Eyeing the scrumptious-looking spread that was laid before me, I felt my tummy growl involuntarily at the sight of bibimbap and Korean beef stew among plenty of other hearty dishes. I squealed in delight. I was totally famished.

“Eunnie-yah, are you just going to stare at the food all night long? Dig in!” my mom ordered while we were sitting at the dining table with my sister, So Mi. My dad was away on a business trip, which meant that we ladies ruled the Kim household that night.

I chuckled, “I just didn’t know which one to have first. Everything looks incredibly delicious. I have the best omma in the world!” I proclaimed cheerfully as I got myself a serving of each dish, but ended up getting bigger portions of bibimbap and beef stew. To tell you the truth, it had been a while since the last time I had a decent meal. I was barely surviving on coffee and modest servings of ddeokbokki, despite my low tolerance for spicy food, that came with the sponsored food truck on the set of ‘Liar Game’. Ulcer, anyone?

I took a humongous bite of the beef stew and let the mouth-watering flavor linger in my mouth. It felt like heaven.

“Whoa! You really are hungry, unni! Don’t they feed you on set? Should we sue the production team for violation of human rights?” So Mi asked jokingly as she chewed on a piece of kimchi, “And here I was thinking you are well-fed. You had me fooled with those lavish meals you’ve been having on ‘We Got Married.’”

For regular viewers of the show, it may seem like participants indulge in frequent meals, but the truth was that we didn’t really get to consume everything. After having a spoonful or two, we moved on to our missions. It was the staff who usually ended up devouring whatever was left. It wasn’t like we were deprived of a decent meal on the set of ‘Liar Game’, but being the workaholic that I was, I would rather get the filming over and done with. I explained this to So Mi.

“You’re crazy, unni!” she exclaimed, “How can you do this to yourself?” I just shrugged and took a sip of water from my glass.

I took a glance at my mom who watched me disapprovingly. “That’s what you get for not looking after yourself, honey. If you just let me prepare your meals for you, then you wouldn’t have to suffer,” she scolded.

“But omma, I wouldn’t want you to overwork yourself. You’ve got way too much on your hands. Plus, I’m a grown adult. I’m capable of taking care of myself,” I tried to reason.

She sighed and put her chopsticks down, “Eunnie-yah, the only work that I have on my hands is to look after these two beautiful, but very stubborn babies of mine. So please let me do this as your mother. From now on, I’ll be taking care of your meals, which you will finish down to the last bit. Is that clear?”

I smiled tenderly at her, “Arasso. It’s not like I can ever say no to you, omma,” I joked.

“That’s right. So don’t you ever think about getting rid of me, young lady,” she warned, “Besides, seeing how you let yourself go hungry like that makes me think twice about marrying you off in the future.”

I squirmed. My mom was gentle and graceful in so many ways, but she always knew how to play her cards right. So Mi, who just wiped her plate out, didn’t let this chance to tease me pass. Two against one. No fair.

“Way to go, omma! Did you hear that, unni? It sounds like you’ll stay single for the rest of your life. That is just so, so heartbreaking,” she emoted with a matching pout, arousing my irritation.

I hit her lightly on the shoulder, “Yah! Just keep that up, Kim So Mi, and I’ll never get freebies for you again.”

“Aww unni can’t take a joke. Okay, okay, I’ll stop,” she said, raising her arms in mock defeat, “But speaking of marriage, how are things going with Song Jae Rim oppa? I’m still holding you to your promise that you’ll put in a good word for me. Boy, is he a hottie! My unni has hit the jackpot!”  she gushed, while my mom just watched our exchange with an amused expression.

“Don’t even think about it, Kim So Mi! He’s too old for you!” I warned my overly eager younger sister.

She shrugged and pretended to back off as she raised her eyebrows, “On second thought, maybe you’re right.”

Much to my annoyance, the hard-headed girl still had something up her sleeves. “Since he may be too old for me, how about someone who’s more age-appropriate?”

“Like who?” I asked, getting increasingly pissed by the minute.

“Let’s see…how about…Kim Bum oppa? Last time I checked, he’s already back on the market. And it’s not like you still have a thing for him, right unni?”

I swallowed and felt my facial muscles harden. This girl was really asking for it.

Taking that as a cue, my mom stood up and finally intervened, “Alright, that’s enough kids!”

++++

“So, how is he doing?” my mom asked vaguely as we helped each other out in cleaning the dishes. Both of us were left in the kitchen while So Mi was in the living room, feeding