Closed A Taste of Home PV Sere Nade

Banner was made by Kaito Asano

Date	:	May 5th, 2024
Color code	:	Written|Thought|Said

Late Sunday morning, in order to maintain her stamina and fitness, Sere Nade is now walking along the Grounds. She woke up pretty late today, thanks to her engross in that science-fiction novel so that she read it until dawn. Luckily, the weather is still perfect for the late-morning outdoor activity. Sere immediately gone out from the House of Gryffindor to take some walk in the Grounds. She stretched her body, inhaling the spring breeze that gently stroked her face. The duel is really soon ahead. I'm curious on how the match will go, and whether everything I do for months will paid off.

Sere looked casual in a maroon shirt, black leggings, and white sneakers. While walking around the Grounds, the British-Korean girl observed things the students were doing: some were playing ball, some were bringing their pets outside, others seemed to be hanging out and chatting with their group of friends. It is strange how this girl feels used to the various activities of the students at Hogwarts, considering how odd she feels on the first days coming here. Their busyness somehow makes me feel comfortable. Although that feeling of comfort doesn't change the fact that she is still alone and no one really cares about her existence.

Sere took a deep breath and exhaled again. She was about to continue her walk when a delicious aroma entered her senses, "Whoa..." The girl couldn't help but turning her sight to the source of the aroma. Her legs moved automatically, following the command of her rumbling empty stomach. When she comes closer, Sere is close enough to hear some music was playing along with the sizzling sound of meat grilled perfectly in its own fat. The seared sound is kind of melody to the soothing song. Oh crap! This is the consequence of skipping breakfast, Sere! Hold your sanity, please!

Sere Nade could see a boy sitting on a blanket, his skilled-hands moving deftly over the grill. "Hey, isn't that pork belly?" Sere realized that this type of meat is one of the popular grilling dish in Korea, the country where her grandparents lived. She's taking a more clearly sight on who's grilling the pork belly. "I see, so it's you who makes the delicious aroma. Hi, Justin!" The first Eastern-Asian boy Sere had met in the Great Hall last week. The girl's crouching down, "Craving for some Korean food? You even come to this extent to created such a mood for barbequeing."

Interacting with : @Justin Shin

With the noise of the sizzling meat and his singing, Justin didn't hear Sere's voice at first. Using his tongs as a mic, Justin began singing along to the song in the background.

"Oooooo~ mm mm. Right here next to you~~ mm mm mm mm" the boy hummed.

The boy only noticed the Gryffindor talking to him when she crouched down. She began showing familiarity with the food he prepared and asked if he was craving BBQ today.

Justin flipped a piece of meat to show the other side cooked perfectly golden brown. "Dad sent it over from his restaurant," Justin said. "If I don't eat it now, it'll go bad, ya know?" the boy replied. The excited boy was clearly craving BBQ, but he was trying to remain tough. Firstborns are quite the stubborn beings.

He heard Sere's stomach grumble, and laughed out loud. He took an empty paper plate and handed it to Sere. "Sure. Why not? You can join me," Justin replied before Sere could even ask.

The first year Ravenclaw, picked up a strip of fully cooked pork and began cutting the strip into smaller bite sized pieces onto Sere's plate with scissors. He took a tub of steamed rice and placed some onto Sere's plate. Justin then pointed at the blanket with all the side dishes and sauce.

"Help yourself to anything here," Justin smiled.

The chef of the day then cooked some kimchi and placed the grilled kimchi onto Sere's plate. Justin, with tongs still in his hand, bent down and was eye-level with Sere, staring at her curiously.

"How did I not notice you're Korean too?" Justin chuckled. "Sere... That's obviously a Korean name."

The song changed in the background. 'Angel 2 Me,' by McKay began playing. (click here to listen)

Justin grabbed his tongs again and began lip-syncing along, while still crouched down in front of Sere.

WC: 319

Banner was made by Kaito Asano

Date	:	May 5th, 2024
Color code	:	Written|Thought|Said

Ah... I see. So his father runs a Korean Barbeque Restaurant. Interesting. Sere raised her eyebrows when she saw Justin singing using the tong as his mic. Sere will never do something like 'singing with a tong in the middle of the Grounds where everyone could possibly realize the craziness of the behaviour'. Never in a million years. This Ravenclaw boy is also seemed quiet interesting... Of course in different way.

By the time her stomach's started to growl again, at the moment Sere really wants to bury herself in the deepest part of the earth. No no no! Why can't you hold yourself even a little bit, stupid Sere?! It's unusual for Sere's thoughts to mocked herself. The Gryffindor girl cleared her throat to control the overwhelming feelings inside herself. She doesn't know how red is her face when she walks on her knees and sit cross-legged on the blanket. She snorted softly while saying, "Thank you for your consideration, Sir."

