"Okay then, you'll have to write them down. Wait here a minute," Keith said. He rushed to his room, took a pen from his school bag, and grabbed a spare notebook from his bookshelf.
He rushed back to the kitchen and gave her the pen and notebook. "Get ready, cuz I'm about to list the ingredients."
Sophia nodded with determination on her face. Then, Keith started listing. "Okay, for the rice you'll need one cup of Japanese short-grain rice—"
"Pfft—hahahaha! You just said rice twice, hahahaha…"
"Whatever, just shut up and listen. Okay, next you'll need 1 ¾ cups of water, and that's all for the rice."
"Seriously? That's it?"
"Yes. Now it's time for the miso ingredients. You'll need 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of miso paste, 1 teaspoon of dried wakame seaweed, and ½ teaspoon of instant dashi powder… Are you still following?"
"Uh, yeah. You can continue."
"Right. Next is ¼ cup of sliced green onions for garnish, and ¼ cup of cubed tofu—but the tofu is optional since I prefer my soup without it. Okay, and that's all the ingredients. Did you write them all down?"
"Uh-huh. But what was the third one? Is it wakami seaweed?"
"It's wakame seaweed."
"Right. So these are all the ingredients?"
"Pretty much, yeah. Okay, time for you to start cooking. I'll be your step-by-step guide."
"Okay."
They both washed their hands in the sink. Then, Keith took a pot from the shelf above him and handed it to her while pointing at the rice container. "Put one cup of the rice in that pot."
"Yes, sir."
She opened the container, took one cup of rice, and put it in the pot. Then, she waited for the next instruction.
"Add 1 ¾ cups of water, then place it on the stove so it will boil."
She did as he instructed, then waited for him to continue as she turned on the expensive-looking stove.
"While waiting for the rice to boil, you'll start making the miso soup by rehydrating the wakame seaweed in hot water, then chopping it."
Keith showed her the seaweed and gave her a dish to hydrate it in. She poured hot water in, and after a few minutes, the seaweed was good to go.
He took the chopping board from the lower shelf and gave it to her. She grabbed a knife, and it was time to chop. She chopped surprisingly well in Keith's eyes; he didn't expect her to be able to use a knife so skillfully.
"You can actually use a knife, hehehehe. Well, that's unexpected."
"Watch it, you, or else," she said, pointing the knife at him as her eyes flamed.
"Wow, chill! I was just joking."
She continued chopping, and after a short while, she finished.
"Next, check the rice. If it's boiling, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes."
"Should I simmer for 15 or 20 minutes?"
"Just pick one."
"Rude!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, alright? Simmer for 15 minutes… happy?"
"Yes," Sophia said with a satisfied look on her face. She simmered the rice for the allocated time, then waited for the next instruction.
"After that, you'll make the dashi broth, I think."
"You think?!"
"Hahahaha… relax, I'm kidding."
"Not funny!"
"Tough crowd. Right, boil 2 cups of water, add the dashi powder, and then stir."
Sophia did as she was told, which was pretty convenient for her because everything she needed was right in front of her, and she had a talking, humanoid cookbook guiding her every move. Basically, a walking audiobook.
Learning to cook wasn't so bad as long as he was teaching her. She felt a gentle warmth in her chest as she listened to him going on and on while she learned.
In her mind, this scene was straight out of a romantic movie where the husband helps his wife with her cooking. The thought made the corners of her lips rise, changing her expression to that of an amused teenager.
"What's next, hubby?" Sophia purred teasingly.
"Hubby?"
"Mhmm. Because for the next two days—you—are—my—hubby," Sophia purred again with an even more teasing tone, although her blushing betrayed her confidence.
Keith hit her with a gentle chop on her forehead as he said, "Stop messing around, will you?"
"That hurt, Kei! You big meanie!" Sophia cried aloud, though in a softer tone.
"Yeah, I'm mean. Now let's focus, shall we?" Keith uttered. "Next step: add the wakame to the dashi broth."
She grabbed the wakame and added it to the broth.
"Okay, now reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes."
"Got it."
"Take that small bowl on your left and mix 2 tablespoons of miso paste with some hot broth from the pot until smooth."
"Done."
"Now combine the miso paste and broth by adding the miso paste mixture back into the pot. Then, stir gently."
She did just that and began to stir, but she wasn't stirring gently in the slightest. Keith panicked. His body moved on its own as he stood behind her and wrapped his hands over hers.
"Don't stir like that, you'll ruin it. Stir like this."
He moved her hands slowly in a stirring motion, the warmth of their bodies combining into one. Keith was oblivious to the fact that he was too close, but she wasn't.
Her entire face flushed, and her mouth opened in heartfelt shock. As he continued moving her hands, she thought to herself.
T-T-Too close! Why is he so close? I mean, I get why, but still. He's so warm, and he's so… masculine. He's changed so much since back then. He's taller and bigger than me now—and to think I used to be taller than him. I wish… this moment could last forever.
Her heart started pounding. Realizing this, she panicked, struggling to get the words out. "K-Kei."
"Mhm?"
"Y-You're… You're too close."
Keith realized it and turned red as well, immediately letting go of her. "S-Sorry about that. I didn't notice."
"I-It's fine, no worries."
Keith cleared his throat, and his normal expression returned. "You should check the rice."
She checked both the rice and the miso soup. The rice was almost done, while the miso still needed a few more minutes. They waited for both to be ready while they cleared the counter and washed the dishes. As they were washing, Sophia murmured, "Thanks for teaching me how to cook, Kei. It means a lot."
She handed him a dish. He took it, rinsed it, and placed it on the rack as he replied, his eyes coruscating.
"Don't mention it, I'm glad I could help." He smiled softly as he rinsed another dish.
"Doesn't this remind you of the time we were washing dishes and I opened the tap too much, leading to us getting drenched?"
Sophia chuckled and added, "And then you panicked when you saw that I got wet too, and you tripped and landed flat on your back! Hehehe, yeah, I remember."
"Please forget that last part."
"No, sir."
They both laughed as they continued washing the dishes, reminiscing and reminding each other of shared childhood memories from their adventures in London. Once they finished up, they turned off the stove and dished out the food.
They sat at the kitchen table with their food in front of them. Then, they said in unison, "Itadakimasu," and took up their chopsticks. Keith looked at Sophia with gentle eyes as she hesitated to try her food.
"Try it," he suggested in a low tone.
She took a bite, and immediately her face lit up. She stared at Keith with a grateful light in her eyes.
"Well, how is it?"
Sophia smiled, her eyes shimmering with tears, her cheeks pink, and her tone low, soft, and sweet. "It's actually… good."
Keith beamed and began eating as well. They talked and had their silly little quarrels again. The joy they felt at that moment was… lovely.