Mother's Early Arrival
My Boyfriend, Boyfriend
"5, 6, 7, 8, turn, 2, 3, 4," Donghyun counted out as I did my solo practice. "You missed a beat but keep going, 4, 5, 6.."
As Donghyun counted out, the boys felt the need to sing the lyrics to the song I was dancing to, which only distracted me more.
"We're high, we're right, we're high, we don't stop. We're high, we're right, we're high, we don't stop," they sang extra loudly thinking I was deaf.
"Ah!" I tripped on my own foot and landed face first on the floor.
Propping myself on my elbows I turned to the boys and frowned at them.
"Not funny. You knew I would trip, didn't you?" I asked angrily.
"Yup," Kwangmin chuckled.
"Yah! You," I quickly got up and chased him around the dance room.
"Yah, Go _____, stop flirting with Kwangmin and get to practicing. We have a comeback stage on June 13th, that's only three days away," Donghyun scolded.
"Sorry, Donghyun appa," I apologized, walking back to my spot.
"Aish, stop calling me appa. You make me sound like an old man," Donghyun laughed.
"You can call me appa, though," a voice bellowed into the dance room.
I turned around at the sound of the voice and grinned. It was my father.
"Dad!" I shouted, running towards him.
"Honey," he beckoned as I came in for a big hug.
"Mm, where have you been?" I asked as he swung me around.
"Apologies to you, daughter, I've been working with some of the new trainees and foreign affairs," he replied, putting me back on the ground. "And how have you been doing?"
"Great!" I perked.
"Bad. She's keeps tripping on herself," Donghyun stated matter-of-factly.
I turned around and shot him a glare. "Yah... used-to-be-appa, take a chill pill."
My father laughed and patted my head as me and Donghyun stared each other down.
"How about you do a little more practicing and show me how far you're getting in training?" My father asked.
"Sure," I replied.
As I got into place, Donghyun started the music. He clapped his hands to the beat to reassure the counts for me.
"1, 2, 3, 4," he counted out. "5, 6, slide, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4..."
The song came to a close. My father applauded loudly, proud of his little girl. Suddenly the intercom ringed and the voice of our secretary filled the room.
"Mr. Kim, there seems to be a woman at the front door who is looking for Ms. Go," the voice squeaked. "Should I let her in?"
My father walked over to the intercom, puzzled. He pressed his finger on the button and spoke into it. "Who is this woman?"
"She says her name is... hey! Stop! Give that," then came sounds of struggling and scratching as the intercom was shoved back and forth.
"Go ____, you get your down here right," a familiar voice commanded.
"M'am! Please behave yourself. I need the... M'am!" The secretary scolded. "Hey!"
"No! I want to see my daughter now," the woman said, putting emphasis on "now".
Suddenly my eyes widened in realization to who it was. I walked up to the intercom and pressed on the button. "Mom?"
"Oh, Go ____, there you are. Please come down to the lobby right now. I have some business I need to talk to you about," my mother beckoned through the line.
"Uh, okay, I'll be right down, mom," I replied, glancing back at the boys.
"Why is your mother here? I thought you said she was coming on the fourteenth?" My father asked, clearly surprised by her visit.
"I'm not sure," I whispered.
"Did you tell her about your auditions?" My father continued.
"Uh, no. Auntie might have," I said, thinking about it.
My father nodded and held his hands behind his back. He sighed and said, "I see what's going on now. We minus well go down now. Can't keep her waiting."
I quickly gathered up my things and headed down to the lobby with the boys trailing behind me.
"You know, you don't have to follow me. My mom can be a bit, um, off hand," I said, trying to speed ahead of them.
"Why? We want to meet your mother. I mean, seriously, this may be a once in a lifetime chance," Youngmin shouted.
"You're exagerating it a bit," I argued, sprinting.
As soon as all the boys entered the elevator, I stood outside and slammed all the buttons. The doors closed as the boys and my father inside tried to register into their head what had just happened. I sprinted down the stairs to get to my mother before the boys could get there. I saw my mom waiting at the front desk, looking quite irritated, and ran to her.
"Oh, there you are," she said tiredly.
"Mom, no time, let's go somwhere else and talk, okay?" I asked, rushing her.
She stood her ground, resisting my push. "Why are you being so rushed?"
"Mom, no time to explain. I-," before I could finish my sentence, Hyunseong's hand gripped my right shoulder tightly. I turned around slowly to see him grimacing at me.
"You realize we could get off on the next floor and run down the stairs, right?" Hyunseong asked. "And if you ever... ever... do that again, I gurantee you will never know what the rest of the world looks like after looking at the corner for so long."
I groaned in dismay as all the other boys arrived. I turned to my mother who was visibly surprised and shocked at what just happened.
"There are boys? Who are these boys?" My mother asked in a monotone voice.
"Uh, these boys are in a boy group. They're called Boyfriend. I'm supposed to train with them," I replied, scratching my head nervously.
"Nice to meet you, m'am," Jeongmin greeted. "If I may introduce myself. I am Jeongmin, your future son in law."
Donghyun slapped Jeongmin on his head and smiled politely at my mother. "My name is Donghyun. I am the leader of the group and the oldest. I apologize for my hoobae's behavior."
"Annyeong! We're Youngmin and Kwangmin, the group twins," Youngmin and Kwangmin greeted.
"Hi, I'm Minwoo. I am the maknae of the group," Minwoo greeted.
"Good afternoon, I am Hyunseong."
"Yah, hyung, that hurt," Jeongmin complained.
"Well, maybe you should learn how to control yourself around older people," Donghyun hissed.
"Guys, please," I begged, trying to get them to stop fighting.
The seven of us began to get rowdy, yelling back and forth and yelling loudly. As my mother watched on, her blood boiled over and she just couldn't hold it in anymore.
"This is unacceptable," she exasperated.
"What?" I asked, turning around as everything got quiet.
"Go _____, we are going home. You are going home," my mother said with a commanding tone.
"Going home? To auntie's?" I asked.
She shot me a sharp look that pierced right through me. "No, to America. Go ____, you are giving up these silly dreams right now and coming home. I refuse to take no for an answer. You are a minor, and I am a mother. What I say goes. And I say, you are going home no matter what. I suggest you start packing."
"Wait, what? But, mom!" I shouted.
My mother grabbed my wrist and yanked me away from the group and dragged me out the front door. As I struggled to keep up, I could feel her grip tighten and heat up with anger. I couldn't explain what my feelings were at that time. I was heartbroken... I was sad... I was devastated. But more than ever, I was feeling anger. The minute my mother called my dreams silly was the minute I decided to finally rebel.
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