I tried. Please enjoy.

                “Oh, you just have to put more sugar if you think the sauce is too sour.” His mother instructed.

                Kevin stirred the sauce inside the pot slowly while he was phoning his mother to ask for her help about the spaghetti. He rushed home after work (he left early, actually) to cook this and he hoped that it’d turn out to be good for Hyojung to eat. For the first time in his life, he felt so determined about cooking. But he still had to depend on his mother because when it comes to recipe, it’s like memorizing time tables when he was 10. Too hard to remember. Only a few came to his mind.

                He took a spoonful of the sauce and tasted it. “Hmm, it’s good!”

                The woman on the other line seemed to chuckle. “Really? If you think you want more flavor, why don’t you put some prawns or some seafood? The taste of the sea is the best.”

                “I already put in some meatballs.” Kevin sighed. Ah, he should buy seafood. Seafood spaghetti is heaven.

                “Never mind. I bet it tastes good, already.” She chuckled. “Anyway, Kevin. I have something to tell you.”

                Kevin hummed. “Yeah, what is it?” The sauce had simmered for too many minutes and he took the cue to turn off the stove. Finally, a complete meal by him.

                “I’ve set up a blind date for you. This girl is really intelligent and cute and I bet you’re going….”

                “I’m not going.” Kevin protested. He hated it. His worst nightmare was coming true and he needed to avoid it. He didn’t want this cliché meeting with a random girl. He didn’t want a blind date. He’s experienced it and he’s not sure of it.

                Mrs Woo sighed. “Kevin, someone needs to take care of you. You’re alone now. You make me worry, do you know that?”

                Kevin bit his lower lip and tried his best not to let himself sighing frustratingly. Can’t someone just leave him alone for a while? He wanted to enjoy the bliss of working without having any strings attached. It’s his decision whether he wanted a partner or not. Not his mother’s.

                “I’m 29 years old, for goodness sake. I know how to take care of myself. You really don’t have to do this to me. Please understand this son of yours. He knows how to deal with this.” Kevin expressed his feelings. Now, why did he feel guilty?

                “Alright, Kevin. Do whatever you want, as long as you’re happy.” He heard his mother saying. Her voice was in casual tone but he knew she was disappointed as well.

                “I’m sorry, umma. Really.” Kevin sighed.

                “It’s okay. But if you changed your mind, just give me a call.” She faked a laugh.

                “Alright, umma.” He chuckled as well. Before he could hung up, he heard his mother calling out his name loudly. Kevin quickly put his phone back to his ear.

                “What is it, umma?” he asked.

                “Why did you decide to cook spaghetti tonight? You said you’ve been eating outside and takeaway food almost every night?”

                Kevin smiled. “I wanted to cook something for my neighbor. She gave me this plate of cheesecake and I didn’t know how to send the empty plate back to her. It’s gonna be embarrassing if I only gave her the plate. So, spaghetti is the solution.”

                “Ah, a neighbor. Tell her I said hi. She should be proud to have a taste your spaghetti.” Mrs Woo chuckled.

                “It’s not my recipe, though.”

                “Still. Hmm, come visit us sometimes here. Your father started to blab about a few things you left in your room.”

                Kevin laughed. “I’ll visit you two next week. Tell him not to touch anything. Alright, see you soon. Love you.”

                “Love you too, Kevin.”

                He took the plate from the counter and placed the spaghetti on top of it. Then, he poured the red sauce all over the yellow. Kevin nodded to himself as he felt quite happy with the result. He took a plastic wrapper from the drawer and wrapped the plate carefully. Great, now he just had to send this to Hyojung’s house.

                Kevin realized he was still in his office outfit. He didn’t want to waste time changing his clothes so he decided to go there with his light blue dress shirt and black pants on. How nice of him to not change first before he started cooking. Thank goodness there wasn’t any stain on his shirt or he’d die of embarrassment.

