NINETY TWO | MEET THE PARENTS !
—
MEL LEE:
yo
MEL LEE:
markkkkkkklkk
MARK LEE:
whah
MARK LEE:
whag
MARK LEE:
fuck
MARK LEE:
waht
MARK LEE:
nevermind just what do
you need
MEL LEE:
where are you
MARK LEE:
in my room 😕
MARK LEE:
where are YOU
MEL LEE:
in my room
MARK LEE:
oh
MEL LEE:
arent you worried that hyuck
hasnt been going to school? he
wasnt there monday nor today
MEL LEE:
idk maybe we should check
up on him
MARK LEE:
no hes fine
MEL LEE:
mark
MEL LEE:
hes your best friend and he
can be going through something
bad right now
MARK LEE:
melanie he chose to do the
things he did. nobody was
forcing him. he doesnt get to
be a baby about it now after
deciding hes sorry
MARK LEE:
i said some pretty hurtful
things to him and i dont even
care he deserved that shit
MEL LEE:
okay honestly this entire
thing is not your problem. if i
want to be mad at him i will be,
you shouldnt be at all.
MEL LEE:
and you hating him makes
me hate myself. literally since
you got your license you never
dont drive with him to school.
now its like he never existed
MARK LEE:
im not worried about him and
you shouldnt be either
MEL LEE:
..... fine. whatever
MEL LEE:
im worried about hyuck
LEE JENO:
i havent talked to him
in a while
ZHONG CHENLE:
yeah he never answers :(
SHIN JOORI:
why worried
LIU YANGYANG:
probably cause he doesnt show
up to class and has ghosted the
entire friend group
SHIN JOORI:
oh right
BELLA SEO:
he must be really sad following
the repercussions of his breakup
with mark 😢
HUANG RENJUN:
LANDJWJSKDW
MEL LEE:
well what do we do
MEL LEE:
tomorrow is the last day for
mark and his best friend won't
be there
SHIN JOORI:
melanie i already told you
SHIN JOORI:
people grow apart. just let it go
MEL LEE:
but mark and hyuck??? no even
my mom is like concerned
LEE JENO:
its only been like a week or
two dont worry too much
BELLA SEO:
mel if you're so worried then
you should go check on him
HUANG RENJUN:
omg no
MEL LEE:
why no
HUANG RENJUN:
cause when hyuck is sad
you tend to do that thing where
you sleep with him
LIU YANGYANG:
JAISKKASOKE YEAH
ZHONG CHENLE:
😡😠
MEL LEE:
F YALL
HENDERY WONG:
i have intell 😈
MEL LEE:
oh no
MEL LEE:
is it illegal
MEL LEE:
have they kissed
MEL LEE:
have they fallen in love
MEL LEE:
oh god you know what its
not that weird
MEL LEE:
i mean you and i were together
and thats one year less and i
have been trying to pursue sicheng
years and years
MEL LEE:
bella just has this childlike innocent
good girl vibe and IDK
HENDERY WONG:
you're rambling
MEL LEE:
AH sorry
HENDERY WONG:
no its okay
MEL LEE:
okay
MEL LEE:
so whats the intell
HENDERY WONG:
they arent together
HENDERY WONG:
xiaojun just really likes her
company and she WAS apparently
trying to get jisung jealous but
that bitch is impossible to get jealous
so they gave up and theyre just
good friends now
HENDERY WONG:
but now that i think of it, bella is
totally his type
MEL LEE:
jisung is so clueless its charming
really
MEL LEE:
are you excited for tomorrow?
