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hyunjin hummed to himself as he closed the door behind him and carried the groceries into the kitchen. looking out the sliding glass door that connected the kitchen to the back porch, he watched birds hop about in the rains of early march. then he glanced at his mother's workshop which stood further into the backyard, near the treeline. one of the doors was cracked open, and inside he could see his mom going to and from the table on which she usually kept unbaked pieces of pottery. it seemed as though she was busy with a student of hers, and so he took it upon himself to start making dinner. he began to put away the foods he bought, and while doing this he thought it might be a good idea to tell his mom that he was cooking.
sent to - mom (: I'll be making food for us so you don't have to worry about it.
seconds after sending the message, he heard his mother's phone 'ping' in the living room. sighing, he shut the fridge door and slid his phone in to the pocket of his hoodie. he loved his mom. really, he did, but he just couldn't understand why she couldn't just keep her phone with her. after all, she was always telling him to do the same in case something happened to him while he was out of the home. hyunjin pulled the hood up over his head and started towards the backyard, thankful that he hadn't bothered taking his shoes off when he first came in. he walked down the brick path he and his father had laid down years earlier in order to keep his shoes from getting too muddy. once at the doors to the shop, he knocks before letting himself in, saying, "hi mama. i texted you about me making dinner, but you left your phone inside so i came out to tell you."
"tell me what, hyunjin?" the woman asked, looking up from the paints she was reorganizing on the side of the room.
"that i'm making dinner. is there anything specific you might want?"
with a shake of her head, she tells him there isn't and that he can make whatever he wants. "oh," she gestured to her right, "could you please get genevieve's cup and and make her some more hot chocolate? she was walking here without an umbrella when it started to rain, and she's been shaking a bit still even with the space heater on."
while hyunjin gave his mom a nod, genevieve's head perked at the speaking of her name. having moved to korea just over a month ago from france, and for nothing more than a year long academic program, the language of the country was still very new to her. sitting at the pottery wheel, she offers hyunjin a curt smile when their eyes meet. he smiles in return before asking, "where's the cup?"
"oh, it's on the table you're standing next to. it's the one with blossoms on it."
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hyunjin set a saucepan of milk on the stove for it to warm up as he washed the mug genevieve had been drinking out of. he questioned why he didn't actually greet her. he could see that she wasn't shy, but instead just out of her comfort zone and that being so caused her to become withdrawn - just the same as a former friend of his was. whatever, he thought, i'll just say hi to her when i bring her the cocoa.
mixing the drink up, he began to walk back to his mom's studio, the rain heavier than when he first arrived home. it started to soak through his hood, dampening his hair and sending chills down his spine. "ow!" he said at one point when the droplets hit the cocoa and caused it to splash up from the cup and onto his hand, the liquid momentarily stinging his flesh.
as hyunjin stepped inside the shop, he told both women, "hi! i'm back." he put genevieve's mug down where he'd originally picked it up, throwing a look of friendliness her way once they made eye contact. continuing to gaze at her, he waved and said, "my name's hyunjin."
after a few seconds of what seemed to be her processing his words, she grins brightly and gives him her own name, saying, "you can call me genny though."
"genny?" he watches her nod at him, and he smiles. "it's nice to meet you, genny." with that, he waved them both goodbye and headed back indoors.
