February 5, 2010

It was the first week in February and even though winter was not officially over, the bright sunrise that morning gave Seoul population a reason to be overjoyed. With Siberian winds long gone, the frosty weather and the sporadic snowfall were also out of sight marking the past of the coldest month in Seoul. Shin Hye felt so glad that she could finally have a break away from the cluttered midget room of hers. Not that she could complain to anyone about that since it was her own doing that made her used-to-be tidy spacious room to be cramped like that. The freezing cold weather of the past month forced her to have no choice but to stay indoor for the whole time and novels and dvds had been a great accompany for her whenever other people had no time for her. 

She could remember vividly the day Eun Jung excitedly came back from college and almost had herself flung onto the pile of dvds in front of the bedroom door when her foot tripped on the flipped rug. 

"You could have told me to help you tidy up your room, you know," Eun Jung nagged as she collected each and every dvds on the floor.

"Aniya,  aniya, Eonni. Don't need to." Shin Hye waved her hands in the air, asking Eun Jung to stop doing so. "The room feels so empty without those stuffs." 

Eun Jung shot a disbelief glare for a moment at her, but she gave in. "Arasso, I will just put it at the side instead. Or else, I might trip on them again," And so she arranged it to one side of the room. 

"Do tell me if you feel like having me tidy all these up for you." Eun Jung reminded.

The remembrance of that particular day brought Shin Hye to smile as she sat on the bench in the house compound, staring into the space. Surreptitiously she muttered to herself "What kind of woman is freaking tidy like that?"

Meanwhile, Eun Jung was in the house, helping Mrs Park with laundry. She silently transferred the washed clothes from the washing machine into the basket while Mrs Park prepared the clothes line at the backyard. 

"Gomawo, Eun Jung-ah. Actually, I called you to come only to accompany Shin Hye as I have got a wedding to attend. I didn't expect you to come this early." Mrs Park said as she entered from the back door.

"It's fine, Mrs Park. Plus, I have done with my house chores and felt bored so I thought I might as well just come early and help you with yours." Eun Jung smiled and she went to the backyard with the basket held in her hand as Mrs Park followed behind closely.

"Aigoo, you're such a pretty lady. Where else can we find a fine lady like you nowadays?" Mrs Park patted lightly on Eun Jung's back.

"Ah, kamsahamnida for the praise but I think I am not completely fine. There are still rooms for improvement for me." She held Mrs Park's hands in hers.

"Our son...do you like him?" The sudden question blurted out from Mrs Park thin cherry lips.

"Eh?" Eun Jung startled.

"I'm teasing you. But really, if you do like him, I'm sure he will like you in return and I could have you as my daughter-in-law. Plus, you're already close to Shin Hye and everything seems perfectly fine with you."

"Ah, my pleasure but I think it's still too early for me to think of such things. That's just way too serious matter to think of." Eun Jung blushingly admitted. 

"Of course...of course," Mrs Park put down Eun Jung's hands gently and brushed the side of Eun Jung's hair gently to show how she adored her so much. Eun Jung then continued with her laundry chore with her heart still continued beating at a fast speed due to the unexpected question just now.

............................

Mrs Park and Mr Park left around thirty minutes ago, and Eun Jung and Shin Hye had been lying lazily on the sofa in the living room since then. They were both watching a cooking program on the tv until Eun Jung was reminded that she should start cooking for lunch.

"What shall we have for lunch today?" Eun Jung went to the kitchen and grabbed the copy of "Nutrition for Cancer" that Mrs Park left on the kitchen counter. She flipped through the pages to get a quick but thorough scan for all the do's and don'ts. 

Shin Hye made a bloated cheeks while she thought of what to cook. "Erm, I also don't know what I feel like eating."

