Ch.46Tutoring a Peer (3)

“Huh…! Wh-where am I…?”

Semiconductor, Doyoung’s father, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and opened his eyes, not knowing when he had closed them. He had somehow fallen asleep while sitting on the sofa in his home.

After finishing the afternoon shuttle service for his students, he had lain down on the sofa thinking he would just rest his eyes for a moment. That was his mistake.

“The evening class time… Phew, thank goodness. There’s still some time left.”

Doche checked the time on his phone. 6:00 PM. There was still about 30 minutes before the evening class would begin.

It seemed he had passed out on the sofa for about 30 minutes. The sleep deprivation from the past few days was surely the cause. No matter how much nutrition he tried to replenish the day before, once night fell, everything was sapped away in bed. How could anyone endure that?

“Sniff sniff. This smell… Oh. Looks like Doyoung’s mom is teaching Doyoung how to cook again tonight.”

*Growl*

What woke Doche from his collapse-like slumber was his hungry stomach crying out and the fragrant aroma of dinner wafting from the kitchen, tempting his empty belly. Indeed, among all clocks, the belly clock was the most accurate.

“Doyoung’s mom is really something. She has to catch an early flight tomorrow, yet she’s still fully dedicated to teaching Doyoung how to cook even in the evening.”

“Oh my, you’re already awake.”

“Ah, Doyoung’s mom.”

Doche rubbed his eyelids and looked at his wife, Joonsook, who was sitting beside him.

“You worked hard driving the shuttle. You were sleeping so soundly that I deliberately didn’t wake you. Was it too noisy?”

“No, the good smell woke me up. But you…”

He had thought Joonsook would be in the kitchen with their daughter Doyoung, but she was sitting next to Doche without even wearing an apron, waiting for him to wake up.

“Weren’t you in the kitchen with Doyoung? You said you’d stick close to her in case she had an accident near the gas stove.”

“She’s not alone, so I came out.”

“…Huh?”

“Come here for a moment. I have something to show you.”

Joonsook crouched down near the sliding door to the kitchen and gestured to Doche. Though still dazed from just waking up, Doche reflexively followed her instructions and moved toward her.

“Careful, don’t make too much noise with your footsteps.”

“Uh, okay…”

Following Joonsook’s words, Doche lifted his heels and tiptoed forward like a thief in his own home. It was an awkward posture for a kendo practitioner who had spent his life making loud footsteps.

“What’s going on? You’re acting like those parents who secretly let go while teaching their kids to ride a bike.”

“Skip the unnecessary metaphors and just look at what’s happening in there.”

“What, is there a thief?”

“Hehe, that’s not entirely wrong.”

“What?”

What bold thief would dare to sneak in at this hour to steal from the Ban family’s kendo dojo? At Joonsook’s mention of a thief, Doche’s eyes lit up as he focused his gaze through the crack in the sliding door.

“Are you sure we can make this with just eggs? Aren’t you using too little? I think we should use at least four eggs to make it substantial.”

“You can learn the feeling of success first and increase the quantity later. Besides, if it’s too big, it’s easier to tear.”

“What’s with that ant-sized amount of fish sauce! Will it even have any taste? It’s a side dish to eat with rice!”

“…Since we reduced the eggs, we naturally need to reduce the seasoning too.”

“Ah, I see. That makes sense when you put it that way.”

Beyond the kitchen, Doyoung and Hamin were cooking together in front of the stove, both wearing aprons. The source of the fragrant aroma was the rolled egg omelette they were making.

“Hamin seems to know quite a bit about cooking.”

“Come to think of it, this is when Hamin was supposed to learn kendo from Doyoung. But from the looks of it, that rascal Doyoung has put the kendo lesson on the back burner and is learning cooking from Hamin instead.”

“They said they wanted to make it together, so I stepped aside. I think she was quite upset about being worse at cooking than Hamin.”

“That Doyoung. She just hates losing at anything. Must have gotten it from you.”

“She got it from you.”

While Doyoung and Hamin were bickering in the kitchen, Doche and Joonsook were squabbling like children, reminiscing about old times.

“Just a little… just a little, but I think I understand why Doyoung insisted on maintaining her right-handedness and offered to teach Hamin kendo again.”

“…Doyoung’s mom?”

“It means she’s found someone she wants to be around, even if it means doing it that way. Hehe.”

“Hmm…”

Joonsook smiled faintly as she watched the two.

“So, where’s this thief you mentioned, Doyoung’s mom?”

“…You’re just so oblivious to these things. That’s why I couldn’t wait any longer and had Solyoung first.”

“…Huh?”

Doche tilted his head in confusion as Joonsook suddenly looked at him with disdain.

**

Do Hamin stood in the kitchen with me, wearing an apron borrowed from my mom.

I could tell his advice wasn’t just empty boasting just by watching how he tied his apron.

Unlike the uniform used in kendo, an apron has ties that fasten at the back where you can’t see.

The fact that he tied it with such ease meant he must have done it many times before.

“It’s easier to practice with a spatula than chopsticks at first. Chopsticks can tear the eggs when you try to lift them.”

“Ugh… Got it, so I just roll it like this?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Like that. Slightly lift it and fold it over.”

“Ooh.”

I tried cooking again following Hamin’s method, which was slightly less advanced than my mom’s approach.

