My Silence Is My Self Defense
Pairing: Bangup
Rating: pg13
Genre: angst
Word Count: 3,085
Summary: The first arguments are always hard. Especially if they involve family.
A/N: So... yeah.
The air was warm and Jongup heard chatter around her. It made her dizzy. Then again, wearing a dress and heels made her uncomfortable, but she dealt with it. Mostly because of her girlfriend.
"Jongup! Why are you back here in the corner?" speak of the devil.
Jongup turned around and saw Yongguk in her dark red dress and black heels that looked like they could kill a man.
"Avoiding everyone. I don't know anybody here. I just want to be at home and cuddled up to you," Jongup whined, pouting at her.
"I know you do, but we both need to do this. One, my dad is a very scary man and someone you should never cross. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we get to go home," Yongguk told her.
Jongup sighed and nodded her head. She leaned in for a kiss from Yongguk, but she quickly stopped her.
"Not here. You know that," Yongguk scolded lightly.
Jongup frowned and nodded her head. She never did ask why she couldn't kiss her own girlfriend of six months on the lips, but she refrained herself from asking. The last time she asked it was a full blown argument that Jongup refused to repeat from last time. However, as the months kept coming and going, so was Jongup's patience.
"Bang Yongguk! The pleasure of seeing you again," an elderly man greeted her.
Yongguk forced a smile. "Hello, uncle. It's so nice to see you, too," she greeted.
"And my, who do we have here?" he asked her, looking at Jongup.
"This is my friend, Jongup," Yongguk introduced, pushing her newly dyed red and brown hair out of her face.
Jongup felt a slap in the face. 'Friend'. Sure, she didn't mind it the first time, the second time kind of hurt a little. But the third time? Was Yongguk embarrassed by her?
"My, she is gorgeous. And your hair color is certainly… peculiar. Are you part of what Yongguk's group is called punk rock?" Yongguk's uncle asked her.
"No, actually, I'm pop punk," Jongup corrected, playing with a strand of her short dark purple hair.
"Oh, my mistake. I just thought, with the hair and all," he said. "I should find my wife in the crowd. We'll talk later," he told Yongguk.
Yongguk nodded her head and watched her uncle go.
"So I'm a friend now?" Jongup hissed at her, glaring hard.
"Look, it's nothing like that. I promise you," Yongguk told her.
"This is the third time today you've said I was your 'friend'. When are you going to tell people the truth?" Jongup demanded.
Yongguk was about to open her mouth to answer, until they both heard a squeal and a nasal sounding voice.
"Yongguk, child! It's so good to see you!" a woman greeted, walking up to her and hugging her tightly.
"Hello Aunt Seoyeon. How are you?" Yongguk asked her, forcing a fake smile on her face.
"Exhausted. The flight was terrible. However, I did bring someone here that you would like to meet. His name is Junho and he is single," Seoyeon told her.
"Well, that's not really necessary-"
"Of course it is. Your parents aren't getting any younger, you know. They want grandchildren," she said.
Jongup stared at her wine glass and downed it. She needed something stronger. Something fruity, too.
"Oh hello. I didn't see you there," Seoyeon said, turning around and spotting Jongup.
"Hello. My name is Moon Jongup," Jongup introduced, bowing to her.
"My, what manners. Are you a family friend?" she asked.
"Something like that," Jongup answered, giving a pointed look to Yongguk.
"Well it was nice meeting you, Jongup. I gotta go find that pesky brother of mine. Bye," Seoyeon said.
Jongup watched as Yongguk's aunt walked away from them.
"You could've just said that you're a lesbian, you know," Jongup told her.
Yongguk looked at her. "Please not now. We talked about this."
"No, you talked about this. Meanwhile, I'm standing in the corner getting picked up on by your male cousins. Do you know how difficult it is to tell them different ways that I'm into girls?" Jongup hissed at her.
"I'm sorry, okay. If you want we can go home now. If we make it in time, we might catch up on your dramas," Yongguk offered.
Jongup sighed in relief. She set her wine glass down and walked with Yongguk out of the party, until someone stopped them.
"Yongguk, dear, how are you?" a man asked, coming just around the corner.
Yongguk froze and stared. "Dad. Hi," she greeted.
"Were you just leaving?" her dad asked her.
"Yeah. I need to go home and take Jongup home," she explained.
Jongup hoped to whatever being is up there to let this conversation be short and to let this man let them go.
