Unexpectedly Regular | Kim Namjoon

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Namjoon spent the Christmas with his family and Nara. His girlfriend still found it hard to be with his family. Although her Korean was quite good, she was never at ease, wondering what traditions and customs she would break accidentally, causing an embarrassing situation. Nor his family nor Namjoon ever showed any signs of awkwardness, but Nara was still not totally comfortable, as she knew the circumstances their relationship were publicly revealed. His sister showed total support to her in-law and was constantly trying to make Nara feel at home. She was actually quite cool whenever she was at home, but most of the time Nara was just with Namjoon and his parents at that big house. They were actually much more strict with their son than with her, and that made Nara even more self-conscious whenever she was around them. Anyway, the Kim family were welcoming enough to congratulate Nara and Namjoon for the new life they would spend together, although they didn't seem to understand why they would live together rather than getting married.

Namjoon calmed Nara down by saying that they would be more comprehensible with time, and the trip they would take to Brazil would provide his parents with just the right time for them to understand his son's reasons. They would spend a week there. On the first days they would go back to Nara's hometown to visit her mother, and then they would have a wedding party to attend to.

Margarida gifted Namjoon with more plants and her daughter with more food, as if she hadn't been eating those months she had spent abroad, releasing her new book and visiting her boyfriend. Daughter and mother now had a relationship that was even smoother than before and they were planning Margarida's first trip to Korea in six months. It was actually her first trip abroad and they were both excited and dedicated, talking about their expectations and the provisions they would need to take care of in advance.

Nara was still a heavy sleeper and Namjoon still woke up early to take a stroll, wherever he was. He normally brought home breakfast or small presents but on their last morning in the small town, he they had brought something unexpected.

Nara's half-brother had seem Namjoon walking around town for some mornings, so he decided to approach him and ask whether Nara was there too. So, he came for a visit. Margarida immediately prepared coffee to go with the warm bread and jams Namjoon had bought. They all sat down around the table for breakfast, as a family.

None of them was relaxed but every time one of them tried to leave, there was a pair of eyes begging for the other to stay. Namjoon quietly watched the scene going on in a language he couldn't understand but Nara held his hand looking for support. Her stare made him stay. Margarida was worried, a bit tense and wondering whether it would be better to leave those two with their problems, but as she started getting up, Namjoon shook his head. She got his message and she stayed. She trusted him as part of the family, but more especially, she knew how much he seemed to know her daughter better than her. He knew better what was important to her daughter, so she also stayed. Nara and André were not comfortable at all. It was clear that he was, to a certain extent, regretting his decision to have this conversation. Nara, having not chosen to be in that situation was constantly trying to understand if her brain commanded her to flee, fight or freeze.

André was straightforward. He handed Nara a photo they had together, which also happened to be the only photo Nara had, from now on, in which she was with her father. In the picture, taken on one of André's birthdays, a pre-teen Nara hugged her smaller half-brother dressed up as Pikachu and their father sat on a chair next to them. The trio smiled to André's mother, who normally took tons of photos of her precious child. Nara could remember that birthday party. She never had such a luxurious birthday celebration and she often had a feeling of shame. She felt so small around that part of her family. However, she remembered she still felt naively happy to be in those parties, as it was a chance to get closer to her father and smaller brother. As she got older, she started to loathe those awkward only family reunions in a year, but as her mother insisted, she should accept all invitation and be close to them at least in those moments.

Nara's reminiscences were bitter but she smile sweetly at the differences between the siblings. Not everyone would say André and Nara were related. In neither the photo nor now, they had much in common. André's skin was white and his face covered with freckles, his nose and lips were thin, but his eyes and eyebrows could have the same piercing stare as Nara. The blackness of their eyes was one of the few things they shared.

André explained that although they had no hopes of becoming really close to each other, he no longer held any resentments. André said his mother didn't want to give him the photo until the moment he told her about the huge amount of money he had received. He knew that money came from Nara. He wanted his half-sister to know that she never had to do that. So instead of keeping the money for himself, as now he was starting his life owning a store and he didn't need the money that his father didn't give to him, he thought of a better use for that.

-He bought copies of my book and distributed to public libraries around the state, Namjoon. Can you believe it? – Nara translated that part of the conversation in awe.

Namjoon could see that André was sorry that money had been an issue that kept the siblings apart. He didn't need to understand that language for it to make sense. He could see that Nara didn't hold her breath anymore, and he was relieved for his girlfriend too.

André turned to English, and although he couldn't speak as well as his sister, he did his best to invite Nara and Namjoon to be the godparents of his daughter that was about to be born in six months. Nara couldn't hold back her surprise, but she was also touched by that unexpected invitation. She said yes immediately and she shared a tight, sweet smile with her brother. Margarida cried quietly, but she also put her hands together and looked up as if she was thanking the skies for finally seeing that scene in front of her eyes. As they talked about the new member of the family over breakfast, they all forgot the tension in which that meal had started.