Seohyun could feel her heart beating erratically. Her chest was definitely tightening, she noted. She gave Yoona one last glance before going through the front door, to which the older girl blew her a kiss. She smiled and blushed, secretly wondering if she felt just as scared. There, she found her parents already sitting at the kitchen table. Her heart started thumping even harder, but she held on to Yoona’s words.

Your parents love you no matter what.

As she dropped her backpack on the couch and slowly walked to greet them, it seemed they hadn’t noticed her coming in. She cleared so the lump on it would be tamed for a moment, allowing her to speak. “Hey… Umma, appa.” She greeted them both with a bow. They turned to her, both with equally big smiles. Seohyun’s heart dropped.

“Joohyun, you’re just in time for lunch. It’s been a while since all three of us had lunch together, hasn’t it?” Seohyun’s legs started shaking at her mother’s words. Mr. Seo nodded in agreement, pulling a chair out for his daughter. They failed to notice how shaky the young girl was. As she sat down silently, she waited until they were all seated and eating. In the meantime, she looked for ways to get to the subject easily. She even considered backing out for a moment, but she knew she couldn’t let Yoona down. After all, she was the one who pushed the telling, and she knew Yoona would have to go through the same thing once Mr. Im recovered from his health issues. It was now or never.

Seohyun sat in between her parents, staring at the bowl of salad in the center of the table. She was as pale as a ghost, her lips a thin white line as she pursed them together. Anyone would be able to tell that with her wide, frightened eyes she was looking, but not seeing. Her mind was elsewhere. Mrs. Seo looked at her daughter throughout, noticing something was bothering her.

“Is there something on your mind, Joohyun?” Said girl didn’t answer, instead, she just kept staring at her food, which she had barely touched. She barely even registered she had been addressed.

“Joohyun?” Her father raised his eyebrows at his unresponsive daughter.

“Umma, what are your thoughts on…” Seohyun stopped, looking for the right word to use. She didn’t want to make it so forward. “… girls who date other girls?” Her parents thought it a random question indeed, coming from Seohyun. She decided to address her mother only, knowing she was more approachable when it came to subjects such as this one, but Mr. Seo added himself to the equation nonetheless.

“Why do you ask?” He questioned absentmindedly, taking occasional bites of his food.

“Um… Just wondering.” Seohyun finally tore her gaze from her plate and looked up to see that her parents hadn’t really paid much attention to her question.

“Well, I don’t necessarily think they’re bad people. They are just different.” A small feeling of relief took over Seohyun at her mother’s response. She looked at her father briefly, but he had an unreadable expression on his features as he kept eating.

“What about you, appa?” She asked, trying not to seem nervous.

“I don’t mind them.” Mr. Seo answered, not looking at Seohyun in the eye as he kept eating. Seohyun widened her eyes, wondering if her father’s lackluster response was a good or a bad premonition of what would come next. She didn’t want to drop the bomb yet, so she decided to delay it some more.

“I just think they don’t have a choice to who they fall in love with. You didn’t decide to like men, right umma?” Mrs. Seo shrugged her shoulders and nodded, thinking her daughter had point. Once again, Mr. Seo remained quiet.

“You could look at it that way.” Mrs. Seo agreed. By this time, she was convinced that this was just a casual conversation and that there was nothing fishy about it. Again, as the three fell silent, Seohyun felt desperate because she didn’t want to let the subject die, yet she didn’t want to say it all.

“They’re not really that different from us.” She kept going. Her father’s silence was killing her, so she was waiting for him to join the conversation fully.

“No, I don’t think they are. They just have different preferences.” Mrs. Seo agreed. Seohyun was relieved. It was going better than expected. “I just haven’t met anyone with those preferences, so I wouldn’t really know.” She finished. Seohyun noticed how adamantly they were avoiding using the word ‘gay’. She sighed, bracing herself.

