Chapter 59
Idyllic
Kai found out that Sam is still feeling awkward because of what had happened in the forest, so he went to help Sam's mother cook and tried to find a way to solve the problem.
- People admire and envy the cute younger sister, but unfortunately I have a sister, not... Ah… I still don't have a younger brother.
Thanh Hang smiles at the way Kai opens the story, deliberately omitting words to emphasize brotherly love. He watches Sam cook at the same time, but the younger brother always has his back to him.
Thanh Hang nods in understanding. She complains about tired knees and back pain and makes an excuse to return to her room.
- Tsk, I'm old and weak. You help me cook!
She and Huge leave the kitchen. Kai asks Sam to get him a paring knife, and the younger brother gives it to him, still staring at the food he's cooking. Kai smiles softly and deliberately raises the blade into the sunlight streaming through the window, splashing rays of sunlight onto Sam. Kai repeats this so many times that Sam feels his brother is doing it on purpose. The younger brother looks over, unable to blink at the artistic performance:
Faster than Sam could follow, the blade weaves horizontally, diagonally, and vertically, cutting and trimming the vegetables into all kinds of cute, calm, and mischievous shapes. Sam is sure that people of all ages would enjoy watching and eating this mostly decorative dish.
Kai arranges the food on a large plate, places the fish on the cutting board. He slides the knife to cut the belly and remove the internal organs. The fish scales are sliced into thin strips every centimeter.
Kai gently splits the fish skin, which doesn't stick to the meat. He slides the knife into the spine and gently pulls it out — the entire skeleton is removed without missing a single piece.
He cuts a few times to make each slice not too thin or too thick, perfectly forming a full moon shape, then pours the fish into the stew pot to release the aroma of rich spices.
Sam forgets everything when he meets the right opponent. The older brother chef knocks his knife against the scissors, making a clanking sound. Sam understands that his brother wants to challenge him.
The younger brother chef places a pan on the stove, sprinkles a layer of grease, ignites a flickering flame, drops grilled meat that sizzles, and the smoke billows, spreading the aroma throughout the house.
Rose wrinkles her nose a few times and comes to watch the two men working hard. She smiles until her eyes squint as she watches Sam swing the pan and catch the food as it turns golden brown over the fire.
The smooth piece of meat dripping with fat gleams in her admiring eyes. She is amazed as Sam throws the meat high into the air — the whole thing flies in an arc to his left hand. He glides the plate three times to catch it all, each piece of meat neatly arranged.
Rose turns to admire Kai, her best friend's brother, who is making the traditional rice rolls of The Sun Kingdom. He completes each part meticulously, taking half an hour to finish. Rose still doesn't understand why Kai places the ingredients in the wrong order. She is about to remind him, but he's careful with every inch like a professional chef, so she guesses the brother has his own reasons.
Rose casts her eyes on Sam, and the corners of her lips automatically smile. She sees that the guy who is usually super naughty has now turned into a truly serious young man.
He pays absolute attention to cooking. Every slice, every corner mark, every movement — nothing is redundant, and everything is accurate to the centimeter.
She suppresses her giggles and watches him decorate the side dishes around the main course, creating an image of reunion. Sam is satisfied with the perfect product and purses his lips, whistling a song about family affection.
He kneads the dough mixed with herbs and spices to make the cake so gently that Rose feels as if he isn't even touching the ingredients.
Rose covers her mouth and giggles because Sam lifts the dough more carefully than he lifts an egg and receives it more tenderly than he receives a falling flower, just like how he treats his future sister-in-law. She almost claps her hands to praise the dandelion's pure and lifelike shape.
Only her brother and soulmate know Hanna is crazy about the immortal flower. It's no surprise that Sam knows this. The future sister-in-law and the younger brother of her future husband regard each other as family, so Sam naturally understands this hobby.
The whole family and bestie are about to receive a meaningful gift. Rose unconsciously wants to receive one too.
She can see Sam doing everything. The girl always handles things properly and delicately, but now she stands on tiptoe countless times to watch the two brothers cooking.
She doesn't realize that she's exposing herself—waiting for him to bring her joy. Sam pushes the pie mold into the oven, rubs his hands, and turns to watch his brother finish rolling the last piece of rice.
- I don't protect my sister as well as bro protects your sister-in-law. Now I've lost a big score. "Sky" is too bitter!
Sam bursts out laughing at the joke. He talks to Kai nonstop, watching intently as his brother wipes the blade of his knife with a damp cloth, cuts the rice rolls into bite-sized pieces, and places them on a plate. He spreads some mayonnaise on top and displays a little bit of sour and sweet pickled pink ginger next to it.
