Hyun Joong seemed to enjoy the food more than Hwang Bo. It had been a while since he had a proper meal. His usual meal could be defined as ramen. "Buin, this is very delicious," Hyun Joong praised with full mouth. Hwang Bo's cooking skill was really impressive. There was nothing she could not cook.
Hwang Bo smiled smugly. She had been living by herself for a long time. She was independent and able to survive on her own. Besides that, her mother trained her well in cooking and housework. Hwang Bo never doubted her cooking skill. But to be hearing Hyun Joong telling her that her cooking was delicious, she felt like she had win a trophy. "Eat more," she encouraged as she carefully put more kimchi in Hyun Joong's bowl.
"Hhhmm.." Hyun Joong replied. "Buin eats too," he added, glancing at Hwang Bo's bowl. His was almost half eaten while hers looked untouched. Seeing Hwang Bo shaking her head, Hyun Joong took a piece of meat between his chopsticks and put it in Hwang Bo's bowl. Then he did the same with the kimchi and chicken.
Hwang Bo laughed. "Enough! Enough! You are not feeding livestock," Hwang Bo complained and pulled her bowl out of Hyun Joong's reach. Then she pouted. "I have to watch my weight." The truth was, Hwang Bo never had problem keeping her stomach flat.
Hyun Joong put down his bowl and looked up. His gaze was directed towards Hwang Bo. He was rather expressionless. "That dance you like, techtonik.."
"Hmm.. Why?" Hwang Bo asked. She bite her lower lip, half smiling and looked at Hyun Joong suspiciously. She anticipated something when hearing the tone Hyun Joong used. The cheeky tone.
"You burn a lot of calories when you dance.."
Hwang Bo was already throwing her head back, laughing until her eyes got teary.
"..with your hands moving like this, like this," Hyun Joong continued with a chuckle. His hands moved, imitating Hwang Bo when she danced. "You don't need to watch your weight."
"Ya! When you performed with me for the Chuseok special episode, you seemed to be enjoying yourself."
"That.." There was a slight pause. "I was looking forward for my solo performance."
Hwang Bo almost pouted at his answer. "I can never win with you," she stated the obvious.
"No, Buin. I'm joking," Hyun Joong said apologetically. He stretched out his hand across the table to pat Hwang Bo's hand. He enjoyed teasing Hwang Bo like this.
At that time, the door bell rang, surprising Hyun Joong. He warily turned towards the door. "Did you invite any guest?" he asked. His Buin and her habit of inviting guests without telling him. One day, Hyun Joong would have a talk with her about this. They could never spend time alone if she kept doing this.
Hwang Bo nodded. "You will like this person," she said, assuring Hyun Joong. She smiled and got up. "It's a surprise."
Hyun Joong smiled, looking excited hearing the word surprise. "Surprise? For me? My surprise? Who is it?" he fired the questions rapidly.
Hwang Bo nodded again. "My mother," she said and walked to the door. Hwang Bo ignored the shocked expression on Hyun Joong's face.
His eyes widened and he clutched both hands on his chest. Hwang Bo's mother? "Buin!" he called out but Hwang Bo was already at the door. He could hear their conversation from where he was sitting.
"Omma, you came. I could pick you up at the station," Hwang Bo greeted her mother and gave her a tight warm hug. "Omma, I missed you," she added.
Hwang Bo's mother smiled and shoved her bag towards Hwang Bo. "Hye Jung ah.. Omma is not that old. I can come here from the station by myself. I can even walk if there's no bus."
Hwang Bo took her mother's bag and dumped it on the sofa as she pulled her hand to walk with her into the kitchen. Suddenly, Hwang Bo stopped and turned to her mother. She blushed a little before telling her mother, "Omma, there's someone in the kitchen I would like you to meet.." Hwang Bo paused for a while. "Don't be surprised. He also doesn't know you are coming."
