"So, Hwang Yeji, you're the daughter of Hwang Haewen and Hwang Lim?" Munyeong started as they all had tea on the patio. It was clear as day that her intention wasn't to get to know Yeji, but to get her to reveal things that would make Lia not like her.
Not gonna happen.
"Yes, do you know of my mother?"
"I do, I'm a big, big, fan as well. I have many of her skincare products, I understand that her products are purely the best thanks to her husband being in the medical field. And do they know of your... condition?"
"My condition?"
"Your homosexuality, dear."
Lia's jaw dropped when her mom called Yeji's homosexuality a "condition."
"Ahh, yes, they do know. They've already met Lia as well."
"And they accept you?"
"Of course, I'm their child. They love me unconditionally."
"Perhaps we all should have dinner sometime, I'd love to meet them, they've raised you to be a polite young woman, Yeji." John said to shed some light into the conversation.
"Surely, they won't last long enough for it to get that far." Munyeong snickered, "More sugar!"
"Munyeong." John said to make her stop. "So, how did you two meet?"
"At a party, we had a different start apart from others, but in the end, we decided we knew what we wanted." Lia answered, holding Yeji's arm for comfort. Munyeong noticed and nearly scoffed to herself.
"And how long have you two been together?" John seemed genuinely interested, and talking to him was a relief for the couple.
"Almost a month." they both answered.
Admitting it out loud, they realized that they hadn't been together for that long, but they felt like an old married couple already. They knew each other so well, had been through so much already, and have already confessed the L word.
"I understand in the past month, there's been some violence surrounding you, Yeji. You were beaten up by a gang and some poor girl got raped at one of your parties to celebrate a victory on your first boxing match of the season."
'Oh god.' Lia thought to herself, wondering why Munyeong had to do her stupid background checks. She sipped her tea nervously, wondering how Yeji would respond to that.
"...yes, I've been into sports. In high school I did many and now I want to make a career for myself. In the rookie league, not all losers take it well. There were many ways that night could have went, but of all the ways it could have went... I tried to take the path that involved protecting someone I care about very much. And I did-"
"I don't want my daughter around thugs, Yeji. Surely you understand, coming from a high background. And if you're in these gang situations... who's to say my daughter won't get dragged into it. John, don't you agree with me?"
"I mean, I want our daughter to be safe, but I think Yeji's history is impressive. She's fit and broad, she could protect Lia well."
"Why should she have to protect her in the first place. If violence follows this woman around, Lia shouldn't be around her. She should be focusing on her studies and the sorority."
"I am, mom. God, why are you like this? Yeji has done nothing to you. And you're acting like she knows about everything going on at her parties. She was busy talking to the loads of people there to meet her-" Lia spoke up, unable to be like Yeji and John, who were trying to keep calm and kill Munyeong's negativity with logic and kindness.
"Lia-" Yeji said to try and calm her down. "It's ok. Please stay calm."
"Yes, Lia. I'm just asking your girlfriend questions, these events did happen so why can't I ask about them." Munyeong gaslit.
"Just, please, baby." Yeji whispered, and only because of her, she stopped.
"So, Yeji, my sources told me that you've always been into violent sports like wrestling and boxing, will I ever have to worry about you abusing my daughter?" Munyeong deadpanned.
"Munyeong! Ok, that's enough. Yeji, I am so sorry."
"I am dead serious, I would ask the same question if she were a man, dear. But she's a woman, she's gay, I mean what else is wrong with her then, you know we have to be cautious of these things."
Lia sighed, holding in tears of frustration, setting her teacup down so hard onto its plate on the table that both the cup and plate broke, tea spilling all over the table.
Everyone jumped and looked at her with the sudden outburst. "You wanna know everything about us? About everything we've been through together already? We started off as hookups just having sex and then we confessed feelings for one another the same night of her celebration party after I was the one that was fucking raped ok? She didn't know I was there, and it only lasted seconds before she found me and saved me.
