Ace of Hearts

Practical Jokes

Nervously twining her fingers together, Namjoo crossed the hallway to a spacious sun room. Six tall French paned windows lined the walls where dust swirled in the rays of the sunlight. Tufted furniture filled a large expanse of the brightly lit space along with modern wooden tables.

Elder Oh was at the far left of the room at a table. In the center a glass bowl full of mandarin oranges. A stack of clean white napkins off at the side to be used for scraps in addition to hand wipes.

"You've come? Come sit." He invited.

Grabbing a matching padded chair, Namjoo sat on his left. Before arriving, she'd changed into sleek black pants and pulled on a V-neck ruffle trim floral blouse. Fancy as heck but this was Sehun's style or as he said "his world" and she better get along with it or lose her two-hundred-thousand.

Curse him!

But Namjoo had promised she'd do her best, so here she was over-dressed and sitting alone with his father. Where the hell was he?!

"I heard from your mother you weren't feeling well yesterday."

"My mother?" Namjoo's heart lurched with a mixture of nostalgia and panic. Had her mom come?!

"Yes, of course," the old man warmly went on further confusing her. Peeling an orange, he glanced at her, "You didn't know?"

"Huh?" her eyes grew big.

"That's what you call your husband's mother. Coming into his family his mother will also become your mother as I will also become your father."

Namjoo almost choked on her own saliva. She made a noise within her throat. "Oh..." Rapidly blinking, she discerned, "But I'm not married yet."

Elder Oh laughed joyfully. To Namjoo's shock he sounded like the next-door grandfather. Overly-bearingly warm. Heart full of gold. Held affection for every child that crossed his path. Despite the callous lines on his face due to strenuous work, every laugh and smile deepened the marks handsomely.

He really looked like Sehun but older and a bit thinner.

"You're right. We should begin talking about that once my son comes home from work and your mother is here." He smiled and offered the fully peeled orange. "I hope you like oranges."

Namjoo stared at the fruit. A list of questions raced through her mind. She had to think this through carefully. What was his father's objective? To find out more about her? If she was fake or real? Did he wonder why this strange girl was suddenly in his home, brought by his son?

As Hyena said, Sehun had never mentioned anything about a girl before. Would his parents become as suspicious?

"What?" Sehun's father wondered. "Is it because I touched it? I promise you I washed my hands."

"No, no!" Namjoo shook her head and snatched the fruit from his hand. Giggling a little anxiously, "In fact, I love fruits. I love oranges so much!"

Prying a piece off she stuck it into her mouth, making a show being so happy. She received a jolly laugh from Sehun's father and he went right to taking another orange, immediately peeling it for himself.

"How is my son treating you?" Senior Oh wondered. "He isn't leaving you all by yourself?"

"That guy he –" Namjoo started berating then paused and glanced at his father. Suddenly beaming with a smile, she complained, "He pays sooo much attention to me! Rather than having a hard time, I'm having such a good time! He's always at my hands and my feet ready to do anything for me."

"That's right! That's how he should be!" his father giddily agreed. Noticing she was almost done eating, he pushed the bowl toward her, "Have some more. Have as much as you want."