The day was just about to be over, so we grabbed a Taxi and drove off to Mark's parent's shop. He still had no idea. I shot Mama Tuan another quick text letting her know that we were on our way and tucked my phone back into my bag before Mark noticed. It wasn't even 15 minutes into the cab ride until Mark started getting sleepy....again. I knew it. This was all falling into my plan >:)

•••

We were just about to arrive to our desination so I patted Mark's face. He shifted a bit and lifted his head off of my shoulder. Man, my shoulder has endured a lot today. He's giving me a massage once we're done with this trip! He sat up and checked his watch that read 6:30 pm. He was checking his phone the whole time since he woke up and didn't bother looking out the window.

I stopped the cab driver a block away from the pet store and thanked him for his serviced before stepping out of the car first with Mark tailing behind. I gladly paid the driver and he was off into the streets of Andong. Mark interlaced his hand with mine and and headed down the street towards the shop. It wasn't util halfway through the walk where Mark finally questions me, "Ya..Lee Mijoo. Don't tell me you planned this too?"

I held back my laughter and looked up at him grabbing his arm and said, "Oppa, surpriseee~" and just on time, we arrived in front of the pet store. I couldn't contain my squeals as we entered the shop of small puppies and kittens barking and meowing. On cue, Mark's mother came out from the back and said, "Hello, welc-- AH MARK!? MIJOO!?"

"EOMMA!" I said excitingly.

She scurried up to us and pulled us into a tight and warm embrace that screamed 'welcome home.' Mark was pretty much speechless. I think he's tearing up....OMO he is! Mark's mother instantly pulled back and started rambling her words to Mark, grabbing his face and checking him to see if he was safe, just like a typical mom would do when she hadn' seen her son for years. "Mark! Are you eating well? You got so skinny! And your hair, wahh, it looks so different. What about work? Are they treating you well? Are you treating Mijoo well? You know she worked hard to plan this trip! Omo, I'm so happy to see you~" Mark's mom rambled on and then pulled Mark into another warm embrace. Just then Mark's father walks in to check on the ruckus. As soon as he saw me, he made way towards us and joined in on this loving moment.

•••

I could tell Mark was getting emotional. His parents meant the world to him, and can you tell he's a momma's boy? After we closed the store, we headed out to eat dinner at a small restaurant we used to go to before Mark and I moved away. It was pretty small, so I wasn't surprised when the owner remembered us after so many years. We were basically "regulars."

"Annyeonghaseyo! Welcome back! How's life now? Oh, and don't worry, the food is on us tonight. Consider it a welcome home gift to everyone," the ajumma cheered. Seeing her bright face and charming personality made me realize how much I missed my hometown. Mark and I sat across from each other, his mom next to me and his dad across from her. We ordered our food and made small talk, you know, the typical thing to do when you're waiting for your food. We talked about our college experience and how we started to date after college, which they had already known, and not surprised one bit. It's like they knew it was going to happen.

"So when am I having grandchildren?" Mark's mom suddenly asked all too innocently.

Mark and I froze at his mom's blunt question. I looked at Mark who was scratching the back of his head and had a slight blush on his cheeks. And it didn't help that his dad was giving his an anticipated look either. I surely didn't know how to respond. Mark and I have talked ab