Upon arriving just a few blocks outside of Yeonwoo's neighbourhood, he got out of his car and casually waited next to it. He wanted to pick her up in front of her house, but she didn't allow him to. He figured she wanted to keep her location a secret. He stared at his feet and fidgeted with his keys in hand. The nervousness he felt within him started to irritate his stomach. He turned his head after he saw something move towards him from the the corner in his eye. He gasped at the sight of Yeonwoo, “Wow.” He pushed himself off his car and went to greet her. She wore a comfy sweater cardigan,sleeveless blouse and a flowy skater skirt. Thin stockings and simple black flats accompanied the outfit. “You look different.” He cleared his throat and took her hand bag. He loved the way her hair was loosely curled

“Dongwook said I should look presentable to your mother.” She looked away with embarrassment. She was still annoyed at how Dongwook kept nagging her about her clothes. Doojoon went around the other side of the car and helped her inside.

“You look great. Thanks.” He handed her the bag with a grin on his face.

“Phone...” She pointed to it vibrating in the cup holder, He quickly went around and picked it up.

“Mom?” He answered and buckled his seat belt. “Are you already there? I just picked up Yeonwoo. We'll be there in a few minutes. I'll see you soon.”

“Where are we going?” Yeonwoo asked just when he ended the call.

“Patbingsoo. She was craving for it today. Is that alright with you?”

“It's fine.” She mumbled and leaned her head against the window. “Is your mom a good person?”


“Of course!” He answered. “She's the best.”

“That's good.” She frowned and played with her fingers.

“How about your mom?” He glanced over at her as he made a right turn. She paused to think it over and realized she didn't remember how her mom looked like.

“I don't remember a lot about her.” She said with brief flashbacks of the woman.

“Have you ever wondered where your mother is now?” Jisuk asked and finished what was left of his dinner.

“Is she dead?” Zero asked and Dongwook looked up clearly uncomfortable. The way she asked that question bothered him. How she asked was too emotionless.

“Nope, alive and kicking. I was just curious if you wanted to know where she was and how she was doing.”


“It doesn't matter. She abandoned me years ago and now she's living her life.” She poked at her dinner. Her appetite was ruined by the thought of her mom. Jisuk slipped a piece of paper across the table and Dongwook took a glance at it. It contained a house address.

“That's where she's living now. She has two sons.” Jisuk said and stacked his dishes.

Zero picked up the paper and ripped it in half. She slammed her hands on the table and stood up abruptly. The sound of the chair screeching made Dongwook flinch. “WHY DID YOU START DIGGING UP MY PAST? I DIDN'T EVEN ASK YOU TO FIND HER.” She threw the pieces on the table and stormed off.

“We're here.” Doojoon tapped her on the shoulder to wake her up. She looked around in a daze, but without hesitation, she reached over to fix his shirt collar. It made him nervous to be so close to her, but he knew his mom was watching from the cafe window. “Thanks.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears. “Show time.” He got out of the car and went around to open the door for her. He took her hand as they walked to the door and he turned red at the touch of her hand. He didn't think she would have such soft hands from all the manual labour she does.

 

“Son!” His mom gleamed upon seeing them. She went to embrace him first before giving Yeonwoo a tight squeeze. Yeonwoo froze to feel such a warm embrace and somehow, it reminded her of her own mother. She politely introduced herself before hooking her arm around Doojoon's arm.

“This is my girlfriend, mom.” Doojoon smiled.

“You hid such a beautiful girl away from me.” His mom giggled and waved them to sit down. “How could you let me meet her after all this time?”

“I mean, what will happen if two beautiful women in my life would meet each other? I thought one of you might get jealous.” He pouted jokingly. His mom squeezed his cheek and handed them the dessert menu.

“Order what you like. Mom will pay.”

“Can I help you with any drinks?” A waiter said with his notebook in hand. He smiled charmingly and his eyes couldn't leave Yeonwoo.

“Two iced Americano and a Mocha latte, please.” Doojoon smiled.

“Its your favourite strawberry and mochi patbingsoo.” Yeonwoo pointed at the image on the laminated menu. “Can we have that please?”


How did she know that? Doojoon covered his surprise with a smile. “I'll have that as well and a red bean patbingsoo.”

“Okay, I'll be out soon with the drinks.” The handsome waiter took the menus' from them. He hurried along to put the orders in before taking off to service another group of people.

“So, how long has it been since you two started?” His mom leaned over and took Yeonwoo's hand.

“It hasn't been long mom.... I just wanted to make sure we're going to be together for a long time before telling you.” Doojoon interrupted and moved Yeonwoo's hand away. He knew she wasn't used to how affectionate his mom was towards people.

“Save the honorifics, hun. Just call me mom like how Doojoon does.” She grinned, “What does your parents do?”

Yeonwoo gave Doojoon a cautious look and stared at his mom who was eager to hear her response. She stuttered to stall for time because the sentences wouldn't form in her head. She was hesitant if she should lie or tell the truth about her parents or not.

“Your drinks.” The waiter placed the drinks carefully in front of them. He stepped over to the side to let his co-worker place the patbingsoo and extra bowls down.

“Thank you.” Yeonwoo smiled and distributed the utensils around. As she took a sip of her Mocha, she watched Doojoon take care of his mom's needs before doing anything else.

“No green tea ice cream.” He said and took the two scoops off of his mom's patbingsoo. He handed her the spoon and moved the bowl closer to her side. “And, you like the mochi, right?” He asked Yeonwoo and turned his own bowl around so that it was convenient for her to eat them. He waited for her to dig in like his mom who was already enjoying her dessert, but she only stared at her mom's patbingsoo.

“Honey, did you want some?” The woman asked. Yeonwoo snapped herself out of it and shook her head.

“No thank you. I was just thinking about something.” She faked a smile, She's so similar.