Upon hearing Hwang Bo was going to introduce her mother to him, Hyun Joong hastily straightened up and pushed his and Hwang Bo's bowl aside. His hand quickly rearranged the plate of dishes on the table although they were already nicely arranged.
"Hyun Joong shi.." Hwang Bo called out to Hyun Joong. She could not help but supported herself against the wall and laughed when she saw Hyun Joong's expression. The elderly phobia look. It was cuter than the dragonfly phobia look.
Hyun Joong stood straight and still with both hands clasped in front of him. Upon seeing Hwang Bo's mother walked into the kitchen, he tried to smile but it looked very nervous. Hyun Joong bowed his head, greeting Hwang Bo's mother with a very formal, "Annyonghasyeyo."
Hwang Bos's mother was rather flabbergasted to see the Hyun Joong. "Annyong. Hye Jung ah, this is son-in-law, right?" Hwang Bo's mother immediately recognised Hyun Joong from We Got Married show. She watched it diligently just like she watched any other show with Hwang Bo in it. Her precious Hye Jung. Her pride and joy.
Hwang Bo walked to Hyun Joong's side. She patted Hyun Joong upper arms several times to calm him from his phobia of meeting her mother. "Yes, Omma. This is Hyun Joong.." Hwang Bo tilted her head to look up at Hyun Joong. "Are you OK?" she whispered the question. Both her tone and expression were bursting with concern. But she still could not hide her amused smile though.
"No.. No.. I'm OK," Hyun Joong replied. He waved his hands to gesture he was fine but contradict it with a few random nods. He could not think what the right answer would be.
Hwang Bo squeezed Hyun Joong's arm, assuring him things would be all right despite his nervousness. "Shillang, this is my mother," she introduced them to each other. "Omma, sit down. I'll get you a bowl." If she left them alone for a while, she hoped Hyun Joong could quickly overcome his phobia.
"No, Noona," Hyun Joong protested. "I'll go and get Omma.. Your.. Your.. Mother.." Hyun Joong started to trip over his word and stutter. He rubbed his check with his knuckles, blushing a little.
Hwang Bo was laughing out loud and clapping her hand at Hyun Joong's slip of tongue. Just like when he called her Yeobo a couple of times before, Hwang Bo was very sure when Hyun Joong called her mother Omma, he was expressing how he naturally wanted to call her mother.
"..Her.. The.. Bowl.." Hyun Joong continued to stutter. The room suddenly turned hot. He fan himself with his hands several time. He was in a very embarrassing situation now.
Hwang Bo had one hand covering her mouth while the other gesturing Hyun Joong to sit down. She quickly moved to get her mother a bowl of rice. The grin she had on her face seemed to be fixed there. Hwang Bo was thrilled Hyun Joong was thinking of her Omma as his own Omma.
Hyun Joong stretched out both arms, politely gesturing at the floor. "Please sit down," he said. He was so lost at what to do. He leaned towards the kitchen, praying that Hwang Bo would come out with the bowl of rice quickly. Being with Hwang Bo's mother alone felt very awkward.
"Son-in-law can call me Omma," said Hwang Bo's mother, sitting down. She gestured Hyun Joong to do the same. "Then Omma can call you son-in-law, right?"
Hyun Joong quickly nodded his head and sat down with Omma. "Sorry, we ate first without waiting," he sincerely apologised about the half eaten dishes on the table. Hwang Bo should have at least warned him about having a guest. Not only he had a heart attack when Omma showed up, it was very improper to serve the half eaten dishes to Omma. He could prepared himself well too if only he knew.
Omma shook her head. "It doesn't matter. You don't know I'm coming, right?" When Hyun Joong shook his head to answer the question, Omma told him, "I also don't know you are here. Are you and Hye Jung filming?"
"No.. No.." Other than apologizing and saying 'No', he could not think of any other thing to say. Hyun Joong leaned towards the kitchen again. Hwang Bo took forever to get that bowl of rice.
