Chapter 2

The smell of burnt food coming from the kitchen worried Youngbae, and despite having been warned by his lovely wife not to trespass the kitchen, which she marked her “territory”, he couldn't help but stand by the doorway to take a peek.

Dishes piled up by the sink while bits and pieces of ingredients scattered over the counters. If he didn't know better, he would have thought someone started a war in the kitchen.

“Eh? Hey!” Bom made a face the moment she spotted him spying on her, “We made a deal, you're in charge of laundry and I'm in charge of food. Now go wait outside and don't disturb me.”

He gave her a pout before retreating back to the living room area to his electric piano. Placing his fingers delicately onto the keyboard, he randomly pressed a few triads and chords, passing the time by. Yet after nearly a half-hour passed with no further progress from Bom's end of the apartment, he finally couldn't help but complain. “Bommie, I'm starving!”

“Aigoo, don't whine, you're a full grown man.” Bom emerged from the kitchen in giggles with a platter of food ranging from steamed rice to kimchi. “It's my first time making you breakfast so I wanted to make sure everything would be perfect.”

Eager to try out his wife's culinary skills, Youngbae clapped his hands together and smiled, moving towards the dining table in rhythmic dance steps. Like a young little boy who had starved for days, he picked up his chopsticks and reached for some sweet potatoes and kimchi.

Bom watched nervously as her husband opened his mouth animatedly to take a large bite of the food she had especially prepared for him. Yet the moment she saw his expression turn from a sweet smile to a sour face, she couldn't help but feel slightly hurt. “What's wrong with the food? Is there not enough flavor to it?”

Trying his best to swallow his bite, he commented, “The kimchi's so burnt that it tastes bitter.”

“How can that be?” She wondered skeptically, using her chopsticks to pick up a piece to try for herself. After the initial bite, she finally understood what her husband meant. Indeed the dish had been overcooked, much to her disappointment, and to make it worse, she wasn't even aware of it. “But the sweet potato is good, right?”

Youngbae stared cautiously at the piece of potato he clamped between his chopsticks after taking a bite and teased with a laugh. “From now on, I think we should label our salt and sugar containers...”

Without hesitation, she grabbed him by the wrist and brought his arm towards , eating the piece of potato from his chopsticks.

The way she chewed resembled so much like a cute little bunny, which caused Youngbae to tilt his head back and laugh with small squinted eyes.

After a dozen seconds of trying to determine the actual flavor of her dish, Bom leaned back against her chair and stared at the horrible meal with a blank expression. “I really wanted it to be perfect...”

From the amount of time she spent and the effort put into serving the meal, Youngbae knew very well how much she wanted to impress him. Yet he also knew that many things in life only come with practice, and since it was her first time, he already felt as though the meal was perfect. “Bommie, it's really not that bad. So the kimchi might be a little bitter and the sweet potato a little salty, but that's why we have the steamed rice. One bite of this and one bite of that, the taste neutralizes in your mouth.”

One of the greatest traits Bom found most captivating in Youngbae was his ability to comfort others no matter how unfavorable the circumstances were. Whether it was the goodness in him that he didn't want to waste food or if he truly didn't mind the foul taste, it warmed her heart to witness him continue eating the disgusting dish as though it was the best thing he ever tasted.

Touched by his gestures, she set down her pair of chopsticks and looked genuinely into his eyes. “From now on, aside from going to work, I'm going to enroll in a culinary class to learn how to cook.” Resting her arms on the table, she leaned forward and pledged ambitiously, “I promise you I'm going to become the best wife that any man could ever dream of.”

“You already are the perfect wife, my perfect wife.” He chuckled at her goal and reminded, “And the reason I asked you to marry me isn't so I'll have someone to cook for me. Whether you can cook or not, it's irrelevant to why you're the girl I've chosen to share my life with. So don't stress over a silly dish of kimchi or potatoes, okay?”

