that boy | hwang hyunjin | ✔

Chapter 57

A few weeks have passed after I introduced my mom to Hyunjin's. A lot has changed ever since and everything is for the better.  Everything has become so much easier and it has become less of a struggle with every day that passed.

It still surprises me how much actually can change within the time span of a few weeks. Who would've thought that my mom could get so much better without professional help after years of neglecting everything in life?

Most of the progress is thanks to Ms. Hwang.

They met up a lot, going out shopping together and disappearing for hours, only for my mom to show up with a genuine smile on her face and bags of decent clothes and lots of stories to share.

Or simply talking over a cup of coffee in a nice cafe, often talking about casual things and sometimes about deeper stuff my mom was dealing with. Whatever it was that's on my mother's mind, she found a listening ear in Ms. Hwang and it wasn't long before she trusted her.

They would often cook together, either at her place or ours. It was mostly so that my mom would get a hang of it again and a little bit for fun. It helped; more and more often, well-prepared meals would appear on our dining table and the taste improved after every kitchen the two women had. 

After a while, my mom became a regular at Hyunjin's house and the other way around. Ms. Hwang has been here more than once and it makes me happy to hear my mom laugh as they share stories.

My mom also quit her job at the shady bar she worked at. Instead, she now works at a nice local cafe. Ms. Hwang works there, too, and she talked to her boss about hiring someone who needed to improve her living. It was the perfect solution; my mom could work at a decent place again, but not without someone there to rely on.

That Hwang family really made everything better. Ms. Hwang fixed my mom and Hyunjin fixed me. Words can't describe how thankful I am, how much they both mean to me.

Of course, I can't forget about Felix, who still dies of happiness after every home-made meal we eat at my place, well prepared by my mom. The three of us eat together pretty often and after a few times, I found joy in listening to the conversations that would start between Felix and my mom. She would often tell him embarrassing stories from when I was younger and as I nearly drowned in shame, they would laugh together.

She fully accepted one of the most important boys in my life. But that also brings us to maybe the most important confrontation that had to happen eventually.

She had to meet Hyunjin one day.

And that day is today.

Today, I decided to tag along as my mom went to visit Ms. Hwang for her weekly coffee-with-gossip thing. And I tagged along with a reason, a plan.

Hyunjin knows and so does his mom. Hyunjin is as nervous as I am and his mom is confident that everything will work out.

"The time is right," she told me as I suggested to finally introduce her son to my mom, along with the information that he's my boyfriend.

I swallow the last sip of my ice tea that Ms. Hwang gave me when we arrived. I'm suddenly very aware of the ticking sound of the clock and my legs are shaking. The nervousness almost becomes too much for me to handle but I know it has to be done. I can't keep my relationship with Hyunjin hidden from my mom forever.

Then I slip out my phone from the front pocket of my hoodie, unlocking it and sending a quick message to Hyunjin before hiding the rectangular device again.

It's now or never.

Only a matter of seconds later, the sound of footsteps descending the stairs appears and the conversation between my mom and Ms. Hwang comes to a halt. I gulp as the confusion flickers behind my mom's eyes. I can see her thinking; is there someone else living here?