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With a widespread grin on my face, I enter our apartment with a satisfied heart. Whilst kicking my shoes against the wall, I rewind what happened earlier and subconsciously, a small smile appears on my face. How it got up there, I honestly don't know. What I do know is that I somehow feel guilty because of it, but I enjoy it anyway. I couldn't help myself.
Mum is stirring something in a pot when I pass the kitchen, trying to be as quiet as possible, but sadly it doesn't work when a small squeal suddenly escapes out of my mouth in betrayal. Of course, mothers have super-duper hearing and hence why my mum comes rushing out of the kitchen to meet me.
"Yuri!" she greets me, "you're back!" I internally groan.
"That's right," I answer awkwardly.
"How was it with your friend?" she asks, dragging me by the elbow to the kitchen. "He seems nice, what food did you get?"
Mum sits me down at our kitchen island and sets a cup of hot tea in front of me before sitting down on the seat next to mine. "We got budae jjigae," I answer before lifting the cup slowly and sips the tea. "It was ... nice?"
"Who paid?"
"Hyunjin," I shortly answer. Mum looks at me disapprovingly and tsks, "did you offer to pay?"
"Why would I want to pay for two large bowls?"
"You should at least offer to pay half," mum tells me and I sigh. "I ran out of money," I answer.
"What did you do after that?" she continues. "You didn't do cliche stuff like get ice cream and walk at a nearby park, right?"
I almost choke on my drink. "Of course not!" I cry out, "we went to a karaoke place!"
Mum nods, eyeing me closely, "but you never listen to songs. How did you survive?"
"They had children songs," I answer.
"Did Hyunjin sing along with you?" she continues.
"He danced to it too," I say, desperately trying to escape this sudden interrogation. Mum notices my uneasiness and nods.
"This Hyunjin, I kinda like him," she says as if to wrap things up, making me freeze on the spot. "Invite him over for dinner sometime. It's not every day that a boy asks for a girl's parent's permission and brings her back home early."
My eyes glance at the clock that reads 8:45 pm. "Uh... okay," I say and get up from my seat, "the tea was good, mum."
"Oh, I know," mum grins, waving it off, taking the cup from the table and puts it in the sink. "Did you get Jeongin his things?"
"Yes, mum!" I call out, walking away from the kitchen and head up to the second floor. Reaching inside my bag, I pull out a white convenience store plastic bag and knock on my cousin - Jeongin's - bedroom door.
