Chapter Text
It was almost the end of the day. The sky turn gold as the sun finally sets.
On a wooden porch, a small figure silently watching the beautiful sunset while sipping a hot hojicha. Cold breeze blowing gently that made the wind chime that hung at the ceiling with a cute bear design sway and faintly humming.
"What do you want for dinner?" a soft voice asked her from behind. Gentle and powerful arms snaked to her waist and she let out a chuckle.
"You startled me, oppa!" Minha playfully scolded him but did not push him away.
"Mianhe." Seokhyeong giggled behind her ear.
It is the perfect way to celebrate their 100 days a couple. They booked a traditional inn in Jeju island for three days and two nights. It a late celebration but as Minha told him, better late than never. Since both are doctors, it means that their schedule are hectic thus it took them two months to finally took their well-deserved vacation.
"What do we have for dinner?" Minha asked him and now leaned back to him, a light blush evident on her plump cheeks.
"They have black pork BBQ and spicy beef soup." Seokhyeong hummed behind her and inhaling her addicting scent.
"Call!" she exclaimed excitedly and tapped his arm that is wrapped in her waist. "Tell Imo-nim that we will have that. I am hungry."
Seokhyeong nodded and closed his eyes but did not move an inch.
"Oppa..." she nudges him lightly so that he can tell the caretaker to prepare their food.
"Give me five more minutes, Minha-ya." he pulled her closer to him, his embrace tighter as if he is afraid that she will go somewhere. "I want to watch the sunset for a while with you."
"Arraso." Minha smiled and also watched the beautiful golden sunset of Jeju island sky in silence with him.
Of course, they have lots of intimate moments outside the hospital but this is the first that they went out on a trip and she is thankful that they had chance to do it.
"Minha-yah…" Seokhyeong broke the comfortable silence after two minutes.
"Hmmm, oppa?"
He did not answer right away so she whipped her head to give him a questioning look. She saw him smiling at her giddily.
"Waeyo, oppa? Is there something on my face?" she pouted at him.
'Is he making fun of me?'
"Ani." he shook his head lightly but continued staring at her with his toothy grin.
"What is it, oppa?" she again pouted back at him and pretending to be angry.
"Saranghae." he quietly confessed to her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
That took her by surprise. Seriously, Yang Seokhyeong never fails to make her heart full and flutter. She beamed back to him; her red cheeks turned redder. "Nado saranghae, oppa."
She was about to give him peck on the lips but the backdrop of Jeju sunset dissolved. Seokhyeong suddenly disappeared out of her sight.
"Ouch!" she cried quietly and rubbed the left side of her temple.
Instantly, the sound of loud chatting of passengers, honking of cars and moving scenery flooding to her.
She is now riding a bus and sitting beside the window. She just bumped her head at the window.
Minha pouted. She must have drowse off while waiting for the bus to leave the terminal. As she pulled her cellphone, her frustration came back in vengeance as she saw no message or missed call from her boyfriend.
It was supposedly their long-awaited vacation to Jeju that day. They filed a two-day vacation before their day off for the occasion. She was so excited that she asked Jang Gyeoul to go shopping for new clothes and makeup, only it got to be cancelled.
Much to her disappointment, Seokhyeong called off their vacation last minute. He said that he will need to attend to something urgent personally. The details—he did not explain to her. He just assured her that they will again file another vacation leave, book the same inn in Jeju next month.
Leaving her no choice—that he looked apologetic and serious that night when he broke the news to her, she agreed. She asked him what he needs to do but he just said that she does not need to know—for now.
Of course, she is Chu Minha, she is always curious and she is his girlfriend. She should know the reason why he is cancelling their trip but Seokhyeong is very good in hiding it.
She tried everything to know his secret. He asked his friends—oh yes, even the scary Thanos, but his friends also have no idea.
When they started dating, he was very honest about what is happening to him—he even told his plan about his mother after a week of dating. Now, he is hiding something from her and she is mad and frustrated. She was so frustrated that she even thought of contacting his mother to ask about it but stopped herself as the two of them have not met yet.
