Fire & Silk

13. Dinner Date

"Please direct all further questions to President Park's communications team or to the police. If there are any tips, please contact the tip hotline we have set up. Stay safe and be on high alert. Thank you."

Jihyo turned the TV off and stared at her reflection in the screen. She hoped that J.Y. Park Law and the police were making the right move in publicizing the case. As the police chief's words lingered in her thoughts, she was interrupted as she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She smiled when she saw it was Sana and waited a second to pick up. She took a deep breath and answered. "Hey, Sana. What's up?

"I just got home from work and since I still don't really feel safe enough to go out, I was wondering if you wanted to come over and keep me company while I make dinner?" Sana smiled and set her bag on the couch, flopping down on it. She waved and silently mouthed a thank you to one of the men who was guarding her as he closed the door to her apartment. Even though there were men surrounding her building and posted outside her apartment door 24/7, Sana was glad that she could keep at least a bit of normalcy in her life.

Jihyo quickly got off the couch and ran to her room, grabbing her purse. She sat down by the door and slipped her shoes on before she responded to Sana. "I'd love to come over and keep you company. But are you just making dinner for yourself? I don't have to make dinner when I get home, do I?" Jihyo teasingly asked and smiled when she heard Sana laughing on the other side of the phone. She was glad there was finally someone in her life that laughed at her terrible jokes.

Sana had just turned the stove on when she heard a knock on the door. She wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing and walked to the door, opening it to a very happy Jihyo holding something behind her back. "What's that you have there?" Sana tried to peek around Jihyo but failed to do so as the other woman turned her back to Sana to get inside. Jihyo slipped her shoes off and sat down at the kitchen counter, still holding the mystery item in her hands.

Sana walked to the other side of the counter and pulled out a mixing bowl. "Are you ever going to let me know what you brought?" Sana put a few ingredients in the mixing bowl and filled a pot with water, setting it on the stove to boil.

"I'll tell you what I have if you tell me what's for dinner. Based on the ingredients it looks tasty." Jihyo smiled and raised her eyebrows when Sana playfully rolled her eyes.

"Okay okay. I'm making 비빔냉면 (bibim-naengmyeon, cold spicy noodles) since it was extra hot out today and I thought something cool would be good for dinner. Your turn!" Sana explained the dinner plans and held her hand out for Jihyo to finally tell her what she brought.

Jihyo nodded her head and slowly brought out a bottle of red wine from underneath the kitchen counter. She set it down and said, "Ta-da! I thought that since it's Friday, wine would be a good way to celebrate the weekend. It's kind of like a dinner date." The second Jihyo said this, her face turned bright red. "Uh- I mean well not a date but you know. Like a-" She was stumbling over her words and that was only making her more embarrassed and more red.

Sana just laughed and shook her head at the woman. "It's okay. You can call it a date. I mean there is wine, and I am making you dinner." Sana blushed a bit and turned around, placing the noodles into the boiling water. She turned back around to see Jihyo still extremely red, grasping to the wine bottle like it was going to save her from her embarrassment. "Would you like me to open it so you don't have to hold it like that?"

All Jihyo could do was silently nod. She watched as Sana got two wine glasses out of her cabinet. She uncorked the wine bottle and poured it into the glasses. She smiled and thanked Sana as she gave her the glasses, clinking them together. "Well h-here's to an odd but good date." She felt herself getting red again and took a sip of the wine.