Sere's gaze was directed in various places before returning to Justin who was placing the perfectly grilled golden-brown pork belly on her plate, coupled with a tub of steamed rice held closer to her, and the side ingredients which already neatly arranged next to the portable gas stove. Sere's palms automatically joined together as she said, "Thank you for the food."

The girl picked up her chopsticks and fed herself with the bite-sized pork belly. "Oh my!" This is absolutely the first time her obsidian eyes are used to look at someone with the sparkles in it, "I really miss this taste!" Sere, who realized that she's started to come out from her serious image, then blinked her eyes several times to show back her sharp observant-gaze, "Well, maybe because my surname is Nade and that's not a name that Koreans usually use, so you didn't realize it. My mother is purely Korean, while my father is British with a quarter of Korean blood. So yeah, I'm British-Korean."

Sere took a lettuce and made a wrap with pork belly, kimchi, and spicy green onion salad in it. "You're really good at grilling the--- Oh no, not again!" Sere tried to get Justin's attention, who is now singing with his tong again, "Here... Here... I made this wrap for you. Just eat this, please." Sere handed him the wrap that she hadn't even had time to put into her own mouth. Seeing the combination of Justin and the tong is really giving her some kind of second-hand embarrassment. How could this boy have such a self-confidence to the extent that would be embarrassing for the onlookers?! Sere is getting more and more overwhelmed, even though she's just being around for about ten minutes.

"Sere means 'the novelty that everyone is talking about'. Even though my name sounded more like a pun of beautiful melodic song -serenade- to most of the people. You're the first one who realized that my first name comes from Korean language." Feels like she's already talking too much, Sere opened her mouth to ask, "How about you? Are you purely Korean? Actually I only guessed that you came from Eastern-Asia because your face has some similarity to me, typical faces in that region. The Shin surname could be either Chinese, Korean, or Japanese so I'm not completely assuming that you're Korean." The girl is waiting for Justin's answer while eating another bite-sized of pork belly, this time it goes in together with a lump of steamed rice.

Interacting with : @Justin Shin

Sere offered Justin a lettuce wrap. Without accepting the wrap with his hands, his face leaned in to take the wrap in one bite, straight from Sere's grip.

"Mmmm," Justin said, chewing with his mouth closed of course. Chewing with your mouth open is no way to act in front of a lady after all. Sere's attempt at shutting Justin up failed however, as he began humming while grooving to the music. He placed another strip of meat on the grill as the sizzle once again echoed through the skies.

The boy swallowed his food. He heard Sere's question about his ethnicity while she described hers.

"Both of my parents are Korean," Justin replied. "From the motherland."

He noticed Sere calmly enjoying the meal and smiled. His firstborn instincts kicked in again as Justin quickly refilled her meat and rice, and paid attention to the side dish she ate the most. He refilled it accordingly, so that the girl can enjoy her meal. It's not often you get Korean food at Hogwarts.

"Does it taste good?" Justin grinned, proud of his work, but also satisfied that someone was eating so well. He generously placed another piece of meat on Sere's plate. "If you're ever craving Korean food, let me know! My dad will send it in a heartbeat," the boy laughed.

"Say, you're really nice to hang out with. You invited me to sit down at the Gryffindor table that one time, right? We should be friends. After all, Koreans usually end up finding each other and sticking right?" Justin smiled.

Another song began playing in the background. Justin began dancing a choreography casually.

He started motioning to Sere to join him in dance.

WC: 319

Banner was made by Kaito Asano

Date	:	May 5th, 2024
Color code	:	Written|Thought|Said

Sere could only freeze for a few seconds when Justin devour the wrap directly from her hand. What is he actually doing?! Sere's inner voice is quite loud, but what appears outside is only a small shake of disbelief. He is... unbelievable.

Sere genuinely appreciated some manners that Justin showed her. How the boy chewing with closed mouth and no sound, how he's grilling more meat, and how he's taking care of her by keep putting more foods on the plate. This boy looks so normal when he is calm. Yes, only when he's calm.

"Thank you for that. You are raised in good manners." Sere nodded in response to Justin's question, "This is all tasted like home. A really good home." The Gryffindor girl raised her eyebrows, "What did you say? Was that a kind of 'life-time free korean barbeque guarantee'?" Sere raised the corners of her lips, joking a little, "I'll make sure to use the guarantee well, Sir."

Sere once again nodded in agreement to Justin's statement. "It's good to find each other and become friends. I always feel comfortable interacting with -not just Korean, but also- Asian students so far." There is something that makes her feel comfortable interacting with Asian students. Sere doesn't need to hesitate to express the culture she brings from her house, the Asian manners taught by her Asian mother. It's not that she doesn't like to interact with students from other continents, but she often feels hesitant to act according to her habits at home because Asian culture seems to be so rigid, too stiff and boring when it compares to the other cultures.