“Yoona likes girls.” She said simply. Both her parents turned to her, with surprise clearly written on their faces. Sorry, Yoongie, but I’m scared. She definitely regretted saying that, though, once she realized she had just thrown Yoona under the bus, so to speak. What if she didn’t have the guts to come out after this?

“Wow. Jinjja?” Mr. Seo asked. Seohyun felt paralyzed once she realized she had gotten her father’s attention. She faced him briefly and nodded.

“But she seems so normal…” Mrs. Seo trailed off. Seohyun furrowed her brows.

“She is normal.” She said defensively, swallowing the lump that had reappeared in by her parents’ intense gaze. “She just happens to like girls.”

“I never would have guessed.” Mr. Seo whispered.

“Me neither. She’s such a good kid.” Mrs. Seo agreed with him. Seohyun furrowed her brow; was her mother suddenly changing her opinion?

“Her liking girls doesn’t mean she’d be bad, umma.” Seohyun said defensively. This was Yoona they were talking about, how could she not defend her? Her parents were now very confused by their daughter’s behavior. She barely ever disagreed with them, and if she did, she’d usually keep it to herself.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean she’d be bad.” Mrs. Seo said, noticing she had made her daughter angry. “I guess I stand corrected.”

“So… You don’t have a problem with them, right?” The maknae asked, testing the waters one last time.

“No, at least I don’t.” Mrs. Seo said, before she glanced towards her husband, who had lost interest in the conversation once again.

“What about you, appa?”

“I said I don’t mind them.” He answered halfheartedly. Whatever it meant, Seohyun knew she couldn’t postpone it any longer. This was now or never.

“Which means you wouldn’t have a problem with me liking girls…” Mrs. Seo furrowed her brow, not really knowing where this conversation was heading to. “… because I do.” She finished, averting her gaze. There was no going back for her.

“I think I didn’t catch that. You do what?!” Seohyun gulped at her father’s question. Her breath started coming out in short pants.

“I like girls…” Seohyun said, more firmly this time. “And Yoona and I are together.” She finished, finally looking up. Her father put his chopsticks down and stared at her, looking almost menacing. Her mother just looked purely shocked.

“I’m sorry, what?” Mrs. Seo blurted out.

“This can’t be. You’re… with that boy I don’t like… You two have been… And he is her brother…” Mr. Seo started gesturing wildly with his hands, since his words didn’t make any sense. From the wild look on his features, Seohyun was afraid he might have a heart attack.

“Where is this all coming from, Joohyun? Is this because of Yoona?” Mrs. Seo asked, trying to find some sense to it. She liked Chansung more that Mr. Seo, and it’s not like she disliked Yoona, but the whole situation was just too much for her to handle.

“No! Please don’t blame her!” Seohyun got so worked up that she even stood up from her seat. “She hasn’t corrupted me in any way. In fact, I only dated Chansung thinking I’d stop liking Yoona. Of course, it didn’t happen. I really didn’t want to like girls, but I’ve learned to accept it.” She answered fiercely, but all her confidence went out the window as her father stood up as well.

“And you expect us to? Just like that? This is not how things work out, Joohyun.” Mr. Seo said, slamming the kitchen table with his open hand. The silverware on top of it jumped slightly and so did Seohyun. By the look of pure rage and disappointment her father was giving her, tears started forming in her eyes. She mustered up courage to answer him.

“Then teach me how it works. You’ve been so busy getting me to be perfect that you’ve forgotten I’m also a human being.” She raised her voice, the first tears falling down her cheeks. She didn’t even have the chance to see her father’s reaction when she heard a slap and felt a hand colliding to her cheek. It hadn’t been a full slap, thankfully, but it had been hard enough to turn her head. Seohyun gasped as she held her stinging cheek. She turned to see her father, who looked even angrier and whose breath was heavy by the time. Mrs. Seo rapidly intervened, running to her husband’s side and putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

“Y-you shouldn’t have talked to your father like that, Joohyun.” She stuttered, not knowing which side to take. Sure, she was very shocked at her daughter’s confession, but she still loved her and didn’t think any lower of her. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case with her husband.