"Well stay a little longer. We'll be having our announcements soon," her dad said.
The beings hate her.
"Dad, I really need to get up early in the morning and so does Jongup so can we-"
"I insist," her dad interrupted, placing his hand on her daughter's bare shoulders.
Yongguk gulped and only nodded her head.
"So is this a new friend of yours?" her dad asked her.
Jongup stared at Yongguk. "She's… a very good friend of mine," Yongguk introduced.
And that was it. Jongup rolled her eyes and cross her arms over her chest.
"Well, Jongup. A friend of Yongguk's is a friend of ours. Please stay a while more," her dad said.
"Actually, my friend is picking me up. I'll be taking me leave," Jongup told him.
Jongup walked passed them and walked out the door. She mentally thought that Yongguk would stop her and re-introduce her dad to Jongup and proclaim her as her girlfriend. But that was fantasy. This is reality. No one was going to pick her up. She takes the bus for now until her car is done in her repair shop. She turned around and saw no one following her. Of course. Her anger built up inside her and continued walking towards the bus stop.
-----
Jongup groaned when she heard her alarm buzz. She hit the snooze button and rubbed her eyes. She saw something black and glittery on her hand and groaned. Well, at least she doesn't need to do her make-up. She pulled the covers off her and got up, walking towards her bathroom to freshen herself up.
About half an hour later, she looked at her phone and saw she has nine missed calls and three voicemails. All from Yongguk. Jongup turned her phone off and tossed it onto her messy bed. She didn't feel like hearing her girlfriend try to apologize for herself about last night. She knew exactly how she felt. She walked to her bathroom and decided to freshen herself up a bit.
After finishing brushing her teeth, she heard a knocking on her door. She spit out the water into the sink and walked towards the door to see who it was. She looked through the peep hole and saw that it was Yongguk, pacing back and forth outside. She rolled her eyes and opened the door.
"Jongup! I've been calling you since yesterday," Yongguk told her.
"My phone was off. What do you want?" Jongup asked, trying to sound as cold as possible.
"I just wanted to know if you were okay. You left the house pretty early," Yongguk told her.
"I didn't want to be in a place where I'm not wanted," Jongup said, about to slam the door on her.
"What are you talking about? Of course you're wanted," Yongguk assured her.
"Really? Then maybe you shouldn't have told your relatives that I was your friend when in fact that I'm your girlfriend," Jongup snapped.
Yongguk flinched slightly.
"Look, it's complicated, okay. Like really complicated," Yongguk told her.
"Then tell me. Are you embarrassed of me? Do you not want to be my girlfriend? Am I just some experiment for you?" Jongup demanded.
"Uppie-"
"Don't you fucking dare. Unless you tell me why the fuck you refuse to acknowledge me as your girlfriend to not only your family members, but also your fucking friends, I can't be together with you," Jongup said.
"Wait, you're breaking up with me?" Yongguk asked her.
"No, actually. It's complicated," Jongup mocked, slamming the door on Yongguk's face.
Jongup pressed her back against the door and slid down until her butt reached the floor. She let the tears she didn't know she was holding and silently cried on the floor.
-----
"I mean, she just blew up on me like that. I don't understand," Yongguk ranted off.
Himchan, who was staring at her best friend and drinking her beer, looked completely bored.
"I mean, I don't get it. She never told me this before," she said.
"Yongguk, listen to yourself. Imagine yourself in Jongup's shoes right now. You just told a whole bunch of people, besides me because I always knew you were a lesbian, that she's just your friend and then acted as if nothing happened. I'd be pretty pissed myself if I were her," Himchan said.
"I told her before that it's complicated. She wouldn't understand if I told her," Yongguk said.
"You're right. She wouldn't understand. So it's fine that she was kicked out of her house at seventeen for coming out to her parents that she's a lesbian, or the fact that they forced her to change and she refused, or the fact that she literally had no place to go because her family shunned her and refused to help her. Or the fact-"
"Okay, I get it. Shit, I fucked up, didn't I?" Yongguk asked, running her fingers through her hair.
"Yes you did. It's not too late to change it, though. I would start with your friends first and then work your way up to the family bit," Himchan said.
"First I have to tell Jongup why I never said I was a lesbian," Yongguk muttered.
"One step at a time. Now go and make up with Jongup. I'm tired of hearing those calls from Junhong at three in the morning because she got a call from Jongup sobbing over the fucking phone," Himchan said, lightly kicking Yongguk out of her apartment door.
