Sojin walked into her small kitchen to call the nearby chicken place. Yura, Minah, and Hyeri were left in the living room to talk amongst themselves.

“Yura unnie, if Sojin unnie really is Youngmi, it’s okay if she’s not exactly like she was at the age of five,” Minah whispered. She was often the voice of reason whenever her older sister would be too hard on herself. It happened quite often. Yura took after their father in placing the blame on their shoulders alone.

Hyeri piped in, “Yeah, unnie. Let’s just enjoy our time with Sojin unnie for now.” Cupping her hand around , she excitedly added, “I like her. She’s not used to my antics yet!”

“Well great. Just another problem to add to the list,” Yura said sarcastically, but she smiled slightly, feeling a little better.

Their conversation stopped when Sojin finished the phone call. “The food will arrive soon.” She sat on the floor beside the coffee table. “Why don't you all list the places you want to visit in Seoul?”

“Actually, the truth is, we’ve seen all the tourist attractions in Seoul numerous times,” Minah admitted. Their uncle had a love for the history of arts, so visiting all the old places in the city was a must. It was oddly poetic in a way.

Yura went on to explain, “Uncle Gary is a very simple man. We almost always go to the famous areas when we visit, and to be honest, it gets kind of boring.”

Hyeri got up from her spot on the sofa and plopped down next to Sojin, surprising her a bit. “What do you think about showing us your favorite places instead? I think that would be waaay more fun.” Hyeri bounced in her seat as she awaited Sojin’s answer. Her sisters were taken aback from the new change in plans but silently agreed it was a great idea. It was a subtle approach to learning more about Sojin.

But Sojin was hesitant. “Are you sure you all want this? I’m not exactly the most exciting person for these type of things.”

“You’ve lived in Seoul for a long time, right? We trust you.” Minah gave Sojin an encouraging smile.

“I suppose I could try.”

The doorbell rang at that moment, signaling the arrival of their fried chicken. Sojin stood up to pay the delivery man at the door. She brought the plastic bags back to the table.

Walking to the kitchen to grab napkins, she called out, “I ordered three buckets but if it’s too much then we’ll just save the rest for later.”

Sojin stared wide-eyed at the eleven year old girl in front of her. Yura and Minah just looked at each other, amused.

“You...you finished a whole box by yourself!” Sojin gaped. She was sure Mr. Kang had fed them before she had been called to the office as evidenced by the smell of pizza that had bombarded her nose then. Even so, when she would sometimes skip meals during the day, Sojin always had more chicken to spare at dinnertime.

Hyeri shrugged and reached into the box for the last wing. "I'm hungry."

Forget about keeping them entertained. Sojin would have to worry about keeping them fed.

"I guess I'll have to step up my food game," the eldest muttered. "No leftovers tonight."

Night had finally fallen and it had taken almost an hour for Sojin to get the other three to settle in.

It started when Sojin rummaged through her closet to find the mattress pads that she used before she invested in a bed for her sore back. When she offered her room and bed to them, Yura had refused almost immediately, insisting that sleeping on the mattress pads after rearranging the living room was more than enough. They argued back and forth before Sojin caved into their demands.

After all, it was three against one. And Minah had some killer puppy dog eyes.

Now, Sojin sat at the edge of her bed. She could hear the girls giggling through the thin walls and thought about joining them. Yet the urge disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. It really wasn’t in her place to bother them like that.

She thought back to what Hyeri had suggested earlier. Her favorite places. Sojin tried to recall the last time she truly had fun anywhere. College and her internship had been first and foremost on her mind for the past few years.

Falling back onto the bed, Sojin squeezed her head, hoping it would give her an idea. When that didn’t work, she backtracked and pondered simply. Simplicity was what she was best at anyway.

If she wanted to give the girls a great summer then maybe she should do what would make herself happy. It was her vacation too, technically.

Sojin finally smiled. She definitely knew where she would take them tomorrow.

"I present to you, Seoul's finest farmers’ market," Sojin announced with a flourish of her arms.

In front of them stood a plaza containing dozens of stands stationed in an orderly fashion. Every once in a while, the ajummas would call out to advertise their plastic baskets full of various produce for sale. The marketplace was teeming with people. All of them clamoring for the freshness that the sellers boasted. The items included fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish ‒ basically any ingredient needed to make a meal.

"Isn't this just your neighborhood's farmers' market?" Hyeri asked doubtfully.

They hadn't even bothered to take the bus. The walk, which only took fifteen minutes, consisted of an awkward Sojin trying to make small talk, Minah tripping (no surprise there), and Hyeri complaining about her skin getting darker. The trip could have been shorter but Yura spent a few minutes scolding Hyeri for worrying about her appearance at such a young age. Sojin was forced to intervene, complimenting Hyeri's skin tone before scolding Yura, saying that girls were allowed take care of their image, as long as it was for themselves and not others.

Yura trailed behind the others for the remainder of the walk, smirking. Sojin was nervous over nothing.

She fit right in.

"Yah, you forgot to add that it's the finest one around," Yura stressed. She didn't mind the market at all. The ambiance had its own charm. And it definitely showcased Sojin's unique thinking for picking this place for their first day out.

