TUW | CHAPTER 60

Chapter 60

Hand-Finding Game

Who wears couple outfits while making kimchi!

Yeon glared at the bathroom door Do Hyun had entered and screamed inside her head.

She had let him in, but now she worried he might soon be disappointed.

Just because they were both wearing black clothes, he suspected it was a couple outfit… did he really think kimchi-making was a date?

Pfft—.

Yeon imagined making kimchi together in matching couple outfits.

The thought was so ridiculous she burst out laughing.

Cute, though.

She found Do Hyun’s idea adorable.

A man who saw matching colors and wished they were couple clothes.

A man who didn’t know how hard kimchi-making was, yet felt it was like a date.

A man who felt competitive about kimchi.

That man was now changing into what he called “battle gear” to fight kimchi.

Yeon gazed fondly for a while in the direction he had gone.

She finished tidying the suitcase she had rummaged through for clothes, then also headed to the bathroom to change.

Do Hyun came out first, already dressed.

No matter what he wore, he made it his own.

Even in soft, casual clothes, his lean muscles stood out.

The veins bulging from his slightly rolled-up sleeves made her chest tighten.

It felt wasteful to use those veins for kimchi-making.

“These are comfortable to move in.”

“I’m glad. I’ll go change too.”

Yeon quickly changed in the bathroom.

Wearing the last T-shirt, she looked at her reflection.

“So this teddy bear is cute, huh.”

Teddy bear prints seemed trendy these days; Yeon had noticed them on lots of clothes around her.

Her T-shirt had one, and even the housekeeper’s apron did.

Dressed, she walked out to find Do Hyun sitting idly.

“What’s that lying on your chest?”

Do Hyun frowned at the teddy bear printed on her shirt.

“Can’t you tell? It’s a teddy bear.”

Yeon brushed her chest and made the bear wiggle.

She looked at him with a cute, right? gaze and smiled.

“You said couple clothes?

But I don’t have one on my chest.

Why is it lying on another man’s woman instead?”

It was unclear whether he was disappointed that it wasn’t a couple outfit, or that the bear was printed over her chest.

Yeon quickly checked around in case her family had overheard.

“That’s a weird way to put it… are you jealous of a shirt?”

Fortunately, her family had gone outside to fetch ingredients.

“I don’t like it lying there, staring at me.”

Now he was jealous of a cartoon bear.

“How about we wear proper couple shirts and go to an amusement park sometime?”

“If you want, I’ll buy the exact outfit Yoo Lee Yeon wants.”

So he did want it.

“Alright. Shall we go now?”

Do Hyun nodded and turned.

Looking at him dressed like he was marching to war, Yeon chuckled and followed.

Listening carefully to Jae Cheol’s kind instructions on how to prepare the ingredients, Do Hyun kept answering “Yes, yes,” while Hwa Yeon smiled warmly.

“Son-in-law has a cute side, doesn’t he?”

“I think so too.”

The two women shared a quiet laugh.

Do Hyun gripped the radish tightly and grated it hard.

“Brother-in-law, you’re amazing for a first-timer! Is there anything you can’t do?”

Compliments for fighting a radish with his eyes?

He had barely started grating.

To Yeon, all it looked like was Yi Hwan staring at Do Hyun with hearts in his eyes.

That wallet’s already opened wide.

As the five of them worked together, the seasoning was almost ready.

“Alright, now let’s mix the seasoning.”

Hwa Yeon poured everything into a big tub.

“Son-in-law, this is how you mix it.”

Jae Cheol plunged in with gloved hands, folding the mixture over.

Do Hyun rolled his sore shoulders and neck from grating radish.

“Heavy, wasn’t it?” Jae Cheol handed him gloves.

“It was fine. Manageable.”

His expression was calm, but his hand trembled slightly as he accepted them.

Noticing, Jae Cheol smiled faintly and called Yeon over.

“Yeon, you help too.”

He sat her right next to Do Hyun and gave her gloves.

“I was going to clean the mess instead—”

“I’ll handle that. You two knead the seasoning together. Husband and wife should mix seasoning and mix hands, eh?”

Blushing, Jae Cheol hurried away.

“Since Father-in-law told me, I’ll give it my best.”

Do Hyun seemed thrilled at the task.

At the phrase “knead, knead,” his eyes gleamed and he started a hand-finding game with Yeon.

He was the seeker.

Her hand dodged while his hand tried to catch it.

She glared at him as he grabbed her hand again.

Catching her look, he grinned.

With that smile, she couldn’t help but smile back.

“Good job. It was tough, right? How was fighting kimchi?”

“Not even a match.”

Holding onto his pride, he made her laugh out loud again.

“Thanks for helping.

My family seems happy doing this with their son-in-law.

Everyone’s smiling.”

Her tone softened, sincere this time.

She knew he had tried hard, joining in without complaint.

“I was happier.”

He shrugged, grinning brightly.

His expression showed he truly enjoyed it, despite the effort.

They looked at each other, smiling quietly.

That smile held many meanings.

***

After kneading seasoning for a long while thanks to Jae Cheol, they finally started coating the cabbage.

One by one, the kimchi was nearly finished.

“Here, I brought some boiled pork. Let’s taste it right away.”

“Son-in-law first.”

Hwa Yeon rolled warm pork in a cabbage leaf coated with seasoning.

She held it to Do Hyun’s mouth.

“Say ah—.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

He politely opened his mouth and ate it all at once, lowering his head to chew shyly.

“How is it?”

“It’s the best kimchi with pork I’ve ever had.”

“Oh, as if you haven’t eaten plenty good before.”

Do Hyun shook his head firmly.

“Mom, me too!”

“Here, one for my daughter, one for my son.”

Do Hyun’s smile spread wide.

He wanted to hold onto this moment forever.

He was now part of this family.

Meeting Yeon and gaining this family felt like the greatest fortune of his life.

“Let’s clean up now and go home for a proper dinner. Good work, everyone.”

Their house was near the shop.

Coming home, the first thing Do Hyun noticed were the family photos on the walls.

In Yeon’s room, he found her childhood picture on the desk.

“Looks like Yoo Lee Yeon.”

“It’s not ‘looks like,’ it is me!”

“I think you were cuter back then.”

“Well, maybe. Then and now.”

Blinking, Yeon looked at him until he chuckled.

“Shall we have a baby?

If it looks like you, it’ll be fun to tease.”

“What! You don’t have babies to tease them! Go shower. Or should I go first?”

He nodded, still staring at her picture.

She left him and went to shower.

Washing away the kimchi smell felt refreshing.

One by one, the family gathered in the living room.

On the table, Hwa Yeon had set out the fresh kimchi, oysters, wraps, and more.

“Alright, let’s eat one last round of pork together. Everyone worked hard.”

“Wait, something’s missing.”

In Jae Cheol’s hands were two bottles of cloudy makgeolli, foam like white snow on top.

He pulled out cups and filled them generously.

“Don’t get me wrong.

I don’t usually drink, thanks to Yeon’s mother and her constant nagging, but today we celebrate together.”

Handing cups around, he said,

“She nags?”

Do Hyun tilted his head at Yeon in confusion.

“Oh, yes.

Mom always says things like, ‘keep your clothes proper, your mindset proper, your drinking proper.’ She adds ‘proper’ to everything.

It drilled into me.

Thanks to that, I focused on studies instead of fooling around.”

“Son-in-law, have you tried makgeolli before?”

Carefully raising her cup, Hwa Yeon offered it to him.