Walking out of the white hallway, Hana was greeted by the view of the Han River. She ran over to the wall of glass windows and stared in awe at the city lights reflecting off the River.  “It’s beautiful! I could stay here all day and look at this view” Hana exclaimed. 

“This view was what really sealed the deal when I was still thinking about whether or not to buy this place” Seung-Hyun said as he followed her to the view. 

Watching her amazement, Seung-Hyun said softly “You’re one of the few people who have now gotten to see it”.

“So I’m special?” Hana asked playfully.  Before Seung-Hyun could answer, a loud grumbling noise came from his stomach. 

“I guess that’s our cue to start cooking. Where’s the kitchen?” laughed Hana and walked over to the other side of the room where Seung-Hyun pointed.  Walking away Hana didn’t she didn’t hear him answer her question; she didn’t hear him whisper “I think you’re special”. 

Upon turning on the kitchen light, once again Hana’s mouth dropped open in awe.  She turned back to Seung-Hyun who was right behind her “Wha- Is this really your kitchen?” she exclaimed. 

“Well it is my house, so I guess it makes it my kitchen” Seung-Hyun joked.

Hana slowly walked around.  The kitchen with its earthy brown and white palette had everything a chef wanted; a huge work island, tons of custom cabinets and top-of-the-line appliances. All the utensils were white or stainless steel.

“You have great taste!” Hana exclaimed.

“Thanks, I tried to keep the kitchen simple.  I love colors but I felt like if I translated that into my kitchen would look like a bowl of M&M's” proudly replied Seung-Hyun.

Design-wise, the kitchen was perfect the stove, sink, refrigerator were all put in close proximity to each other, with enough work space in between.

“It’s beautiful!!!” Hana gushed enthusiastically “I want to sit down and never leave.”

“If that’s the case, I won’t have to learn how to cook since you’ll be staying”

The kitchen echoed with Hana’s series of cooking pointers.   

 “Never forget to add salt to the pot of water!  Remember, Italians never forget this. Once the water starts to boil slowly add the pasta” said Hana as she closely monitored Seung-Hyun’s preparation of the pasta. 

Hana couldn’t help but laugh at Seung-Hyun’s unusual amount of concentration as he stirred the inside of the pot with a long fork to separate each and every piece of pasta.  She knew he was really trying but he was a bit tense.

“Here let me borrow the fork” she said.  Seung-Hyun gave her a questioning look “Are you taking over? Gosh I really ” he joked. 

“No! You’re doing great. When it comes to how long the cooking time will be, the best thing to do is to test a the noodles yourself”. She twirled a few noodles in the fork and lifted it up.  Letting the steam die down, she then leaned over and gently blew on the noodles. 

She pulled a noodle from the fork with two fingers. “The Italian expression, al dente, refers to the proper cooking of pasta or when it is soft yet still firm and not overcooked. Here try it” she said as she lifted it up in the air for him. 

He opened up his mouth and she dropped it in.  Immediately Hana noticed him relax.  After swallowing it he gave her the thumbs up “Al dente” he said happily.  “This is the first time I’ve ever cooked the noodles properly” he said still in amazement over his accomplishment.  Hana gave him a high five.

“I’ll go grab the alfredo sauce” said as he walked over to the fridge.

“Wait, Seung-Hyun do you  happen to have any garlic, mushroom and shrimp?”

 “How does peppered shrimp alfredo pasta sound to you?” she asked.

“Sounds like something I’d get at a restaurant” he chuckled.

“Well you won’t have to go to a restaurant anymore then” Hana smirked. 

Moments later Seung-Hyun was chopping garlic up into small pieces.   He eyed the woman next to him as he chopped away - Hana looked at home already, opening cupboards and drawers to find what she wanted.  The sight made him smile.  As he went back to focus on the garilic, Hana just so happened to take a peek at him too. He looked really cute working so diligently. 

Soon Seung-Hyun was melting butter together with the olive oil in a saucepan. Hana stood next to him as she poured the garlic, shrimp, red pepper, and mushrooms into the pan.  Using a wooden spoon Seung-Hyun began stirring it all together but Hana quickly stopped him.

“An easier way to mix it is to use the pan itself” Hana said.  Without thinking she placed her hand over Seung-Hyun’s to help him get into the motion of tossing the mixture properly. 

When their hands touched though, a shock raced through each of their bodies.  She quickly retracted her hand and Seung-Hyun did the same.

“So-sorry” she blushed and looked at the ground. Her hand tingled but it wasn’t a discomforting feeling when they touched rather it felt like a rush of warmth had rushed through her.   

“No – ah – no its alright. I finally got the hang of this tossing motion” he said reassuringly.  He appeared to be calm and unaffected but unbeknownst to Hana Seung-Hyun was equally affected.  He glanced down at his hand – her touch was like fire and burned seemed to linger. 

Clearing , Hana took the saucepan and poured the contents into bowl of pasta noodles.  Then came the Alfredo sauce and finally it was topped off with some cheese.

As the aroma of wonderful flavors lifted into the air, Hana and Seung-Hyun smiled at one another.  It was a job well done Seung-Hyun thought to himself.  Jiyong would be very proud of him.

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Hi everyone!!! Sorry for the wait. Originally I wanted to combine the process of cooking the pasta with the actual dinner scene but then I realized that once again that would be too much for one chapter.  So here I am breaking it up once more.  Whereas this chapter is focused on the process of how the pasta was made the next one is more about Hana and T.O.P.  I'm really excited for the next one myself . I don't think my heart can handle all the hotness though.