                He saw Hyojung’s car was already parked in front of the yard. She must have been home. Kevin was excited about showing her the spaghetti. If he could stay for a while, he wanted to watch her eat and looked at her reaction. But hey! That’s gonna be creepy.

                Softly, he knocked on the door after he rang the bell. Footsteps were coming nearer and nearer and the doorknob was twisted slowly.

                “Hey.” Kevin greeted. He smiled happily at Hyojung who was standing in front of him with her pajamas on. Kevin glanced at his wrist watch. It was 7pm. Oh, no wonder she’s already in her comfortable clothes.

                “Oh! Come in, please.” Hyojung beamed as she let the man walked into her house. She somehow felt herself blushing because a man who she just got to know better saw her wearing a very childish looking pajamas. Pikachu are everywhere on her clothes and she wanted to change them really bad.

                “Hmm, have you eaten your dinner, Miss Ahn?” Kevin said, still with the smile on his face. He was holding the plate with both of his hands and he’s still looking for suitable place to put that thing down.

                Hyojung looked at the plate of spaghetti he was carrying and chuckled. “Not yet. I was planning to have some Chinese tonight. Hyemi forgot to cook dinner.”

                Kevin nodded. “Oh, where is she?”

                She shrugged. “Probably out with her friends.” Hyojung stretched her neck to look at the spaghetti clearly. “What’s up with the delicious looking spaghetti, Mr Woo?”

                Kevin chuckled. “I just want to return the plate back.”

                “With spaghetti?”

                “Absolutely. It’s your dinner for tonight. You don’t have to order Chinese anymore.” Kevin handed out the plate to her and she accepted it happily. Quickly, she went to kitchen and unwrapped.

                Kevin gulped. He didn’t expect her to eat as soon as he gave it to her. He’s scared now. What if she didn’t like it? He wanted to get out of her house and now he had to bother himself making excuses.

                “Oh, this is delicious!” Hyojung exclaimed. was stained with sauce all over it. Kevin noticed that and he chuckled. She looked kind of cute, eating like that – with her Pikachu pajamas and lazy bun on top of her head.

                Kevin exhaled a breath of relief as he approached the kitchen. He gulped at the sight of her eating and he realized his stomach was asking for food too. And he remembered he just cooked one serving of that spaghetti and that one serving was currently eaten by the lady in front of him. Damn. Takeaway for him tonight. How stupid.

                Hyojung was glad she could eat the delicious cooking. She looked at Kevin who was staring intensely at her and she lowered her gaze down, not meeting his eyes. Gosh, that stare made her felt hot all of sudden. She never had any experience of being stared like that. She didn’t know what she had to do now and she slowly raised her head up.

                “Have you eaten your dinner, Mr Woo?” She asked. Her hand was reaching for an extra fork.

                Kevin shook his head. “Not yet.”

                “Eat this with me! I’m not going to finish this alone.” She reached out the fork for him.

                Kevin laughed as he looked at the sauce on her chin. He took a tissue box next to him and slid it off to her. Hyojung looked at it weirdly as she felt Kevin grabbed the fork from her. Kevin was still laughing. He pulled out a few tissues and gave them to her.

                “Sauce is all over your face, Miss Ahn.” Kevin chuckled. How come a charismatic woman like her was such a messy eater? It’s funny but it was kind of adorable at the same time. Kevin smiled to himself as he ate the surprisingly good spaghetti.

                Hyojung cursed to herself while wiping the stain off her chin. She could feel her cheeks heating up with humiliation but she shrugged it off. It felt so awkward to have him looking at her like in that state.

                “Sorry, I have this tendency to eat like a kid when I’m at home.” Hyojung unconsciously pouted. Then, she realized Kevin was still wearing his office attire. “Did you just get back from work?”

                “It’s okay. I eat messily too. And no, I got back from work at 5.” Kevin nodded. He was still amused looking at her pajamas and how child-like she looked with it.

                “To cook this?” She pointed at the half-empty plate.

