“Thank you. I really didn’t imagine this.”
“Your reaction is like I gave you flowers, so it makes me feel good.”
“They are flowers.”
“Huh?”
Cha Hyunwoo chuckled and said, seeming really pleased:
“Figs… People think they’re fruit, but they’re actually flowers. The name itself is muhwagwa. Flower-less fruit. It’s because this is a flower.”
I scratched my cheek feeling unnecessarily awkward.
“Ah, come in first. I’ve left you standing too long.”
Cha Hyunwoo hurriedly let me into the house.
“Excuse me.”
“‘Excuse me.'”
Cha Hyunwoo responded to my unconscious greeting. When I took off my shoes and entered the house, I saw a clean home befitting Cha Hyunwoo’s personality. The house was composed in a simple ivory color without any particular interior design, which also really suited Cha Hyunwoo’s personality.
“Boss’s house really suits you.”
“In a good way?”
“Of course. Would there be a bad meaning when I say it’s like you, boss?”
Cha Hyunwoo immediately put the figs in the refrigerator. Food was already set on the dining table. The food was beautifully arranged as if brought directly from a Western restaurant, from steak to pasta to salad.
“Did you make all this, boss?”
“Yeah.”
“Why are you good at cooking too, boss? Does this really make sense?”
“I went to a cooking academy before.”
“A cooking academy?”
When I asked again, Cha Hyunwoo went to the kitchen and organized the piled dishes while saying:
“Actually, before doing a franchise cafe, I wanted to run a private cafe. One that also sold brunch. So while preparing for that, I also attended a cooking academy. Even before that, since I lived alone, I often cooked.”
“I live alone too but I can’t cook…”
“…Should I teach you?”
“You’ll probably get sick of me, boss.”
At my words, Cha Hyunwoo lightly burst into laughter. Cha Hyunwoo said gently but firmly:
“That won’t happen. Hyun-ah.”
“I tried following recipes but it was still pretty messy…”
“I’ll be better than a recipe.”
“…Teach me next time.”
“Okay. For sure.”
Cha Hyunwoo had a habit of answering everything very solemnly. It seemed like he was making a promise to himself, but also like he was saying it without much thought. Cha Hyunwoo guided me to the dining table and asked:
“But how did you end up buying figs? Do you like figs?”
“Actually, this is my first time buying figs. I don’t usually buy fruit either.”
“You don’t really like fruit?”
“Just living alone…”
Actually, fruit was food that didn’t fill you up but was expensive, but I didn’t need to say all that. At my words, Cha Hyunwoo’s lips curved up in a smile. As his lips rose, his dimples formed prettily.
I stared at Cha Hyunwoo’s dimples for a moment.
“Do you like figs?”
At my words, Cha Hyunwoo bit his lips slightly then smiled again, which looked like an expression holding something back. Cha Hyunwoo said in his characteristically gentle voice:
“Yeah. I like them.”
Even for a special price it was quite expensive, but thinking of them as flowers made them feel cheap. It also seemed like I felt that way because Cha Hyunwoo liked them more than I expected.
***
All the food Cha Hyunwoo made was delicious. I didn’t mean that because I had an undiscriminating palate, but objectively. Moreover, Cha Hyunwoo had prepared an enormous amount of food. Thinking about how Cha Hyunwoo must have worked hard preparing food from the morning made me feel very embarrassed.
And since he said it was Cha Hyunwoo’s home cooking, I’d thought it would be simple food, but what Cha Hyunwoo prepared was too full-fledged… cooking. I’d read somewhere before that pasta was actually easier than Korean food, so I wondered if that was why. Or maybe Cha Hyunwoo’s personality made him work hard thinking of me as a guest. …Honestly, it seemed like the latter.
“It’s really delicious.”
“I’m glad. I didn’t know if you liked Western food.”
“I told you I don’t have any food I dislike… Though I can’t guarantee things I haven’t tried yet. My food experience isn’t that extensive.”
“It’s nice that you eat well.”
Cha Hyunwoo smiled with a proud expression. I took another big bite of pasta and put the mashed potatoes Cha Hyunwoo had as a garnish next to the steak in my mouth. Cha Hyunwoo also ate pretty well. His eating speed was a bit slower than mine, but since I ate more than Cha Hyunwoo, the meal ended around the same time.
“I was going to pack up leftovers for you.”
