Halmonni

A sharp wrapping on the glass pane of the front door to the Jung household pierced the awkward silence that had momentarily descended on the room and distracted your focus on the pain which had worked into your chest at YongHwa's mother's words. Everyone turned towards the hallway where the front door was located and you heard a sharp intake of breath escape YongHwa's lips, as well as an outward grown and slumping of shoulders coming from YongHwa himself. You looked to the others for a moment, realising they all knew who had now arrived to join the company and trying to work out whether or not things were going to get better or worse from here judging by everyone's apparent reactions. YongHwa's and his mother's reactions were both not promising, so you looked towards Mr Jung Senior, however his jolly face was unchanging as he reached down for his cup of hot Ginseng and blew on it delicately. He seemed somewhat oblivious to the expressions of his family members, and merely looked expectantly towards the door.

"Your Halmonni is here, Yong," YongHwa's mother declared, and got up graciously from where she was sitting. She smoothed her dress as if this were a grandmother that one ought to impress, and made towards the front door. Reacting subconsciously with YongHwa's mother's actions, you also smoothed out the crinkles in your clothes and pushed your bangs behind your ears. Your stomach seemed to do a back flip and you glanced at YongHwa who was gazing hard-faced towards the hallway and beyond. His mind seemed to be working overtime right now so you couldn't look to him for support. You noticed his jaw muscle flexing more than usual now, as if he was chewing hard and aggressively on something in his mouth. But you knew there was nothing there. This was just a subconscious habit he had when he was anxious about something.

You heard the murmuring of the two women at the front door and then shortly after an elderly couple hobbled through the doorway to the living room. Well, the old man was hobbling, he seemed quite a bit older than what you gathered to be his wife and she seemed to move with a lot more ease beside him. Her personality became apparent as she stepped in front of the older gentleman and swiftly came into the room, her nose in the air, her eyes small and beady as they whipped over the room, over you and the Jung men. You felt yourself shrinking into a tiny little ball, but then you felt something warm squeeze your hand. It was YongHwa's hand. So these were YongHwa's grandparents, you guessed, on his mother's side. His grandfather seemed pleasant enough, however his grandmother...

The elderly lady noticed the gesture between you and YongHwa, her tiny eyes narrowed on her grandson's hand clasped over yours and her nostrils flared. To your astonishment, she marched forward and ripped his hand from yours, pulling his arm backwards and held it in the air before flicking it off and staring down at him with hard eyes. She looked like she had become a dragon all of a sudden, and for a moment you felt that she had grown ten times her size and enveloped the room, but then she gradually shrank back to her own elderly frame again and her face shrivelled to look around at you and then back down at YongHwa who's mouth was now hanging open in shock. His mother came pattering in quickly, skirting around the outside of the room anxiously and gripping her elbows with her arms crossed defensively over her chest. So this was where the real dilemma lay. You noticed YongHwa's mother looking towards you with concern, but she tightened her lip and said nothing. Was it really concern?

"Halmonni!" YongHwa exclaimed as his arm was flicked away with such force from an older lady.

"What have I told you about public displays of affection?" she snapped at YongHwa with a harshness that made her grandson shrink back from her, looking slightly appalled. "Have I taught you nothing?"

YongHwa looked up at his grandmother, still in shock. "B-but this is our home, I-"

"And don't answer me back," she hissed, her face looking more and more like a serpent the longer you looked. It was hard to look at her, as if something so simple was dangerous. You averted your gaze down to your knees, your heart thrumming uncertainly within your chest.

To everyone's surprise, YongHwa's father cleared his throat. "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit there, Mother-In-Law?" he put out calmly, setting his cup of Ginseng down on the coffee table gently. He looked up to face the woman easily, though you could sense the authority there. He wasn't the type of man that got walked over, despite his happy go lucky attitude and his social vagueness. "It's not like you to treat our youngest son this way."

You glanced at YongHwa's hurt expression and noticed how taken aback he was by his grandmother's actions. This certain wasn't something that happened often. What was going on here?

