After taking a heavy breath, Seoyun shakily rang the doorbell of Hyunjin's home. She wasn't sure on why she was nervous in the first place. Maybe it was the fact that she had never been in his house before or that she knew little of what his family was like. The topic of family rarely came up, she didn't talk about her and he didn't talk about his. The mystery of the people behind those doors was nerve wracking, not because of who they might be but because of how she can be.

"Who is it?" A woman's voice spoke out of the speakers.

"I'm Hyunjin's friend, Park Seoyun. He told me to come over, can I come in?" Seoyun said softly with a polite smile. The door soon opened to a middle aged woman with a wide grin on her face.

She must be his mother, she's beautiful.

"I'm his mother, come inside! Do you like fruits?" His mother said cheerily. Seoyun was suddenly pulled in and was sat down on their couch immediately.

The sound of distant water running indicated that Hyunjin was most likely still in the shower and that her wait would've been longer than expected.

"Yes, I love fruit," she answered awkwardly in her flustered state. The shy Seoyun could barely keep up with the friends she has, but now his mother was a whole new different kind of friendly and extrovert-ness.

"Fantastic! I'll cut some up right away!" His mother said as she gracefully glided to the kitchen.

"Ah yes... thank you for your kindness," Seoyun responded the only way she knew how to talk to adults, which mostly consisted of her parents coworkers or business partners that she had to impress.

"No need to be so formal dear, any friend of my son is a friend of mine too. And it's not often Hyunjin brings a girl home," she said with a thankful smile that she kept hidden from Seoyun. Both had kept small talk to keep each other entertained while getting to know each other at the same time, just little things mostly: asking about how she and Hyunjin met, her school life, what Hyunjin was like as a kid, etc..

"Is there anything I can help you with? I cant possibly just sit and watch you prepare food," Seoyun got up from her seat and slowly walked over to his mother.

"Just sit pretty, I'm almost done anyways," She said with a smile. "Should I show you some pictures of Hyun when he was a baby?" She mumbled to herself as she placed the nicely plated fruit on the table.

"Shouldn't that be reserved for his girlfriend?" Seoyun said with an awkward laugh as she scratched her cheek.

"Well aren't you?" His mother said with genuine confusion.

"Huh," Seoyun peeped out in complete shock.

"I mean, if you're the Park Seoyun that I've heard about then you must be!" She said as she sat Seoyun down next to her.

"Huh," Seoyun repeated with the same confused expression.

"You're Seoyun that always comes to visit him during practice and brings him food," Seoyun nodded. "Seoyun that he picks up from the library," Seoyun nodded. "Seoyun that helps him study these days," Seoyun nodded. "Then you must the Seoyun the girlfriend," Seoyun shook her head.

"Our relationship isn't like that," Seoyun said with a light laugh, finally regaining her composure. "Hyunjin and I are just really good friends," she smiled.

"Hmph, maybe, for now," his mother said before eating a piece of apple.

"Huh," Seoyun said, reverting back to her confused state.

"Are you saying weird things again?" Hyunjin walked out of his room with Kkami in his hands. His towel laid on his shoulders to prevent his hair getting his shirt wet. Hyunjin walked over to the two women, one with a flustered blush that avoided his eyes while the other stared at the blushing mess with a smirk on her face.

"You said weird things again didn't you," Hyunjin frustratingly said to his smirking mother.

"Take some fruit," Seoyun said apathetically, completely exhausted from the repeated blood rush that reddened her face. Hyunjin sighed at the sight of his friend.

He quickly grabbed her wrist and led her to his room. "I'm going to get ready, I'm taking her with me so you don't say any other things," Hyunjin said before shutting his door. "Poor thing," he pet her head softly.

"You never told me you're mom was such a sweetheart," Seoyun said when she gained her composure once again.

"What'd you guys talk about?" he asked as he handed her Kkami to free his hands and get ready.

"Not much out of the ordinary, but she did have this idea that we're together or something, she almost showed me your baby pictures. To be honest I wanted to pretend just so I could see them and find something to make fun of you for, but I told her that it should be just for your girlfriend," she explained the more interesting part of their conversation and ending it with a short laugh.

"That would've been bad, there's a lot of old secrets hidden in those photo albums," he said after finding the perfect sweater.

"Well now I'm curious. Do you want to go out with me for a second and break up after I look through them?" Seoyun asked jokingly before she stood up and walked next to him with Kkami in her arms.

"It's still a no for me," he pet her head then took Kkami away from her which caused her to pout at the lost feeling of warmth in her arms.

"Are you ready to go?" Seoyun continued to pet Kkami's head. Hyunjin nodded his head and opened the door for her, only to be met by his mother who was right outside the door.

"At least keep it open a few inches," his mom said shyly, a new expression on his mother face.

"Mom, we're just friends," he reassured her politely before moving past her to put his shoes on, Seoyun followed behind him closely and put hers on too.

"We'll get going now, thank you for having me Mrs. Hwang," Seoyun smiled and bowed.

"Oh dear, call me 장모님," his mother said jokingly, causing both teens to wildly blush. "Hope to see you soon, Seoyun."

"Huh," Seoyun said in disbelief before just simply nodding her head and said, "you too." Almost uttering the embarrassing words.

"I'll text you what time I'll be coming home," Hyunjin said hurriedly then quickly pulled her out side in one swift move.

"Sorry about that," he scratched the back of his head while avoiding her eyes.

"It's okay, that's just how moms are," she reasoned to lessen their embarrassment, although her ears were bright red.

"She just gets excited when a girl comes, or anyone really. Since I'm her only kid, she likes it when I bring people home," he said as they walked to the elevator.

"So you've brought a girl home before?" Seoyun asked, a little wary of her question.

"Once, she was a friend of mine," he said, his voice serious with a hint of disdain.

"You haven't let any of your girlfriends meet her before? Wow," she asked in shock, trying to avoid asking why she was his friend. If he wanted to talk about her, he would've.

It didn't take Hyunjin a while to know where she was trying to lead the conversation which made his smile a little. "I'm a little private when it comes to my family."

"I can understand why, I like keeping family business between family," she sympathized with his words.

"I mean it's not that I want to hide my family from people, it's just that I don't have to have them cross over," Hyunjin said, finally being able to talk about this tiny detail of his.

"I know right! I just don't want to involve people in my family problems," she said with shining eyes, feeling the same way.

"It's mostly how much I want them in my life or how long I think they would stick with me, y'know?" He said.

"Then you have to choose your next girlfriend carefully, your mom really wants to show off those baby pictures," she said with a smile as she squeezed his shoulder to show her support.

"I guess I do, huh."

It's good that she likes you too.

~
장모님- mother in law