-----
Jongup finished washing the last of the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. She heard the knock on her door and furrowed her eyebrows. She walked towards the door and looked through the peephole. She rolled her eyes and opened the door.
"You need to stop coming to my house," Jongup told Yongguk.
"You won't answer your phone. This is the only way I can reach you," she explained.
"There's nothing to explain. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to work on something," Jongup said, ready to slam the door shut.
"Wait!" Yongguk shouted.
Jongup glared at her. "What?" she growled.
"Let me explain. I know I haven't been fair with you, so please let me explain," Yongguk pleaded.
Jongup crossed her arms and leaned her body against the door frame.
"When I was about sixteen, my dad caught me and a girl I was dating in bed, cuddling. He got so angry at me that not only did he refuse for me to see her again, he took me to a place where they take the gay out of you. It was a horrible experience for me because I was forced to change who I was and become something I wasn't because my dad refused to believe I'm a lesbian. I pretended to be something I'm not in front of my family and friends, besides Himchan because she was there through the entire thing. That's why I didn't kiss you or tell any of my friends or family you're my girlfriend because I'm afraid of being judged or being forced into those therapy sessions again," Yongguk explained.
"So what you're telling me was that you were afraid? Not only is that a piss poor excuse, but you don't really have to live in fear, you know," Jongup told her.
"I know. That's why I told my friends I'm a lesbian. The only thing now is to confess to my family that you’re my girlfriend," Yongguk told her.
"Wait, you told your friends?"
"Yeah. Some of them weren't exactly very happy with that and left. Anyway, my dad is doing one of those family dinners with me and my siblings and my parents. I want you to be my date, if that's okay with you," Yongguk offered.
Jongup stared at her and thought about it. Sure, her parents weren't going to be happy about this. The fact that she's been acting a bit selfish in wanting Yongguk to confess to people that she's gay is a little troubling.
"Look, you don't have to do that. I know I've been a little selfish about wanting you to come out, but you don't have to do that for me," Jongup said.
"I'm not. I'm doing this for me; for us," Yongguk told her.
Jongup giggled smiled. "You're so greasy. Alright fine. I'll come with you."
Yongguk smiled and hugged Jongup tightly. Jongup laughed and hugged her back. She invited her into her apartment and closed the door.
-----
Jongup played around with the hem of her shirt. When Yongguk told her to dress nice, she didn't expect this sort of nice. Yongguk was dressed in a pale pink blouse and a pair of pants with black open toed heels on. Jongup only wore a clean tank top with open sides and underneath was a pale blue halter top to cover her bra with a pair of faded blue jeans and her converse sneakers. Yongguk should've been more specific.
"Hi, you must be Jongup," a woman greeted. "I'm Yongguk's mother. It's very nice to meet you."
"Hi. I'm Jongup," she introduced.
"It's very nice to meet you. I'm not sure you met Yongguk's siblings yet," she said, motioning for her into the living room where Yongguk's siblings and their significant other sat.
"I'll be right back. My husband needs help in the kitchen," she said, walking out of the living room and towards the kitchen.
Jongup stood their awkwardly. Yongguk needed to use the bathroom, leaving Jongup alone with her siblings.
"Hi. I'm Nathan, and that's Yongnam. I'm Yongguk's older brother," Nathan introduced, extending his hand out for her.
"I'm Jongup," she introduced, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you. This is my girlfriend, Charu, and that's Yongnam's boyfriend," Nathan introduced.
"Hi there. So what's your relationship to my younger twin sister? Friend? Best friend? Girlfriend?" Yongnam asked.
Jongup has no idea how to respond to that. "I'm her girlfriend," she said.
Yongnam only nodded her head and took a sip of her beer while conversing with her boyfriend.
"Ignore her. So how did you two meet?" Nathan asked her.
Jongup likes Nathan. He's really nice.
"We met at a bar. Well, Yongguk was a bartender and I was a regular patron," Jongup explained.
"The bar that Yongguk works at? Isn't that a little punk rock?" Nathan asked.
"It is. I'm pop punk," she explained.
Nathan only nodded his head. Yongguk soon came into the room and sat down next to Jongup on the couch.
"I still don't understand how you can walk in those heels. You hate walking in them," Nathan said.
"I wear them when I'm here. Dad hates it when I dress too punk for his taste," Yongguk explained.
Nathan rolled his eyes. Yongguk's mother came into the room.
