APRICATE ; p.sunghoon

✤ | 03 - the bride selected by sunghoon's mom

THIRD PERSON POV

at the Park Mansion;

as afternoon rolled in, sunghoon entered inside his home. today, his mother had asked him to come home a few hours earlier, and told him that there would be a very important family discussion. sunghoon could already predict what the issue would be as his mother has been pestering him about his marriage since last year.

just as sunghoon sat on his chair at the dining table after freshening up, he could feel both of his parents and his sister's gazes, eyeing him like a hawk, probably to figure out his current mood and whether it would be a good idea to discuss the topic right now.

sunghoon's father cleared his throat to somehow get rid of the awkward atmosphere surrounding them as he started speaking, "son, you do know that according our family principles, the father passes onto his ceo position to his son only after marriage, right? the reason we allowed you to be an exception was because we knew how introverted and workaholic you were. and also because you promised us that you would find someone you like within the year you become the ceo, after you get used to the new position, didn't you?" his father took a deep breath before continuing, "i knew your marriage wouldn't have worked out if you got married at twenty. but son, what about now?"

sunghoon groaned inaudibly before saying, "dad, times have changed. it wouldn't hurt to get married after 25 now, will it? plus, i don't really have any woman that i like romantically, let alone ask her hand in marriage. i'm not going to marry someone i don't even know."

"son, you know how much we prioritize our family principles. everyone in our family, your uncle, aunt, cousin, grandparents have never neglected them or deemed them unnecessary. it's like an unspoken characteristics of the park family, and you know it better than anyone. don't you?" sunghoon's dad said as he patted him gently on the back.

"okay, i understand. but like i said before, i don't have any woman in mind for marriage-" "you can marry within the families of our business empire. and in fact, we would actually prefer it." sunghoon's mother cut him off, stating her suggestion.

"mom, what?! they are like my sisters!" sunghoon retorted, not liking where the discussion was going.

"stop talking crap hoon, you're not even that close with some of them." sunghoon's mother glared at him as she realized that her son was dodging the topic.

"mom's right though." minju giggled from the side, eating her ice cream unbothered.

"minju, shut up. and mom, heeseung hasn't married anyone yet and he's older than me by a year." sunghoon complained to his mother.

"the lee family have different values in marriages. also, they don't prioritize preserving family values and prefer adjusting to their tastes more. you shouldn't compare yourself to someone from another family." sunghoon's mother explained to her son softly before saying, "and as far as the bride selection is considered, we specifically have someone in mind."

"mom, what do you mean?! jiwoo is basically my older sister, yunah is another version of minju, if not worse, these two have somehow possessed jeemin and now she's a part of the devil cult. koko is basically my younger sister, and she just turned eighteen. and as for aera... her brother might be my best friend, but i'm the least closest to her, she's also younger than me by about three years. so there's absolutely no way you found-"

"it's aera we're talking about hoon. she and her brother belong from the same family, so, if you were able to warm up to jaeyun, then you'll be able to warm up to his sister as well. plus, she and minju have been close friends since childhood, therefore, i know how much of a sweetheart she is; not to mention, she looks like an angel. and you just said how you are not close with aera, meaning, there is no way you developed a sisterly bond with her." sunghoon's mother pointed out.

"i agree with your mother, sunghoon." sunghoon's dad told him gently.

"mom, i get it. you're right. i do admit that she's beautiful and all but it just seems... weird. i don't even know her that well." sunghoon sighed.

" she's your mother's choice, hoon. you do trust her-" sunghoon's dad tried to reason.

"oh my god, my son admitted that aera is pretty!" suddenly, sunghoon's mom squealed cutting her husband's words before nudging his elbow as she and minju looked at each other with a big grin on their faces.

"it's not even that big of a deal, mom." sunghoon scowled at his mother.

"of course it is! i can't believe my son actually looked at a woman." sunghoon's mother dramatically sighed.

"on a serious note, is she okay with this... whole marriage thing?" sunghoon asked his family members.

"i'll talk to her about her.i do know that her family would be happy about it. me and her mother used to talk about marrying you both to each other when you were still babies."sunghoon's mother chuckled remembering the years she and her best friend playfully talked about marriage regarding their children.

"you- what?!" sunghoon gaped at his mother, finding the newly discovered information hard to believe.

"truth be told, i was just waiting for aera to reach the age of marriage. that's why i kept convincing your father to not get you married." sunghoon's mother admitted while smiling softly.

"whatever, mom. just... just don't force her or something." sunghoon sighed tiredly as he got up from his seat after finishing his meal to go to his room and rest.

"you know i won't do that!" sunghoon's mother gasped playfully in an offended manner before her face broke out in a grin.

at the Kim Mansion;

sunoo returned home after spending a tiring day in the office. as he had just taken the ceo position, the works, meetings and responsibilities were still quite new to him.

"my son is back!" sunoo's mother quickly engulfed her son in a warm hug.

"it's so tiring mom..." sunoo complained to his mother before whining audibly, his mother laughing at his antics.

"go freshen up. your father left around twenty minutes ago to take a walk by the han river. i'll serve the food once he gets back." sunoo's mother informed her son as he quickly went into his room.

at the Bang Mansion;

jeemin's dad entered his house, finding his wife and daughter talking to each other, seemingly laughing about something. the sight unknowingly brought a soft smile into his face.

"dad! you're back." jeemin sat up from the sofa and hugged her father.

jeemin's mother grinned as she looked at her husband, him returning a grin back to her as he went upstairs to take a bath.

"we're waiting for you to eat together!" jeemin spoke loudly to tell her father as he nodded his head.

× author's note: the third chapter is up !! please don't hesitate to vote if you enjoyed reading and comment your thoughts :))

with lots of love, reen <3