“But he could talk to me like that!? And also hit me like that?” She said, enraged. It was the first time she had ever showed her real emotions to her parents. “If anything, you should be glad. If I’m with Yoona, I can’t get pregnant. If I stayed with Chansung, you can be sure that’s what would most likely happen.” She reasoned out. Both her parents cringed at her claim. This was definitely not the tame daughter they thought they had.

“Is that supposed to make us feel better, Joohyun? Look at what you’ve done! I didn’t raise a…” Mr. Seo stopped in his tracks.

“You didn’t raise a what? Come on, say it! As if I don’t feel bad enough about this already. All I know right now is that I need Yoona, and she’s the only one who can make me feel like I’m actually worth something anymore.” She finished before storming out. She rapidly went up the stairs and to her room, slamming the door and locking it right after. Her first instinct was to call the only person who could help her at the moment, so she grabbed her phone and started typing a text message to Yoona.

I need you. Sneak in, I’ll leave the window open. Don’t let them see you.

After sending it, she stood in the center of her room and waited, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to try to calm herself down. After what felt like hours, she felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind, pulling her into a body that molded with her own perfectly. Seohyun, recognizing Yoona’s scent, turned around and wrapped her arms around Yoona's neck, bringing a hand up and tangling it in her dark, raven hair while the other grabbed at the fabric of Yoona's baby blue hoodie, balling it in her fist.

“I’m guessing they didn’t take it well?” Yoona asked quietly as Seohyun started sobbing into the crook of her neck.

"Not at all," Seohyun muttered, her breath tickling the skin of Yoona's neck and causing the doe-eyed girl to shudder pleasantly.

"What happened?" Yoona asked, lifting Seohyun’s face from her neck. Seeing the maknae’s right cheek, she gasped. “Did they hurt you?!” Anger started filling her as she lightly caressed the three red fingers imprinted in her beloved’s face. Seohyun winced, making Yoona remove her hand.

Seohyun shook her head and buried it back in Yoona's neck. "Not yet. Just hold me right now. Please?"

"Okay," Yoona said softly while nodding, understanding. "Come on." She removed her arms from Seohyun's waist, took her by the hand, and led her to the bed. She kicked her shoes off and lay down on Seohyun's bed, pulling her girlfriend with her.

Seohyun rested her head on Yoona's chest, above her s, her arm snaking around Yoona's waist almost instantly. As Yoona's arms encircled her body, she closed her eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. She wanted to thank Yoona for getting there so quickly, for caring so much, for being perfect…But she didn't get the chance, falling asleep almost instantly. Yoona knew the maknae had barely gotten any sleep the night before thinking of this day. Now, with Seohyun in her arms, looking so sad and broken, all she wanted to do was take it all back. Knowing she couldn’t do that, all she wanted was to protect her from anything that would harm her, even if it meant her own family.

“I’m going to be so good to you, Hyunnie…” She whispered before kissing the sleeping girl’s forehead and closing her eyes. Yoona was about to fall into slumber as well, when…

Knock, knock

“Joohyun?” Came Mrs. Seo’s muffled voice from behind the bedroom door. Yoona started panicking as she shook Seohyun awake.

“Huh? What is it?” Seohyun asked as she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

“I think your parents are outside the door, what do I do?” Yoona couldn’t help but thinking this was some kind of déjà vu. “Do I hide under the bed once again?”

“No, that’s too obvious. Hide in the closet, there’s a bunch of my clothes there.” Yoona acted to Seohyun’s words as she ran to the closet as quietly as she could, hunching over in an uncomfortable position and throwing some of Seohyun’s clothes and bed sheets on top of herself so she could cover up.