YongHwa's grandmother turned back to her grandson and her eyes softened. As if her personality had taken a sudden three-sixty, her face broke into one of utter joy and devotion. Her eyes crinkled at the sides and otherwise couldn't be seen at all as she beamed down at the young man at her side. "Mianhae, my favourite grandson. I guess I just got overexcited when I saw you, it's been too long! Look at how you've grown! So strong now, such a strong young man you have become!" she leaned down and kissed YongHwa on the top of his head and rubbed the top of his ear affectionately. Something she must have always done since he was a child. You were glad to see the hurt in YongHwa's face begin to clear, and he looked up to smile uncertain greetings to his grandmother.

You noticed YongHwa's mother inch past everyone and take her place back beside her husband's side. YongHwa's grandfather had taken a seat behind everyone else in a faraway chair across the room, he stared into space and seemed quite happy where he was. However YongHwa waved towards his grandfather and then got up to give him a hug before coming back to sit beside you as his grandmother took a seat at the end of the coffee table, where she could see everyone.

Then the old woman's eyes came to rest on you. They were such small, cold eyes. It seemed the dragon was still resting there beneath this affectionate exchange between grandson and grandmother, now it seemed to be headed towards further discontent. The stare unnerved you. You wondered if it was going to erupt all of a sudden, like it had only moments ago.

YongHwa introduced you to his grandparents, and you bowed respectfully in your greeting as was the way in Korea. You were grateful for the opportunity to break eye contact if only for a moment with his grandmother, but it was only a split second until she demanded it from you again as you rose your head once more. "Annyeonghaseyo, manaso bangawoyo." (Hello, very nice to meet you.)

"It is also nice to be meeting you," replied YongHwa's grandmother through tight lips and coldly smiling eyes. Her husband tapped his knees as he smiled peacefully at the ceiling and you knew not to expect a reply from him any time soon.

YongHwa dived into a quick and excited introduction of you, for you. it sounded too much like he was boasting on your behalf, gushing over you as if you were someone amazing, which was not quite how you felt about yourself and only left you feeling awkward and embarrassed, especially considering the audience. "________ works with me at the company. She was the new girl there, and for a newcomer she has so much talent. Her voice is amazing, and I have never seen a girl that can do those things on a guitar that she does." He looked at you, his eyes sparkling. You knew he wasn't trying to talk you up, this was just how he saw you. It amazed you still that he had such a high opinion of you that you could never dream of having of yourself. YongHwa, Jung YongHwa. The truth was he really did think that no other girl in the world could compare to you in any way whatsoever. You knew he felt that way about you. But when he told other people about you on your behalf... it always felt so embarrassing. They simply could not see what he could see, and yet he pushed his points so passionately and forced people to listen to him. Like a fan girl to her classmates who did not follow the same band she did. "She's also the prettiest girl I've ever seen. Don't you think, Halmonni? Isn't she perfect for your grandson, because she matches me in talent and looks?" he chuckled at his own egotistical joke, which was actually very cute.

"Yah," you mumbled and nudged him. "Jigeum hajima." (Stop now.)

YongHwa's grandmother smiled stiffly, took a deep breath and opened when-

"She really is an impressive girl, Yong Yong," piped up YongHwa's mother unexpectedly. Your eyes darted to her in surprise but you tried not to look to surprised. Wasn't she dead set against you not too long ago today? YongHwa also turned to his mother thoughtfully. "I think you picked a wonderful girl. She is definitely very attractive, and if she's as talented as she says... Maybe the two of you should perform a duet together for the family before you leave? That way we can see how beautifully the two of you can sing together?" She touched the hem of her dress self consciously. YongHwa's father nodded with a small knowing smile, as if he had realised something amusing that nobody else had. To add to your utter confusion, YongHwa's mother smiled encouragingly at you. "I bet you have a lovely voice."

"You've probably heard her already, Omma," YongHwa pressed, his grin had gotten wider at his mother's positive change in attitude, and he was eager to continue the trail. "She did a duet with MinHyuk and has featured in other artist's songs already. It won't be long until her big solo debut concert. You'll have to make that one, if she's going to be your daughter-in-law one day."

