The Falling Petals...🌺

In-laws-house....

The next morning, I was waiting for Guen. Dae had called me up to tell me that Guen would be coming to pick me up. I was going to meet her family except for her dad who was in Seoul, taking part in some work stuff there.

While I waited for him, I spent my time doing some peculiar things. Standing in front of the mirror, I practiced lines which I might have to say in front of her family in different situations. I wanted my facial expressions and body language to make a good impression on her family. So, I rehearsed some common lines:

"No, no, my parents wont have any issues if she carries on with her career after marriage. In fact, I am marrying her because she is a career oriented girl." (With a brilliant use of the hands.)

"I'm not sure if we'll move to Busan so soon but, yes, the plans are there."(With confidence)

"Oh, yes, I can cook. In my work-related trips abroad I learnt that, you know. It might not be as delicious as what she can prepare, but it serves its purpose." (With a smile.)

And so on.

It was 10:00 AM. To kill some more time, I moved out to the lounge. I was nervous again as I left my room. The nervousness of facing so many new people at once. In the lounge, I glanced through the newspaper and had a cup of tea, which was my only breakfast. I wasn't feeling 'hungry' at all, but excited and thrilled.

A few minutes later, my cell phone beeped. It was an SMS from her.

Guen wl b der by 10:15Be ready and Gud luk. A few hrsfrom now u'll be amongur would be in laws.

As soon as I read her message, a new number flashed on my cell's screen. This time, it was Guen calling me outside. I quickly finished my tea, put the newspaper back in the rack and left the hotel.

Soon, I was in his cab. Obviously, his dad a big man. On our way to her home, he kept telling me about his dad, who had been a politician some years back. He kept talking about his investment in real estates and in shares. And I kept replying "ok," "yeah" and "oh really" - not really listening to his big talk. All that was going through my mind at that point was how things would pan out in the next couple of hours. I had never been to any-in-laws till then! With the rest of our relatives, it was always the boy's family who went to the girl's. But here, things were different. I was all alone.

So many thoughts going through my mind....

I am all alone. Damn! I don't even believe I am doing this, going to visit my in-laws.

Do I need to tell her mother one more time that I love Dae?

Thank god her dad is not home.

I should sound more mature. A responsible citizen. Shit! Not citizen. A responsible person who will keep their Dae very happy for the rest of her life.

What will her home be like? Bigger than mine?

Is anybody going to ask me my salary? Should I add a few more thousands to the figure?

They have a big car too and I have just a bike - not even a Expensive one at that.

Damn! What all I am thinking? Shit! 

"What happened?" asked Guen.

"No, no, nothing." I said, wondering if he heard my thoughts.

"Hey! Hey! It 's always like this," he mocked my condition.

"What do you mean? I asked to hide my restlessness.

"Nothing," he aid with a smile and put on some music.

After almost an hour, we reached our destination. On the way, I bought a pineapple cake for them from a confectionary, which Guen said was one of the best there.

"Here we are. Here your in-laws come," said Guen.

"Boy! This is it," I said to myself.

I took a deep breath, and got down from the vehicle and looked at the white-colored house in front of me. Then I opened the black gate and walked in. There were a few plants with flowers blossoming in them. A tiled veranda, half of which was covered with a shed. I knocked on the door in front me, while Guen came after locking his car.

Somebody opened the door and I was excited to see who it was going to be.

Her mom. In a very simple and decent dress. No makeup at all, simply a bracelet in her right hand. She appeared as simple as my mom. She smiled when she opened the door to welcome me in.

"Annyeonghaseyo," I said and bowed.

"Annyeonghaseyo," she said kissing my forehead.

Her mom was delighted to see me. Finally, I was in front of her eyes. She was seeing, for the first time, the person who was going to take her beloved daughter away from her. And in those eyes were so many expectation, so many concerns and so much hope for her daughter.

She welcomed me into the drawing room. Guen followed me, bowing at her. 

"Come, sit down." she said to both of us.

While we made ourselves comfortable, she asked me if I was well and if my journey had been comfortable. Then she went out of the room, saying "I will be back." Probably, she went to the kitchen.

Back int he drawing room, I was adapting to my would-be in-laws house. I liked the ambience of the room: the sofa and the chairs surrounding the center-table at one end of the room; the TV set at the opposite end, in a movable cabinet that had a lot of other stuff on its shelves, decorative pieces, including small, flowery miniatures on the upper left, a toy-train on the right (possibly Her niece's); the money-plant in one corner, between the sofas and chairs; a couple of beautiful paintings on the wall with the signatures of their makers at the bottom-right. The one in front of me was big, almost a meter long, and depicted the landscape of some mountain.

"How are you feeling?" Guen whispered from the other end of the sofa, having his share of fun in all that was happening.

"I am doing fine," I whispered back.

"Good," he smiled.

A little later, somebody came into the room. A beautiful girl in a light green top and black denim, with a tray in her hand, carrying soft-drinks in beautifully craved glasses. It was Nari. The day before, I had not noticed how beautiful she was. But how could I, when her still more beautiful sister was in front of me. Anyway, I was happy with one more thought, "Beautiful sis-in-law too."

So, this is how it started......