Author's POV
Dinner with her family was always Seoyeon's favorite part of the day. It's when they talk about everything that had happened to them within the day. She remembers the time when she would always babble about her experiences at school every dinner with her parents. They were always interested about her stories, and until now they still are.
"Really? He prepared a fireworks display for you?" Her mother asked in amusement while she nods assuringly. "Wow, that boy is really a romantic one." Was a comment from her mother after.
Her father just listened to everything and gives subtle to less subtle reactions depending on what Seoyeon is saying. He loves listening to her experiences. She's still his little pumpkin after all.
When they were done having dinner, Seoyeon helped her father in doing the dishes. Why her father, you asked? Well, her father said that washing the dishes is the least he could do to help his wife. She cooked the meal, so it's fair enough to let her rest after eating while he does the dishes for her. Sweet isn't it? Seoyeon promised herself that she will find a man who loves his wife the way her father does to her mother. Apparently, she saw that to Namjoon somehow.
"Appa," She called, her father hummed in response. "What do you think of Namjoon? Like, honestly." She asked, making her father pause for a moment to think.
"Well, Mr. Kim's eldest son is indeed an amazing man." He said as he continues to wash the dishes. "Even back then, when he was still younger, he already showed great skills in leading the company as his father's apprentice. Kind, dignified, and responsible. I do know how he treated you before, but I also believe that we all have our own flaws and imperfections. Even the strongest man have weaknesses. If he is doing something to fix his mistakes and as long as he treats you right, I'm fine with your relationship." He added, which brought a smile on Seoyeon's face.
"Do your think I deserve someone like him?" She asked and her father smiled at her.
"Oh, I do know that for sure, pumpkin. You deserve nothing but the best, for you are the sweetest, most beautiful, and kindest daughter I've ever had." He said and kissed Seoyeon's forehead.
"Of course, appa. I am your only daughter." She giggled and hugged her father.
"Why am I not included, hm?" Her mother suddenly asked, making the two turn around and see her pouting while her hands are on her waist.
"Aish, my beautiful wife is sulking again. Come here, my darling." Her father cooed and extended his arms for her.
She tried to stop herself from smiling as she went to join her husband and their daughter. Seoyeon just chuckled as she enjoyed the hug with them, but the thought about the DNA test is still in her mind. She knows she has to ask them sooner or later.
Seoyeon waited until they were done with the dishes. They're now in the living room, resting while listening to classical songs. It's now or never.
"Can I ask you something?" She initiated and the two looked at her.
"Of course, my dear. What is it?" Her mother motioned for her to continue.
"Uhm.... What are your thoughts about me finding my.... Uhm, my biological parents?" She nervously asked, fingers fiddling, and looked at them worriedly.
The two were stunned with her question. They don't expect this kind of information to be asked this instance, but they didn't show any negative emotions. They knew this day would come eventually.
"Well, my dear," Her mother sighed and looked at her husband before continuing, "Your father and I have nothing against that. You have the right and freedom to look for your biological parents." She smiled warmly at her.
"We know this day will come, pumpkin, so we already prepared ourselves if ever you decide to look for them. We will help you too if you need us." Her father added and Seoyeon could feel herself tearing up.
She never expected them to be this calm and open about that topic. She always felt so thankful to have parents like them. And even if she finds her real parents, she will never stop seeing her adoptive parents as her real ones too.
"The truth is, someone's son recently came to me and showed me a DNA test result that says I am his parents' long lost daughter. It happened that his mother used my spoon to make the test." I explained.
"Oh, so you've met his parents?" Her mother asked while Seoyeon nodded.
"It just happened that Namjoon invited me to come with him, to pick-up Hwayoung from her grandparents. They invited us for dinner. Hwayoung's grandparents are the parents of her mother, Namjoon's deceased wife."
"W-Wait, you mean...."
"There is a chance that I'm related to Hwayoung and her mother's family." Seoyeon concluded and saw how speechless they are.
"What happened to the DNA test? Was it precise?" Her father asked.
"I actually refused to believe the results. They are now asking me to take another DNA test, but I said that I want to ask for your permission first. They respected my request, which I'm glad for."
"You have our support, Seoyeon. We are not stopping you from finding your real family. If you want to have that test, then you have our permission to do so." Her father reassured to her while her mother showed agreement to what her husband said.
