Substitute Soulmate

Ever-Winding Roads

"What are you doing? Let me in," her authoritative mother looked up at her suspiciously. Helplessly stepping back as the woman made her way in, Namjoo listened to Sehun shoot up from his chair shocked.

"Oh my..." her mother gasped surprised. Hand on her chest she glanced from the man to her daughter, "What is this? What's going on?" back to Sehun, "Who are you? Why are you in my daughter's house?"

"Mom," Namjoo tried leaning to the woman's side but was ignored.

Quickly greeting her, "I'm Oh Sehun. I work with Namjoo."

Turning to interrogate her, "Do you bring your co-workers home?"

"No, not at all, it's not like that," Sehun interjected trying to smoothen the situation. Namjoo felt like slapping her forehead.

"I think you should go," Namjoo suggested.

Catching her eye, Sehun hurriedly nodded, "I should go now. It was nice meeting you, ma'am."

Namjoo guiltily stood by as Sehun brushed past. Olly's tail wagged when the door closed and looked at their new visitor excitedly.

"What is this?" her mother walked over to peer at the food on the table.

"It's nothing," Namjoo excused piling up the dishes to carry to the sink.

"Who is he?" she demanded to know.

"Just a co-worker." Namjoo busied herself with the task at hand hoping her mother would drop it.

"He's a man in your house!" her mother pointed out the obvious. "Namjoo, you are a woman! How could you invite just anyone..."

"I said he's a co-worker," Namjoo deepened her tone.

"Do you think that's what I'm talking to you about?" her mother scolded staring hard at her. "He's not even your husband. Could you be any more careful?! What will people say about you? You should be worried! You're a married woman. You ought to know better what a man wants with a woman alone."

"Could you stop?" Namjoo asked, aggravated.

"Fine, but I'm warning you not to be so foolish. Look at this," she eyed the dishes, "what are you doing with that man?" Her mother cautioned, "I don't get you. You say you can't forget Yeol, but why is that man here? You have Dokeun!"

"I don't like him!" Namjoo raised her voice. Irritated by her mother's scolding and treatment toward Sehun, Namjoo felt like blowing up at the mere mention of that douchebag.

"Don't speak to me that way, young lady," her mother warned. "I heard you were very rude with him when he came to visit you."

"He was rude to me first," Namjoo recalled. "I won't apologize."

"Namjoo!"

"If you came all the way here just to talk about him then I'm going to sleep." Namjoo turned the running water off no longer in the mood to do dishes. "You can't be spending the night here, are you?"

"I'm staying the night. I told your father I would be visiting you," her mother stubbornly said.

Glancing at the woman Namjoo sighed. What she had worried about had come in the form of her mother.

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Had he gotten Namjoo in trouble? Was her mother giving her a lecture right now? Staring up at the building Sehun worried. Namjoo's mother hadn't sounded happy upon seeing him. More like stricken shocked. Of course, her mother already set her up with that Dokeun guy. Yeol was no longer around, so a man alone with her daughter would be misleading.