Musi || 백현

+ twenty two

+ twenty two

Narda felt a bit out of place as she entered their house, which was bigger and nicer than any house she had been in. She always knew, by reading things on the internet that Chanyeol's family had money, but she never knew to what extent. But she had also never met the parents of any Korean boyfriend she had gone out with...then again, she never had a Korean boyfriend to begin with. Chanyeol had been the first--or more accurately Baekhyun, but she didn't actually count him as a previous boyfriend because they had to hide from everyone and never went public. With Chanyeol, at least, it had been a mutual decision, and he didn't hide their relationship in front of their friends. Chanyeol seemed to genuinely treasure her as his girlfriend and most importantly, he gave her her place.

Still, she attributed her nervousness to the fact that she was there to meet her boyfriend's family and his mother already seemed surprised by what she encountered. Narda had been in relationships before, had previous boyfriends and met their families, but it was different because it had been back home in her country. This was a completely different place where she was an outsider. She was the different one.

She could already imagine that it probably wasn't that they didn't like her, or that she wasn't welcome in their home. It just wasn't what they were used to. They had probably been expecting their son to be dating a Korean girl, someone average in their eyes, someone who was more like them. Narda saw the same reaction in her parents when she introduced them over video chatting the previous night. They probably thought she would end up dating a Mexican boy who would speak the same language as them and follow the same traditions.

The two of them followed Mrs. Park into the house; one of them comfortably while the other was hesitant and even slightly afraid. Chanyeol was excited as ever to see his family again. They lived in the same city, yet he didn't get to see them often because of his busy schedule with EXO or other activities which he did on his own. His mother led them into a living room area where Chanyeol's father and sister were already waiting for them. Narda saw the same reaction in them as his mother had when they saw her. Their eyes were widened in surprise at the sight of her. Like they had never seen someone foreign before. 

Chanyeol smiled wide as he went to embrace his father and then his sister. 

Yoora was like their mother in appearance, a woman with a small frame but very beautiful. She was tiny and even resembled Chanyeol a bit in her facial features, but her skin was a bit darker. His father was taller, but not nearly as tall as Chanyeol was. 

Narda stood off to the side and only watched with a nervous smile as he greeted his family in Korean. She wasn't sure it it was right to approach them yet, as she didn't know them and wasn't yet comfortable with them. Chanyeol hugged his sister first, and then his father, the biggest smile she had seen in him in a while was present. 

Ever since Tao left the group, he and the other boys had been upset and sulking. On their faces, she could no longer see the big smiles she was used to. The kind that touched their eyes. Those days were gone, and that was because the pain was still very present for them. The wounds would eventually heal, but she knew it was clear they would always miss him. Just like their missed their other brothers. But every time they were in front of a camera, they were made to pretend like their former group mates didn't even exist. Like Yifan, Lu Han, and Tao were never a part of EXO. They could erase them from their pictures, but never from their memories.

When he returned to her side, he comfortably slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side protectively when he felt her nervousness. He introduced her in Korean first, and then in English so that Narda could understand what he was saying. "I want you to meet Guti. She's my girlfriend." He smiled proudly and turned to kiss her on the cheek.