The World Is Cruel to Us 💎 yungi [▶]

12

In the morning at Yuna's family home, Mingi was awakened by the tempting aroma of cooking. 

It made him feel at home because his own mother would always wake him up with the smell of her cooking.

Yuna opened the guest room door just as Mingi was trying to get up. She looked a bit panicked seeing him wince, so she hurried over to help him. But Mingi assured her that he was fine and that he could manage on his own. Last night, Yuna's father had helped Mingi change his clothes. Now, he felt capable of dressing himself.

Yuna had come to ask Mingi if he wanted breakfast brought to his room. Of course, Mingi would love that! He would even be happy if Yuna fed him the entire meal. But he knew better than to impose on the family that had been so kind to him. So, reluctantly, he said he could join them in the dining room.

Mingi noticed that Yuna looked lovely—she always did, but she seemed even more beautiful with her fresh makeup and neatly pressed school uniform. He might prefer to have breakfast first and then change clothes later if he was going home.

Yuna left first because Mingi needed to take care of his bladder. Afterward, he needed to wash his face and tidy himself up in the mirror, fixing his disheveled hair.

He was already self-conscious about meeting Yuna's parents in his current state, and he didn’t want to make a bad impression by looking unkempt. Even though it was still early in the morning and he had just woken up.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he saw the bruises from last night, unchanged. But at least the pain had lessened; he felt better than he did last night. The night's rest had done some good. Of course, it had only been a few hours. What did he expect? A miracle? Magic?

Fortunately, Mingi was a smart and logical person, who never had wild imaginations about subjective things. He enjoyed magical movies for entertainment, but that was all. Besides, Yuna was a Potterhead. Mingi planned to win Yuna's heart by learning all about Harry Potter, watching all the films, including the Fantastic Beasts series.

Harry Potter was an impressive film, and Mingi didn’t regret watching it. In the end, he found himself addicted to watching everything, not just for Yuna’s attention. And he was happy to be getting closer to Yuna in a fun way.

In the dining room, Mingi was warmly welcomed by Yuna's family. The breakfast style here was similar to Mingi's home, not very Korean, but more Western.

Everyone had two slices of peanut butter toast and two fried eggs, while Gunho, Yuna's younger brother, had a large bowl of colorful dinosaur-shaped fruit-flavored cereal. The boy was still in elementary school but ate a lot. Yuri said it was good for his growth, as long as he didn’t overdo it.

Yuna’s father sipped on a cup of black coffee, Yuna’s mother had a glass of orange juice beside her toast, Yuna herself drank her favorite banana milk, while her brother didn’t need more to drink because he had already mixed two glasses of full cream milk into his cereal bowl.

For Mingi, there was buttered toast, a fried egg, and banana milk. Yuna’s mother had intentionally left the toast plain because she didn’t know which jam Mingi liked. She left it up to him to choose his preference from the three jars of jam on the table: peanut, chocolate, and marmalade.

An empty seat was available next to Yuna's chair. This would be their first breakfast together. Mingi sat down after being invited, and Yuna’s mother asked which jam he preferred. Mingi said he liked chocolate.

So, Yuna’s mother asked her daughter to spread it on Mingi’s two slices of bread. Yuna complied, handing the bread to Mingi once it was ready. Mingi thanked her, feeling as though he was being served breakfast by his wife.

Oh my, Song Mingi, what are you thinking?! How could you?

From the beginning, when Mingi approached Yuna after the suspicious man incident on that cursed night bus, he had confidently believed that he would make her his future partner.

But after reconsidering, he realized that his mother was right. For now, his task was to study hard, achieve high grades, and have a respectable career to support his future family.

"Yuna can cook. Sometimes she makes kimchi fried rice for breakfast here. It’s really good," Yuri started a topic, talking about his daughter even without being asked. He thought that Mingi, being the most familiar with Yuna in this family, would be more interested in hearing about her.

"Mom," Yuna said shyly. But she wasn’t embarrassed now, even with her cheeks puffed out by the bread. She was already chubby, and now even more so. It was adorable to Mingi.

"Oh, really? In that case, I’d like to try Yuna’s kimchi fried rice sometime," Mingi said, his face lighting up, making Yuna blush even more.

The breakfast was peaceful and calm, just like Mingi’s breakfasts with his own parents. Once again, or for the umpteenth time, Mingi felt at home. He felt that Yuna’s family was his family. It was comforting and warm, the warmth and familial feeling that Yuna’s family offered.

Mingi would always remember this.