You know that feeling when you're meeting someone for the first time and you instantly know that they don't like you? Alas, you remain uncomfortable in their presence from then on because you know you haven't done anything to warrant the dislike. Yeah, this is what Crystal had been feeling from the moment she met Yoongi's mother.
It wasn't for a lack of politeness per say. She was very polite thus far, but Crystal's instincts coupled with her lawyer like ability to see straight through people told her that the kind front would dissipate eventually—as soon as she gave her an actual reason to dislike her perhaps.
She didn't need her soulmate advantages to pick up on the tension between Yoongi and his mother. Again, it wasn't that they weren't polite towards each other. It was that they were too polite. His guard was up and stayed that way until his father, older brother, and sister in law arrived. His guard went down and his mother's went up, an observation that intrigued Crystal.
She didn't know everything about his family business, just that they weren't all particularly close. While they were getting ready at the hotel they'd be staying at for three days, he did mention that he was closer with his father than his mother though. Apparently, they'd had a heart to heart about a year ago and that was enough to resolve most their issues. He also gave her a heads up that his mother wasn't the biggest fan of his brother's wife, which could cause some uncomfortable tension. Turns out, that was an understatement.
After Crystal had met all of them, Yoongi's mother had requested that she and Akira, Yoongi's sister in law join her in the kitchen.
"Crystal-ssi, are you any good at folding dumplings?" she asks and Crystal nods.
"Pretty good," she replies with a tight lipped smile and Mrs. Min nods.
"I've heard that in this kitchen before, but we'll see. Wash your hands here," she says, shooting a pointed look at Akira behind her.
"You, wash your hands too," she says to Akira, her tone less than friendly.
Crystal washed her hands with a scowl, but tried not to let the woman's behavior throw her off. Yoongi said she was tough and Crystal had thick skin as well. She was just going to do what was asked of her within reason of course and get through this evening.
"I've got some pork filling here. Let me get an extra spoon...You, take the kimchi out of the fridge and cut it with these kitchen shears," she says, passing the shears to Akira.
"Small chunks. Nobody liked how big you cut it last time," she says, holding onto the shears until she was done talking.
Akira nods, her face blank and her lips pursed before going to do what her mother in law asked of her. Crystal cringed internally, their interactions bothering her. She didn't know exactly what went down between the two so she thought it best she keep her mouth shut for now.
"Alright Crystal-ssi. Here's a spoon and a bowl of water. I'll get the steamer ready while you fold," she says and Crystal nods, getting to work carefully folding the dumplings and setting them aside on a plate.
"So...I've read a couple articles about you and I hear you're in school—SNU to be exact," Mrs. Min says as she sets up her items on the stove.
"Yes, I'm getting my law degree. I'll be finished in December," Crystal says, sparing a glance at her before she goes back to folding her dumplings.
"Hm, impressive. With how smart you are, I'm surprised you make such great dumplings—and you're not even Asian," she exclaims, sending a pointed look back at Akira, who was sitting at the table immersed in her task.
Crystal didn't understand how intelligence or nationality correlated with dumpling folding, so again—she kept quiet and continued her task until another question was aimed at her.
"How long have you been living in Korea again? You seem to know the customs well," Mrs. Min asks as she loads the steamer basket with dumplings Crystal had already folded.
"18 years now. I've had time to practice," she chuckles, and Mrs. Min does as well.
"Oh? So you're a citizen, thank God. No offense, but I wasn't too fond of the thought of my grandchildren being foreigners," she says and Crystal immediately stops folding to look at her, her head tilted in confusion.
Akira looks up at the two as if she couldn't believe she'd said that as well.
"Foreign as in citizen of America and Korea or foreign as in ethnicity?" she asks and Mrs. Min gasps, putting her hand on her chest.
"As in dual citizenship dear. I apologize for not making myself clear. I mean, clearly they're going to be viewed as foreigners in society, but they wouldn't actually be foreigners since they'd be born here of two Korean citizens—you and Yoongi-ah," she explains and Crystal hums, going back to folding the dumplings.
