A / N

Another cute chapter brought to you by Seollal and Kazu.

~

SHE HAD BEEN thinking about it more and more. What did he want from them?

In Korean years, the system that numbered them a year old the moment they were born, he was thirty and she twenty-six. She didn't know much about men in their thirties, not least about what they wanted from a relationship.

Did he want a family? Or, her heart tugged painfully, were they just a fling?

Was it too early to build daydreams for the future?

She felt like she had known him for ever. They had only been together for close to two months, and yet, they were so comfortable with each other, discussing their favourite books and movies, trading jokes and anecdotes from their day, cooking together in her tiny kitchen.

She chewed silently on the gimbap she had purchased from a convenience store - it did well enough as a snack when she craved something to munch on while packing for her trip home - glaring at the pile of shirts sitting beside her opened luggage. She thought he had dropped hints, here and there, that he saw a future for them. But she couldn't be entirely sure. The last time she dated, it had been a fling on her partner's side and nothing more.

She didn't quite know how to ask either.

Send him a couple quiz? Yu Ah would probably suggest that.

Ask him directly? Jieun would do that.

Tell him what I want? Anna would say that.

"You should pack some thick clothing too," Kazu said. He had stopped by her side, sipping at his mug of tea. "The temperature will drop drastically over the three months that you're home."

She pursed her mouth as her gaze narrowed on the remaining space in her luggage. Her clothes had been tucked in neat rolls, while a bag of toiletries lay to one side, together with her thicker sweaters. The trouble with returning home for three months over Winter was that she did not have enough luggage space for all her things.

"Or I can bring them for you," he suggested. "If you bring too many things, your luggage may be too heavy for you to handle."

She pursed her mouth as she tapped a finger to her chin.

"I think I might have some Winter clothes back at home," she muttered.

She hadn't thought a three month stay with her parents would require much to do in terms of packing, but here she was, sitting cross-legged on the floor, an opened luggage and a duffel bag beside her. And to think she would be leaving tomorrow!

"I have something for you," she said as she pulled a paper bag toward herself and removed a box from within it.

His eyes grew wide as he took in the heavy box composed of red and gold with a bow tied around it.

"Isn't this expensive?" he exclaimed. "You should be giving this to your parents!"

"I've already bought something for them. Open it!"

She watched with unbridled excitement as he undid the packaging, then removed the lid to reveal ten pieces of the supplement wrapped in gold foil. He stopped short, his jaw falling slack at the two neat rows of the supplement rolled into balls. He tentatively unwrapped one, before popping the ball of rolled herbs into his mouth to chew, his features crinkled in hesitancy.

Then he made a face at the rush of bitter herbs and the pungent odour. Kazu had leant back on his hands, his head tilted to the ceiling as he breathed through his mouth and choked. His eyes were bright with tears and he furiously waved a hand at his mouth in an effort to disperse the smell.

"Jeon Seollal," he managed to gasp out. "I'm not that old that I'll need this sort of supplement."

Laughter left her as she watched him, a rolled up shirt held up to her nose at the whiff of the strong, herbal smell.

"If you're going to live until a hundred, you need to take care of your health," she said with a prim air.

"Thank you." He leant over, his lips puckered. "Let me kiss you."

"Aniya, go away!" she exclaimed with laughter as she held him back with a hand to his chest. "Ah, your breath stinks!"

Kazu chased the herbs down with a generous gulp of his tea. He got to his feet, a groan leaving him as he filled his cup with more tea.

She couldn't help the giggle that left her at his expression. 

She did see a future for them, she thought; it was warm and comfortable, books piled on shelves with the smell of coffee, rain pattering against the windows, cozy snuggles under the quilt, perhaps children in the future because she adored them and he seemed comfortable with them too.

He had returned with a hefty paper bag that he placed by her side before removing the packages within.

"I have something for your parents too." He laid it out on the floor, undoing the plastic wrapper. "It's a heating pad. They can use it when they sleep, or lay it out on the couch in the day."

An appreciative gasp left her as she unrolled the fabric, examining it with wide eyes.

"Oppa, you keep saying I have too many things. And now you're giving me more things?"

He let out a long sigh, his brow creased as he studied her luggage.

"Maybe I should come with you."

"I'll be fine." She stuffed her clothes to one side, just managing to squeeze the heating pads into a corner. "I'll catch a cab from the train station."

He waved an arm at her things.

"But how will you get these things onto the train?"

"I'll figure it out! And isn't the broth boiling? Are we eating yet or are you going to nag me the whole night?" She let out a laugh as she prodded him to the kitchen. 

Dinner was chanko nabe, a stew filled with cabbage, three types of mushrooms, daikon, spinach, tofu, thinly sliced pork belly, shrimp and udon in a flavourful broth seasoned with mirin and sake. It was a dish sumo wrestlers ate for it was well-balanced, with a good mix of ingredients, and was simple to put together quickly. She sipped at the broth, letting out a sigh at the warmth that filled her abdomen.

"Remember that time when we went to Gyeongbokgung and we saw the couple in hanbok?" he asked. His hands had paused in their movement with a slice of meat at his mouth.

She nodded idly, slurping up the thick, chewy udon imbued with the savoury essence of the broth. Kazu was a brilliant home cook, his repertoire consisting of savoury broths and breakfast foods. 

