“Mina, you have to do it.”

“Why? I can hide for a long time. I can lie until I die.”

“Mina, it’s your mom. How hard can it be? Harder than your dad?”

“You see, my mom and I have this kind of relationship where we just always stay on each other’s good side.”

“That’s you with both your parents. You told your dad already. You can’t keep our relationship from your mom. Think about how left out she’ll feel.”

Mina shook her head over and over. She didn’t know why she was being really difficult. Chaeyoung was right, the harder part was done and over with. Her mother should be a piece of cake, right?

“Should I tell her myself?” Chaeyoung suggested.

“No!” Mina shouted without hesitation. “You stole the spotlight from me with my dad. I’m the one who should be telling my mom.”

“Okay, then let’s go.”

Mina winced, “Now? How about next week?”

“You said that two weeks before too. You know how guilty I felt when your mom asked when you’re going to get a boyfriend and your dad just looked at us like he didn’t know anything. It’s clear that he’s never going to tell her, and if you don’t want me to, you’re going to have to do it. I can’t stand by this time while she sets you up with multiple blind dates.”

“Oh, I remember Jungkook. I wonder how he’s doing.”

“Don’t change the subject!”

The two were standing in front of Mina’s house as they bickered back and forth, still unable to open the door. Mina coming out to her mother had been an issue they talked about since her parents came back from Japan. Chaeyoung didn’t want to force her, but Mina always talked about telling her mother. She just never acted upon it. Chaeyoung knew how much Mina wanted to, and it was up to her to give her the courage to. To be the honest, Chaeyoung’s determination came when Mrs. Myoui spoke about “the nice boy my friend talked about” and how Mina would get along with him. Her girlfriend instincts came surging up from within her and Jeongyeon’s tale about Mina’s blind dates came haunting her.

Chaeyoung really hated having to pretend.

Their conversation was put to a halt when the front door opened and Mr. Myoui emerged from behind it. “I can hear you two from my office,” he said.

Chaeyoung stiffened and gave a light bow to him, to which he reciprocated with a nod.

“Dad,” Mina said. “Do you think Mom would react badly?”

“Why don’t you go find out?”

Chaeyoung nudged her with her elbow and Mina groaned. They went inside and her dad went back to his room, keeping his door slightly open so he could hear the conversation they were about to start.

Mrs. Myoui greeted them as she emerged from the kitchen. She gave Chaeyoung a hug, a greeting the younger one have been getting used to. “You didn’t tell me Chaeyoung was coming! I would’ve cooked something.”

Chaeyoung waved her hand in front of her. “It’s okay, Mrs. Myoui. I already ate.”

“Sachiko. You don’t have to be so formal,” she said with a smile.

But Chaeyoung couldn’t bring herself to call her by her first name. To begin with, she felt it was too impolite, especially since she was secretly dating her daughter behind her back. She may act nice now, but who knew what would happen after Mina came out with the truth. I’ve been dating your daughter, I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry.

Get out of my house!

Chaeyoung could already imagine the situation unfolding to her worst thoughts.

“You two sit down. I’ll get some snacks.” She disappeared into the kitchen once more and the two shuffled towards the sofa.

“How are you feeling?” Chaeyoung asked as Mina kept her hands together with nervousness. They were sitting in front of the television, staring at their reflection on the black screen, waiting.

Mina took a deep breath. This was harder than she thought. “I feel like my heart is about to leap out of my chest,” she replied in a mutter.

“Hey, you conquered the difficulty of telling your dad. Your mom shouldn’t be any worse, right?”

“I think so. But I can never tell. She is my father’s wife. She’s just as conservative as him. But it’s not even that. It’s like, I’m scared she’ll be disappointed.” The Japanese turned to her with a sad look on her face, her eyes gleaming with worry that she looked so helpless.

Chaeyoung placed her hands on top of Mina’s and gave it a gentle squeeze, reassuring her. Mina’s tensed shoulders drop down just a little bit only to go up again when Mrs. Myoui got out from the kitchen and joined them again.

Mrs. Myoui placed a bowl of cookies on the coffee table with a smile. Her kind gestures, greeting Chaeyoung at the front door with a hug and conversing with her as if she was her long lost daughter, made confession all the more hard.