So last night, when he ended his shift and said he will be going home, she pushed him away from her when he was about to give her a hug even though he brought her favorite tteokkbokki takeout for snack.
"I am sorry, Minha-yah." he pouted at her and he looked like a child that someone took his favorite teddy bear as she acted cold towards him. "I'll tell you everything after, please stop being mad at me." he pleaded at her.
"I thought you are going to say something important; I will go back to the nurse's station." she coldly answered while glaring at him. "I'll just spend my vacation leave and day off alone." she again shot a sharp glare at him before exiting his office.
"Wait, Minha-yah!" Seokhyeong called her before she can actually step out of his office.
Making him guilty is really the best tactic, she mused and a victorious smirk formed on her lips before she whips her head back to him. She put back her stoic face.
"Yes, gyosunim?" she asked him and used honorific intentionally.
Seokhyeong frowned at her and looked like he is guilty of doing something wrong.
"Waeyo, gyosunim?" she again asked him coldly while holding the door.
Seokhyeong bit his lip before heaving a deep sigh. "Please come here Minha-yah." his gentle voice asked her to approach him.
He is now sitting at his table; he is already in his normal clothes. When he is doing that—his soft addicting voice, cute and adorable face—she really cannot resist him.
‘I mean who wouldn’t?”
She approached him but still scowling. "What is it?"
Seokhyeong gazed at her intensely. She continued to scowl at him and then he pushed the tteokkbokki takeout on the table towards her.
"You forgot your snack." he innocently told her.
She scoffed and was taken aback. She thought that he was feeling guilty and will now just at least tell her what important thing he needs to do that he wants to postpone their 100-day celebration
"YAH!" she frustratedly cried at him and took the plastic container of her favorite snack.
"YOU SLOW BEAR! YOU WILL NOT HEAR ANYTHING FROM ME FOR FOUR DAYS! I WILL NOT SEND YOU MESSAGES NOR GIVE YOU A CALL!"
She stomped her feet in anger and stormed away from his office. Before she closed the door, she heard him giggling.
‘Is he going back to being an insensitive bear?’
‘What is that he needs to do personally that he needs to put off their vacation together?’
‘And why is he not telling her?’
"Aish!' she snarled and now thinking of maybe calling him or sending him another message or a death threat.
She was so frustrated and mad that she packed her bags and hop to the earliest bus after her shift ended.
"Aniya! Be cool Minha-yah!" she stops herself in sending another angry message to her boyfriend. She should be an understanding girlfriend, shouldn’t she?
But no! He should have known that she is worried and wanted to know why he needs to cancel their celebration. What is more important than their long overdue plan that he just easily cancel it?
Trying not to cry like a baby, she just opened her playlist, put on her earphones and played a song of her favorite boy group.
'Be cool, Minha-yah...'
'Hajima! Hajima! Don't text him'
'Don't give him a call.'
'Make him miss you more, Minha-yah!'
Miles away from Minha, little that she knew, her boyfriend woke up groggily.
Seokhyeong had a hard time opening his eyes. He is very tired. When he parted with Minha last night, he felt guilty and sad. Minha gave him a cold gaze and push him away before he can actually hug her goodbye.
He reached for his cellphone at the bedside table in the dark while still laying at the bed but he kept on missing it.
He rolled on the right to get a better access to the bedside table but instead he fell from the bed with a loud thump.
As he let out a painful groan, he scanned his surroundings. It is still dark. A light flashed suddenly at his bed and he quickly hopped back check it. It is his cellphone.
Minha just sent him another message—an angry bear sticker in Kakaotalk.
He sighed; his guilt came back with the force of a ten-wheeler truck.
'But, Minha-yah, really?' he mused. He does not know if he will laugh or feel guilty as he saw how many messages and missed calls, he had from her.
Missed calls: 37
Messages from Minha: 143
He laughed softly how cute she is even though most of her message were angry bear stickers, death threats and swearing that she will not give him time for his 'needs'.
Another message came, it is another sticker. Two bears that are bickering at each other. He really tried his best not to laugh when she told him with her angry-bear face that she will not send her messages nor a call.
His train of thoughts disappeared as he heard faint noise outside his room.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness and found himself that he is not in his room, however it feels comfortable and unbelievably familiar.