"Dinner's ready," she announced.
They all got up and walked into the dining room and took their usual seats. Jongup sat next to Yongguk and laced her fingers with hers under the table. The food was laid out on the table and everybody began to grab what they wanted. Jongup is not really used to this, since she's more used to the food already being on a plate and just served to her. She ignored it and began to get whatever food she was hungry for.
"So Yongguk, when are you going to find a boyfriend?" her father asked her.
"Dad, please not now," Yongguk pleaded.
"Well, it's just that your siblings all found someone they want to be with. It's only fair that you find one yourself," he said.
"Honey, not at the dinner table. We talked about this," her mother said.
"Thank you mom," Yongguk said, eating her dinner.
"I just think Yongguk should find someone before her age catches up to her. You said so yourself. Unless she finds herself a husband, we won't be able to have any kids," he said.
"I can always just adopt, you know. Besides, I won't need a husband," Yongguk said.
"Of course you do. How else will you care for the kids?" he said.
"I don't know. Maybe I'll find myself a wife instead of a husband," she snapped.
"Yongguk calm down," Jongup urged.
"Now Yongguk, we talked about this-"
"No, you talked about this. Dad, I'm gay and you've known it ever since I was a kid. Can we please stop pretending?" Yongguk pleaded.
Her father glared at her, and then at Jongup, who inched away from her seat.
"This is all your fault, isn't it? My daughter was just fine, until you and your kind ruined my daughter and now look at her," Yongguk's father growled.
Jongup has never been afraid of someone until that person was shouting at her.
"Jinyong, that's enough," her mother shouted at him.
The dining room was tense. Jongup played around with the food with her fork and squeezed Yongguk's hand tighter.
"Look, I know you mean well, but that's enough. Either accept your daughter for who she is or you're sleeping on the damn couch," her mother threatened.
Yongguk's father took a deep breath and looked at Yongguk and Jongup. He took a deep breath and continued eating his dinner.
-----
Jongup waved goodbye to Ms. Bang and walked with Yongguk to her car.
"You mom is nice," Jongup said.
"The only reason you say that is because she showed you embarrassing pictures of me and my siblings," Yongguk said.
Either way, they're nice," Jongup said.
They both got into the car and made their way towards their apartment.
Rating: pg13
Genre: angst
Word Count: 3,085
Summary: The first arguments are always hard. Especially if they involve family.
A/N: So... yeah.
The air was warm and Jongup heard chatter around her. It made her dizzy. Then again, wearing a dress and heels made her uncomfortable, but she dealt with it. Mostly because of her girlfriend.
"Jongup! Why are you back here in the corner?" speak of the devil.
Jongup turned around and saw Yongguk in her dark red dress and black heels that looked like they could kill a man.
"Avoiding everyone. I don't know anybody here. I just want to be at home and cuddled up to you," Jongup whined, pouting at her.
"I know you do, but we both need to do this. One, my dad is a very scary man and someone you should never cross. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we get to go home," Yongguk told her.
Jongup sighed and nodded her head. She leaned in for a kiss from Yongguk, but she quickly stopped her.
"Not here. You know that," Yongguk scolded lightly.
Jongup frowned and nodded her head. She never did ask why she couldn't kiss her own girlfriend of six months on the lips, but she refrained herself from asking. The last time she asked it was a full blown argument that Jongup refused to repeat from last time. However, as the months kept coming and going, so was Jongup's patience.
"Bang Yongguk! The pleasure of seeing you again," an elderly man greeted her.
Yongguk forced a smile. "Hello, uncle. It's so nice to see you, too," she greeted.
"And my, who do we have here?" he asked her, looking at Jongup.
"This is my friend, Jongup," Yongguk introduced, pushing her newly dyed red and brown hair out of her face.
Jongup felt a slap in the face. 'Friend'. Sure, she didn't mind it the first time, the second time kind of hurt a little. But the third time? Was Yongguk embarrassed by her?
"My, she is gorgeous. And your hair color is certainly… peculiar. Are you part of what Yongguk's group is called punk rock?" Yongguk's uncle asked her.
"No, actually, I'm pop punk," Jongup corrected, playing with a strand of her short dark purple hair.
"Oh, my mistake. I just thought, with the hair and all," he said. "I should find my wife in the crowd. We'll talk later," he told Yongguk.
Yongguk nodded her head and watched her uncle go.
"So I'm a friend now?" Jongup hissed at her, glaring hard.
