Page 37

“This is your house?” Nathaniel says with a whistle, stepping into the front yard behind me. “I feel like I’m inParasite.”

I glare at him.

“But less murder-y,” he amends.

I guess I cansort ofsee where he’s coming from. My mother hired a Seoul-based architect of some renown to design the house, which has five bedrooms and an indoor pool and gym. In middle school, I would sometimes invite classmates over who would tell me how envious they were that I lived in such a spacious home in Seoul.

Nathaniel trails me up the lit path to the front door.

The foyer is spotless thanks to Ajumma’s diligent cleaning. Opening the shoe cabinet off to the side, I take out a pair of house slippers and place them on the floor for Nathaniel to use.

“Are you hungry?” I ask. Even if it is the middle of the night, I feel awkward leading him straight upstairs, where the bedrooms are located.

“Well, now I’m craving Chapaguri,” he says with a grin, referencing the instant noodle dish popularized byParasite.

I roll my eyes. “The kitchen’s over here.”

I lead him from the foyer, past the dining area, and into the kitchen. Chapaguri is created by combining two instant noodle brands, Chapaghetti and Neoguri. In the pantry, I open a drawer to find several brands of instant noodle packets neatly lined up, grabbing the two that I need.

After boiling the water, I place both packets of noodles and dried vegetable flakes into the pot. While it’s cooking, I glance over my shoulder to see Nathaniel on the barstool behind the island. When our gazes meet, I quickly turn around, breaking the noodles apart with my chopsticks so that they’ll cook evenly.

“Can I help?” he asks.

I remember how he helped his sisters that morning at his house.I have no doubt that he’s perfectly capable in a kitchen. Getting up from the stool, he makes his way around the island toward me.

“I don’t know where everything is...” I wince as I say the words aloud. The kitchen is Ajumma’s domain; the few times I’ve asked to help, whether with the cooking or the cleaning up afterward, she’s shooed me away. Though now I’m wondering if I should have tried harder.

“That’s fine,” Nathaniel says easily, already opening drawers and cabinets, “I’ll figure it out.”

He roots out placemats in a drawer beside the stove, plucks cups from a cabinet.

“Do you need this?” he asks, holding up a strainer that he’d found in a bottom drawer.

“Yes. I think the noodles are ready.”

He places the strainer in the sink while, using two hands, I bring over the pot, tilting to pour out the noodles, but making sure to keep a little bit of the broth inside. Then, transferring the noodles back into the pot, I add the packets of powder and mix thoroughly.

“There are side dishes in the fridge,” I tell Nathaniel.

He moves to retrieve them while I distribute our portions of Chapaguri into separate bowls. He’s already seated by the time I’m finished.

“Thank you for the meal,” he says before picking up his chopsticks.

“It’s not quite like the film,” I say as I watch him take an inhumanly large bite.

Nathaniel shakes his head, unable to speak, reaching for a slice of cabbage kimchi to supplement his eating experience.

“It’s perfect,” he says, after chewing and swallowing.

Warmth suffuses me. I feel silly for being so happy. It’sinstant noodles.But he eats so heartily, taking one large bite after another. He bends his head so that the noodles have less of a distance to travel between the bowl and his mouth.

I take my own first bite and let out a soft moan. Nathaniel raises his gaze, laughter in his eyes. It’s a perfect balance of the savory richness of the black noodle sauce and the spicy seafood Neoguri, of which I only used a third of the flavor packet to mitigate the spice. I don’t know if it’s the late night or my general state of hunger, but it’sdelicious.

Eventually Nathaniel slows down, allowing for more human bites. “So are you going to tell me what you were doing today?”

My shoulders tense. “What do you mean?”

“At the school, when Jaewoo and Woo Hyemi cornered us in the stairwell. Youlether win.”