Like Sere said earlier, Justin looks so normal if and only if the boy is calm. It sounded like a statement in mathematics, right? But the Gryffindor girl didn't have much time to think about the mathematical thingy because right now Justin is start do another embarrassing thing that overwhelmed her again. He's now dancing to some upbeat rhythm! Moreover, the boy giving some motion that asked her to join him! Oh my God! My diversion wasn't help at all!

"Just sit down and eat calmly, won't you?" She just showed a desperation out of her image! Sere's blinking few times and cleared her throat, "Umm.. I mean, you can see that I am eating too much. That much so that I will definitely suffer a stomach ache if I move too much. I'm afraid you will potentially suffer the same thing." Sere shoved three bite-sized of pork bellies into her mouth together with a large lump of rice.

Keep seeing Justin's behavior will only make the girl melt down with the hot of embarrassment, so Sere chose to look down. She grabbed the tong and tried to put kimchi on the grill that emitting smoke because it is too hot. She doesn't expect that the kimchi juice will spattered out because the grill is too hot, and eventually some of the juice exposed her right hand.

Sere throws the tong right away and withdraw her right hand that feels hot and hurt. The clanging sound is loud enough to make the girl realize a mess she had just made, "I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, as the smell of burnt kimchi started to enter her senses.

Interacting with : @Justin Shin

Justin kept hearing Sere call him sir, and it was strange. It's not that often an 11 year-old gets called, 'sir.'

I must seem quite mature for her to call me sir. said Justin's delusion brain.

The girl did not join Justin in dance, which he expected. The boy found Sere being uncomfortable very entertaining. He silently chuckled as Sere made her excuse not to dance and shoved food into her mouth.

Oh, I'll get you out of your shell one day. Justin thought with a smirk.

Just then a loud clang put Justin's mind in alert mode. He turned around to see that Sere had splattered hot kimchi juice on herself and was in pain.

In the presence of chaos, Justin's firstborn instincts kicked in (a thing his brother Kevin calls, Big Brother Mode). Justin stopped dancing with a smooth spin and calmly walked over to Sere and the grill. He turned the heat off and took her hand to observe the damage.

Caring very little about the mess Sere made, Justin scoped his little picnic area.

Damn... did I not bring any napkins?

He then took off his school robe. Underneath he was wearing a sleeveless black tank top, grey jeans, and was wearing a silver chain around his neck in the shape of a lion's head. His feet were wearing Jordan 1s as usual. Today his J's were blue, white and red, the colors of the Korean flag for Korean food.

Wetting his robes with some water, the Ravenclaw boy wiped the Kimchi juice off of Sere's hand with his robe and tossed it aside. He then took a cool piece of lettuce and put it over her hand.

"It doesn't look too bad. The pain should die down soon. That must've hurt a lot," Justin said, as he gave her a can of Milkis. "This should make you feel better," Justin said with a warm smile. He reached over to pat Sere in the head, when he suddenly snapped out of Big Brother mode. His hands went from an open hand to a closed one as he realized Sere was his age, not someone younger.

Justin then let out a sigh as he looked up in the clouds for a brief moment. He missed his five little siblings. They loved Justin's cooking and always asked for thirds and fourths... except baby Kayla who was always just happy to be there. Little girl was still on baby food.

He then quickly cleaned up the mess Sere made and reignited the gas stove. He placed kimchi on it, as residual melted pork fat sprayed on his arm. Justin remained unphased and began whistling a jazzy tune as he nonchalantly continued cooking. Sere clearly wanted to cook more kimchi after all.

"I'll stop teasing ya," Justin chuckled. "I'm... kind of out of breath after dancing. I need to do cardio more. Too much muscle training ya see," Justin laughed heartily, as he flexed his sleeveless arms. Of course he had to. It was a tank top instinct for most guys.

After the boy just said he'll stop teasing Sere, he proceeded to tease her again. "So do you usually get embarrassed easily?" Justin grinned as he put the cooked kimchi on Sere's plate.

WC: 544
Interacting with @Sere Nade

Banner was made by Kaito Asano

Date	:	May 5th, 2024
Color code	:	Written|Thought|Said

Sere could only freezing up, receiving all the affection that Justin gave. Justin Shin. Is he really doing this to everyone? Being so... caring? Sere thought as Justin cleaned the kimchi juice that had splattered on her arms using his Ravenclaw robe that had been soaked in water.

