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Jeongguk and Yoonji had only moved in together about a month ago. They were both very excited of course! But they still had to get used to each other’s boundaries, and learn how to give each other space and privacy while living in a one-bedroom apartment. (They were both proud that it was their place though.)
They also had to put up with each other sometimes, as most people who live with each other do.
“Get that out of my face!” Yoonji shrieked and darted out of the kitchen.
“Babe, it’s just clam chowder. And I’m literally like over here.” Jeongguk set the bowl down that he’d just taken out of the microwave.
“Yeah, and it could fucking kill me . Also my house smells like ass now because of you.”
“Baby-” Jeongguk started giggling. “I’m not even gonna kiss you because I’m sick right now. How is it gonna kill you?”
“Actually, I don’t care about that, just who the fuck actually likes clam chowder? What’s wrong with your taste buds? Why is that your go-to food when you’re sick?” She turned her head towards the other who was heading to the couch to sit next to her.
“Clam chowder is literally so good though! It’s like… S-Tier” he covered himself in blankets again and brought the bowl up to his face to dig in.
“It’s just hot ocean milk with dead animal croutons!” Yoonji threw her hands up.
“Well yeah, it sounds gross when you put it like that, but it’s so good! Like, it actually makes me sad that I can’t taste all the flavor because I’m sick.” Jeongguk dug into his food, and the motion of the spoon going in and out of the bowl only managed to push the smell towards her.
“I’m just- Oh god that smells awful-” Yoonji pushed off the couch and headed straight for their room where she would pout for the rest of the hour.
“I can’t believe there’s people that hate winter, it’s like literally the best season.”
“And I get to wear my hoodies, all 50 of them,” Jeongguk laughed. “So obviously, best time of year.”
“Exactly, peak time of year!”
“And I agree with you so that means I have good taste, right?” He quirked a brow.
Yoonji narrowed her eyes, “If this is about clam chowder, then no. Some sins cannot be forgiven.”
“Okay, but you eat like some of the worst foods ever. But I still love you!”
“Clam chowder is so much worse though!”
“Why do you bring this up so often? It’s literally just soup babe.”
“Because it surprises me that you like it so much!”
“And you have like a pound of sour cream in your fridge at all times! Who does that?!”
“Me! Because it tastes good on everything!”
They really needed to start choosing their battles, because this was going to be a long ride.
—
Jeongguk and Yoonji hadn’t really properly fought yet, but maybe this was the closest they had come so far.
“How’s your day been?” Yoonji asked. Jeongguk had opened the door with a little less energy than usual.
“Just… long.” he sighed. She heard the frown in his voice, then the clatter of dishes and cutlery in the kitchen, the ding of the microwave, and then the awful smell of creamy seafood wafting from the kitchen.
“Oh my gosh really, clam chowder? I still can’t believe that’s your comfort food.” she chuckled to herself.
If she was being honest, she didn’t completely hate it. Well not anymore at least. Yoonji was still very much allergic to seafood, but she’d gotten mostly used to the smell at least. Some people made sandwiches in a pinch, but Jeongguk seemed to prefer hot dairy seafood concoctions when he was short on time, or was stressed about needing to eat something before a deadline with work, or just stressed in general. And it’s not like it was super often either, it was just always memorable to her because she didn’t eat it herself.
A groan, and then “Can’t I just enjoy something?”
Yoonji whipped her head around to her boyfriend standing behind the couch in the kitchen entrance. “Like yeah, I get it’s so funny to rag on me about it, but I am not allowed to enjoy something without you making fun of me for it?”
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I was just joking-”
“Just save it. I’m eating outside.” He shut the sliding glass door a bit harder than necessary, chowder in tow.
Okay, now Yoonji felt bad, like really bad. Maybe she has some bitterness to work through with her therapist, and maybe her bitterness finds the wrong outlet occasionally. Her therapist had told her that her tendency to be bitter was likely a method of emotional avoidance, it feels more comfortable than being vulnerable or honest with yourself. Maybe she needed to be better for Jeongguk.
Seriously, what was she thinking though? Was she so cynical that she couldn’t let her sweet and amazing boyfriend enjoy something that brought him joy (as awful as it sounded).
She padded over to the sliding glass door, where Jeongguk sat on the patio floor with clothes that definitely were not warm enough for this winter weather. His soup looked like it hadn’t been touched, and Jeongguk’s cheek rested on his palm as he pushed around the chunks in the soup with a spoon.
Yoonji didn’t really know what to say, so she sat down next to the younger. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to break the ice.
“Hey um, I’m sorry about taking the chowder thing too far. I don’t actually hate it so much, it was just fun to tease you about something, but I didn’t realize it was at your expense. So I’m sorry, again.” Yoonji let her hand slide towards the other’s resting on the patio floor. They’ll definitely need a warm shower after this.
“Thanks for your apology,” he traced her outstretched palm, “I’m just on edge because I had to pick up a prescription and do some lab work earlier today and got dead-named the whole time so it kinda put me in a mood. And I know we talked about me giving you a heads up if I’m feeling that way.” Jeongguk looked up at her.
“I noticed you were kind of off when you came home, but I also immediately went for the chowder gag instead of asking why you seemed down. I should’ve at least let get a word in, so I’m sorry for that too.” Yoonji pulled him into her side, and Jeongguk let himself get smushed.
“It’s fine, d’you want me to put this away though?” Jeongguk looked towards the soup bowl.
“Nah, you’re good. I was actually gonna tell you that I had a dream that we made clam chowder together and it was really cute, and I thought maybe we could do that together sometime, and maybe make it up to you too for being such a douche canoe lately. Just because I hate clam chowder doesn’t mean that I don’t wanna do nice things for you”
“Oh really, you wanna make it up to me?” He laughed.
Yoonji huffed, “Only if you’ll let me, I guess.”
“Mmm, I’ll think about it.” He laughed to himself. “But it’s fine if you really hate it babe, I can have it when you’re not home.”
“It’s your home too silly, and I've been re-thinking if all this cynical crap is for me. Maybe it’s best to just let people enjoy things.”
“Well I enjoy annoying you with my hot ocean milk, does that count?” he grinned.
The next morning found them at the grocery store buying the ingredients to make clam chowder. Jeongguk picked up the bottle of clam juice, “Hey, did you know that this stuff is supposed to be an aphrodisiac?”
“Wait, clam juice is real ? Who’s the target audience for this stuff, you?” she grimaced at the bottle in Jeongguk’s hand.
“People with superior taste, I guess,” he said airily.
“Superior taste, my ass.” Yoonji rolled her eyes.
Jeongguk bumped their shoulders together and slipped his hand into hers, “Maybe we should test out these ‘aphrodisiac’ qualities instead,” he grinned at her.
“I'd say you’re onto something," she trailed a finger down his collarbone, leaving Jeongguk's neck and ears flushed red.
Ugh, the awful chowder things she would do for this man.