Sudden Proposal

So this is what it means to mess up right from the very first step.

Thinking back, things had already felt off from the moment I left the house.

The second I confidently refused the offer to be driven and said I’d just walk for a bit, I nearly slipped and rolled down a hill.

On the way back from grocery shopping, after tuning out Gamja’s nagging, the rain suddenly started pouring.

The downpour looked intense enough to feel ominous, so I checked the weather… and apparently, a typhoon was coming.

By the time I got home, barely shielding my head while being hauled under Hopi’s arm—who had picked me up saying we’d all be held responsible if I caught a cold—I was completely drained.

When I complained about why the houses here were all built so tightly packed on such steep slopes, I was told this was actually one of the most expensive areas in Seoul.

By the time I placed the ingredients on the table, the rain was no longer just heavy—it sounded like a waterfall crashing down.

Yeah… on a day like this, it had to be Korean food.

Something warm.

Something familiar.

Determined to wipe away all this bad luck at once, I started cooking…

“…What is this?”

“What do you mean what.”

“It’s dinner.”

I forced a smile with my hands behind my back.

Woo Jaeyoung, who had just come home from work, was staring at the table with a slightly shocked expression.

He even looked a bit dazed, which didn’t suit him at all.

“I heard from the guys that you were doing something, but…”

He lifted the lid off the pot in the center of the table.

It was steamed egg with pollock roe and green onions.

Well… that was the intention.

I had carefully chopped the green onions after hearing they made it taste better, and neatly cut up the pollock roe with scissors.

But I got so focused on mixing the eggs and roe that I completely forgot to add the green onions and let it cook for a while.

I threw them in belatedly, but they barely cooked and ended up more like toppings.

“The bottom is completely burnt.”

Woo Jaeyoung scooped a big spoonful and showed me the underside.

The bottom was charred black, fading into a brown gradient toward the middle.

“No, but more importantly, what is this color?”

“Why is the steamed egg red and blue?”

“And the green onions—f*ck, they’re so fresh they look like they might jump back into the field if I let them go.”

“Oh, the pink parts are the pollock roe.”

“I heard it tastes good, so I added a lot.”

“…Don’t tell me you used an entire pack?”

“Yes.”

“The lady at the store said it’s not too salty, so I could use plenty.”

“Sowon.”

“What do you use to make salted seafood?”

“Salt.”

“Then will it be salty or not?”

“…It… won’t be salty?”

“Then try it.”

No thanks.

It definitely looked salty.

I already lost before even picking up the spoon.

When I glanced at him with puffed cheeks, Woo Jaeyoung sighed deeply and closed the lid.

“Fine.”

“You won’t die from skipping one steamed egg dish.”

“Let’s eat something else.”

“What’s this next to it?”

“What do you mean.”

“It’s stir-fried pork.”

“Why does stir-fried pork look blue?”

“Did you put those lively green onions in here too?”

“…No, wait.”

“Well, stir-fried pork is spicy, so I thought it’d be similar to dakgalbi.”

“And since cabbage tastes good in dakgalbi, I added cabbage.”

“And onions.”

“Cabbage and onions.”

“Yeah.”

“So why is it blue—wait, looking closer, it’s purple?”

“Yes.”

“Purple cabbage and purple onions.”

“They’re healthy.”

Woo Jaeyoung rubbed his face dry and muttered.

“This is my fault for not telling you that purple cabbage turns into a f*cked-up color when stir-fried…”

“…Wow, you really added a lot.”

Even I had to admit, it didn’t look appetizing.

Quietly, I grabbed the edge of the plate and pulled it closer to myself.

I mean, I just heard it was healthy, so I chopped it and threw it in.

How was I supposed to know the purple would bleed into the entire dish like that?

“What’s this next to it.”

“Lettuce?”

“You eat lettuce with stir-fried pork.”

“Right.”

“People eat a lot of it.”

“But… this lettuce looks pretty lifeless.”

This one felt unfair.

All you had to do with lettuce was wash it.

There was no actual cooking involved, which meant I had no chance to mess it up.

I answered confidently.

“I think I bought bad ones.”

“But it’s really weird.”

“They were fresh when I bought them.”

“They were fine when I took them out of the bag at home too.”

“Yeah, they were fine.”

“But when I washed them, they suddenly died.”

“The lettuce?”

“I’m serious.”

Woo Jaeyoung looked suspiciously toward the kitchen sink—more specifically, the faucet.

“Sowon.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“…Did you wash the lettuce with hot water?”

“Yes.”

“It cleans better that way.”

“…You’re driving me crazy.”

So the cause of death was the water temperature.

When I looked up at him with a small gasp, he pressed his fingers to his temple and let out another deep sigh.