And she got beat up because that gang wanted to beat me up instead, but she took it for me because she loves me. Ever since middle school, I've been around from boy to boy trying to find one that would treat me right and I've settled for complete idiots. Idiots like Bruce for crying out loud.
No one I was with before would've done the things that Yeji has done for me and I'm finally happy. I've finally found someone who just gets me and makes me feel safe and loved, and all you want to do is break us up because you don't approve of us. You don't even know her, you don't care about my safety, you care about your stupid morals.
And it sucks, it hurts so bad meeting Yeji's parents because they just love her so much and they accept her as she is and they truly love her no matter what. They were so happy to meet me and so happy that Yeji had found a lover. And it hurt me more than anything to realize that it wouldn't be that way for me.
What did I do? What the hell did Yeji do for you to be this goddamn bitter? You know what? We don't need this. I wanted to bring my loved one to meet my parents, I wanted to see you guys again, I wanted to have a fun break. But Yeji and I will have more enjoyment with our friends on campus." Lia got up and walked away, leaving everyone stunned.
"Lia, wait." Yeji followed after her immediately.
Munyeong scoffed, "Look at her, John. She was never like this before. She was never rebellious as a teen, but now it's finally catching up to her."
John sighed, throwing the rag over his lap onto the table, he got up to go back inside, "I'm truly disappointed in you, Munyeong."
Yeji caught up to Lia as she passed the pool, stopping her and pulling her back. "Lia, wait, please." Only then did she see the tears down Lia's cheeks.
"God, how are you so lucky! How do you have parents that shower you with so much love? Why... what did I do to deserve-"
"You did nothing, some people just don't get it and they never will, and that's ok. They are them, and we are us. Alright?"
"I know, I just... I'm packing our things." Lia pushed away and stormed off to the guest house. Yeji watched her walk off and sighed, wondering if Lia wanted to be alone. Most likely not.
"She'll come to her senses; she just hasn't found the right man yet. That's all." Munyeong said, slowly approaching Yeji from behind, her arms crossed with attitude. The brunette turned to face the older woman.
"I can assure you, Mrs. Bennett, if we were to split, it wouldn't be for that reason. And for the record we aren't splitting up, think you can make us? Not gonna happen." Yeji has a lot of tolerance, but holy shit is this woman pushing her limits.
"I don't like people like you, Yeji. Your parents may be foolish enough to accept you, but I'm not easy like that. I will watch my daughter get married someday, and it will not be to another woman." Munyeong crept up closer before shoving Yeji into the pool behind her. She even waited for Yeji to come back up to the surface to laugh and walk away into the main house.
The way Yeji wanted to slap her sooo badly in that moment.
But she didn't. She just got out the pool, a huffing, angry mess and walked soggily to the guest house. When she entered the foyer, she left her shoes at the door and emptied the water from them.
"Ok, my jet will be ready tonight so can't we jus- oh my god. What the hell happened to you?" Lia said as she packed her shoes that were by the door.
"Your mother pushed me into the pool." Yeji growled.
Lia ran into the nearest bathroom and covered Yeji with a towel, leading her upstairs to clean up.
"I'm going to kill her." Lia spat.
"At this point, I'll help you."
Lia helped Yeji get cleaned up, a quick shower and then a change into warm clothing. And she decided that this can't be how it ends. Lia is bi and her mother is going to have to live with that.
"We can't leave..." Lia mumbled to herself, helping Yeji dry her hair.
"Huh?"
"We can't leave! We'll be back which means that regardless my mother will have to live with us. We have to stay and show her that our love is real. It's not a rebellious fling. It's just as real as any other relationship between man and woman! Let's just continue doing what we're doing, and she should see!"
"Alright... you gonna cancel the plane then?"
"Oh yeah. I will. Ok. This will be fun, like a game! And we are gonna win, baby. She wants to keep us hidden away by making us stay in this house, but we can use the patio and the other rooms in the house during the day! If I remember, she works out at 7, has breakfast at 9, swims in the pool for a bit, does business stuff, has lunch by 1, runs errands until 5 and has dinner by 7, then if my dad is home, they watch movies in the theater or lounge on the roof."
