After chatting with Lisa for a while, Jisoo checked her phone and saw that it was time to start prepping for dinner.  She made her way downstairs and saw that Chaeyoung was still in the kitchen.

“Hey Chaeyoung,” she said.  “What do you need me to do first?  Is there enough for me to do that you’d have time to get a shower?”  Way to put your foot in it, Jisoo, she thought.  “Not that I’m saying you need a shower!  Just that you might want one!”

“I’m fine.  I’ll get a shower after dinner.”  She stopped and thought for a minute.  “If I was running a traditional kitchen, I’d probably have you chop up some celery right now, and then saute it just until it starts to brown.”  Chaeyoung laughed, obviously amused by this idea.

Jisoo was confused, not seeing at all why this was funny.  “I don’t get . . . why is that funny?”

“Because celery doesn’t have enough sugar to undergo the Maillard reaction, so it won’t brown, no matter how long you stand there and stir it around in a skillet.”  Chaeyoung paused to wipe away tears from how hard she had been laughing, then managed to regain her composure.  “It’s partly a cruel joke, but also partly a test.  If you already know celery won’t brown, you can say so, and that’s good.  If you realize fairly quickly that the celery’s not going to brown, you can ask for help, and that’s good.  If you just stand there and keep stirring and stirring and stirring, the chef will take you aside for a talk about the importance of understanding what you’re doing and asking for help when you run into problems.”

Jisoo nodded.  “That makes sense.”  She looked at Chaeyoung from under her bangs.  “What happened when they did that to you?”

Chaeyoung looked a little embarrassed as she said, “I’d been sauteeing the celery for an hour when chef took me aside for that talk.”  She chuckled.  “Guess I was a little stubborn.  Anyway, for tonight we’re going to make a quick gamjatang.  Jennie and Lisa ‘accidentally’” - she made air quotes with her fingers - “drank an entire bottle of scotch between the two of them last night and Jennie’s still feeling it.  A soup like that will help her feel better.  You go get a jar of pork broth from the back fridge, 4 pork chops, 4 large potatoes, and a quarter of a cabbage.  I’ll be gathering up the seasonings.  Meet me back here once you’ve got everything.”

Chaeyoung had done such a good job of organizing and labelling everything that it didn’t take Jisoo long to find the requested ingredients.

“Quarter the cabbage, peel and quarter the potatoes.  Debone the pork chops, put the bones in the stock bucket in the fridge, and quarter each chop.”

Jisoo grabbed her chef knife and got to work.  As she chopped, Chaeyoung poured the jar of pork broth into a large pot on the stove and began adding seasoning to it.  When the stew was starting to take shape, Jisoo found herself wondering about something Chaeyoung had said earlier.

“How do you accidentally drink a whole bottle of scotch?  Even with two people?”

Chaeyoung started telling her about the fire ceremony, and Lisa’s goal for the season, and how the traditional shot for the ceremony had turned into two had turned into the whole bottle.  Jisoo liked the sound of the ceremony and was sorry that they had missed it.  She was also glad that Chaeyoung seemed to have recovered from whatever was bothering her earlier in the day.

“So what’s your goal for this season?” Jisoo asked.

Chaeyoung looked her up and down, then turned away to stir the soup.  “I can’t tell you yet.  But I’ve got a goal.  How about you?”

“I’ll have to think about it.  I’ve got some ideas.”

   *     *     *     *     *     *

Lisa finished getting two rooms prepped for the guests who’d be checking in the next day, then came downstairs to see if Jennie needed any help with anything.  When she came into the lobby, she smelled the most delicious smell she’d ever smelled.

“What smells so good?” she asked Jennie when she got to the front desk.

Jennie sniffed.  “It smells like Chaeyoung’s making gamjatang for dinner.”

“Gamjatang.  Gamjatang.”  Lisa examined the unfamiliar Korean word, trying to see if she can relate it to anything she’d already learned.  “Gamja - tang.  Gamja means potatoes.  Is it something with potatoes in it?”

Jennie smiled at her, impressed.  “Excellent!  It’s a pork stew with potatoes and cabbage.  I told Chaeyoung that I had a hangover this morning and she said this will help me feel better for our guests’ arrival tomorrow.  What about you?  Didn’t you have a hangover?”

Lisa laughed.  “No way!  I’m Thai - we can drink as much as we want and then bounce back ready to do it all again the next day.”

Jennie put her hand to her head, which was evidently still a little tender.  “I’m not going to put that to the test - I still haven’t recovered from last night.”

Lisa stepped around the desk and started giving Jennie a shoulder rub.  As her hands ran over the shorter girl’s shoulders, she could feel knots of tension and rub them away.  “It’s still going to be light for a while,” she said.  “Why don’t you go for a walk, get some fresh air.  I’ve finished prepping the rooms, so I can stay at the desk in case someone calls.”

Jennie looked back over her shoulder at her.  “Really?  You’d do that?”

Lisa shrugged.  “Sure!  Why wouldn’t I?  I’ve finished my work for the day, so I’m just killing time until dinner.”

“Thanks, Lise,” Jennie said, climbing down from her stool.  “I doubt the phone will ring - it hasn’t all afternoon - but I’d still rathe