"Dinner's almost ready!" Nana turned over her shoulder to say, as she stirred the contents in a wok.
"Mmm," Yoonsung grunted from where he was sitting on the couch in her living room.
The television screen flashed images of the evening news, but Yoonsung wasn't really paying attention. His feet were on her coffee table as he sat with arms folded, pondering his latest dilemma.
"Will she think I'm crazy?" he mumbled to himself.
He turned to watch Nana, back facing him as she turned off the stove and transferred the food onto a plate.
"It's done!" she announced, smiling as she placed the plate of food on the table. "Come eat!"
Yoonsung got up from the couch and went over to sit down. He groaned when he saw the carrots in the dish that Nana had cooked.
"Aish! How many times must I say –"
"You hate vegetables. I know," Nana sighed. "Eat some, will you? It's good for you!"
She proceeded to pick some carrots and dump them into Yoonsung's rice bowl, earning her a scowl from him. But he picked up his chopsticks and proceeded to put the carrots into his mouth anyway. Anything to see a smile on Nana's face.
Satisfied that he had at least tried a bit of the vegetables, Nana began loading her own bowl with food.
"Ahjumma called me this morning, she wanted to know why I haven't been around for a while," Nana said, shovelling rice into her mouth.
"Umma misses you," Yoonsung replied.
"I know, but you know why I haven't been to your place much recently. It's embarrassing for me to have stayed over so many times when Ahjumma and Ahjussi are both living with you as well," she said.
"What's the difference when the days you aren't over, I don't come home either? Umma knows I stay here with – Ow!"
Nana had kicked him under the table. Even though he was the City Hunter, it didn't make a difference when it came to Nana. She was probably the only one who could use any physical force on him without eliciting any retaliation.
"Ya! Gom Nana! What was that for!" Yoonsung sulked, even though the kick hadn't been that hard.
"I don't want Ahjumma to get the wrong idea about me, it's not proper for a future daughter-in –" Nana stopped short, blushing slightly as she stuffed more rice into her mouth.
Yoonsung smirked slyly, "You were going to say daughter-in-law, weren't you?"
"No I wasn't," she replied quickly, bowing her head so her hair covered her face.
"If you want to marry me that badly, you could just propose to me you know. But I tell you, I'm not easy. I expect the proposal to be fancy, with at least – Ow!" he grimaced as Nana kicked him again under the table.
"Anyway, I just want Ahjumma to continue liking me," Nana said.
"Umma loves you, you know that," Yoonsung reassured, smiling at her. She returned the smile.
Yoonsung hesitated a little. This was the perfect opportunity to bring it up now. The question he had been pondering for a while. He gripped his chopsticks a little tighter.
"Yah, Nana, what do you think of…uh…moving this table that your father made, into my house?" he stammered, not daring to look her in the eye.
Nana was confused.
"Why would we do that? Then I wouldn't have a table at home," she said. "And where would I place Umma's tablecloth if Appa's table isn't here?"
Yoonsung pursed his lips.
"What if, your mother's tablecloth was also at my place?"
Nana scratched her head.
"Yoonsung, what're you talking about?"
He sighed. This Nana bear was being really infuriating right now.
"What I mean is…what if we moved your stuff to my place?" he tried again.
"Then it'd be really inconvenient," Nana frowned, still not realising what Yoonsung was trying to get at.
"Nana," Yoonsung reached out to grab her hand. "What I'm trying to say is, move in with me."
Nana's eyes widened and her throat went dry. Move in together? Were they ready for this?
"I mean, Umma really misses you, she and Ahjussi both ask about you all the time. Frankly it's getting quite annoying, that's why I'm asking," he explained quickly, trying to suppress the tinge of pink he was sure was appearing on his cheeks now. Nana raised her eyebrows in amusement.
"Anyway, what we're doing now, we're practically living together anyways," Yoonsung continued bravely, his eyes softening as he said, "And I hate the days I don't get to see you. Umma and Ahjussi approve of the idea as well. You know how much they love you. Umma practically thinks of you as a daughter already."
He gave her hand a little squeeze as he grinned nervously at her. He watched her expression as comprehension dawned on her. He waited for her to react, his stomach doing flips.
Then slowly, a smile spread on her face.
"Ok, I'll move in."
"Really?" Yoonsung jumped up in happiness. He went around to table and hugged Nana tightly, making her laugh as he picked her up to twirl her around.
He was going to be able to hear her laugh like this everyday now.