The Universe Makes Mistakes Sometimes - Touch

Happiness and Heartbreak

Jungwoo stared at himself in the mirror. He'd showered not once but twice, making sure to scrub off the tear tracks that stained his cheeks and get rid of the strong scent of Yukhei's aftershave.

Had he changed since his mother had last saw him?

Well, no.

He was still the pale, skinny feminine boy he'd always been. Not much could change that.

But on the other hand, he had an apartment now. And a boyfriend who was possibly going to be his fiancé sometime soon. He was someone who lied to his bestfriends and shouted at them and kept secrets from them. Heck, he was lying to his boyfriend. He was a soulmate to someone now.

And he hadn't been any of that the last time he'd seen his mother.

"Hey. You okay?" Taeho asked, striding into the bathroom. Jungwoo watched in the mirror as his boyfriend flattened out his collar. Taeho looked up, their eyes catching in the mirror.

"I'm nervous," Jungwoo whispered.

"Me too. But we'll be okay, Woo. We have each other now, and we'll always have each other. We're already better off than last time."

"We're better of than last time," Jungwoo echoed, nodding, "We can do this."

At that moment, there was a sharp knock at the door. Jungwoo sighed deeply, leaving to open it.

~~~

"Jungwoo!" his mother gasped, wrapping her arms around him.

Jungwoo held her limply. It had been so long since he'd been able to hug him mother like this. It felt good.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.

"Jungwoo," Mrs Kim said, pulling herself out of her son's arms. She cradled his face tenderly, studying it.

"Are you wearing makeup?"

Jungwoo flushed red under his foundation. When he'd lived with his parents, he'd caked his face messily with drug-store foundation that was too shades darker than his skin tone, mascara that felt like lead on his eyelashes, and lipstick that faded after a measly five minutes. 

And even then, he'd only wore the terrible mask for a few minutes, and never outside of his bedroom. God forbid his mother seeing him like this, let alone his father...

And now here he was with his £80 foundation and Fenty highlighter, looking like an angel on Earth.

Are you wearing makeup?

Jungwoo closed his eyes. 

This is my life now. There's nothing either of them can do to stop me from dating Taeho, from wearing makeup, from being me.

"Yes. Yes I'm wearing makeup."

There was a moment of silence in which Jungwoo held his breath.

"I- I like it. You look good, Woo. You look...pretty," his mother said finally, her face breaking out into a grin. Jungwoo laughed lightly.

"Thank you. Come in."

~~~

"You've...err...met Taeho, right?" Jungwoo asked, though he knew the answer. His cheeks flushed a deep red.

Mrs Kim had, in fact, met Taeho. A while ago, he and Taeho had been in his bedroom doing...well you can guess, and she'd walked in with a pair of boxers for Jungwoo's underwear drawer.

"Yes, yes I have," the woman chuckled.

"Mrs Kim," Taeho said sheepishly "I...err...sit down," he pulled out a chair, gesturing for her to take a seat.