DAY 176
JOOHYUN
My parents asked to meet Seulgi since they always seemed to speak so highly of her and it seemed like my relationship was beginning to get serious, so I spoke to Seulgi and decided on going to lunch with my parents.
Seulgi was reluctant at first but eventually agreed. She ended up taking the day off from work so she could get gifts for my parents. With my help, she ended up getting a bottle of expensive whiskey for my dad and a box of chocolate and flowers for my mom.
She made sure everything was on time, so she didn't leave a bad first impression. She was oddly calm and didn't seem anxious at all, even though she was slightly nervous. I managed to calm her down with a small peck on her lips, reassuring her that it was going to be alright.
We ended up arriving right on time and made our way inside, where I found my parents waiting.
I held Seulgi's hand as she smiled at me while we entered the house.
"Welcome home, Irene." Mom smiled gently while looking towards me.
"Hello, mom and dad!" I hugged them both in return before standing next to Seulgi again.
"This is Seulgi." I simply said just before seeing our parents turn towards him.
"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Bae, it's a pleasure to meet you and I appreciate your having me over today." Seulgi said politely before handing the gifts over to your mother and father.
"Where did she get some money to buy this?" I heard my father mumble something under his breath, and I looked at him with one raised eyebrow.
He smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders.
"You really are quite the gentlewoman." Mom commented, smiling towards me.
"The pleasure is ours." My dad spoke firmly, shacking hands with my girlfriend.
"Right, the food is getting cold." Mom spoke out cheerfully as I smiled towards Seulgi.
I could already tell my mom doesn't like Seulgi, but she chooses to pretend like she does like her.
I could feel Seulgi getting more and more tense and she was really squeezing my hand to the point where it felt like it would break.
"It's fine, I know they don't like me." Seulgi murmured softly into my ear while steering me to sit on the seat. "Don't worry, Joohyun."
We all sat in awkward silence for a bit. Seulgi and I pick at the food while my parents alternate between giving Seulgi a glaring look and a smile when I catch them.
"This is really delicious, Mrs. Bae." Seulgi breaks the awkward silence.
Mom had enough of her acting, so she set down her fork very loudly, so it flattered against the plate.
"Don't you have any shame at all? I already told you to stay away from my daughter. We don't need lowlifes like you. Irene will probably pay for all of the expenses if you two have a family." She said rudely, and Dad nodded in agreement.
"I thought we already had an agreement right away. We had a serious talk." Dad added.
I was shocked and slightly hurt by what my parents told me about Seulgi, and I was even more shocked that my own mother would say something like that to my girlfriend/guest since she had always been one of those moms with the rule that if guests are over, then everyone has to be twice as polite.
Before I could respond, Seulgi cut in.
"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Bae, but we didn't have an agreement that I would stay away from your daughter. I don't have any plans to do that, especially when I truly love your daughter. To be honest, I don't care if you insult me at all since I've already gotten used to it. Hayss, judgmental people like the both of you are the biggest problem with the society we are currently living in." Seulgi sighed in disappointment, and she smiled softly.
"Yes, you all have wealth, power, and intelligence. Both of you graduated from a very nice and expensive university to study and learn, but I'm disappointed at the both of you because you might have learned academics, but you didn't learn manners or how to be a good person towards your fellow man." Seulgi said, which made my parents' eyes widen.
"What's the use of spending so much time and money studying if you two can't learn a simple thing? Actually, you didn't need to go to school to learn manners or respect because they can be instilled in you or taught to you by your parents. Sadly, you both are the total opposite of respectful people, so I guess your parents failed to be parents to the both of you or child to your parents."
My parents' mouths went agape and they looked so offended by what my girlfriend had just said.
"I'm not from a wealthy family, but my parents raised me to be a good person, which should be your daughter's love partner's personality. If we are talking about your daughter's future, if she gets married to me, it will be a decision that she won't ever regret because I will make sure and prove to her that she was with the right person and she loved the right person that was only exclusive for her and no one else."
"If you want me to stay away from your daughter, I think the two of you should adjust instead because you are both ruining someone's relationship here. Both of you should be the ones who stay away from us. It's your daughter and I's relationship, not yours, so why are the two of you sticking your noses in other's business? When the two of you became together, did we tell you to stay away from each other?"
My parents unconsciously shook their heads.
"See, we didn't. So, stop telling me to stay away from your daughter. Not your relationship, so back the fuck off. " Seulgi cussed, earning a slap from me.
"Language, Bear." She flashed me an apologetic smile.
I looked over to my parents and they were both staring at Seulgi, stunned. They didn't expect that Seulgi would be this brave and talk straightforwardly to them.
