The night Siwon fought with Kyuhyun, after he abruptly walked out of the house and drove around with no destination, he finally decided to have some closure with his parents. This unfinished business that he has with his parents is like an enemy lurking around his household in hiding, waiting to ambush and obliterate their family every time he or Kyuhyun lets his guard down.

It was an impromptu act. He stopped by his parents’ house and it was already past midnight. He informed the security that he demanded to see his parents right away; then it just went rolling downhill from there.

His parents were shocked of course; it had been years since the last time they had heard from their son.  Siwon’s mother embraced him in a tight hug, not believing that his son was at their home. His father, on the other hand, just remained silent. He soon opened his mouth and started speaking.

“What business do you have here?”

“We need to talk,” was Siwon‘s short answer. His mother noticed the unsettling expression on her son’s face. She had a hunch that it had something to do with his son’s partner, Kyuhyun. Thus, her instinct told her to offer Siwon something else instead.

“Honey, why don’t we talk tomorrow? You seem tired; I mean we all are. It’s past midnight. You know that talking while we are exhausted will not lead to anything good, right? You know what? Stay here for the night. The guest room is prepared, I believe. Besides, it’s been forever since you spent  a night here. Ok, son?”

In all honesty, Siwon just wanted to get it all over with. But his mother was right; having a conversation in a tired state will just ignite more irrational talk and lead to more mess. Besides, after his sudden outburst, he couldn’t just go back home and act like nothing had happened. In addition he also thought it was a good idea to let both Kyuhyun and him cool down from their fury. In addition, the sincere tone in his mother’s voice gave him hope that this tim, it would be different. This time, things would finally change.

***

It was 7 am in the morning and Mrs. Choi came to the guest room to check on her son. Apparently, her son was still in a deep sleep. She walked closer to the bed, trying to assure herself that this morning hadn’t been  a dream and her son was indeed sleeping in their house the night before. She sighed in relief as she watched her son’s sleeping face. When she was about to sit on the bed, she noticed her son’s phone on the night table. She decided to take a peek and was surprised to see the text from his son’s adopted child still on the display screen. So her guess was right, she thought; Siwon was fighting with his partner. Upon finding this, Mrs. Choi quietly got out of the room, not wanting to wake Siwon up. She then hurried her way to her husband in order to inform him about what she had just learned.

***

Siwon was awake two hours later. He lazily made his way to the bathroom and washed his face. After he (had finished and felt refreshed enough, he got out of the room and went straight to the dining room, hoping that his parents would be there. He remembered how back then his parents would stay in the dining room on weekends just having brunch and tea. He wished that he could finally talk to his parents about the unsettling matter.

As he finally reached the dining room, he was welcomed by the sight of both of his parents having breakfast. Noticing her son’s arrival, his mother asked him to join them.

Siwon seated himself in front of his mother. After he sat, he immediately started speaking,  “Mom, Dad we really need to talk.”

His mom smiled sweetly and answered, “Sure son, we will. But can we have this conversation later? Maybe at dinner? Your dad and I made a reservation at your favorite Italian restaurant. It’s been a while since we went out. Besides, I assume that it will not be a light conversation, so having it during breakfast will not be a good idea.”

Siwon frowned; he contemplated for a while but decided to just go with it in the end. He was really determined to put an end to this matter and he believed that skipping it until dinner would not do any harm. He nodded to his mom, which made his mom grinned happily. She then ordered her servants to set up breakfast for his son and they started eating afterwards.

Siwon hesitated in informing Kyuhyun about where he was and what he was about to do. Finally he decided against it, guessing that informing Kyuhyun that he was at his parents’ house would just add fuel to the fire and infuriate Kyuhyun even more.  He planned to just go back home after dinner and explained everything to his wife. He made a mental note to himself to buy flowers on his way home, as a token for apologies, and probably some food as a peace offering towards his wife so that they could peacefully make up.

While he was deep in thoughts his mother spoke to him, “You have decent attire, son?”

“No, Mom, why?”

This time it was his Dad‘s turn to reply.  “Well, since we are about to have dinner in a 5-star restaurant, it is expected that we dress appropriately, Siwon.”

“Well. Then we can just go somewhere else. It doesn’t matter. I just want to talk.”

“Or… The three of us could go to the shopping district. We’ll shop for some clothes and we could have lunch there as well.” Mrs. Choi  proposed.

“I’m fine if Siwon is ok with it,” Mr. Choi said sternly.

Siwon sighed; he then replied, “I’m fine with it,”

The family resumed their breakfast soon after. Once they had finished, Siwon excused himself to take a shower. He grabbed his gym bag from his car, headed back to the guest room and started showering. After he was done, he pulled out the t-shirt and pants from the bag and put them on. Meanwhile, his parents were getting ready for the trip to the shopping district. A couple of hours later, the three Chois arrived at the shopping district. They were going from one store to another, since his mom was insisting in finding the perfect clothes for his son. After they had found a nice suit, they went and had lunch at his father’s executive club. The entire trip was quite awkward and uncomfortable for Siwon since it had been very long since he had talked with his parents last. It was clear that his parents also avoided talking about Kyuhyun and his two sons, as they were only talking about his sister Jiwon for the entire trip.

