The Talk

Snacking to Talking

There is one thing that he always does whenever he's home on the weekends: munching on his favorite chocolate mint ice cream covered with M&M's around midnight while watching movies, and tonight was no exception.

Yonghwa tiptoed out of his room and made his way to the kitchen. He prepared all the things he needed with little to no sound and found himself sitting peacefully on the couch less than 10 minutes later. The TV buzzed softly when he hit the red button on the remote while putting the first spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He flipped the channels and stopped on one that was airing Taegukgi. Being the considerable guy that he was, he kept the volume at 2 and continued scooping the mound off its Baskin Robbins container. A smile crept onto his face because he loved how familiar and relaxing it felt.

The clock informed him that it's a little after one when he heard a door creak open. Yonghwa turned his head only to find his mom walking towards him with tired eyes and warm smile. He smiled back and patted the space beside him.

"Want some, Mom?" he pointed at the half-eaten greenish goods using a pink spoon. His mom hesitated.

"Come on, Mom. Brushing your teeth will only take 5 minutes and you definitely don't have to watch your figure because you look great," he scooped the ice cream along with 2 red M&M's and brought it to his mom's lips. "You look like you could use some ice cream, to be honest."

She sighed and admitted defeat by opening . Once the ice cream vanished from the spoon, he smiled. "There you go. Delicious, isn't it?"

His mom gave a thumb up. "Thank you."

He ate another portion. "You okay, Mom? You look..." he looked closer at her face once more before finishing his observation. "Sad."

"Are you seeing someone?" his mom asked, rather bluntly.

He was surprised and he didn't have any intention of covering it up. "Mom! Why did you ask me that?"

"It's simple, Yonghwa. Are you or are you not?"

He sighed. "No, Mom. I'm not."

"Not even secretly?"

Yonghwa's eyes widened. He studied his mom's face carefully, trying to pick up any clues on whether she's joking or not. But her eyes were fixed on his and he could clearly see the look of determination on her face, unmistakably demanding an answer.

"Mom, I'm telling you the truth. I am single. Seriously single. As single as a person can be."

She immediately looked the other way, but Yonghwa could see that his mom was a little bit disappointed, even though he wasn't really sure if it was just his imagination or not.

"Mom, what's gotten into you? Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, her mom said, "So, this whole thing about you and Shinhye, the rumor saying that both of you are more than just friends..."

"That's exactly what it is, Mom. A rumor. We're friends and not hiding anything. Apparently, no one believes that man and woman can be friends without having romantic feelings towards each other," he sighed. "I've heard and read stuff about that countless times. Shinhye and I even read this crazy article once, saying that we're dating but pretending to be friends in order to avoid suspicion. We laughed for a full minute because of it," he smiled. " She's like a sister I never had, nothing more."

Yonghwa moved closer. "Mom, are you channeling your anger on me because Hyung has been dating for 6 months and he managed to keep it a secret from you up until 2 days ago?"

His mom's eyes met his again. "Since when did you become so smart?" she touched her left cheek. "Is it really obvious?"

"Something's clearly bothering you and yesterday Hyung called me. He asked me to be more sensible because you might be in a bad mood all day," he put his arm around his mom's shoulder. "I just put two and two together."

"When did he tell you?"

"Maybe around 3 months ago. He asked me to meet him in a cafe near FNC and that's when I first met her."

His mom rested her head on his shoulder. "She's really sweet. And pretty, too. Right, Mom?"

She suddenly sat straight. "That's why I'm so mad at your brother! When he brought her home, we talked for hours. She's really courteous and quite good at cooking, too."

"Really?"

She nodded. "How could your brother keep her away from me and your dad for that long, I absolutely have no idea. You both know that I always wanted a daughter. My only chance, realistically speaking, is having daughter-in-laws. That's why I'm always eager to meet my sons' girlfriends."

"Yes, Mom. Sometimes way too eager."

"This rascal."

They watched TV in silence for a few minutes before his mom held his hand and said, "Speaking of daughter-in-laws," Yonghwa turned to her, "how's Seohyun?"

He felt like someone just cranked up the thermostat. "Mom!"

"What? She was once my daughter-in-law, right? Besides, I'm just asking. Are you two still in touch?"

He prayed with all his might that his mom wouldn't notice how red his face was. "Mom, seriously, your questions today are—"

"Honest. I'm just curious,"

"Your curiosity is most refreshing,"

"Jung Yonghwa."

