THE INTERLUDE | jjk

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT!

HOUSTON, TX

"Just taste it, it's good, I promise," I said to Brianna, using my sliding my plate towards her. She looked down at the plate and back at me, "These are ribs? They're so long and thin though?" I had brought Brianna to a Korean BBQ spot, considering the girl always nagged me about not sharing my culture with her. It's not that I didn't want to, I just didn't know she had much of an interest. She knew surface things like what certain words meant in Korean, or certain traditional practices like how to greet people and table etiquette if we were to ever travel there, but she didn't know much about my experience being a Korean-American male. So I thought, since she and I both were incredible foodies, exploration of different foods in my culture besides what I would make at home on occasion, would be a good place to start.

"Because it's Galbi. It's not like the ribs you make at home," I said to her, seeing her inspect the meat with her chopsticks before picking it up and looking at me, "You asked me to show you, and I am, so just try it. If you don't like it, it's okay. There are other dishes you can try." Brianna was a picky eater naturally, so seeing her scared attempt at trying new food wasn't unlike her. She raised the chopsticks to her lips before hesitantly putting them in her mouth, setting the utensils beside the plate as she chewed.

"So?" I asked her as I cooked more meat on the grilling pan, "What do you think?" She swallowed before nodding, looking at me with a small smile, "I liked it, it's good."

"You're not just saying that right?" I asked her, placing another piece on her plate, "You're not obligated to like it, baby."

"I do, seriously," She said, taking the freshly cooked meat off her plate, blowing it before putting it in her mouth, "It's really flavorful. You didn't season it though, so what is it?"

"That's because its marinated, so typically it comes with whatever seasonings and sauces they marinate it with," I said as put some meat on top of rice, preparing a small combination for myself, "However, you can ask for extra seasonings if you'd like, it's not a rule against wanting more."

"No, I'm fine! I was just wondering," Brianna said, watching me take a bite of my food, the girl smiling as she removed her phone and attempted to take a picture of me, "You look so cute, your little chubby cheeks." I looked up at her and grimaced, chuckling a little as she snapped the picture before I swallowed my food.

"Okay," She said as she sat down her phone before pointing at some other dishes on the table, "What's the leaves? That stuff too right there, on your right?"

"The leaves are called perilla leaves," I said to her, preparing one for her and filling it with pork belly, rice, sauce, and garnish, "It's similar to those spring roll wraps we get from that one spot, but a leaf. It's good, I promise, try." She leaned across the table, her mouth open, allowing me to insert the food into her mouth. She sat back down in her seat, chewing the food with a doubtful expression.