Be sure to read chapter 6 before this one, since I only updated it a few hours ago!

When Kim Jongdae turned up the next morning, Seoyeon was out in the stable yard clutching the recipe she’d scrawled down hastily the previous night and ready to make whatever snarky comments she needed to to spite him.

What she got instead left her completely baffled.  He seemed taken aback that she was out of doors so early to greet him, but he handed the horse off to Jongin anyway and strode over to her.

“Judging by your expression, it’s obvious you’re not here because you’re keen and eager to begin today’s lessons,” he said.  “To what do I owe the honour?  Or is this because you do actually know etiquette and you’re well brought up enough to adhere to it even when you don’t want to?”

Seoyeon gaped at him for several solid seconds, and the solemn look on his face cracked into a wry smile.

“Let’s go down to the kitchen,” he said, gesturing for her to lead the way.  “See if we can beg a corner and a stove from Minseok to try out your recipe.”  He paused, eyeing her.  “I’m assuming you do have one, or else you’re going to have to do it on the fly.”

“Of course I do,” Seoyeon protested, though it sounded more of a whine than indignant, and she almost cringed.

“Well, lead on.”

Minseok was a little reluctant to let somebody else take over even the tiniest quarter of his kitchen, but he grunted that they could have a couple of hours and not to slice off any of fingers with the kitchen knives.  Seoyeon wasn’t totally sure if that was meant as a warning not to harm Jongdae if she got angry or if he had absolutely no confidence in her ability to chop vegetables, but it left her rather gingerly picking up the knives Minseok had laid out for them to use, and Jongdae rather impatiently (but also definitely amused) taught her the proper way to pick up and hold a knife to chop vegetables.

Once they were set up in their little corner, he asked to see the recipe which she had failed to give to him outside because he had taken her so off guard.  She folded her arms as he looked over it, expecting him to sigh or show some other sign of exasperation at how little effort she’d put into it, and was rather disconcerted to instead see him nodding as he scanned down the list.

“Well done,” he said as he handed it back.  “I’ll admit I wasn’t very hopeful you’d come up with anything after yesterday, but I’m impressed.”

Seoyeon stared at him.  “It’s… vegetable soup.”

“I know,” he said.  “Your assignment was a recipe that would use as many vegetables as possible.  Well done.  You selected a recipe that did exactly that and you deserve to be commended for it.”

She continued to stare, hardly able to process the words, especially that he was pleased with her.

“But…”

“I know,” he repeated.  “You thought you’d go with vegetable soup because it’s simple, you didn’t have to put in much work, and you probably wanted to annoy me.  But here’s the thing, Seoyeon.  Things that are complicated and that take time are not necessarily the things that are the best.  Vegetable soup is one of the most wholesome foods you can possibly eat, and it’s very economical.  You throw very little out, it’s cheap and easy, it lasts for some time, and it makes good use of all available ingredients.  It’s also a good meal on a cold day, highly nutritious, and something that can be eaten by both the sick and the healthy, though for the sick you’d need to make sure that it wasn’t too thick and heavy for their condition.  Not just that, but you can give it to people of all ages, from small babes that have just been weaned right up to an old lady on her death bed with no teeth.  Sometimes simplicity is very important.  I won’t give you credit for being lazy, but it’s not like this was a terribly hard task and you’ve fulfilled the requirements.  Now we’re going to make it, and we’re going to eat it for lunch.  Let’s go find our ingredients.”

Seoyeon paled and almost dropped the recipe.  They were eating food she’d be making for lunch?  But she didn’t even know how to cook.

She must have voiced that out loud, because Jongdae chuckled.

“Han Seoyeon,” he said, struggling to keep his voice free of amusement.  “Do you really think I would want you to cook anything more complicated than a soup?  I doubt you’ve ever done a minute’s work in a kitchen before in your life.  We’re starting simple.  You’re not going to poison yourself unless you add something I tell you not to.”

Flummoxed, Seoyeon followed him out and into the kitchen garden, where he divided up the task of getting the vegetables between them.  She tried t