Second Arrangement

CHAPTER 22 - MIL

JACKSON

"My phone works okay," she complained immediately when I handed her the box. I bought her a new mobile phone and I forgot to give her the other day, so she just got it today. "So why do I need another one?"
I took the box from her hand and opened it up, pulled out the phone and turned it on. I've charged the battery fully so she could use it straight away. I turned the phone so it faced her and pulled out mine from my pocket and held them side by side, "So we have matching phones," I showed her and the display turned alive, showing the picture of us on the screen. Both of our phones had our pictures as the lock screen, only different pictures. "And I've set the face ID for both of us, so we both can unlock each other's phone," I continued as I showed her how it worked. With the face ID and stuff. She wasn't exactly a gadget expert, so I had to teach her everything. Luckily, once she found out that she could download medical apps on her phone, her protest died down instantly and she was immersed in trying to find whatever apps she could download on her phone, completely forgetting about me.
"I think you owe me a thank you?" I pulled her phone away for a bit to gain her attention and she blushed a little when she realized she hadn't thanked me yet.
"Thank you," she quickly said and I wiggled my finger.
"No no no... that's not how you thank me, young lady," I scolded her and her eyebrows furrowed.
"Then how?"
I smiled as I tapped my cheek, "Ppo-ppo, please," I teased her and she remembered the same trick that I used back then when we were just getting to know each other.

"No," she refused. "You'll trick me," she accused me and I feigned hurt.
"So what if I tricked you? It's not like I'm tricking you into something dangerous," I pouted. "And we've done more than just a peck," I reminded her. "So this kiss is nothing." I pushed my face forward in front of hers and tapped my cheek again, pushing her to fold to grant my wish and I heard her sigh.
"Okay fine," she rolled her eyes and quickly pecked on my cheek. This time, I didn't trick her. Just as I'd predicted, her contract would end in just a week so I told her that we would go back to Korea together. I tried to finish my recording with Panthepack as quickly as possible and took care of my other jobs here while I could.
"By the way, how do you feel about dinner with Henry and his wife?" I quickly asked and she scrunched her nose at my suggestion. She told me that Henry wasn't that hostile against her anymore after she met him, but she was still wary of him. She felt like he would go back hating her if she ever took a wrong turn. I wanted them to get along with each other, so I thought having dinner would be a good way to start.

"Come on, there'll be his wife as well. I bet he will be a bit more understanding when his wife is around," I persuaded her and after a few minutes of whining and begging, putting on my best puppy eyes, she finally caved in. However, I overestimated my own mother for spying on me. After I picked Ellie up and almost arrived at our destination, Henry called me.
"Hey, what's up? You're on speaker and we're almost there," I answered once I picked up his call.
"Yeah, about that," he paused for a few seconds. I had to check my phone to make sure that the call was still connected. "Um.. I know that you only invited me and my wife, but..," he paused again.
"But what?" I became impatient and prodded him.
"But your mother stopped by the office when you were gone, and she was looking for you, so I told her that we would be eating dinner together," his voice trailed off once again.
"And?" I still couldn't guess where he was going with this conversation.
"And... She asked where we would be eating dinner, and I told her as I can't lie to your mother."

There was a big silence on both sides after he said that. From the side of my eyes, I could see that blood had drained from Ellie's face.
"Is she there yet?" I finally found my voice back.
"Not yet," Henry answered. "But she texted me just now, telling me that she's 5 minutes away. I thought she was just asking. I swear I didn't know that she'll be coming here," his tone turned into a panic one.
"Alright alright, we're also 5 minutes away, so it's too late to take a U-turn now," I declared to no one. "It's okay Henry, you're not doing anything wrong. Just tell my mother we're coming if she arrives there earlier than us," I told him and ended the call.
Once I parked the car, I turned to face Ellie and I could see worry written all over her face. I quickly grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. "Look, I know this is kind of sudden, but you'll have to face her sooner or later.. So, just go with the flow? I'll be by your side," I assured her and she nodded slowly. I got out of the car and rounded to her side and helped her out. Even though she said that she was going to be okay with the sudden change, I could feel her tense when I held her hand.