"Thank you, appa and eomma. Thank you for being supportive of me." She smiled in relief and went to hug the two. "Whatever happens, you two will always be my parents. I love you two." Seoyeon uttered while hugging them tightly.
"We love you too, our Seoyeonie." Her mother said and kissed her forehead.
When they pulled away, Seoyeon sat between the two and let herself find refuge in her mother's arms. Her mother fondled her hair and rested her chin on Seoyeon's head. They won't deny that they're nervous of what will be the results of the DNA test once Seoyeon takes one, but they know in their hearts that Seoyeon is and will always be their dear little one.
*****
The next morning, Seoyeon woke up early to prepare breakfast for them. Since Ara slept at her friend's place, she won't join them and will just go back home later before lunch. While Seoyeon was making sunnyside-ups her phone rang. Namjoon's name welcomed her which made her smile as she answers the call.
"Good morning, love." She greeted after connecting her wireless headphones to her phone.
(Good morning to you as well, my beautiful angel. Hmm, I miss you. How was your sleep?)
"I miss you, too. I slept beside my parents so it was really great. How about you? Are you still in bed?"
(That's indeed great! Well, I just finished brushing my teeth. My shoulder was hurting last night so I had a hard time sleeping.)
"Aw, was that so? I think I saw a pain relief patch in the medicine kit there. You should put one on your pained shoulder. Have you?" She said with worry in her voice, which he noticed.
(Don't worry, love. I just put one a while ago. My shoulder will be fine soon.)
"Are you sure, love?"
(Of course. You already make me feel better.)
"You and your flattering words." She chuckled as she slightly shook her head, while Namjoon is laughing too.
(Oh, let's go on a date once you get back, love. I want to take you to a museum that just opened. I saw the pictures of their interior on a flyer and it looked really nice inside.)
"Really? I would love to go there with you. We can have it.... Maybe tomorrow?"
(Okay! I'll book us a tour tomorrow. By the way, how are your parents? Base from what you've told me last night, you had so much fun with them. I'm glad you're having a family bonding regularly.)
"My parents are doing well. They're really fun to be around. I can't wait to bring you and Hwayoung here soon. They're really fond of kids."
(Will you please help me prepare their gifts, love? I really want to make a good impression in front of your parents.)
"I'll even help you wrap it." She assured, "Oh, I just remembered. How's Taehyung? His flight back to Japan is tonight, right?" She asked while currently turning off the stove.
(Ah, yes. He seems fine, which I do hope. We haven't spoken much though, but Hwayoung and I will take him to the airport later.)
"Why don't you spend lunch here? The airport is less than an hour away from my parent's place or if you want, we can eat lunch at a restaurant here." She offered.
(That sounds nice, love. I'll see what I can do— Daddy! Let's eat breaky!)
"Was that Hwayoung?" She asked in amusement, while Namjoon is chuckling.
(Yeah, sorry about that. She's like, the announcer in the house— Daddy!— Yes, princess! I'll be downstairs, I'm just talking to mommy!)
Hearing the two talk as if they're meters away makes Seoyeon smile on how adorable they sound like.
(Sorry about that, love.)
"It's fine. You should go downstairs and have breakfast. I'm going to wake my parents up so that we can have our breakfast, too."
(Aw, okay. I miss you very much. Are you craving for something? So that I could bring it to you later.)
"Hmm.... I would like some honey-glazed donuts with hugs and kisses from my man." She joked while trying to stop herself from smiling too much. Namjoon, on the other line, is the same too.
(Seoyeon, you do know you're now my weakness too, right? Fudge, you're just making me miss you more. I'll definitely spoil you with those latter ones.)
"I'll look forward to that. I love you, Mr. Kim~" She said with a knowing tone as she giggles a little.
(I love you more, Mrs. Kim~)
She could feel herself blushing with how Namjoon copied her tone and call her with that endearment.
"Eat well, love. Say hi to Hwayoung and Taehyung for me."
(Likewise to your parents! I'll see you later, my love.)
After bidding each other farewells, the call ended. Seoyeon feels so giddy that it makes her hum as she gets some plates as she prepare the dining table. Little did she know, her parents are watching their daughter have her heads stuck in some clouds. They're grinning, somewhat wanting to laugh, on how cute she is. It wasn't long when she saw them by the corner.
