“Nabi, breakfast’s ready!” yelled her father from behind closed door.

“I’ll be right there. . .” her attempt at yelling failed miserably, but she still showed signs of life after just waking up.

“Alright sweetie, no need to rush,” he said walking away.

“What time is it?” she asked herself while trying to find her phone without looking, her head still buried in the pillow. It took a while, but she managed to push herself up. “Shit, it’s already past ten. . .”

Her sleep schedule had become a total mess. Since summer started Nabi spent most of her nights chatting either with her boyfriend or friends.

She took a deep breath before changing out of her pajamas. Afterward, she left her room and proceeded toward the dining room. Her parents were already seated, waiting for her before they began eating.

“So you’ve finally decided to join us,” her mother’s comment sounded profoundly judgmental.

Nabi sat down without saying a word.

“Dear, could we not do this today?”

“You spoil her too much. . . If it were up to me, she’d still be waking up early.”

“It’s summer break. What’s so bad about waking up a bit later than usual?” he defender her.

“Once you lose a habit, it’s hard to get it back. Summer won’t last forever.”

“Still. . .”

“If she kept studying like she always did, I bet she would’ve scored first in her class on the finals.”

“This again. . .” he sighed.

“I blame it on that boy she’s been seeing recently. I thought we told her no dating until she finished college.”

“It’s my best score yet. . .” Nabi whispered while looking down at her food.

“What was that?” she sounded annoyed.

“I said that it was my best score yet,” Nabi looked up at her mother, biting the inside of her bottom lip.

“The tests were probably easier this time around,” she sighed. “Do you even wish to go to college?”

“Dear, I think that’s enough. She did her best and her results were good. Shouldn’t you praise her instead of scolding her?”

“She needs to stay focused.”

“Are you saying you were any better?”

“Are you trying to start a fight with me?” she crossed her arms and glared at him.

Nabi could feel her father’s patience being stretched thin as he let out a frustrated sigh.

“No, I’m not. I’m just trying to eat in peace.”

“Fine,” her mother got up. “I’ll take my leave since I have work anyway.”

“You haven’t finished eating. . .”

“I’ve got a business meeting with Kim Sang-Hoon, so you can finish breakfast in peace.”

“Do you need a ride?” he offered.

“It’s your day off. . .” she sounded genuinely caring for once. Nabi found the sudden shift a bit off-putting. “I don’t want to drag you around.”

“You just focus on getting ready and don’t worry about a thing.”

“Thanks. . .” she approached, kissing him before going to their bedroom to get changed.

Nabi and her father sat quietly as he leaned forward, his fingers intertwined into a firm grip.

“What do I do with the two of you. . .” he huffed.

“I-” Nabi tried to speak up, but she stopped herself.

“Since when are you so quiet?”

“I don’t know. . .”

“Sweetie, don’t let your mother get to you. She’s just worried about you.”

“She sure has a way of showing it. . .”

She didn’t always have such a relationship with her mother, but ever since she started dating, her strict parenting intensified significantly.

“She just doesn’t want to see you making the same mistakes she did when she was your age.”

“Mother made mistakes? Yeah, right. . .” Nabi chuckled.

“Of course she did. Not only that, but they were plentiful.”

“Then why doesn’t she just say so?”

“You know she has a hard time expressing her feelings. Don’t be too hard on her.”

“Why can’t people just be honest about their intentions?” she asked out loud but the question was more to herself.

“Nabi,” he smiled for the first time. “When you’re a kid you can say whatever you want, and I’m not talking about people your age. However, as you get older and the words you say bear consequences, you become warier. To put it simply, it’s fear. Fear is what stops people from expressing their true feelings and intentions.”

“Why would Mom be afraid of telling me the truth?”

“You’re her child and the last thing she’d want was to lose your respect,” his words left Nabi speechless. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her. You just enjoy your summer and know that we’re both proud of you.”

“Thanks. . .” she averted her gaze, a bit flustered by the compliment.

He got up and started cleaning up the table. When Nabi offered to help, he hugged her and told her not to worry about it.