"Look, it's nothing like that. I promise you," Yongguk told her.
"This is the third time today you've said I was your 'friend'. When are you going to tell people the truth?" Jongup demanded.
Yongguk was about to open her mouth to answer, until they both heard a squeal and a nasal sounding voice.
"Yongguk, child! It's so good to see you!" a woman greeted, walking up to her and hugging her tightly.
"Hello Aunt Seoyeon. How are you?" Yongguk asked her, forcing a fake smile on her face.
"Exhausted. The flight was terrible. However, I did bring someone here that you would like to meet. His name is Junho and he is single," Seoyeon told her.
"Well, that's not really necessary-"
"Of course it is. Your parents aren't getting any younger, you know. They want grandchildren," she said.
Jongup stared at her wine glass and downed it. She needed something stronger. Something fruity, too.
"Oh hello. I didn't see you there," Seoyeon said, turning around and spotting Jongup.
"Hello. My name is Moon Jongup," Jongup introduced, bowing to her.
"My, what manners. Are you a family friend?" she asked.
"Something like that," Jongup answered, giving a pointed look to Yongguk.
"Well it was nice meeting you, Jongup. I gotta go find that pesky brother of mine. Bye," Seoyeon said.
Jongup watched as Yongguk's aunt walked away from them.
"You could've just said that you're a lesbian, you know," Jongup told her.
Yongguk looked at her. "Please not now. We talked about this."
"No, you talked about this. Meanwhile, I'm standing in the corner getting picked up on by your male cousins. Do you know how difficult it is to tell them different ways that I'm into girls?" Jongup hissed at her.
"I'm sorry, okay. If you want we can go home now. If we make it in time, we might catch up on your dramas," Yongguk offered.
Jongup sighed in relief. She set her wine glass down and walked with Yongguk out of the party, until someone stopped them.
"Yongguk, dear, how are you?" a man asked, coming just around the corner.
Yongguk froze and stared. "Dad. Hi," she greeted.
"Were you just leaving?" her dad asked her.
"Yeah. I need to go home and take Jongup home," she explained.
Jongup hoped to whatever being is up there to let this conversation be short and to let this man let them go.
"Well stay a little longer. We'll be having our announcements soon," her dad said.
The beings hate her.
"Dad, I really need to get up early in the morning and so does Jongup so can we-"
"I insist," her dad interrupted, placing his hand on her daughter's bare shoulders.
Yongguk gulped and only nodded her head.
"So is this a new friend of yours?" her dad asked her.
Jongup stared at Yongguk. "She's… a very good friend of mine," Yongguk introduced.
And that was it. Jongup rolled her eyes and cross her arms over her chest.
"Well, Jongup. A friend of Yongguk's is a friend of ours. Please stay a while more," her dad said.
"Actually, my friend is picking me up. I'll be taking me leave," Jongup told him.
Jongup walked passed them and walked out the door. She mentally thought that Yongguk would stop her and re-introduce her dad to Jongup and proclaim her as her girlfriend. But that was fantasy. This is reality. No one was going to pick her up. She takes the bus for now until her car is done in her repair shop. She turned around and saw no one following her. Of course. Her anger built up inside her and continued walking towards the bus stop.
-----
Jongup groaned when she heard her alarm buzz. She hit the snooze button and rubbed her eyes. She saw something black and glittery on her hand and groaned. Well, at least she doesn't need to do her make-up. She pulled the covers off her and got up, walking towards her bathroom to freshen herself up.
About half an hour later, she looked at her phone and saw she has nine missed calls and three voicemails. All from Yongguk. Jongup turned her phone off and tossed it onto her messy bed. She didn't feel like hearing her girlfriend try to apologize for herself about last night. She knew exactly how she felt. She walked to her bathroom and decided to freshen herself up a bit.
After finishing brushing her teeth, she heard a knocking on her door. She spit out the water into the sink and walked towards the door to see who it was. She looked through the peep hole and saw that it was Yongguk, pacing back and forth outside. She rolled her eyes and opened the door.
"Jongup! I've been calling you since yesterday," Yongguk told her.
"My phone was off. What do you want?" Jongup asked, trying to sound as cold as possible.
"I just wanted to know if you were okay. You left the house pretty early," Yongguk told her.
"I didn't want to be in a place where I'm not wanted," Jongup said, about to slam the door on her.
"What are you talking about? Of course you're wanted," Yongguk assured her.