"Oh, you're awake. Good morning, my appa and eomma!" She greeted and went to hug her parents.
"Good morning, my pumpkin pie." Her father then kissed her forehead.
"Looks like our dearie is having a really great morning." Her mother teased while wriggling her brows.
"It's because I slept well beside you and appa." Seoyeon reasoned out.
"Aigoo, our Seoyeonie is so sweet." She said and pinched her cheek gently. "And what about your boyfriend, hm? How is he?"
"He's doing well. Namjoon wanted send you his greetings, too."
"How sweet of him. He and his daughter should visit soon so that I can make them my specialty." Her mother nodded.
"They might come over later. Taehyung's departure is tonight, so I invited them for lunch."
"Is that so? Then we should go to the market after breakfast, because I have to buy the ingredients I will need."
At the same time, Seoyeon received a notification on her phone. It's a message from Namjoon saying that Taehyung agreed to spend lunch there and that they'll be there before lunch. He's even asking Seoyeon what he could gift for her parents.
"Namjoon just texted me. He said they'll be here later before lunch." Seoyeon informed and heard her mother clap happily.
"That's good! Tell Ara to come early, I bet she will like to see Taehyung." She mentioned, remembering how her niece likes him.
Seoyeon did what her mother requested and also replied to Namjoon's message. The three then settled themselves down for breakfast. It got filled with her mother's plans on what to prepare later for lunch. It's the first time that they will meet him as her boyfriend. Seoyeon felt so glad to see how welcome Namjoon already is to her parents.
After breakfast, her parents took an hour rest before they've left to go to the market. Seoyeon was left at home to clean the house with Ara, who arrived a while ago. Seoyeon is currently vacuuming the floor while Ara is replacing the pillowcases of the square pillows.
"Ara, I'll just take a bath after this. If it's okay with you, can you turn off the oven once the alarm is done? Just in case that I'm still not done by that time." She requested to Ara who nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.
Seoyeon excused herself after keeping the vacuum in the cabinet, leaving Ara alone in the living room. She's blasting some pop songs as she sings along with a dusting brush as her supposed mic. In the middle of her mini concert, the alarm went off so she rushed to the kitchen to turn the oven off. Since she was far from the receiving area of the house and the music was really loud, she's unaware of someone knocking the door. Since no one opened the door, they tried to knock a little louder, which caught Ara's senses.
"Wait a minute!" She exclaimed from the kitchen, but it seemed like they didn't hear her because they kept knocking. "Aish, I said wait. Can't people wait?" She muttered as she left the kitchen to open the door.
Her brows are furrowed as she turned the music off and rushed to accommodate that person. Those were surely not Seoyeon's parents because they use the back door in going inside with groceries. When she opened the door, she felt her body becoming stiff.
"Hi! Is this the Park's residence?" The person asked but Ara was too stunned to speak that her first reaction was to slam the door close.
"What the fudge, Ara?" She whispered to herself as she leaned against the door.
Bewildered by the actions she showed, they knocked again and said, "Sorry to bother, but we're looking for the Park's residence. The neighborhood said this is the house?"
"A-Ah, yes! Please wait a minute!" Ara responded, then she tried to do deep breathing before opening the door again. "H-How can I help you?" She asked as she tried to flaunt a smile.
"Uh, hi! Is Seoyeon here? I'm Taehyung, a friend of hers. She invited us." He introduced with his dashing smile that Ara could feel her heart about to burst.
She didn't know that the visitors Seoyeon was talking about were them. No wonder Seoyeon was eager to get her home this morning. When Ara was about to answer, someone caught her attention. It's Namjoon who almost stumbled while walking towards them. He's holding different paperbags on the other hand, while he holds Hwayoung's hand on the other one.
"Yes, Seoyeon's here. Uhm, why don't you come inside first?" She stepped aside and opened the door, gesturing for them to enter.
Namjoon nodded to Ara, since they already know each other, while Hwayoung bowed to her. As they enter the house, their eyes wandered around inside. Portraits of Seoyeon from her childhood and some with her family can be seen at the receiving area. Ara showed them the living room and invited then to sit down before she quickly excused herself to call Seoyeon upstairs.