                “Yup.”

                “Hmm, you could have just sent me the plate, you know?”

                Kevin waved his hand around. “It’s my choice to cook for you. I’m glad it turned out well.”

                “It does taste great.” Hyojung nodded and took another bite.

                “Thank you.” Kevin smiled to himself. He remembered the taste of the cheesecake that Hyojung made for him the previous day. It was so smooth and sweet. “By the way, the champion cheesecake was amazing. No wonder you won.”

                Hyojung felt like squealing. She suppressed her lips from smiling too much. Kevin liked it and she felt really proud of herself. “Really? It tastes different, right?”

                Kevin chuckled. “Yes. I can taste cinnamon and lemon but it’s not too strong.”

                “So, it’s good?”

                “Yes, beyond that I must say.” Kevin nodded.

                Hyojung grinned happily. She was full from the spaghetti she had eaten and left Kevin to finish everything on the plate. As she observed Kevin closely, she took notice that the man was very good-looking. He had nice fair skin, quite tall, charming smile, sweet voice, and manners. And when he wore the outfit he was wearing, he looked a lot better. Hyojung smiled as she admired his features. If he was someone famous in entertainment industry (actors, singers, etc.), she’d be his fan.

                “Do you drink, Mr Woo?” Hyojung suddenly asked. She wanted to spend more time with him and know more about his life. It sounded bizarre but that’s what she’s planning to do. It’s going to be cool to have a night chat with this man in front of her.

                Kevin emptied the plate and looked up. He somehow felt irritated with this office relationship with Hyojung and he really wanted to get rid of it. They’re outside of workplace and office hours, so why not talking to each other like real friends?

                “Occasionally.” Kevin smiled.

                “Is tonight okay for a few glasses of soju?” She looked at him.

                “Tonight is okay.” He nodded.

                He watched her going to the fridge to take bottles of soju. Hyojung came back with small glasses Korean often used to drink liquor and poured some soju into them.

                “Hmm, thanks for the spaghetti, Mr Woo.” Hyojung passed him one of the glasses to him and gave one to herself.

                Kevin coughed a bit. “Um, stop calling me Mr Woo. Just call me Kevin. And I’ll call you Hyojung.” Now he hoped she wasn’t taken aback with the sudden request.

                “Eh?” Hyojung tilted her head. She looked at Kevin who was looking back at her. Slowly nodding, she sipped on her soju.

                Kevin chuckled contently. “Just call me Kevin. No need to call me oppa or whatever else you add at the back of name of someone older than you. I’m used to Kevin because people just call me Kevin back in America.”

                Hyojung smiled. “If you want it to be that way, then I’ll call you Kevin.”

                “Cool. It’s better than Mr Woo. Mr Woo is like too superior for times like now.” Kevin nodded. He brought the glass to his lips and drank down the whole soju, one shot style. He scrunched his nose at the taste. He’s not really a fan of liquor and he could have not more than five glasses.

                “Oh well, and it’s weird if you keep calling me Miss Ahn all the time when you can call Hyemi with her name.” She laughed.

                “It’s gonna be Miss Ahn 1 and Miss Ahn 2.”

                Hyojung covered , trying not to laugh too hard. “So plain weird. Hmm, so you used to live in the States?”

                Both of them continued talking about their life. Kevin discovered that Hyojung used to go to the same law school with him but she joined the freshmen year a little bit late and maybe that was why Kevin didn’t get to know her before. He also knew that the lady knew a lot about cartoons. Cartoons in these modern days. And not the day when they were kids. She said she loved watching them when she had free time after work. It’s like being a little girl again.

                After his fifth glass of soju, he could feel the dizziness started to hit him. Hyojung noticed him kept shaking his head and rubbed his face sometimes. However, the two of them still laughed at each other stupid nonsense jokes despite the drowsiness that kept getting stronger. Hyojung felt her head spinning a bit but she still could handle it.

