S I X

Word of the Day – “Blanch”

“Why are we stopping here?”

Kyungsoo put the engine in Park before turning to her. Instead of answering, he adjusted himself sideways to face her closer, causing the woman to flinch in terror. “Relax, I’m just grabbing something at the backseat.” He laughed at her reaction as he stretched out his arm to the back. He grabbed a tote bag that contained his dress shoes which he only ever uses every time he needed to attend a formal meeting. He removed the shoes from the bag and tossed them on the backseat before stepping out of the vehicle.

“I’ll be right back; I’m just going to buy something.” He informed her, leaning by the opened door of the car.

“Why are we at a hardware store? I thought we’re going to the market? You can’t be running errands in between; I don’t have all the time in the world, especially not for you!”

He tipped his head to one side, a playful smirk forming on his lips. Her irritated face has always been something he enjoyed looking at. “Aw, you’re such a ball of sunshine, aren’t you?” He scrunched his nose at her before closing the door and he saw her jolt from the mild thud that he created. As he walked around the car, their gaze held together for a few seconds before she eventually cut it off first with a sulky pout. He stopped just in front of her door and knocked at the window. Surprisingly, she rolled it down, breaking down their barrier.

She looked at him again with a surly expression. “What?”

“Stranger-Danger, okay? Don’t be tempted by candies, Sweetheart.”

As soon as her body jerked for an attack, he sprinted off towards the store while laughing. He turned to the car one last time and saw her flipping him off. Instead of returning the same, he instead flashed her a quick finger-heart. As expected, she fake-gagged while shoving a finger into , miming her utter disgust.

Kyungsoo only laughed in response before getting inside. “Oh, god. She’s so easy.” He muttered to himself while rubbing his tummy that has been tightening for the past ten minutes from all the laughter. He never thought that the adult Ra Miyoung would be so much more fun to annoy the hell out of.

“Hi, sorry, can you tell me which aisle are the rain boots at?” He approached a staff who politely bowed at him.

“Sir, it’s at Aisle 4, it should be at the right-hand side.”

He bowed at the staff in return before rushing to the said aisle. Different colors of rubberized boots all lined up on shelves, offering him a variety of choices. “She should be … size 5? It's tiny, that's what I'm sure of.” He grabbed one pair of boots and stared at it for a good ten seconds. Then he shifted his attention to another pair of boots which had yellow duck prints on them. He abruptly pressed his palm against his mouth to hold his laughter as he grabbed them instead. It was a kids’ pair but it looked like it would fit her feet better.

Of course, he’d go for the ones that she would hate the most.

He held the boots with one hand, still laughing, as he walked away. He arrived at the cashier and placed them on the counter. “Will that be all for today, sir?” The cashier asked as she checked out the boots. “Yes.” Kyungsoo briefly answered, still with a suppressed grin. “Thank you, I have a bag with me.” He lifted his own tote bag before grabbing the boots and throwing them in it.

He quickly left the store and went back out.

“What did you get?” Miyoung frowned at him as soon as he got inside.

“Noth—nothing, just a back—back up.”

She raised an eyebrow at him which caused him to look away to hide his grin again. As he was starting the engine, Miyoung suddenly snatched the tote bag from the backseat. “What the are these?” She took the boots out, staring at them with disgust. “It’s for you if you want to give up on your fancy red bottoms or whatever the hell you call them. You need to pay me back if you end up using them, if you don’t, then I will return them to the store because there’s nobody else that I know of who has tiny feet like yours.” He finally managed to move on and be calm. “I don’t like wasting money.”

“Ew! You have got to be kidding me. There is no way you’d make me wear that. You’re such an , you chose that on purpose, didn’t you? Ugh.” She tossed the tote bag on the backseat again and glared out of the window.

Kyungsoo pressed his lips together to control himself before he loses it again. “Hey, I just care, okay? I don’t think you understand what a market is, Sweetheart. You’d need them, trust me.”

He suddenly got attacked by frail smacks on his arm. “Hey! I’m driving—stop!” He pushed her hands down on her lap harshly before pointing at her. “Don’t do that. You’re not a child anymore and I’m going to tell you again, I am not going to tolerate it as I did before. Do you understand me?” He threw her a quick yet firm expression which finally made her size back down on her seat as she looked away.

“You can’t control me.”

“Oh-hoh, I think I just did.”

He could feel her glares again but he didn’t bother to look back anymore and just focused on the road.  “What did you even do with those stupid paintings?” She suddenly asked, completely changing the atmosphere. “I sold them. Thanks for giving me the idea that night.” He lied. As soon as he felt her hand nearing his arm for another one of her juvenile smack attacks, he lifted a finger at her with authority on his expression. “Don’t—” He side-glared at her quickly and she retrieved her hands back, folding her arms in a very sulky manner. “I was joking. Why would I sell them? I have them at home, I still haven’t hung them though. I haven’t had the time.” He told her calmly.

She sighed loudly making him glance at her. She had her head leaned on the head of the seat while she stared out of the window.

No matter how much she tried to hide it from him, he never failed to see that she still cared for the paintings. The fact that she even bothered asking where they went after he had taken them technically as garbage definitely says a lot.

“You know, painting is a lot like cooking too, so you’re not as different as you think you are.”

“What? When did I say I was different? What the are you talking about?” She turned to him with a disgruntled look. Kyungsoo only shrugged. He had known her for years, he watched her grow up into this beautiful, intelligent yet ill-mannered woman that she was today. He always thought that she was going to pursue her art, everyone around them thought so too. It was for her. She was made to do it. It was natural, effortless, it was meant to be.

So, when she suddenly opted for a business school abroad and took up something far beyond her art—he knew something had changed, and she was doing it deliberately.

“Ingredients are my paint; different colors, different textures, different elements but they could all create one masterpiece.”

Miyoung sneered foully. “Let me guess, your paintbrushes are your knives and spatulas?”

He wagged a finger at her. “Smart girl, I didn’t think of that. Yes, my paintbrushes are my knives and all the other cooking tools that I use every single day.” She grumbled in response, making a strangled noise with . “Hey, you can sulk all you want but you haven’t tried my food yet. For someone who is so dedicated to taking over the restaurant, you never even tried the restaurant’s food, like ever. You’re more finick