"You did great, Bear. Go eat more, then let's go to your parents' house after this. I want to eat some watermelon that your mom harvested for me." I told her and she nodded.
"Mom and Dad will be happy to see you again, Joohyun-ah." She responded, making me smile.
Her parents accepted and liked me for their daughter, and my parents didn't have any choice but to accept my relationship with Seulgi.
My girlfriend did a great job.
•••
DAY 180
JONGIN
Carrying sacks of rice, sacks of corn, basins of scallops, buckets of dried anchovies, and hunting eels in the mud, which became my routine in the last five days and counting of my stay here in Krystal's town.
Her parents were so happy to meet me, but they were sad about my looking skinny even though I'm not.
They warmly welcomed me and fed me lots of food to gain some weight, but they made me work so much since I'm a man and a man should do a lot of hard work for a woman.
I, being in love with Krystal, did the things her parents asked me to do because I wanted to prove to Krystal that I could live a farm life and a wealthy life and I wanted to leave a good impression on her parents.
Right now, we are making kimchi, and I'm the only man here because I insisted on doing this for Krystal since she was not feeling well, and I prefer doing this than going fishing since it's too hot outside.
Wearing a floral pajama (it's comfortable), pink gloves, a transparent sanitary mask, and a hairband so my hair won't block my sight since my hair is getting longer is my outfit as I do my assigned work for today.
"Jongin!" I heard Krystal's mother's voice, which made me immediately remove my gloves and run towards her.
"Ne, Eomeoni?" I asked, and she was smiling widely.
She patted her space beside her, asking me to seat myself, which I did in a heartbeat. Suddenly, she put a foldable table in front of me with a stash of my posters and a marker on the side.
"Ahmm...my friend's daughter is a fan of yours, so can you sign them?" She asked shyly, handing me the marker.
"Of course, Eomeoni. It's my pleasure to sign all of this and if you need something, don't be shy to ask me." I flashed her a reassuring smile, and she patted my shoulder.
I started signing the posters, and Eomeoni was just staring at me, proudly and happily.
"How's Krystal, Eomeoni?" I asked as I continued signing the posters.
"It's her time of the month, so she was still in her bedroom, waiting for the crumps to go away." Eomeoni answered, which made me worried.
I hurriedly signed the posters and quickly handed them to Eomeoni when I was done.
Instead of going back to making kimchi, I borrowed a bicycle and went to the nearest supermarket to buy something that could help Krystal.
There are people who recognize me, but I just ignore them and pretend that I'm not seeing them nor hearing them fangirling.
I bought chocolates and ginger tea since I searched on the internet that it could help.
I was about to leave the supermarket when I remembered something that was very important when a woman was on her period.
I secretly went to the sanitary napkin section.
"Why are there lots of napkins?" I asked myself when I saw a lot of sanitary products with different brands.
"How can I help you, Sir?" I flinched when a woman appeared out of nowhere.
"Oh, I ahm..." I scratched the back of my head and smiled awkwardly.
"Did your girlfriend tell you about the napkin she was using?" She asked, and I shook my head. "Today is her first day?"
"Yeah, I think so." I replied, unsure.
"Okay, I suggest you buy a sanitary napkin with wings." She said, which made me frown.
"Since when did the sanitary napkin have wings?" I inquired, earning a chuckle from her.
Why do sanitary napkins need wings?
She grabbed a pack of sanitary napkins from the shelf and put it in my basket, then she also put a hot compress.
"I bet she is now suffering from period cramps just based on the amount of chocolate and ginger tea you bought." She pushed me slightly, encouraging me to hurry and pay for all the things and go back home.
I paid for everything I bought and rode a bicycle back to Krystal's family house.
Her parents saw me, so I bowed at them and went to the kitchen to get hot water to make ginger tea.
After making the tea, I went to Krystal's bedroom, and I knocked on the door before I went inside to see Krystal holding her abdomen and groaning in pain.
"Here, drink this. I think this could help." I sat by her bed and handed her a ginger tea.
She leaned her back against the headboard of the bed and drank the ginger tea. A sigh escapes her lips when I put a hot compress on her abdomen.
"Thank you." she said, making me smile.
"No worries." I patted her head.
I waited for her to finish her tea. She gave me the cup that she used, and she lay in her bed again.
"Still feeling pain?" I asked her and she slightly nodded.
"There is still a bit of pain, but it's better than earlier." She patted the space beside her. "Lay beside me pleasee."
I lay beside her as she faced the other direction. She made me hug her from behind, and she put my hand inside her shirt to massage her aching abdomen.
"I hope the pain will go away." I kissed her shoulder, and she released a contented sigh.