that boy | hwang hyunjin | ✔

Chapter 52

"I'm home," Hyunjin announces as we step inside his house. He instantly kicks off his shoes and we take off our coats. The hallway is relatively empty,  just like ours, but that's what you get when you live with only two people. I quickly hang my coat on the coat rack before I follow Hyunjin into the living area.

To say that I'm nervous is a serious understatement. Hyunjin basically told his mom everything and history together isn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows. I'm sure she knows I made her son cry more than just once and honestly, I wouldn't be too eager to meet the person that hurt my child like that.

But I'm doing it for Hyunjin.

"Hello honey," a female voice greets us from the kitchen. The boy gives me a reassuring smile before he gestures me to follow him as he walks towards the voice. I give a meek nod and follow him, making sure to stay as close as possible.

"Hi mom, I want to introduce you to someone," my boyfriend states, and the woman behind the kitchen counter whirls around immediately. 

Hyunjin doesn't really resemble her and I can only guess the boy got most of his features from his dad. There's only one thing that he unmistakenly got from his mother; the gentle brown eyes that always seem to sparkle with interest and friendliness. Friendly is a good way to describe my first impression of his mother, with a soft smile and wrinkles in the right places that show she does that a lot.

"Chaelin?" she guesses as she approaches us and Hyunjin nods.

"Mom, this is Chaelin, my uh- girlfriend."

I give the woman a quick bow, happy that I can hide my face for two seconds. The urge to hide behind him becomes even stronger as my cheeks flare red. The word girlfriend is so alien and it feels weird to hear it being spoken out loud. I have yet to get used to the idea and it's uneasy and almost unreal to tell others about it.

The woman's grin grows even wider at her son's words and I can't help but feel a little confused. To me, it feels like her sympathy is out of place. I don't deserve it, why would she be happy about my being together with her son after everything I put him through?

"I honestly didn't expect it but I'm glad everything worked out between you," she states and I swear I hear Hyunjin sigh in relief, meaning that the confidence he showed was partly fake.

"I'm sorry for everything I did to your son," I apologize solemnly, averting my gaze as I bow once more. "He didn't deserve any of that and I-"

"Sweetheart," Hyunjin's mother interrupts me, pulling back a chair from the kitchen table to sit on and gesturing us to do the same. "Hyunjin told me a lot but he definitely didn't forget to tell me what you've been through. I always find it hard to be mad at people who have been through a lot, especially since your situation is a lot like ours."

Hyunjin nods, "Except for the fact that her mom never recovered from it and it affected Chaelin a lot."

"Situations like this have a different outcome on everyone, everyone reacts differently. You've never had any help so to me it sounds only natural that you hold anger and fear towards boys."

I look at the woman sitting opposite of me dumbfounded. It's a miracle to me why she's so understanding but then I realize Hyunjin has been the same from day one. Honestly, I would've dumped myself a long time ago and I want to slap myself when I remember I wanted Hyunjin to do the same. But he never did, he always found a way to forgive me and he never gave up. Looks like he didn't get that sympathy from a stranger.

But I still find it misplaced. I would've expected at least some anger, some scolding, scornful remarks or even a warning to never hurt Hyunjin like that again. But there's nothing of that, even though I feel like I deserve it. I guess these people are just really kind-hearted, a kind of people I don't run into a lot.

"Thank you for your understanding," I mutter, staring at the patterns in the wood of the kitchen table. "I swear I won't ever hurt him again."

Her smiles fades and even though her expression turns serious, the friendliness never leaves her eyes. "I believe you, Chaelin. Hyunjin told me enough about you to know that you're not a bad person. I might be even a little bit proud that my son was the one to make you see that not all males are evil."

Hyunjin chuckles and this time I can't help it as the corners of my lips twitch into a little grin. The uneasiness slowly slips away and my tensed muscles relax.

Then Hyunjin's mother gets up from her chair and she reaches out to grab her spatula. "I have to continue dinner now, are you eating with us?" She gives me a questioning look and this time I don't hesitate as I return her smile.

"I'd love to," I politely reply, not even thinking about turning down her offer to stay.

"That's great, I can't wait to get to know you better."

With one last friendly smile she returns to the counter, where she left the vegetables waiting to be added to the final dish. It already smells delicious and I honestly can't wait to taste the final result.

I wish that I had a mom like this in more than one way. Not only is she really understanding and friendly -basically the opposite of my mom, she also cooks proper meals and cares about Hyunjin.

I feel Hyunjin's fingers brush mine and I look up to find him smiling at me. "It will be a little while until dinner is ready. I think I know someone who is very eager to meet you again."

--

Okay i was just searching for hyunjin pictures to post here and look what came up when i entered Hwang Hyunjin in the google search bar

I'm shook shgdgdggd

Also the next update might take a while. I'm actually really scared to end this story because the ending as I have it in mind now might be really weird and unrealistic and I'm sweating lmao I don't want to ruin this entire story with a shitty ending send help okay I'm sorry I'm ranting.

I also lost my self-discipline and already have two chapters of the Felix story published and the third one is in the making. I'm just really excited I guess? XD