"You met someone?" His father questioned, scanning Jeonghan's face.
Jeonghan widened his eyes.
That question was indeed a surprise for him.
"Wha- why?" Jeonghan stuttered, surprised at the sudden question.
"A girl maybe... You met one?" His father repeated himself, "a boy even... who knows" he added.
Jeonghan felt his stomach turn into knots. His face rushed with blood and he could feel he was growing nervous.
"I- uhm... yeah" he finally replied. He put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with the paper tissue.
"His name is Joshua" Jeonghan spoke softly.
A faint smile formed on his face as he thought about the boy.
His parents went silent for a brief moment until they spoke again.
"So no grandchildren..." Mr Yoon responded as he rested his chopsticks in front of him.
"Honey!" Jeonghan's mother exclaimed turning towards her husband.
"I mean it's not a big deal... I guess, we accept you nonetheless, son" Mr Yoon then added as he noticed he spoke too fast.
"So how did you meet this Joshua?" His mother inquired, turning to her son. A faint and curious smile printed on her face.
"Well... I've known him for a long time, we just never had the opportunity to grow close" Jeonghan responded, as the image of young Joshua passed through his mind. A fragile, delicate and sensitive young man, sitting at the desk and writing down his notes, wearing the high school uniform that fitted him just right.
Jeonghan couldn't help but softly smile at the reminiscence.
The two parents were eagerly waiting for Jeonghan to continue but the latter kept it short nonetheless. He didn't feel like sharing too much.
"But we're just friends, we hang out and we started sharing a lot of time together... we're good friends yeah" Jeonghan nodded as he spoke.
His mom furrowed her eyebrows.
"Friends?" She questioned with a confused face expression. Her brows still furrowed.
"Yeah mom what's so strange about that..." Jeonghan chuckled, bringing his hand on the nape of his neck.
"Nothing nothing... it's just that you've never dated anyone, it would finally be time" Mrs Yoon continued and her husband nodded in confirmation.
Jeonghan now kept silent, he didn't know what else to stay. After all he was still unsure about his situation with Joshua... if they were friends or something more was indeed uncertain to him since the two never confronted each other about it.
Lunch was now over and the family had reunited in the living room.
Lee know made a herbal digestive tea and they were enjoying it together.
"I see your daylilies have found company" Mrs Yoon commented as she stared at the freshly picked purple flowers sitting in the glass vase. The orange daylilies looked even brighter next to the dazzling purple cornflowers.
"Yeah I'm taking pretty good care of them" Jeonghan admitted getting flustered.
"My grandfather wore a cornflower to find out whether my grandmother loved him before marrying her" Jeonghan's father chuckled as he sipped on his tea, "they took pretty long to fade so I guess that was a good sign" Mr Yoon added.
Jeonghan laughed, well aware of the meaning those flowers held.
"Take care of the soil... it should never be too dry" His mother suggested.
"I know, I know... they've been holding up quite well actually" Jeonghan observed, "I picked them up last week and they're still that bright purple" Jeonghan smirked.
"You surely don't have to worry about unrequited love then" his father joked, letting out a chuckle.
Jeonghan poured himself some more tea, unconsciously ignoring his father's last remark.
The room filled with laughters and overall joy, everyone was cherishing the moment they were having together. And with that, time took its pace, flying by as the sun set.
"Jeonghan..." Mrs Yoon paused as she kneeled down to wear her boots, "since we're gonna be in town for another few days we could meet up to have lunch together..." Jeonghan's mother stood up and followed to wear her coat.
"You can invite that new friend of yours too" his father suggested as they all were standing in front the main door. Lee Know had picked up the car keys.
"Oh Joshua... I see" my heart began beating at a faster pace now.
"Yeah Joshua! Ask him! We've met all of your friends so it would be nice to meet him too!" Mrs Yoon exclaimed ecstatically. She was eager to know all the people that Jeonghan would hang out with.
Jeonghan nodded in response.
They bid each other goodbye and agreed they would meet up in a few days.
Jeonghan slowly closed the door behind them.
He turned around and rested his back on the wooden door.
Thoughts began to roam his restless mind.
He had to tell Joshua to meet his parents. At lunch.
How would he agree to such a thing?
They were close now but it would certainly feel weird.
He regretted lying to his parents about Joshua.
They were obviously not just friends.
He felt dumb for not telling them the truth even though they weren't officially together. After all the dates they went on weren't just causal hang outs.
Jeonghan shook his head, in a useless attempt to avoid the thoughts that were bugging him in that moment.
He then walked to the sofa and lied down.
After a few minutes he fell asleep. He had to rest his unease mind off.
CHAPTER XIII
Start from the beginning
