Chapter 2

### Chapter 2: Homemade Handcrafted Models

"Hmm~ Piggy, wait~ hmm~ a bit," Hyori said as soon as she saw Kim Yoolan come in.

"Slow down, don't talk with food in your mouth, be careful not to choke." Lee Shin-haeng handed her a glass of milk, waiting for her to swallow before wiping the milk foam from the corner of her mouth.

Watching the intimate and warm interaction between the two, Kim Yoolan's eyes sparkled. Men like Lee Shin-haeng were rare in Korea—kind, talented, wealthy, and good-looking. Although he wasn't extremely handsome, he was very comfortable to be around, with a warm smile. He was devoted and considerate to Hyori, and very good at taking care of people. Most importantly, his cooking skills were top-notch, like a perfect male lead from a drama. "Wah~ Why can't I find a man like that!"

After Hyori changed her clothes and came down, Lee Shin-haeng handed her a bag containing fruits, pastries, and a thermos.

"If you get hungry, remember to eat something. I've made you some red date and wolfberry tea, remember to drink it."

"Mmm~ Arasso~" She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I'm going out to earn money, be good at home~ (*^__^*) Hehe." Ignoring the helpless look on his face, she turned and left.

"Oppa Shin-haeng, goodbye~" Kim Yoolan said her farewell.

"Mmm~ Be careful on the way!" Lee Shin-haeng waved at them.

As they stepped out the door, Piggy said, "Unnie, your senior is so considerate~ I'm so envious of you~"

Hyori smiled without saying anything, but the crescent moon of her eyes was filled with happiness, which anyone could see.

Oh~~ I forgot to introduce, my wife is Lee Hyori, yes, the singer Lee Hyori. Apart from a somewhat cliché beginning, everything else is like any other couple—meeting, falling in love, getting to know each other, and falling deeply in love.

I remember it was a night in 2002. After playing, I was hungry and went to a nearby snack stand for a late-night snack.

There weren't many seats available, only one table had an empty spot. After ordering my food, I sat down and started eating. Just as I was about to finish, the girl sitting opposite me spoke up.

"Excuse me, can you help me with something?"

I was a bit surprised and replied, "What is it?"

She looked a bit embarrassed and said, "I forgot my wallet. Can I borrow your phone? I need to call a friend."

I saw that she hadn't eaten much and handed her my phone. "Here's the phone. You haven't eaten much, so I'll pay for your meal too."

After she took the phone, I didn't wait for her to respond and went to the stall owner.

When I returned to my seat, she said, "Thank you for the phone. Please wait a moment, my friend will be here soon and can pay you back. I really appreciate it!"

Seeing her standing alone late at night, I felt it wasn't safe, so I said, "I'll wait for your friend to come. It's not safe at night, and you don't need to pay me back."

"Thank you for your help. I didn't know what to do. My name is Lee Hyori, may I ask..."

"That's nothing, oh! My name is Lee Shin-haeng."

When Hyori saw that he didn't react to her name, she said, "Do you not recognize me?" and pulled up her cap to reveal her face.

Lee Shin-haeng looked at her seriously for a while. "Maybe... we go to the same school? Sorry, I don't remember."

Perhaps because he didn't recognize her and had just helped her, Hyori started chatting with me on the street. We talked until her friend arrived, and then I left.

A few days later, Hyori called me, saying she wanted to thank me for paying for her meal and invited me to dinner. I didn't want to refuse her, so I agreed. To my surprise, Hyori took me to my own restaurant.

We had a good conversation over dinner, and after that, we gradually got to know each other better. We would call each other from time to time, have meals together, and the rest, as you can guess, followed.

....................................................................................................................................

After seeing Hyori off, Lee Shin-haeng returned to the dining room, washed and dried the dishes, went back to the room to tidy the bed, put the dirty clothes in the washing machine, and took out the vacuum cleaner to clean the house. With a cat at home, there were always a lot of hairs on the floor, in corners, or stuck to the sofa, so he had to clean every day.

After finishing the cleaning and hanging the clothes, he stretched and walked to the living room.

He lay down on the sofa, planning to relax. Just as he lay down, Piggy jumped onto the sofa and climbed onto Lee Shin-haeng's stomach.

"Oh~ Piggy, what's up?" Lee Shin-haeng patted its head and asked.

"Meow~" Piggy stepped on Lee Shin-haeng's stomach with its fat paws.

