Mi Hyun felt her hands chill as her mother silently gave her a pointed look, moving towards the stove and checking the food within the pots, "About what, Umma?"

Her mother stood next to her at the counter, "Did you and Young Bae consumate the marriage?"

"Umma, I don't think that's reall-"

"Kim Mi Hyun, answer the question," her mother demanded, setting down a knife. Mi Hyun felt her temper flare, as it usually always did around her mother, stepping forward a bit.

She bit her lip, not wanting to cause a scene when her in-laws, her family, and, most importantly, her husband were barely a few yards away in the dining room, "No, Umma. We didn't."

"You have to!" her mother demanded, glaring at her daughter, "I will not have my daughter not fulfill her duties as a wife."

"With all due respect, Umma, it's really none of your business," Mi Hyun snapped, turning away from her mother and towards the door.

Her mother glared at her retreating figure, "Mae Hyun would never of been so disobedient. She was a perfect child. Someone you, Mi Hyun, can never measure up to. Mae Hyun would of consumated the marriage by now."

Mi Hyun stopped in her tracks, her hand on the gold door knob.

Seeing her daughter's hesitation, Mrs. Kim continued, "Mi Hyun, you fulfill your duties as a daughter of this family and as Young Bae's wife. You're not a child anymore. Stop with the silly singing and dress up, and settle down. It's what your father and I want, and what Mae Hyun would of done. Act more like your sister."

Mi Hyun shook her head, biting back the tears fighting to escape, "Yes, Umma," she pushed the doors open, retreating into the dining room where she silently walked to her seat next to Young Bae, her head down.

Several minutes later, her mother and the chef and cooks came out with the dishes, well, her mother sat down at her father's side as the kitchen staff set down plates of food. The families quickly said a small prayer, Mi Hyun keeping her head down, her long hair covering her eye's as they began to eat.

Young Bae looked to Mi Hyun, "Mi Hyun, what's wrong?" he whispered, not wanting to cause a scene among the families.

She silently shook her head, staring down at her food, not wanting to say anything. He sighed, and turned to his food, not sure what to do, and even more lost as to how to deal with it.