As the clock was nearing 6 pm, Siwon decided to change his attire and got ready for dinner. The trip to the restaurant was short and his mom kept blabbering about Jiwon’s daughter for the entire ride and Siwon could only half-heartedly listen.

They finally reached the restaurant and were immediately escorted towards their table on the VIP chamber. The three Chois seated themselves and started ordering food. Soon, Siwon was a little surprised when the door of their VIP room opened and a young woman entered and joined them at the table.

His mother welcomed her and introduced her to Siwon. The girl’s name was Jessica, 28 years old, and Siwon recognized her as a model). Then realization hit him straight in the head. His parents were trying to match him up with a woman again. Siwon glared at his mother in shock, anger rising in his chest . His father whispered to him, noticing his son’s furious expression, “I expect that you still remember the importance of being civil and behaving yourself. Right now, just endure this dinner whether you are pleased with it or not. We had promise you a talk and you owe at least this to us. We’ll talk about whatever matter you want to discuss after this.”

Siwon gritted his teeth. He couldn’t  believe that even after 20 years, his parents still hadn’t accepted that he was a homoual and still pulled every trick possible to pair him up with a girl. He tried his best to maintain his calm for the entire dinner, talking and answering nonchalantly whenever he was asked any question. As much as he hated to admit it, his father was right; he needed to remain well-behaved. The girl that his mother introduced to him was innocent. She most probably was just a victim like him and he thought it was unfair to lash his anger out at her.

As the dinner concluded, their parents’ limo picked them up. His mother asked Jessica to join them and offered to drive her home as well. Siwon couldn’t hide his irritation anymore; he was fed up with his parents’ shameful attempts; he blatantly spoke once they were inside.

“Driver, just drop me at the Choi residence first before you drive Miss Jessica home.”

His mother was surprised by Siwon’s act. She then smiled to Jessica and said, “Jessica darling, I hope you don’t mind if we drop off first. It seems like Siwon is not feeling well. Mr. Ok will drive you to your house after he dropping us off, will it be fine?”

“It’s fine, Mrs. Choi, my house is farther than your place, I believe? It will be more practical to drive you home first. Actually, I would feel bad if you had to drive me all the way back to my house first. I’m already thankful that you let your driver drive me home,” Jessica replied politely.

“Oh, darling, you are such a sweet girl. Any man would be lucky to marry you,” Mrs. Choi answered in glee. She failed to notice the dark expression painted on Siwon’s face. Siwon clearly felt offended by his mother’s words, convinced that it was directed at him in a cynical way. He averted his gaze outside the window and decided to remain silent.

A few moments later, they finally reached the Choi residence. His mother and father got out of the car first. Siwon soon followed from the other side of the door. But before he got out, Jessica grasped his arm and interlocked it with hers. Siwon narrowed his eyes at the action, but before he managed to say anything, she beat him to it.

“Let me say farewell to your parents, ok?”

Siwon just nodded half-heartedly and robotically. But he soon regretted giving in to her. After they got out of the car and made their way to his parents, Siwon suddenly felt two hands grabbing his face. He was in a state of shock, and before he could react, he could feel Jessica’s body pressed against him and he was being pulled into a passionate kiss.

Siwon grasped her waist in response, intending to harshly push her away, but his conscience reminded him that she was a girl and he should not be violent. Luckily, the kiss didn’t last long and Jessica pulled away. She bid him farewell and bowed to the Chois, returning to the limo as she continuously waved goodbye.

Siwon was still dazed. “What the actual was that? What just happened? What an insolent woman!” was all that he thought about in his head. He quickly turned his body around, intending to go to the house, grab his keys and just get the hell away from there since he was too upset to talk by then. Unfortunately, as he turned around, his eyes caught the sight of a familiar car that looked exactly like Minho’s car which he gifted to him for his acceptance in college. When he finally recognized the three figures staring at him in shock inside the car, his heart stopped.

His brain started to work; the reason behind their horrified expression must be because of the kiss they had witnessed just before. In reflex, Siwon dashed towards the car. Unfortunately the car quickly turned around and sped up, clearly attempting to leave the scene. Siwon quickened his step, trying to chase the vehicle that was currently getting further away from him. He desperately screamed his wife’s name repeatedly at the top of his lungs. Unfortunately, within no time, the car soon went out of his sight.

Siwon dropped his knees on the asphalt, trying to recollect what had just happened. This was bad. If Kyuhyun jumped into the wrong conclusion, this would be beyond bad. Not to mention, they just had been fighting, which would surely worsen this chaotic situation they had unintentionally thrown themselves into. Minho and Suho being present did not make this situation become less messed up either.

Siwon‘s tumultuous mind suddenly bred an enlightening resolve. He took a deep breath and stood up. He needed to find his wife and make it right.

***