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It had started innocently enough. You were actually kind of surprised.
Your family wasn't big, but your father was very close with his sister and liked to have all of his family gathered together for any event, sometimes even if there wasn't one. So, naturally, when he caught wind that you were back in the country, even for a short time, he had called you and almost demanded you come home. When you tried to explain that you were here for your boyfriend, he had just flippantly told you to bring him, that he wanted to meet him. That was all well and good, really, even supportive. But Kris was Asian. At a distance, one could mistake him, could twist his features with makeup, but bringing him into the close quarters of your family home was too close, close enough that his narrowed eyes, high cheekbones and smooth cheeks would give him away.
"It can't be that bad." Kris had chided when you'd told him. "We should go."
Your stomach had dropped and your reponse to the suggestion was immediate. "Absolutely not."
"C'mon. What, are you ashamed of me?" He waggled his eyebrows at you playfully.
"It's totally them. I don't want to put you at their mercy."
"You're being overdramatic." He tapped your nose. "We'll go. EXO has some downtime, introduce me."
"You don't get it. This is a really bad idea." You pleaded.
"Hey, you met my mom. We spent the week with her in Vancouver, remember? The least you can do is afford me the opportunity to meet your family."
Your sigh was heavy, burdened extraordinarily by what was going to happen, what you knew would happen. "Fine, fine. I'll call my dad back, but if this goes south, remember this conversation and that I tried to warn you."
But, again, it had started pleasantly enough.
Kris had spent part of his childhood in Vancouver and spoke English fluently, if a little stunted, having to focus on Korean and Chinese since joining SM and EXO. Meeting you had sharped his skills again and his accent was negligable. Maybe that was a point in his favour when your mother greeted you at the front door, smiling up at Kris warmly. She had never been much of a problem and immediately hugged him.
"Mumma, this is Kris." You said, hugging her. "Kris, my mom."
"So, you're the man my baby keeps talking about." She smiled brightly at him and he ducked his head bashfully. "Don't worry, honey, all good things."
"Thank you. It's good to meet you."
Your mother smiled again, patting his arm, the smile falling from her face a little when she looked at you. "Your father's in the kitchen with your aunt and grandmother. Do you want me to get him or go yourself?"
Kris eyed you both at the cryptic secrecy, the strange seriousness. Her eyes flickered up to him for a moment before coming back to you.
"May as well just rip it off all at once. Where are my siblings? Are my cousins here?"
"Upstairs." You nodded at her. She smiled once more at Kris, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze before walking outside, escaping to sneak a smoke.
"You are really really really sure?" You asked one more time.
"Yes, now let's go."
The usually reassuring grip of his massive hands wasn't as comforting as usual, his warmth not quite able to cure the chill settled over you. You lead him through the living room and into the kitchen, where all of your 'adult' relatives were seated around the kitchen table, your father leaning against the counter by the sink.
"You're here!" Your father exclaimed, rushing over to hug you. Granted, you supposed. You had been gone for almost four years.
"Hey dad. It's good to see you." You stepped aside, further into the tiled room, giving Kris some room to move in.
The first thing cycling through your father's head was how tall Kris was. The next, when they shook hands, was how large they were. Then he seemed to take in Kris's otherwise lithe and slight frame. Lastly, the fact he was Asian.
"This is my boyfriend, Kris." You said, then hastened to add, "We've been dating for two and a half years."
Your aunt mock-gasped (undeserving, sarcastic bitch). "And we're only meeting him now?"
"It's my fault." Kris spoke up, surprising the assembled and wrapping an arm around your shoulders, bringing you close to him. "My schedule hasn't given me the time to see my mother until a couple of months ago. We're just lucky that I have a tour stop in the next city over and some downtime between concerts."
Your aunt's eyebrows shot into her hairline. "Concert? Are you a singer or something?"
"Part of an idol group called EXO. This is our, what? Second?" He looked down at you.
"Second." You confirmed.
"Yeah, our second world tour." He smiled politely.
"I thought you said you met him in Korea, when you were studying." Your grandmother interjected.
Just then, your brother slid down the handrail into the kitchen, grinning as he strode over to your boyfriend, almost as tall as him. "They have music in Korea, Nana. In Korean, too, would you believe it." He hooked an arm around Kris' waist and pulled him into a hug. "Good to finally see you in person, man. That nerd over there doesn't shut up about you."
Recognition flashed over Kris' face. "You're the sibling I saw on Skype, right?"
"That would be me." Your brother beamed.
"Yeah, nice to meet you in person, finally." Kris smiled and it warmed your heart to see this going at least not disasterously.
And then your cousin came sauntering down the stairs, popping her gum. "Ooo, who's the foreigner?"
You bristled, but Kris was smooth. No way he could have been otherwise, not as the Duizhuang of EXO-M. "I'm actually a Canadian citizen."
She nodded idly and with where Kris' hand had fallen down on your back, he could feel you stiffen. "Man, you've got big hands." She looked at you and raised an eyebrow. "You know what they say about guys with large hands."
You sent her a look. "A very justified comparison."
Kris raised an eyebrow at you. You didn't want to say it out loud in English, so you switched to Chinese.
"She's making an innuendo that you have a big dick. I thought it was obvious, but . . . "
Kris chuckled, leanin down to kiss the top of your head. "Naughty, naughty girl."
"Hey, none of that chink speak." Your dad reprimanded in what was probably intended to be a playful manner, but set your teeth on edge. "Speak a language we all understand. You do speak English, don't you, Kris?"
"Fluently." He replied, having either missed or not understood the slur. You thought he might have had it thrown at him once or twice in school, but apparently not. Which was fine with you. It wasn't like you wanted that shit coming his way. He squeezed your shoulder. "Want to show me your childhood home?"
