#halmeoni

Changbin chuckles from the other end of the living room and says, "Why would Sister Hong need help? This is a big blow for China!". Changbin is loud as usual, and annoying. Halima almost falls off his lap as she laughs, but he holds her and keeps her secured on his lap while looking at her fondly. 

In the spirit of keeping up with the humour, you stand up for yourself. "This isn't a courage thing. I have so much courage I can go to jail for it." Felix moves closer and slips his hand in yours. Your eyes lock and you see the amusement in his eyes. He can tell you are not amused at the predicament he's set up for you. You also know why he's done it. 

'Fuck my life' you think to yourself. This is your karma for refusing to live your life correctly. 

Someone in the crowded room shouts about how Hongdae Guy is going to move on, how he doesn't have all day to wait for a confused Chinese woman. Another one wonders if Hongdae Guy will be shocked at the surprise Sister Hong has in store for him between her legs. The brown wig continues to annoy you and get hotter even though the banter in the room is amusing. You smile. Someone turned down the music so everyone could witness this momentous nonsense at this Halloween party. 

So, this is how a midlife crisis feels like when it's going well. You do not want to think about the downside, the opposite of it. You want to live in the moment. 

While squeezing Felix's hand a little more in your hand, you keep your eyes locked on his and tell Hyunjin, "Hongdae Guy, let's do it."

Your Heart and Y/N have also been watching a C-Drama whose trailer amuses you, it eerily mimics a throuple story and Your Heart says it's been a source of laughter for both him and Y/N. She already watched the show but just wants to hear Your Heart's take on it, so she's watching it again with him. You really hope this goes well because Your Heart really wants Y/N, and what Your Heart wants, you want. 

The cashier points to the table where they are sitting after you ask him, and you notice Your Heart has direct sight of the entrance while Y/N's back is to you. Your Heart breaks out his signature bright smile when he notices you, and moves to stand. Y/N who seemed to have been taking a drink out of her bottle of water stops mid sip and places the bottle back on the table, and just waits. You get to the table and are finally in view of her by her side, and that's when she stands because she can see that you are the one she has been waiting for. You place the recyclable bag on the chair and extend your hand out to her, while addressing Your Heart, "Felix, so this is Y/N, the one you have been telling me so much about. How are you, Y/N?".

"I am doing well Hyunjn, thank you. How are you? And do you mind if I get the smell test out of the way right now?"

You hesistate for a fraction of a second then recognition hits your mind, you remember Felix talking about this. "I'm doing great, and yes, go ahead." And with that, she is no longer between the table and chair but right next to you, and gently pulls you in. Y/N moves surprisingly fast for someone her size and it's something Your Heart told you takes some getting used to. He'd already noticed she was somewhat light on her feet the first time he met her but wasn't too sure as they had to slow down because of snow and ice being on the ground at the time. For almost a minute, your hands remain in contact while she sniffs your neck, her eyes are closed as she concentrates and her breath is slow. You are made aware of what Your Heart described as a tropical scent in the products she uses. 

"I can live with this." Y/N announces and with that the handshake is gone, she's back to sitting down opposite the two of you. A black pack occupies the chair next to her. You hug Your Heart in greeting and as you break away, you can see the longing still lingering in his eyes from last night. Before you accidentally sit on the gift you brought, you pick it up and address Y/N, "I brought you a gift, I hope you like it." Y/N looks pleasantly surprised, and you notice she seems shy which is quite a contrast to what Your Heart had told you. Just then the server yells out the order number for your meal and Your Heart goes to pick it up. That's when you actually pay attention to Y/N and note that she's dark skinned, around Your Heart's height, and has a cupid's bow shape for lips. The lower lip is slightly smaller or rather seems less pronounced compared to her upper lip, and her lipstick is a matte mauve. Y/N's hair is intricately braided with coiled to the centre cornrows with a few black beads addeed at the top of her head near the front. She's dressed in a pink, white and black tiny polka dot turtleneck and that's fitting and doesn't hide her curves, including the fact that her breasts aren't the same size. Oh, you like that about her, she doesn't care much about judgement from other people, she's not hiding what society perceives as flaws. Your Heart loves to juggle so you understand why he was instantly drawn to her. And yes, Y/N's eyes are stunning, you noticed it for the few seconds she made direct eye contact. She's not trying to make them but her eyes are sexy. 

