Chapitre Dix

>Now let me show you the shape of my heart<

MyungSoo

It had been a few days after the wedding, and life for everyone went on as usual. They were still hyped about KyonDae and L.Joe’s wedding, and to them, as long as the newlyweds were happy, they were happy. MyungHee kept whining, saying that she’d see less of her best friend, though KyonDae often reminded her that nothing actually changed even after she got married.

MyungSoo simply rolled his eyes at his sister, and kept saying that she should get married next, and she won’t whine anymore.

One day, after his work, MyungSoo returned home that evening to find his sister and mother were doing some gardening at their back yard. That sight brought a smile on his face, as he’d always loved seeing his sister and mother spending time together.

His relationship with his dad didn’t get any better since that argument, and they’d been avoiding each other for weeks. MyungSoo wasn’t sure whether he should apologize, but he knew for certain that there was nothing he should apologize for.

His dad refused to talk to him either, and MyungSoo was fine with it, though deep down he didn’t like this crack between them. This was the first time they fought with each other, and it was all because of him defending MinNeul, and his dad wanting him to stop seeing MinNeul without giving him a proper reason.

MyungSoo couldn’t do it. He knew he couldn’t do it, and he was more than sure that he didn’t want to do it.

Pushing thoughts of his dad aside, MyungSoo decided to join the two ladies, although in the beginning he was thinking of giving them some time to themselves. But hearing their laughter made him want to join them all the more, and he was sure that they didn’t mind.

In fact, MyungHee and HyunJoo were delighted to see him, and MyungHee straight away gave him a task to do, which he did happily. HyunJoo was t the flowers and plants and they talked to each other as they worked, mainly about how wonderful the wedding was with MyungSoo teasing his sister about how it would be her turn next.

All those teasing made MyungHee feel embarrassed hence she aimed the water hose at her brother a few times to make him stop. MyungSoo was not very keen about getting his clothes wet so he immediately shut up the minute he saw MyungHee getting ready to turn the water on, and he knew then that she didn’t like it. He had fun teasing his sister though, that sometimes he even forgot how to stop.

HyunJoo only shook her head at her two children with a smile, knowing that they loved each other too much to even fight seriously. However, seeing how red MyungHee’s face was, HyunJoo decided to talk about something that would keep her mind off it.

“When will ChangJo give us the pictures, MyungHee?” HyunJoo asked, referring to the photos that ChangJo took at KyonDae’s wedding. Apparently, he had taken it upon himself to be the photographer, and that he’d promised to give them the pictures once he’d printed them.

MyungHee’s attention turned towards her mother before tipping her head to the side, pondering an answer. “If I am not mistaken, I am supposed to take it from him tomorrow.” She said. “He’s printed them all, and just needs to sort them out into three albums because he needs to give them to KyonDae and L.Joe’s families as well.”

MyungSoo was done pulling the weeds and now went to his mother’s side just to watch her do the work, while MyungHee was still watering the plants. A part of him had a feeling that the plants were watered enough, but it seemed like MyungHee didn’t want to let go of the hose.

“Speaking of newlyweds,” MyungSoo began, “How come you’ve never told us how you and dad met, mom?” He couldn’t help but feel curious, because his parents never uttered a word of how they first met and whatnot.

HyunJoo turned to her son with a smile on her face. “Well, it’s because you kids never asked, so we thought you wouldn’t be interested. Besides, don’t kids nowadays find other things more interesting to talk about than how their parents found each other?”

MyungHee skipped to their mother, and started shaking HyunJoo’s hands excitedly, begging her to tell them of her first encounter with their dad. “Tell us, mom! Tell us! We really want to know!”

HyunJoo glanced at her son and daughter back and forth, both had anticipation and curiosity on their faces. She sighed, as she knew then that they wouldn’t let her go until she told them that story. And it amazed her a little that MyungSoo was also interested in hearing it, as MyungHee was always the hopeless romantic one.

“Okay, fine.” HyunJoo said, putting down the hand fork and took off her gardening gloves. Her two children sat down on the grass next to her, enjoying the evening breeze with the eagerness of hearing their mother’s story.

