“You know, this is so good I would have never been able to tell that you’re new at cooking” Hana joked as she took a seat at the table. 

Seung-Hyun gave a slight bow and then took the seat across from her. “Thank you! I had an awesome coach” he said and gave her a wink. “Now the real chef is you”. He took a bite and closed his eyes “Oh man, good stuff.  I can’t believe I made this. It must be amazing to have a job that involves cooking.  What was it like going to France to pursue culinary arts?”  He took another bite “I would probably just eat all the time while in class rather than cooking”.

Hana laughed and smiled “Going to school to do what I love the most? I couldn’t ask for anything better.  But….” She closed her eyes and sighed. “It was tough. The group I had classes with had its share of drama.  One student sliced her finger and while the chef was cleaning her cut, she fainted”.

She noticed the grimace plastered across his face.  “No worries she didn’t lose her finger.  An ambulance was called to ensure she was ok.  She came back to class shortly after that and was ready to resume her station”.

“She didn’t get an excuse from the class today?”

“Nope, we still had to serve the chef our dishes at the same time agreed upon at the beginning of class. That was stressful, but the show must go on.”

Her words reminded Seung-Hyun about his line of work – the entertainment business.  Being part of one of the leading music groups in South Korea meant he could no longer think of just himself.  Seungri, Daesung, Taeyang, G-Dragon and himself all felt their fans would be given first priority.  Hana noticed Seung-Hyun lost in thought.  “The show has to go on no matter what” he said softly. “If I’m sick and can’t go to work things would get postponed.  Nothing would happen on time.  There would be a lot of disappointed people – I can’t bear to see that”.

There were several times Seung-Hyun was told to rest in the hospital due to exhaustion.  Big bang would be in Japan for a couple of weeks for the release of the Japanese album, promotions, appearances and concerts.  Then they would have to fly back to Korea to get ready for their Korean album, filming new music videos and attending more interviews.  Its feels like a nonstop workload.

Seung-Hyun glanced at Hana “I know it sounds foolish that I would rather overwork myself and pass out than miss a deadline”. 

Hana shook head “I pour almost all my time, sweat, tears and soul into my work.  Guess that makes me a fool to” she said with a smile.  “To an average person – what you and I are saying seems overly dramatic.  But it’s quite simple.  The happiness of your clients and the happiness of my customers is essential to our own happiness.  Knowing my food made someone smile makes all the exhaustion worth it”.

Yes, through their concerts he did his best to return the love he has received from his fans.  A smiled broke across his face and he raised his glass of water "Cheers to being tired and happy".  Hana raised her glass as well "oui à cette!".

He raised his eyebrows in question.  "What does that mean in French?"

"It means 'Yes to that!'

“Your accent sounds perfect.  You sound like you could have lived in France your whole life”.

“Thanks, going to school and working in France – the language eventually became second nature.  But the real French can still spot my subtle mispronunciations”.

“Were you familiar with the language before heading to France?”

“I wish I was! As a woman who did the semi-cliché ‘drop everything and go to France for the love of food’ move, I really didn’t know too much about the country or language until I began leafing through huge guidebooks and dictionaries my friends gave me as going away gifts.  Oh man those were some heavy carry-ons.”

“But even with all that practice the culture shock is still pretty strong.  Learning the language and the customs from books can never fully prepare a person.” said Seung-Hyun.

Hana nodded her head in agreement.  “One of the most difficult parts of moving to France– this may seem obvious or even laughable – was the feeling of being foreign.  At first the feeling of being ‘different’ is a quite exciting. People went out of their way to help me and nearly everybody was curious about who I was and why I was in France. The attention was nice but being special also meant feeling a bit different every day.”

Seung-Hyun could relate to her experience.  Being so well known in South Korea gave him that forever “foreign feeling”.  His status as an idol, as a special person – almost isolated him from society. People would always treat him differently.  The moment he decided to join Big Bang was the moment he accepted that reality.  

But as he watched Hana take another bite of her pasta he knew the “foreign feeling” would one day pass.  Perhaps Hana would accept T.O.P of Big Bang the same way she had with Seung-Hyun.  

Seung-Hyun got up and gestured to Hana to hand her empty plate over to him.  Instead she stood up and snatched Seung-Hyun’s plate as well as her. “Oh no you don’t” she said sternly and walked into the kitchen. “You made dinner. Let me clean it up while you have a glass of wine”.

“But..!” he started to protest.

“No” she said and let out a laugh. 

Before placing the dishes in the sink she filled his glass with the wine G-Dragon had placed in the basket she brought.  “I actually like doing dishes.  Doing household chores were always fun”.

She ran hot water in the sink, found the detergent in the under-cabinet and squirted it in for the pots and pans.  He liked sitting there, watching her perform the basic, mundane chore. And he hoped she wasn’t saying anything important because his mind was blurring. 

It had nothing to do with the wine, and everything to do with imagining her being there, tidying up the kitchen next week, next month. Imagining her sitting with him to share a meal. 

He shook his head.  Too far, too fast, he knew it.  They were friends he told himself.  Friends only. 

“Where are your dish towels?”

“What? Sorry?”

“Dish towels,” she said and opened a drawer at random.

“No, not there.  Other side. I’ll get it.”He rose and opened the right drawer above Hana and got out a towel.  “Why don’t I dry the pans?” he began. When he turned to face her, Hana walked straight into him.

 “Oh “ -  she gasped, the momentum causing her hands to fly towards his chest to steady herself.

He grabbed her wrists – “Oops” - and for an instant they were entangled in an awkward sort of embrace, the intimacy of it, the shocking closeness of him, bringing a flush to her cheeks before she sprung back.

“Sorry,” she murmured, flustered, half laughing, smoothing her shirt. “Didn’t see you there” she said quickly and spun around to stack the dishes.  She didn’t want him to see her uncontrolled blushing. 

Seung-Hyun was equally as thrown off guard “I’ll wash dishes” he murmured. “What am I talking about you did them already.  I’ll go stack dishes. Oh you’re you’re doing that. Umm, right dessert. I’ll go find some” and he spun around in the opposite direction praying she didn’t see how red his face was.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!! I apologize for the long delay.  There are two weeks until school starts so I shall update as many chapters possible! Be ready for the next chapter - I'm extending Hana's stay in T.O.P' house ;). Its going to be juicy - literally. 

Remember your input can have a big influence on how the story goes.  And  if you haven't already , place your votes in the comment section for which character I'll write about next. Happy Voting!!