The answer cleared Omma's doubt. She looked at him suspiciously. There were no camera or production crew around. They were conversing in Hye Jung's kitchen. Not the house the production rented for filming. Hence, Omma knew very well they were not filming even before Hyun Joong answered her. "Why are you here, then?" she asked.
"Aa.." There was a long pause after that. "That.. I.." Hyun Joong stuttered again. He lowered his head a little and lightly touched the bridge of his nose. How was he supposed to answer this question? "I.. Noona.." He gestured towards the kitchen.
Hwang Bo came out with the bowl of rice just in time to save Hyun Joong. Coming from the kitchen, she could see Omma and Hyun Joong were having a light conversation in a very uncomfortable atmosphere. She put down the bowl in front of Omma.
Hyun Joong spontaneously started to put dishes on Omma's bowl. "Please eat, Omma," he said. Hyun Joong was very relieved the rice bowl came. It saved him from answering the question.
"Thank you," Omma thanked Hyun Joong. She put her hand up, placing it on Hyun Joong's as a gesture to stop him from putting dishes on her bowl. He was so nervous that Omma honestly thought he did not realised he almost emptied the whole plate of meat onto her bowl. "But.. Really, Hyun Joong ah.. What are you doing in Hye Jung's place?"
Hwang Bo moved around the table to sit next to Hyun Joong. She too, was a bit nervous about answering the question. She put her arm around Hyun Joong's arm. "I think, we should tell Omma," Hwang Bo tilted her head at Hyun Joong as she told him that. Hyun Joong merely looked at her, making Hwang Bo more nervous. Was Hyun Joong angry with her? His expression was hard to read. "Is Shillang angry?" she asked.
Hyun Joong shook his head. He was startled. It was Hwang Bo who suggested they kept the relationship discreet yet she was also the one who wanted to tell Omma about them.
As if she could read his mind, Hwang Bo said, "I must tell Omma. If I don't, I feel like I'm lying to her. You do understand, right?"
Hyun Joong nodded his head. He understood. He would not mind at all if other people knew. It was Hwang Bo who was really concerned about other people's reaction to their relationship. As for him, he knew what he wanted from their relationship and he stood firm with his decision. He was not concern about other people's reaction.
"Really?" Hwang Bo asked, frowning at the same time. If he did not nod, he would shake his head. His expression was still hard to read. She anticipated him to say something.
Hyun Joong nodded again. "Do you want me to tell Omma?" Hyun Joong offered.
"Yes!" Hwang Bo immediately took the offer before Hyun Joong changed his mind. Although this was her Omma but she would feel better if Hyun Joong told her the news. Maybe because she was a woman hence she felt shy acknowledging the relationship first. It would be better if Hyun Joong started it and she merely agreeing with him.
Without hesitation, Hyun Joong turned to Omma. He sat straight until he could feel his backbone snapped. Hyun Joong placed his palms on his knees and bowed his head low. "Omma," he said with exaggerated politeness. "Noona and I, we are dating now. I hope Omma gives us consent and don't object to it." He stayed bowing as such until he heard Omma's voice asked him to sit straight. He did.
Omma smiled. She did not seem to be affected by the little announcement. In fact, she looked like she was enjoying her meal as if the announcement never took place. "Omma has nothing to object," she said after sensing both youngsters in front of her were waiting for her to say something.
Hwang Bo's eyes widened. "Omma, you don't object Hyun Joong dates me?" she was quite surprised by Omma's answer.
Omma put down her bowl with an annoyed look on her face. "Do you want me to object?" she asked.
"No, Omma! Don't," Hwang Bo and Hyun Joong replied in unison. "But why are you not surprised?" Hwang Bo insisted for an answer.
Omma turned her gaze towards Hyun Joong. "Hyun Joong ah.. Hye Jung is my only daughter. My precious daughter. Omma knows her very well to know that she had fallen for you while filming. She is not good at hiding her emotion. It always shows."
Hyun Joong nodded his head at every sentence and listened tentatively. He looked like he would take note of everything Omma said if he had a notebook and pen with him.
