The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

30

The Seo household had such a warm and inviting energy, a cozy place that was capable of bringing comfort to anyone who walked in and Shuhua figured maybe that was why Soojin was such a kind, warm hearted person; Unlike Shuhua, who grew up being told she was the spitting image of her dad with just enough traits from her mother to not look weird, Soojin looked a lot like her mother from the round and innocent looking eyes to the way she smiled, her older sister was the same too and for a moment the taiwanesse felt like she was in a room full of Soojins and despite their kind smiles Shuhua still felt like a boyfriend being interrogated by her partner's family; Soojin quietly playing with her food, looking oddly bashful didn't help either.

Shuhua was still waiting for the 'what are your intentions with our daughter? ' question to come up at any moment now. 

"So you're part of the basketball team?" Shuhua nods at Mrs. Seo's question, she was the most talkative one of the family and kept the conversation going with some additions here and there from Soojin's sister, meanwhile Mr. Seo was just like Soojin, quiet and observant, just paying attention to the conversation around him and she got the feeling Soojin did the same, especially now as she kept on glancing from her mother to Shuhua as if worried they might not like her. 

"She's the captain of the school's team," Soojin added casually. "We have a lot of trophies thanks to her" 

"That's wonderful to hear" Suddenly Shuhua felt shy, not expecting Soojin to bring that up, Shuhua was used to brag about her achievements herself, usually to her parents, she never really had someone else do it so she could feel her cheeks burning for a second before Soojin's sister decided to join in.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you're actually here" She heard Soojin's sister say as she finished chewing her food, earning a confused look from Shuhua. "I didn't think Soojin actually had any friends besides Soyeon''

Soojin takes offense to that. 

"I have tons of friends!" She said, it wasn't the whole truth but she wasn't lying either, her friend count just went from 4 to 5 recently and this specific 5 wasn't exactly a platonic one but she would rather not think about that at the moment. 

"You never bring them over!" 

"Soojin is just shy" Mrs. Seo is quick to defend her younger child and Shuhua smiles. "She was always like this, you know" She said, this time looking at Shuhua who nods, listening. "It took a lot to make her sleep in her own bed when she was small"

"Mom!" Soojin was quick to protest, not liking where this conversation is going, The woman was already bringing up her childhood stories, soon enough she would have the family pictures on her hands, she knew that because she did the same with her sister and while it was fun to watch someone else endure this type of embarrassment, it wasn't something she was looking forward to, but of course, Shuhua was always up to having her flustered.

“Really?” The taiwanesse asked with sudden interest, ignoring Soojin’s grip on her shoulder. “I would love to hear more about this” It wouldn't be Shuhua if she didn't to embarrass the cheerleader at least once, all while keeping her good girl role going on.