Nodding her head with her signature blink, Bom smiled and once again picked up her chopsticks. “Let's hurry and finish eating, I have to pick up some pictures from our trip.”

++++++

Despite driving on a stretch of straight road in the main city of Seoul, Daesung's car swerved from left to right in the narrow lane as though he was drunk driving.

“Yo, Daesung, red light!” Seunghyun pointed ahead with one hand while his other hand desperately clutched onto the seat handle as though clinging for dear life.

Abruptly, Daesung stomped onto the brakes and the car halted to a stop with both the driver and the passenger jerking forward. “Aigoo, the sun is so bright that it's making it hard to see the traffic lights. So hyung, what do you think of my driving?” The small eyed man turned to face his best friend with a killer smile.

Never before had Seunghyun ever experienced such a life threatening situation before. Even the turbulence from his flight back to Seoul didn't compare to the bumpiness of Daesung's ride. “It's very... Different from what I'm used to. You know, we're not that far from home. Maybe you can just turn around and park the car in the parking lot and we'll go take the bus. To trouble you into driving, it's not right...”

“Ah, don't say that hyung, it's really no trouble. And driving is much faster and more convenient than taking the bus.” Daesung reassured, oblivious to Seunghyun's true intentions of wanting to get out of the car. Shortly after, the light turned green again and Daesung eagerly stepped on the gas pedal.

Even for a man of Seunghyun's size and bravery, he felt the need to hold his breath the moment the car began moving again. “So Daesung...” He took a deep breath before continuing, “You're sure they passed you for your driving test, right?”

“Yeah, I have my license with me. Here, let me show you.” He took one hand off the steering wheel and reached for his wallet from his jean pocket. Yet with his tight jeans on and being seated down on the driver's seat, it made taking out his wallet harder than if he had been standing.

“No! It's okay!” Seunghyun exclaimed in alarm. Though a man without a driver's license, he knew well enough how dangerous it was for someone to be distracted while driving. “You can show me later, just put your hand back on the steering wheel and...”

“The photography studio is just around the corner.” Cutting his older friend off, Daesung informed and quickly changed lanes in order to turn at the next intersection. “Oh, I forgot to do my shoulder check, good thing there was no car.” He chuckled at his own carelessness, unaware that it nearly scared the daylights out of his friend. “Okay hyung, we're here! After we get your photos developed, I'll drive you to work.”

The intentions and gestures of his junior sure was sweet, but there was no way he'd get back in the car again until Daesung improved on his driving. “You really should find your girlfriend and drive her to somewhere nice and romantic. I'm a big boy, I can get to work on my own.” He brushed off the offer while Daesung locked the car.

At once, both men turned away from the car and toward the direction of the photography studio when they noticed a large, life sized cardboard picture of Seungri out on the display window. Promptly, each made a face at the image, secretly envious of Seungri's hand pose yet also embarrassed by it.

“Why is there a cardboard Seungri in the window?” Seunghyun wondered without taking his eyes off of the picture.

“Ah, this studio is really great. Since Seungri is a professional model, his company develops most of his pictures here for a discount and in return they get to use Seungri as advertisement to promote their name.” Explained Daesung enthusiastically. From his pocket, he drew out a small rectangular card labeled “VIP” and flashed it in Seunghyun's face. “As Seungri's manager, Hyori got a VIP card from the studio and she lent it to me. I'll let you use it later when you get your photos developed so you can get a discount too.”

Upon entering the studio, a strong smell of film developing fluid plagued the room. Despite having popular Seungri out on display, even if it was only a piece of cardboard, it didn't seem to have much of an effect on business and sales.

Without any other customers inside, the photographer behind the counter quickly greeted the two young men in the most polite way. “Welcome, how can I help you two today?”

“I'd like the get some pictures developed,” Seunghyun noted and took out a small memory card out from his pocket, then handed it over to the friendly old man.

“Good on you, son. Now what size and quality would you like them in? We have everything listed out here,” He pointed to a sign next to the cash register, which included the prices for every category. “Just take your pick, it's simple and easy.”

