[CONTENTID1] Seaweed Soup [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]3[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3] Ever since that class, Shuhua and Minnie have continued to stay friends, bonding over their similar experiences as foreigner trainees. Now it was December. Their one-year-friend-anniversary had only passed a few days ago, celebrated with a karaoke date in one of CUBE's very own practice rooms with music provided by their phones blasted through the room's speakers. Minnie still helps Shuhua with her Korean, in which she has shown great improvements by the way. Minnie thought Shuhua was much too humble about this fact. The girl barely reaches for the translator during their conversations now and her accent was slowly fading. Each Monday, their least busy day of the week, they meet for a (somewhat) formal tutoring session. On other days whenever there are overlaps of free time on both of their schedules, they meet up and talk. Admittedly, they never have enough time to hang out anywhere other than inside the CUBE building. 

Today was another Monday at CUBE. Minnie was sitting at a table in a small empty room that had a handy whiteboard for testing Shuhua on her writing skills. As usual, there was a snack beside her. It was one of the many that her parents sent to her from Thailand in a large care package nearly every month. Today she opted to bring her favorite: wasabi-flavored macadamia nuts. 

Shuhua walked into the room punctually. Punctually, for the system that Shuhua runs on. Shuhua's clock, a term coined by Minnie herself, described the younger girl's tendency to be tardy. Time on Shuhua's Clock usually runs five minutes early. Which means Shuhua was usually five minutes late. Today is one of those very common days.

Shuhua came in bundled in a hoodie, sweatpants, and a padding jacket. Winters in Korea were colder than cold. Though it hadn't started snowing yet, the snow in Korea made winters in Taiwan seem like summers in comparison. Shuhua was relieved it hadn't started snowing yet. The younger was also holding a bowl of instant ramyun, which was not a new sight for Minnie. She had seen the girl countless times eating noodles out of those plastic bowls. At first, Minnie found it strange that Shuhua was attached to the hip with instant noodles, but Shuhua had told Minnie before that she just simply really enjoyed the taste of ramyun, so Minnie dropped the topic.

"I'm ready for my lesson M-minnie!" Shuhua exclaimed with a shiver that escaped through her lips. 

Minnie stood up and placed her hands on Shuhua's, rubbing them to create friction in an attempt to heat the ice blocks that they've become despite the warmth of the bowl of noodles. Her efforts were in vain, but Shuhua smiled nevertheless. "Don't worry, it's not that cold. Hypothermia only developed on my left hand today. No biggie," Shuhua joked.

"All I'm hearing is that you've got a perfectly good hand to write with?" Minnie raised her eyebrow. "Great. I'll be expecting all of your spelling to be flawless today." Minnie said with a mock professional tone.

"All of a sudden, I think I've become left-handed." the younger splutters out after hearing Minnie's joke. "Korea can really change a woman, you know?" Shuhua reasoned uttering the last words in English for good measure.

"Is that so? I guess I can let you off the hook this time...Okay, no perfection needed. We can begin your lesson after you finish eating, dummy," Minnie accepted with a dramatic sigh. "Oh and Shuhua, I know you love your ramyun, but do you wanna come over to my dorm for dinner next week? We won't be having ramen but it should be fun. You can meet one of my roommates, Soojin" Minnie had already gotten approval from her roommates the day prior. Now, all she had to do was bring the guest on board.

Shuhua contemplated the pros and cons in her head. 

Pros included: she would get a free meal that wasn't ramyun, Minnie would be there so it wouldn't be that bad, and free food was provided (did she mention that before?).

Cons included: her awkward self would have to meet Minnie's roommate and Minnie's roommate might not like her.

"Come on, say yes. Do it for me? I want you to come!" Minnie interrupted her thoughts with her infamous pout. Another pro: Minnie wanted her to be there, Shuhua mentally added to her list. The pros did outweigh the cons.

"Okay, only because I desperately need you to stop making that face," Shuhua laughed.

"Yay! And someone please tell me when I will find someone who will fall for my charms. How could you imply the face I just made wasn't cute?" Minnie huffed. "I'll text you the details later. Don't worry too much about Soojin. She's super nice. You'll like her," Minnie concluded the conversation and they moved on to a new topic as Shuhua finished eating her noodles.

- - -

Next Friday came quicker than Soojin expected. She figured that this dinner should be simple. No need to spend so much effort on a complete stranger. Spam kimchi fried rice and seaweed soup, she decided. Simple to make and palatable for most. Soojin composes a grocery list and sends a text over to Minnie.

Meanwhile, Minnie is inside the CUBE building finishing her last class of the day. While walking down the stairs to the lobby, her phone lights up with an anticipated notification from the chef of the night. Her cue to grocery shop. Coincidentally, at the lobby, she runs into tonight's guest of honor. 

"Hey, Shuhua. No class?" Minnie asked.

Shuhua shook her head in response. "Our teacher had to cancel today's dance tutorial. Family emergency."

"Well, do you wanna tag along with me to buy groceries? That way we can head to my dorm together?" Minnie offered.

"Might as well," Shuhua shrugged. She figured that this way, her arrival to the dorm would be smoother because her sense of direction wasn't the best.

As soon as they arrived, the two quickly began to complete their task walking across the aisles, gathering ingredients, and diligently checking for bargains. They exited as soon as Minnie finished paying for all the ingredients Soojin requested. The sky was beginning to dim even though it was only five in the afternoon. Winter shortened the days and lengthened