Eun Jung kept flipping through the pages while muttering the most basic things to remind herself, "Ensure all meats, poultry and fish are cooked thoroughly, avoid raw fish, sushi and sashimi. Cook eggs until the white and yolk are solid, not runny. Wash raw vegetables and fruits carefully under running water. No raw vegetable sprout, raw nuts and fresh nut butters." There was a moment went she glanced away from the booklet and kind of thinking to herself. Probably because she didn't even know the use of some of the ingredients mentioned in it. 

After awhile, Eun Jung suggested, "Shin Hye-ah, shall we cook rice cake soup? Or do you prefer sweet potato rice?" 

"Oh, I can't choose. Both of Eonni's suggestions sound so delicious. I really feel like having a hot soup but I also feel like having something sweet like sweet potato." Shin Hye pulled a pity face. 

"Geurae, it is now decided! Let's just cook both." Eun Jung then immediately when to the drawer and took out all the cooking utensils needed.

"Jeongmal?!" Shin Hye shrieked in excitement and went to sit on the tall stool by the kitchen counter, watching Eun Jung preparing all the ingredients while keeping her entertained.

Just then, Eun Jung let out a loud gasp as she realised that they didn't have fernbrakes, seaweed powder, chives and fish sauce. "You know what, Shin Hye. This is the perfect time for us to bother Yong Hwa. Let's have him go and buy the ingredients for us. And that task, I, with my pleasure, allocate that to you." She disappeared into the living room to get her mobile phone and as quick as a lightning, she held out her mobile phone to Shin Hye. 

"Meanwhile, I'm gonna prepare what we have first." Eun Jung winked at Shin Hye while Shin Hye dialled Yong Hwa's number and waited for him to pick up the call.

...............................

"Yah! So I am being called just to deliver groceries to you guys. How cruel!" Yong Hwa made a fuss as he strolled into the kitchen with the bagful of groceries. But he surely has a lot of common sense as he not only came with the ordered ingredients, but he also bought some healthy snacks for they to munch such as nuts and driend fruits. 

"Still, you should be thankful that it turns out we don't have those ingredients." Eun Jung replied as she took away the bag from him. "If not, you won't even be able to taste my delicious cookings."

Shin Hye just laughed seeing them arguing. And taking side with her senior, she said in a witty tone, "Gomawo, Yong Hwa-ya. Without you, I would not be able to satisfy my crave for a rice cake soup."

"Aniya, my pleasure. Gomawo, Noona for inviting me to have lunch as well." Yong Hwa said sincerely.

"What a totally different attitude you have towards her compared to how you talked to me just now. Tchh, unbelievable. I'm gonna put wasabi into your portion, Yong Hwa." Eun Jung threathened.

"Noona, what a weird person you are. Normally, people who want to take revenge or prank someone else don't tell the person they are going to prank." He stated the known fact.

"Hish, this kid surely has lots of words to say. Fine then. Go somewhere else. Go play with Shin Hye in the living room while I prepare the dishes." She started going through the grocery bag to find the ingredients she needed.

Yong Hwa turned to look at Shin Hye to see how she responded to Eun Jung's suggestion but apparently, she shook her head.

"Shir-eo. I want to watch how you make it so I can learn from you." 

"Really? Want to learn from me or want to tell me off when I make any mistake?"

"Oh, Shin Hye! You know how to cook?" Yong Hwa cut in between the conversation.

"What kind of boyfriend doesn't know his girlfriend cooks well?" Again, a chance for Eun Jung to tease Yong Hwa. And she did it successfully, leaving both the lovebirds blushing from embarassment. Seeing the two of them with a blushing cheeks and cracked smile, she hit the chopping board hard with the sharp knife she's holding to make them startled.

"Ah, Eonni! I could die from the shock!" Shin Hye shrieked. Eun Jung just laughed instead.

And so the cooking continued with the bright atmosphere that Yong Hwa brought with his presence. Just like a happy virus, he caused them to have many reasons to laugh that afternoon.

