"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."

— Agatha Christie.

"Omma, what are you doing?" Thirteen years old Hyosung asked as she entered the kitchen. Mrs Lee, whom Hyosung had been calling mother, was standing at the counter, a blue apron tied around her waist, and up to her elbows in flour. Since her mother passed away, Hyosung had been spending most of her time with Kikwang’s mother to fill the empty gap her mother left, and they had been fairly inseparable ever since.

Mrs Lee smiled at her. "I'm baking cookies. Do you want to help me?"

Hyosung groaned. She could think of two hundred and seventy things she’d prefer to be doing right now. And one of them is watching grass grow. Mrs Lee looked so hopeful, however, that she sighed and gave in.

The way she figured it, spending some time female bonding with Mrs Lee would release her from her 'girly' obligations for at least, a week. After that, she could go back to playing basketball with her father and Kikwang.

Mrs Lee passed Hyosung a blue apron. The girl took the piece of cloth and looked at it like it would grow teeth and bite her at any moment. She hated blue. Still, it was better than the alternative. The only other apron around was a white one that had big red hearts all over it. Hyosung shuddered at the thought of wearing that one.

She tied the apron on and then gave Mrs Lee a grim smile. "So, what are we making?" she asked with forced enthusiasm.

"Chocolate chip cookies," Mrs Lee replied.

"Why not sugar cookies or something?" Hyosung wanted to know.

Mrs Lee sighed. "The last time I made Chocolate chip cookies… well it was just amazing!" Hyosung covered to stifle a laugh.

"Are you laughing at me?" Mrs Lee demanded.

"No," Hyosung chuckled.

"You're lying," Mrs Lee said, sounding hurt. "Don't make me hit you with a saucepan."

"Omma!" Hyosung exclaimed. "That's not a very nice thing to say to your only daughter."

Mrs Lee ignored her. Pointing to an open book on the counter she said, "Read me the recipe from page 106."

Hyosung picked up the cookbook, sparing a glance at the cover. When she saw the title, she did a double take. "How to Put the Magic Back on Your Table…." She grinned at Mrs Lee. "Omma, are you trying to seduce Appa Lee?"

Mrs Lee started tossing the flour in the bowl. Hyosung thought that maybe her mother hadn't heard her, but then she noticed that Mrs Lee's cheeks did look a little flushed.

"You are!" she cried, laughter bubbling up inside her. "You know Omma; you don't have to cook to make Appa Lee want you."

"I know that," Mrs Lee said. Then realizing what Hyosung had said, she cried, "and you're too young to be thinking about things like that!"

Hyosung huffed. "In case you've forgotten, I'm thirteen now. I'm not a baby anymore."

Mrs Lee patted Hyosung, leaving flour in her daughter's dark brunette hair. "You'll always be my baby. Don’t tell Kikwang that or he’ll sulk again. Now read the recipe."

Hyosung did as Mrs Lee requested. She read the recipe out loud, getting the ingredients as they were needed. Soon they had the cookies ready to go into the oven.

But before they could bake the cookies, they had to take out the scones Mrs Lee had made earlier. Hyosung placed the tray on the table next to the batch that had already cooled. Taking one, she bit into the scone.

And nearly broke a tooth in the process.

"You know, Omma, we could use these as weapons," she said gesturing to the scones. "They're hard as rocks." Mrs Lee's cooking hadn't improved one bit since she'd last made scones. Which explained more why Mr Lee was the head cook of the house.

Hyosung couldn't help but wondering if Mrs Lee knew what had happened to the last batch she had made. Hyosung had never told her that her and Kikwang had tried to feed them to the dog, but since that didn't work they threw them away.

"Weapons, huh?" Mrs Lee said with a smile. "And what would you use them for? To conquer the world?"

"Exactly!" Hyosung laughed. She help up a scone like a champion holds a trophy. "I will conquer the world with scones! Watch out world!"

The two laughed, and then set about making more cookies. As she washed her hands at the sink, Hyosung glanced out the window. Her next door neighbour was outside lying on a blanket, topless, pot belly hung out like a trophy on display.

