❝ chapter twenty-six

s o l a r ’ s

    “I heard a lot about you from Yongsun.” My mom smiles, a little bit too happy on her part that even my dad notices but he doesn’t say anything. He’s practically the same but he's trying to play it cool. “We’ve been wanting to meet you for quite a while but you both are really busy.” 

    Eric laughs. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” 

My dad asks him to make himself comfortable and my mom drags me with her to the kitchen so I could help her with drinks. I hope he’s going to survive out there, my dad is just as awkward as I am. In fact, he’s really bad at starting a conversation first too. My mom is the opposite though, she talks a lot. 

    “This is why everyone around me says they need one Eric Nam per household.” My mom smiles as she pours cold persimmon punch tea into four glasses. 

    “Is giving wine acceptable? He asked me about that and I wasn’t sure either but I told him it would be fine.” I looked at her. “If it’s not acceptable, don’t think ill of him.” 

    “Look at you, you’re already protecting him.” She laughs. “It’s fine, darling. Actually, it’s more than fine. A bottle of wine is a great gift in every country.” 

Just like that, two hours went by and Eric wasn’t as tensed as he was before we arrived. He got along with my dad quite well, probably because they bonded over coffee. My mom couldn’t stop smiling the whole times, she was far beyond elated. My sister and her fiancé came back from checking on their wedding plans half an hour ago. Eric and my sister’s fiancé got along even better and sometimes they would conversed in English if my sister’s fiancé couldn’t think of any Korean words. Sometimes, they both blanked out and asked my sister for help because she’s the only one who could speak English among us. 

    “While the guys are bonding over their coffees, do you girls want to help me with cooking since none of us are a fan of coffee anyway.” My mom asks and Eric only laughs at that. 

    “I’m not sure I could be that much of a help in the kitchen.” I mumble. 

    “You really need to learn how to cook.” Yonghee unnie shakes her head at me. “What are you both going to eat when you get married?” 

    Eric chuckles. “Don’t worry, I can cook.” 

Geez, what marriage is she talking about when her own marriage hasn’t even happen yet. He smiles at me and I blush, thinking about how he goes along about our marriage with my sister. I know we both aren’t thinking of marriage at the very moment but by chances, if he really does propose, I think I might actually agree to married him right away. Wheein has been saying the same thing, she said there’s no way I would turn down his proposal. And she’s right. There’s no way I would do that. 

    “Yongsun, can you cut this cabbage for me? Just cut half of it in small bites.”

    “Okay.” I said and grab a knife. “Mom? Will you teach me how to cook later?” 

    “Oh, so you guys are really thinking about marriage.” My sister turns to me and giggles. 

    “No, not yet.” I shake my head. “I can’t learn a night before my wedding.” 

    “We’ll talk about it when you find enough time to sleep.” My mom smiles. “You’ve been so busy lately, we haven’t see you much.” 

I smile and place the chopped cabbage onto a plate. Yonghee unnie is mixing pancake batter because that’s her specialty. I have a minor flashback to when I tried to make chestnut pancake for Eric and end up making it tasted too much like flour. My mom is tasting her spicy crab stew and she asks me to help her taste it because she isn’t sure. Mom’s spicy stew always taste great. It might sounds exaggerating but when I was young, I would fought with my sister and we would both stop just to eat mom’s crab stew first before we continued. 

    “Yongsun-ah,” Mom called and I looked at her, suddenly she looked serious - stern even. “Is he the one?” 

    I frowned confusedly. “Why? Do you not like him?” 

    My mom shakes her head with a smile. “Of course, we do. Which parents do not want Eric Nam as their son in law? We’re more than happy.” 

    I smile and she puts the ladle down then turns to face me, she asked, “Now tell me, darling, is he the one?”

When it all began for the first time, I thought this would never work when I joined wgm. Something about Eric made me stood on two dead ends. He seems genuine but I had this preconception of him being the heartthrob he is, of him being too perfect for someone like me and he’s far too good for me. But slowly, he did everything I hope he would without even having to tell him. He understood my limits and he respected that and never pushed for it even though it was really risky on his part because we would both get in trouble with the directors of the show and the public and might have to be replaced. But he never pushed for it, he waited until I decided I was ready for everything. 

That autumn morning, when he pulled the red mission card out, another part of me broke. Everything would be just as I expected - lack of contact to no contact at all then to us becoming strangers once again. So when he confessed that night, he changed a part of my perspective on autumn nights. He gave it a slight hope and I thought even if our relationship wouldn’t work, I’d still have a slight good memory of autumn night: Eric Nam confessing to someone like me. He knew better than anyone else and he respected my choice when I rejected him, he knew before I even said it out loud. 

But he chose to stayed and waited when he didn’t have to, when there were plenty of girls out there who wished he would be theirs. He listened and he made sure I knew that he did every times so I won’t feel isolated. You have me, he said that every times and god knows how much that means to me even though I didn’t say it. No one else would, because up until now, I was always the one who has to listen and resolve. Late at night, when I suddenly cried all my frustration out, he held me close without uttering a word then he would made me a cup of hot tea with a few drops of honey. He was there even when I never asked. He knew when I needed someone to listened and he’s more than willing to do that. By chances I lost confidence or had no confidence to begin with, he told me I would be good at it even before I started. He stayed, he stayed and held me until the very end. 

    I sniffle a little and blink away the tears in the brim of my eyes. In an almost whisper, I said, “Yes. He’s the one, mom.” 

    She smiles, tears in her own eyes, and she kisses the side of my head. Holding my hand, she nods, “I’m happy for you, darling. We both are.”