Hwang Bo also listened tentatively at Omma's word. She felt warmness in Omma's voice.
"I don't know you so I don't know whether your feeling in the show is real or not. But if it is, I'll be very happy. You are, right?"
"Yes." Hyun Joong's answer was firm. He looked at Hwang Bo as he said it as if declaring his feeling and to get rid of any doubt if Hwang Bo had any. "I think, Noona loves me too."
Hwang Bo laughed. Hyun Joong turned Omma's question for him to her. That completely caught her off guard. "If I don't, do you think I will invite Omma here?" Hwang Bo asked, pretended to be irritated with the question.
Hyun Joong chuckled. "Omma heards Noona, right? She loves me."
"So Hyun Joong ah.. You can call Hye Jung Buin in front of me. I don't object to it. But I have to be discreet about this, right?" Omma got a nod each from them. Omma sighed. "So I can't brag to my friends at the countryside, right?" Omma sounded very disappointed.
"No, Omma. It's only for a while," said Hyun Joong, assuring Omma they would eventually tell everyone that they were dating. "Omma just wait until the gossip come out." Hyun Joong stared at Hwang Bo. They made a pact if things got too difficult for them, Hyun Joong would spread out the gossip about them and they would both admit to it when asked. From Hyun Joong's point of view, things already were difficult for him.
They kept in touch with each other through phone calls and text messages. Sometimes, his Buin would leave him messages in her cyworld. But that had become too obvious. Omma was right. Hwang Bo was not good at hiding her feeling. It was funny because despite the fact she asked Hyun Joong to be discreet, she seemed to likely be the first person to spread the rumours. They could only meet once in a while outside of filming. Most of the time, he would come over to Hwang Bo's place. As his members and manager always showed up without notice at his place, his place was ruled out as unsafe.
It was difficult for Hyun Joong because he wanted to go out with Hwang Bo and do what dating couple normally do. He wanted to come and support her when she had performance or filming. It was difficult to do so when they had to keep their relationship only between themselves.
Omma smiled. She looked satisfied with the answer. "Hye Jung looks like she's tough but actually, she's very fragile. She's very insecure too. Omma hopes Hyun Joong can take care of her."
"Omma!" Hwang Bo protested. "I'm not. From the way I look at it, I might be the one who'll take care of Hyun Joong."
"Emotionally, she needs someone to take care of her," Omma continued, totally ignoring Hwang Bo.
Hwang Bo lowered her head, a bit embarrassed to hear Omma talking about her as if she was not there. Hyun Joong looked like he enjoyed the conversation too. He had become talkative and his elderly phobia had miraculously gone.
"I will, Omma" Hyun Joong said, trying to meet Hwang Bo's eyes as he said those firm promises. He could not find her eyes as she was keeping her gaze low. But Hyun Joong saw her face turning red. He was satisfied Hwang Bo heard him clearly.
Hwang Bo could not hide her smile nor did she try too. She was thrilled Hyun Joong made those promises to her. He loved her and would take care of her. That was all she needed from him. Those two promises would be enough to bring her happiness. If she ever hesitated to give her heart to him before, it was gone now. "Shillang," Hwang Bo lifted her head. She bite her lower lip. "Shillang," she called again.
Hyun Joong waited for Hwang Bo to say something. She appeared like she was about to but she took her time doing it.
"If you act quickly, we can make it on the prime time news headline."
Hyun Joong merely looked at Hwang Bo with blank expression. He did not quite get what she said. "Hhhm?" he asked.
"You want the gossip to be on the headline tonight, right?"
Hyun Joong laughed. He appeared to be very animated in a sudden. "Buin! I'll spread the gossip on the internet. Omma, you will be my partner. You can start gossiping with your friends now," Hyun Joong eagerly told Omma. Finally, he could claim Hwang Bo as his. Publicly.
- the end -
[COMEL] 2008. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of [COMEL].
Cute.
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