HENDERY WONG:
hmm
HENDERY WONG:
i dont think excited is the word
MEL LEE:
anxious
HENDERY WONG:
no.. just
HENDERY WONG:
like weird
HENDERY WONG:
like after tomorrow its
over forever
MEL LEE:
and then graduation next tuesday
HENDERY WONG:
yeah :(
MEL LEE:
ive really enjoyed having
lunches with you this week. im
going to miss it :(
HENDERY WONG:
dont worry uhh how about
after school you come over
to sichengs and we have dinner
together
HENDERY WONG:
it'll give me a chance to cook
MEL LEE:
i dont wanna be intruding
HENDERY WONG:
sicheng works most days and
its fine he loves you he thinks
you're adorable
MEL LEE:
oh 🥲
MEL LEE:
well if its okay then sure
HENDERY WONG:
cool its a date
MEL LEE:
woah what
HENDERY WONG:
sorry
HENDERY WONG:
i didnt mean it
MEL LEE:
oh okay
HENDERY WONG:
yeah
MEL LEE:
alright
MEL LEE:
sungchans coming over so
we can paint but i'll text you
later
HENDERY WONG:
paint?
MEL LEE:
yeah he said we should paint
each other and i like his ideas
HENDERY WONG:
mmm okay bye mel
MEL LEE:
byeeee
—
"i'm just saying, broccoli is the worst vegetable—no, the worst food ever. like its so disgusting and awful. i like veggies, i just can't stomach broccoli." melanie complained, pushing around her broccoli on the plate with her fork.
her mom rolled her eyes, and looked over at their guest. "my daughter, folks."
the dinner table included the entire family plus areum and sungchan. sungchan joined them because painting took longer than expected so her mother insisted he stayed. areum was already invited.
"no, no, i think shes onto something." mark shrugged, also pushing his broccoli to the side. "now carrots is where its at."
"you guys have the tastebuds of a six year old. sungchan, do you like broccoli?" their dad asked, looking up as did everyone else.
sungchan smiled slightly, and looked over at melanie and mark. "it just tastes very vegetable-ey."
"perfect way of describing it! except add gross and disgusting and atrocious." melanie saved him from the awkwardness, causing them to laugh.
"so sungchan, how'd you meet my lovely children?" mel's mother asked, sarcasm noted.
taeyong chuckled, but covered it up as a cough. mark just looked at him, confused.
"i go to school with them.. oh and sooyoungs my cousin. well, actually lucas and hendery forced me to join their friend group but i dont mind much anymore." sungchan explained, mark laughing at the being forced part.
"sooyoungs your cousin? i didnt know that." the mom perked up. "i haven't seen her in the longest time."
"its cause she hates my guts and is a horrible person, remember?" mel raised her eyebrows.
"but isn't she the reason you got into that fight at school?" areum asked.
"yup she was defending her. jealousy is a bitch." mark replied, his mom gasping.
"language, mark."
"yeah yeah. jealousy is a disease, hope you get well soon." mel giggled, quoting that one funny meme.
their dad looked back at sungchan, and sungchan felt the eyes on him. he felt strange.
"and hendery, he's still in the picture?" areum asked, raising her eyebrows.
mel scoffed, pointing at the older girl. "you're judging me right now."
"i am, thank you for noticing." the other one nodded as taeyong laughed at his girlfriends humor. she fit in well with the family.
"so you and melanie are in the same grade, sungchan?" their dad cut up some steak, while the younger boy nodded. "that's good. i always tell melanie that she surrounds herself around people that are too ld for her."
"well we have the same friend group, dad." melanie chuckled, still messing around with her broccoli.
sungchan smiled, forcing himself to eat the broccoli so her parents dont hate him.
"right.. right. play any sports, sungchan?" their dad asked, and mel furrowed her eyebrows, looking over at mark.
mark looked at her too, both of them confused as to why their dad was so intrigued by the tall boy.
sungchan nodded, and finished swallowing, "i play baseball—"
"he's really good at it, daddy. like, he can actually hit the ball. way better than mark and taeyong, your failure for sons." mel shrugged, mark punching her shoulder as she choked on her drink. "great, now imma get a bruise."
"you deserve it you skank."
"oh really?"
as the argument continued while mel tried to force broccoli onto marks plate, their mom clapped loudly as if she was getting the attention of dogs.