"Really? Then maybe you shouldn't have told your relatives that I was your friend when in fact that I'm your girlfriend," Jongup snapped.
Yongguk flinched slightly.
"Look, it's complicated, okay. Like really complicated," Yongguk told her.
"Then tell me. Are you embarrassed of me? Do you not want to be my girlfriend? Am I just some experiment for you?" Jongup demanded.
"Uppie-"
"Don't you fucking dare. Unless you tell me why the fuck you refuse to acknowledge me as your girlfriend to not only your family members, but also your fucking friends, I can't be together with you," Jongup said.
"Wait, you're breaking up with me?" Yongguk asked her.
"No, actually. It's complicated," Jongup mocked, slamming the door on Yongguk's face.
Jongup pressed her back against the door and slid down until her butt reached the floor. She let the tears she didn't know she was holding and silently cried on the floor.
-----
"I mean, she just blew up on me like that. I don't understand," Yongguk ranted off.
Himchan, who was staring at her best friend and drinking her beer, looked completely bored.
"I mean, I don't get it. She never told me this before," she said.
"Yongguk, listen to yourself. Imagine yourself in Jongup's shoes right now. You just told a whole bunch of people, besides me because I always knew you were a lesbian, that she's just your friend and then acted as if nothing happened. I'd be pretty pissed myself if I were her," Himchan said.
"I told her before that it's complicated. She wouldn't understand if I told her," Yongguk said.
"You're right. She wouldn't understand. So it's fine that she was kicked out of her house at seventeen for coming out to her parents that she's a lesbian, or the fact that they forced her to change and she refused, or the fact that she literally had no place to go because her family shunned her and refused to help her. Or the fact-"
"Okay, I get it. Shit, I fucked up, didn't I?" Yongguk asked, running her fingers through her hair.
"Yes you did. It's not too late to change it, though. I would start with your friends first and then work your way up to the family bit," Himchan said.
"First I have to tell Jongup why I never said I was a lesbian," Yongguk muttered.
"One step at a time. Now go and make up with Jongup. I'm tired of hearing those calls from Junhong at three in the morning because she got a call from Jongup sobbing over the fucking phone," Himchan said, lightly kicking Yongguk out of her apartment door.
-----
Jongup finished washing the last of the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. She heard the knock on her door and furrowed her eyebrows. She walked towards the door and looked through the peephole. She rolled her eyes and opened the door.
"You need to stop coming to my house," Jongup told Yongguk.
"You won't answer your phone. This is the only way I can reach you," she explained.
"There's nothing to explain. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to work on something," Jongup said, ready to slam the door shut.
"Wait!" Yongguk shouted.
Jongup glared at her. "What?" she growled.
"Let me explain. I know I haven't been fair with you, so please let me explain," Yongguk pleaded.
Jongup crossed her arms and leaned her body against the door frame.
"When I was about sixteen, my dad caught me and a girl I was dating in bed, cuddling. He got so angry at me that not only did he refuse for me to see her again, he took me to a place where they take the gay out of you. It was a horrible experience for me because I was forced to change who I was and become something I wasn't because my dad refused to believe I'm a lesbian. I pretended to be something I'm not in front of my family and friends, besides Himchan because she was there through the entire thing. That's why I didn't kiss you or tell any of my friends or family you're my girlfriend because I'm afraid of being judged or being forced into those therapy sessions again," Yongguk explained.
"So what you're telling me was that you were afraid? Not only is that a piss poor excuse, but you don't really have to live in fear, you know," Jongup told her.
"I know. That's why I told my friends I'm a lesbian. The only thing now is to confess to my family that you’re my girlfriend," Yongguk told her.
"Wait, you told your friends?"
"Yeah. Some of them weren't exactly very happy with that and left. Anyway, my dad is doing one of those family dinners with me and my siblings and my parents. I want you to be my date, if that's okay with you," Yongguk offered.
Jongup stared at her and thought about it. Sure, her parents weren't going to be happy about this. The fact that she's been acting a bit selfish in wanting Yongguk to confess to people that she's gay is a little troubling.
"Look, you don't have to do that. I know I've been a little selfish about wanting you to come out, but you don't have to do that for me," Jongup said.
"I'm not. I'm doing this for me; for us," Yongguk told her.
Jongup giggled smiled. "You're so greasy. Alright fine. I'll come with you."
Yongguk smiled and hugged Jongup tightly. Jongup laughed and hugged her back. She invited her into her apartment and closed the door.
