“The love of your life?” I question him incredulously. Forgive me if I seem too condescending, but this has to be the most clichéd five words ever repeated in any romantic dramas, movies, stories, whatever you want to name. I shoot him another pointed look. He sighs.

“Okay fine. Not the love of my life.” See? I told you so. “My stalker.” Ugh. The other cliché.

“Your stalker? Can you please stop lying to me?”

“It’s not a lie!” He defends, but I know better than to trust this guy. He has mood swings all the time and is generally just odd; trusting myself to drive blindfolded without crashing is a safer choice than trusting him. I say nothing and just wait for him to continue. “Ugh. Fine! It’s my mother.” Ahh truth.

“Why’s your mom here?”

“I don’t know! I don’t want to know!”

“Why would you need to hide from your mom?”

“If you meet my mom, you’ll understand.” He states with a dismissive wave of his hand. I grab it and force him to look me in the eyes.

“You idiot.” I comment, lightly flicking his hand back into his forehead. “I am going to meet your parents. That’s why we’re here.”

He pauses. “Crap. I forgot about that.”

“Smart. Now what do I need to know?” I sit on the little bench they provide in dressing rooms Indian style to avoid detection and lean against the wall.

Daehyun pauses to think before carefully choosing the correct words to describe his thoughts. “My mother…is exactly like the mother in Playful Kiss.”

“The drama?” I confirm. He nods. “So? That mother seems like a lot of fun. She’s bubbly and happy and very supportive. I don’t see why you need to be so afraid of her.”

“You don’t understand. My mother is an extreme version of that though. She’ll latch onto me! She wants to be a part of my life all the time! All because she was a fashion designer when I was younger and missed out on everything, now she’s trying to make up for it by continuously trying to pamper me and whatnot! It’s annoying! And she treats me like I’m a girl since she’s always wanted a daughter!”

“You’re so overreacting. You’re just being a typical guy.” I roll my eyes in exasperation. And here I thought I was going to get a Boys Over Flowers mother who would try to kill off my family or use her connections to ruin my friends. I open the door despite Daehyun’s silent gestures and walk out into the dressing room lobby.

An elegant woman stands in the center with a pile of clothes that she drops upon seeing me walk out.

“Daehyun?!” She squeaks out.

“Mom?”

Oops.