Author's Note: frustration doesn't begin to explain my feelings of Friday. That's all I'm going to say.
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(
Soohyun stared at her oven for a long time before the buzzer dinged that the cake was cool enough to frost. She had always had a bad habit of making sure it was completely preheated before she placed anything in it. Things just tasted better to her when she did it that way. By actually following the directions it took a little longer for things to bake and that meant it took longer for things to cool.
She had been asked to make a birthday cake for one of her co-workers' kids. The little girl was turning four and wanted a very frilly butterfly cake in the colors of purple and pink. Soohyun had huge bins of fondant in her pantry so she could easily cover the cake in fondant, and once she made the frosting she would finish it.
She was in the middle of frosting the top when her doorbell rang. Quickly, she dropped the metal spatula on the counter and ran to the door. She was surprised to see Won on the other side but she had a cake to finish. She motioned him inside and hurried back to her pastry.
Won caught the door as Soohyun darted back inside her house and followed her in. He slipped his shoes off and walked in, wondering what had forced her to run away as fast as she had.
He walked into the open floor plan and looked around. She obviously hadn't decorated because it was too stuffy for her personality but he knew she had lived there. He saw all the fluffy food stuffs all over the wall and figured out pretty quickly that Hyun Joon had been the one to decorate the house. It had his ostentatiousness all over it.
He wasn't surprised to find her in the kitchen. Setting the bag in one stool, he took the other and watched her. Soohyun was focused as she took the knife and pulled it around the circular cake. She pulled the excess pieces off and set them aside as before taking a piping bag and filling it with what looked like homemade frosting.
He was transfixed as he watched her twist the end of the piping bag until it bulged towards the capped end. With light pressure from her thumb and forefinger and a twirl of her wrist, she piped a beautiful spiral on frosting. The most amazing fact was she kept in time to the music playing in the background.
Somewhere in the middle, he pulled out the food he had brought with him. She had treated him to lunch a few days before so he thought he should return the favor. It was a simple tteokbokki he had picked up on his way over. Hyun Joon had mentioned she liked it and he had thought it would be a wonderful treat for her.
As he was setting it on the very cramped island, she turned to the fridge and pulled out a container. At first he thought she was getting something for the cake. That was until she set the container in front of him and opened it. The smell of sweet kimchi wafted up to him. She always had food at the ready, as expected of a chef.
Won ate as Soohyun continued working of the cake. The frosting was done and she was using some utensil to make something with whatever sugary thing she had on the counter. Much like earlier, she was concentrating hard on whatever it was. She was holding something that looked like a rounded mallet in her hand and she ran it over the purple and pink pieces of sugar on the counter.
"Here I was thinking I was bringing you a treat, but you're giving me one," he said.
She smiled and continued working. Won finished his meal then cleaned up his space. He even washed dishes and fumbled around until he put them away. By the time he was finished, Soohyun was finishing the cake. Now he could tell the little pink and purple sugary things were butterflies. She was putting them on things that looked like longer tooth picks and sticking them in the cake so they stood above it like they were flying.
She spun it around, inspecting it for any flaw that would render it imperfect. Then she stepped back to let Won look at it. He looked it over with a fine tooth comb before nodding. Soohyun grabbed a dismantled box and quickly connected the sides before setting the cake carefully inside it. After closing the box, she tied a gold ribbon around it and set it to the side.
"What was that for?" Won asked.
"A co-worker's daughter's birthday is tomorrow. He wanted me to make a cake," she replied as she started cleaning up.
"Do you just happen to have the cake decorating things here?"
She shook her head. "No, I borrowed some from work. As long as they get back tomorrow, it's all right. I have plenty of fondant and I made my own frosting so all I have to return is the ball utensil and the frosting bag."
"What would you rather do? Food or pastries?"
"I like both so it doesn't matter. But speaking of pastries, there are lemon cheesecake cupcakes in the fridge. You're more than welcome to have some."
Won made himself at home as he pulled a couple of cupcakes from the fridge. He frowned when he turned around. Soohyun was still cleaning but she hadn't touched the food containers he had placed in front of her. Not even a dent was made it it.
"Soohyun-ssi," he said. She lifted her eyes to look at him but her hand never stopped wiping down the counter. "Are you not going to eat?"
"I'm not hungry," she said.
His frown deepened as he realized the first time he had met her outside of her work, she hadn't eaten either. Now they were sitting in her house and she wasn't eating now either.
"How did you con my brother into giving you my address?" she asked as she put the rag in the dirty clothes hamper on the other side of the fridge.
"It wasn't your brother. I went to Zeus Hotel and asked for it there. Choi Young Do was all too happy to give it to me. So here I am. Why aren't you eating? Hyun Joon said you liked tteokbokki."
"I do, but I'm not hungry. Put it in the fridge."
He wasn't convinced. "The last time I saw you, you didn't eat. I chalked it up to you being full from all the wonderful pastries you made. My office staff loved them by the way. But now you're in the comforts of your own home and you're still not eating."
Soohyun looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. "You're starting to sound like Hyun Joon. But that has nothing to do with anything. I just started a new medication and a side effect is loss of appetite. That day I met you at your office was the day before I started it."
"But you still didn't eat."
"Cake is very fulfilling." She slid a drink across the counter to him and sat on the one opposite. "Why are you here? You could have just called."