He scanned the room with his eyes. There were lots of photo frames in all sizes all over the wall that it looked like it is an art gallery. Well, that is a bit of understatement. Every inch of the room has a portrait of the owner of the room or a group of boys that were smiling back at him. The room is small, it has a nice fluffy bed, a small beside table with a small lamp and a wardrobe. He can see behind the thick curtains that there is a window with small pots of succulent that it is almost sunrise.
He wanted to stay with her until her shift ends but he needs to go somewhere. So right after he left the hospital, he drove far far away from his beloved girlfriend.
Behind his room's sliding door, two figures were bickering at the dark.
"Go wake him up!" the male voice said.
"It is your idea to wake him up, why don't we let him sleep more?" the female voice whispered.
"Breakfast will be cold."
"Then I will just reheat it—give him some slack—" the female's voice got interrupted as the lights on the dark narrow hallway turned on.
At the end of the hallway, a man in his late twenties stood, scratching his head and looking sleepy. "What are you two doing there at the dark?" he inquired.
"'Keep quiet!" the woman in her 50s hissed at him. "You will wake him up!"
"You just woke up? I told you to wake up early!" the man who is also on the same age with the woman snarled at him.
Their son walks towards them with a frown. "You two are so loud, you probably woke him up."
The mother hit his son in his arm, "Shut up, let him sleep more, let's eat breakfast. We have lots of things to do."
"Wae? Why are you hitting me eomma?" their son cried in pain. "You ask me to go home for me help you—"
"Shut up! Let's go." The father of the household said and pushed his son away from the room but the sliding doors opened unexpectedly.
All three standing outside the door craned their necks quickly back to the door.
"Annyeonghasaeyo." Seokhyeong shyly greeted them. He bowed deeply at them and put on an awkward smile.
He changed his clothes quickly. He is now wearing his favorite white hoodie, his new jeans and he used Minha's hairbrush that he found in the bedside table to make his hair neat.
"Oh, did we wake you up?" the mother of the household asked.
"Aniyo eommonim—" he quickly answered back at her politely.
"Breakfast is ready, join us. We have lots of things to do today." the father told him coldly.
"Of course, abonim, thank you." he bowed politely at him and slightly looked scared.
"Yah, why are you scaring him early in the morning?" the mother hit her husband lightly and told him quietly but he was able to hear it.
"What?" Her husband innocently asked. He turned to Seokhyeong, "Why are you wearing white clothes? Change that after eating breakfast."
"Sorry, abonim. I'll change right away—" he quickly said and bowed deeply.
The mother again slapped at her husband and casted a glare. "It is OK gyosunim, you can change later."
"Do you eat rice in the morning, gyosunim?" the son asked him.
"I eat anything." he told them and still smiling awkwardly. "And please, you can call me 'hyung'." he told their son.
"All right, let's go. The food will go cold." the mother said and they all now walk towards the dining room.
"Is there anything that you want to eat, gyosunim?' she sweetly asked him as they climb down the stairs.
"I'll tell you right away if there is something that I can think of, eommonim. You can call me Seokhyeong, I don't mind."
She giggled at this, "Can I?"
"What she really wanted is to call her 'son-in-law'." Their son quietly told his father while they walk behind the Seokhyeong and his mother. That earned a chuckle from his father.
***
Finally, Minha arrived at the terminal. The fresh air of Sokcho welcomed her. She is excited to see the surprise look of her parents. It's been a while that she got back home because of her busy schedule—but thanks to their cancelled trip, she decided to pay her parents a visit.
She took a cab from the terminal going home and realized that she should have bought something from Seoul before she departed to Sokcho and just made a mental note that she will just order online and have it delivered it to them.
The familiar and nostalgic view of their guesthouse made her forget her distress with her boyfriend. She unloaded her bag and walk to the grassy ground of their yard.
She cannot wait to see the surprise faces of her parents. She missed them dearly.
She went straight to their house and from a distance, she can see her brother busy reading something on a piece of paper at the pathway.
"Minki-yah!' she called him excitedly, "You are here?"