Contrary to Cha Hyunwoo’s words, there was almost no food left on the plates. I felt newly embarrassed at Cha Hyunwoo’s words. I put the plates in the sink.
I was planning to at least do the dishes, but Cha Hyunwoo strongly stopped me.
“Hyun-ah, I’ll do it.”
“Really, if I don’t even do this, my conscience will hurt.”
“No. I’ll really do it.”
Despite Cha Hyunwoo fidgeting beside me, I thoroughly rinsed the plates with water. After rinsing meticulously to the end and taking off the rubber gloves, Cha Hyunwoo smiled with a troubled expression.
“I really can’t stop you…”
“You know I’m a dishwashing master.”
“Why do you keep trying to work when you came as a guest?”
Cha Hyunwoo wiped away even the moisture cleanly, cleaned the sink, and organized the plates back in their places. I helped by just organizing the cups and utensils back in their places from the side.
“Want to eat figs?”
“I bought them for you to eat, boss.”
“Still. Since you bought them, you should at least taste them. You said you’ve never eaten them before. Aren’t you curious?”
Honestly, I was curious. Moreover, I became more curious after Cha Hyunwoo told me figs were flowers.
“Then just a little…”
Cha Hyunwoo took out the figs from the refrigerator and washed them in the sink. I peeked around to see if there was anything to help with, but since Cha Hyunwoo stopped me, I just stood awkwardly behind him. Perhaps because Cha Hyunwoo had run a cafe for a long time, he seemed skilled at handling fruit too. Cha Hyunwoo washed the figs cleanly, cut them with a knife, and placed them on a plate.
“Your first fig. Let’s see if you’ll like this too.”
Cha Hyunwoo said as he placed the plate on the table.
“I feel like I’ve become a puppy…”
“A puppy would suit you well too. You don’t look like you have a puppy face, but maybe it’s because what you do is cute?”
“You keep saying I’m cute.”
“Why? Don’t you like being praised as cute?”
“No. But now I’m getting embarrassed. Your objective standards seem to have been greatly lost.”
“Me?”
“Who else is here?”
Cha Hyunwoo laughed at my cheeky words. Cha Hyunwoo brought two forks, then picked up a fig and brought it near my mouth. I just opened my mouth and obediently ate the fig.
My impression of eating my first fig was… strange. It wasn’t crisp like the image of fruit I had in mind, nor was it completely soft like melon or strawberries. The fig’s unique aroma was strong, and it wasn’t sweet enough to call sweet, but it wasn’t bland either. The aroma was somewhere between flower and fruit, and it also seemed to have a grassy smell.
“How is it?”
Cha Hyunwoo asked me and ate a fig himself too. I hesitated for a moment at the indescribable sweetness lingering in my mouth, then said:
“Honestly, it’s different from what I imagined. The aroma is unique and the taste too…”
“Really?”
“The texture is a bit unique too…”
“That can happen. Don’t you like it?”
“…I don’t think I’d try it a second time…”
At my words, Cha Hyunwoo laughed playfully.
“You said you don’t dislike any food?”
“This is why it’s important for people to keep possibilities open.”
Even after saying that, I ate one more piece of fig. Still, it wasn’t to the point I couldn’t eat it.
“Did you bring your laptop? You said you’d work on your thesis.”
“Ah.”
At Cha Hyunwoo’s words, I took out the laptop I’d brought. I placed the laptop on the desk and was skimming through the thesis when Cha Hyunwoo subtly glanced from the side.
“Do you want to see?”
“Uh… Yeah. I’m curious.”
I obediently handed the laptop to Cha Hyunwoo. Cha Hyunwoo turned the thesis page by page and read carefully. From the side, I supplemented explanations of the professor’s corrections or reference materials whenever Cha Hyunwoo scrolled.
“The topic is fine and the outline is good too?”
Cha Hyunwoo said that and was scrolling when he discovered the page at the last outline of the main text where I’d angrily pounded the laptop and written a bunch of curses. Ah, fuck. I thought I deleted that? I hurriedly snatched the laptop back and watched Cha Hyunwoo’s reaction.
Seeing Cha Hyunwoo’s face full of laughter, he seemed to have already read that part long ago.
“…I’m not usually someone with such a foul mouth.”
The excuse followed automatically. Despite my excuse, Cha Hyunwoo was grinning widely. His expression was dripping with amusement.
