with love, flora

twelve.

She looked at us happily and told me, "He does the same with you. In fact, every time I've talked to him lately he manages to bring you up somehow." Her son shook his head as she went on. "Flora and I went here. Flora and I went there. Flora and I were—"

"Mom!" he exclaimed, cutting her off. It was quite rude even if he didn't mean to be.

"You shouldn't interrupt your mom like that." I gave him a pat and he acted exaggeratedly to how much it hurt.

His mom awwed. "The way you speak is so polite. And you," she said to Minho, "she barely hit you. Take it like a man."

"It might not have hurt my arm, but it hurt my heart. How can you take her side over your own son's?"

"Like this. Flora," she addressed me and I paid attention. "You're a great girl from what I've heard and seen, so if my son's acting up and giving you a hard time, call me."

I smiled at her as Minho looked at us open mouthed. They were indeed mother and son. "I trust him not to do that, but in case he is giving me a hard time, I'll remember what you said."

"You're smart," he pointed at me with an impressed look, "appeasing me and my mom at once."

"She has to be smart to be around you," his mom said at the same time my phone rang.

"It's Madison. I have to go," I told Minho and he nodded in understanding.

"At least one of us has a wifi signal at hand, so you should make good use of it."

"It was lovely to meet you, mother." I used the formal version that was supposed to be used with friends' moms and she clapped.

"You too. And that sounds so much better than ma'am. Keep using it."

"See you in the morning," Minho called as he held the phone toward me so his mom could wave at me. I waved back at both of them as I left. "Now what did you mean by she has to be smart to...?"

Minho's words faded as I left the area and I couldn't help but feel a longing to talk to my mom too after seeing him talk to his so happily. My stay at grandma's, the party, confessing to Minho. There was so much I wanted to talk to her about that my constant studying had made me push back on. I pulled out my phone as I walked back to Madison and I's tent.

"Hi, mom. I miss you."

===

"I thought I'd be seeing your ghost today with how scary the thought of bunking with Yuri was."

"You're joking." Kitty looked at me in surprise. "Things must be going well with Meanhoe."

I gave her a push for her dig. "Don't call him that."

"He calls me sasaeng!"

"And I defend you every time that he does. We've known each other longer, at least you should listen to me."

"Why did I have to match you guys at the airport?" She shook her head while sighing. "Now you two are meant to be."

"What about you and Daeheon? Did you talk to him yet?" I asked her.

"Oh, we talked." This topic had her all fired up. "He asked me how he could make it up to me and I told him that the old him would've figured it out on his own." I nodded somberly as she ran a hand through her hair. "The two of us are a mess because he hid the fact that he was in a relationship when I thought we were something. It hurt when I came here with the hopes of finally being with him and then Dae—"

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Refused to face you at all and pushed you away for the smallest things?"

She plucked my hand off her shoulder precariously and walked ahead, turning around as she explained, "It made me question whether he was the same boy I met all those years ago."