"Why do you look so worried, dear?" She sees right through me like she's some sort of all-knowing demon. Her twisted smile makes it all the more worse. "I'm sure it's just that waiter; his pierced ears make him look stingy, his body odor is just playing the part". The savagery is too much for me to handle. I quickly turn to Namjoon wide eyed. He gives me a look as if to say 'stay cool'.
"I'm sure you're right, Mom", he gives her a very pleasant smile. "You know, I'm really craving some fresh abalones". Mrs. Hyojin agrees with Najoon and waves Jungkook over. After being so harsh about his appearances, she nonchalantly talks sweetly and gently to him as if she hadn't just said he looked stingy. She ordered one large dish for us to share and then three small dishes for us.
There's a nice little silence after Jungkook leaves. As long as no one is talking, there's less of a chance for me to mess up right? Wrong. "Not much of a talker is she, Namjoon?" Namjoon nervously shrugs his shoulders nervously. I look to him for help, but he just shakes his head. Wow, great help.
"Uhm... I was really just admiring your makeup. You're really beautiful, Hyojin-shi." Hopefully, my quick thinking saved me.
She laughs loudly in a very pleased way, "Well, thank you. I'll be sure to forward your compliments to my makeup artist." I look down into my lap, smiling. Okay, not a bad start- she laughed, that's a good sign. "So, Seulbi, what are your aspirations in life?" Okay. Let's get right to it, then.
But how should I respond? Well, she's a wealthy woman. Her type usually wants a woman to aspire to marriage. Should I say something like, 'I want to find a wonderful husband who will protect me and stand with me in a bond for life'? Something cheesy like this will probably make her happy. She looks at me happily expecting an answer. But that's it. How can a person change from scary to happy to rude to happy all over again? She's not an ordinary 'rich lady'- she has a depth to her which brings me to this answer, "I wish to be a successful and renown marine veterinarian". She just gazes at me with the same, unchanging, happy face. Okay, Seulbi, elaborate, "I'm currently studying different species of dolphins and their evolutionary hunting tactics. Hopefully, my research will be published in marine biology magazines worldwide. My supervisor thinks I have real talent." A little bit above me, but still along the lines of what I want to do with my life. I look to Namjoon's mom expectantly.
She sits up straight as the waiter, Jungkook, comes with the meal. "Hm. A smart woman. A want for success is the perfect trait for any companion of my son's. I like it." I let out a breath of air I had apparently been holding in. She picks up her wood and metal dining chopsticks with her soft, light-as-a-feather hands and picks up a piece of shrimp with them. Just before she puts the shrimp in her mouth, she says the unimaginable, "So I assume it's actually you who smells of animals." She places the shrimp in her mouth. Instead of the shrimp, imagine me- crushed between her perfectly polished, perfectly aligned, glittering white teeth. Great... I'm just going to consider this a date fail now. Namjoon, speechless, gives off a nervous laugh.
I put my hands on my lap and slowly grasp my dress. "Yes, that might be me, Hyojin-shi. I'm sorry about that."
She chuckles to herself and now I'm sure this date has ended in a complete failure. But she continues, "That's completely fine, dear. Success takes hard work. It doesn't happen without a bit of, ahem, heavy duty work." I guess I got it partially right. "And please, call me mother. I think it'll be better that way." Okay... not partially right- very right.
The rest of the date goes smoothly. At times, Namjoon goes back to being his regular self, but his mother and I put him back in his place. We laugh and purely enjoy each other's company.
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As we prepare to leave, I happily stand up with a smile on my face and prepare to give a small bow to Mrs. Hyojin, "I had a great time tonight. Thank y-" Namjoon put his hand on the small of my back as he stood up.
"Thanks, mom, it was really great. As you can see, I've got a great girl to keep me in check." He gives his mother a huge smile as I glare at him.
Mrs. Hyojin smiles to him happily, "Yes I hope to see you both again soon," and then her smile turns evil, "And if I catch you falling, you know what will come, right?" He gives a small nod to his mother. "Good. Well, you two be on your way first."
