Days Gone || Hwang Hyunjin

20. Trip

"I've missed you so much"

"I've missed you so so much too, honey" she hugged me back. Mothers' embrace never fail to make us feel better and safe.

She turned now to Sam, bowing.

"So you're the head behind this plan, right?" She chuckled. He smiled and nodded.

"It's nice to meet you mrs Kim" he bowed.

"You too, honey! Please come in" she stepped aside and let us in. It felt great to be at home again, at least once.

Mom had prepared snacks and fruit for us to eat, and had already started to prepare lunch. 

"Hayul, honey, why don't you go and change those clothes? Aren't you hot?"

"It was horribly cold back there" I chuckled. If I had known I was coming, I would've picked something else, but it was a surprise so I couldn't do much. "I'll go get changed."

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After fighting with myself about what to wear, I ended up using fresh casual dress with my hair up. Everything else was big clothes and plain colors, and well, I didn't want to look...simple? Masculine? What am I even saying?

Once I got downstairs, I saw Sam and mom cooking together. He had his hair tied in a bun, had taken off his hoodie and was wearing a white buttoned shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked so boyfriend material I was actually screaming inside.

"You look so pretty, honey!" My mom raised her voice, and of course, made him look at me. I felt so embarrassed I just wanted to disappear.

"Doesn't she look prettier with clothes like that?" She elbowed him. 15 minutes away from them and they were already acting like besties.

"Mom! Stop making him uncomfortable!"

"You look very pretty though" he added, and I swear my heart stopped.

"Doesn't she? She should wear those more often. Especially if she's getting a boyfri-"

"Okay! I'll go buy something to drink!" I awkwardly raised my voice and went out. Luckily, he didn't follow me.

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We had lunch together. Mom's food, of course, tasted incredible, as always. We talked about absolutely everything, but as my mom started to ask him questions about himself and what did he do, I noticed he was getting uncomfortable, so I decided to change topics.

"About the shop, mom"

"Yes?" She pouted, disappointed.

"Are you really closing it?"

"Honey, I wish I wasn't, but I can't do anything else. Money isn't incoming like before, tourists don't come as often as before."

"Can't you talk to someone?" I wondered, desperate. There wasn't actually anyone who could help us, I just talked the first thing I thought.

"Who, honey?" She chuckled, sad. "It's okay, I'll find something else to work on.

"What about the paintings?"

"I guess I'll dispose of some, and keep others."

"What?! You can't throw them away! You worked hard!"

"Hayul, calm down, they're just paintings baby"

I wanted to keep convincing her, but I remembered Sam was sitting there, and probably felt awkward about it.

"I'm sorry" I bowed to both. "Excuse me" I stood up and went downstairs, where we had a door leading to the shop. I got too overwhelmed and I was afraid I'd mess the evening, I just needed some time alone to calm myself down.

Hyunjin POV

"I'm sorry if we made you uncomfortable"

"Oh, no, please don't worry. I understand"

"She's just always been so attentive towards me, I know she's worried about me, but there's nothing I can do about the shop. I'll see what I can do for a living, I'll find something."

"She told me once she loved your paintings, and admired you so much, so it's normal for her to feel this way." I stood up, picking our plates together to go wash them.

"Ah.. What am I going to do about that girl? I want her to live her life to its fullest, but she's always worrying about me."

"I guess being away from her family makes her worry like that..." I thought about what I said, realizing it actually applied to my own too.

"I'll talk to her later." Her mom sighed. "Oh honey, leave those there! I'll wash them later! Do you want to go see the shop?"

"I-..sure!"

We went downstairs and back up to the inside of the shop. Hayul wasn't there anymore, and the front door was unlocked.

"She probably needed some air, let's just let her be." Her mom seemed to know her pretty well. 

I took a look at the paintings. They were indeed beautifully done, she had talent. After looking around, I noticed one that had the Milky Way perfectly painted.

"Is this acrylic?" I asked.

"Oh? Do you know painting details?" She raised her brows. "Yes, that's acrylic!"

"Yes" I chuckled, "I used to draw and paint some months ago, but I haven't done it in a while. Nothing too elaborated though, it's just a hobby!"

"My arts were hobbies too, honey." She smiled, "do you have pictures of your works?"

"Sure" I took out my phone and checked for some photos. I found one I took from one time I attempted to draw Kkami, but I didn't really like it. "This is my dog, I tried but it didn't go well"

"Oh my!" She raised her brows, smiling. "What are you saying? It's so pretty!"

"Thank you" I bowed, "I think it can be a lot better, though."

"Anything can be better with hard work, even people!"

"People?"

"Mhm." She touched the Milky Way painting, "if you want to show your best, just work constantly on it" she gave a genuine smile, just like Hayul does. Now I know who she gets it from.

"I'll tell you what" she patted my head, "why don't you go get Hayul first, and when you come back I can give you some tips for your drawings?"

"Really?" I stood up, happy like a child.

"Promised" she smiled, waving me to go look for Hayul. I started walking towards the door, but stopped.

"But.. where can she be? I don't really know this place"

"Just keep walking straight towards the hill. If you know her, you'll recognize where she'll be." She winked.