Unexpectedly Regular | Kim Namjoon

30

The house was small and simple, but the land around it was large, circled by a tall fence. The garden seemed to be just as big as the house and there were trees full of fruits. Orange, lemon, tangerine. Some other trees had no fruit but flowers and there were plenty of herbs and flowerbeds under the trees. A path paved with raw stones could be seen between them, and there were yet some tangled plants Namjoon had never seen before. There was a porch with a blue hammock and then, finally the house. The plain white walls contrasted with blue and yellow windows and the smell of garlic and onions made their mouths water.

-Does she always leave the gate and doors open like this?

Nara just nodded as if she was tired of having talked to her mum about it. She opened the door but there was a loud song, which Namjoon recognized from Nara's playlist. They could hear the voice of a woman singing along that slow pagode. Nara called "Mãe" twice and finally one more time, louder. Her mother answered "Tô na cozinha!" and a small, brown mutt came along, barking and jumping on Nara's legs.

-Belinha! – Nara let her bags aside and grabbed the dog. Namjoon started petting the noisy dog and it immediately jumped to his arms – Esse é o Namjoon! – She said, introducing Namjoon to her old, best friend – She normally defends us from men, but she seems to like you.

Namjoon just received some lovely licks on his cheek and followed Nara through the living room towards a kitchen, which lead to a small patio with a laid table. He was still holding Belinha on his arms when he saw his sogra and his girlfriend's reunion. Margarida was a short woman, her brown skin and face was pretty similar to Nara's except she had thinner lips. Her hair was also much more curly than Nara's.

-Mãe! Que saudade.

Their hug was really strong and long. Namjoon observed their interaction. He could understand she suffered so much with her mother's lack of full acceptance of who she was exactly because they loved each other and were really that close to each other. As soon as the old woman opened her eyes, she realized there was a man watching them. She left her daughter's arms and immediately hugged him too, introducing herself in Portuguese and Namjoon tried to follow the conversation with his little understanding of the language. He had memorized some sentences too and their first interaction was dearly observed by Nara, who felt proud of both.

There was a sound of boiling water and Margarida ran back to the stove. She kept talking to Nara.

-Muito bonito ele, apesar que é um menino ainda, né? Gosto de homem mais com barba e ele num tem. Mas é um homão, heim? Bem alto e que gracinha ele falando Português, heim? Mas aqui, minha filha, eu achei que esses coreano tiravam os sapato pra entrar em casa. Eu acabei de passar pano nessa cozinha inteirinha. Faz o favor de tirar o sapato, vocês dois. Não limpei tudo à toa.

Namjoon still played with Belinha, waiting for a translation.

-She cleaned the floor and wants us to take off our shoes. – Nara couldn't help but giggle as she said the next part – She thinks you're handsome too.

Namjoon smiled and looked down, shyly.

-The food smells good. Could you tell her that?

Nara translated his compliment and later the menu to the lunch, which was almost finished. Arroz, feijão, farofa, quiabo, angu e couve. Typical food from their state, which Nara haven't eaten in a while, so her mouth watered as she explained each dish. Margarida also asked her daughter to pick up some lemons and prepare fresh juice. She asked Namjoon to carry the heavy stone pans to the table, where they sat and ate under the sun, something which kept them warm at that cold day.

Margarida was constantly interested in making Joon feel welcome and Nara had to translate their interactions. They were both being intentionally yet naturally lovely to each other and watching how well it worked made Nara's heart beat a little lighter. She was relieved to see them trying their best to overcome the language barrier. Honestly, Namjoon was trying harder than she expected, but in a genuine effort, to be part of the conversations. Her mum, despite how much she wanted to please her daughter's boyfriend was also being really herself. She worried whether her mum would act or talk full of prejudice, but Nara noticed, by some of the things her mum said, that she had made her own research on him. Thankfully, Margarida was not impressed by his fame or fortune and treated him like any other person. Her mother used to be shyer than that, especially because she was used to see richer people as superior, a habit that persisted from her days working as a house cleaner. However, ever since she retired, a little less than two years ago, she seemed to be changing. Nara was now only seeing her mother bimonthly, but as they talked every day, she knew the old woman had many activities with her group of friends and joined dance classes and sewing groups. Maybe that helped her to keep her mind opened to welcome him. She heard that her mother's dance teacher was a lesbian so maybe that might have influenced her opinion towards Nara's issue too, but that was a topic for after the lunch. Nara was at ease, but deep down she was afraid all of that unexpectedly easy-going behavior was actually just relief for having an apparently straight daughter.