Our Second Baby

Part 3. Pajeon

On her second month of pregnancy, Haein discovered that Hyunwoo's omma took a cooking day off once a month. Breakfast would be pakein and a heated jjigae from the day before. Lunch was delivered jajangmyeon, and dinner was delivered fried chicken.

On such Sundays, his mom would go to a friend's house or just have a lazy day at home.

Haein was impressed. His mom really knew how to take some me time for herself. Also, she had never seen anyone eating pajeon, jajangmyeon and fried chicken so happily.

She guessed when you buy something sparingly, it became extra special.

Of all the food on this special Sunday, Hyunwoo ate the pajeon the most. The next day, when he was at work, Haein suddenly thought of learning to cook it. 

His mother was hanging the laundry to dry at the backyard, and Haein cleared her throat. 

"Ommoni, do you think you can teach me how to make pajeon?"

His mother was surprised, and didn't react for a full five seconds. 

"You want to learn to cook pajeon, Child?"

"Ne."

"Because Hyunwoo likes it?"

Embarrassed, Haein only nodded. 

"Of course I can! It's very easy to make one! Let's go!"

Soon, she was chopping green onions, then making the batter of flour, water, soybean paste and a pinch of sugar. His mom showed how to mix everything.

"You need to put the green onions like this," she said, placing the green onions in a rectangle on a frying pan, "Then pour the batter."

"We need to keep patting this."

"After the bottom gets brown and crispy, we flip it."

"Omo!" 

His mom flipped it so expertly that Haein became impressed. 

She couldn't cook. Every time she tried to make an omelet, she panicked when she flipped the egg and ended up making a mess. 

"I always panic when I flip an omelet. Ends up looking bad."

His mom looked up, looking surprised. She knew it's hard to Haein to admit there's something she couldn't do. 

"Well, even if it looks bad, it will taste good. After lots of practice, you'll be alright."

She tried to make one more pajeon, and was the one who tried flipping it this time. 

She panicked and it broke in the middle.

"Aigoo, it's ruined," she exclaimed, a little sad.

"Don't worry, we can fix it," his mom said, pouring the rest of the batter on the broken part of the pajeon. After the extra batter was poured, it looked good again.

"Cooking is like life. There's a solution for everything. But when you can't fix something, there's always ramyeon and delivery."

Haein laughed. 

Truly, she loved his mom. 

Her relationship with her own mother was better in the past five years, but his mom was really special. Her homemade meals were magical, and she had the simplicity and warmth that felt magnetic for her.

That night, when Hyunwoo arrived from work and ate his dinner, his mother said, "Haein made the pajeon."

"Jinjja?"

"Wae? You don't think I could make one? Your mom taught me!"

He tried a bit and it tasted nice.

"How is it?" she asked, worried.