It brought MyungSoo to his childhood again, where HyunJoo would tell him bedtime stories with MyungHee when she was old enough to understand. This time felt like those times again, only that they were accompanied with the Sun that would be setting soon.

“Well, it’s nothing like in the movies or dramas.” She started. “Our first encounter was ... unexpected. I was jogging in the garden one day, all alone. And before you ask, MyungHee, I was a single woman that time. My previous relationships weren't successful before I met your dad. So, I was jogging, and I tripped on a stone and fell because I got distracted with some ducks on the lake. You two know how I can be a klutz at times. I sprained my ankle and I couldn’t stand up to even find a bench to sit on. Luckily, your dad, who was jogging too, saw me crouching while holding my foot and stopped to help me. I was lucky that he knew what to do, and he managed to make the pain go away a little. We became good friends then, after running into each other at the garden many times, and eight months after we became friends, we got married.”

She was about to continue when her daughter shrieked, making both HyunJoo and MyungSoo jump. “CATERPILLAR!!!” MyungHee screamed, before standing up and straight away ran inside their house. MyungSoo and HyunJoo only stared after her, blinking their eyes at just what happened.

HyunJoo pointed at her daughter's running figure. “Did she just-”

“Yes, she did.” MyungSoo nodded. “She’s always been afraid of caterpillars.”

HyunJoo sighed and continued her work from where she stopped; making sure that she didn’t disturb the little caterpillars. MyungSoo was still squatting next to her, with his mother’s story still inside his head. “Hey uh ... mom. I want to ask you something.” HyunJoo looked at him and raised her eyebrows.

MyungSoo cleared his suddenly dry throat and continued, trying to make his voice sound casual. “Did you, like, throughout the times you spent with dad as friends, did you ever feel like, he’s the one?” His face turned hot, and he was hoping that his mother wouldn’t see how red his face must’ve looked right now. The Sun just couldn’t set any faster.

HyunJoo looked at him, softness in her eyes and a warm smile on her face as she reached over to fix her son’s hair. She knew where he was getting at; his emotions were running wild in his eyes. “Why? Are you wondering whether you feel the same to MinNeul? That she is the one?”

MyungSoo opened his mouth to answer, but the words catch. He couldn’t remember the last time he wasn’t able to say anything. He sighed. “I know what I feel towards her is different. Sometimes, it feels like the spark, the flame has always been there but it took me this long to realize. After years of knowing her, the flame finally starts to ablaze and I couldn’t help but feel torn. I am not afraid to take the chance, to cross the line, but I don’t want to do anything that might risk our friendship. Her heart just got broken, and I know it would take her a while to come around again.”

He closed his eyes, feeling glad that finally all those words were out in the open. He was happy that he got to share this with his mother. If anyone could give him the comfort he sought, he knew his mother could.

HyunJoo smiled gently and patted his cheek, before taking his hand. She couldn’t believe how her little boy was all grown up now. She still remembered him as the young lad who would come running into her arms after school and now here he was, taller than her, the man she’d hoped him to be, and even had problems with his own regarding the affairs of the heart.

“I know from the first time you told me about her, that she must’ve meant a lot to you.” She said. “Call it a mother’s instinct but the light in your eyes shine whenever you say her name, and how they come to life when they finally find the sight of her amongst the crowd. I’ve never seen you looking like that because of someone.” HyunJoo let go of his hand and stood with arms akimbo, with her head cocked to the side. “Now, tell me what you like about her.”

Much to her surprise, MyungSoo answered in a heartbeat, with no hesitation. “She’s different. Back when I was still studying at the States, she gave me the boost I needed. Whenever I was stressed and feeling homesick, I knew I could always count on her. Her amusing remarks were always the remedy I needed when I was feeling down, and she always knew when to be sharp and when to be serious. I like to see the determination in her eyes when she’s doing something that she is passionate about. She loves what she’s doing. Her family isn’t like ours. She doesn’t have a good relationship with her mom and hasn’t seen her dad for so long but she doesn’t take it as an excuse to behave ill manneredly, because she knows that she still has her brother. And to her that is all that matte