-----
Jongup played around with the hem of her shirt. When Yongguk told her to dress nice, she didn't expect this sort of nice. Yongguk was dressed in a pale pink blouse and a pair of pants with black open toed heels on. Jongup only wore a clean tank top with open sides and underneath was a pale blue halter top to cover her bra with a pair of faded blue jeans and her converse sneakers. Yongguk should've been more specific.
"Hi, you must be Jongup," a woman greeted. "I'm Yongguk's mother. It's very nice to meet you."
"Hi. I'm Jongup," she introduced.
"It's very nice to meet you. I'm not sure you met Yongguk's siblings yet," she said, motioning for her into the living room where Yongguk's siblings and their significant other sat.
"I'll be right back. My husband needs help in the kitchen," she said, walking out of the living room and towards the kitchen.
Jongup stood their awkwardly. Yongguk needed to use the bathroom, leaving Jongup alone with her siblings.
"Hi. I'm Nathan, and that's Yongnam. I'm Yongguk's older brother," Nathan introduced, extending his hand out for her.
"I'm Jongup," she introduced, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you. This is my girlfriend, Charu, and that's Yongnam's boyfriend," Nathan introduced.
"Hi there. So what's your relationship to my younger twin sister? Friend? Best friend? Girlfriend?" Yongnam asked.
Jongup has no idea how to respond to that. "I'm her girlfriend," she said.
Yongnam only nodded her head and took a sip of her beer while conversing with her boyfriend.
"Ignore her. So how did you two meet?" Nathan asked her.
Jongup likes Nathan. He's really nice.
"We met at a bar. Well, Yongguk was a bartender and I was a regular patron," Jongup explained.
"The bar that Yongguk works at? Isn't that a little punk rock?" Nathan asked.
"It is. I'm pop punk," she explained.
Nathan only nodded his head. Yongguk soon came into the room and sat down next to Jongup on the couch.
"I still don't understand how you can walk in those heels. You hate walking in them," Nathan said.
"I wear them when I'm here. Dad hates it when I dress too punk for his taste," Yongguk explained.
Nathan rolled his eyes. Yongguk's mother came into the room.
"Dinner's ready," she announced.
They all got up and walked into the dining room and took their usual seats. Jongup sat next to Yongguk and laced her fingers with hers under the table. The food was laid out on the table and everybody began to grab what they wanted. Jongup is not really used to this, since she's more used to the food already being on a plate and just served to her. She ignored it and began to get whatever food she was hungry for.
"So Yongguk, when are you going to find a boyfriend?" her father asked her.
"Dad, please not now," Yongguk pleaded.
"Well, it's just that your siblings all found someone they want to be with. It's only fair that you find one yourself," he said.
"Honey, not at the dinner table. We talked about this," her mother said.
"Thank you mom," Yongguk said, eating her dinner.
"I just think Yongguk should find someone before her age catches up to her. You said so yourself. Unless she finds herself a husband, we won't be able to have any kids," he said.
"I can always just adopt, you know. Besides, I won't need a husband," Yongguk said.
"Of course you do. How else will you care for the kids?" he said.
"I don't know. Maybe I'll find myself a wife instead of a husband," she snapped.
"Yongguk calm down," Jongup urged.
"Now Yongguk, we talked about this-"
"No, you talked about this. Dad, I'm gay and you've known it ever since I was a kid. Can we please stop pretending?" Yongguk pleaded.
Her father glared at her, and then at Jongup, who inched away from her seat.
"This is all your fault, isn't it? My daughter was just fine, until you and your kind ruined my daughter and now look at her," Yongguk's father growled.
Jongup has never been afraid of someone until that person was shouting at her.
"Jinyong, that's enough," her mother shouted at him.
The dining room was tense. Jongup played around with the food with her fork and squeezed Yongguk's hand tighter.
"Look, I know you mean well, but that's enough. Either accept your daughter for who she is or you're sleeping on the damn couch," her mother threatened.
Yongguk's father took a deep breath and looked at Yongguk and Jongup. He took a deep breath and continued eating his dinner.
-----
Jongup waved goodbye to Ms. Bang and walked with Yongguk to her car.
"You mom is nice," Jongup said.
"The only reason you say that is because she showed you embarrassing pictures of me and my siblings," Yongguk said.
Either way, they're nice," Jongup said.
They both got into the car and made their way towards their apartment.