The sound of china clattering onto china set a sharp trill through the room as YongHwa's grandmother almost smashed her teacup with her saucer. She lowered them shakily onto the coffee table, and you had a not-so-strange case of déjà-vu as the old lady fanned herself with her hand. "D-daughter-in-law? Now, now YongHwa-"

"I love ________."

All heads in the room turned to look at YongHwa. All except yours, you stared down at your knees for fright of what the reaction would be to his sudden honest words but when you felt that same warm hand squeeze yours gently, you knew he wanted you to lift your head. So you looked up slowly and turned to YongHwa, who was gazing at you so blatantly, with so much emotion and bravery. The atmosphere was clear in the room, and yet he was still standing his ground. He still wanted to demonstrate the extent of his feelings for you, and this act left your heart bursting with love and pride in your man. You returned his smile, and squeezed his hand back. No matter how uncomfortable you were feeling, you had to at least do that. It felt like holes were being bored into the side of your face and you didn't dare turn around again until YongHwa broke the eye contact first to face his family squarely. "I love her and you should love her to. If you love me."

YongHwa's grandmother's lips quivered as if she were about to speak, changed her mind, and then again. Eventually she drew in a big shuddering breath and looked closely at her grandson. Her eyes were darting from him to you, to your hands holding onto each other tightly, and you could see her mind ticking over rapidly. Eventually she leaned back, and a smile reached her face when she said, "Of course, my beloved grandson. If that is the way you feel about this young lady-"

"________."

"If that is how you feel about _________ then that is the way it shall be." She turned to you, her eyes unreadable but her smile bright and welcoming and she then said, "Miss ________, welcome to the Jung family. Though we may be a very opinionated and overbearing family, I'm sure you'll come to accept us."

You blinked stupidly for a moment then bowed to the older lady in thanks. YongHwa beamed around at his parents and grandparents happily, then said, "Ah, where is hyung?"

...................................

It wasn't until dinner was almost ready and the table was being laid out for the family that YongHwa's brother made his appearance. You were on pins with anxiety the whole time you spent with YongHwa and his family, and you hoped against all hopes that there was no qualms about YongHwa's older brother accepting you. It seemed the women in the family were the ones to watch out for, and you still were not so sure what the deal was with YongHwa's mother and his grandmother, but they eyed you here and there during drinks and snacks, and when the family played some typically Korean games together before retiring out in the back garden for some fresh air and iced tea. You didn't get a chance to ask YongHwa about it, and you weren't sure if you knew how to ask him. He didn't seem to notice anything wrong once the initial awkwardness had blown over and his grandmother had said with her own mouth that you were welcome to the family. Looking at YongHwa, he seemed so much at ease, and so tremendously happy to be spending time with his family and you all at the same time. You didn't have the heart to show him any of your discontentment, or bring up something so negative when he was clearly enjoying himself. You would try later, when it was time to retire and he wasn't surrounded by his family anymore. When it would just be the two of you, then would be the time to quiz him. He had told you so earnestly that his family would love you, and even though it seemed that his father was definitely fond of you (he always asked after your comfort was first to offer you snacks and drinks, with a big warm smile always ready for you on his kind handsome face that you began to see more and more of YongHwa within), you were not so sure he had thought about this as realistically as you had hoped. YongHwa was so adamant that you would get along so well with his family, that they would adore you as he did, but the reactions of the leading ladies in his family had left a bad taste in your mouth. And while they seemed to be amicable enough now, as everyone was socialising together, you were wondering what exactly was going on inside their heads, and were half-expecting to be challenged by them through the duration of the evening.

