Chapter 26

Oppa, Have You Heard of a Tteokbokki Kiss?

After their unusual gift exchange came to an end, the two of them finally began enjoying their date in earnest.

Today’s theme was a cooking date. Minjun and Sia had cooked for each other plenty of times in the past, but surprisingly, they had never actually prepared a meal together. So, for a pleasant change of pace, they decided to stand side by side in the kitchen.

The main dish for today was Sia’s absolute favorite: tteokbokki.

Sia had already set out all the necessary ingredients, meaning all they had left to do was trim everything and cook.

“I’ll soften the rice cakes, so can you cut the green onions and fish cakes, Oppa?”

“Sure.”

It would have been effortless to prepare everything using magic, but using magic missed the entire point. The whole idea of a cooking date was to enjoy the process of making food together.

This was especially true for Sia. Though she hadn’t said it out loud, she secretly wanted to watch Minjun handle a chef’s knife. The skilled way he sliced ingredients was remarkably attractive on its own, but the clear tendons standing out along his wrists whenever he worked drove her wild every single time.

As she slowly softened the rice cakes in a large pot, Sia kept stealing side glances at Minjun chopping away on the cutting board.

‘Wow. Look at those veins.’

Even his veins were handsome. Whenever those pronounced lines on his wrists appeared, Sia swallowed hard.

“You really are a tteokbokki lover. Are you looking forward to it that much?”

“Mhm. A lot.”

Minjun likely couldn’t even imagine that she had swallowed while staring at his wrists rather than thinking about the food.

Once the chopping was finished, Minjun skillfully mixed the tteokbokki sauce and stirred it into the vigorously boiling water. The moment he finished adding the seasoning, Sia wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind, showing him her affection.

“Our Sia is basically a cicada.”

“Bzzzt. Bzz-bzz-bzz.”

When Minjun teased her for clinging to him, Sia playfully imitated the bug and puckered her lips, asking for a kiss.

“It’s cheating for a cicada to be this cute.”

Minjun set the bowl with the remaining sauce down for a moment and turned to kiss her. As their lips met, the exact same thought passed through both of their minds:

‘I’m glad I suggested a cooking date.’

‘I’m glad I listened to Oppa!’

✦ ✦ ✦

They were thoroughly enjoying their cozy time together when Minjun’s phone suddenly began to ring.

“Who is it?” Sia asked.

“Oh, it’s Junhwi. The younger guy who went into the Gate with me last time.”

Minjun wondered why he was calling out of nowhere, but he made no move to answer. This was one of only three precious hours a week devoted entirely to Sia. It probably wasn’t anything urgent, and he could easily call Junhwi back after their date was over.

Normally, Sia would have understood his reasoning and praised him for prioritizing her. Instead, she surprised him with what she said next.

“You can answer it.”

“No. It doesn’t look urgent.”

“A few minutes is fine. I’ll go take care of something for a moment too.”

Promising that she would be back within five minutes, Sia stepped away.

The place she headed was none other than her dressing room. After carefully placing the special gifts she had just received from Minjun in a safe spot, she opened one of her closets.

“I should give Oppa a present too, right?”

The present she had in mind was her own clothing.

There was no guarantee Minjun wanted her clothes for the exact same reason she had wanted his—to feel as though they were living together under one roof. Even so, Sia believed there was more than enough reason for him to take them.

‘Just in case. On the off chance…’

It was an impossibly small chance that would likely never happen, but still:

‘If some other woman comes to Oppa’s apartment.’

Then Sia needed to use traces of herself to warn those women off. Even if they weren’t actually living together yet, she wanted any potential rivals to believe that Minjun had a woman in his life. Put simply, it was her way of marking her territory.

With that goal in mind, Sia began picking out clothes to hang in Minjun’s closet.

At first, she wondered whether she should give him well-worn clothes like he had given her, but those didn’t seem quite right to display there. Clothes she had only worn once or twice—still practically brand new—would look much better.

On second thought, if she gave him only pre-worn clothes, the whole arrangement might look a bit odd. Perhaps now that she had decided to do this, she should look into getting matching couple shirts for them soon as well.

‘Would it have been better to give them to him later?’

Even now, her precious time with Minjun was slipping away mercilessly. Wasting five of the most valuable minutes imaginable felt almost unbearable.

Sia grabbed whatever clothing was within arm’s reach, shoved it into her spatial storage, and hurried back to Minjun.

✦ ✦ ✦

By the time she returned, Minjun had already ended the call and was puting the finishing touches on the food.

“Was it urgent?”

“No. He just wanted to check something.”

Sia wanted to keep the present a secret for now because she wanted to surprise him later.

The two resumed cooking together, and before long, the tteokbokki was completely finished.

“Mm. That nostalgic smell.”

“It’s amazing. Just smelling it brings back old memories.”

They had cooked the dish using the exact recipe Minjun used to make for Sia back when they lived together in the past. Their eyes met while both were lost in nostalgic thoughts.

“Enjoy.”

“You too, Oppa!”

At last, they sat down to eat.