It was a good thing that Seoyeon was already done drying her hair when Ara reached her room. Seoyeon was clueless to why Ara looked to tensed and her face was blushing a little.
"What's wrong?" Seoyeon asked.
"You didn't tell me those Kim siblings will come over!" Ara whined, making Seoyeon to laugh. "Yeonie, it's not funny! I embarrassed myself in front of Taehyung." She pouted.
"Oh my, what happened?"
"I slammed the door close after seeing him, Seoyeon." She explained and it made Seoyeon's laughter to be louder. "Aish, stop laughing at me! It's so embarrassing." Ara covered her face with her palm and wailed like a child.
"Come on, Ara. That's fine, I promise. Now why don't you get changed? I have a dress that suits you best." Seoyeon consoled and pointed at the floral summer dress on the bed. "I'll just accommodate them while you get changed, okay? Don't worry, Ara. You're fine." Seoyeon then put on a little perfume before leaving the room.
She rushed downstairs and a smile grew on her face to see the three sitting in the living room. Hwayoung was first to notice her and she immediately ran to greet Seoyeon. It caught the two's attention that made them stand up.
"Hi, mommy!" Hwayoung beamed as she hugged Seoyeon around the waist.
"Hello, my sweetheart." Seoyeon lowered down to kiss Hwayoung's head. "How's your trip going here?" She asked when Hwayoung pulled away.
"It was fun! Let's go to daddy." Hwayoung then held her hand and pulled Seoyeon with her to the living room.
Namjoon ascended to greet his girlfriend that he definitely missed a lot. Seeing her in a white dress surely has masisve effects on him, because he is now seeing an angel walking towards him.
"Hey, love. Glad you arrived safely." She smiled warmly as she went and gave him a hug.
"I missed you." Was Namjoon's response before giving her lips a quick kiss. "You look so beautiful, love." He complimented.
"Thank you, handsome devil." She replied lovingly and nuzzled her nose against his before turning around to greet Taehyung.
Taehyung gave her a smile and waved his hand, but he didn't expect that she would hug him. He looked at Namjoon, who smiled and nodded at him, before he hugged her back.
"I'm so glad to see you! I'm sad that you're leaving sooner." She frowned as they pull away.
"I had to. Still have lots of work to do." He chuckled, "Thank you for inviting us over, Seoyeon. I'm glad I get to spend some time with you before I leave."
"It's my pleasure, Taehyung. My parents are very stoked when they knew you're all coming over for lunch. They're probably on their way home from the market. Are you guys hungry? Would like a glass of juice, coffee, or tea perhaps?"
"Can I have juice, mommy?" Hwayoung said while raising her hand, Seoyeon nods with a smile.
"I'll have the juice as well, please." Taehyung replied with a bashful grin.
"I'll help you, love." Namjoon offered.
The two went to the kitchen while Hwayoung and Taehyung were left in the living room. Since the kitchen has an open corner, Taehyung can see his brother looking fondly at Seoyeon as she speaks while they prepare the juice. Seoyeon's smile never left her lips since she saw him, too.
"Cute, aren't they?" Someone suddenly spoke that startled Taehyung, making him look at the person who said that.
"Oh, hey. It's you." Taehyung said when he saw Ara by the corner, also looking at the two at the kitchen. "Uhm, yeah. They're cute." He chuckled awkwardly, while Ara just chuckled a little before looking back at him.
"Sorry about what happened a while ago. I was out of my mind that time." She apologized, referring to the slamming of the door.
"It's fine, no worries." Taehyung assured, which made her smile.
"Hi, Hwayoung! Seoyeon talks a lot about you." She greeted to the little girl after.
"Really? Mommy talks about me?" She asked in disbelief and when Ara nodded, she giggled.
"Right, I haven't introduced myself. By the way, I'm—"
"— Ara." Taehyung finished, which surprised her.
[A/N: They finally met! I feel giddy about this, lol. AERA FTW! Just kidding. So this chapter is like the longest one so far. It consists of more that 3000 words, 3,3000 to be exact, since my usual goal is just 2,500 words. I hope you liked this one. Will try to write again soon. Lovelots and Happy Sunday!]