Yongguk and I were lying in my bed, curled up together, as I was fighting back tears of embarrassment. My parents were screaming at each other downstairs, apparently not caring that we had a guest over. Yongguk’s mother would be over in half and hour and my parents were in the middle of one of their worst fights since I had come back home. I wasn’t even sure what they were fighting about.

“This is going to be a disaster.” I mumbled and wiped my eyes against Yongguk’s chest. “Your mother is finally speaking to you again and she’s going to come to this circus. She’ll never like me.”

“She’s not going to hold this against you Chan-ah…”

I wiped my eyes again and sat up so I could look at him. “You remember that time that I brought a bag of oranges to your house?”

“No?”

“Well your mother does. Apparently she’s allergic to them. She thinks I was attempting to murder her. She’s never forgiven me.” I sniffled and looked down at that mattress. This dinner was a terrible idea. It had been a struggle for me to not start yelling at Yongguk the second my father told me had agreed to this cluster. I didn’t want to be like my parents so I had controlled myself. That didn’t stop me from ignoring him for a full day though. “If she can’t forgive me for something I didn’t even do, I know she’ll hate me even more if she comes into this.”

He sighed and wrapped his arms around me so he could pull me back down onto his chest. He pressed his lips to my head just as the familiar sound of a crashing plate sounded downstairs. Sometimes I wondered how we even had any dinnerware left.

“When I was little I use to get between them and scream at them to try and get them to stop fighting. Nothing can stop them.”

Another plate smashed before I decided to go and try to, at least, clean the apartment up before Yongguk’s mother came over. I cleaned up the broken plates and reset the table before there was a knock at our door. I inhaled sharply and prayed that the screaming would stop. I wiped my face a final time before trying to smile and then opened the door. On the other side stood a horrified looking Mrs Bang. She had obviously heard the fight.

Yongguk came up behind me and greeted his mother. I watched as he gave her a kiss on her cheek. The argument between my parents had finally begun to simmer down but it was more than apparent that something was wrong. “Would you like anything to drink?” The best thing for this situation would be to pretend that everything was all right.

She declined my offer so I led her into the dining room. I could see Yongguk’s mother judging every detail of my parents’ apartment. “Did you cook Himchan-ssi? Yongguk told me that you’ve finally been trying to learn.”

“I helped.” I nodded my head and tried to keep myself composed. I knew she was going to set in on me the first second she had opportunity. “My mother is a cook at a restaurant so she’s been teaching me.”  I was proud of my progress, but I knew better than to tell her what I had made. She wouldn’t like it solely on the fact that I had been the one to cook the food.

“I don’t know how my son survived for four years without a real meal.”

“Mum, stop. I can cook.” He slid his hand into mine and pulled me a little bit closed to his side.

“Being able to make two things is not cooking, Yongguk. You go to work all day. You should be able to come home to a nice home cooked meal. I always had food ready for your father when he got off of work. You just come home to a cold apartment.”

“I’d go home to an empty box as long as Himchan was there as well.”

I tried to smile as Yongguk and his mother sat down and instead I went to gather my parents. My mother was screaming at my father for threatening my boyfriend when I wrapped my arms around her waist and tried to pull her away from the fight. “She’s here, Mum… You two can fight later…” She spun around in my grasp and gave me a horrified look. “She got here a little while after the last time you threw a plate…”

Both of my parents immediately changed posture. Neither of them looked as though they had just been screaming at each other for over an hour. “I’m sorry Himchan.” My father frowned and I could tell he was legitimately sorry for embarrassing me. It didn’t really fix the situation though. He fixed his appearance in the window and then hurried out to the dining room where I heard him greet Yongguk’s mother. He apologised for the ruckus. When Yongguk’s mother told him that it was alright I recognised the tone as one she used with me when she decided our apartment wasn’t clean enough.

After my mother cleaned herself up she helped me carry dinner into the dining room. Yongguk smiled at me when sat food down on the table. His mother sniffed the air and I could tell she was biting back another insult. “Your apartment is so tasteful.” She smiled at my mother and Yongguk to my hand into his. “It’s too bad your son missed out on that trait.” She pointed to some of the art in the room, clearly trying not to say anything about the fight.

My mother shrugged her shoulders as she served food to each person at the table, and my father responded for her. “Himchan picked out most of the art in the apartment. He’s got an eye for that sort of thing. He picked out all new art for us after your son broke his heart.”

“Apparently he didn’t care about the apartment he had with Yongguk then. He always let it get so messy and nothing matches.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sent a judging look in my direction. She always found mess when she came over, even if there wasn’t one there. “You raised a lazy son.”

I noticed Yongguk open his mouth to respond to his mother so I smacked his leg to shut him up. Him defending me wouldn’t do any good for anyone. He shock me a questioning glance and I just shook my head. His mother wouldn’t change her mind no matter what he said. “From what I understand my son is a full time student and he’s been working full time at a shop. I wouldn’t say he’s lazy. Your son was cheating on mine, using money they didn’t have to wine and dine some .”

“There was no Dad…”

“Stay out of this Himchan.” He glared at me and that shut me up immediately.

Yongguk pulled me closer to him and we listened as our parents tore us down. They were at each other’s throats until my mother finished serving the food so they could busy their mouths with other things. “You should have taught your son how to cook like a good wife.”

I stared at her for a couple of seconds before deciding just to take it. I ate my food silently while the others talked. Yongguk tried to please my father and my father just insulted him because he had not defended me to his mother. That in turn caused Yongguk’s mother to call me spineless for not backing her son against my father.

The dinner could not have been more of a catastrophe if I had tried to sabotage it. 

_____

I went to batman last night. now I'm sleepy. but here's this yongguk's mother came over to himchan's parent's apartment for dinner. it was a disaster. both of their families area bit messed up. i think this kind of explains why they at fighting. himchan kinda was raised around violence and fighting and yongguk's mother is  yes. so yeah. see you monday~
oh also. I got a hundred on my test :D now i'm off to do extra credit to ensure that i get an A for the class.
leave us pretty comments maybe~?