After throwing a blanket on Kris, I dragged myself into the kitchen, searching for something to eat.  Here begins Hanbyul’s wonderful cooking adventure.

The first step in Hanbyul’s cooking adventure is to have an angry conversation with the talking rice cooker.  Take about ten minutes to do this, and then realize that the rice cooker is trying to give you helpful information (which you should’ve noticed but you were too busy screwing around in the kitchen).

The next step in the wonderful cooking adventure is to take actual food out of the actual refrigerator.  Ignore the four tempting packages of ramyun lying on the counter (which, by the way, would only take minutes to make).

Third, search “how to cook” on your phone because you have no freaking idea how to cook.

Fourth: when in doubt, just throw everything in and hope for the best.

If you follow those four steps closely, then you should be able to cook food without burning down your kitchen.

So I settled for kimchi stew (something that I actually had a chance of cooking decently), threw all of the ingredients into a big pot, and sat down at the kitchen table.  Cooking is…definitely the most stressful and irritating thing I’ve ever done in my life.

“Sorry.  I dozed off.” A sleepy voice startled me, and I almost jumped in my seat because it was Kris’s voice…but it sounded better.

Turning around, I asked Kris, “I’m making food.  You want?”

“Hm…sure.  You said you made it?”

I nodded.

“Actually, I’ll pass.”

“Jerk.” I glared.

Taking a seat across from me, he frowned.  “Let me guess.  This is your first time cooking, isn’t it?”

“Of course not.” I scoffed.

“Ramyun doesn’t count, you know.”

“…Oh.  Then do you want to sign a waiver?” I asked.

“If I get sick from eating your food, will you take care of me?”

“Of course not.”

 He grinned.  “But you like me, right?”

“Where would you get that horrible idea from?”

“I heard your confession.”

I made a face.  “What confession?”

“Unfortunate good looks?  Really?”

“Hey, can I tell you something?” I interrupted.

“Sure.”

“Stop talking.” I looked away in an attempt to hide my embarrassment.  “And it wasn’t even a confession.”

Kris looked at the stove, worried.  “Shouldn’t you check on your food?  How long have you been sitting there?”

I shrugged.

Let’s just say that after one bite of that kimchi stew, not even I wanted to continue eating.

<:>

“Hey, can I use your shower?”

“Well, you’re already standing in my bathroom, so I guess.” I shrugged.  “But are we really that close that you can ask to use my shower?”

“We could be.” He smirked.  “If you were willing.”

“Just use it.”

“Showering alone is lonely, so…do you want to join me?” Kris winked.

“Do you know how much I want to punch you right now?”

“Wow, you must really like me.”

“I just threatened to punch you,” I replied, irritated.  “How does that translate to ‘like’ in that strange mind of yours?”

“But you didn’t punch me,” he teased, and promptly shut the door in my face.

Did that just happen?  I went into my room, searching for my laptop…or anything that would get my mind off of Kris.  Not even my Zoro could make it better, and WHEN ZORO CAN’T MAKE THINGS BETTER, THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG.  I proceeded to hang upside down from my bed, in hopes that the blood rushing to my brain would help me deal with the whole Kris situation.  Eventually, I decided to make a call.

“Hello?”

“Yuri unnie?”

“Oh?  Hanbyul-ah!  How have you been?”

“Has Kris ever joked around with you before?”

The line was silent for a while, and I was beginning to worry that she had hung up on me.  “Unnie?”

She chuckled.  “Hm?  Sorry…you asked a really strange question.”

“My bad.”

“No, no.  Um…even though we were childhood friends and dated for a bit, he never really joked around with me before.”

I nodded.  “Then, by any chance, does Kris have a twin brother?”

She laughed.  “Hanbyul-ah?  Where are you getting these questions from?”

Pausing, I wondered whether I should tell her that Kris was in my shower.  “Um…just wondering.”

“Well, you should stop by Kris’s building sometime.  I might be around, and then we can have lunch together.”

“Sure, unnie!  I do love lunch.” 

“You’re so funny, Hanbyul-ah.” Yuri chuckled.  “I still can’t believe that you’re marrying Kris.”

Something in her tone shifted, but I was too lazy to care about it.  “Thanks?”

“Hey Hanbyul-ah.”

“Hm?”

“Are you…serious about Kris?”

I sighed.  “There’s nothing that will stop our marriage.”

“Oh, I see.”

“But,” I continued, “if I had the chance…” At that moment, I looked at my door, which had somehow opened, and was surprised to see an almost- man standing in my doorway.   “Um…I’ll talk to you later, unnie.”

“Hanbyul-ah—”

The almost- man had disappeared from the doorway, but when I pushed the door open, I found Kris standing there, wrapped in my beautiful most-favorite ultra-soft bunny towel.

“WHYYYYYYY.”

“Um…it’s not what it looks like?”

“You’re standing in my ultra mega favorite towel!  It’s wrapped around your body!” I wailed.

“Do you want me to take it off?”

“HELL NO.  PUT ON YOUR CLOTHES, IDIOT!”

“Can I borrow a shirt?” He took off the towel.  "I'm wearing pants, by the way."