Sojin handed the older two a list of ingredients and money. "I’m thinking of making ddukbokki for dinner. A lot of it." She side-eyed Hyeri, the latter trying to act innocent. "Since we have a lot of ingredients plus other groceries, we'll split up. I'll take Hyeri because she's younger. You two okay with that?"

Yura nodded but Hyeri complained, “My opinion matters too!” She composed herself and straightened up. “And I’d love to grace you with my company.”

"Yeah. Okay." Minah grimaced at her younger sister's ego. "Please just take her away."

"Then it's settled," Sojin acknowledged. "We'll meet back here once everything is purchased and checked off."

She sent the pair off on the hunt before skimming over the list again. Pepper paste, green onions, rice cakes ‒ she felt a small hand slip into hers.

Startled, Sojin looked down at Hyeri, but the girl just cocked her head to the side. “What’s the matter? This way I won’t get separated.”

Right.

The older mentally face palmed herself. Social touching like this was a perfectly acceptable form of interaction. She had to get it through her head.

It wasn't that she disliked Hyeri, no, quite the opposite in fact. The girl's bubbly personality was actually very refreshing. But Sojin wasn't used to that type of character, nor the readiness for physical contact that Hyeri loved to initiate.

She supposed now was a good time as any to change that.

Sojin smiled at the girl. “Alright, Hyeri. Do you see any of the ingredients around here?”

“I think I smell the fish cakes over there.” Hyeri tugged on Sojin’s hand and led her through the throng of people to a nearby stall. All sorts of products were laid out for sale, but oddly enough there weren’t any customers.

“Excuse me,” Sojin began. “How much for one bag of those fish cakes?”

“One kg for 10,000 won,” the ajumma responded. She was busy setting out bags of various spices and therefore missed Sojin’s expression as she balked at the price. Sure Mr. Kang had given her a big ‒ no huge ‒ sum of money, but Sojin was still frugal at heart. A small fortune was not going to change that overnight.

“10,000 won? Could you lower the price a little bit, please?”

The ajumma peered at Sojin through her glasses. “These are quality fish cakes. The price stays.”

Sojin bent down to Hyeri’s level. “This is our first try so there should be plenty of other places for fish cakes. Let’s go.” They had only taken a few steps before…

“Wait!”

Hyeri's interest piqued when she noticed a shift in the older's demeanor. Sojin smirked slightly before turning around. “Deh?”

“I’ll sell you the fish cakes for 9,000 won.” The ajumma muttered, crossing her arms.

“8,000 won.”

“8,700 won.”

“8,400 won. Take it or leave it,” Sojin bargained back. She was feeling lucky today.

“Fine, deal.” The ajumma bagged up the fish cakes, all the while grumbling at her misfortune. "You're lucky no one's been here in a while."

Sojin thanked the ajumma and exchanged the won for the bag. The two went on their way for the next ingredient.

“And that is how you do it,” Sojin boasted. She might not have a thousand personal talents, but bargaining was something she was confident in.

“Waaah...that was so cool! What was that?”

Sojin stopped suddenly causing Hyeri to stumble a little from the abruptness. “You’ve never heard of bargaining?” she asked incredulously.

The young girl shook her head.

“I do it all the time at these markets,” Sojin explained. “It might involve some effort but at the end of the day, a lot of pocket change is saved.”

Hyeri frowned slightly. She was in disbelief over the fact that she hadn’t mastered this particular skill yet.

The bargaining expert scanned the area until her eyes landed on a cute booth with assorted trinkets. “Here, let me teach you.” Sojin towed Hyeri towards the table but halted just short of it.

She placed her hands on Hyeri’s shoulders as they both scrutinized a female customer making a purchase.

“Oh. My. Gosh. These rings are gorgeous!”

“One: Never show your true feelings over the desired item. You want the seller to know that you’re interested but could still do without it.”

“Um, like, excuse me? Like how much is this?

“Two: Be confident. If you act timid and unsure, the seller is definitely going to take advantage of that.”

“15,000 won? Wellllll….okay!”

“Three: When the price is too high, walk away. There’s always other options.”

Sojin shook her head when the customer left with ripped off jewelry. “Without a doubt you can do better than her. Ready to try?”

"Oh yeah." Hyeri jumped up and down, as if to psych herself up, and marched over to the stall. She hummed and hawed over the merchandise before picking out a bracelet, all the while keeping a poker face. Sojin commended her seriousness. The girl was definitely determined to get her way.

“Sir, what are you asking for this bracelet?”

“6,000 won, little lady. How ‘bout it?” the seller responded.

Hyeri scratched her head. “Hmm...the silver seems like it will rust quickly. It only looks worth about 4,500 won.”

“5,500.”

“5,000.” She pulled out all the stops and pouted. No one could resist her aegyo.

“You play dirty, miss." The seller grinned. "I like that. Alright, 5,000 won it is.”

She calmly thanked and paid the seller before walking over to Sojin.

“You did it!”

“I did it, unnie!"

They highfived, chatting excitedly over what had just occurred. The student had learned from the teacher in less than five minutes. Hyeri was a natural.

“C’mon, we should go find the rest of the ingredients,” Sojin grasped Hyeri's hand and winked. “You can practice your new skill seven more times.”

A/N: Awww, Sojin’s warming up to Hyeri!