Pretend Love

Chapter 8: Lessons

"I suppose I'll leave you two ladies, then," Vincent excused himself.

"Good. We have many things to talk about," Lee Minyoung said and smiled at Suzy. "Come, Suzyssi, let us talk in the kitchen. I am making Spicy Korean Penne pasta for dinner. I heard you love pasta. We cook, we talk," she smiled and hooked her arm into Suzy's.

"I'd love to, but I must warn you, I am not a good cook," Suzy said as the old lady led her downstairs.

"Aish! Everyone can cook. It only takes practice," Halmeoni gave her arm a reassuring pat and ushered her into the kitchen.

It was a rustic style kitchen, with a rusty burnt terra cotta orange color scheme. Copper cooking utensils hung from the ceiling, along with bulbs of garlic and dried herbs. A large wood farm table was placed in the middle of the kitchen and used for food preparation. Bright colored dishes and earthenware vessels were kept on open shelves. A large armoire serving as kitchen pantry was embellished with large exposed rustic hinges and decorative iron latches. The kitchen screamed warmth and love and it put a smile on Suzy's face.

"Yeppeuni?" Halmeoni handed apron to Suzy as she wore hers. "The kitchen was always my favorite place on the estate, aside from the winery," she winked.

Suzy frowned, not understanding what Vincent's grandmother meant, and put on the apron.

"You should ask Seunggi to show you the winery, Suzyssi," Halmeoni winked. "It is lovely."

"Isn't a winery just a warehouse with a lot of barrels and bottles?"

"Ne. But our winery also has a lovely hayloft. Seunggi's Abeoji is a product of my first visit there."

Suzy's jaw dropped. Did Vincent's grandmother just tell her... no... she wouldn't just tell a random stranger something so personal...

"I have shocked you," Halmeoni deduced from Suzy's expression. "I assure you, it is all true," she said and dumped a ball of dough on the table, which had been generously dusted with flour.

"I was only a teenager when I met Lee Taekyhung. He was older, of course, the eldest son in the Lee family. His eyes are what drew me in. They were soulful like of an angel, but they would shift to heartless eyes when he was angry. Taekhyung was a passionate man. I was at a party one night and I was being asked to dance by all the young men. He watched from the sidelines, and as the night grew longer, he got more and more impatient. You see, he was engaged to some prominent woman, and he was not allowed to dance with another woman. Instead, he took me back to the winery..." she smiled in fond remembrance. "Ah, those hands..." she kneaded the dough and rolled it out to a thick, flat sheet, and asked Suzy for the cutter.

Suzy found the cutter and handed it over, mesmerized by the old woman in front of her. Vincent had certainly been right about her.

"So, I say, tell Seunggi to show you the winery. Arasso?" She winked.

Suzy blushed and tried to cover her embarrassment with asking what exactly why she was making pasta from scratch.

"This," Halmeoni said, rolling one of the strips between her palm and the table, forming a thick pasta, slightly thinner than a pencil, "…pasta tastes better if you make it from the heart. It does not have to be perfect. Try it," she said and gestured to the table where several small dough were waiting to be rolled.

Suzy washed her hands and tentatively approached the dough.

"It will not bite you," Halmeoni said. "Go on."

Just then, Soo-young came into the kitchen with tears in her eyes. She almost turned around when she saw Suzy, but Halmeoni called her over. They started speaking rapidly in Korean, and Suzy couldn't make out a single word. All she understood was that Soo-young was incredibly upset over something and Halmeoni was not pleased, but comforting. Their discussion ended with an embrace and Soo-young scurried off.

"Is… there a problem?" Suzy asked tentatively, not sure if her question would be considered nosy and inappropriate.

"Soo-young just came from the doctor. She is pregnant." Halmeoni sighed and shook her head. "I told the girl 'no glove, no love' and still she lets him!"

"Uh… I'm sorry," Suzy said, not knowing what to say.

"It will be all right. It is not the first time…" Halmeoni shook her head. "Now let's start on the sauce."

"Something smells delicious," a velvety voice drawled from the doorway when Halmeoni and Suzy had just finished seasoning the pasta.

"Omo, Seunggi-ya!" Halmeoni exclaimed, gesturing for Vincent to come over. "You take over. Show her what I showed you, hm?" she raised an eyebrow, conveying to Vincent exactly what it was she wanted him to do.

Vincent laughed and kissed her cheek. "Gomawoyo, Halmeoni."

"You are in good hands," Halmeoni said to Suzy and handed her apron over to Vincent before exiting the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Suzy looked up at him as he took the spoon and started stirring the sauce, releasing the aroma of garlic into the air.

"What do you know about spices?" Vincent asked instead of answering her question.

"Well, I know how much I love it on my pasta," Suzy shrugged.

"Would you like a lesson in spices?"

"Sure, why not?"

Vincent turned the stove off and led her out into the small kitchen garden, overflowing with herbs, berries and chili peppers.

"This right here… is basil," he said and tore off a piece, holding it out for her to smell. "This… is rosemary… sage… chili peppers and pepper mint." He tore of pieces of each herb and handed them over to Suzy. "Let's sit down," he said and gestured to a little stone bench in the garden.

Suzy sat down and leaned back against the stone wall separating the kitchen from the garden, letting the sun warm her face and the aromas from the garden spices fill her nostrils.

"Keep your eyes closed, okay?" Vincent said.

Suzy gave him a suspicious look but closed her eyes.

"Rosemary…" he started, holding it out directly under her nose, "in Latin is ros marinus," he moved to trace her cheekbones with the sprig, "it means 'dew of the sea'. It was said to be draped around Aphrodite when she rose from the sea."

Vincent heard Suzy's breath hitch slightly at the feather light contact on her skin and he moved to trace her lips with the herb.

"When burned," he continued, "rosemary gives off a distinct mustard smell, as well as a smell similar to that of burning wood, and it can be used to flavor foods while barbecuing."

Vincent removed the sprig and pulled off one of the leaves, bringing it to her lips with his index finger. "It's bitter and highly aromatic." He touched her bottom lip, making her part her lips ever so slightly, and placed the leaf there.

"Rosemary is a love charm," he whispered in her ear as he resumed tracing her features with the sprig, moving down her neck. "Where rosemary grows in abundance, the woman rules the household. The woman is the one in control."

"Is that why Halmeoni's garden is filled with them?" she asked in a shaky voice, her eyes still closed.

"Hyung! Where are you?" a voice shouted from inside the kitchen, snapping Suzy back to reality and her eyes flew open.

"Ya Sungjae! What the hell?" Vincent growled as he made his way back inside, tossing the sprig on the bench beside Suzy.

Suzy remained on the bench for a moment, collecting herself. It was the sun that was sending her blood into a boil, she was sure of it. The sun was the only reason she felt flushed. It had absolutely nothing to do with Vincent. She licked her dry lips. No, nothing at all to do with him.

When Suzy felt she was able to stand up without her legs giving out, she headed into the kitchen, where Vincent and Sungjay were discussing something in Korean, vigorously gesturing with their hands. When she entered, the conversation came to a halt.

"Suzyssi," Sungjae said smoothly, "Abeoji is requesting Hyung's presence, and I wondered if you would like to accompany me for a tour of the winery?"