나오미 in korea

Darren makes the crust, and I make the filling.

“A packet of chocolate biscuits, half a cup of butter, half a cup of sugar,” he says, and frowns. “Jesus.”

He’s thinking about the Zone, I just know it. I beat eggs, weigh 120g of cream cheese and let the buzz of cheesecake anticipation block out his dubious tone.

He presses the crust into the cake tin, newly purchased at E-mart.

“This smells so fucking good,” he murmurs.

I mix a cup of sugar into the cream cheese, and add vanilla powder. No vanilla essence at E-mart, curiously.

“Do you think it matters if the crust is uneven?” he asks, pressing spots in the cake tin with his thumb. “I can’t get it even.”

“No,” I say. “It’s rustic.”

We take turns pouring the filling in. Rich, smooth and creamy, it oozes to the corners of the tin. Darren slams it on the counter a couple of times to make sure it gets to the edges. We slide it into the toaster oven, set up in the only space available in our one-person kitchen: the floor.

The smell of baking fills the air. I haven’t baked anything except hockey-puck scones since I got to Korea two years ago. I lie prostrate in front of the toaster oven, watching the cheesecake turn golden.

We can’t wait to let it cool. I pour the glossy blueberries over the hot filling. It’s a bad idea but it’s 10:30pm and we’re hungry. I put it in the freezer for ten minutes.

Darren jiggles his knee and reminisces about walking naked through the McDonald’s drive-thru in high school. They wouldn’t serve him. He talks, with something approaching wonder, about how many units of protein and carbohydrates, not to mention fats, will be in the cheesecake. He taps his foot on the floor.

“Do you think it’s ready?” he asks abruptly.

“No,” I say. “Let’s do it.”

The cheesecake is still oozy, still warm. It doesn’t matter. We lever out slabs and eat it standing up. The blueberries are tart, the filling sweet and creamy, the crust buttery and rich.

“Fuck the Zone,” says Darren, forking another wedge into his mouth. Half is gone before we know it.

We high-five, go to bed, and can’t sleep.