I Only Like You

Chapter 17: Let's Stop and Smell The Roses

~ 1 ~

My mother-in-law is someone who possesses a great sense of humor; as Taehyung has commented on numerous occasions about the striking similarities between me and his mom, I asked him whether it was because both his mom and I liked to tease him.

In the past, Taehyung had a 'rumored girlfriend' who happened to be the daughter of his neighbors. As my mother-in-law's greatest joy was to make a fool out of her very own son, she would frequently ask Taehyung hilarious questions, such as "Why don't you go play with my daughter-in-law?"

Initially, Taehyung would attempt to protest his unhappiness, "Don't spread such nonsense."

"Isn't she my daughter-in-law? Or are you telling me you have someone else?"

"That's not true!"

"Well, since you don't have anyone else, she's the only one left to be my daughter-in-law."

"......"

Once, she brought Taehyung out to purchase some clothes for him. As she was deciding between two different colors, she commented, "I'll just the blue one then, since my daughter-in-law ought to like the color blue."

Taehyung replied in exasperation, "Who's your daughter-in-law? I didn't know you had one."

Subsequently, when I visited Taehyung's home to play, my mother-in-law smelt the scent of a 'secret affair'; from that day onwards, the annual parent-teacher meeting became the event that frightened Taehyung the most. When my mother-in-law saw my mom, she'd be extremely enthusiastic, "I'm going to go have a chat with my in-law."

"Don't!!!"

"Son, you're not going to be able to get the girl at this rate."

Even the perennially busy Taehyung's father found some time to talk to Taehyung, "I'm not entirely opposed to you entering into a relationship at such a young age, but you ought to know where to draw the line."

Taehyung wanted to howl in rage – I'm not in a relationship!! I know where to draw the line!! The one who doesn't know how to draw the line is your wife, not me!!!

~ 2 ~

When my mother-in-law and I discussed the topic of children, I said, "If I ever give birth to a child in the future, I don't need him to be extremely rich or successful. I just hope that he'd be a happy person."

My mother-in-law replied, "Yup. When I was pregnant with Taetae, I thought the same way too. I didn't wish for anything else, and had only one single wish."

"What?"

"My child must be handsome."

"......."

She showed me Taehyung's baby photos, and said, "I always wondered whether I had mistakenly brought the wrong baby home from the hospital."

"Why?"

"How could someone as vibrant as me give birth to someone introverted like him?"

"Perhaps...he takes after his father."

"Subsequently, when he attended school, my suspicions grew even stronger."

"Why?"

"How could my son be so good in his studies?"

"......"

She continued flipping through the photographs, and muttered to herself, "But he's such a handsome boy...No one else would be capable of giving birth to him except me."