180 Days (TeacherxStudent)

Chapter 31 - I'll think of a name later

It was already the weekend, and we told Dad we were coming over. Yejun prepared ddukbogi and other Korean foods. Watching him cook shirtless was beautiful.

I got up and hugged him from behind. He looked over at me and winked. I grinned and peeked at the food. It was extremely colorful. Yejun promised to show me how to make it, but decided it would be best to do it another time.

'Oohhh.. I wanna thisu...' Nah lemme not be a savage this time. He was like, 'I want this to be perfect, not saying us making it together wouldn't, but... Another time.'

I unclasped my arms and he dipped his finger in the sauce to taste it. "Needs a little more salt..." he muttered as he dashed some in his palm.

"Len, can you pass me some black pepper?" I went to the cabinet and opened it. Are we out? My eyes scanned the different spices and landed on one that looked like black pepper. I can't read Korean at all. Grabbing it, I held it up.

"This?"

He nodded and I handed it to him. "Thanks nae sarang."

I childishly stuck my tongue out and went back upstairs.

--

Four hours later, we were at Dad's house. We sat down in the kitchen and he poured us some mint tea. Yejun proudly presented the ddukbogi. Dad stared at it in confusion.

"What is this?" he asked as Yejun handed him a plastic fork. Yejun grinned and gestured for him to eat it. Dad furrowed his eyebrows and poked it. He slowly chewed on it and then began chewing faster. Yejun's grin widened as Dad poked another and ate it.

"It's good." said Dad as he ate another.

Yejun let out a small laugh and looked over at me. I knew he was nervous about how Dad would react to it, and him liking it probably made him feel great. I poked his cheek as Dad got up.

"Ani!" Yejun instantly interjected, causing Dad to sit back down. If was as if they had a conversation with their eyes. Dad smiled and nodded. Yejun grinned and went to get the plates.

Dad looked back at me and gave me an approving nod. My heart practically swelled with love. The fact that Dad accepts Yejun in such a short time means so much to me.

"He's a good man." I felt heat rise to my cheeks and looked at Yejun. He finished setting the table and started explaining why they were so many plates. Dad seemed more than interested as Yejun continued on.

After he finished explaining, Dad tried everything. Satisfied was an understatement, because I could tell from this moment forward, he was in love with Korean food.

"My mom would make the best ddukbogi—ah that's this one—she would make it very very spicy. We Koreans love spicy food."

"My mother loved to make spicy food as well." My head snapped to Dad. I never heard about Grandma's cooking before. She died a couple months before I was born, "I learned how to cook from her. Since I was one of the oldest, I had to take care of everyone. I believe one of the reasons why Len's mother fell in love with me was because of my cooking."

As they talked, I started feeling a little sad. How could Dad end up with someone like Mom? Why isn't Mom as accepting? I could only imagine how she'd react to Yejun, especially since she knows he came over. Fuck outta here, I shouldn't even be feeling sad about anything. Dad is here, and he likes Yejun. That enough makes me more than happy. I smiled a little to myself and looked up at them.