WHEREVER /JJK

Chapter 35 - Meet the Parents

Back in Seoul after their Japan trip, Jeon had a talk with his parents about Jia and shared with them the engagement news. He was nervous because he never got to introduce her to them before their engagement happened. He only got to share information about Jia after his talk with Hei-Won.

His mother was aware that Hei-Won broke up with him after her birthday. She had hoped they would reconcile on the day Hei-Won came to see him. But after his talk with Hei-Won, he told her the breakup was final, and that he was actually in love with someone else.

January 9, 2021

It was the morning after he and Hei-Won finally ended their relationship for good. Jeon went home early morning to hopefully catch his mother and tell her what happened. As he predicted, she was at home waiting for him.

"Have you eaten breakfast, Kookie?"

"I'm not really hungry eomma," he said, his head aching from lack of sleep.

"You want to go up and lie down? You seem to need more rest."

"I really wanted to talk to you 'ma."

He leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. He felt so drained.

"I suppose it didn't go well with Hei-Won?"

"No, it didn't eomma. But I will have to be honest, we weren't trying to reconcile last night."

"Why, Kookie? What went wrong?"

"Eomma, there's someone else. "

"What do you mean there's someone else?"

"I left NY because I wanted to forget about someone. She had feelings for me but she wasn't ready back then. Earlier this year she followed me here. She relocated to Seoul to be with me."

"How come you never told me about this?"

"Eomma, up to the time we went to Italy, I was really trying to make it work with Hei-Won. But she gave up on our relationship because she reasoned that it was Jia I really wanted."

"And this Jia, what is she like?"

"She's a very brave and determined girl. She's a really nice person."

He gave his mother a brief description of what Jia went through and how she overcame the obstacles in her life. He was worried about what his mother would think about Jia. Although she never really meddled with his relationships, he felt it was more because she was assured he would end up with Hei-Won. Now that Hei-Won was no longer in his life, he worried if Jia would fit his mother's expectations.

"Eomma, did you really want me to end up with Hei-Won?"

"Son, I want you to be happy. That's my priority. Whether it's Hei-Won or Jia, I will go with whoever makes you happiest. Of course, it would have been nice if it was Heo-Won, because you know that her mother and I are good friends. "

"I'm sorry if I disappointed you."

"Ssshhh. No, you didn't. If it was Hei-Won's decision, we can't do anything about that. I've been waiting for Hye-Jin to call, but I guess she's a bit embarrassed to do so because it was her daughter's decision to break up."

"Eomma, Jia is very special to me. I want to marry her."

"Bring her here, Kookie. Appa and I would like to meet her."

Today she will finally meet his parents. He stole a glance at her, sitting composed beside him in the car. She looked at him and smiled. As always, she took his breath away whenever she smiled like that.