second lead. | 정원

chapter 18.

xviii.

Turns out Jeon Hyunjoo had already told their parents. The second he was left inside the house while Mira and Jungwon were talking outside, he came rushing up the stairs and barging into their bedroom, saying how his older sister got herself a boyfriend.

They were surprised, especially their father, and he wouldn't let this opportunity pass, immediately taking action.

"Jeon Mira!" A loud booming and powerful voice along with a slam of the front door startled the two high schoolers as they turned to look at the source only to be met with a tall man.

"There they are! Noona and her boyfriend!" Hyunjoo peeked at the entrance and pointed at them before beaming up at his father who was squinting his eyes at the so-called boyfriend of Mira in the distance.

"Hold on, I need my glasses real quick I can't see anything," Her father muttered and went back inside to find his glasses.

"Won hyung, you're back!" Hyun skipped down the mini-steps of the front porch and ran towards the said male, hugging his waist, and craning his neck upwards grinning.

"I never left in the first place," The older male spoke, patting the boy's head.

It was weird, how comfortable Hyun was with someone he just met. Normally he would keep his distance from strangers for a few days or even weeks before warming up to them, but with Yang Jungwon it was a different story.

"You there! With the dimples!" The same loud and manly voice roared. Mira's father stood at the front porch, this time with his cool-looking glasses on. He had one hand resting on his hip and the other was holding onto the door handle. "Come inside. I need to discuss something with you. Hyun, come here."

Without saying another word, her father's figure disappeared inside the house followed by her little brother. Jungwon stayed rooted on the ground, blinking a couple of times. "Isn't this the same as meeting your girlfriend's parents for the first time to get their blessings for being in a relationship with their daughter?" He rapped out.

"Yeah?" Mira replied without thinking, "Wait what did you just say—"

"Noona! Hyung! Dad is calling for you!" Hyunjoo happily yelled. Both of them reluctantly went inside after taking their shoes off. The male followed behind Mira as she leads him to the living room where her father awaits their arrival on the couch.

Jungwon's first impression of the man was damn, he's cool. The man looked really young as if he was only in his late thirties. His hair was average length, but was parted to reveal his forehead. He had on grey sweatpants and a black shirt that says:

"Genius Shirt /noun/
A normal shirt, but with me in it."

"Hyun told me you are my daughter's boyfriend?" Her father questioned, intertwining his fingers and propping his elbows on his knees. He looked at them from beneath his long lashes and Jungwon knew where Mira got them from. "Is that true?"

Jungwon nodded slowly and from the corner of his eye, he saw the girl looking away.

"Are you sure? You're not lying?" The man continued to ask and Jungwon hesitantly shook his head, eyes shaking, but he had to stay composed.

"Mira, go get us drinks from the kitchen," Her father ordered. The girl stood up from the couch, giving her so-called boyfriend a short glance before heading to the kitchen, hoping he would be fine alone with her father.

Mr. Jeon instructed Jungwon to sit closer to him and the boy did as he was told. The man proceeded to sling an arm around the younger boy's shoulder, pulling him closer. "So who are you?"

"M-my name is Yang Jungwon, sir. I go to the same high school as Mira," He answered, a little off guard from the proximity between him and her father. He felt a little uncomfortable but didn't want to get into Mr. Jeon's bad side.

"Daehwi, huh? Do you have any siblings?"

"I have an older sister, sir."

"What are your hobbies?"

"Taking care of my cactuses, studying, dancing... Taekwondo?"

"You know Taekwondo?"

"Yes, sir."

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you like my daughter?"

"I, uh..." Jungwon was flustered by the question. How could he answer that when they weren't even in a real relationship? Should he just answer based on how much he liked Mira as a friend? Before he could answer, Mr. Jeon spoke again, "You have nice eyes. Has anyone told you that before?"

Wabonk!

The sound of a frying pan was heard as a woman appeared out of nowhere, standing behind the couch, and holding a frying pan in her hand. It took Jungwon a couple of seconds to realize that the woman was Mira's mother.

So smacking someone runs in the family? Jungwon thought with wide eyes, still surprised by the loud sound emitted from the contact of a kitchen tool and a human's head.

"Honey, wives don't do that to their husbands," Mr. Jeon winced while clutching his head, squinting his eyes at the woman behind him.

"You're making the poor boy uncomfortable," Mrs. Jeon stated, crossing her arms as she raised an eyebrow, giving her husband a sharp glare. Now that Jungwon took a closer look, Mira resembled her mother so much. He can see their similarities and the woman looked pretty young too.

"Fine," Mr. Jeon sighed in defeat and shooed his wife away with his hand. By then, he had already scooted away further and was now giving the teenager an intimidating stare. "You can't have my daughter."

The adult spoke with so much dominance in his voice that it made Jungwon gulp nervously. He thought he was in trouble and was about to apologize for dating Mira without her parent's permission if it wasn't for Mr. Jeon to suddenly erupt in laughter, confusing him.

"I'm just kidding, I've always wanted to say that," Mr. Jeon laughed, slapping his thigh. At the same time, Mira came back from the kitchen with their drinks prepared on a tray as she set them down on the coffee table.

a/n; new writing style! :]