twenty-six: dak kalguksu I

I sighed as I trudged to the doorway, retrieving my jacket and wallet. Suddenly, Kris grabbed my arm before I could make an exit. His face was not pleased at all... well, I guess he has a good reason why.

“Hold on a minute, where do you think you’re going?” He asked, eyebrows scrunched up.

“To buy dinner, duh.” I looked at him with a deadpan expression. I flashed him his notepad, which he had given to me earlier while we were out shopping. “You were planning to make dak kalguksu, right? I’ve had it plenty of times before when I was a kid with my umma cooking me dinner so—“

“That’s beside the point,” He pulled me back in the hallway. “What makes you think I’m letting you go out on your own? It’s late, you know? Do you even know where to buy these ingredients?”

I pouted, “I’m not stupid, okay? I can find my way around Seoul!” I pulled away from his grip. “Besides, you don’t seem to be in any condition to leave.”

“Wha—“

I turned around and stared at him squarely in the eyes. He stepped back and glanced aside. You can’t fool me, idiot. I thought as what happened a few moments ago flashed in my mind. There’s obviously no way Kris would be just peachy after sharing such a thing from his past. Besides, I kind of want to give him some space – it looks like he really needs some time by himself.

“I’ll be fine.” I said, grumbling, stuffing my hands in my jacket’s pockets. It’s just unlike me to be this gentle, after all. “I’ll just buy the ingredients and head back. It’s not that late anyway.”

“Chanyeol—“

“Stop acting like a parent,” I huffed, taking hold of the doorknob. Before I could leave the door, arms had wrapped around my shoulders, giving me a backhug. I flushed against his arms, pressing my face against them. “It’s not like I’m leaving forever, you know?”

“I know,” He growled. “But you’re hopeless by yourself.”

Tsk! Just because I forgot to lock my apartment one time! I hastily thought but decided to leave it at that. I sighed against his hug, “… You need it.” I mumbled softly, “Some time alone, I mean.”

When there was no response, I reached over with one hand to take hold of his, pressing his hand against my lips. “I’m doing this for you, so just let me go already.”

Slowly, his arms slip away and I turn my head meekly back to check on him. He hasn’t died on me, right? When my eyes zoomed in on the blonde cooking teacher behind me, he had leaned forward just in time and locked lips with mine. I didn’t pull back, nor did I return the kiss since I was caught by surprise. When he pulled back, he gave a cheeky laugh.

“Don’t take too long or you’ll kill me from worrying over where the hell you’ve gone.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief this time as I found myself in a supermarket. The open market that Kris loves had closed already, so I resolved to buy the groceries in the 24-hour supermarket nearby. It’ll be a little bit on my budget, but at least I’ll get to have a decent dinner.

I flipped through his notepad and glanced at the ingredient list. Chicken, kalguksu noodles, garlic, peppers, ginger, shallots, rice wine, soy sauce, brown sugar…

“Damn, this is a lot…” I grumbled as I looked down, mentally trying to count how much all of this would cost. I grabbed a basket and headed down the aisle labeled poultry and sought to find some chicken parts to use. As I was going through the section, I noticed someone following me—or, well—that could just be me and my paranoia working…

Right when I was about to turn around to check who was trailing after me, I tensed as I felt my phone buzz in my pants pocket. I rummaged for it and saw Kris’s text:

Where are you?

What—seriously? I replied back before he thought to dial 911 on my absence.

In the supermarket. I’m buying the chicken now. Got any tips?

I glanced over the selection for a few moments before his reply came in:

Get a small whole chicken, 1.2 kg. Tell this to market staff.

I frowned. Does he really have little faith in me shopping by myself? I thought. Ah, but then again, I did ask for a tip. I turned around to look for a person to ask for assistance – and that’s when I saw him…

I froze as he turned his head in time with mine and we locked gazes. I felt sick all of a sudden, cold sweat pouring out like an open faucet and for good reason—Kris’s teacher was staring right at me.

. I thought, looking away hoping to avoid eye contact. What do I do? He saw me with Kris before… When I looked back to check on him, he was walking towards me. , , ! Kris warned me not to go near him – he’s going to flip if he finds out—

My phone buzzed again and Kris had sent another text:

Did you get the chicken?

God dammit, Kris, now is not the time for a piece of chicken—

“Hey,” Came his greeting. I tried to smile but I was frozen. How could I not be after hearing what happened between him and Kris? My whole body was like ice—I was still and on high alert. He tilted his head slightly, noticing my notepad. His eyes had a glint in them that seemed to scream like he already knew what I was holding in my hands. “You… were with Yifan earlier, right? Where is he now?”

What’s it to you? I thought, looking away and staring at a pack of chicken legs on display. “Home.” I replied gruffly. Where’s a market personnel when you need one?

“You’re his student, right? Hmm…” He ignored my blatant display of ignorance. “Park Chanyeol?”

I gave a quick, short nod, still completely engrossed on some chicken parts when my phone buzzed again. Dammit, Kris! I looked down and read his message, which only made my alarm bells ring harder:

Is everything all right? Did you get it?

I pressed my lips tightly and busied myself with replying to his message as an excuse to not talk with the elder who was still watching over me like a hawk.

Yes. I’m just about to get it. Stop texting me for now.

“I know you’re busy, but I’d like to chat with you for a while,” Came his gentle words. I turned my head towards him unconsciously—it was as if he had a certain pull about him. Was this what Kris meant? Was this the “presence” he was talking about? It was so—gentle. It’s no wonder Kris grew to trust him.

“I…” I trailed off, not really knowing what to do. First of all, I have to shop as if my life depended on it and head back or else Kris is going to go nuts. Secondly, I have to find a way to get this teacher off my back. My hesitation seemed to have egged him on further.

“Is it Yifan?” He asked out of the blue that I had no other reaction but surprise, which probably gave it away. “Is he being rough on you?”

“No,” I said with conviction. “He’s not.”

The elder looked mildly surprised, “Oh? So he’s grown used to people now?” He smiled, but I’m not too sure if it was genuine or not. He’s a bit hard to categorize. “When I was still teaching him, it was a real chore just to get him to talk.”

“… He’s better now.” I replied, only to feel another buzz from my phone. I glanced down and read his follow up message:

What’s wrong?

I guess it wasn’t a smart move of me to send him a text telling him to stop texting me. That’s pretty suspicious in itself. I replied quickly:

Nothing. Don’t worry about it.

Before I could hit ‘send’, Kris was suddenly calling me. ! I cursed in my head as I shot a look at the teacher in front of me and then at the name on my phone. I half-turned, answering the call and trying to avoid eye contact from Kris’s teacher.

“Chanyeol, what the hell—“

“Not now.” I hissed, trying not to speak so loudly which probably made Kris all the more suspicious.

“What’s going on?” He asked and I could tell there was worry in his voice. “Don’t