“With weather like this, delivery will be late too…”

“Let’s just make some ramyeon.”

“Go sit and wait.”

“Ah, I’ll make it for you.”

“The baby should go sit.”

“Just staying still is helping.”

After the disaster I caused, I couldn’t exactly protest being called a baby.

I dragged my feet and went to sit on the sofa.

‘I did well with art, but cooking is a disaster.’

Since I couldn’t even remember what I was originally good or bad at, I had to try things out.

But I didn’t expect to fail this spectacularly.

As I fidgeted with my fingers, Woo Jaeyoung came over and patted my head.

His touch was rough, yet gentle.

“You can get better at cooking with practice.”

“You’ll improve as you go.”

“I’ll get some easy recipes, so let’s try cooking together.”

“…Okay.”

“Hey, puppy.”

“Why are you so down?”

“Because you didn’t even try it.”

“…You want me to eat that?”

He glanced over his shoulder at the untouched “dinner.”

“Do you really want me to?”

I couldn’t ignore my conscience.

“No.”

“I’ll eat everything when you practice later.”

“But a full pack of pollock roe in steamed egg is too much…”

“If I eat that and end up with a vascular disease, who’s going to take care of our troublemaker?”

“Wow.”

“You’re lowkey ruthless…”

“You’ve got plenty more chances to cook for me.”

He chuckled and reached for my hand.

Or tried to.

“Yoo Sowon.”

“What’s this?”

“Ah.”

I tried to pull my hand away, but it was too late.

Woo Jaeyoung grabbed my wrist firmly and examined my hands—front and back, every finger—before letting out a quiet sigh.

“You didn’t cook.”

“You wrecked your hands.”

“Let’s deal with this first.”

He had caught all the cuts and burns scattered across my hands.

He moved surprisingly fast, turning off the stove and bringing the first aid kit.

Then he knelt in front of me and carefully treated each wound, applying ointment and placing bandages one by one.

Watching his rough, scarred hands gently handle mine, not missing even the smallest scratch, felt strange.

Cuts from a knife or minor burns from a pot wouldn’t mean anything to him.

Yet the entire time, his brows were tightly furrowed like it genuinely pained him.

Even if this affection only stayed on the surface, I didn’t mind.

It made something in my chest feel warm and ticklish.

“Were you always this kind?”

“Were you like this to ‘Yoo Sowon’ too?”

Making a fuss over tiny injuries.

Looking shocked at a meal.

Sighing at my mistakes, yet unable to hide a hint of fondness.

Is this just who you are?

Or is it because of me?

I lowered my head, afraid my unease would show.

Woo Jaeyoung cupped my cheeks with both hands and made me look at him.

“I’m not a good person.”

“…But you’re always kind to me.”

Sure, the way he talked was rough, but once you got used to it, it wasn’t that bad.

There was always some truth in what he said.

“I’m not kind.”

“I just care about you.”

He tapped the bridge of my nose lightly, as if telling me not to overthink.

Just like that, my mood lifted again.

Right.

Don’t think too deeply.

That’s what the new doctor said too.

Don’t look too far ahead.

Take things one step at a time.

Don’t try to do everything at once.

Just focus on what’s within reach.

Don’t be anxious about things that haven’t happened yet.

Trust the person beside you and move forward little by little.

The bet had only just begun.

And we had plenty of time.

The ramyeon Woo Jaeyoung made was delicious.

It was a bit spicy for me, so I kept blowing on it as I ate, and he teased me for having a baby palate, even asking if he should rinse it with water for me.

When I tried to hit him with my chopsticks, he scolded me for messing around at the table.

Apparently, I really couldn’t handle spicy food.

After just a few bites, my face was already burning.

Only after eating the slices of melon he brought me did my tongue finally calm down.

The rain kept pouring endlessly.

By the time we finished chatting and got ready for bed, thunder and lightning were raging outside the large window.

I carefully placed a hand over my chest.

My heart was beating way too fast.

“Hyung.”

After hesitating for a moment, I spoke.

“I think… I don’t like thunder and lightning.”

It wasn’t just me being dramatic.

Every time thunder roared, my skin prickled.

“Really?”

Woo Jaeyoung looked at me, surprised.

It seemed like he had never heard that before.

He briefly explained that the ‘Yoo Sowon’ he knew wasn’t the type to express dislikes easily, and was generally calm and easygoing.

Thinking about that, I went into the bathroom attached to the guest room to brush my teeth.

After rinsing thoroughly, I took a mouthful of mouthwash and puffed out my cheeks while gargling.

Woo Jaeyoung followed me into the bathroom and grabbed my cheeks, turning my face toward him.

“Sowon.”

Gurgle.

Instead of answering, I swished the mouthwash around.

“Do you want to sleep with me?”

…What?