Collateral Love | Tao

Chapter 37

We got home from the airport at around noon. I made sure that my sleeves were long enough to cover my hands. I would tell my parents that Tao and I were together, but not that we were engaged. I had to take this one step at a time.

I took a deep breath.

"CJ! Sehun! You're home!" Our mom pulled both of us into an overly tight hug.

"Yes, we are," I glanced nervously at Sehun. Our dad came down the stairs and joined the group hug.

"I'll make you guys some drinks then you can tell us all about your trip."

"Alcoholic drinks?" Sehun asked.

"I know you're old enough now, but it's noon," she brought us some tea and sat across from us with our dad. "So what was the coolest part of your trip?"

"We mostly just went to museums, but we did get to go to The Great Wall."

"Yeah, the wall was cool," Sehun nodded. "So were the temples and palaces."

I nodded, "Yeah."

"You two seem nervous," Dad tilted his head.

"We are. We have things to tell you," I tapped my fingers on my lap.

"Mr. Huang quit his job," Sehun started for me.

"What? Why?" My mom seemed offended. "I really liked him. He actually took the time to teach CJ how to read and write Chinese."

"That may be because he liked me more than any of his other students."

"What does that mean?" I could see a spark of protectiveness in my dad's eyes.

I took a deep breath to prepare myself for the shit storm that awaited me, "We've been seeing each other off and on since school started."

My mom hesitated, trying to keep her cool, "So is it off or on right now?"

"It's back on."

"CJ, did you make that man lose his job?"

"No, he quit."

"You realize he quit because of you though, right?" My dad clenched his fists.

"I know, but it's okay. He's already got a new job lined up at the college."

"So that means you're not going to college?" Dad asked. My mom already knew I wasn't really planning on going to college anyway.

"She never really wanted to," My mom answered for me. She sighed. "You're eighteen now and he isn't your teacher any more, so I guess it's not really a big deal. It'll just take some getting used to."

My dad nodded but didn't seem convinced.

"I'm gay," Sehun blurted out.

"I know," Our parents said almost simultaneously.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I've never seen you show any interest in girls," Mom said.

"And every time Jongin's at our house he has to sit right next to you," Dad continued. "I also saw him grab your butt once."

"Jongin is not discreet," I mentioned.

"Jongin and I have something special," Sehun smiled small.

"That's nice. At least he isn't older than you and your teacher," My dad rolled his eyes.

"We'll all laugh about this one day," I smiled nervously.

Jongin walked in, "Hello, Oh Choi family."

Sehun pushed me out of the booth to greet him.

"You could've just asked me to move."

"I missed him," He hugged Jongin.

"You saw each other this morning."

"I still missed him."

"I'm guessing you told your parents," Jongin hugged him back.

"I did."

"I told you they'd take it well."

"You were right," He pulled Jongin upstairs.

"Are you guys mad at me?"

"Just shocked and disappointed," Mom took Sehun's mug to the kitchen and Dad nodded.

"That's just as bad."

"Over time maybe we'll get used to it," Dad went off into the kitchen with her.

I went upstairs after Sehun and Jongin to make sure they weren't being gross in my bed. They were just snuggling to my surprise.

"Can I help you?" Jongin seemed annoyed that I interrupted the snuggle session.

"This is my room."

"He's sleepy," Jongin stroked Sehun's hair. "Let him sleep."

"It's your fault that he's sleepy. I'm sleepy too."

"Well, we're napping here so go elsewhere."

I rolled my eyes and went downstairs and out the door. I walked to a familiar apartment building and to a familiar door and knocked.

The door opened, "Hi, how did your parents take it?"

"They're not too happy about it but they didn't disown me, so it's alright," I yawned. "I want to nap but Sehun and Jongin took over my bed."

"You can nap here then," He let me in. "I wanted to show you something, actually."

"Okay," I sat on the couch and pet Kandy.

Tao opened his laptop, "What do you think of this." He clicked through pictures of a small house.

"It's cute. You're moving?"

"I was thinking you could move with me."

"Really? When?"

"After you graduate. How does that sound?"

"Good," I smiled.

"Good," He put his arm around me and turned the tv on. "Let's nap."

I laid my head on his shoulder, but I couldn't seem to fall asleep. My mind was racing once again.