic and mushroom all hit my tastebuds, threatening to knock me out of my seat and onto the floor, writhing in pain. But of course I didn't do that. I didn't want to hurt halmeoni's feelings, so I forced myself to swallow it, choking and spluttering wildly.
Halmeoni smiled wider. "You love it! Drink it slowly, Hana-ah! Just because it's good, doesn't mean you need to gulp it down all at once! There's still a large pot here!"
I choked again. Halmeoni had mistaken my choking for eagerness instead of revolt.
I paused, spoon halfway between my mouth and the bowl.
"Well, drink up, Hana! This is Hoya's favourite soup!"

I stole a glance at him, and he seemed to be drinking it awfully fast while holding his breath and tapping his foot under the table as some sort of outlet for the pain. When he finished his bowl, he exhaled a sigh of relief, but not before halmeoni quickly refilled it.
"Aigoo, halmeoni, aren't you going to have any? I can't drink all this good soup to myself!"
He quickly pushed it over toward her side of the table. She beamed at this gesture of affection.
"Well....if you insist!"
I took this chance, while Hoya was feeding his grandma, to hold my breath and gulp it down like he did.

After all the soup had been consumed, mainly by halmeoni herself as Hoya just kept feeding her and feeding her, I got up to collect the dishes.
"I'll help you," halmeoni burped, struggling to get up after having so much soup.
I chuckled. "No, that's okay! It's the least I could do, halmeoni, after that delicious meal!"
I coughed loudly. The taste was still lingering in my mouth, even after eating lots of rice and kimchi.
"Okay, well get Hoya to help you!" He nodded and got up. "Halmeoni is going to watch TV now! Clean up well!"

She got up and trudged toward the couch, plopping down and watching, from the looks of it, Dream High with love hearts coming out of her eyes.
"Aigoo, Samdong!" She swooned.
I choked a little. "Hoya, can I have some water?"
"Water doesn't help, Hana," he chuckled.
"Then what will!" I wailed.
He chuckled again. "You get used to it after a while."
"Do you......" I began.
"Every Sunday," he said sadly. "It's her favourite soup, but she can't justify making it for herself so I said I liked it, and now she makes it every Sunday."
I smiled, pulling on some gloves. "Will you rinse, Hoya?"
He nodded. "So you just moved here?"
"Yep. I used to live on a farm in Jangseong! What about you? Do you live here with halmeoni?"
"Nah, I visit her every Sunday. I board at my school," he explained. "If you don't mind me asking," he smiled. "How old are you?"
I chuckled. "I'm seventeen next month."
"Aigoo! Really? I just turned seventeen the other day!"
I smiled. "Happy birthday!"
"Thankyou!" He beamed. "But..if you don't mind me asking, are you parents okay with you moving to Busan by yourself when you're so young?"
I shrugged. "You never know if you don't try, right?"

Just then, halmeoni yelled at us from the living room.
"YOU TWO, STOP CHIT CHATTING! CLEAN UP FASTER! YOU'RE TOO LOUD! I CAN'T HEAR WHAT SAMDONG IS SAYING TO HYEMI! SHHHHHHHH," she shushed us loudly.
I ducked my head, turning slightly red, and scrubbed the pot faster, the taste of her soup still lingering in my mouth.