Moonlight | Kim Taehyung

40: Taehyung

I've driven Luna to school and picked her up from school for a couple of times this past month, and we've hung out for a bit too, but it still feels like we're not seeing each other as often as we used to. She's dedicating most of her time with her sisters and mum on the weekends, which I understand and I'm glad that she wants to improve her relationship with her family, and that meant that I spent more time with my own family.

Unexpectedly, Luna's mum unexpectedly invites me and my parents over for dinner and of course we accept her invitation. I think it's a great idea that our families can meet and I think this will allow us to have a closer relationship with each other.

I'm sitting at the dining table with my parents, Rae-na and Mrs Park whilst Mina is cooking. Luna isn't home yet, and her mum says she's with Aurora. I'm surprised to hear that, since every time I mention Aurora, she keeps wanting to change the topic.

"Taehyung?" Rae-na suddenly breaks the awkward silence after all the introductions are made. "Last time you came here, you said I could come to your cafe and have hot chocolate."

That reminds me that Luna said she'll take her to my cafe one day, I guess we both forgot about that, so I admit to Rae-na, "Oh? I almost forgot."

She looks at me with a sad face and whines, which makes me chuckle and say, "Aww... I promise I will take you to the cafe one day. I promise I'll remember. "

"Pinky promise?" she asks cutely and sticks out her pinky finger, so I link mine with hers and she smiles in satisfactory.

My parents and Mrs Park are also smiling at us, but Mrs Park quietly scolds her youngest daughter, "Rae-na, be a good girl. Taehyung is a busy man, don't annoy him and force him to take you to the cafe."

Rae-na looks at her mum dejectedly, so I say, "It's okay, Mrs Park. I would actually love for Rae-na to come to the cafe one day."

I like Rae-na, she's a sweet kid. I want to get to know her better, not just her though, I would like to get to know Mina and Mrs Park better too. I think Luna would really appreciate that. She doesn't know that we're here for dinner tonight; it's meant to be a surprise, since she's been asking me about meeting my parents for a while already.

"Mr and Mrs Kim," Mrs Park says and initiates a conversation with my parents. "What do you do for a living?"

"There's no need for formalities, just call me Chi-won," my dad replies with a smile. "I'm an accountant and my wife is a middle school teacher."

"I teach Korean," my mum adds with a smile. "And please just call me Hyun-mi."

I feel a little nervous about where this conversation is going because I know how much Mrs Park cares about wealth and having a high-paying job. Yet, she seems nonchalant when my dad tells her what he and mum do for a living, and Mrs Park surprisingly seems interested to know more.

Mrs Park nods and asks my mum, "I see. What's being a teacher like? How are your students?"

"I enjoy being a teacher and I like being around my students. They bring youth out of me. They're well-behaved and I feel that I'm close with all of them. I like to teach in a friendly way and teach them with activities, instead of lectures to engage them," my mum replies.

I know how much she loves her job and enjoys teaching children Korean. She has always been good at dealing with children. She actually wanted to have more than one child, and wanted me to have a younger sibling, but we weren't in a good position financially, so my parents are afraid that they won't be able to support another child.

"That sounds nice," Mrs Park replies.

At that moment, Luna walks in and she seems so astonished to see my parents and I sitting at the dining table with her mum and sister. However, she quickly composes herself and smiles politely at my parents, as she walks over to us and takes a seat beside me.