"Noona?" he looked up at her and casted a why-are-you-here look at her.
"SURPRISE!" she beamed at him and gave him a hug. "Why are you here? I thought you don't have time to go home?" she asked and grinning. What a great timing it is! She gets to spend time with her family on her vacation. Maybe they can go on a picnic tomorrow, she mused.
"Eomma asked me to go home." he told her and took her bag from her.
"Eomma? Wae?" She inquired and furrowed her eyebrows. "Where are they?"
"Huh?" her brother distractedly blurted out and sidestepped to prevent her to walk forward. "She just did. Why are you here, noona?'
"She did? Why did she not give me a call? I missed her!" pouted at him and feeling jealous that her mother only called his brother.
"I dunno..."
"Yah, move over, let's go inside. I want to see them already."
"I think you need to go straight to your room, eh? I think they are tending to our guest." he told grinned at her uneasily. "Plus, you are tired, aren't you? It is a long trip from Seoul."
"It's okay, I want to see them first." she sidestep to walk forward only for her brother to block her way again.
"Why don't I make you some freshly brewed coffee, noona?" he stopped her in her tracks--again.
"That would be nice!" she beamed at him and her heart moved how thoughtful her brother is. "Please make it sweet, and while you do that, I'll just see them first." she again sidestepped to the other side to attempt to walk forward but her brother blocked her--for the third time.
She cast a suspicious look at him while he laughed at her awkwardly. "I can't remember how to use the coffee maker, noona."
Something is off, she thought. It seems like her brother is trying his best to prevent her to go inside the house.
"Jinja! Appa bought a new coffee maker, I have not used it yet."
She continued to stare at him intently and she can feel that he is nervous and sweating despite of the cold weather.
"It is the truth!" he blurted out to her.
"Eomma!' she suddenly cried with matching pointing of her index finger behind him. And it does the trick—her brother quickly look over his shoulder and she took that opportunity to escape him.
"YAH NOONA!" she heard him shouting after her. She ran away from him and giggling madly.
Her brother sigh in defeat. "Maybe this is for the best." he shook his head.
"EOMMA! APPA! I AM HOME!"
There in the pathway, her mother is standing along with basins on vegetables.
"EOMMA! EOMMA! I AM HOME!"
"Minha-yah? What are you doing here?"
Minha gave her a hug as soon as she reached her. "SURPRISE!"
"What are doing here, my daughter?" she asked incredulously and there is something in her tone that she did not want her to be home.
"Wae?" she pouted back at her. "Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Of course, I do, don't be ridiculous!" she quickly told her and hug her more. "You should have called! I miss you!"
"I want to surprise you!" she beamed at her cutely. "But eomma, why did you only called Minki-yah and not me?" she pretended to look angry at her.
"I know that you are busy, my favorite daughter." she hastily told her.
"Fine, where is appa?"
"Your Appa? He is just—Minki-yah!" she loudly called her brother who now was behind her.
"Why don't you show your noona around first, eh?" she told him and gave him a vague look.
Minki sighed, "As if she has not seen our guesthouse..." he muttered monotonously.
"She has not seen the changes after the renovation, you crazy—" their mother hastily said and continued giving him a vague look. She is tilting her head as if signaling something to him but unfortunately his brother was not able to pick it up.
"I want to see Appa first." she insisted to her and grinning widely, brushing off the funny feeling in her stomach that something is off with her brother and mother.
"He went out." she automatically answered.
Minha sighed sadly, she wanted to see her appa before she can go to her room.
It happened all of sudden. A voice that is very familiar. A voice that she always hears every day. It is the same voice that her heart skips a beat and make her giddy and happy.
"Eommonim, here is the first batch of—" Seokhyeong came from her mother's back. He is carrying a basin full of cabbage.
She froze.
There, her boyfriend, carrying cabbages, wearing a flowery apron on top of a worn-out sweatshirt that she suspects owned by her father and has latex gloves in his both hands with matching rubber boots.
He let out a gasp seeing her and drop the basin that he is carrying.
‘Minha-yah?!'
"YOU?!" she uttered in awe.
"What are you doing here?" they asked in unison.
TBC.