( dinner & diatribes ) ⁎ 2025 , minjoon's father's project announcement party . ; ⸺ + @veritastrap !
parents … parents. what are synonyms (the party moves in stop motion and is that the sudden strike of good friend misery or is it because he's definitely drank too many chutes of champagne already) bane, torment, strain, soul sucking fucking evil? he watches his father's from across the crowded recital hall— minjoon's stare could peel paint like acetone for a whole second until those keen eyes shift and meet his and minjoon straightens up and evens out with a quickness that would have half the students of yeonhwa campus doing a doubletake. shivers crawl his spine, first degree embarrassment at his good boy programming that he still can't fucking break down.
his father nods some kind of primordial, uncommunicated yet completely clear conversation with a single motion. joon, like a fucking idiot (or the smartest person in the room), nods back.
he turns and strides away without another word. fine. alright. whatever. he shouldn't have lied about it anyway. he shouldn't have lied so many, many, many fucking times about how he still loves yerim. reaping what he sews or whatever. he passed by her earlier, with her parents (he nodded to them too, like a windup doll, and gave them a big smile and polite but also familiar nod). she's not far from where he left her, though decidedly far enough from the both of their parents that he feels way easier approaching her. both sets of parents can see (they can probably see everything here at these events. even if they miss it, they all communicate like some fucking hivemind.), but at least they can't hear.
he stops next to yerim (he hasn't talked to her outside of debate club in god knows how long), and gives her a little smirk— backing himself up next to her, he faces the same direction like they're viewing art at a museum, and bumps his shoulder into hers. "long time since this, huh?" ages, and yet not long enough.
"whatever you do, don't make eye contact with my parents or they might be tempted to come over." he doesn't sound apologetic and he doesn't sound desperate, it's worse, he sounds amused. in that way where if you peered into his eyes he'd look a bit like he's losing his mind. "my father especially is quite sure we'll be back together by the first side dish hitting the table."