Chapter Text
5 years ago
The familiar clag on the heavy metal gate causes Choi Hye to halt his pen. Someone had returned home. Hye neatly sets aside his stack of documents, before he hears a voice distinctively youthful and male call out “I’m home!”.
San was home.
Hye looks at the clock. 6 pm. His son was early. He rarely came back before 6.30.
“Wooyoung is here!” San voice rings loudly through the house again.
Ah. That’s why.
Hye slips on his house slippers that sat under his desks and walks out from the study, from down the corridor he peers into the living room seem to get livelier with each passing moment.
“You brought Wooyoungie?” Hye hears his wife Jisoo call from the kitchen.
“AH, My favourite grandson is back!” Hye sees his mother stand quickly from her seat on the couch (as fast as a 77 -year-old could, but his mother was brimming with vitality making her pretty speedy) “Wooyoungie!!” She shuffles quickly over to the shorter boy and that said boy rushes into her embrace.
“Halmoni!!” 17-year-old Wooyoung squeals, pulling the short elderly lady into a tight hug. San loiters at the back watching as Hye’s mother, his son’s grandmother, pinch Wooyoung’s chubby cheeks and stroke the boy’s back. With a look, Hye instantly recognised as loved struck and hopelessly head over heels in love. San did not speak a word, simply smiling softly to himself as Wooyoung interacted with Hye’s mother. Wooyoug spoke to her with great excitement but mindful of Hye’s mum increasing difficulty hearing, the boy affectionately holds onto the older women’s hands, lacing their fingers.
“You useless child.” Hye’s wife, Jisoo literally smacks some sense into San with the wooden spatula in her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me Wooyoungie was coming over. I would have made his favourite stew. How many times have I told you to tell me earlier that Wooyoung was coming over, Huh? ”
“Ouch Ma.” San rubs the side of his head, snapping out of his staring. “Sorry. I forgot. We were at the slopes.” San points to the snowboards sitting in the hallway covered in snow.
“And HOW MANY times have I told you to dust your board off from snow before entering the house HUH?!” Jisoo twists her son’s ear painfully, causing the boy to yelp in pain.
“I’m sorry Mrs Choi. I came over unannounced-” Wooyoung retracts himself from Hye’s mother but was quickly cut off by his wife.
“AND how many times have I told you, young man, to call me Ma? Don’t you dare feel apologetic. ” Jisoo raises her spatula in warning, but Hye knows she would never hit Wooyoung with it. It was strictly reserved for San.
“Sorry, ma,” Wooyoung replies sheepishly, going over to hug her in greeting.
“YA San you should be learning from Wooyoung!” Jisoo pulls on her son’s ear, San responds in a loud yelp of pain. “Not even giving your own mother a hug!”
While Jisoo was chiding San, Hye’s mother tugged on Wooyoung’s sleeve and Wooyoung bends himself to hear her clearer.
“Wooyoung-ah.” Hye’s mother spoke softly to the boy, her hand on his arm. “I lost my hairpin somewhere in the living room. Could you help me find it?”
“Of course, Halmeoni.” Wooyoung pats her hand. Hye’s mother smiles a gummy grin.
“Do you remember where you last placed it? San and I could help you find it, having two people search is faster than one.”
Upon hearing his name being called, like a puppy, San wiggles out of his mother’s hug, moving right next to Wooyoung’s side.
“I last remember it on the coffee table… My memory is getting quite bad these days Wooyoungie.” Hye’s mother tells her favourite grandson.
Wooyoung helps her down onto the coach. “Don’t worry Halmeoni, we’ll find it.”
San and Wooyoung proceed to search the living room. The object in question was Hye’ mother’s favourite blue butterfly hairpin. Wooyoung searched around the coaches, tables and bookshelves while San was near the tv, on the floor.
“I’ll check Halmeoni’s room,” San tells Wooyoung.
“Hey dad-” San says in greeting as he bypasses Hye, the older man was quick to pull the boy into the study, startling his son.
“Shhhhh.” Hye shushes his son for which San gives him a look of puzzlement.
Hye shuts his study room door behind him.
“What was that for dad?”
“Son, we need to talk.”
San immediately goes silent with unease. Hye knew he never had a particularly close relationship with his son. As a diplomat, he travelled often and stayed abroad for long periods, regretfully missing most of San’s childhood but this matter was much too important to let slide. He had to fulfil his duty as a father.
Hye takes in a deep breath.
“San you need to grow a pair.”
Red immediately flushed San’s face from the neck down.
“Wha- What?!”
“You need to man up. I’m not blind I can see how head over heels you are for Wooyoung.”
“Dad y-you got the wrong idea. I’m not gay. Not gay. Not at all homosexual. E-especially not for Wooyoung. Nope. Noperty nope.”
“Huh.” Hye raises an unimpressed eyebrow at his son.
“Fine. I have a huge fat crush on Wooyoung.” San defeatedly admits, “Aren’t you upset or disappointed that your son is gay?”
“Why would I be upset, I married your mother. I’m glad she even thought so highly and choose me over her ex-girlfriends. Your mother and I are more upset that you have yet confessed to Wooyoung after so many years. You have been tailing him like a lost puppy since you brought him home that one rainy day when you were 7. It’s been 10 years, San. Wooyoung told your mother and I that he was getting signed to KQ modelling and was moving to Seoul after graduation. Don’t let this boy slip out of your hands.”