I’m not going to be the one to tell your mother. You two figure that out, was what Mina’s father said to them just before they left for Japan. Mina felt like she was breaking her mother’s trust by revealing something she kept hidden from her all these years. Although she had more conflicts with her father, Mina had always felt closer to him. It was an odd relationship, but she was more attached to him in a way. But perhaps it was because her mother always supported her that her thoughts mean so much more, and she found it even more difficult to tell her who she actually was.

But it shouldn’t be that hard right? Mina thought. She’s fond of Chaeyoung. It should be okay. She reassured herself in this way, replaying it in her mind over and over.

“So, how’s school?” Mrs. Myoui asked as she sat on the sofa across from them, attempting to start a conversation.

“Mom, I have to tell you something...” Mina said with a low voice.  

“What is it?” She looked at her daughter with expectations, her eyebrows raised. She waited for a moment, and then looked at Chaeyoung, waiting. When Mina didn’t say anything, Chaeyoung turned to her and watched her tap her fingers on her lap. The younger one nudged her.

“Umm,” Mina started to say. She cleared . “Chaeyoung and I are dating,” she blurted out.

Chaeyoung looked at her with wide eyes. She didn’t expect her to go straight for it. The girl didn’t even beat around the bush, not giving either of them a chance to catch their breaths.

Mrs. Myoui just looked at her and then at Chaeyoung, then back her daughter. It seemed as if she didn’t know how to react. Her facial expression was unreadable, like she hadn’t heard Mina. After a minute or so, but what felt like forever, the mother finally opened . “Have you told your father?” was the first thing she said before anything else.

Mina expected her to say just that. Her mother had always lived in the shadow of her father. The decisions made in the house was based on what her father wanted. Mina nodded. “Right before you went to Japan.”

“So… you’re...”

“Yes,” Mina replied. “Mom, I’m gay.”

Her words seemed to hit her because Mrs. Myoui got up from the sofa and started to pace. “H-how is that going to work? How can you marry? Have kids? My grandchildren?”

Chaeyoung turned bright red at the thought. She kept quiet but those thoughts never crossed her mind. She was still living in the moment, and quite frankly was still surprised she’s actually in a relationship. But Mina didn’t seem phased. She responded to her as calmly as she could.

“I can still have kids, Mom. It just won’t be in the same way people usually do.”

“What will your grandmother say? She certainly won’t be okay with this.” Mrs. Myoui took a deep breath as she started shaking her head. “I don’t know how you’ll convince her, but for sure there will be difficult obstacles you’d have to cross.”

“Mom.”

“Is your dad okay with this? He didn’t mention anything to me. How did he react? What did he say?”

“Mom!” Mina’s raised voice caused her mother to stop her babble and turn to her. “I’m telling you. You don’t have to worry about other people. I can deal with that myself. I just want to make sure that we’re okay.”

Mrs. Myoui looked down for a moment and then she met her gaze. Her daughter was looking at her so innocently. Those eyes had always been filled with hope and ambition. Mina was a talented and good child. She was obedient, kind, and she was strong-headed. She felt that raising her, she hadn’t been able to protect her own child. The path they created for her surely had some difficulties, but Mina didn’t complain. She nodded and pushed through. What was the big deal with her news? It doesn’t change the  fact that she was still her daughter.

The mother gave a light, somewhat hesitant smile, then nodded. “We’re okay. It’ll take some time for me to get used to it, but...” She turned to Chaeyoung and smiled at her. “You’re old enough to make your own choices. And I think it’s time I support that.”

Mina didn’t say anything but ran to her mother’s arms in a tight embrace. Her mother took a step back at the force, but slowly, she wrapped her arms around her daughter. Mina’s shoulders had gotten big, but it still felt fragile to the touch. Mrs. Myoui had some hesitations and doubts, she wasn’t sure she supported her choices, but surely her own daughter would do anything to make her see that it was the right one.

~

A year and a half later…

Chaeyoung slumped down in front of her artwork and stared at it for a good amount of time. What was wrong with it, she thought. She truly felt that she was in her prime when she created it, and she was proud of the idea she came up with, but nonetheless it didn’t impress the judges enough to be given first place.

She folded her arms in front of her and had a serious look on her face when a voice interrupted her thoughts. “Just because you’re my daughter’s girlfriend doesn’t mean I can play favoritism.”

Chaeyoung turned around to see a smug look on Mr. Myoui’s face. She chuckled, “I didn’t expect you to. And it would be disrespectful for me as an artist if you did.”

“Goo