ELLIE

My relationship with Jackson's mother wasn't at its best after my decision to divorce him. But she did accept my reason back then. She clearly told me that she hoped that both of us could come into the same conclusion to get back together. She had such a high hope in us because she could see that both of us loved each other. However, the circumstances were not in our favor back then. Though she accepted my decision back then, she hoped that I would stay around. She told me numerous times that I was a good influence on Jackson, so she hoped that I would still be there even though we've divorced. But I was being a coward. I left him and disappeared from his life for a year.

I didn't know how I should react when I saw her again. I was fidgeting with the strap of my bag while we were in the elevator until Jackson's hand enveloped mine. I looked up and he squeezed my hand lightly.
"You'll be okay. If you feel uncomfortable, just give me a signal and I'll try to get you out of there, okay?"
I nodded. I was nervous at the prospect of seeing his mother again. Would she be angry at me? Would she have a different opinion now after I left him? Would she be okay with us seeing each other again? Or would she be against us? My mind was baffled that I didn't realize that we've already inside the room.
"Ellie!" I was brought back to the earth when I heard my name being called. When I snapped back into reality, I saw Jackson's mother shuffled out of her seat and walked toward me, her arms outstretched and she engulfed me in her hug when she stood in front of me. "It's so good to see you again," she whispered to my ear, she kept patting my back before pulling back a little. I could see her eyes misted and I could feel tears pooled in my eyes as well. "It's been too long," she gushed. "How are you? Why don't you tell me that you're back here? I've told you not to be a stranger. You're welcomed whenever you're in town, in law or not, I still think of you as my daughter," she kept on going and I felt bad for going MIA on her as well.

"Ma!" Jackson scolded his mother for crowding. "Why don't you let her sit before bombarding her?"
His mother looked sheepish and ushered me to the seat next to her immediately, "Sorry, I'm just so excited when I heard from Henry that you guys are here. Sit.. Sit," she waved to the chair beside her and I obliged. "Did you come here straight from the hospital?" she eyed me from head to toe and noticed that I had my sneakers on, which meant I was off from work before coming here.
I nodded, "Yes, Jackson picked me up after I finished working."
She just nodded and couldn't stop smiling. Feeling Jackson's gaze on her, she decided to stop pestering me and handed me the menu book, asking me what I wanted to eat. After we finished ordering, I could feel that Jackson's mother still had numerous questions for me, but Jackson warned her silently not to swarm me with questions. Unfortunately, even though Jackson managed to put a halt on his mother's, he couldn't stop anyone else from questioning me. This time, it was Henry's wife that decided to question me, under the pretense of trying to know me better.
"So, I heard that you're a surgeon and you currently work in Korea, so why are you back here in Beijing?" Her first question was quite easy, so I didn't mind answering it at all.
"So, how long will you be here?" she continued.
"I'll be here for four more days, then I have to go back to Korea," once I stated the inevitable, the room went silent. The mood in the room changed suddenly.

"Will you go back to Korea with her ?" his mother turned her head to face Jackson and for a second there, I could see a disappointment in her eyes before she turned her face away from me.
"Yeah, I'll go back to Korea with her. I still have to promote with Jinyoung," Jackson quickly added, hoping that his mother and the rest of the people in the room didn't think that I was the reason why he was going back to Korea. Again.
His mother just nodded, "So, does this mean you two are back together?" Jackson choked on the water he was drinking while Henry tried to suppress a laugh. His mother didn't beat around the bush and just went straight to the point.
"Why don't we eat first before talking about it?" Jackson bargained as the waiter was really bringing the food in. Luckily, everyone else agreed so we ate dinner while talking about anything else, as long as it didn't involve discussing our relationship. Once dessert was served, Jackson asked his mother to step outside for a bit.