“W-wait. Wait a minute. Mum is bisexual?!” San could not believe his ears.
“How have Jisoo and I raised such a stupid son? Was that all you caught?” Hye says to himself.
“Wooyoung calls you often?” San was stupefied.
“We have a group chat.”
“Without me??!!” San’s jaw was now impossibly wide.
“Dinner!” Jisoo’s voice could be heard. Hye takes that as his cue to open the door, leading San back to the living room and dining table.
“Remember son, confess to him. Wooyoung is a good boy. I have seen how happy he makes you. Don’t let him slip away.” Hye whispers.
San was still in shock.
“Are you okay Sannie?” Wooyoung goes to hug his best friend. “You look like you have seen a ghost.”
“Nah I’m good. J-just hungry.” San says, catching his parents both give him thumbs up in encouragement as Wooyoung back faced them.
San was a rather pathetic soul.
---
“Do you think Halmeoni would like the scarf?” Wooyoung halts, looking down at the bright orange paper bag in his hands.
“Of course she would love it. You bought it for her.” San reassures, pushing open the front gate, holding it open for his boyfriend.
“I don’t know… I should have gotten the pink one instead.”
“She will love it, trust me.” San pulls open the door to usher Wooyoung in, in his own hands carrying multiple gifts. San shoots Wooyoung a reassuring smile.
“We are Home!” San calls out upon entering the house, the two of them toeing off their shoes.
They head to the living room placing all the gifts onto the coffee table.
“San? Wooyoung?” San’s mother comes out from the kitchen, she dries her hands against her kitchen apron.
“Ma!” Wooyoung cheers going over to San’s mother.
“Ah my Wooyoungie.” She greets warmly, pulling Wooyoung into a bone crushing hug. Wooyoung lets a soft ‘oof’ as she squeezed the air out his lungs. San definitely got his athletic genes from her; the woman was ridiculously strong.
She pinches Wooyoung’s cheeks, “I missed you so much my child. Did you lose more weight? How can this be? Where is my cute cheek fat?”
“It hurts Ma.” Wooyoung whines. San’s mother gives mercy to Wooyoung’s cheek but continues her inspection up and down.
“Not acceptable! I will stuff you in these two weeks till my precious cheek fat is back.”
Wooyoung giggles at how much love San’s mother is attempting to smother him with. “Ma we come baring you some gifts!”
San passes the paper bags in his hand to Wooyoung, San’s mother is taken aback, “You should not have Wooyoung, we are family!”
She does not need to even look into the bags, the brand logos are a clear indicator to what the two had bought. San’s mother goes to pinch Wooyoung’s cheeks again, “I told you not to buy anything back! The next time you go for fashion week you are banned for spending more money on us.”
Wooyoung merely grins pulling away from the older women, allowing for San to greet his own mother.
“Ma.” San says but that women was already giving her son a chokehold of a hug.
“I will find halmeoni!” Wooyoung says cheerily.
Wooyoung heads out back to the garden to find San’s father squatted by the small charcoal stove grilling some sweet potatoes, San’s grandmother was seat on a chair also watching over the fire.
“Halmeoni! Dad!” Wooyoung greets with a bright smile.
“Oh, your back Wooyoung.” Mr Choi goes to give Wooyoung a quick clap on the back, allowing the boy to make a beeline to San’s grandmother. The elderly women’s eyes lit up as she saw Woyoung push open the sliding door, rising slowly from her seat.
“I missed you so much Halmeoni.” Wooyoung hugs the old lady, she was frailer than the last he had seen her.
“I missed you too my little flower.” Halmeoni looks up to Wooyoung and strokes the young man’s face. “You look thin have they not been feeding you? Is San not feeding you well? If he isn't, that boy will not hear the end of it.”
Wooyoung smiles at her thinking the same words could be said to Halmeoni. Her cheeks looked sunken and her snowy grey hair had lost its shine, even though fall had barely started Halmeoni was already wrapped up with a couple of layers for the wind made her bones ache. It pained Wooyoung seeing her like this. The idea of ageing is and should be beautiful but the reality of watching someone age hurts those around them.
“Halmeoni I got something for you.” Wooyoung helps her back into the chair, setting the large orange paper bag onto the ground. He pulls out the brown box and unravels the ribbon for the elderly lady. “A new scarf for when it gets colder.”
Wooyoung wraps the soft grey cashmere around her neck, Halmeoni beams at him.
“You are so good to me Wooyoung. I am so glad you are part of our family.” Halmeoni pets Wooyoung’s head, stroking its dark strands. “That pathetic grandson of mine has proposed to you, correct? Jisoo showed me the photos.”
Wooyoung brings his hand up to Halmeoni to show off the ring, San had proposed to him ever the romantic in Paris right after his last show. The old lady squints upon inspection, “Passable, the boy did okay. Only the best for my Wooyoungie.”
Only grandma Choi would scoff at a 1.25-carat diamond ring studded with half a dozen mini diamonds.
“When will your wedding be?” The childlike joy filled her eyes.
“Next spring. It will be small, here in Pyeongchang, when the flowers bloom.” Wooyoung smiles stroking the wrinkled skin at the back of her palm.
“I look forward to it. I am sure it will be beautiful.”
Halemoni passes in her sleep peacefully that winter.