"So, you want us to follow your mother around all day?"
"Not exactly, just enough to make it seem natural and to make her see how much we love each other! And we have to kill her with kindness, absolutely destroy her. Let's go?" Lia held up her hand for Yeji to shake in agreement to the plan.
"Hell yeah, Munyeong's going down."
The day was still bright and young, there was enough time for dinner then they would have the night to themselves. They decided to make up for the rough start by requesting to cook dinner for everyone. They went up to the front door and even knocked to request it.
"Oh, dear, you don't have to knock, you're no stranger." John smiled, inviting them in immediately. "I want to deeply apologize for Munyeong. I'm trying to talk to her, but she isn't budging a bit." He sighed.
"Don't worry, John. I'm not taking any of it personally. We wanted a fresh start actually, perhaps we could prepare a great meal for everyone and eat by 7?" Yeji requested.
"Oh, perfect timing! That sounds delightful, just alert Dustin to snatch us whenever it's ready. Please, use our kitchen to its fullest."
"Thanks, dad." Lia said before playfully pulling Yeji over to it, twisting and turning through this maze of a house.
On the way into the kitchen, they ran into a tall man in a suit, looking to be a part of security. When he saw Lia, his face lit up and so did Lia's. They did some kind of secret handshake before laughing and hugging.
"Lil Red! I didn't know you were here already!" He exclaimed, hugging her tightly. He looked to be in his fifties, but he looked very good for his age.
"They finally took you off front gate duty! I worried you weren't here anymore when I didn't see you at the gate!" they released the hug and Lia went back to her girlfriend, "Boseman, this is my girlfriend, Yeji. We're going to make dinner for my parents, and I can make extra for you and the other staff."
"Oh my gosh, hi! I'm Boseman, the most loyal and oldest guard on the property. I've known Lia since she was diapers and spit ups."
"Pleasure to meet you, sir." Yeji and the man shook hands firmly.
"Well, I gotta head back to work, but if you don't mind it would be great to have whatever it is you're making. Lia is a great cook."
"Will do, Bee-bo. Bye!"
"Bee-bo? Lil Red?" Yeji chuckled as they parted ways, finding the nicknames cute.
"Yeah, as a baby I called him Bee-bo before I learned to speak his name properly, and he always called me little red because I was viciously obsessed with the color growing up."
"That's cute."
"Hehe- oh! Let's play music! I'll connect my phone to the kitchen speakers."
They played slow songs with that romantic, rustic, undertone to it and decided to make Korean cuisine. Lia stated that the way to her mother's heart was through noodles. Especially Korean noodles, whether it was a prepared meal or instant ramen, her mother a terrible sweet spot for them.
So they planned to make just that, Jajjang, bibi nengmyun, kimchi jiggae, and bulgogi, her favorite meat to have with it.
They put on aprons and got to work, it wouldn't actually take too long for them to prepare everything together, most of the dishes were actually pretty simple. It was each other's company that was the most time consuming.
"Why are you messing around! The kimchi ramen will get soggy!" Lia giggled because they were cutting up the beef for the bulgogi and Yeji cut Lia a heart and gave it to her.
"Confessing my love to you is nothing like messing around. I am completely serious. This music, this atmosphere... it puts me in a good mood. I want to do this in our own house in the future."
"Thank we should. Now keep cutting! I'm sure the burner is too hot now."
Yeji checked the burner herself and it was hot, but not hot enough actually.
"Oh, it's not hot enough yet! Come on, we have some time to spare, dance with me, Lia. Come on! Let loose!"
The brunette moved behind Lia, grabbing her hips to make them sway with the sultry guitar of the music. Lia giggled, but stayed focused, "Ah mweoya! Focus, Unnie!"
"Nooo, just a little break is ok! Just this song. Come on... oo baby oo baby I'm in love." Yeji sang with the song, making Lia put the knife down and turning up the music loudly. Lia smiled, having to give in. How could she not with Yeji's hands on her hips like this. She knew what she was doing.
