They stood side by side at the counter as they made the rolls of kimbap, it had become a bit of a contest.

At her side, Celeste had a few rolls. The were mostly tight and perfect but one was smaller at one end and the kim was loosely wrapped. Hyesung was doing a bit better, his were perfectly rolled but somehow had ended up quite a bit narrower than hers. They bickered playfully as the hurried to finish their last rolls.

“Yah! That’s my piece of steak!” She used her chopsticks to snatch a piece of meat from his roll after he put it there. He used his chopsticks to grab it back. “No it’s not!” He pouted and moved his roll where she couldn’t reach it. “You used almost all of it on the one you just made. This piece is mine.” He added a few veggies and went to roll it.

Plop!

Her hand reached out to stop him and she accidentally knocked it off the counter onto the floor. She burst into a fit of giggles at the shocked look on his face. He looked down at the floor, a furrow creased his brow.

“I can’t believe you did that! That’s cheating!” He turned to look at her, which made her giggle even harder.

“S…..Sorry……..I was just……”, she couldn’t talk for laughing, it was an accident of course but the look on his face made it impossible for her to keep a straight face. She sat down on the floor and tried to stop laughing. He glared down at her, his face crinkled from the struggle not to laugh with her.

“I win. Say it. Say “Hyesung wins because I’m a dirty cheat.” He dropped down and squatted in front of her. She took a few deep breathes and tried to bottle her laughter, this resulted in a case of the hiccups. She pointed at the sink frantically, she needed water and she needed it now.

He turned and grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it. He squatted in front of her and handed her the glass. She drank it all in one go and held her breath for ten seconds. She let it out and handed him the glass back.

“Fine. I cheated. Hyesung wins because I’m a dirty cheat.” The words almost made her giggle again but she managed to resist it. His handsome face broke into a huge smile and he stood up and danced around the kitchen. She shook her head and stood up and turned to the counter and muttered under her breath.

“Did not cheat, was an accident. Geez, he acts like I did it on purpose.” She grabbed the rolls and a sharp knife and sliced them up and stacked them on a plate. “If you’re done gloating, dinner is ready.” She put the plate on a tray and grabbed a couple of bottles of juice out of the fridge, careful to dodge the man that still danced around. He stopped and looked at her. “Good cause all that winning made me hungry.”

He skipped past her into the living room and plopped on the couch. She followed him, a huge smile on her face, she was glad they had managed to avoid any awkwardness. She sat beside him and set the tray on the coffee table and handed him a bottle of juice. He took it and opened it and took a big drink. She couldn’t keep her eyes off his throat as he swallowed. She tore her eyes away and opened her own juice and took a sip. He finished half the juice and set it on the table. He turned to her and grinned.

“Thanks for letting me win, you would have won otherwise.” He reached out and snagged a few slices of the kimbap and started to eat. She sighed heavily and did the same. They ate in quiet companionship, they were both hungry and soon almost all of the food was gone and they leaned back on the couch, both with a satisfied smile.

“Doesn’t matter who won, that was delicious.” He patted her on the head. “Thanks for dinner. I had a lot of fun cooking with you.” She grinned back at him. “Me too, Hyesung, I haven’t done that in awhile.” She grabbed the remote off the table and turned her tv on. “So what do you want to watch?” She turned her Xbox on and started Netflix. Together they scrolled through and picked a comedy and started it.

Before long he looked over at her and he chuckled when he noticed she had fallen asleep. He moved her gently so that her head rested on his shoulder and he carefully held her hand, his longer fingers linked with her smaller ones. He turned his attention once again to the movie and chuckled softly each time the main characters managed to mess things up. The movie ended and the credits rolled and he looked at her, she still slept. He took the opportunity to look at her carefully. Her eyelashes rested gently and he could see faint dark circles under her eyes. He sighed, she looked so sweet like this. She had a piece of rice on the swell of her cheekbone and he carefully picked it off and put it on the plate. Next he focused on her hair. It’s mass of curls was probably his favorite thing about her. It was dark brown but if the light hit it perfectly, like the lamp beside the couch was right now, he could see red highlights. He took one curl between his fingers and pulled out gently and watched it spring back up. Her legs were up on the couch and she was curled in on herself. He cocked his head and