Sam stands cross-legged, sipping water, watching Kai cut the beef into squares and marinate it with spices, honey, and herbs. Sam admires the spot where his brother marinates the meat—the area where the meat will become smooth and glossy. He continues to sip, sip, watching the food gather full of eye-catching colors. The warm aroma enters his nose, making his senses dance, eagerly waiting to taste the flavor that will definitely be worth the visual torture. The brother smiles at his younger brother who's swallowing his saliva:
- You scared me, bro!
Sam shows his teeth, heh heh, watching Kai cook a delicious meat sauce with a strong aroma. The brother puts all his love into the dishes for his sister, cherishing and being as gentle as Sam.
The younger brother's eyes stay glued and staring, not noticing that someone is waiting for him to do something. Every second and every minute of waiting passes in a disappointment that's not slight.
The unintentional person makes someone feel that she is truly tactless and filled with yearning for her unfulfilled wishes. Sadness fills her as she finds herself in a place she shouldn't have been, where her feelings are teased—even though the person involved never intended to hurt her.
The girl's thoughts paint the ugliness on her flushed and hot peach cheeks. She's confused, bewildered, and finds it difficult to understand herself. The insider is startled to notice Sam feeling ticklish on the back of his neck. He looks at the door—she's motionless to the point of stiffness. Two seconds later, she turns around hurriedly and leaves immediately.
Sam's face twists as he watches her lower her head. As if embarrassed, she clenches her hands to suppress the trembling impulse that rises each time. Guys are always fools about emotions. He instantly clicks his tongue, unable to understand girls—each one likes to play hide-and-seek in a maze and force men to find them.
The rude guy looks around lethargically. He's speechless to the lion, exhales, turns off the microwave, puts the cake on a plate, and arranges coriander and sweet fruits around it.
He finishes decorating the food just as Kai finishes making the fish stew, meat sauce, and traditional rice rolls. The brother and younger brother laugh and high-five, taking turns to deliver the dinner to the banquet table. Kai carefully keeps the rice rolls to save until the party is about to end.
- Let's eat, let's eat, I'm starving!
Kai shakes his head and smiles at his eager younger brother sitting on the chair. The elder brother enters the room happily and invites the whole family to dinner.
Kai waits for the elders to go ahead first, then bends down and carries his sister on his back. Hanna stays as natural as ever. Rose lingers shyly and doesn't want to leave yet. Hanna asks in surprise:
- What's wrong, Rose?
Rose forces a smile, says it's nothing, slightly adjusts her breathing rhythm, trying to dispel the confusion, teasing this person, teasing that person as she walks to the party table.
Sam is about to help his sister-in-law, but his mother hints that Hanna would be embarrassed if he does so. Sam nods and understands that sometimes it's best to let everything happen normally. He turns to Rose—the girl ignores him, as if Sam isn't there, even though he's sitting right in front of her.
He clicks his tongue, smacks his lips, and doesn't care about her anymore. But he feels that since he ignores her, the troublesome girl has been secretly sulking and glancing sideways at him. Shoot, I'm not teasing you—why are you suddenly mad at me?
He frowns and looks at her. Rose ignores him but speaks happily to everyone. She glances at Sam with her eyebrows raised. His right eye twitches, his left eye narrows, his lower lip is pouting down, and his upper lip is upturned.
He can't stand that everything is peaceful, but the Ha Dong lion suddenly has an "attitude" toward him. So the idiot guy goes to the toilet immediately:
- Everyone eat first!
Rose's "revenge" succeeds. She presses the edge of her mouth, suppresses chirping laughter, can hardly make a sound—but she's still discovered by her bestie. Hanna is about to ask, but she smiles. She has never seen that mischievous girl so uncomfortable before. A few minutes later, Rose returns to her playful self—always active, always joking for fun.
Rose doesn't know her confidant is laughing at her strange expression. She loves watching Sam crush and wrinkle his cap, turning it into a poor victim whenever he's angry or helpless. The idiot even scratches his hair until it's tangled, slams the door in annoyance, causing her to almost choke on her water.
The other three look confused, not understanding why the girls have to hide their charming lips, or why each one seems to be laughing at something different. Strangely, Hanna smiles at Rose, while Rose smiles at things that have nothing to do with her bestie.
Men shouldn't pry into the private stories of women and girls. Thanh Hang is curious, but it's inconvenient to ask—she fears the atmosphere might turn unnatural—so she simply enjoys the joy with her children and grandchildren:
- I haven't been this happy in a long time! - She looks toward the bathroom and calls out - Are you sleeping in there, Sam?
