Chapter 26
Chapter 26. Oppa, Have You Ever Heard of a Tteokbokki Kiss?
With their peculiar exchange of presents concluded, the pair could finally dive into their date without distractions.
The planned activity for the day was preparing a meal together.
Although Minjun and Sia had cooked plenty of feasts for one another over time, oddly enough, they had never actually stood over the stove side by side.
Seeking a fresh experience, they decided to prepare lunch as a team.
Naturally, the menu centered on Sia’s all-time favorite meal: tteokbokki.
Since Sia had already gathered and prepped all the components in advance, all that remained was slicing the produce and tossing it into the pot.
“I’ll get the rice cakes simmering to soften them up. Could you chop up the scallions and fish cakes, Oppa?”
“Leave it to me.”
Using spells to handle everything would have taken a split second, but relying on magic would defeat the entire purpose of bonding over home cooking.
More importantly, Sia had a private motive she kept entirely to herself: she adored watching Minjun wield a kitchen knife.
The steady rhythm of his chopping was appealing enough on its own, but the sharp, prominent sinews shifting across his wrists whenever he gripped the handle made her heart flutter every single time.
While stirring the softening rice cakes in the deep pot, Sia could not stop sneaking sideways glances at him dicing the ingredients.
‘Goodness. Just look at those forearms.’
Even the veins tracing his skin looked remarkably attractive, and watching those defined lines flex caused Sia to gulp unconsciously.
“You really can’t get enough tteokbokki, can you? Are you honestly craving it that much?”
“Yeah. Beyond excited.”
Minjun remained completely oblivious to the reality that her dry swallow had nothing to do with spicy rice cakes and everything to do with ogling his wrists.
Having finished slicing, Minjun adeptly stirred together the seasoning paste, dumping the rich mixture straight into the rolling water.
The moment he set the seasoning spoon down, Sia wrapped both arms securely around his torso from behind, snuggling against his back.
“You’re clinging to me just like a little cicada, Sia.”
“Buzz. Bzzz-bzzz.”
Teased about acting like a noisy summer bug, Sia leaned into the joke, humming insect sounds while tilting her head up with pursed lips, silently demanding a kiss.
“A cicada has no right being this adorable.”
Setting aside the bowl coated in residual red sauce, Minjun turned and pressed his lips against hers.
As their mouths connected, an identical satisfaction washed over both of them.
‘I made the right call suggesting we cook together.’
‘Following Oppa’s lead was the best decision ever!’
While they were wrapped up in their warm, affectionate cooking routine, Minjun’s smartphone suddenly started buzzing.
“Who could that be?”
“Ah, it’s Junhwi. That younger fellow who entered the Gate alongside me previously.”
Puzzled by why the man would reach out out of the blue, Minjun made no move to pick up.
He only had three precious hours a week reserved solely for Sia.
Whatever it was could hardly be a life-or-death crisis, meaning he could easily return the call once their rendezvous concluded.
Under ordinary circumstances, Sia would have praised him for prioritizing her and ignoring outside interruptions. Instead, she caught him off guard with her response.
“Go ahead and pick up.”
“Don’t worry about it. It can’t be that pressing.”
“It’ll only take a minute or two. Besides, I need to step away to handle something real quick anyway.”
Promising she would return in under five minutes, Sia slipped out of the room.
Her destination was her private walk-in closet.
Having tucked away the precious mementos she had received from Minjun in a safe spot, she pulled open one of the wardrobe doors.
‘I ought to prepare a return gift for Oppa as well, right?’
The items she had in mind were pieces from her own wardrobe.
She had no idea whether Minjun shared her sentiment of wanting her garments simply to make his place feel like a shared home.
Regardless, Sia was convinced there was an undeniable necessity for him to take them.
‘Just on the off chance. That one-in-a-million, utterly impossible scenario…’
Obviously, it was an unthinkable notion.
‘What if some shameless woman steps foot inside Oppa’s place?’
If that ever happened, Sia intended for visible traces of her presence to send an unmistakable warning.
Even if they did not officially share a home yet, she wanted any visitor to perceive that Minjun already had a woman settled in his living space.
To put it plainly, she was staking her territory.
Driven by that intention, Sia began sifting through garments she could hang in his closet.
Initially, she debated offering him worn items just like he had given her, but worn everyday pieces felt out of place as display items.
Outfits that had only been worn once or twice—practically fresh off the rack—seemed far more fitting.
Still, if she offered nothing but used clothing, the aesthetic might feel somewhat off. Perhaps along with these, she should pick out a matching set of couple outfits for them soon.
‘Should I have saved this idea for later?’
Every passing second chipped away at her irreplaceable hours with Minjun without mercy.
Letting even five minutes of this golden time slip down the drain was agony.
Grabbing a handful of suitable clothes within arm’s reach, Sia shoved them straight into her pocket dimension and darted back toward the kitchen.
When she walked in, Minjun had already disconnected the line and was adding the final touches to the pan.
“Was it an emergency?”
“Not at all. He just wanted to confirm a detail.”
Keeping her surprise gift under wraps for a better moment, Sia kept quiet about her trip to the wardrobe.
Rejoining each other over the stove, it did not take long before the tteokbokki reached perfection.
“Ah. What a wonderfully familiar aroma.”
“It really is. The scent alone brings back so many memories.”
The stew had been prepared following the exact method Minjun frequently relied on whenever they shared meals in the past.
Their gazes locked, both awash with shared memories.
“Let’s dig in.”
“Bon appétit, Oppa!”
Finally, they sat down to eat.
While the glistening dish was tempting enough to claim anyone’s undivided focus, the lovers found themselves staring into each other’s eyes far more than looking down at their bowls.
