one christmas night, sunghoon ✔

01:42

"I thought we were getting tteokbokki."

"Why get tteokbokki when you could have the best ramen on the entire planet?" Sunghoon retorted, and I cocked a skeptical brow. "Don't worry. Just one bite and you'll see what I mean."

"You are hyping this up entirely too much," I sniffed, but I kept my hand in his, allowing him to continue leading the way. "Where's the restaurant?"

"It isn't made in a restaurant." He pointed to a stall along the street. "Right there."

I squinted. "That one?"

Sunghoon nodded, and we sidled up to the vendor. The canopy atop was a bright orange color, not out of place in the surroundings' mosaic of various shades and hues for everything from people to foods. A tiny elderly woman stood inside, bent over a wok scooping out something that I had to admit smelled divine. "Oh!" she gasped when she saw us approaching, hurrying out. "Look who it is!"

"It's good to see you, Grandma." I watched with a mixture of curiosity and amusement as Sunghoon practically bent double to hug her, her patting his back with all the fondness of a grandparent. "Are you looking younger?"

"Just say you want me to cook for you and quit the flattery," she sniffed, and I stifled a giggle. Her eyes caught on me, standing a few steps away. "Who's the pretty girl?"

I moved forward, bowing. "I'm Aeji, ma'am."

"Oh, none of that." She waved away my formality, reaching up to hug me too. "Just Halmeoni is fine. Look at you, you're so pretty. But some fattening up is definitely in order." She cast a critical eye over my frame, then turned back to Sunghoon. "Don't tell me you finally got yourself a girlfriend. I never thought I'd see the day."

Sunghoon choked. "Grandma, we're not... we're not dating." I would've laughed at his discomfort if my own face wasn't on fire.

"Oh." She placed her hands on her hips. "Why not?"

Sunghoon's mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. "He told me you make the best ramen I will ever taste," I said smoothly, coming to his rescue. "So we decided to come check it out."

"Well, not to toot my own horn, but." The grandma lifted her shoulders in a gesture of modesty and proudly drew herself up to her full height, which, granted, wasn't very much. I beamed, understanding now why she had Sunghoon so fond of her. And I was already growing to be. "I've been told it's the smell of my classic ramen that draws so many people in this direction, and once they have a taste, well." She chuckled.

"It's true," Sunghoon agreed from behind me.

"Of course. How do you think your uncle found me all those years ago?" She gave him a look. "And why do you think you've been coming here ever since?"

"I'm telling you, you should open a restaurant and make it. You'd never go out of business."

"I spend the rest of the year with my family." She shook her head. "It's only on Christmas Eve that I make my ramen. Otherwise, where's the specialty to it?" My stomach grumbled then, and I placed a hand over it, embarrassed. But the grandma just laughed heartily. "Less talking and more cooking, hmm? Both of you take a seat."

And so we did, watching as she headed over to the portable stove. She cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck before shifting up her sleeves. "Time to make some magic. Just wait a bit, alright?"

I turned to Sunghoon seated across from me, giggling a little. "I think I love her," I told him.

"Get in line," he grinned. "She's legendary here."

We continued to make small talk as she prepared our food, keeping the conversation as light as possible to maintain the mood. Her stall was set up in an open part of the market, with a department store complex just a few blocks away. And yet many dropped by for some of her ready-made food before taking off. We were the only ones sitting here.