Seunghyun studied the sign for a long minute before he turned to Daesung, confused. “What size are the normal sized pictures?” He whispered quietly, not wanting the photographer to hear or learn of his lack of photography knowledge. “And what's the difference between all those resolutions listed?”

Squinting his already small eyes, Daesung shrugged and admitted in embarrassment. “I have no idea. Seungri's company have their own special orders...” Seeing a line of fine print at he bottom of the sign, Daesung pointed to the words in delight. “Hyung, you can just develop them as a package. It says here that it includes the highest quality and photos of different sizes. You won't have to stress over what to get.”

“I'm not going to spend 50,000 won on a bunch of vacation photos, don't be stupid.” Seunghyun managed to catch sight of the price and smacked his friend playfully in the head.

While the two continued to contemplate which selection to pick, a young girl with her hair tied up into a bun strolled into the store and was greeted in a even more welcomed manner by the photographer than when the boys had entered.

“Chaerin! You must be here for those photos of the room you just finished designing.” He reached under the counter and retrieved a small package. Just as he was to hand it to Chaerin, she quickly excused herself to answer the phone.

“Bom, you're back? How was everything?” Chaerin's voice sounded louder than usual, but it was only because the whole store was so quiet.

“It was great!” An overly cheerful Bom replied on the phone and giggled, “I'm on my way to the photography studio to pick up some pictures, then I'm going to drop by the office to give you your souvenir.”

The sound of receiving a souvenir made Chaerin so excited that she nearly forgot what Bom had mentioned before the gift. “Hey, I'm actually at the studio right now. Do you want me to pick up your photos and we'll just exchange at the office?” It seemed like a logical suggestion seeing how it'd help save Bom some time and energy.

“Thanks! That would be great, and the photographer knows us well enough to let you pick up my photos.” Bom said merrily over the line, “It's under my name.”

At Chaerin's request, the photographer disappeared into the backroom to retrieve Bom's pictures. When he emerged to the store front again and passed by the two young men, he couldn't help but wonder if they needed help. “The sign not helping?”

In the end, Seunghyun decided the best option was to ask the photographer for help. “How big are these sizes, and what do the quality of these resolutions look like? I just want my pictures developed in the normal size at a relatively good quality.”

Giving the young man a nod, the photographer had an idea in mind. “Let's walk over to the counter and I'll show you.” Gently, he opened the small package in his hands and took out a few pictures from the pile. “These are what the typical size and quality look like.”

Seunghyun's eyes nearly sparkled the moment they fell upon the girl in the pictures. “Daesung, it's her.”

“Who?” Daesung wondered, turning his head back and forth, left and right. “What are you talking about, hyung?”

“The girl in the picture is the girl from the plane,” He mumbled, hoping by a miracle that the photographer wouldn't hear. “You know, the owner of the glass figurine I've been trying to piece together for a few days.”

“Oh!” Daesung exclaimed and quickly covered his mouth, embarrassed at himself for his dramatic outburst. Scanning the few photos that the photographer had laid out as demos, he eagerly pointed to one of the girl and a guy standing in front of a tourist attraction. “This must be the one you took. Seungri said you took one of her and her boyfriend.”

Unknowingly to the guys, Chaerin had stepped up towards the counter too to look at the pictures. “Bom, the picture of you and your brother looks really good. Teddy hasn't changed a bit since he immigrated to the States with the rest of your family.”

Brother? Seunghyun turned to face Daesung and exchanged glances before they broke out into grins. Brother. Somehow that sounded so much better to Seunghyun than boyfriend.

After showing the boys what the typical photo size and quality was, the photographer cautiously repacked the photos into the envelop and handed it to Chaerin, who thanked the man and left in a hurry. “So what do you think of the photos? Do you want to get yours developed like that too?”

“Yes, the photos were great.” Seunghyun replied delightfully, his comment based on the girl in them than the actual properties. “I'd like mine developed exactly like those.”