Yongguk came home from work the day after I had moved back in with him and the second he sat down I had dinner in front of him. His mother had berated me for not being able to cook, and since I had been learning I decided that I should at least try. This would please her. “Himchan?”

“It’s bindaetteok. They look really ugly but I promise they taste okay.” I nodded my head and nervously handed him a small bowl of soy sauce. I knew that he was worried about eating the food because I generally didn’t make things that tasted very well and I was ashamed of how my hands were shaking because of it. I really wanted him to like my food and then report back to his mother that my skills had improved.

He smiled and took the bowl from my hand. “Where’s yours?”

“These were the best ones.” I indicated to the ones on his plate. “Mine are in the kitchen still.” He stared up at me expectantly and I sighed before going to get my plate. I was even more embarrassed of how the rest of the food looked. “I had a hard time getting them to flip.” He chuckled slightly and my head dropped in shame. It had taken me ages to be able to get the bindaetteok to flip at all. I decided against telling him how much batter I had wasted before getting the food to work for me.

“You don’t have to cook for me, Himchan.” I bit my lip and stared down at the table, a bit upset that he had so little faith in me. I knew I’d set a precedent for it though. I’d once given him food poisoning when I tried to cook bulgogi. “Are you doing this because of what my mother said?”

I glared at him slightly, crossing my arms over my chest, and waited for him to take a bite. The food tasted fine. I had made sure of it before I had served it to him. He nodded his head and took a tiny bite off of one of the nicer looking ones. “You’re letting me stay here. Doing some chores for you is the least I can do.”

He gagged slightly on his bite and then put his utensils down. “You don’t have to Chan-ah…” I had to my lower lip into my mouth to keep my mouth shut. Normally I would have told him off for not accepting my generosity, but I was, not only, a guest but also I knew cooking wasn’t my strong point. I’d thought the food had tasted good though. “It was nice of you to try though.”

“It’s bad?” It was a struggle to keep my voice flat even though I had only spoken two words. I had wanted to prove his mother wrong, but I had done just the opposite. I couldn’t take care of Yongguk the way he deserved.

He nodded his head slightly and gave me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry…”

“Not your fault I can’t cook…” I sighed and grabbed the phone so I could order some take out for us. My mother was giving me a stipend and had set up a payment plan with Yongguk to pay him back for my university. Yongguk kept telling her that he didn’t want it but she was adamant about it. The only upside to taking handouts from my parents was that we could afford to eat now. “What would you like to eat?”

“Channie…” He reached out for me and I just shrugged him off. He sighed as he told me what he’d like to eat.

I took the plates off of the table after the man on the phone took my credit card number and walked back into the kitchen. I was so disappointed in myself. Fortunately I knew I was good at cleaning so I didn’t have to second-guess myself as I did that. After I’d finished half of the dishes my boyfriend’s arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me away from the sink. “Yongguk…” He pulled the gloves off of my hands and spun me around so I had to face him. “I’m sorry. I wanted to prove your mother wrong…”

“What do you mean?”

“All those things she said at my parents’ apartment… she said I had bad taste, and that I was lazy, and that I was a bad wife… I don’t want to be your wife because I’m a male, but I want to take care of you. And I’m not able to do it.”

“You’ll be a perfect spouse.” He kissed my forehead and one of his hands slid down my lower back to my backside. He patted it gently and I smacked his chest. “You’re perfect Chan-ah~”

His words made me whine and bury my face in his chest. “You’re so cheesy…”

“I’m just telling you the truth.” He held me close to his chest, despite my protests, until there was a knock at the door.  I pushed him off away from me a couple more times before he released me and I went to retrieve our dinner.

He took the food from me and put the boxes out on the table. “It’s nice that we can eat now.” He smiled as I held a dukbokki up to his mouth, shoving it in at the first opportunity.

He returned the favour, leaning over to kiss my nose as I chewed. “I promise that I’ll learn.” He stuck more food in my mouth and then kissed my cheek. “You’re so sappy. Oh my god, Yongguk.” I pushed him back and stared him down until he sat in the chair. “I love you.”

He pouted at me and I stuck my tongue out as a response. “I try to show you my love and you reject it.” Whining didn’t suit him. His voice was too deep. “Why do you reject me Chan-ah?”

I flipped him off but leaned across the table for a kiss. “I love you, Guk-ah.”

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so i overslept by 4 hours since i took sleep pills last night cos i hurt my back existing
so i didn't go to class even though if i really wanted to i could have gone without having showered
but i did that yesterday too
so I didn't.
I move on saturday
I have nothing to say really. himchan can't cook and he's upset about it. yeah.