We say our goodbye's and Namjoon holds my hand as we turn around and walk towards the exit. I try to pull away, but he grabs tight and starts mouthing something to me. "One, two, three, four... " We reach the exit and finish the last number together, but not in the way you'd expect. One, two, three, four, dot, dot, dot. No five. Just the slow untwining of fingers. Maybe he doesn't want it to end. But, maybe I don't either.
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The drive back home is very quiet so far except for the moderately volumed Korean hip-hop music coming from the radio. I decide to text Jinsoo and ask her if she wants to sleep over tonight instead. I want to tell her everything that happened in the past few weeks from cute guys to fake relationships. After holding hands with Namjoon, I realize I probably crave attention and human connection right now. It'll be nice to order in and spill everything to my best friend all while watching our favorite tv drama. I look down at the phone in my lap to see the time. 8:05pm. Not too late for her to come over. But the date- September fifth- it's my mom and dad's anniversary of their first date. I let my head drift back into the leather seats and let out a huge sigh, my hands still in my lap. My poor parents. I couldn't even remember to celebrate their anniversary.
"What's wrong?" Namjoon looks over to me looking genuinely concerned. I tell him it's nothing. Why should he care? Someone as fortunate as him who comes from a rich family with both parents still alive as ever shouldn't concern themselves with a poor pathetic veterinarian's assistant such as me. "I promise I won't make fun of you." He curves his lips into that stupid crooked smile.
"Keep your eyes on the road. It wouldn't matter to you anyway."
"Oh." He looks down for a second then continues to focus on driving. Wow. I think I actually made him sad. I really don't want to tell him, but he turns down the volume on the radio as if to set my stage. The quietness and our closeness in the car makes me want to tell him everything about my parents, but I know he won't understand so I keep it short.
"Today is my parents' anniversary. It was their first date on this day, but I forgot all about it."
"Why don't you just text them 'congrats' or something?"
I just turn to him and smile, "I should, shouldn't I?" I feel the tears coming, but I push them back as hard as I can.
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Namjoon drops me off at the apartment building, but he leaves to go to his friend's apartment. Something like, "Hoseok and Taehyung have a track idea..." blah, blah, blah.
As I head into the building, I keep thinking about what happened in the car. The more I think about my parents the more I notice the fact that I have none. Nothing can stop me from crying now- not even Jimin's worried gaze as I pass by the front desk. It'll be okay. It'll be okay. As long as I tell myself this, it'll definitely be okay. Right? But not having either of your parents should never be okay. Not for me and not for anyone, I just... why? I just want- no, I need- someone to hug me and comfort me and not just tell me it's okay. I'm tired of conflicting with myself. This is definitely not okay and I should stop saying it is okay. Because it's not. It's not okay. I'm not okay.
I just wan- Jinsoo. Before I even realize, I'm in the doorway with my door wide open. Jinsoo is lazing around on my couch watching TV. I laugh with tears still flooding my face. As I speedily walk towards Jinsoo, she looks towards me smiling, but her smile quickly turns into a frown as she notices my runny face. She stands up, grabs me in a hug, and ask me what's wrong. I tell her today's events and how I'm feeling at that moment, she consoles me, and I tell her more. I tell her about Namjoon, the scary mother, and my cute guy radar in the area. Talking with her makes me feel better and even though we haven't had the same exact experiences, she finds a way to understand. That's something I love about my best friend.
"C'mon," Jinsoo stands up with intention, "Let's go visit your parents and wish them a happy anniversary." Yep. Jinsoo would go to a dark cemetery at 9pm for me.
YOU ARE READING
The Game of Life (BTS: Rap Monster)
Fanfiction"Well at least it's not as hard as another game I know." He turns his lips into a crooked smile a laughs, "What's the other game?" I paused for a minute and looked down at my lap, "You know, the game of life. Not, like, the Spongebob version. Everyo...