Of course, even with the reduced difficulty, it was still challenging for someone like me who was completely clueless about cooking, both physically and mentally.

“Wait, wait! I think the egg is going to get cut on the edge of the spatula! What do I do?”

“Don’t hold the edge up. Don’t think of it as scraping the egg off the pan, but gently turn it like you’re turning a page in a book.”

“Since it’s my first time, I don’t know how much force to use. Come over here, Mr. Perfect Student, and let me feel how it’s done.”

“Even if you ask me to show you the feel…”

“Just hold the spatula with me. I’ll feel it and figure it out.”

“…Huh?”

Feeling it once is better than hearing about it a hundred times.

I reached out to Hamin, sending a distress signal.

“Hurry up, or the back side’s going to be a total eclipse!”

“Ah, alright…”

Pretending to give in, Hamin placed his hand over mine as I held the spatula.

Though he was still shorter than me, being a boy, his hand completely covered the back of Ban Doyoung’s hand as he gripped the spatula.

“Ooh! It folded! So that’s how you do it!”

“S-so… do you get it now?”

“Yeah. But the bottom is brown.”

“That’s fine. It’s just nicely browned. If you want a more yellow color, next time flip it faster.”

“Ooh, so even if it’s brown, it still counts as well-cooked?”

“Well, it’s not burnt, so…?”

“Ooh, that’s a wide defensive range. So with people too…?”

“…Even in this situation.”

“Hehe, sorry, sorry. Anyway, our model student is a chicken-colored person. Well, this is my first successful rolled egg, right?”

With Hamin’s help, a decent-looking rolled egg omelette was finally placed on the plate.

The slightly yellowish-brown, oily surface was certainly lacking compared to what my mom made, both in appearance and color.

But compared to my countless failed attempts trying to follow her method,

this was much closer to something that could be called a rolled egg omelette.

The process was also much easier.

“Oh, delicious.”

And above all, it just tasted good.

The ratio of eggs to fish sauce that Hamin had suggested was perfect.

If I had used as much as I initially thought, the egg roll might have reeked of fish by now.

It definitely tasted different from my mom’s,

but it would be hard to say which one was better.

Maybe Ban Doyoung’s palate is just programmed to like anything egg-based.

Well, that’s possible, but I wasn’t going to deny what I was feeling right now.

Delicious is delicious.

“I-is it edible?”

“Yeah, try some yourself.”

I handed him the rolled egg that I had already taken a bite from.

He looked at the cross-section of the egg roll that had been in my mouth and hesitantly stepped back.

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I already know how it tastes. And it’s already time for evening self-study.”

“What? Do you think I’m lying about it being delicious? This time I really followed your instructions and it’s good!”

“J-just a moment… Let me at least get separate chopsticks…”

“No way. I don’t want more dishes to wash. Just eat it.”

“N-no, I’m fine! It’s time for evening study, so I’ll be going now!”

“Hey, model student!”

Hamin hastily untied my mom’s apron,

grabbed his bag, and left our house.

Without even tasting the egg roll he had helped make.

“…Tsk. He didn’t eat this delicious thing.”

I got my saliva all over it though.

**

“I’m home.”

After evening self-study ended, Hamin returned home on a late subway.

Passing through the dark entrance, he went to his room without turning on the lights.

When he arrived home, his mom had already fallen asleep waiting for him.

He wasn’t particularly upset. His mom had to go to work early the next morning too.

They could check in with each other early tomorrow morning.

“I should quickly wash up and get ready. Tomorrow’s PE day, so I need to get out the gym clothes I hung up…”

*Buzz*

Just then, Hamin’s phone vibrated.

Someone had sent a message.

It was unusual.

Besides his mom waiting for him to come home, no one would contact him at this hour.

Well, more accurately, there were hardly any people who contacted him at all.

“Ah. It’s her.”

The message was from none other than Doyoung.

He wondered why she would contact him at this hour, almost midnight.

Could something be wrong?

Given the late hour, anxiety rather than anticipation began to consume Hamin’s mind.

“Well… let me check this first.”

Hamin quietly entered his room and checked the message from Doyoung.

[Doyoung]

[Hey]

[Did you get home safely?]

[The rolled egg you taught me]

[I tried making it again by myself and my mom and dad said it was delicious]

[Thanks for the awesome tip]

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

Hamin sighed with relief and stroked his chest upon hearing that his cooking was good.

He thought it might have been a small token of gratitude, albeit minimal compared to what he had received from Doyoung’s parents and Doyoung herself.

[Doyoung]

[Can I ask you if I think of another dish I want to make next time?]

[Me]

[I don’t mind. Feel free to ask.]

[Doyoung]

[Woohoo]

[Thanks]

[Since you taught me how to make a side dish, I’ll give you one too]

[Me]

[Huh?]

A moment later, a photo was sent from Doyoung’s contact.

“…”

*Buzz*

[Doyoung]

[Should I have sent you a swimsuit photo instead?]

[Me]

[Stop it already!]

[Doyoung]

[Hahahahaha]

[Sleep well]

[And teach me about that con tomorrow]

Hamin angrily threw his phone onto the bed, but…

“…”

[Download this image?]

[Confirm / Cancel]

He ended up saving Doyoung’s childhood photo to his gallery.