He hates when his mom does this, because it makes him feel like a guilty 10 year-old boy all over again. When his mom calls him by his full name and with that particular tone, he knows she means business.

"Yes, Mom. Sometimes, but not as often. She's extremely busy."

"I see," she nudged him. "I really miss her. The last time we talked was... what?" she frowned, trying to remember the specific time. "Ah, on Mother's Day!"

Yonghwa stared at her in utter shock. His mom and Seohyun's last conversation was less than 3 weeks ago? How could that happen? He hadn't been able to get in touch with her for almost 4 months, so how could his mom... betray him?

"You're kidding, Mom. Impossible."

"I'm serious. Funny thing is, she called me right after she called her mom. She was very apologetic at first, because she thought she was disturbing me," his mom shook her head and smiled. "It was some kind of reflex, I guess. She called her mom and then somehow felt obliged to call her 'other mom' or something like that. Well, I don't have to tell you how touched I was."

"Yeah, figured." Yonghwa felt a jolt of jealousy all over his being, but he also tried his best not to grin like an idiot because the fact that Seohyun called his mom make him extremely happy.

"I'm just thankful that she still remembers me. She's a really nice girl," his mom reached into the container and helped herself to a spoonful of chocolate mint goodness. "You should date someone like her, Yonghwa. She will make a fine daughter-in-law someday."

Oh, Mom. You have no idea.

"You two talk often?" Yonghwa couldn't help but ask.

"A few times after the show ended. Oh, and did I tell you that her mom called me?"

"What?!" he shrieked. "No, Mom. You most definitely didn't."

"Sorry, it was a long time ago. Must have slipped my mind," she wiped with a tissue. "She thanked me for being so kind to Seohyun. I told her I didn't mind at all, it was such an easy thing to do because she's so lovable. She wanted to thank you, too. Apparently my dear son treated her daughter so well," she touched his cheek. "I never told you this, but after watching the whole show, I'm so proud of you, Yonghwa. My son grew up to be a kindhearted man. I'm grateful."

Yonghwa held his mom's hand. "Thank you, Mom. Credit goes to you and Dad, of course."

She smiled. They turned their attention to the TV, but he soon heard his mom sigh. "Anyway, I almost told her how things would be far much different if both of you weren't idols, but..."

His mom didn't finish the sentence, but it was more than enough to make Yonghwa stunned. He didn't know that Seohyun left such a deep impression on her. It's actually something that he aims for, to have his mom gives this kind of approval to his girl. But honestly, he wasn't too surprised, because Seohyun really is a daughter-in-law material.

"Why haven't you started dating? Or got close to someone at least?" his mom suddenly changed the topic.

Yonghwa playfully nudged his mom's shoulder with his head. "I'm close to you, Mom."

"Seriously, this kid," she pretended to look annoyed. Yonghwa grinned mischievously. "So, why?"

Knowing his mom, he was sure that she wouldn't let it go. He didn't know what had gotten into him either, because he found himself saying, "I can't, Mom. Not yet. Until..."

She stared intently at her youngest son, waiting for him to continue. The silence that suddenly filled the gap between them was so uncomfortable, it made him shift in his seat.

Her impatience kicked in. "Until?"

Yonghwa was flustered and nervous, because he knew that he was about to confess something that he'd been keeping to himself for God knew how long.

He could feel her burning stare and he didn't have the guts to look at her when he said, "Until I can figure out how to stop feeling like a cheating husband whenever I'm trying to get close to another girl."

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cnsd13 #1
Chapter 1: Where was I all this while??? I need a sequel please. Please... since it’s Yongseo 10th anniversary next year, please grant my wish please.
Xuanie
#2
Chapter 1: love tis ...........
allussi #3
Chapter 1: Next chapter please...authornim...
rumwow
#4
Chapter 1: Om sequel Om!
Lol
I can't stop grinning reading this story. I want more.
desyprameswari #5
I like the story
simutniea #6
Chapter 1: Ooh yonghwa... you are so cool and loyal ♡♡♡♡
mylifeisbeautiful #7
Ahaha, shrewd mother ;) Thank you for the wonderful read. Keep writing :)
pipopanda #8
Chapter 1: Simply story....
Great ....
Moluhatake #9
Chapter 1: Aaww so sweet... I love this story authornim,, its a beautiful story
yoondaeha #10
Chapter 1: ♡♥♡♥♡ Cute ♥♡♥♡♥