"Okay, next thing..." Jihyun checks the recipe. "Cook, uncovered, at a low simmer for twenty-five minutes. As it cooks, stir and taste the sauce a few times so you can adjust the seasoning accordingly."
The man nods to himself, acknowledging the information and turning the burner on and setting it for a low heat. Pulling his phone over to read the next bit of instructions, and getting another pot set out to cook the pasta.
He does not find himself in the kitchen very often, and he never really learnt how to cook. He had maids and nurses to take care of him when he was younger, and he has particular tastes about food, as well as enough disposable income to dispense in whatever takes his fancy for every take-out meal.
He never really stopped to think about it: none of his friends or acquaintances were much different. Jumin prided himself of his pancakes and nothing else, Jaehee is always too busy for such a thing, Zen and Yoosung survived on instant noodles and Luciel defies any conventional wisdom on nutritional science. Rika, for herself, could not tell a pot and a kettle apart, and throughout their engagement, they had visited every restaurant in their district.
Contrarily, MC is both cost-conscious and a wonderful cook. He was spoiled every day with three meals, beating his habit of take-out off of him. However, while he worked at home in his own time, his beloved fiancée both works and attends college. He is, of course, very grateful for it, but he wants to return her care.
When she called ahead that afternoon, saying she is having overtime at the office, it provided him with the perfect opportunity to try. He looked up a recipe that seemed easy on the internet, for some pasta Bolognese, and set himself to cook it.
After filling the pot with water, and salting it, Jihyun throws it by the other pot and gets the burner set for a high heat. It would be some time before the water came to a rolling boil, so he stepped out of the kitchen and moved towards his computer to finish up on some commission work.
An hour later, MC comes through the door with a backpack slung on her shoulder and a bright smile on her lips.
The blue-haired man is quick to greet her, pulling her into a tight hug before pressing a kiss to her lips. "How was your day?"
"Good! Though, I'm ready for this semester to be over with already." You chuckle, dropping your backpack to the couch and kicking off your shoes.
The photographer tutted. "Hm, well, if I'm remembering it right, you have just this week's worth of exams. You are almost there."
She nods, shrugging off her jacket. "That is true, but… Why does it smell like something's burning in here?"
Realization thunders on his face.
"Oh, God! The spaghetti!" Jihyun calls, fingers tugging roughly at his long teal hair as he runs into the kitchen, having forgotten about the food cooking away on the stove.
He panics slightly, stirring away at the sauce bubbling violently in the fire and desperately trying to avoid getting hit with the specks of sauce jumping from the pot.
MC follows in behind him, eyes widening as she look over at the scorched pot of water and the sauce splattered against backsplash and under parts of the cabinets. The bright red contrasts against the white, and she just know they will be painting over during summer break.
The man looks over at his fiancée on the verge of tears as he looks between her and the messy state of the kitchen.
"I-I swear I only stepped away for a few minutes... It's pasta Bolognese, it's supposed to be easy." He whispers, fingers running back through his hair as he sighs heavily. "I was trying to help! I'm so, so sorry, I'll clean it all up, I swear…"
He feels shit about the whole situation, as he is not even sure how long he had been away for. The only indication of time he bothered to keep was when MC had stepped through the door. He could have burned down the house! All he wanted was to greet his fiancée with a nice meal, but he could not even do that.
MC snorts, hand slipping over her mouth to contain her laughter as she looks at the mess. His attention snaps back to her, shoulders slumping as he pouts.
"It's not funny, love..." He grumbled.
His words sends her into a spiral as the laughter breaks through her hand.
"I think it's hilarious! How did you even manage to get it up there?" She questions, pointing towards the ceiling, where pasta sauce can be found near the light illuminating the space.
His face only falls more as his eyes trail up to where she is pointing, eyes closing as he groans, and whimpers slightly at the end. She steps further into the kitchen, hands reaching up to cup his jaw and bring his gaze down toward she. His eyes open softly, brightening as they land on her beaming smile before she nuzzles into his chest.
"I love that you tried to make dinner, I really do" The woman smiles at him, pressing herself on his midsection soothingly. "I really like spaghetti. Thank you very much."
Jihyun scoffs, arms wrapping around her frame. "Love, I couldn't boil water and I messed up the kitchen in the process."
MC pulls back, smiling up at him once again as she simply shrugs.
"That's OK, honey. I don't need a five-course meal to know that you love me. It's enough that you made something, even as simple as spaghetti. Even if you managed to burn boiling water."
He smiles at her words, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her lips as he mutters another apology against her lips. She shakes her head with a laugh before stepping back for air.
"Though, we might want to scrub the wall. Tomato paste stains, and it looks like it's in the grout."
A quick glance over her shoulder, and he nods with widened eyes. "Yeah, sure, I'll get on that."
MC chuckles again. "C'mon, master chef. I'll help you out, just let me change clothes."
With a promise of some good take-out and a movie, the two of them set to work cleaning up the kitchen. No matter how many times they scrub, however, the colour never fades.
Years later, Lucy points out the weird stains on the cabinets. The parents smile conspiratorially.