SANCTUARY

chapter 27

"Back then, he would always stay in his room and play games," Haechan's mother endlessly talked about Haechan at the dining table.  "I would have to drag him out of his room to make him eat and shower."

"Mom!" Haechan whined for the umpteenth time. His frown was present whenever his mother would mention another 'too much information' moment. He was embarrassed to the point he couldn't eat in peace. He could only clutch onto his utensils whenever his mother spoke again. "Why don't we change the topic?"

"Why change the topic? We should talk to her about you, since you talked about her to us," Haechan's little sister reasoned. The cheeky smile on her face was present to mock her older brother. "He even talked about marrying our soon-to-be sister-in-law!"

"Doeun, you love to taste food right? Have you ever tasted death?" Haechan threatened his sister to quiet down and shut her mouth from spewing more mortifying information about him. "Now, quiet down."

I slapped Haechan's arm which brought surprise onto him. His confused look and his furrowed eyebrows presented on his face as he waited for me to speak up.

"You shouldn't be like that to your sister," I scolded, which made him speechless.

"I'm the victim here! You should be siding with me!" Haechan whined again. He was getting attacked by everyone which made him flustered for once.

"I like her, bro," Dongmin added to the conversation. "She's the only one who can tease you besides mom."

"One more word—"

"Now, let's all finish our food before someone loses his patience," I interjected and covered Haechan's mouth from saying another word. I observed Haechan in the eyes and he was staring right at me with an unamused look. "I'll talk to you later."

"Everyone who watches dramas know where that's going to lead to," Doeun sarcastically muttered as she sipped on her iced tea. "It's going to end up being—"

"Okay, stop right there," Haechan's mother interposed. "As my beautiful soon-to-be daughter-in-law said, we should eat in peace. Also, the two of you. Do your homework while the two lovebirds talk."

"But!" the two siblings exclaimed at the same time.

"No spying on them, especially you Doeun," Haechan's mother eyed her child. "And stop watching so many dramas. If you're that interested in romance then make an effort in actually finding a guy."

"Mom!" Doeun whined.

The dining table was filled with happiness, bickering, and laughter. It was heartwarming for me to think about. Compared to the dining table I grew up in which was reserved and serious, it was a nice icebreaker for me to experience for once. I knew exactly how much Haechan's family loved him and how he loves his family dearly.

After an hour, everyone at the table had finished their meal. Haechan had stood up to leave with me to talk to him in his room. However, I helped Haechan's mother clean up the table before attending to him.