I'm getting married!
From Ms. Ngo to Ms. Kim
Black is Lynn's narrative
Green is flashbacks
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Ever since Ba left the house when I was 5, I was the one who had to take care of Mẹ. She was going through a really tough depression. I was the one who comforted her. Bà ngoại (Grandma) took care of the two of us, but she died from cancer when I was 15. Since Mom's depression worsened, I had to take responsibility for numerous things. She quit working, so I used Grandma's inheritance money that she left for us to pay for the house, but I eventually had to look for a job. I had various jobs, such as babysitting and dogwalking, to serving at McDonald's and IHOP.
It was difficult trying to balance school and multiple jobs at the same time, which was the main reason why I never got to learn how to read or write Vietnamese. But I wasn't motivated to learn anyway. I had also learned how to cook and eventually had a passion for cooking. Mom would compliment my dishes all the time. I was inspired to become a chef.
Mom finally got out of her depression by the time I was halfway done with high school. She realized that my education was important I guess, and started to go out more often. Eventually, she found a boyfriend. Not that I opposed it anyway. She probably needed some romance in her life. Since she was 36, I guess that was still considered young.
But then her boyfriend dumped her. I thought she would be depressed again, but experiencing this breakup made her change. She became more optimistic and managed to get a job. She found a boyfriend again when she was 39. She was dating a Korean guy and didn't even tell me until they had been dating for over 5 weeks.
~~~~
"Mẹ! Why didn't you tell me you were dating a Korean guy?" Lynn shouted while she was doing the dishes.
"I was planning to tell you earlier, but I forgot, I guess" She giggled while biting an apple.
"Chúa ơi. Who forgets something important like that?!" (oh my god) Lynn sighed as she put away the dishes.
"He's so caring and likes me for the way I am. He's not like any other guy I've met before." She started to blab on and on about him. Lynn actually listened to her, considering the fact that she enjoyed seeing her mother happy.
~~~~~
One day, after I recently turned 21, Mom told me she had an announcement to make.
“Linh, I’m getting married to him!” Her mother exclaimed.
"Really? No way! I've only met him twice!"
"Yes, I am. And then we'll move to Korea. You'll have to learn to speak, read, and write Korean."
"Huh? We're moving to Korea? I can't even read or write Vietnamese. You expect me to learn a new language?"
"Yeah. You're a big girl now. You can do it."
Lynn groaned, realizing how much of a pain this would be. "I wished I moved away when I turned 18, but I couldn't leave you alone."
"And I love you for making that decision!” She hugged her.
~
So here I am, packing for the move to South Korea. Mom and Mr. Kim would get married there. As soon as I told my college friends this, they started to shout things like,
“You’re so lucky! You could meet Super Junior!” Olivia screamed.
“Or even SHINee!” Violet exclaimed.
“B2st or MBLAQ!” Emily squealed.
“Especially Dong Bang Shin Ki!” They all shouted.
Our group was initialed L.O.V.E. L for me and, well you know the rest. They were obsessed Kpop lovers. They told me about the boy bands all the time. They forced me to listen to the music too. They weren’t even Korean. Olivia was Canadian. Violet was half French and half Italian. Emily was 3 quarters Chinese and 1 quarter Mexican. So why did they love Korean Music so much?
It was all because of the hot Korean guys. Sure, some of them were good-looking, but others looked so feminine I would think they were gay at first glance. Not that's a problem, of course. I was just jealous of their looks.
“Tell us if you meet any of those guys, okay?” Emily emphasized.
“We’ll miss you a lot,” Olivia said, starting to get teary-eyed.
“You should take us with you!” Violet stated.
“I wish I could. I highly doubt that’s ever gonna happen, though. South Korea is pretty big, you know. Especially Seoul.” I told them.
“Linh oi!” Mom called me from downstairs.
“Dạ?” (yeah?)
“Come down here. I forgot to mention something.”
“You always forget to mention something, Mẹ.”
“Do you want to be the maid of honor?”
“Can I, really?” I didn’t know if I could be the maid of honor for my mom.
“Sure you can! You’re my daughter, for goodness’ sake!”
“Okay. Sure. I’d be honored to.” I started to peel an orange.
"Oh by the way, Junjin has twin boys who are around the same age as you. I think their names are Junsu and Junho?"
I stopped what I was doing. "Did you say Junsu and Junho?"
"Yeah, apparently, they're singers. You know them?"
*Know them? My friends are obsessed with Kim Junsu and his band! His brother's getting well-known too. They're gonna be my stepbrothers?*
“Ummm, yeah. I know them. My friends know Junsu’s band.”
“Really? Then maybe you can get his autograph for them when you meet him.”
“I guess so.”
*Just when I thought I would never meet any of those Korean bands, I’m going to be one of those hot Korean guy’s step-sister!*
That night, we made sure we packed everything because the very next day, we headed off to South Korea. Mom and Mr. Kim were holding hands and being all lovey-dovey. It felt like they dated for more than a year. I was jealous. I never had a boyfriend, let alone a crush. I was busy working and getting fired. I didn’t have time for a boyfriend.
As I went on the airplane, I realized I would sit in a different row from Mom and Mr. Kim. Oh wait, I would have to call him Dad now, huh?
I looked for my seat and found it next to an occupied seat. I noticed a guy who looked familiar. I saw him in one of Emily’s Korean magazines or something.
I then realized that it was Jung Yunho from DBSK. *Violet would kill to be in my spot right now!*
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