Such challenges never came, only the odd glance here and there which was enough to keep you on your toes and wear down your energy rather quickly. And when YongHwa and you were encouraged to set the table ready for dinner, you heard the door knocker banging at the front of the house and looked up sharply at the doorway, your eyes then seeking YongHwa subconsciously for support instantly. He met your wide eyes, and his face lit up in realisation that his older brother had finally arrived so he his heel and dashed towards the front door to be the first to open it. You were left standing awkwardly in the kitchen and dining area with YongHwa's family for a few moments as you all listened in on YongHwa greeting his brother cheerfully, and the deep voice that must have been his brother laughing and greeting him back with just as much enthusiasm. Some huffing and thumping could be heard as you imagined YongHwa and his brother hugging each other in the hallway and then finally the sound of them plodding up the hall to emerge through the kitchen archway. You felt YongHwa's grandmother's gaze on you as she cleared but you pretended not to be aware of her until the two Jung brothers bustled through the arch and brought back a pleasant energy into the room that helped put you at ease. Thank goodness you weren't alone for too long.

YongHwa turned to you as soon as him and his brother entered the room, and pushed his brother in your direction so he was looking at you too. "Hyung, meet my girlfriend _________. _________, meet my brother!"

Touched at their closeness, you were reminded of the brotherhood that existed between the CN BLUE members and suddenly felt like you were here with CN BLUE instead of a family half hard to impress. Because of this, you forgot yourself and replied, "Ah, Hyung! So nice to finally meet you," you said with a bow. As you bent your head you instantly realised and regretted your humorous response. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to...

YongHwa's brother laughed heartily at your quick wit and boldness. "YongHwa, my thoughtless little donsaeng, you're just like our Appa. You can't introduce me as Hyung, she needs to know my name!" He ruffled his little brother's hair and turned back to you. "Forgive my little bro, you must know what an airhead he can be when he's excited about something. My name is KyungHo, I am older than YongHwa by four years. Seems I'm still having to teach him some things about growing up!" he shoved his little brother away from him playfully, then as YongHwa puffed out his cheeks at him behind his back he came towards you to shake your hand. "But my God where did he find you?"

You looked at him in surprise. "Well, I... We work together at FNC." You could feel the heat creeping into your cheeks as you took in YongHwa's brothers appearance now. He did look a lot like YongHwa, though rather than having YongHwa's more delicately pretty good looks, KyungHo had more of a rough and chiselled look about him that was quite handsome. He was slightly taller than YongHwa, his eyebrows thick and his hair styled in a scruffy but modern kind of way. He had a cute dimple when he smiled, and you were reminded of YongHwa's smile quite strongly. KyungHo did look a lot more like his dad, while YongHwa took more after his mother's features. Though you could certainly tell the two were related. His confident air was also reminiscent of YongHwa's, though you sensed it was even stronger than his younger brother's. He was very confident in himself in a mature kind of way. It was obvious he was the older brother.

"You're very pretty," commented KyungHo as if he forgot his brother, your boyfriend, was standing right behind him.

As you blushed further and waved his compliment away YongHwa stamped his foot behind the two of you and shot an accusing, "Hyung!" at his brother. The latter only chuckled at this and half turned his body so he could see the glare his donsaeng was shooting at him bravely.  He loved to tease his little brother, and he always had. Growing up as children, YongHwa had always looked up to his brother, and would do anything the elder boy asked him to. If he told him to join a sports team or drop a certain hobby, he would. If he told him to stay up all night to finish his homework, walk the neighbour's dog and eat something that repulsed him, he would. KyungHo had always had a certain control over his younger brother, but he never abused that power. At most he would play with it a little, test his brother's loyalty in small ways and laugh about it later. All in good fun of course, and never intending to hurt YongHwa. When his younger brother grew a bit older and became interested in girls however, he found YongHwa became more rebellious, but still did his best to please his older brother. So as his hyung, KyungHo liked to play around with YongHwa whenever he brought a girl home to test his feelings for the girl. Which would rule out, loyalty for his brother or budding romantic interest for the latest attractive dolly that came through the door? Though his brother hadn't brought a girl home since he had joined the music career, and he had certainly never dated a foreign goddess like yourself. This certainly was interesting. Especially given their grandmother's bias against western girls, a bias which had naturally rubbed off onto their mother. What was YongHwa thinking bringing you here?

