Hahm Yunhee is home. A place of safety. A place of comfort. And yet, a large segment of her heart is missing, left behind in an unreachable world.
Park Jimin is trapped in a parallel universe, fighting for survival while striving to find a way back...
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Cooking had never been one of Hahm Yunhee's strong points, but she'd heard many say that it was a welcome distraction when faced with turmoil. Now, she was faced with the dilemma of an empty kitchen, armed only with the few utensils Jin had bought, and a bucket of fresh ingredients she had no idea what to do with.
How hard could it be to conjure up traditional ramen? If she hurried, she could even have it ready for his return.
Despite his fight with the rickety ladders last night (resulting in bruised shins and a bruised ego), Jin had drunkenly crawled into the attic to retrieve the folding beds and slept in the room next to her. He'd risen early this morning to check the latest storm alerts while continuing to explore Aristotle's theory.
Coffee in hand, Yunhee had suggested they try setting the stone alight, but Jin was still opposed to the frightful idea, reminding her that solid, non-metallic minerals such as rock didn't burn, but expanded and cracked under intense heat, which could potentially damage it.
After a few hours of scouring library books on the living room floor, Jin insisted they retain their dignity and left the beach house to buy chairs. Yunhee was alone now as she seasoned the boiling water to concoct a tasty broth, but she was glad he'd stuck around.
She felt safe, optimistic, and above all, confident.
Jimin sprang to mind as she went about her task, his exasperated sigh whenever he threw dry noodles into a pan, his inability to switch the cooker on because he was too pent up to think straight. That devastating smile, that jovial laughter. Those indignant words and the immature temper that matched her own.
Yunhee was gazing into hyperspace, swirling her delicious soup around the pot while thinking of the sexy Mafia King until a putrid smell wafted under her nose.
'What the...?' A tea-towel was resting against the burner, small flames licking the material and setting it alight. 'Holy shiitake mushrooms!'
The front door rattled open, and Jin bellowed through the house for help with the chairs as Yunhee frantically whipped the towel from the cooker and held it at bay. The cloth began to disintegrate from the bottom, charcoal cinders fluttering to the floor like volcanic ash as she quickly glanced around for a place to dispose of it.
'Yunhee!'
Jin's shopping bags smashed to the floor where he stood motionless in the kitchen doorway. And then he was rushing forward, snatching the smouldering rag from her hands as she coughed and wafted the fumes away.
Flinging it into the sink, he promptly switched on the water, glaring at the little woman over his shoulder as a puff of smoke emitted from the sizzling towel.
'Seriously? Seriously? I leave you for five minutes-'
'Sorry, I don't cook much. I must have panicked,' Yunhee said with a sheepish smile, never in a million years admitting that her fantasising about his boss had been the cause of the fire.