"Omma, our next door neighbour isn't wearing a shirt again! My eyes!"

Mrs Lee stood behind Hyosung, covering her eyes with one hand, and closing the curtains with the other. She then helped Hyosung to the table.

Sitting, Hyosung groaned. "I never want to see that again."

Mrs Lee smiled softly. "It's only a man's chest, honey. Besides, you did say you weren't a baby anymore. You could do with some enlightenment when it comes to the male gender."

Hoping to distract Mrs Lee from having the dreaded 'talk', Hyosung quickly said, "I guess I'm too short for enlightenment."

At that, Mrs Lee burst out laughing. "That made no sense at all," she said. "I think you meant 'young'." She stood and made her way back to the counter. "And honey, you're not short, you're vertically challenged!"

Hyosung wrinkled her nose at Mrs Lee's lame excuse at a joke. Planning to ignore her, Hyosung absently picked up a scone and took a bite. She spit it out just as quickly. She should be bonding with Appa Lee, she thought. He can cook, unlike Omma.

Half an hour later, the first batch of cookies were done. Surprisingly, they smelled wonderful. When they had cooled enough to eat, Hyosung ate one. Then another. They were delicious!

"Omma, did you do something to the batter when I wasn't looking?" she demanded. In all her thirteen years she had never been able to keep down anything her Mrs Lee cooked. Yes, she was that bad at cooking.

Mrs Lee gave Hyosung a hurt look. "Of course not! I just followed the recipe word for word."

"Well, they're good. Follow the recipe word for word from now on!" she ordered. "They'll definitely bring the magic to the table."

"Jeon Hyosung!" Mrs Lee exclaimed using Hyosung’s full name. "Don't make such insinuations!"

"I didn't say anything!" Hyosung protested.

"I know what you were thinking!" Mrs Lee shot back. "And no more cookies, you're going to get fat."

"I will not," Hyosung said. "The good thing is I'm skinny. And with all my vitamins and minerals, I'll stay that way."

"Cheeky little bugger," Mrs Lee swatted Hyosung with the dish towel. "I'm going to go clean up. Your Appa Lee will be home soon."

"Ok," Hyosung said.

"Keep an eye on the last of the cookies," Mrs Lee called as she left the kitchen.

Hyosung sat alone in the kitchen for several minutes. Then she started to clean up. As she worked, she hid some of the scones in her pocket to try to feed to the dog once more. She was almost finished cleaning the kitchen when she heard a loud gasp behind her. Whirling around, she saw her mother in the doorway, looking quite shocked.

Hand pressed to her heart, Mrs Lee said, "I think my apron strings are too tight. It's probably why I'm suffocating."

"Omma, you're not wearing your apron anymore," Hyosung pointed out dryly.

Mrs Lee grinned. "I know, but seeing you cleaning almost gave me a heart attack."

Hyosung rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."

Mrs Lee kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you, honey."

"You're welcome," Hyosung replied. "And you look really nice, Omma."

And she did. Mrs Lee had changed into a pale red dress that complimented her hair quite nicely. She was even wearing perfume and make-up.

Suddenly Hyosung was disappointed that their mother-daughter bonding time was almost over. Even though she was a self proclaimed tomboy, Hyosung had actually had fun with Mrs Lee. She vowed to do it again sometime soon.

The front door opened and Mrs Lee giggled. "Oh, your father's home!" she exclaimed. "Tell me, do my ears look good in this light?"

"What?" Hyosung was completely confused. Her ears? She thought to herself. Out loud she said, "Omma, are you drunk?"

"I'm never drunk," Mrs Lee  assured her. "Just very, very tipsy."

Just then Mr Lee walked into the kitchen, Kikwang trailed behind with basketball in his arm, drenched in sweat. "And what have my two favorite females been up to today?" he asked.

Hyosung said, "Baking. Do you want some cookies? It's guaranteed to bring magic back to your table."

As the two women burst out in hysterical laughter, Mr Lee and Kikwang looked at each other and shook their heads, bewildered.

"Women!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Fluffy~ Yes, I need some fluffs for my Hyosung. And building up the bond between the future mother and daughter. Yes! Thank you for reading! :D