They exchanged bright grins whenever their eyes met, tenderly wiped stray red sauce from the corners of their mouths, and shared the tender meal just like any deeply enamored couple would.
As the meal progressed, Sia’s curiosity got the better of her regarding the earlier interruption.
“Oppa. Why did that guy reach out to you earlier, anyway?”
Had the caller been female, she would never have let him pick up to begin with. But since the caller was male, her guard had remained relatively low.
She presumed it was merely a polite follow-up conversation.
“He mentioned wanting to express his thanks once more and asked when I was available so he could treat me to a meal.”
“Is that so? You should definitely accept. Make sure he buys you something extravagant, too. After all, you literally saved his life.”
Up to this point, the conversation seemed utterly harmless.
The complication arose the moment Minjun added the following detail.
“Well… it isn’t Junhwi who’s planning to pay for the meal.”
“Then who is?”
“His older sister.”
“…?”
“She explained she feels deeply indebted for me rescuing her younger brother and requested that the three of us gather for dinner sometime.”
‘A woman.’
Even worse, the immediate older sister of the fellow he had rescued.
Sia’s thoughts instantly went into overdrive as she dissected the situation.
Naturally, that woman would harbor immense goodwill toward Minjun for keeping her kin alive.
And it was practically guaranteed that such gratefulness toward a savior could blossom into romantic interest toward him as an attractive man.
“…And just what was your answer to that, Oppa?”
Slowly resting her utensil down on the table, Sia pressed with an unmistakable edge of gravity in her tone.
Anticipating such an outcome, Minjun responded in an even, composed tone.
“I told her that while I appreciated the sentiment, meeting up would be inappropriate because my girlfriend might get the wrong idea.”
“And how did she react to that?”
“She expressed that she had genuinely hoped to meet me and felt disappointed. She mentioned that if dinner was out of the question, she’d at least like to deliver a token of appreciation to me.”
That single word—‘disappointed’—struck a sharp nerve deep inside Sia.
‘Why on earth should she feel disappointed?’
Was it solely due to missing an opportunity to greet her brother’s benefactor face-to-face?
Could that truly be the full extent of it? Such a statement held far too many potential connotations, and that lingering vagueness fueled Sia’s rising agitation.
Regardless of who the woman was, Sia despised the mere thought of Minjun sharing a cozy table with another woman.
Yet, stepping into Minjun’s shoes, the dilemma became trickier.
A family member was simply trying to treat him to a lavish dinner out of sheer thankfulness for preserving a life. Minjun certainly deserved the right to be honored and enjoy a high-end feast.
Sia had no desire to come across as a petty, controlling partner toward the man she adored just over one unknown woman.
At the identical time, there was no denying how deeply the woman’s existence grated on her nerves.
In the end, Sia found a middle ground.
“Oppa. Could I tag along with you?”
“…?”
“I’d like to say hello to that Junhwi fellow as well. Would you mind?”
This way, Minjun could still attend the dinner and enjoy the gesture of gratitude, while Sia could sit right beside him to guarantee that the sister didn’t attempt any funny business.
No feelings would be bruised, and no boundaries crossed. It was an airtight compromise.
Minjun had not envisioned Sia wanting to join, but as far as he was concerned, so long as Junhwi and his sibling had no complaints, he saw no reason to decline.
“Hmm. In that case, I’ll bring it up with Junhwi once I get back to my place.”
“Perfect! Thank you!”
With the matter concerning Junhwi temporarily resolved, their attention wandered back down toward the skillet of food.
“Oppa. There’s something I’ve always wanted to try doing while having tteokbokki.”
“What would that be?”
“A tteokbokki kiss.”
During an earlier outing where they had ordered the dish, Sia had realized that lovers could easily share a cylinder of rice cake just like players do during the classic Pepero game.
Engaging in that level of public affection in a restaurant would have drawn countless stares, and even his apartment was somewhat exposed.
Here in the lair, however, no outside eyes existed—only the two of them.
“Care to give it a shot?”
“These rice cakes seem a bit too short for that sort of contest, though—”
“That just makes it better.”
It was merely a whimsical, romantic whim of his lover. Why should he hesitate to humor her?
Minjun clamped one end of an appropriately sized rice cake between his teeth and signaled to Sia with a subtle glance.
Sia closed the distance without a second thought.
Typically, the amusement of the snack-biting game stemmed from two flustered individuals trying their hardest to leave the tiniest scrap behind without letting their lips actually touch.
Such hesitations had zero place between two partners who were passionately crazy about each other.
Without the slightest pause, Sia planted her lips straight against Minjun’s, crunching through the starch between them.
The chewy yield of the warm rice cake gave way instantly to the far softer, warmer touch of their meeting lips.
“Now it’s my turn.”
Swapping positions, Sia placed another piece between her own lips.
The second it was in place, Minjun leaned in close, capturing her mouth in a kiss while biting off his half.
Once they snapped through the treat, neither paid any mind to the spicy food on the table. Their focus turned entirely to the warmth of each other’s mouths.
No matter how tender a rice cake could be, how could it ever compete with the sheer sweetness of kissing the one you loved?
As that round wrapped up, Sia held a fresh rice cake between her teeth. Minjun closed the space the instant she offered it.
When their lips parted from the subsequent kiss, Minjun noticed a trace of fiery red glaze lingering on Sia’s lip.
Recalling a famous television sequence featuring a sweet foam kiss, Minjun leaned down and gently licked the sauce clean from her mouth.
A deep blush crept across Sia’s cheeks, painting her face a vivid crimson.
Though not a single word was uttered, the hunger in their eyes laid everything bare.
The raw, undeniable yearning shared between two people completely head over heels had begun to simmer wildly between them.
“Oppa…”
“Sia.”
Their breathless gazes tangled together in the quiet room, making any further speech entirely unnecessary.
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