Rent A Boyfie

be careful what you wish for, lest it come true

You know, when you envisioned you, Juyeon and your mother at your dining table for dinner, you didn't quite filter in your mother's incessant tendency to overshare. Nor did you remember that she has a very bad habit of embarrassing her own children in front of their spouses. You were there when it happened to your brother and sister. And now, you are here as it is happening to you.

The reason why your mother's bags were so heavy was because she had made the decision to ransack your childhood bedroom for any and every single form of memorabilia from your childhood. Photo albums, polaroid pictures, yearbooks, you name it. And said embarrassing photos and whatnot are currently spread out on your coffee table as Juyeon and your mother look over them, your mother telling detailed stories behind each picture as Juyeon listens on intently.

"That was when her brother dropped her birthday cake all over her," your mother comments as Juyeon picks up a printed photo of you sobbing your tear ducts into a desert, party hat askew on your head, your favourite shirt covered in chocolate cake and frosting, your sister laughing herself to tears and your brother smiling sheepishly as he gets up from where he tripped and flung the cake onto you. 

"Don't show him that," you huff, reaching over Juyeon in an attempt to snatch the embarrassing photo from his grasp. Juyeon, ever the athlete (you don't actually know if he was or is an athlete), dodges your attack with ease, lifting the photo out of your grasp as he continues to examine it with a beaming grin.

"You have snot running down your nose," he laughs, showing you the picture like you haven't seen it before, like it wasn't you who had snot running down your nose and cake all over your face. You sneer and advert your eyes, shoving Juyeon's hands away from you.

"So, Juyeon," your mother starts when a silence stretches on, Juyeon too focused on your childhood and you too focused on thinking up of an excuse to leave. "What do your parents do?"

At the question, Juyeon goes rigid. He freezes and though his head is tilted down, you see his smile drop and his adam's apple bob as he swallows harshly. Oh no. Sensitive topic. And you two didn't discuss a backstory either because you were too busy sleeping.

"Mother," you mutter under your breath, sending her a look of censure and a firm shake of your head. Her eyes widen and she clears her throat, frantically trying to think of something else to say to divert the topic.

"My dad is a pilot. He's never really been, you know, present," he starts, head lifting to look at your mother. Underneath the table, your hand nudges Juyeon's thigh, a simple and urgent gesture saying a million things that he completely decides to ignore.

"My mum was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's a few months ago," he says, still smiling.

A silence envelopes the three of you and you try your hardest to hide your shock. That's why he was at the hospital. He must've gone to visit his mother at the nursing home connected to your hospital. Bile rises up in your throat and you feel inexplicably bad that Juyeon has to tell his life story to two people whom he will never see again after tonight. And well, of course, you feel bad for his situation. You would never have imagined that calm, levelheaded, smiley Juyeon was going through such a miserable ordeal, where he has to watch his mother forget him and everything of her life before his very eyes. Your hand shifts from the carpet and tentatively, you reach for Juyeon's hand, giving it a squeeze when your fingers curl around his thumb.

"I'm sorry, Juyeon. I shouldn't have asked," your mother apologises, her eyes darting from Juyeon to the pictures splayed out on the table, gaze shifting uncomfortably from picture to picture as she thinks up of something to change the topic to.

"That's okay. You've been so nice to me and..." he trails off, frowning as he considers his words. "I don't know if this is weird but, in a way, you remind me of my mother. So, I'm so happy that you invited me over yesterday," he continues after his brief pause. When Juyeon finishes his sentence, he squeezes your hand back.