Won tipped the bottle back and let the liquid slide down the back of his throat. "I got into a fight with my fiancé. She seems to think that a little rinky dink caterer can't do the same job that a big name company could do. I was in charge of one thing and it seems she's taking it away."
"Is she coming to your birthday party?"
"She'll be there briefly before she has to go out of the country on business."
"Bring her to me once the party starts. I'll have one of my bests waiting for her. There won't be a reason for her to say no."
Won's mouth opened slightly as he let sink in everything she had just said. She was going to prove that whatever she made for the party was ten times better than her competitors. She hadn't actually said that in so many words but it's what she had meant. Here was a young woman going against the biggest companies in South Korea with food.
"How old are you?" he asked.
Soohyun took time to swallow the water she had just taken a drink of and watched him over the glass. He was very forward, but then again they had become friends. He must be curious since they hadn't really talked about themselves since they had met.
She tossed the water into the sink and smacked her hands against the counter. The sudden action shocked Won and he jumped back slightly. She picked up the box and her bag from the corner and headed for the door. Won had no choice but to go since it was her house. She was already out in the hall when he put his first shoe on.
Won followed her from the elevator to the mailbox where she shoved her mail into her bag then out onto the sidewalk. She was very confident as she walked down the street. She didn't have a care in the world. She didn't care that a strange man was following her wherever she went.
She went into a building and immediately pressed the button for the fifteenth floor. They were riding an elevator again. He knew she had to know where she was going because she was way to secure in this action. Once they arrived to the floor, she went immediately to the third door on the right and rang the doorbell. A man who was a little bit older than Won answered the door.
"Oh! Soohyun-ah, I wasn't expecting you," he said.
Soohyun held up the box with a smile. "I finished. I was going out so I figured I would go ahead and drop it off. I hope Mi Jin enjoys it."
The man reached out and took the box. "Soohyun-ah, you didn't have to bring it tonight. I would have picked it up at work."
She shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Jun Hyun-ssi. It's always a pleasure to make things for your daughter. I hope you have a good night."
"Wait," he said as she started to turn away. "Let me give you something for it."
"The only thing you can give me is next Tuesday off," she answered. He tilted his head at her odd request. "I have an appointment that day."
Jun Hyun seemed to understand because he nodded immediately. "I can do that. I'll get Park Ji Soo to work that day for you. Thank you again."
Won wanted to ask what was going on next Tuesday but Soohyun was moving again. She got into the elevator again and pressed the lobby button. He knew it wasn't the time to ask her but he was dying to know. What was the appointment about on Tuesday?
He didn't have time to ask because she was moving again. She moved quickly for someone who worked nearly as many hours as he did. She was quick on her feet.
She took him to a very small café. She took a seat in the far corner and pulled a notebook out of her bag. It turned out to be a planner and she scribbled her off day in front of him.
"Noona." She looked up to see the waiter and smiled gently at him. "Do you want your usual?"
"Please, and thank you, Hoon Jin-ah," she said. She pointed at Won. "Get him an Americano. He's been in prickly mood. I want to sweeten him up."
Hoon Jin turned on Won suddenly. "Are you Noona's boyfriend? Because if you are, I strongly disagree with you."
Soohyun laughed as she propped her head in her hand and poked him in the side with the end of her pen. He flinched a bit but didn't shift his position. "Hey, you brat. Last time I checked I was the adult with a full time job."
"Noona, you need someone who understand you. Not a chaebol who wouldn't give two shits about what happens to you."
"Listen here," Won started, hair on the back of his neck standing as he readied for a fight.
Soohyun was faster. She took his hand and laced their fingers together like it was a normal thing. Hoon Jin turned immediately as Won's eyes grew as round as saucers. "Hoon-ah, nothing is going on between us. I'm catering an even at his company next week. We're spending time together because we're also friends."
Hoon Jin leaned down and got right in her face. If it was cold outside, Won would have been able to see their breaths mix in front of them.
"Noona, don't go out with him even as a friend. There's nothing good that will come from this," he said.
Soohyun lifted her head and used her now free hand to poke him in the ribs. "If I remember correctly, nothing good was supposed to come from you either when you entered my kitchen. Now look at you. No one would know that you're a misfit jerk who doesn't know how to talk to people."
Won was surprised when Hoon Jin leaned in a kissed Soohyun right on the mouth. She didn't get mad or anything as he stepped away from their table. In fact she looked right up at him.
"What was that?" he demanded.
She frowned at him. "There's no reason for you to get jealous. You're getting married in three months."
She had him there. There wasn't any reason for him to be jealous unless he was feeling something for her. At the moment he just wanted to be her friend, but seeing that had made him angry.
"You never answered my question earlier," he said as Hoon Jin brought over their coffee. The younger man gave him a death glare before walking away. "How old are you?"
"I'm twenty-eight. Oppa is three years older than me."
He took a sip of the drink then looked back at her. "What's your appointment for next week?"
"I have to go to the doctor for a physical. Unlike everybody else, I have to go every three months for physicals to make sure I'm as healthy as I can be."
That didn't sound right. "Why do you have to go for so many?"
"I'm in remission from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. They want to make sure any bruises or cuts I sustain heal within a relatively decent amount of time."
Dumbfounded Won just stared at her.