On That Day We | sakook

chapter 26.

Jungkook's POV

　
　
We were already done preparing gimmari and haemuljeon, their savory aroma filling the air, while the jokbal was still slowly being braised in a pot.

Now we were down to the next dish, a simple kimchi pasta.

Momo was still nowhere in sight. She said she only went to get an ice cream cake and crab meat.

Is she really taking so much time for just that?

I stood by the stove, stirring the meat in the hot pan, while Sana was whisking the eggs in a bowl.

We worked together silently, my thoughts drifting elsewhere as I concentrated on cooking.

I'm so sorry.

It's all my fault.

Her words repeated in my head.

It felt so odd.

It was the first time I had seen her like that ― she was so frightened that her hands were visibly trembling.

"Jungkook?" Suddenly, Sana's voice broke through my thoughts.

"What should I do next?" she asked quietly.

I looked at the ingredients on the counter and gestured towards the parmesan cheese. "You can grate that cheese, about two cups, then add it to the eggs."

She nodded, murmuring softly, "Okay."

After putting the kimchi in the pan, I plopped the lid on it and turned to Sana on the other side of the counter. Reaching for the black pepper grinder, I walked closer and gave it a few twists, letting the pepper flakes rain down softly onto her egg mixture.

Wondering what else we could whip up, I peeked inside the fridge.

"Oh," my eyes lit up as I spotted a few ingredients that could be used for a familiar recipe.

"You can make spring rolls with these," I said, pulling out a handful of vegetables and wrappers from the fridge.

"You used to love making spring rolls," I reminded her. "Do you want to try making them now?"

She blinked and replied, "I think I don't remember how to make them anymore."

"It's okay, I'll teach you your recipe. I've memorized it from the number of times you made it in my kitchen back then," I said with a small smile. She returned a faint smile, but her eyes lit up.

　
　
She managed to follow the initial steps well and now I was almost done teaching her.

"Next comes the trickier part," I explained, glancing at her with a smile. "Pull each side of the wrapper inwards, like you're giving it a hug," I demonstrated, carefully folding the left and right sides of the wrapper towards the center, encasing the filling.

"Now, continue wrapping tightly upwards," I instructed, rolling the spring roll up from the bottom edge towards the top.

"Keep it snug, but not too tight, or the filling might burst." I rolled my wrapper, pausing occasionally to adjust the tightness.

Reaching the end of the wrapper, I gave it a final roll and pinched the seam shut with moistened fingertips. "There you go!" I exclaimed as I watched her follow my instructions. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Her face lit up. "Yes, that's much easier than I thought it would be," she said, her voice happy and excited. I couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, I'll keep stirring the pasta for a bit," I said. "Can you take care of the spring rolls by yourself?" After receiving a happy nod from her, I turned back to the pan.

I hated to admit it, but no matter how much I tried to mask it with a smile, I still felt this weird, dull ache in my chest.

It all felt like déjà vu.

Watching her wrap the spring rolls felt like a scene from a movie I'd seen before ― a rush of vivid memories flooded my mind.

But I'm the only one who remembers.