"What's wrong?" He pinched Piggy's chubby face.

"Meow~" The cat is hungry.

"Hmm? Are you hungry again?" He patted Piggy's fat belly. "Piggy, if you keep eating like this, you'll need to lose weight..."

"Meow~ Meow~" The cat wants to eat.

"Arasso~ Arasso, I'll make you something to eat right away. Really, Piggy, how can you eat so much~"

He poured cat food into a few bowls, changed the water, and watched them eat. Feeling that his breakfast had been digested, he looked at the clock in the kitchen, which read 11:20.

"What should I have for lunch? Forget it~ I'm alone, so I'll just make some simple noodles."

Lee Shin-haeng really couldn't get used to Korean instant noodles. They weren't that tasty, and eating them for a long time wasn't healthy, so he never bought them. Instead, he always bought handmade noodles.

Since they started living together, they hadn't bought instant noodles at home. At first, Hyori complained that there were no instant noodles to eat, but she gradually got used to it thanks to Lee Shin-haeng.

He took out a small pot, filled it with half a pot of water, covered it, and turned on the stove.

Speaking of pots, I have to complain. Korean kitchenware mostly consists of various sizes of soup pots and frying pans, with no woks like in China, making it very inconvenient to stir-fry. In the end, he had to search for a long time in Chinatown to find a complete set of Chinese kitchenware, or else he would have had to ask his mother to send them from China.

He took out noodles, lettuce, two green onions, beef, and an egg from the fridge. He washed the lettuce and set it aside, chopped the green onions, and sliced the beef. When the water boiled, he added a bit of olive oil, put in the noodles, and stirred with chopsticks to prevent them from sticking together. After the noodles boiled, he added the beef and a bit of white wine to remove the fishy smell, then added a small spoonful of soybean paste and oyster sauce, stirred, added the lettuce and green onions, and finally cracked an egg. He covered the pot, turned off the heat, and let it sit for three minutes. He took out some kimchi, and without a bowl, he ate directly from the pot with the kimchi, sitting at the dining table.

After lunch, he sat on the sofa, holding Prince to help with digestion. Prince tilted its head, closed its eyes, and let Lee Shin-haeng scratch its chin, looking both comfortable and indifferent, as if reluctantly cooperating, though the purring in its throat betrayed its enjoyment.

After resting for a while, he checked the time and let Prince play on its own.

He went to his studio on the first floor, opened the door, and walked in. The walls were lined with display shelves, on which were placed various handcrafted models made by Lee Shin-haeng. There were animal figurines of the twelve zodiac signs, as well as characters from anime like Dragon Ball, Transformers, Naruto, One Piece, Crayon Shin-chan, Pororo the Little Penguin, and Detective Conan. There were also miniature furniture and weapon models, including a half-finished Star Trek spaceship model in silver-gray, whose basic shape was already visible. A pile of parts lay scattered nearby, which Lee Shin-haeng had yet to attach.

The most eye-catching was the scale model of their own coffee shop, made of wood and bamboo, placed on a table in the center. All the buildings were made of bamboo and wood, with wooden wedges securing the joints, making the model stable and sturdy. The entire model was 50 cm high and about 1.2 meters long. All the windows and doors could be opened, and through them, one could see the layout and furnishings inside, which were identical to those in the actual coffee shop.

Lee Shin-haeng had always been fond of such crafts. When he was studying in China, he saw craftsmen on TV making miniature buildings and landscapes out of wood, which he found very interesting. He explained his interest to his father, who thought it was a good hobby and found a master for him to learn from.

After the coffee shop model was completed, Lee Shin-haeng painted it with different colors and then sprayed it with a clear coat. The lifelike scale model looked very realistic. To ensure it dried thoroughly inside and out, he opened all the windows and doors and used a fan to blow air through, making it easy to see the detailed and realistic furnishings inside, including the chairs, bookshelves with books, a cat bed in the corner, and even potted plants on the coffee tables.

After carefully checking that all the paint was dry, he carefully closed all the windows and doors, found a cardboard box, lined it with thick paper, and carefully placed the model inside, securing it with more paper to prevent it from moving. He then closed the box and taped it securely on all sides.

He carried the box out, took the elevator to the underground parking lot, carefully placed the box in the back seat, closed the door, sat in the driver's seat, fastened his seatbelt, and drove away.

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