"I want to see you in a hwarot."

She choked. Hurriedly setting down her chopsticks, she fixed her wide eyes on him.

A hwarot were the formal robes donned by royal women for formal occasions in the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. In modern times, it was worn at traditional wedding ceremonies. The richly embroidered robes of deep red, with wide sleeves trimmed in panels of red, yellow and blue, together with the heavy headpieces and the decorative red and black makeup spots would make the bride a stunning figure.

"A hwarot?" she echoed sharply. 

Her heart was thudding wildly.

He broke into a soft smile.

"It's what brides wear at a traditional wedding, isn't it?"

"Are you - are you proposing now?" 

He let out a low chuckle, the side of his mouth rising secretively as he returned to his food.

"One day."

~

"Oppa," she murmured into the darkness.

"You're still awake?" she heard him say as he shifted.

The night was blue through her gauzy curtains. The duvet was warm around them, and in the confines of her tiny single be she could acutely feel the heat of his frame against hers.

"I can't stop thinking about her. About my birth mother."

The issue had been on her mind lately. How would it go? Would they even recognise each other? Had she even made the right choice in agreeing to see her?

His hand was gentle on her head, running a warm track down her back, then to surreptitiously push her close to him.

"What's on your mind?"

Her heart was pounding a merciless tempo at the words about to spill from her lips. Would he think her a horrid person? Would he think her unfilial?

"I called the police on her," she blurted. Her lungs seemed to be squeezing the words from her mouth, leaving her voice thin and tight. "I called the police on her one afternoon when she was high on some drug. I didn't want to see her like that anymore."

His hand had paused, his fingers moving to tuck strands of her hair behind her ear.

"That's the natural thing to do," he said soothingly. "You were concerned for her."

"And I was selfish too," she went on. "She kept telling me to lead a better life, to study hard, to get into a good college, to meet a good man and start a family of my own. But there was no way I could do all that if I was stuck to her." A bitter laugh escaped her. "When I was with the Jeon family, I saw a glimmer of hope. I saw I could lead a normal life with them. So after I called the police, I called my foster mother to pick me up. I didn't want to go back to that apartment anymore."

Her eyes were burning, tears threatening to leak from them as she swallowed.

"I was sick of that life. I've been so scared," she whispered. "I was so scared that she would hate me. But she always looked better after she came back. She stopped smoking, stopped taking those dirty things. But soon she would get back to it again, and I couldn't take it anymore. Whenever she comes home heavily drunk or on drugs, I don't sleep. I can't sleep. Because I'm so afraid something will happen when I sleep."

Her frame shuddered with her breaths. Her fingers were tight, her muscles tensed, and it was only after a moment that she realised she was clutching onto the fabric of his shirt. He rubbed soothing circles on her back, his breath warm on her forehead as he pressed his mouth to her skin.

"I have an older brother," she admitted. "She told me one day when she was drunk. Or rather, an older half-brother. My birth mother gave him to his father to take care of. I've never met him. Mother kept the child because his father said he wanted the child. But after she gave birth, he took the child but didn't take her. It was something that made her annoyed. But she never spoke about it ever again." She opened her eyes in the darkness, searching him out. "I wonder if she ever thinks about him."

I wonder if she ever thinks about me.

~

THE EXIT OF Wangsimni station bustled with pedestrians. Secluded in a corner with her luggage and her bags, Kazu held her in place, reluctant to let her go. Truthfully, she was being too adorable with the way she stared up at him, her mouth drawn into a pout.

"Wae?" he murmured as he slid his hands onto her waist.

"I'll miss you," she said.

"You'll miss me?"

"Won't you miss me too?"

"Of course I will, silly," he said with a low chuckle.

He had squished her face in his hands before pressing his mouth to hers, mask and all.

"Jagiya, I'll come see you."

"You'll be seeing my parents too," she said in all seriousness.

"I know."

"Aren't you scared?"

He blinked, considering the gravity of his future visit to her family. Wouldn't it be the first time he would meet the parents of his partner? Just like how natural she had been with his family, he wondered if he could emulate the same.

"A little."

"I'll be there."

That had been hours ago. Now as he sat on a bench outside the back door of his cafe, his face tilted to the skies, he let out a long sigh.

"I should have gone with her," he muttered. "Can she even manage two bags on her own? And she has a shopping bag as well."

"Aigoo ya, sajangnim," Jieun announced as she dropped onto the bench beside him. "Look at you, worrying about unnie when she only left - " She raised her arm, her fingers turning her wristwatch to face her. "Two hours ago."

Kazu gave his phone one final tap, before dropping it into his coat pocket with some finality. Seollal had promised to message when she arrived, but his phone was silent. How was it possible that she had once been a customer but now had full run of his mind?

"The new part-timer is coming today," she went on with an idle tone. Then she abruptly dipped her head to the side. "Sajangnim, is he good looking?"

"Don't you scare him off," he warned. "He's a year younger than you, so please take care of him."

"Asa!" she exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. "I've got someone to boss around now!"

"Yah," he started warningly as he rose to his feet. "Kwak Jieun."

"Sajangnim!" Anna called out from the kitchen. "He's here!"

"Ne!" Jieun returned brightly as she ducked through the door. "I'm coming!"

~

A / N

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