Sere couldn't help but smile when she saw the boy using cold lettuce to soothe the burn. "Thank you." Sere holds the cold lettuce against her reddish forearm. Doesn't Justin remember about Burn Healing Paste that was taught in the Potions class? He obviously doesn't know that I have that instant burn-healer. Justin's affection, again, is something Sere greatly appreciated.

The girl seemed to forget to breathe when Justin brought his palm closer to her head. Eh? W-what will he do? When the boy moved back his palm which had not yet touched the top of her head, Sere let out a broken breath. Her brain is now lagging and she doesn't know what to do. The breath of relief is finally fully exhaled when Justin stopped her dancing and cleaned up the mess that Sere had made.

"I should've been the one who cleaned it up." Sere folded Justin's robe which had been lying in a mess, folded it, then placed it beside herself. Right, once again Sere is trying hard enough to avoid Justin who is showing off his muscles which are completely uncovered by that sleeveless black tank top. "Umm... About that robe," Sere glanced at the thing on her right, "Do you have another spare? I'll bring back this one and wash it myself. I promise I'll return it as soon as possible."

She doesn't know how red is his face until Justin could ask that easy-to-embarrassed thing. "S-shut up!" Sere gritted her teeth and looked away. This is the first time she stammered in front of a boy, "Just don't ask that! You know the answer! Stop teasing me!"

Sere took a deep breath and explained more calmly, "I was always alone before going to Hogwarts. I grow up in a very serious and strict family. That formed a large part of my personality, I think." The British-Korean girl took the cooked kimchi that Justin placed onto her plate, "The thing I just realized today is... People who are full of expressions like you... Are really overwhelming to me." Sere chuckled, "How can you be so free-spirited like this? Are you the youngest in your family?" The girl guessed, "I'm not sure. All your affection seemed like you're older than your age though."

Sere devoured, chewed and swallowed the kimchi before continuing, "I'm just not used to people like you. I'm sorry if my reaction is less satisfactory, it doesn't mean that I'm uncomfortable with you. Again, I'm just not getting used to it." The girl took a piece of meat and put it on Justin's plate, "It will be very nice to have you as my friend, Justin Shin."

Interacting with : @Justin Shin

Sere offered to clean Justin's robe. Justin simply shook his head silently and nonchalantly moved on.

"S-shut up!

Just don't ask that! You know the answer! Stop teasing me!"

Justin laughed. This laugh was different. It wasn't out of jest or mock. It was a wholesome genuine laugh.

The boy then quietly listened as Sere told him about her upbringing. Justin stared up in the sky and let the sun's rays hit his face. He took a deep inhale of the fresh air.

"As the oldest of the family I have a responsibility," Justin smiled as he soaked in more of the sun. "Kevin, Jordan, James, Bryant, and Kayla, all look up to me. Ever since I can remember, I was the older brother. They copy what I like, try to act like me, always trying to get my approval too," Justin chuckled, as he reminisced time with his family.

"Older brothers are to lead by example," Justin stated. He breathed in the soothing weather one more time. "I want all their lives to be the best the world has to offer," Justin exclaimed. "I want them to love themselves and achieve their dreams."

"No one will love themselves better than me." Justin said. "And I will achieve all my dreams."

Then the boy made the biggest smile since the day he left home. "That way I can show Kevin, Jordan, James, Bryant and Kayla how to do it. So that no one will love themselves better than them. So that they achieve all their dreams they set their eyes on."

WC: 260
@Sere Nade

Banner was made by Kaito Asano

Date	:	May 5th, 2024
Color code	:	Written|Thought|Said

Ah! So, he is the oldest! Moreover, the oldest with five other siblings! The number of his siblings are the same as all my cousin from father's side! The 'big brother' side of Justin Shin can be seen very clearly, right now, where he is telling a story with his gaze straight towards the blue sky in this late spring. The radiance of warmth when he monologuing about his siblings break into Sere deepest cold heart. "You bring so much passion and also so much responsibility, Justin." Sere fed the last piece of meat and kimchi on her plate then drank the Milkis that Justin gave her earlier.

"Despite all of that cool things. How noisy is it.. in your house?" Sere could remember clearly the situation when she was met her father's extended family. "That morning chaos is a normal daily life for you, isn't it?"

Sere gave him another can of Milkis while saying, "Is there anything you like? Apart from your siblings, and... listening to music while dancing?" Sere frowned because of the second-hand embarrassment that still aroused inside herself whenever she remembered Justin's dance, "Maybe a subject do you feel interested in, here in Hogwarts?"

Sere looked around and added another question, "What's your favorite season? Mine is winter." Her favorite season is already pretty far behind. The Gryffindor girl sees the trees from a distance, leaves are so green, moving left and right along with the spring breeze.

Interacting with : @Justin Shin