It wasn't uncommon for the older generation of Koreans to look down on other countries and America was especially at the top of this list lately when it came to countries with no integrity. She couldn't nor wouldn't argue with that, so she left it alone.
"Can't say the same for Geumjae-ah and Akira. She's half Chinese and half Jap so when they have children—if they have children, they'd have dual citizenship—Korea and China," she "whispers", definitely loud enough for Akira to hear.
She stood abruptly and walked away, the chair legs scraping across the floor almost startling Crystal with how loud it was.
"Oof, that one's always had a temper. Always storming away and always leaving things half done in my kitchen. I'm convinced she was raised up soft and with no manners or responsibilities. Look at this kimchi," she tsks, oblivious to the strong side eye Crystal was giving her.
"I told Geumjae to wait it out. He might've had a soulmate out there waiting for him, but he decided to settle for that. I don't see what he sees in her. She was raised in China for Pete's sake," she continues, this time catching the taken aback look Crystal was shooting her way.
"What? Don't tell me you're one of those sympathizers that think everyone should be treated equally," she exclaims, her hand on her hip as she removes a batch of dumplings from the steamer basket.
"Am I a sympathizer who thinks all people should be treated equally? Ha, no. Some humans do terrible things. However, as a both a black woman and person who is genuinely not prejudiced against anyone—I understand that it's wrong to hold a person to a lower standard simply because they're from a different country. As I said, I've lived here for 18 years. I completely understand the feud between South Korea and China, but I have never in my life insulted or discriminated against a Chinese person because of what their government is doing. I'm sure she had absolutely nothing to do with that and it's dead wrong of you to hold her accountable," Crystal says, finishing up her last dumpling before making her way over to the sink to wash her hands.
She doesn't wait for a response, but rather turns her back and heads out in the direction that Akira had taken. She passed the living area where Yoongi, Guemjae, and their father was sitting and he gave her a look—knowing she'd gotten upset about something. She waves her phone at him, letting him know she'd text it to him before making her way down the hall to the bathroom where she assumed Akira was. She knocked on the door lightly, hearing her shout that she'd be out soon on the other side. She could hear the waver in her voice, an indication that she'd been crying.
"Akira, it's Crystal. I came to check on you so take your time," she calls back.
"Oh, um, I'm fine," she says, opening the bathroom door.
"Um, no offense, but you don't look fine," Crystal says, pointing to her eyes.
Akira looks back in the mirror and curses underneath her breath, her wiping making the dark circles around her eyes even worse. She starts to cry again out of frustration and Crystal steps in, closing the door behind them.
"It was supposed to be smudge proof," she sniffles.
"It's okay, let's find something to wipe it off," she says, opening drawers until she finds a pack of makeup wipes.
She passes two to Akira and she cleans off her smudged eye makeup, looking years younger without it.
"She never like me no matter how hard I tried. I thought I could make her see past it....but last year Geumjae and I found out we couldn't have children and—I thought she hated me before, but she definitely does now," Akira sniffles, sitting on the closed toilet lid when she was done.
So that's why she said —if—they could have kids.
"I'm so sorry she said that to you! I'm so sorry to hear that," Crystal sympathizes, angry for the woman in front of her.
Has she known that, she definitely would've went harder on Mrs. Min and it wouldn't have been pretty. It's disgusting to make that type of comment about a woman in general, but especially in her face.
"It's okay. We're dealing. It's just hard coming here and having to deal with her. Anyways, I'm sure you don't want to hear my moping. You'd better get out there before she starts with you too," she says.
"Honestly, it's probably best I don't right now. I know I'm not her favorite after what I just told her. She expected me to take her side about what she said and I told her about herself," she says, leaning against the counter so she could text Yoongi a rundown of what happened.
"Well, she definitely hates us both now. Welcome to the club—it's terrible here," Akira says, her dry tone making Crystal chuckle.
"I knew it was the moment I walked through the door," Crystal replies, pressing send on her message.
She sent up a prayer to help her get through this dinner as drama-free as possible, but she knew it was for naught. She'd just put herself right in the middle of a nasty situation.