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Fried chicken being Jin-Ah’s favourite food, while true, had originally started as a cover story.
She’d been doing well in school, and she’d been saving from the bit of pocket money that Jin-Woo gave her every month, so that when she got home from school to find that Jin-Woo was still out - raiding to earn money to keep them afloat and there was nothing she could do but worry - she decided now was the time.
There were snacks of course, Jin-Woo always kept snacks for her or leftovers so that she wouldn’t go hungry if he wasn’t around to cook, but her task this evening was not keeping herself fed.
Her task this evening was to cook for Jin-Woo so that he could just relax when he got home.
The idea made her smile, and the terrible voice of Jin-Woo in her head that often acted as her conscience tried to tell her that even though she’d finished her homework there was a test she could start making notes for but she dispelled the thought, dropping her bag outside her room and standing with her hands on her hips as she stared at the kitchen.
She passed home ec, she could do this.
She would be the one looking after Jin-Woo for once.
She’d never realised how quickly things could spiral out of control.
She’d managed to nick her finger while slicing vegetables, and even though she’d put a plaster on it it was still stinging. She’d managed to spill both the salt and the spices over said vegetables and because she didn’t have the same vegetables to replace them with she’d tried to wash it off. The added water on the vegetables meant they weren’t cooking properly and the water they were boiling in had turned a weird colour and a gross taste. Clearly she’d used the wrong settings on the rice cooker because that was starting to smoke and she’d had to unplug it from the wall to get it to stop.
And she hadn’t even started on the meat yet, which when she got it out the fridge managed to slip off her cutting board and land with a wet splat on the floor.
Just as her brother opened the door.
She was a moment away from bursting into tears, but she suddenly felt her stubbornness as he opened the kitchen door to take in the mess that kept the tears in check.
He looked uninjured from his raid at least.
“Everything alright in here Jin-Ah?”
“Brother I want fried chicken,” she said, pretending the chaos didn’t exist behind her.
Jin-Woo blinked in surprise, but smiled after a moment.
“Sure,” he said gently.
“It is my favourite after all,” she continued, gesturing as if it were the most obvious thing.
“Naturally,” Jin-Woo chuckled. “I’ll be back in about half an hour then.”
Jin-Ah didn’t move until she’d heard the front door shut behind him.
Jin-Ah had the kitchen looking decent by the time he returned, and they never spoke of that incident again.
And fried chicken did become her favourite food, even if she only ever wanted it as an occasional treat.