KyungHo peered at the two women in question briefly, noting their pained smiles as he outwardly complimented you. Hmm, interesting indeed. Letting your passions run away with you again, little brother? "Relax, little brother. I'm merely stating the obvious. It's a pleasure meeting you," KyungHo bowed to you again with a strong smile before moving over to his family and greeting them all in turn.  You smiled peaceably as he did so, something about KyungHo put you at ease. So long as the men in the family were around, you felt you didn't have to worry too much about the atmosphere bouncing off the women.

"You're just in time for dinner!" exclaimed YongHwa's mother happily. She gestured for everyone to take places at the table as she pulled her mother with her back into the kitchen to busy themselves at serving up the dinner dishes.

YongHwa sidled up alongside you, still looking annoyed at his brother as he watched him talking with their father nearby. "He's always tried to steal my women. Look out, ________. He's a charmer. I mean I love him and he's my brother, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. But just look out. Don't go falling for my hyung, neh?" He looked back at you pleadingly.

You almost burst out laughing at his apparent jealousy. "Are you serious? You think I'd really leave you for your brother?" You rolled your eyes. "Where is your faith in me? Pabbo."

YongHwa's mouth fell open. "Don't you see the danger? Hyung, is good looking, charming, successful, mature - ladies love him! I mean, if you fell for him before you met me, I wouldn't blame you. But now you can't go back on your word in staying with me forever!" He pointed a finger at you warningly. "So don't you even think about it!"

You made a face at YongHwa and decided just to settle with sticking your tongue out at him. You weren't sure if he was actually serious or not. It seemed he really admired his brother a lot, and that was what was making him so worried. But an older version of YongHwa certainly wasn't going to sway you, needless to say you were not the unfaithful type of girl anyway. You decided to change the subject since nobody else was listening to the two of you for the first time since you had arrived, namely the two women spooning out what looked like  delicious side dishes in the kitchen. You glanced at them nervously to make sure that truly was so before you turned back to YongHwa.

"Is..." you weren't so sure how to bring it up. You were frightened of hurting YongHwa's feelings by making assumptions about his family members. Or expressing displeasure in them. But the display earlier sort of gave you the right to question, and you held onto that notion and pressed on. "Do you think your family like me?" you decided this was the most innocent way to start your doubts. Depending on his answer.

"Of course, they love you! Just like I do," YongHwa didn't even stop to think about your question and put his arm around you breezily. He was beaming, and looking over his family as he held you there, and the side of your face with the back of his hand that was already nestled against your cheek in his one-armed embrace.

You suppressed a huff at his lack of judgement at assessing the entire situation, and felt he had been too optimistic from the start. Things certainly weren't as hunky dory as he was believing them to be. YongHwa was an intelligent guy, why was he being so ignorant now? "But... earlier it seemed both your mother and your grandmother maybe weren't that happy about me..."

YongHwa's hand paused mid-. He didn't answer immediately, but when he finally did he said, "They were a bit strange earlier... I guess because my grandmother has some wrong ideas about western people, especially the women, and my mother mostly follows what she says. But they do like you as a person, they have to. They'll see how amazing you are, you can prove them wrong. The more they get to know you, the more they will love you. And the more I show them how important you are to me, how happy I am with you, the more they will forget their backward thinking and embrace it. We already got my grandmother's blessing."

You were thoughtful about his words. So his grandmother did not hold western women in high esteem? You wondered what kind of wrongdoing was done against her to cause her to think this way but were unable to press the subject while everyone was in the room. "Was that really a blessing?" you pressed. It didn't feel like one, you knew you hadn't won over the old lady's heart quite as yet.

"Of course," YongHwa began optimistically once more, he went on to speak but then at that moment everyone was called to the table as the two women carried the last of the appetisers to the table and the family moved around them to take their seats.

____________________________________________________________________

YONGHWA P.O.V.