Sam is annoyed, but he doesn't dare get angry at his mother, so he replies:
- I told everyone to eat first. I'm constipated. Ignore me!
Everyone bursts into laughter. Rose can't hold back her shrill voice. She laughs until her gut aches at the rude guy who makes people laugh to tears and… 'annoyed.' The thought of 'annoyed' makes her voice a little less charming. She pretends to be thirsty and goes to the refrigerator to drink water—just to see if anyone notices she's behaving strangely—but everyone is so happy that no one suspects anything. She checks to see if the situation is safe, then takes the water bottle back to the table.
The whole family chats lively. The topic revolves around daily life, but it brings a strange attraction to Kai. He likes Huge's carefree personality.
Most adults often suffer from the disease of "elders" who like to show that we are fathers and uncles, talking to anyone, chronic diseases spread in every gesture, and infections relapse seriously in every sentence. But they don't know (some people don't need to know) the disease of showing off experience—to teach that no matter how deep and versatile the younger generation are, they are just a bunch of young buffaloes who eat less rice than I eat salt:
"I am the elder, you are the children, children should listen to the elders, prohibit busybody, prohibit interrupting, prohibit arguing the elders, no matter if they are right or wrong!"
Not only with the children, they like to show off the same way when talking to anyone. The disease of imposing this ideology strangles the thoughts of the younger generation. The children, in the eyes of adults, become those who have lost their right views. Those old fools, proud of their 'wisdom and experience,' don't realize that arrogance brings them no respect… but only earns the disdain of the younger generation.
Huge is not infected with the disease that those who have it don't realize (countless people don't need to know) they themselves have the disease.
Whenever he tells something exciting, father laughs so hard that the roof flips over. The funniest thing is how much Sam has destroyed things as a child, growing more rebellious over time, making everyone laugh until the house rumbled.
Kai listens to every word, as if afraid that if he misses a word, he will be regretful and feel at fault for the person he respects. He thinks thoughtfully about Huge. Every father wants to be the second Huge. Every child in the world dreams of calling a great man their father.
Dreams do not come from glorious victories on the battlefield, nor from those miracles of overcoming life and death that become legends. All extraordinary things cannot be compared with the things of everyday life:
After a few words, they quarrel fiercely. Whenever something unexpected happens, the father and son find all means and do not hesitate to do the craziest things—if that can boost the spirit of the family. The most typical example has been when Sam has been falsely accused of rape, and the world has admired—envied the one who has an exemplary father.
Kai thinks of his father sadly. The man who fathered him and the sad memories have appeared in Kai's mind, and the smile on his lips has immediately extinguished.
Kai turns to Huge silently—father is having fun with everyone. A rough image, but warm, leaves a contemplative mark in Kai's heart. That heart seems to have been hardened by the affection between father and son, and now it has been stinging again.
Psychologically still stuck in the past, Kai does not let his mind fall into chaos. The strong-minded man laughs and pours wine for Huge. Father laughs loudly, the sound echoes like thunder and makes Sam scream:
- Can you shrink that mouth a bit, please! Is there anyone who is deaf and speaks louder than a house on fire?
Everyone laughs so hard that they fall backwards, listening to Huge roll his eyes and scold his son:
- Your ancestor, you uneducated fellow, I am your father!
Sam imitates his father's voice:
- "I am your father!" - Sam curls his lips - This sentence is old, change it to another one, old father, too boring!
When Huge and Sam have a big fight, Kai laughs happily. Huge does not care about losing his exemplary father image, and father looks like he does not know whether he is the father or you are the father:
- Your father's bad luck is to have a son who rips the sky open and crashes down to earth like you!
Rose giggles as she listens to every word Sam says while arguing with his father:
- You know I hate God, why do you still "connect" me with that woman guy? Enough, you have been my dad for too long, the old man suffering pestilence!
Thanh Hang always forbids her children to offend heaven and earth, and the deities. The whole family is happy after the incident. She does not want the family to lose interest, so she shakes her head and smiles at the father and son's quarrel in a humorous tone. The mother gently reminds Sam:
- The food is about to get cold!
Sam frowns as he walks out of the hallway. Rose feels suspicious. The toilet on the left is across from the bedroom, but Sam walks in from the right. He keeps calm, as if afraid of being caught doing something sneaky.
Rose keeps looking at him. He opens his eyes wide and shrugs, as if he wants to say, "What kind of horror are you watching, second sister?" She evades the question:
- I invite the whole family to dinner!
Sam does not have time to make trouble for the lion, sighs and says:
- It does not matter whether you eat first or later. We are in the same family. Why does mother make the problem important and cause fatigue.