The One I Want

34

2 years later...

In a quiet living room where no one dares to speak, a family of three were having their dinner.

Minhyun picks up an omelette roll, placing it on his mother's plate.

"When are you going to let me meet this girlfriend of yours?" His father suddenly spoke, sharp gaze pinned on his only son.

Minhyun hated times when he brings this up. "Soon," he said.

"Do I know her from anywhere?"

"No." His replies were short as his appetite dies down. "Can we not talk about this now?"

"Right, right. Honey, don't stress him out."

"He needs to learn how to handle stress. I'm only asking to see this girl he has been dating for two years. If you can't handle this much, how do I trust the business with you?" He starts to get irritated. "You're at the age of marriage. If you don't bring her to me, I'll set you up myself."

Minhyun takes in a deep breath, reaching for some side dishes. "I'll talk to her," he says and shot a glare at his father. "Don't try to do anything funny to her."

The lady felt the tension and cleared her throat. "Eat." She demands, ending the staring contest between those two.

His father picks up the chopsticks just to set them down forcefully when he didn't like the tone Minhyun uses. "You—"

"Minhyun-ah, do you not want to stay in the villa we got you? It's near your school." His mother prevents a war at the dinner table.

Minhyun shakes his head and smiles. "The place we have now is nearer to her school. I'm okay."

His mother understood his reasons. Being in different schools, nighttime was probably the only time he gets to see this girlfriend of his.

—

"Where's your boyfriend? I thought he lives with you." Kim Minjeong, a friend Minju made when she entered the Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts). She's in the Performing Arts department.

Minju sits up from her bed with her eyes on her phone. "Family dinner," she said.

"Why aren't you there? You've been dating since your high school days...that's about three years." Minjeong did the math.

"Ya, it's out." Minju gasps as she refreshes the page for the last time. Semester results.

Minjeong quickly grabs her phone and checks. "Assa! I went up by 0.2!" She shrieks, looking at Minju. "You?"

"I think I went to the wrong course. Why is it so hard to push the cumulative up?"

Minjeong goes to her and sees what she's looking at. "Ya, why are you sulking over a 3.7? It's better than mine."

Minju sighs. "You don't get it." She turns off her phone and swings it to the other end of the bed. "Who knew the art department was this competitive? If only I knew we were competing with international students."

"What else did you expect? A class full of kids?" Minjeong scoffs, lying on the pillow.

Minju goes to her desk and opens her laptop. This apartment is small, enough for two people. Minhyun does share the rent because he didn't want to live the life he's been given.

This small part made him appreciate things more.

Minjeong watched her do her thing. She always comes over because her dorm gets chaotic when she rooms with two other girls.