"Here's the food we ordered: fried plantains, rice, beans, pollo a la brasa, and dipping sauces. And here are the rest of the drinks." With that, Your Heart places the trays in front of each of you and finally gets his own. He sits down just as Y/N finishes carefully unwrapping the red with pink hearts wrapping papar to reveal a painting that's been framed. She takes a look at you for a nanosecond and then looks at Your Heart. 

"This is your doing!" she exclaims as she smiles, "It's the flowers you gave me on our first date in January. Who painted it?"

"I did." you respond with a smile, and with that she looks shocked and is looking in your direction, at your face but not your eyes. it's really strange since Your Heart reminded you how she's not shy at all. 

"I thought you did handyman work, like repairs and building stuff."

"Yes, I do that but I have also always done art since I was in elementary school."

"This is good, and cheesy, I take it Felix directed you on the cheesy part since you are not that much of a C-Drama fan?"

"I sent him the picture of the flowers the day we fell down, and he wanted to restore the flowers. So we settled on having the petals fall down along with snowflakes which weren't even present that day. As you can see there's a silhouette of a couple who have fallen on the ground next to the bouquet of flowers. The flakes and petals are raining down on them in slow motion, making the scene romantic. Haha!"

"Gosh Felix, you really nailed the C-Drama scene in this. So the top scene is a nighttime version of the same, only instead of snowflakes and petals, you have fireflies?

"Bingo."

"What's the painting called?"

"Falling" you supply.

"Thank you Hyunjin, I love this gift. And you captured the cheesy aspect of romance in costume C-dramas under the direction of Felix. I really appreciate this water colour painting."

"It's the least I could do, I am glad you like it."

And with that, Your Heart directed you all to dig in. Y/N says the food from the restaurant never makes her sick so she's free to eat, but you notice she eats very slowly and seema to get full really fast. She says she will take the rest of the food home. In the meantime, the three of you talk some more, with Y/N cracking jokes about you being Korean Original while Your Heart is Korean Lite. Y/N hopes you will not be going out of town anytime soon again. At some point she gestures for Your Heart to lean in and she whispers something in his ear. He almost chockes on his food and laughs it off. Your Heart smiles at the two of you and quietly apologizes to Y/N who just smiles brightly at him, and for a brief moment you want in on that secret. Your Heart is already on it and lovingly reassures you by squeezing your thigh gently under the table, so you nod back in response. And just like that, you hear Y/N letting out a tiny sqeal. 

You ask what's got Y/n so excited, Your Heart supplies the answer that Y/N probably likes the little non-verbal communication the two of you just displayed in front of her. Y/N nods in response but also adds, "The two of you look like Hualian, including the height ratio. And Hyunjin, you could probably fix Puqi Shrine."  And at that Your Heart is laughing really loudly and you feel the warmth that Y/N's banter is able to create in him, you feel at peace. This feels like it will go more than just okay. You have to make an effort to meet her because the deadline for a decision to be made is March 21st and you are just meeting her for the first time. 

Saturday 15th February, 2025 - 7:47 pm

You are back home after the date and Y/N has aready texted Your Heart confirmation that she got home safely. You are giving Your Heart a massage on your shared bed as he lies face down dressed only in shorts, and talking about the date. 

"Does she have an eating disorder?"

"I thought so at first but her explanation is that she's older and her metabolism has slowed down. She says older people eat less. I don't think we should worry about it, but it's a bit startling because we eat much more than she does despite being way smaller than she is. Maybe we can just monitor her quietly?"

"I guess we could. She's working as a cleaner so I would expect her to have an appetite to eat more because of her job."

"She doesn't eat breakfast."

"What?!"

"We ate brunch the first day we met. She also didn't eat much then. I am starting to get used to it. She still seems to be full of energy."

"Okay, now that that is out of the way, what did she tell you in secret?"

"You wouldn't believe this. She asked me why I didn't warn her that both me and my boyfriend have 'lips from here till forever' hahaha!".

"What does that even mean?"

"I think she has a thing for lips. And she likes you."

"She hardly looked at me."

"She was blushing."

"I could hardly tell." 

"I'm learning to read her."

"How about you read me?"

Your Heart wakes up from his position where he was lying down as you massaged his back. "What should I read?" He smiles at you.

"Right at the start of our date in the restaurant, your eyes told me you wanted to repeat last night."

"Don't you?" 

"Of course I do, My Heart."

Definition of Italics:  

Hualian - The main couple in Heaven Officials' Blesing by Tian Guan Ci Fu. It consists of Hua Cheng (Calamity) and Xie Lian (Martial God).