45 minutes later, Yong Hwa could be seen dashing back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room. He helped Eun Jung to set up the table while Shin Hye just sat in the kitchen until everything was ready.

Just as everyone has settled at the table, once again Eun Jung gasped as she remembered that she forgot something, "Ah, right! I forgot to prepare the seasoning sauce for the sweet potato rice. I'll run to the kitchen for a while to prepare it but both of you can start eating, okay?"

She quickly rushed to the kitchen, leaving the two of them who have just started spooning the dish into their bowls.

"This week is the tenth week of my treatment." Shin Hye started to speak.

The conversation didn't continue as smoothly as she would have expected. A short silent moment urged her to add more while waiting for the response from the person in front of her. 

"And..." But it was cut short as that person was already planning to say something. "What were you saying?" She was glad he finally tried to response so she gave way for him to talk.

"I was saying how many more treatments do you have to get?" Yong Hwa asked then continue chewing the food in his mouth.

"That depends." Shin Hye picked the egg omelette strip in her bowl and stuffed into .

"Depends on what?" 

"Whether next week would be my last week. If not, there are 19 weeks to go."

"What do you mean? Why would next week ever be the last week?" Yong Hwa has already put his spoon down.

"My surgery takes place next week...on week 11." Shin Hye still continued eating and she deliberately fixed her eyes on the food in her bowl. She did not dare to lift her gaze up to look at the person in front of her.

"So you are saying if the surgery is successful, then you don't have to undergo the chemo treatment anymore?"

She finally looked into his eyes. "Babo-ya, I still have to go for chemo even after the surgery. Plus, it's just the first stage of surgery and the doctor would see if the tumor can be removed completely from the healthy tissues." 

"So you are saying..." But he didn't have the courage to say the idea out loud.

"So I am saying that if I don't get through the surgery, then next week would be my last week." She helped him get the right idea. She had no idea why she didn't feel anything at that time. She thought it would be hard to tell him that but now that she had let him know, she felt it didn't cost her any effort to say it. Again, she waited for his response, looking dearly at his face, hoping that he would take it calmly.

"You, fool. How can you say that? That would mean you have given up." Yong Hwa raised his voice a bit.

"It's not because I have given up. It's because I can't help but to think of the possibility. You know how some death actually occur around the same date of the birth?"

"Is there such thing?"

"Who knows. Anyway, that's not my point. I just want to let you know...that we all should prepare for any possibility." She then took a sip of the rice cake soup slowly while Yong Hwa had completely stopped himself from eating even though the food in his bowl was yet to be finished. He didn't say anything but to stare right at Shin Hye while she continued eating casually. 

Few moments of silence before Eun Jung came back to the dining room with a bowl of seasoning sauce. "Ah, mianhae, kids." She placed the bowl on the table but her presence didn't change anything. She noticed the silence and saw what Yong Hwa was doing.

"What's up with you guys? What's with the sudden silence?" She looked at both of them in turn. "Yah, Yong Hwa! Why don't you finish eating your food? Do you think it's easy for me to cook that?!!" She sat down but her gaze was still directed at Yong Hwa. Yong Hwa felt sorry hearing what Eun Jung said so he started eating again.

"Eat a lot, kids." Eun Jung tried brighten up the mood again by scooping the second helping to both Yong Hwa and Shin Hye. "Eat well. It's not like you can easily get me to cook for you guys next time." 

"Especially you, Shin Hye-ah." She added more beef brisket and egg omelette into Shin Hye's bowl. "Next week you will have your operation. You have to get well. Ani, you MUST get well. Understand?" 

Shin Hye nodded silently and they all continued eating in the ruined atmosphere.

.............................

A/N: Dear readers, presenting to you Chapter 18 of my story. I am now back at writing the story. Hope you do enjoy reading it so far. Will try to update again as soon as I can :) Also, how do you find the recent poster that I made for the story? Does it give out the idea that the story is going to be a bit sad? Let me know what you think ^_^