Strings & Stitches

Chapter 32

The car hummed along the open road as the day got closer to the afternoon. Siyeon's fingers tapped anxiously against the steering wheel, and Bora sat beside her with not much of a difference in her expression, tracing patterns on the window. They were both a little nervous; that much was already clear. Siyeon wanted to somehow take the lead and help her girlfriend calm down, so she reached for her phone and turned on some music to ease the mood a little bit.

At first, she had debated to not put on her usual playlist, knowing not everyone was exactly a fan of her music genres of choice... but she figured that it was okay to at least try and see how her girlfriend would react to it. They were together after all, so Bora would find out anyway. The blonde kept her eyes on the road, glancing to the side a few times to hopefully get a reaction out of her.

After a few moments, Bora stopped overthinking about the upcoming first meeting with Siyeon's mother as her ears finally caught up with the music, taking a look at Siyeon, who seemed like her attention was on Bora already. The latter chuckled, "Are you seriously nervous about what I'll think of your music taste?" She teased a little; that way, she would get off the anxious thoughts for a little while as well.

"I-" The older woman felt a little caught out at being read like a book on that one. Had it really been that obvious? "Well... what do you think?" The indirect question was turned into a direct one, showing that it was actually a little important to her.

Bora took a few seconds to answer, a smile appearing on her lips as Siyeon was impatiently waiting for the answer. In the end, she just chuckled. "Well, I enjoy rock, too, actually. It has been a while since I had time to just sit down and enjoy it, though"

That answer pleased Siyeon, maybe making her a little bit too happy. This kind of music had always helped her unwind in stressful periods, so it meant a lot to her. Although she had to say she didn't take Bora to like rock. Hip hop or something dancey felt more like her style. "So... have you ever been this far South?"

Bora blinked, as if only now realising just how far they've already come. She shifted in her seat, watching the landscape blur past them. "Not really," she admitted. "I've never really gone too far from Seoul"

That was exciting news. Seoul was a pretty big city, so hopefully Siyeon would be able to show her some more countryside places while on their trip. Daegu was also a pretty big city, but no one said they needed to stay in one place. They could just drive to a few less urban places.

After the silence took place between them once again, the rock music still playing in the air, Bora got back to the worrisome thoughts which she couldn't stop from racing in her mind. There was a huge chance Siyeon's mom wouldn't like her. Bora honestly wasn't sure how she would be able to answer the questions about her work or career, which would obviously be coming from Mrs Lee. She wanted to make a good first impression, but with that in mind, she just couldn't stop the anxiety.

Not wanting to fall into the same pattern as earlier, Siyeon thought of something to keep the conversation going. A particular sign on the road helped her with that. "Are you hungry?" she inquired, having seen that they would soon come across a gas station they could stop at. Usually, there were little stores around to get a snack.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Bora just said, realising that she did it again. Then she sighed, reaching for Siyeon's hand on the wheel. "Sorry for being freaked out, baby, it's just that... Meeting your mom is a big deal for me, and I don't wanna blow the chance of her liking me from the get-go"

The surgeon really wanted to say that her mom would definitely like her... but her mother was honestly very unpredictable from time to time. They got along, and it's not like she was mean or anything... but she had her periods of intolerance. "Once she gets to know you, there's no way she won't. Trust me," she did her best to ease her mind.

Bora nodded her head, knowing that her stressing over it continuously wouldn't change anything, anyway, and she didn't want to let Siyeon down with this trip, so she decided she would try her best to ignore the nerves and just enjoy the time with her girlfriend, who was willing to show her her hometown.