Love After Love...

Chapter 15: "Marry her, son."

Author's POV:
Jieun and Namjoon entered the Kim residence, only to find Namjoon's mother waiting for her on the couch. "Is this Jieun?" she asked, looking at her with fond eyes. "Hi, mom. Yeah, this is my girlfriend, Jeon Jieun," I said. "You look gorgeous, honey," the lady said. "Thankyou ma'am. You have a lovely house," Jieun replied. "Oh, what's this 'ma'am' cockamamie? Call me Jangmi!" she said cheerfully. "Please be seated, I'll just call my husband," Jangmi said. "That's progress, baby. She never was that quick in opening up to anyone," Namjoon smiled at
Jieun. She shyly looked away. "Mom seemed to like you Jieun," Seokjin said. "Oh, thankyou sir. She's such a sweetheart, Namjoon," Jieun said.

Soon enough, an intimidating looking man entered the living room, looking straight at Jieun. She felt a little scared, but put on her best face. "Hello sir, you must be Namjoon's father. I am Jieun," she said. "Kim Sehun. It's lovely to meet you Ms. Jieun," he said, smiling. Jieun felt herself be at ease a little bit.

As Jangmi was setting things up for dinner, Jieun offered to help her. Jangmi was surprised seeing her help as she was a guest. Despite Jangmi telling her that she can do it herself, Jieun insisted. Jangmi really grew to like Jieun. At the dinner table, Namjoon's father started speaking, "Are you the daughter of Jeon Jiwoon?" "Yes, sir," Jieun replied. "Have you grown up in that house all your life?" he asked. "Dad-" Namjoon started. "No, Namjoon, he's just asking," Jieun interjected. She continued, "Yes, sir. I was in the house till I was 19, but moved out after I had enough money to afford a place of my own." Jieun smiled. "But you got that money from your father, am I right?" Sehun said. "No, sir. I started a small cafe on my father's property when I was 18, and me and my two best friends put in the money to buy the property from my father when I was about 20. Since then I live alone," Jieun responded. "You wouldn't know what it's like to come from a low economic background, then," Sehun said. Jieun's smile dropped. "Dad! Stop," Namjoon said. "Namjoon, I'm in a conversation with your partner, what's the big deal?" Sehun said. "Yeah, Namjoon, it's okay," Jieun persisted. She said, "No sir, I have not been struggling financially. And I dont think I would ever know what that's like. But I do believe that I'm not rich either. I have money that I have earned myself, and as a student, it has provided me with enough. Mainly because I don't have much expenditure. I live in a tiny apartment, the rent is not huge. I save a lot, too. Once I start a proper job, which still has time, though, I believe that I can be proud of where I will stand then, because not a single penny I own will belong to my father."

Sehun was so impressed by her. He knew she was right for Namjoon and would never hurt him. "You are better than the witch he dated previously," Sehun said. Seokjin seemed to speak up this time, "Dad, I dont think bringing her topic up right now is necessary." "Forgive me, Jieun. I can't help but be protective about my son after..." Sehun seemed to trail off, but everyone at the dinner table knew.

Namjoon's POV:
I just looked at Jieun the whole time. She was so composed, even when the topics my father was talking about made her uncomfortable. She never lost composure, and answered my father very well. She didn't seem rattled. Almost as if she rehearsed this. Jieun spoke up, "Excuse me, Jangmi, but can I just visit the washroom?" My mom showed her the washroom, and she excused herself. My dad said, "Marry her, son." I giggled a little. "I haven't thought about it, dad. But thanks, it means a lot to me that you approve of her," I replied. "Approve? Namjoon, she's absolutely delightful!" Seokjin said. My smile faltered. "Honey, she truly deserves your time and love," mom said. Love... I was actually starting to think about it... Was I falling in love with Jieun? Thinking of Jieun, I noticed she wasn't back. I said I'll go check on her and left the table.

As I neared the washroom, I saw Jieun correcting her makeup in the mirror. Her nose was a little red, which meant... She cried. I opened the door and hugged her tight. "What happened? Are they mad I took a little longer than expected? Sorry this dress is just a little difficult to manage," she chuckled as she spoke, never looking at me once. Even thinking of her shedding tears broke my heart. "Jieun... you can't even look at me when you lie..." I said. She looked at me, not even trying to deny it. "I just... hate the conversations I need to have with people because of my father's money..." she said. I just hugged her in response and placed a small peck on her forehead. Nothing needed to be said, we just understood eachother.

We went back to the dinner table, and Seokjin told her to help with the dessert. My blood boiled at how much he wanted to talk to her. I followed them into the kitchen and eavesdropped. "So... What are you studying,
Jieun?" " Clinical Psychology," she shortly replied. "How long have you and Namjoon been together?" he asked. "Close to 11 months," she replied. "Do you love him?" he asked. She took a short pause. "Mr. Seokjin, I don't understand the purpose of this conversation. But to answer your question, yes, I love him, and he means a lot to me. He can calm me down when I'm stressed, he looks at me with fond eyes, he makes me laugh, and he makes me truly happy," she responded. Seokjin was about to ask something more, but Jieun interrupted him, saying, "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to put an end to this conversation. I'm sure people are waiting for dessert."

As she was exiting the kitchen, I quickly hurried back to the living room and smiled at her as she came into view. As she handed out the desserts, Seokjin close behind her, I just looked at her and knew. I knew that I was hopelessly, irretrievably and deeply in love with this wonderful woman. And I wanted to climb the highest cliff and yell it out loud so that every single person could hear me. But most of all, I wanted her to know.

As we finished desserts and it was time to go, Jieun hugged my mother and shook hands with my father and brother. As we exited the house, she breathed a loud sigh, and said, "Do you think they approve of me?" "They're crazy about you," I said, chuckling. She smiled at me and we reached our car. As we were about to sit in the car, I called her to my side. "Jieun. I want to tell you something," I said. She nodded lightly. I continued, "I dont know why I took so long to tell you. It dawned on me right now. But I wanted to say... I love you. I am in love with you. You are the sweetest person I have ever met, and I appreciate and cherish you for all that you are and want to become. I want to be there for you even in your worst times and I want to keep you close. I was a fool to not notice earlier."

She looked at me for a while, and jumped in my arms. I hugged her like there was no tomorrow, and we shared a passionate kiss. The night we spent with each other that day, was different from the others. It was the happiest I had ever felt in my entire life. I wanted to feel this way all the time. The answer to all my questions, was Jieun.

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A/N : So what do we think of Seokjin?
And YAY! FINALLY! Good on you, Namjoon! :)