Boyfriends-In-Law | Jayhoon [Ongoing]

5.2: Why?

At the dinner table, Sunghoon sat quietly, poking at his food, completely zoning out. His father, who usually didn’t give much thought to Sunghoon’s occasional space-outs, glanced over at him. But this time was different. Not zoning out in front of pyeonyuk, his absolute favorite dish! Something was definitely off.

Sunghoon's dad furrowed his brow, glancing over at his mother, who returned the look with the same level of concern. A few days ago, Sunghoon had been looking gloomy, and now this? Clearing his throat, his father tried to snap him out of it.

"Sunghoon?" He called softly.

No response. Sunghoon was still deep in thought, staring blankly at his plate as if he was in another world. His father tried again, clearing his throat a little louder.

Nothing.

At this point, Sunghoon's younger sister was trying to suppress her laughter, her hand covering her mouth as she watched the whole scene unfold. She opened her mouth to make a sarcastic remark, but a sharp look from her mother silenced her.

Finally, their mother reached over and gently shook Sunghoon’s shoulder. "Sunghoon, sweetie?"

Sunghoon blinked rapidly, snapping back to reality. “Huh? Oh, uh… what?”

His father raised an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly. "Is everything okay? You’ve been zoning out a lot lately. Exams got you stressed?"

Sunghoon shook his head quickly, sitting up straighter. "No, no. Everything’s fine."

His parents exchanged another glance, the kind that spoke volumes without needing words. They clearly didn’t believe him, but they didn’t push further either.

After dinner, Sunghoon retreated to his room, collapsing onto his bed with a heavy sigh. He felt like his brain had been spinning in circles ever since the discussion. As he lay there staring at the ceiling, his phone buzzed with a new message.

Jay:
Hey, dear fake boyfriend, what’s up?

Sunghoon groaned aloud, Here we go again!

Sunghoon:
Can you not call me that?

Jay:
Fine, fine.
I’ll call you… fake boyfie instead 😎

Sunghoon sighed, knowing full well that Jay wasn’t going to let this go.

Sunghoon:
Please, I’m already traumatised with boyfriend-in-law. Don’t make it worse.

Jay:
That’s why I’m here, to distract you with my amazing sense of humor ;)

Sunghoon:
Yeah, it’s not working.

Jay:
Wow, harsh.
Anyway, what r u doing?

Sunghoon:
Just finished dinner.

Jay:
What did ya have?

Sunghoon stared at the message for a moment, his brain still foggy. What did he have? He genuinely couldn’t remember.

Sunghoon:
Uh...I don’t remember.

Jay:
Bro… you don’t even remember what you just ate? You okay over there? Need to check for amnesia or something?

Sunghoon rolled his eyes

Sunghoon:
Oh Right! It was pyeonyuk.

Jay:
You don't like it very much or what?