"I suppose just for this song." Lia turned around, wrapping her arms around Yeji's neck to look at her as they swayed together. The kitchen was a mess, but they still earned this break.
"Will we dance like this at our reception?" Yeji questioned.
"Planning a lot today, are we?"
"We are. Just making sure we're on the same page... you know when you said that you were gonna tell your parents everything about us, I thought you were gonna mention the fact that you thought I was a guy for the first week."
Lia burst out giggling, those eye smiles that Yeji fell in love with appearing straight from a cartoon.
"I actually thought about it, but it was too comical for how serious I was."
"I get it, I'm kinda glad you didn't bring it up. But was that how you wanted to tell them about what happened at the party? I'm sure you wanted to discuss it differently than that."
Lia sighed and nodded, "I don't know how I was ever gonna tell them. How do you even begin to tell your parents you were raped? I feel like I wouldn't have had the courage to reveal it if I wasn't as angry as I was earlier. I don't know if my mom cares, but I know my dad will want to talk to me about it."
The blonde laid her head down on Yeji's chest, moving her arms to around Yeji's waist to hug her instead, Yeji moved her arms too, closing her eyes gently and caressing Lia's beautiful hair. "My angel, I want to protect you from everything even though I know I can't. I can only try." the brunette hummed.
"What is this loud music? I was on a pho-" Munyeong said, coming into the kitchen with steam coming out her ears, she thought that for some reason John was cooking and playing the music. But no.
Her face contorted in displeasure of seeing the couple dance together in the middle of the giant kitchen. Yet she stared without another word. Watching them laugh together, cuddle, and be each other's safe space. They radiated love, it was impossible to deny.
And she got that feeling, the feeling you get when you see something that is just so cute. Like when you watch a heartfelt romance movie and you're just so happy for the main couple. The feeling of your heart clenching in your chest.
She did see that her daughter was happy. This moment killed all of that doubt and all she was left with was denial.
"No matter what, through anything, I'll love you, Lia. Even through the times that it seems unbearable, I'll love you, I'll be with you."
"I'll love you, too. I only wanted to be with you, I felt like I was made to love you."
Who was she? Munyeong didn't know who her daughter was, she had never seen her this happy, her heart was basically glowing through her chest, a blinding light it was.
"Aish... the song's over." Yeji whined as the song faded into another.
"Oh, come on, we gotta finish dinner for the kids, dear!" Lia played house.
"Ah of course! All nine of them!" Yeji played along quickly.
Lia gasped, "Yes! Oh, I love kids! I want to surrogate! Or adopt. Oh! We'd make great parents, don't you think?"
Yeji's jaw dropped at the fact that Lia was so on board with such a full house. "... oh baby, surely nine is a bit much, ani?"
"Oh, I know! But do want more than two, three at least!"
"When it comes to it, we will, my love." they returned to the island to cut up the meat and prep it for cooking.
Lia giggled endlessly, thinking of little children running around the house, she and Yeji sharing their young stories. They all get older and watch them all grow up and become their own people, and when she and Yeji are grey and near the end of their timeline, the kids will visit and with their own children and the house will live again with little humans running around. They'll go to all of their weddings, watch them take their first steps, take cheesy pictures with them on the first day of school, watch them graduate and support them wherever they decide to go after that.
Lia's giggling faded as she just smiled to herself at the thought of that life. Yeji stared at her, smiling to herself because she loved how passionate Lia was about a family. Such a wonderful soul, she is. And how lucky Yeji felt that Lia wanted to do it with it, how lucky she felt that Lia imagined her perfect life and Yeji was there until the other side relieves her from the stress this world puts upon her.
Yeji will do her part to protect Lia until her time is up.
Munyeong was defeated, smiling to herself, her motherly instinct made her smile at seeing how happy her daughter was. Just so happy.
She turned on her heel and mentally cursed herself out when feeling a tear of joy leave her eye. She quickly wiped it away and walked away, pulling herself out of the trace.