KNOCK, KNOCK

“Joohyun, open this door right now!” It was her father’s voice now. Seohyun stood up from the bed, hiding Yoona’s shoes under the bed before hurrying to open the door. There, she found both her parents. As she let them in, they scanned the whole room. “I’ve told you I don’t want you locking this door, Joohyun.” He scolded. Seohyun rolled her eyes.

“I wanted to be alone, I fell asleep and forgot to unlock it. Sorry.” She lied, irritated.

“We’re not here to fight anymore, Joohyun, we need to…”

“A-choo!”

A sudden sneeze made all three of them jump. Seohyun grabbed her nose, pretending it had been her, as her parents looked back and forth between her and the closet. “Excuse me.” She said

“Bless you…” Mrs. Seo said suspiciously. “Are you sure that was you, Joohyun?” She asked. Seohyun’s heart started racing when Mr. Seo took a couple of tentative steps towards the closet.

“Yes, I think I caught a cold with this weather.” She explained, but it didn’t stop Mr. Seo from approaching and opening the closet. Finding only what looked like a pile of clothes lying on the bottom of it, he closed it right after, satisfied. “And now you think I’m sneaking someone in? What’s next?” Seohyun exclaimed, sounding sarcastic, even though that was exactly what she had done. Both her parents walked closer to her, looking more approachable than before.

“Like your mother said, Joohyun, we’re not here to fight. You caught us off guard downstairs.” Mr. Seo started, calmly.

“It was like we didn’t know you anymore, but we do. You’re our daughter.” Mrs. Seo finished. A glimmer of hope glowed in both Seohyun’s and Yoona’s hearts, since the doe-eyed girl was also listening to their conversation.

“Which means…?”

“Which means that we will try to… accept this. But you have to give us some time. And there has to be some rules.” A wide smile drew itself in Seohyun’s face. That was just what she needed.

“If you’re going to be with Yoona, she’s allowed to come and visit you, but only when your mother or I are present. And she can’t stay the night.” Mr. Seo stated. Yoona pouted inside the closet, but if she’d get to spend time with Seohyun with their approval, that was more than enough. And they probably wouldn’t want to know she had already spent the night twice… “If she can come so we can meet her one of these days, I think that would be a good first step.”

“Are you serious about this? You won’t change your minds?” Seohyun asked, not able to contain her excitement.

“No, Joohyun, we won’t. Just promise us you will be prudent in everything you do and that you’ll start making better decisions. And don’t keep anything else from us, arasso?” Seohyun nodded obediently as she wrapped both her parents into a hug. It was rare for them to hug, but this was a very special occasion. As they pulled away, Mr. Seo took his daughter’s hands.

“I’m sorry I hit you, Joohyun. And I’m sorry I spoke to you so rudely. It won’t happen again.” He said. Even though Seohyun could sense some hesitation in him, that he wasn’t as okay with it as he claimed to be, she decided to just enjoy the moment and accept her father’s apologies.

“I’m sorry as well. I shouldn’t have talked to you the way I did.” She said with a light smile.

“Arasso. Let’s go and clean up the kitchen so she can sleep.” Mr. Seo addressed his wife, leading her outside the room. Once their footsteps couldn’t be heard anymore, Yoona came out of her hiding spot, greeting Seohyun with a tight hug.

In relief, they kissed each other without saying a word. As they pulled back, it was impossible for them to stop smiling.

“It didn’t go that bad, did it?” Yoona asked rhetorically. Seohyun shook her head.

“Not at all. But Yoona…” She trailed off hesitantly. The doe-eyed girl cupped her face.

“What is it?”

“Can we wait until tomorrow to tell Chansung? I’m emotionally drained for today.” Yoona nodded understandingly, already expecting Seohyun to say that.

“Of course.” She smiled, happy that they’d have the rest of the day to celebrate their victory before facing the real challenge.

…

Alright, first mission accomplished ^^ There’s more to it, though, so don’t celebrate yet haha. Thanks for reading and comments are appreciated :)