The tteokbokki looked appetizing enough to steal anyone’s attention, yet the two of them spent far more time gazing at each other than at their plates. They smiled whenever their eyes locked, gently wiped sauce from each other’s lips, and continued sharing the sweet, affectionate meal of any loving couple.

Partway through, Sia recalled the phone call from earlier.

“Oppa. Why did that guy call earlier?”

If the caller had been a woman, she would have stopped Minjun from answering in the first place. But since it was a man, she hadn’t felt particularly wary, assuming they had just exchanged quick pleasantries.

“He said he wanted to thank me again and asked when I was free so he could buy me a meal.”

“Oh, really? Go enjoy it. Tell him to buy you something expensive while he’s at it. You saved his life, after all.”

Up to that point, it was a completely harmless topic. The real issue came with Minjun’s next words.

“But… Junhwi isn’t the one buying the meal.”

“Then who?”

“His older sister.”

“…?”

“She said she’s grateful that I saved her little brother, and she asked if the three of us could meet up for a meal sometime.”

‘A woman.’

Worse yet, the older sister of the man Minjun had saved.

Sia’s mind began racing as she processed the situation. That woman would obviously feel warm and favorable toward Minjun for saving her brother’s life. It would only be a matter of time before that gratitude transformed into romantic interest.

“…So what did you tell her, Oppa?”

Slowly setting her spoon down, Sia asked in a quiet, serious tone. As though he had anticipated this reaction, Minjun answered calmly.

“I told her I appreciated the offer, but it would be difficult because my girlfriend might misunderstand.”

“And what did she say?”

“She said she really wanted to meet me and felt disappointed. She said that if we couldn’t meet, she’d at least like to send me a gift.”

The word ‘disappointed’ stabbed straight into Sia’s chest.

‘Why is she disappointed?’

Was it truly just because she couldn’t meet her brother’s savior? Was that really all there was to it? Saying “I’m disappointed” could be interpreted in so many different ways, and that ambiguity only made Sia feel more uneasy.

No matter who the woman was, Sia hated the mere thought of Minjun sitting across from another woman, having an intimate conversation.

However, when she tried to view it from Minjun’s perspective, things became more complicated. Someone was offering to treat him to a nice meal out of genuine gratitude for saving a life. Minjun deserved the chance to be treated well and enjoy a nice dinner. Sia didn’t want to act possessive or selfish toward the man she loved over a random woman.

At the same time, she couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling. So, Sia came up with a compromise.

“Oppa. Can I go with you?”

“…?”

“I want to meet that Junhwi person too. Would that be okay?”

This way, Minjun could still accept the meal, while Sia could stay right by his side to ensure the woman didn’t try anything funny. Nobody’s feelings would be hurt, making it the perfect solution.

Minjun hadn’t expected Sia to want to tag along, but from his perspective, as long as Junhwi and his sister were fine with it, he had no reason to refuse.

“Hmm. Then I’ll ask Junhwi separately after I get home.”

“Okay! Thanks!”

✦ ✦ ✦

With the matter settled for now, the two returned their attention to their meal.

“Oppa. There’s something I’ve always wanted to try while eating tteokbokki.”

“What is it?”

“A tteokbokki kiss.”

During a previous date when they had eaten tteokbokki, Sia realized that couples could play with a rice cake in the exact same way people played the Pocky Game. Doing something like that in public would have drawn far too many eyes, but right now, there was no one else in the lair except the two of them.

“Want to try it?” Minjun asked.

“The rice cakes are a little short for that kind of game—”

“Even better.”

It was his girlfriend’s cute romantic wish. What was so hard about indulging her?

Minjun picked up a suitably sized rice cake, held one end in his mouth, and signaled to Sia with his eyes. Sia immediately closed the distance between them.

Normally, the fun of a Pocky Game came from watching two shy people awkwardly try to leave as little of the snack as possible without letting their lips touch. That premise didn’t apply to this affectionate couple at all. Without the slightest hesitation, Sia pressed her lips directly against Minjun’s and bit into the rice cake he was holding.

They felt the chewy softness of the rice cake, closely followed by the even softer touch of each other’s lips.

“My turn.”

This time, they switched roles. Sia held a rice cake between her lips, and the moment she did, Minjun leaned in, kissed her, and bit through it.

After snapping the rice cake in half, neither of them cared about the food anymore. Their attention shifted completely to each other’s lips. No matter how soft a rice cake was, how could it ever compare to the sweetness of kissing the person you loved?

When the first tteokbokki kiss ended, Sia placed another rice cake in her mouth. Minjun leaned right back in the instant she did.

As their second kiss finished, Minjun noticed a tiny dab of tteokbokki sauce on Sia’s lip. Remembering a famous scene from an old drama involving a foam kiss, Minjun gently leaned down and kissed the sauce off her lip.

Sia’s face flushed bright red with sudden shyness.

Not a single word passed between them, yet the look in their eyes made everything abundantly clear. The deep, primal attraction shared by two people madly in love was beginning to overflow.

“Oppa…”

“Sia.”

Their heated gazes locked, and words were no longer necessary.