06-14-2024, 01:52 AM
Damian topped off their glasses, Ju knew she would be good for another few rounds before she would have to be too concerned. She knew her tolerances very well, the drinking culture in Korea was nearly unprecedented. Her brothers had made sure that she could drink and hold her alcohol because there were plenty of men who would try to take advantage of women and girls by getting them drink they wanted to make sure she was protected in a culture that heavily relied on drinking to get through stressful days and overworking. Damian admitted he had been studying the culture but not the language causing Ju to chuckle and shake her head.
“Korean is hard to learn, there’s formal Korean and informal Korean, and depending on circumstances and age tells you which one to use when… it’s.. a lot,” she grinned. “Even for me.”
He admitted he loved food and drink so that was what he started with. Unless it had a lot of pulp or marmalade. “I like sweet stuff, obviously, but I don’t like pulp either.”
Ju leaned her hip against the table as he began to fill it with all of the great food they would be eating. He started with the Korean staple of Kimchi, the fermented radish was one of those things you couldn’t eat Korean food without. He pulled out the small bowls of rice, or bap. Korean rice was much more sticky and thick so it was easy to pick up with chopsticks. He also brought out gim-gui which were sheets of roasted seaweed used for wrapping meats and rice inside. Sigeumchi namul was a side dish which was spinach with garlic, soy sauce, and sesame seeds you could eat it alone or with the bap. It wouldn’t be a complete Korean meal if it didn’t have a soup, watching him replicate the kongnamul guk brought everything together. Soybean sprouts were a staple for Korean tables, and the soup was commonly found on her table at home. Again and again he brought out more food and even the lettuce boats. Her eyes shifted to him as he finished replicating their feast.
“You really did your homework, it makes me feel at home,” she admitted, just looking at the table and smelling the scents from home. It almost made tears come to her eyes but she was not going to let that happen tonight was a good night.
As he worked she listened as he told her about his sisters and his family how they would eat together. Then he would read the younger one a story and the older and he would stay up for a long time talking. “Are those the girls in your box picture?” she asked pointing at the desk before she sat down next to him.
Back home she would be sitting on the floor they weren’t rich enough to have a full table. But, she was used to sitting in chairs from the academy and it didn’t feel weird to her anymore like it normally did. When she ate alone she tended to sit on her little couch or on the floor in front of a small table. She was about to tell him that they were missing some protein when he brought the dak galbi to the table last. The chicken was actually one of her favorite dishes.
“This is perfect,” Ju admitted with a bright smile on her face. Everything was steaming and delicious smelling. Eun Ju could not wait to dig in.
The thing about eating in Korean is you didn’t use a plate like some families did. You ate on your rice bowl, and you helped yourself to the communal dishes one at a time. So there was no worries about someone eating before the other. Leaning forward she took a lettuce boat and put some rice, chicken, and seaweed in it before she rolled it up and shoved it in her mouth all at once. Biting it was not normal, it was probably why most of her culture struggled with constipation issues.
As she chewed he asked her how she was enjoying the Magnificent Artemis. Well, he actually told her she could pick between two questions, and he gave her the second one which was what did Tyra chat about regarding the two of them… and him. Ju swallowed her mouthful of food and took a sip of her soup to wash it down. Thinking about that now, she reached forward and poured some of the water in a clear glass before taking a sip.
“Well, the Artemis is going way better now that I ran into someone I know and I get to spend more time with him,” she grinned. Reaching forward she used her chopsticks to grab a long piece of seaweed and put it on top of her rice. Then she took it and a little ball of rice and ate it while she made him wait for the answer.
“Oh right, Captain…” she grinned, because she was totally teasing him. “Well, we talked about why I came to the Artemis, and I think she was concerned I came solely because you’re here, which .. I didn’t. It’s just a really great perk. She asked .. what kind of relationship we have and how serious we were. I told her I wasn’t really sure, because we had only been on a couple dates and had a lot of correspondence.”
Eun Ju bit her lip. “We haven’t really talked about who we are together, or .. I mean what we are. I didn’t want to tell her something you wouldn’t agree with, or that didn’t make sense, or that we hadn’t agreed on together. So, I kept it really simple. I also wasn’t sure if you were going to think I was a total creep for transferring.”
