The Real Us

. chapter 14 .

The boy felt the girl's grip tighten in his hand as the plane finally made its way into the sky. But a few seconds later, she released his hand. He turned to watch her as she took deep breaths and finally brought herself to peer out the window.

The male smiled to himself feeling a sense of satisfaction, knowing that she was alright.

-

When the plane landed in Seoul, the students met with their parents and began leaving the airport to go to their homes. However, Taeryoung was met with a huge surprise. Her parents were finally back in Korea after having lived in the US for a whole year for their work.

Her eyes lit up seeing them and she ran towards the two, wrapping them in a tight hug. "I missed you so much," Her father whispered as his eyes began to fill with tears.

"Are you crying again, Dad?" Kim Sooyoung scoffed as she watched her parents crying happy tears.

Just then, Hyejin and Nayoung appeared, bowing to their friend's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Kim cooed seeing the two girls and immediately began asking them questions about school and life in general.

"They seem more interested in them than they do in me," Taeryoung jokingly remarked to her older sister. The two laughed and smiled at each other when Sooyoung noticed a tall, black-haired boy approaching them.

"Taeryoung," Sunghoon called after the girl. "You left your earbuds in the-"

"Who's this, Taer?" Mrs. Kim suddenly shifted her focus to the handsome male standing behind her daughter.

"Oh," The girl suddenly felt her face heating up, "Him? He's just a frie-"

"I'm Taeryoung's boyfriend, miss." The male bowed deeply at the woman. Taeryoung looked at him like he was insane. "Hey. What do you think you're doi-"

"I had no idea our daughter was dating anybody!" Mr. Kim gasped as he scanned the boy from head to toe. He then turned to his oldest daughter. "Did you know this?"

Sooyoung shook her head, just as bewildered by the situation as everybody else.

"What's your name, young man?" Mrs. Kim smiled kindly at the male and observed as he flashed a charming, dimpled smile.

"Park Sunghoon, Miss."

Taeryoung watched while biting her bottom lip to prevent her jaw from dropping to the floor. After practically not speaking to each other for two days, this was the first thing that made the two have to talk?

The girl felt her cheek with the back of her hand. It was hot. She scanned her family members and her boyf- no, fake boyfriend. Just by watching her father, she could tell what he was about to say next.

"Well listen here, boy." Mr. Kim started as he took a couple steps towards Sunghoon. Sooyoung and Taeryoung couldn't help but giggle as they noticed the height difference between the two. "Not just any punk can date our Taeryoung," her father continued. "If you have the time, I would like you to come to our house one day to discuss."

Geez, he made it sound like it was a business meeting. Taeryoung thought to herself as she mentally facepalmed. But to her surprise, the male only nodded and smiled politely. "Any time that works for you, sir." he replied, bowing again. 

-

The car ride home from the airport was definitely an interesting one. As her parents and sister bombarded her with questions, Taeryoung tried to remain calm.

"How long have you been together?" Sooyoung asked.

Taeryoung counted on her fingers. "Three-ish months?" Wow, time really had passed quickly. The girl thought to herself.

"How come you never told me?" Her sister continued. "Actually, now that I think about it... Is that the boy who always used to come by looking for you?"

Taeryoung looked at her sister and tilted her head with a confused expression. "Looking for me?"

"Yeah. Some guy kept showing up to see you before school but he always missed you by a few minutes." Sooyoung tapped her chin and looked at the ceiling. "I never got a good look at him though, so I'm not 100% sure."

The girl thought about her sister's words for a second. When had Sunghoon come looking for her in the mornings? The only other person she could think of that would show up at her house would be Kim Kyojun, but surely Sooyoung would recognize her sister's childhood friend, right?