                “Hyojung, can you get me some water?” Kevin mumbled. His cheeks were red and Hyojung felt herself nervous at the sight. He looked quite cute and she was mad at herself for thinking he’s cute.

                Shaking off the thought, she nodded and went to get some warm water for him. She wanted to make him tea to loosen him but looking at the time and him who looked like almost fully drunk, she decided not to.

                “Here.” Hyojung pulled him to sit properly and Kevin gulped down the water hungrily. He massaged his temple before looking at her.

                “Thanks. What time is it now?” He rubbed his eyes.

                “It’s almost 10.” Even she was shocked. They’d spent their time talking for almost 3 hours. It’s okay if it’s weekend but they have to go to work tomorrow. Hangover would make things worse.

                Kevin rose from his seat. If he was acquired to walk in straight line, he might not be able to do it. He took a deep breath and felt so funny about his condition. He’s drunk in his neighbor’s house and he didn’t know if he could make it back to his house. He knew he could make it back but it’s going to take some time. Screw soju, really. But the talk was fun.

                “I think I’m heading home.” He said to Hyojung.

                Hyojung didn’t know what she had to do. Thinking she was doing the right thing, she let Kevin walked alone first until he reached the front door. She was losing hope when she saw Kevin slowly made his way to the living room. It’s not going to work if she let him walk alone outside. He’d collapse on the ground.

                “Sorry for making you drink.” Hyojung shook her head and helped Kevin by putting his arm around her shoulder and hugged his waist. He looked skinny but he was actually quite heavy. Hyojung groaned when she felt Kevin leaned his weight on her as she walked.

                “Hey, I can go alone.” Kevin mumbled.

                “I can’t believe that.”

                “Trust me. I’m still sober.” He nodded weakly and pulled away from Hyojung.

                “Why don’t you stay for a while and wait until you look like you’re sober?”

                Kevin smiled. “Do I not look sober enough?”

                “No.” Hyojung shook her head. She was out of her almost drunken state thanks to her high tolerance on alcohol. Now she’s worried on how she had to handle Kevin. Hyemi was not around and she’s on her own.

                “I’m going to be fine. I promise.” Kevin nodded and walked slowly to the front door. He had hard times twisting the knob and when he got it, he turned around to look at Hyojung.

                “See? I’m fine.” Kevin chuckled to himself. “Anyway, thanks for letting me in and have the spaghetti. And thanks for the cheesecake too.” He disappeared from the front door and made his way back to his home.

                Hyojung, still dead worried, went outside of her house to watch Kevin dragging his feet lazily. It was her fault for offering him soju. If she knew he was not that fond of alcohol, she wouldn’t pour a lot of it into his glass. Note to self: No liquor when Kevin’s around.

                Once she was sure Kevin had entered his house, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she saw a car was parked in front of her yard. Dongho came out of it, followed by her sister, Hyemi. She watched them exchanging hugs and both of them said goodnight to each other.

                Hyemi saw her sister hugging herself in front of the door. “Unnie, what are you doing here?”

                “I sent Kevin off.” She said.

                “Oh, what did he do here?”

                “He came here to give us some spaghetti he cooked.” She smiled. The effort that the man put into his spaghetti. So funny. She was told by Kevin himself that he was not good at cooking and all the flavors in the sauce were all his mother’s ideas. He was just following instructions and the sauce somehow tasted amazing. No one could doubt that. He must have been so determined to cook for her.

                “Ah~” Hyemi nodded.

                Hyojung motioned her to get into the house. Hyemi nagged at how cruel she was because she didn’t left any spaghetti to her. Hyojung ignored that and reached for her phone on top of the kitchen counter. She was suddenly reminded of Kevin’s flushed face. He looked like a boy having his worst fever.

                She chuckled to herself. It was a great night to have a nice conversation with Kevin and watched him drunk. It was really great. And the fact they’re addressing each other comfortably. It was just nice.