Shining Star

Kwon Jiyong is a man of many talents.

Yes, I can do photography well; I can play guitar; I can sing decently; I can do taekwondo; and the most impressive one is my ability to daydream—I wouldn’t be a writer if I don’t the ability to daydream and imagine things, would I?

But there is a skill I couldn’t do, no matter how hard I try to master it or how many lessons I took to, at least, be decent at it.

That skill is cooking.

Kwon Jiyong is at cooking. Like… really .

At first, I couldn’t even boil a ramyeon without undercook it or overcook it. Stupid? Yes, it is stupid. Ramyeon is like a national dish for single men in Korea—especially for those who live separately from their parents like me—and Kwon Jiyong couldn’t cook it?

Then, a question may popped in your head: could I survive without the ability to cook anything properly?

The answer is surprisingly yes.

Thank God for letting me live near Dami-noona’s house who’d gladly feed me anytime I want.

Thank businessmen for inventing McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Lotteria, and other fried chicken joint all across South Korea.

Thank all ahjummas out there for opening restaurants that provide delivery service.

Thank Heavens for having a chef best friend named Im Yoona.

The last point only applied for me though, not for all single men in South Korea.

Yoona always welcomed me if I want to have lunch or dinner in SOIGNÉ for free. She sometimes sent me food, she even let me barge into her apartment only to have dinner or lunch.

Sometimes we’d eat only by the two of us, sometimes Seunghyun-hyung joined us (especially since they began dating), or sometimes our friends would happily joined us. Who doesn’t love delicious food for free anyway?

The habit happened for years, but during those years too, never once I’ve eaten breakfast made by her.

Yoona said morning time is special for her and she’d only make breakfast for Seunghyun—because it was the only time no one would disturb them. It hurts me, but I appreciate her decision.

But Yoona is too kind anyway. In exchange of not being able to cook breakfast for me—she perfectly knows how bad my cooking is, she offered to teach me how to cook simple American breakfast—sausages, sunny side up, omelet, bacon, hashbrown, etc—perfectly or at least, decent enough to be eaten. She said it could give me more breakfast options other than cereal with milk or peanut butter jelly sandwich. 

That’s why today, after a tearful night and all night cuddling with Kim Taeyeon, I was cooking breakfast with all my cooking knowledge. I was making sunny side ups, toast, grilling some sausages. I also made coffee for us.

You may say the breakfast is so simple, but this is the best I could do. This was the first time I cook for anyone beside my family too—you should appreciate that, at least.

“Morning,” suddenly a hoarse voice was heard. It was evident that Taeyeon has just woken up. She walked down the stairs and sat on the kitchen stool. She didn’t move, only looked at me with swollen face and red eyes—clear evidence of her drunk state and lack of sleep.

“Morning Tae,” I replied as I put down my cookings on two plates. “Coffee?”

She nodded and I took the coffee I’ve brewed before to the kitchen’s bar. She sipped it slowly as I went back to the kitchen cabinet to take our breakfast.

“Enjoy the breakfast,” I grinned boyishly while putting down the plate in front of her. Taeyeon eyed the breakfast suspiciously, then her eyes turned to my face.

“You cooked?” She asked in surprise—since I’ve never cooked a single dish since I stayed with her. Well, it was a surprise for me too. Never once I imagined I’d cook for someone but myself.

“Hmm,” I hummed while putting down my plate and sitting down on the kitchen stool. “A very humble breakfast made by Kwon Jiyong, your Majesty.” I tried to joke and she smiled at that! Thank God!

“Thank you.” She said before finally digging into the food. As she ate, I began to eat to. The food was pretty decent to my palate, I hope to God it also suits her palate.

4 toasts, 2 sunny side ups, 4 sausages, 2 cup of coffee, 3 glass of waters, a pill of aspirin, and 0 word exchanged later, I began collecting our used plates, utensils and mugs. Taeyeon remained on her spot as she watched me work blankly. I was scared to confront her about her confession last night, even though I have so many questions to ask, so many things to discover about Kim Taeyeon, I tried my best to hold the curiosity in. Because a wrong touch would break her heart completely.

Judging from her state and from my experience, Taeyeon was still pretty shaken at the mention of muse. She needed some time to adjust and accept the fact that someone is finally know her deepest secret about her muse.

I’ve been in her position, and I knew it feels to be there. Other than that, I knew I wasn’t brave enough to touch the topic of muse in front of her yet—unlike her who asked me straightly about my problem with my muse before. Therefore, I need to find a perfect timing and perfect situation to ask about it—and I wouldn’t wait for it.

I would create the timing and situation.

“Tae,” I called her name as I washed the dishes. She looked up to look at me as I looked at her from the corner of my eyes. “Yes?”

“Will you accompany me to Ubud today?”          

“What are we going to do? To meet Yoona again?”

I shook my head as response. “We’re going to coffee, cocoa and spices field in Ubud. Yesterday, Nat told me that there is a place which plant coffee, cocoa and spices and let us try it for free.” I smiled hopefully to her—a smile which would appear in a child’s face when asking their mother for candy—and luckily, she smiled back!

“Okay. We’ll leave at 11, is that okay with you?”

I nodded as I finish washing the last plate. Taeyeon got up and headed upstairs. She still had her shoulder slumped, and her smile hasn’t changed to usual. It may be a long and hard work to bring her smile back, but I’ll try my best to bring it out.

I was determined to do so.

Yes. I really do.

Beside wine, Kwon Jiyong, Choi Seunghyun, and Im Yoona share another interest in another particular beverage.

It can taste bitter, sour, sweet, or even fruity—depends on your preference and how you make it. I always had mine with bitter but milky taste at the same time, while Seunghyun-hyung always had his with bitter and sour taste, and Yoona always had hers with mild bitterness and mild sweetness too.

If you’ve been guessing, I hope your guess is right—since the answer is pretty simple—I’ll confirm it for you.

Yes, the answer is coffee.

I, Seunghyun-hyung and Yoona are avid fans of coffee, with me being its biggest fan. I love everything about coffee, from picking, roasting, grinding, brewing and drinking coffee. If I wasn’t a writer, I’d become a barista in my own coffee shop—where I can make coffee as much as I want with my idealism of coffee. It didn’t happen though. I became a writer—at last—and coffee will always be my hobby.

Due to my undying and unrivaled love to coffee, I, Seunghyun-hyung, Yoona, our siblings, and our friends often got together in numerous coffee shop in Seoul, or even abroad. There was one time when I found a really nice coffee shop in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo and I made Seunghyun-hyung, Youngbae, Daesung, Dami-noona, Hyeyoon-noona and Hyorin—Youngbae’s fiancée, by the time I speak—took a flight to Japan only to have drink at that particular coffee shop. They didn’t regret a thing though. The coffee was indeed delicious.

Now, you can imagine how