Ju took another sip of her water and looked over at him. “I didn’t want to speak on your behalf.”
“What… what would you have told her?” Eun Ju asked curiously, a small pit forming in her stomach at the question.
“Korean is hard to learn, there’s formal Korean and informal Korean, and depending on circumstances and age tells you which one to use when… it’s.. a lot,” she grinned. “Even for me.”
He admitted he loved food and drink so that was what he started with. Unless it had a lot of pulp or marmalade. “I like sweet stuff, obviously, but I don’t like pulp either.”
Ju leaned her hip against the table as he began to fill it with all of the great food they would be eating. He started with the Korean staple of Kimchi, the fermented radish was one of those things you couldn’t eat Korean food without. He pulled out the small bowls of rice, or bap. Korean rice was much more sticky and thick so it was easy to pick up with chopsticks. He also brought out gim-gui which were sheets of roasted seaweed used for wrapping meats and rice inside. Sigeumchi namul was a side dish which was spinach with garlic, soy sauce, and sesame seeds you could eat it alone or with the bap. It wouldn’t be a complete Korean meal if it didn’t have a soup, watching him replicate the kongnamul guk brought everything together. Soybean sprouts were a staple for Korean tables, and the soup was commonly found on her table at home. Again and again he brought out more food and even the lettuce boats. Her eyes shifted to him as he finished replicating their feast.
“You really did your homework, it makes me feel at home,” she admitted, just looking at the table and smelling the scents from home. It almost made tears come to her eyes but she was not going to let that happen tonight was a good night.
As he worked she listened as he told her about his sisters and his family how they would eat together. Then he would read the younger one a story and the older and he would stay up for a long time talking. “Are those the girls in your box picture?” she asked pointing at the desk before she sat down next to him.
Back home she would be sitting on the floor they weren’t rich enough to have a full table. But, she was used to sitting in chairs from the academy and it didn’t feel weird to her anymore like it normally did. When she ate alone she tended to sit on her little couch or on the floor in front of a small table. She was about to tell him that they were missing some protein when he brought the dak galbi to the table last. The chicken was actually one of her favorite dishes.
“This is perfect,” Ju admitted with a bright smile on her face. Everything was steaming and delicious smelling. Eun Ju could not wait to dig in.
The thing about eating in Korean is you didn’t use a plate like some families did. You ate on your rice bowl, and you helped yourself to the communal dishes one at a time. So there was no worries about someone eating before the other. Leaning forward she took a lettuce boat and put some rice, chicken, and seaweed in it before she rolled it up and shoved it in her mouth all at once. Biting it was not normal, it was probably why most of her culture struggled with constipation issues.
As she chewed he asked her how she was enjoying the Magnificent Artemis. Well, he actually told her she could pick between two questions, and he gave her the second one which was what did Tyra chat about regarding the two of them… and him. Ju swallowed her mouthful of food and took a sip of her soup to wash it down. Thinking about that now, she reached forward and poured some of the water in a clear glass before taking a sip.
“Well, the Artemis is going way better now that I ran into someone I know and I get to spend more time with him,” she grinned. Reaching forward she used her chopsticks to grab a long piece of seaweed and put it on top of her rice. Then she took it and a little ball of rice and ate it while she made him wait for the answer.
“Oh right, Captain…” she grinned, because she was totally teasing him. “Well, we talked about why I came to the Artemis, and I think she was concerned I came solely because you’re here, which .. I didn’t. It’s just a really great perk. She asked .. what kind of relationship we have and how serious we were. I told her I wasn’t really sure, because we had only been on a couple dates and had a lot of correspondence.”
Eun Ju bit her lip. “We haven’t really talked about who we are together, or .. I mean what we are. I didn’t want to tell her something you wouldn’t agree with, or that didn’t make sense, or that we hadn’t agreed on together. So, I kept it really simple. I also wasn’t sure if you were going to think I was a total creep for transferring.”
Ju took another sip of her water and looked over at him. “I didn’t want to speak on your behalf.”
“What… what would you have told her?” Eun Ju asked curiously, a small pit forming in her stomach at the question.