Genuine | Park Jisung

21

In two households, parents were bombarded with questions from their teenagers.

"Where are we going?"

"Why are we setting up for guests?"

"Can you please tell me where we're going?"

"Who's coming?"

"Grandma and Grandpa are already here, who are you surprising me with?"

"I don't know who you'd be surprising me with. I love them but Aunt Em, Uncle Dom, Ez, and Russell don't count."

Imina's mom gave her daughter a smile as she set food on the table. "It's not them."

The girl's shoulders slumped in defeat before she went back to her room.

"Can you uncover my eyes yet?" Jisung asked after he'd went through ten minutes of not being able to see.

His grandma giggled. "Almost."

The boy sighed.

A few minutes later, he felt the car stop and doors open, hitting him with the crisp, wintry air. Finally getting his sight back, he stared up at the tall building, having no idea where they were. As he looked around, he spotted a familiar sign down the street but he still didn't recognize the place.

"What are we doing here?"

"You'll see."

At his blank expression, Hareek patted his back. "You'll like this."

The sound of the doorbell echoed through the apartment. 

Mrs. Pil eagerly went to answer the door and let the guests in. Imina looked up from setting the plates around the table as she heard people come in. She looked up and her eyes locked on the tall boy.

"Jisung?"

"Imina? Oh, this is your house", he said, eyes widened in realization.

The girl looked at her parents who were grinning. "Sneaky."

"It's nice to see you again, dear", Nina told her, going in for a hug. Imina happily hugged back and then hugged Hareek when the woman moved onto her mother.

Everyone moved to the table, leaving two chairs next to each other empty for the two youngest.

Deciding to tease her, Jisung said, "You didn't have to leave the chairs like this. Imina would sit next to me anyway since she can't get away from me."

Imina gave a polite small to the adults and said, "Excuse me." She got up and came back with a throw pillow and smacked the boy with it. The parents laughed, finding the two amusing.

"I made pasta so I hope you like it."

"The pasta is so good", Imina told them.

"It looks delicious."

"Oh, help yourselves."

Jisung and Imina were the last to serve themselves which took longer than it should've. Both were standing, Imina holding the bowl of garlic bread while Jisung was reaching over for it, holding the bowl of pasta. The two kept making contact as they tried to make their plates, causing them to giggle.

Jisung finally decided to put the food he could reach on Imina's plate and she did the same for him. Finally, they sat down and began eating. The two looked up upon realizing it was silent and saw everyone staring at them.

Jisung turned a light shade of red and looked back down at his plate, fiddling with his fork. Imina took the bottom of the tablecloth in her fingers and shifted her gaze all around the dining room, avoiding eye contact.