"you guys can be in the presence of a literal god and still find reason to fight like roosters." their mom groaned, taeyong trying to stifle his laugh as an adult.
"who raised them?" taeyong asked, looking shyly at his parents.
"so tomorrow is mark's last day, can we go get ice cream, pleaseeeeee?" mel asked, nudging her brother so that he can beg too. he did, eventually.
their mom scoffed, laughing at them. "you guys both have cars."
"but we have no money.. sighh.." mark pretended to wipe a tear, melanie following behind his lead.
"fine, we can go to the cheesecake factory tomorrow after your dad gets home from work. sungchan, you'll come right?" their mom caved in, everyone turning their attention to him.
"oh? sure." sungchan responded, an innocent smile coming from his as they finished dinner arguing about if wrestling was real or not.
as melanie walked sungchan out, they stood at the front of the door where the only light was from her barely working front porch light.
"tell me how much you hate my family. i can get you out of cheesecake factory if you want."
"what? you're just tryna hog all the food for yourself tomorrow, huh?" sungchan accused her, "i like your family. they're like the kinds of families you see on disney channel. it's cute."
"thats so sweet, oh my god. also, sorry my dad was staring you down, i have literally no idea why. he's never weird about my friends." melanie smirked, apologizing for the strange way her dad treated him.
sungchan chuckled, shrugging as well. "i actually like your dad. when you picked up the dishes with mark, he began to tell me really interesting stories of you as a kid."
"what? nooo, that's so embarrassing." mel covered her face, thinking of all the things her dad could've said.
sungchan then grabbed her chin, tilting her head back lightly. as much as she hated to admit it, that made her heart jump. "at least now i know how you got this scar."
"oh my god, he told you the bunk bed story!"
"don't worry, i'm sure most kids jump off their brothers beds as children. now climbing a glass table to get some hot soup, not so sure."
melanie laughed, thinking about that as well. "okay, it was not my fault. i was three and hungry, and no one was watching me! but at least i am now at least some percentage of soup."
"come again?"
mel laughed, picking up her shirt to reveal the scar on her upper stomach right under her bra line, "this was cut open so technically a lot of soup got into me. i just think that's pretty rad."
sungchan smiled, shaking his head, "yeah, that's pretty rad."
as he left, mel walked inside to the kitchen where she found mark arguing with his parents about where he was going to work in his new town next semester.
they shut up when she entered though, her mom beaming and even her dad giving her a small smile. "hi, creeps."
"he's lovey, oh my god. he is such a perfect young man, i am proud of you." her mother dried her hands, walking over to a surprised mel.
"excuse me?"
"i gotta say, i dont hate him." her dad shrugged, "donghyuck was a horrible choice, and hendery was.. he was not anyone i'd like my daughter to date. this kid is not half bad."
mel cocked an eyebrow, turning to her brother who burst out laughing. "i think there's been a misunderstanding."
"did he kiss you goodnight? oh, it'll be so fun tomorrow. he's distinguished." her mom giggled, mark hopping off the island counter.
"mom, i think you have a crush on sungchan." mark chuckled, leaving the kitchen.
as he left, melanie focused back to her parents. "mom, dad... sungchan isn't my boyfriend?"
her dad and mom both looked up at her, and then to eachother. "god dammit, gen."
"no.. don't say that, mel." her mom whispered, as she reached for her daughter, "as a mother, i have this thing called paternal intuition. sungchan.. sungchan would make an amazing son in law—"
"son in law??"
"listen.. he is lovely. and boy, is he completely captivated by you. he just about stared at you the entire dinner. now i can't really understand your type, given that your exes are both completely different, but sungchan is someone that compliments you. i see the compatibility is off the charts, and he's picture perfect. just.. give it a shot?"
mel thought of how to respond, because this was obviously wrong.
"he doesn't like me back— i mean, not back. i don't like him.. goodnight!" mel huffed, walking back to her room and closing the door lightly. she then threw herself on her bed, groaning about yet another boy.
—