Whispers Of False Promises » bangchan [indefinite hiatus]

episode 32: the parents

I could not sleep all night. Giggling, tossing and turning in his daydreams, admiring the ring on my finger -- name it all, but I was too frivolous to find a place in the reign of slumber. I checked the time on my phone: 2:37 AM. It had been an hour since I had gotten home from the dormitory, having given and received a goodnight kiss from Chan, promising him to have a relaxing sleep. Well, this was the only promise I was willing to break. 

I grabbed my phone and texted him: Can't sleep!!! I'm too excited to go to sleep hehe 

It did not take him even a whole minute to respond: Oh gosh, same here!! Today felt like a dream~~~

I giggled helplessly for the millionth time in the past 24 hours, and as I typed out a message, a thought struck my head. I cleared the entire text box and typed out a new message: Waaaaait, what about our parents? We didn't discuss this with them, did we? 

He stopped typing all of a sudden, and I chuckled; so neither of us had thought this through. He commenced typing again, and he wrote: 

Why don't we do a video call with both of our families tomorrow? 

---

"How do I look?" I twirled around in my flowy, casual white dress, "Is this okay for a first impression?" 

"You look absolutely gorgeous," Chan spoke, fixated on his spot, eyes fondly gazing at me, "And whatever you do, you'd have a good impression on my parents. I bet you would." 

My hands fell to my sides as I helplessly smiled at him, "Aw, thanks, baby. And you probably already have a great impression on my parents. I don't even need to introduce you to them." 

"Ah, is that so?" he asked, raising his brows. I nodded eagerly. 

He stepped closer to me, lifting his hand to cup my face, and started stroking my cheek, "This is the moment, my love. I can't say that I'm not nervous, but if it's with you, and for you, all the anxiety is worthwhile." 

"Likewise, Channie," I smiled, kissing the underside of his hand, "If it's you, it's all worthwhile." 

He grinned widely, and then planted a kiss on my forehead, "Let's do this."

"Let's do this." 

I had cleared some of the mess to create a clean backdrop for the video call. Currently, we were in my apartment, now sitting beside each other and nervously waiting for our parents to join the video call. We had informed them beforehand that we had a surprise for them, so they were entering into this blindly. Perhaps that was the fact that made us so stressed; their initial reactions were going to matter a lot, and we were not able to guess what they would be like. 

The laptop tinged, and the ones entering the meeting were my parents. I observed them; I had seen them face-to-face after about three years, and their slowly-greying hair and almost-wrinkly skin was something I still had to get used to. I breathed out, and then smiled, "Hello, mom and dad." 

They were about to greet me when they squinted their eyes at the screen, and my dad spoke, "Hey, I have seen this boy somewhere... he was on TV recently..." 

My mom sat quietly for a brief moment, and the gasped, "He's in that group! Stray... Stray..." 

"Hello, uncle and aunty," Chan smiled, his dimples on full display, "I'm Bang Chan from Stray Kids." 

"Stray Kids! Yes!" My parents nodded in an almost-eureka moment, and the shock washed over them a minute later, "Wait, Kaira... how do you know him?" 

As I was about to speak, another screen popped up on the laptop screen, and it showed Chan's parents. His mother immediately smiled at him, and his father noticed me in a second, "Hello, child. Aren't you Lee Kaira? I have heard about you." 

Chan and I shared a look, and I nodded, "Yes, uncle. Hello to you both!" 

My parents were quiet, and right before it could become awkward, Chan spoke up, "We have some news to share with you all." 

I looked at him, and smiled, "Chan and I have been... dating for about two years now. And I understand that you might be concerned about us, but we... we really love each other." 

"Kaira?" my mom gaped, "You didn't even tell me!" 

"Yes!" Chan's mother added, "Chan didn't tell me about it either." 

Chan and I laughed at their reactions, and he clarified, "We're sorry for keeping this a secret! We wanted to have some time to ourselves, and now, we have decided that we need each other for the rest of our lives." 

Chan's mother gasped, covering her mouth in awe, as Chan and I held hands and I spoke, "We want to get married to each other, and we seek your approval and blessings." 

The two set of parents looked at each other, baffled, and then my father spoke, "Are you two... certain about it? We don't mean to sound controlling, but marriage is a huge decision, children..." 

I smiled at him, and spoke, "He takes such good care of me, dad. I feel safe with him." 

"And mum, dad, if there's a home I've been seeking here, it's her. We really, really love each other," Chan added, convincing his parents. 

Steadily, smiles began to spread on their faces, gracing their lips with beautiful curves, and before we knew it, it happened. 

"We'll be in Seoul as soon as possible, children. God bless you two!" 

(a/n: parents goals >>>> 

it's my entrance exam tomorrow and im PANICKYYYYYYYYYY- 

how was this? 

thanks for reading! i love you!)