winvnas:
she hasn’t been back to the park residence since their relationship ended . still , she had maintained respectful & cordial communication with chan’s eomma since the last time that his parents had rested disapproving eyes on her . she had made it a point to be the perfect korean girl that her family longed for when she and chan had been together . every holiday , they received a gift and a note with her tasteful calligraphy . she attended mass , she never did anything that would cause any scandal . and even after they had broken up , she had kept a line of communication open . still , she had never expected to be welcome in their home again . especially not since she had known that they hadn’t exactly liked her .
which is fine . except really , it wasn’t . she loved approval . so when they didn’t approve of her , even when she was trying her hardest , it had stung . she wasn’t to deny her summons however . especially not since she had been so worried about chan . when she had visited him at his place , she had known that something was off . and she had tried her hardest . as always , it was never enough . she’s determined to be enough now . she wants to check on him : see how he is . and she’s worried that he’s not eating enough ( the voice in her head sounds like her mother’s . )
as she waits on the doorstep , winona has a fleeting feeling that this could have been a trick . that nina park could have invited her to an empty house and was probably laughing at her misfortune with some aunties at a korean day spa . but then , he opens the door and she can’t help the smile that spreads across her lips as she inclines her head in a show of respect . the brunette enters the house before gracefully toeing off her heels and : ❛ your eomeoni invited me . ❜ she takes the stolen seconds that she has and uses them to touch his face , inspecting his features . she only pulls away when satisfied and she offers him the flowers within her hands . ❛ you should put these in water . where is nina-nim ? ❜
chan is not an idiot . he might be a little soft , and lack a little bit of common sense at times , but he knows how his parents ( particularly his mom ) feel about winona . his mom was an academic -- she knew about five languages and in the throngs of learning a sixth , she held two phd’s and would probably get a third if she wasn’t jetting around the world for conferences , but she liked gossiping with other aunties if given the opportunity . she’d never do it around his father , though , as the conversations at the dinner table were more about what they saw in a new york times article or on cnn earlier in the day . as she comes into the mansion , chan’s hand scratches at the back of freshly dyed blonde hair and bows as well , hoping that his mother didn’t have ulterior motives .
his mother comes around the corner as if she’d been eavesdropping . on the campus of stanford , his mother is usually dressed in a sharp dress or suit that showed she meant business . however , when she was at home , the academic lets her hair down and skirts around the house in a linen mansur gavriel dress and a pair of slippers. ‘ eomma , ’ chan speaks softly when she comes into view , and a cheshire grin appears on the woman’s face . ‘ oh , miss rhee , ’ nina speaks , and chan tunes her out almost immediately . she’s using the voice she always put on when she’s speaking to someone she doesn’t particularly ... like . ‘ it’s so NICE of you to join us . dongwook should be home soon . ’
it’s like his parents are oddly in sync with one another as he hears the door leading out to the garage opens , signaling the return of his father . ‘ jesus christ , ’ chan mutters to himself and passes off the flowers to his mom in hopes that she’ll go get a vase to put them in and get distracted with her husband’s affection . thankfully , that’s exactly what happens and chan snaps out of his trance to pull winona into one of the rooms futher away from the kitchen . his feet drag and he catches his mother’s sharp tongue as he releases a pent up breath . ‘ what -- what do you mean she invited you , win ? ’ god he sounds so fucking stupid , but he can’t help it . ‘ do i have to call the cops to keep you two from killing each other ? ’
