Can i love you ?

30

Waking up, I felt a chill in the air. Cold? I realized that Minji was busy in the kitchen. Well, no wonder I'm freezing; there's no one here to warm me up. After lying in bed for a while, I got up and made my way towards the kitchen. The noise that had woken me up was coming from the kettle. Spotting me, Minji spoke up:

"I was just about to wake you up."

"The kettle beat you to it," I grumbled, not really knowing why.

"Is that why you're so prickly?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. I sat down at the table while Minji poured tea into our cups. She's always so caring and attentive that I couldn't help but stretch a satisfied smile across my face.

"What's with the dramatic mood swings?" she continued, smiling in response.

"Sorry. I don't know why I'm being so snappy," I admitted, looking at her.

"It's okay, baby. Do you remember that school starts on Monday?" she smoothly transitioned to another topic. Well, that was abrupt.

"I won't forget something like that," I muttered.

At that moment, my phone vibrated with a message. I could sense Minji's curious gaze on me, so I picked up my phone and read the SMS. It was from my mom.

"Yoohyeon, I'm worried. Please come back home!" No shouting. No swearing. I read the message again, unsure of the best way to respond. Minji sensed my confusion and took the phone from my hands. I looked at her, trying to gauge her thoughts. Minji typed something and then handed the phone back to me. I glanced at the screen: "We'll come today. Together." All I had to do was press the send button; she didn't take that step herself. I sent the message, and then I looked at Minji, who seemed pleased and started to set out our breakfast-lunch on our plates.

An immediate response came: "Great! I'll cook your favorite pasta with meat for dinner," my mother wrote. I read it aloud so that Minji wouldn't keep staring at me so intently. She smiled, her thoughts seemingly drifting away.

Lunch was delicious, although it was evident even in the morning. Minji is an excellent cook, even when she claims to be making something simple. During lunch, we decided that we would go to my parents' place at six in the evening. But on the way, Minji insisted on stopping by the store, joking that she might be going to visit her future relatives.

I have to admit, I was nervous. I didn't know how to behave in order to show the right amount of attention to Minji, or whether to keep a bit of distance. I didn't know which option would avoid unnecessary tension and worries from my mother, while also not upsetting Minji. Moreover, it was hard for me to imagine that my mother had truly changed. Could it really be that simple? Dinner, and then what? I had no idea. Minji laughed it off, saying it was better to try to establish contact rather than exacerbate the situation. But I could tell she was worried too.

In the end, we left at around five o'clock. Minji looked stunning in her navy blue trousers that reached her ankles, slightly tapered to accentuate the beauty and slenderness of her legs. She wore a light blouse and a jacket in the same dark blue range. She had her hair up, which made me fixate on her slender and delicate neck. Parents? At that moment, I wished we could just stay home so I could have all the time in the world to touch that neck, those legs, and every other part of her body. Going to my parents suddenly felt like a daunting task. I dressed more simply in light jeans and a dark sweater.

At the store, Minji insisted on buying a cake and sweets, insisting that she couldn't go empty-handed. I could tell it was just her nerves, so I resisted for only the first five minutes. She contemplated getting wine for a while, but in the end, she decided to stick with sweets, suspecting that my parents wouldn't approve of alcohol. Anyway, at six in the evening, we pulled up to my building in the car. Both of us were nervous, despite our attempts to appear confident. Confident in front of each other. But Minji seemed different—she wanted to make the best impression, even though I assured her she didn't have to try. The impression she made couldn't be any different. That's how I felt, but I didn't know what my parents would actually say. The only thing I knew was that if the conversation happened without Minji, it would end disastrously. But what would happen now was impossible to predict.