It was true that YongHwa grandmother was not very fond of western girls, something that YongHwa had always believed to be so narrow-minded and unfounded. While the rest of the Koreans he knew adored them, wanted to be like them in many ways, the old woman seemed to turn against them more and more. He remembered as a child when he would watch music videos from other countries that his older brother had shown him, his grandparents came to visit. His grandfather would always nod his head and tap his foot to the western tunes but his grandmother was very selective about the music clips that were shown. Being a very conservative woman, she believed western women to be promiscuous and sinful, that they thought they were superior to all other women of the world. She believed they weren't much more than temptresses, and not as clever as Korean women. Maybe it was because they didn't eat as much fish, and didn't have access to red Ginseng, she would joke.

YongHwa had never really thought that much of it. His mother often went along with whatever her own mother said, but YongHwa recalled a time that his mother opened up to him and admitted that his grandmother was not always right about some things. YongHwa's older brother, KyungHo, reinforced that their grandmother was being silly with her attitude towards western girls. And as boys together they agreed that all women from everywhere were beautiful, even the western girls with their golden hair, bridged noses and blue eyes.  Not that all western girls had gold hair and blue eyes, they came to realise later, after travelling to America. Another thing that they learned was that many western girls also had hairy arms, but that was fascinating more than anything. They were still beautiful and exotic.

On their return from America, the boys' grandmother became less loud about her opinions towards foreign women, and it was soon forgotten. Though it did come up from time to time, most of the comments were laughed off. And so it seemed when YongHwa thought to bring you home to meet his parents, he didn't think there would be a problem. In his excitement over you, he had mostly forgotten about these racist discrepancies that existed within his own family. Also, he had not expect his grandmother to be visiting, though he loved her dearly and was always delighted to see her. So he did not make allowances in his mind for the probability of the elder's visit.

 On her own his mother was not so judgemental. However knowing that her own mother would be visiting to surprise her son on his visit from the big city, she was more than anxious about having met you as her son's latest claim of love. What frightened her further, was the intensity in which YongHwa seemed to feel about you. Listening in part to her mother's views all her life, though compelled more so by the happiness of her own son, YongHwa's mother was still figuring out which side she should be leaning on. She knew in her heart that her mother was harsh in her judgements towards others, and that her stance on western women could not be true for all of them. Though she hated to go against her mother. If her son was sure about you, if he was happy with you, then she wanted him to remain happy. There just had to be a way to make it work for everyone, she just had to figure that out.

YongHwa was not aware of the whole of this, caught up in the moment of visiting his family whom he always missed so dearly when he was busy working like a dog back in Seoul. It brought him back down to earth again when he could be with his family, it healed some holes in his heart that seemed to creep open when he was away in the cold of the working world for too long and became in need for some good old fashioned, home style nurturing. There really was no place like home.

Bringing you to his family for YongHwa was like the planets had aligned. He had everything he needed, his past and his future. For his family were the former and you were the latter. The present was just perfect, both of those combined together, here, eating together. One big happy family. Though something was tingling within his senses. His mother's and his grandmother's attitude earlier, he hadn't forgotten, he wasn't that stupid. He didn't like the way his mother looked at you sometimes, or what she had went ahead and said before. He knew she didn't mean it, he knew she felt guilty about what she did say. But he was also sure that she would have his back, he just had to make his feelings known to her completely. She would come around, and come to his aid like she always did in the end.

It was more his grandmother that was giving him that slight unsettling corner to his gut. She was the one with the real problems. But it was time for the old woman to shed her narrow-mindedness, and if he was going to teach her one thing as her grandson, it was that she was wrong in her condemnation of western women. She loved him so fiercely, when he was younger he had a special relationship with his grandmother that he was sure nothing could ever break. Though she did have a harsh side to her that he rarely had to face front-on. Though today she had lost her temper, YongHwa had to think twice about her good nature, something he had never done before. She had wrenched his hand away from yours, and truthfully that wasn't alright. But if he remained optimistic, if he demonstrated what he wanted to get out of this, for everyone to get along well, then he would fight hard for that reality. His family would love you, they had to. Because he loved you. Wasn't it really that simple?

End Chapter Twenty Five