Convergent Love

Chapter 8: Meet the Family

Hoseok's family had arrived, and I would finally meet them in person at the hike. Malia and I pulled into the parking lot and saw that Hoseok and his family were already there. My stomach started to turn a little and my hands were shaky. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that things would be fine and it would be a beautiful day. Hoseok greeted me at Malia's car with a big hug and a soft kiss on my lips. He smelled so good and his embrace was so warm. I hugged him back with a reassuring smile.

He whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, my parents already love you." Then to Malia: "Hey, glad you could join us on this beautiful morning."

I clung to his arm as we walked toward his family with Malia by my side for support. She was still half asleep. "Umm, it's still too early for me. The sun had better show up this morning."

It was still a bit dark, so I could only make out figures standing by Hoseok's car. A cool breeze blew, and a familiar scent tickled my nose. I couldn't quite make it out or remember how I knew it. The wind blew again, and I got another whiff of the familiar scent - kind of woodsy and citrus. I noticed a male figure walking toward us. As he got closer, the scent grew stronger. Why did I recognize that smell?

"Y/N, this is my older brother Yoongi. Yoongi, this is my Sunshine, Y/N."

Yoongi reached out his hand to shake mine. "It's finally nice to meet the woman my brother can't stop talking about."

I reached out my hand to shake his. "Nice to meet ..." I started.

The moment our hands met; a wave of electricity raced through my entire body. Suddenly, images of Yoongi and me flashed through my mind like a slideshow on fast forward. I saw random flickering moments of us together dancing, laughing, and holding hands. Oddly, I could tell these were from a different time. Our clothing and surroundings were of a different era. My wide eyes stared into Yoongi's, the same eyes I'd seen in the photo back at Hoseok's apartment which felt very familiar to me. By Yoongi's expression, I could tell he had just seen the same images, too. We quickly released our hands.

What the hell was that?

I composed myself and finished my greeting. "Nice to meet you as well. I've heard a lot of great things about you. This is my friend Malia."

They waved hello to each other. We walked over to Hoseok's parents, who were standing with another man.

"And this is my cousin Namjoon," Hoseok introduced.

"Hi, you can call me Joon. Nice to meet you," Namjoon said.

"Hello, nice to meet you as well," I replied.

Hoseok introduced us to his parents. They were a very cute couple with kind faces and gentle smiles. "Mom and Dad, this is Y/N and her friend Malia."

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Jung, it's very nice to meet you," I said.

"Hello!" greeted Malia.

"It's so nice to finally meet you in person," Ms. Jung said, giving me a hug. "Video phone calls are just not the same as being able to see and hug someone in person."

"Thank you for helping our son stay on top of his schoolwork and for helping him with his English," Mr. Jung added. "He's definitely gotten so much better."

"Oh, my pleasure. He repaid me with a ton of dance lessons!" I said with a sly smile.

"Oh, that's so good to hear!" his mom replied.

Throughout the conversation, I could feel Yoongi staring at me. Why were his eyes and scent so familiar to me, and what were all those images? I tried hard not to let the confusion show on my face.