Three of kind

Part 7

The small dining table is quiet save for the sounds of utensils hitting the plates and bowls every now and then.

Even the nine-year-old is unsure what to do about the awkwardness. The two women sitting on either side of her aren't talking to each other. Heck, they don't even look at one another.

This isn't the first time she has sensed tension between the two but they never showed their anger in front of her like this. She knows it must be bad so her innocent mind tries to find a way to get them talking again.

"I got my math test result back today," Erica finally says, hoping to get some kind of reaction.

"Oh? What did you get?" Karina replies, looking at her daughter.

"Sixty two," admits the girl.

"Only sixty two?" asks Karina. Her daughter usually gets higher marks so she's surprised though not displeased.

"It's not bad," quips Minjeong, defending the girl. They both know that math isn't Erica's strength so they're normally pretty lenient when it comes to math test results.

"I know but she usually gets a bit higher than that so I'm allowed to be curious, aren't I?" retorts Karina to which Minjeong just clenches her jaws before returning to her meal silently.

Erica looks at Minjeong then tells her mother that she couldn't solve one of the math problems and that she'd study harder and do better next time, hoping that it would somehow stop what sounded like a potential start to another argument between the two women.

"Alright. I trust you," says Karina. "Thank you for being honest and for trying your best." She gives her a small smile and pats her head.

Then they all grow quiet again.

It's been months since Minjeong moved in and Karina has begun planning their wedding, gathering information on venues, caterers etcetera slowly but surely.

Everything seemed fine and both of them were happy and excited until they started discussing venue size which led to the number of people they're planning to invite.

Karina wants to invite all her family—including her extended family who live overseas—and her friends which, being the social butterfly she is, are quite a lot. She also wants to invite her colleagues.

On the other hand, Minjeong prefers a small, intimate wedding with just close family and friends. When she insisted on it, Karina disagreed and argued that she planned to only get married once so she wanted to celebrate it properly and share the happiness with all her friends and family.

The disagreement was trivial and could've been resolved amicably but Minjeong had been pulling extra shifts at the ER due to staff shortage so they didn't get the chance to discuss things properly. She'd come home when Karina was already asleep and woke up when her fiancée had gone to work.

They'd text but since they couldn't convey things clearly through typed words, it only added more misunderstandings. And finally, today—which also happens to be Minjeong and Karina's long awaited simultaneous day off—it exploded and they got into the biggest argument they've ever had since they started dating.

It was so bad that Minjeong literally slammed the door before she left to pick Erica up from school. Still fuming with anger, she dropped the girl off at home but then left again to go on a long drive, feeling fed up and suffocated. She wanted to stay out longer, maybe spending the night at a hotel, but the thought of Erica made her come home. The girl would be very confused if she didn't come home or if she found out that they were having a huge fight and the last thing she wants is to make that girl feel sad or hurt. Especially when none of it is her fault.