You brightened at the idea of getting away from the harpies. Leading him up the stairs, your cousin snarked again. "Don't spend too long in the bedroom ,if you know what I mean."
You smiled brisquely at her. "I have a hotel room tonight for that."
"Hey! No kid of mine is going to talk like filth in this house." Your father shot up the stairs after you.
"Good thing I don't live here anymore." You muttered back, not wanting to get into an argument, but unwilling to let it go completely. Kris squeezed your hand. You lead him into the room over the garage and spotted your sister on the couch, watching tv.
"Hey, kiddo."
She snapped up and ran over, nearly tackling you with the force of her hug. "Oh my god! You're back!"
"Not for long. we're just between stops on the tour."
"We?"
"Remember me telling you about Kris, from EXO?"
"Yeah, and you remember me telling you how hot he is?"
"I'm flattered, honestly."
She pulled her face of of your chest and looked up at him, jaw hitting the floor.
"You cut me off on the Skype call, so I didn't get the chance to tell you that we're dating."
"Uh . . . Imma just go hide in the bathroom until my face doesn't feel like it's gonna melt off."
You let the poor girl go and took Kris through the rest of the house, murmuring anecdotes and explaining silly pictures hung up on the wall. He chuckled at you, nuzzling you in your bedroom.
"See? This isn't so bad, is it?" He joked.
"Hmm. We haven't even had dinner yet."
You hoped that dinner would be beneign, but there was no such long-lasting luck.
"So, Kris," Your grandmother spoke up. "What's your real name?"
He blinked up at her and swallowed. "Pardon?"
"Your real name. Surely your name isn't actually Kris."
"Do you mean the name he goes by or what's written on his passport?" You asked.
"What's on his birth certificate."
He cleared his throat. "I have a couple of names, actually. Li Jiaheng is on my birth certificate, but my mother changed it to Wu Yifan. When I went to school, I was known as Kevin Wu. Since I started working for SM, I've been Kris Wu."
"Why do you have so many names?" Your cousin asked, eyebrow raising. "Why not just keep one?"
He shrugged. "That's just how it happened. I guess, technically, my name is Yifan, but my English name is Kris now."
"You need a Chinese and English name?" Your grandmother pressed. "Why not just stick with your English one?"
"His mother isn't just going to stop calling him Yifan." You replied, trying to end the conversation. "Besides, native English speakers trying to pronounce a Chinese name without knowing Chinese is difficult."
"So which do we call you?" Your cousin said, eyeing you both.
"Kris. Kris is fine." He looked back down to his food, withdrawing slightly from conversation.
"So, what do you do in this band of yours?" Your father started again.
"I usually rap, but we also dance and sing."
"How many of there are you?"
"Including myself, twelve. Eight of the members are Korean and the other four are Chinese."
"You dance, huh?" Your father looked less impressed the more he spoke. "So, what, you flat around stage and wink at all the pretty boys?"
Kris blinked once, twice. "Pardon?"
"Isn't that how it is? All pretty asian boys making out backstage?"
Kris's eyes flickered to you. "Is he serious?"
"Just . . . Just smile and nod, like it's a joke."
"Hey, hey! What did I say? No secrets around this table!"
"Yeah, no more of that ching-chong nonsense." Your grandmother added, staring the two of you down. You knew you'd never been her favourite, but this was really unsettling.
Kris took a moment. "Excuse me?"
"What?"
"That's my native language. I don't appreciate you badmouthing it."
"You said you're a Canadian. I don't know why you're so upset if you don't even live there."
"It's insulting." He said, shortly.
"God, you millenials." Your grandmother huffed. "Not only are you disrespectful, but you can't even take a joke."
"It wasn't a joke and you know it." Kris narrowed his eyes. "I'm twenty-six years old. I'm far from a child and I expect the same respect you expect from me."
Your sister and brother were stock still, eyes flickering around the table.
Immediately, your father was out of his chair. "How dare you speak to my mother like that!"
Kris stood too, glaring him down. "I came to meet my partner's family, not to be called a chink," he spat the word like poison, "and spoken to like a second class citizen. I've made the effort. The least you can do is treat me like a human being and not an exotic import."
Your mother took Kris' hand and placed a glass of wine in it, but was directing her speech at you. "How about you go on the back deck. It's still warm this time of year." The hard, clipped edges of her tone spoke of the anger trapped behind her icy eyes.
Kris followed you to the backyard, to a small patch of sunlight. He handed you the glass and you downed half of it. The action shocked a laugh out of him. "Is this what you meant when you said you didn't want to come?"
You coughed at the burn, handing it back to him and watching him sip at it, like a civilized human being. "Yeah. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid."
"Who would you side with?"
"You, obviously. But I didn't want to be anywhere near the position where I'd have to."
"Did I make you uncomfortable?"
"Of course you did. But that's fine, honestly. I'm happy you stood up for yourself." You hugged him tight, feeling him sag in your arms. "I love you, Yifan. So much."
"I love you too."
Your mother came out shortly, her face chiselled in contained fury. "I'm so sorry baby, Kris."
"I'm . . . We're just going to go."
You mother smiled balefully at you, hugging you tightly. "I'm so sorry."
You nodded mutely, Kris hugging the two of you quietly.
"Come. Through the garage." She said into your shoulder, leading you around the side of the house back to the car you came in. "I'll tell your siblings where you went."
"Thanks Mumma."
"Thank you, Mama." Kris said, pulling her into a hug as well. "I hope I'll get to see you again soon."
"Be safe. and good luck on the tour, Kris."
He held you close that night, curled around you protectively.
"Yeah, we'll definitely be picky with the wedding guest list." He murmured into your neck. You snorted.
"Planning on marrying me?"
"Well, yeah. Isn't that how all perfect couples end up?"