She took a deep breath and made her way back to her room. Collapsing on the bed, Nabi reached for her phone and opened her chat with Tjay.

Hey, you on? – Nabi

She wasn’t expecting a reply since he appeared offline.

Tjay – Yeah

Tjay – Whats up?

Just had a rough morning... – Nabi

Tjay – Your mom again?

That obvious? – Nabi

Tjay – Wasnt it the same yesterday

It’s getting worse... Dad told me not to worry about it, but it’s hard not to think about it. – Nabi

Tjay – Just listen to his advice

Tjay – Wanna come over?

She wasn’t expecting an invite since the two hadn’t hung out alone in ages. Part of her got excited until she remembered that she planned to meet her boyfriend in the afternoon. Nabi’s realization only troubled her more. Not only did she feel bad for having to refuse, but she also wondered why she turned to Tjay over her boyfriend when she felt down. She accepted it as nothing more than a habit since this was her first relationship.

Tjay – We could watch a movie or something

I can’t. My dad has a day off so I’ll be spending it with him. – Nabi

She sighed as soon as she sent the text, wondering why she lied. Truthfully, she didn’t want to reject him and even contemplated canceling her date before realizing how ridiculous that would be. Nabi wondered if that was the fear talking, the fear of not being invited again. But she also knew that Tjay wouldn’t react in such a way. The thought of it all felt exhausting.

Tjay – Next time then

Tjay – Say hi to your dad for me

I will... – Nabi

She cut the conversation short in order to get ready for her date, but once she put the phone to the side, she buried her face into the pillow and fell asleep.

* * *

Nabi was half an hour late for her date. She barely got her makeup on and managed to dress up the best she could which ended up being just a simple black skirt and a slightly wrinkled white shirt that she tucked in. For shoes, she grabbed ankle boots making the overall outfit rather cute. However, they weren’t meant for running as she almost tumbled over after trying to do so.

Finally meeting up with her boyfriend, Nabi sighed in relief knowing he didn’t leave. Like always, he was dressed nicely and even used a perfume with a masculine earthly scent.

“Sorry I’m late. . .” Nabi looked worried about how he’d react.

Shaking his head, he silenced her by pressing his finger against her lips. With a smile, his finger traced down to her chin before guiding her closer and planting a kiss on her lips. Nabi was taken away by the moment and used the chance to wrap her hands around his neck once he let go of her chin. With the tight embrace, all her worries were dispelled. Finally, she smiled.

“Better?” he asked.

“Huh?” she looked at him mesmerized.

His kisses were gentle, passionate, and always left her speechless afterward.

“You looked like something troubled you.”

“Oh,” she huffed still keeping her hands wrapped around his neck. Nabi was forced to stand on her toes because of the height difference. “I was just worried you’d be mad that I was late.”

“If that’s all, then I’m sure you can make it up to me,” he smirked.

“How?”

“We’ll figure it out,” he chuckled before slowly breaking away from the hug, grabbing her and leading the way. “Come on. I found a perfect place.”

She followed him without a complaint as he led her to a nearby cafe that overlooked the riverside. The wooden roof over the outdoor garden provided the perfect shade from the summer sun.

The conversation was light at first, her attention was mostly on his dark brown eyes. However, after a while, Nabi wandered off with her thoughts. She was still stuck thinking about what her father said. The worry that she might run into Tjay was also a problem she didn’t consider when she lied to him. She was confused as to what was happening to her. While she did have moments in her life when she felt lost, it was always obvious to her why she felt that way. However, that wasn’t the case anymore.

“And then I. . .” Hyun went quiet, resting his arm on the table before letting out a sign. “You’re not listening to me are you?”

“What?” Nabi didn’t even realize she wasn’t listening. Averting her gaze, she once again appeared sad. “Sorry. . .”

After she apologized again, he got up. Nabi believed that he was going to leave considering she hardly said a word the entire date. To her surprise, he pulled his chair closer to hers and sat back down again.

He took her hand and planted a kiss on it before pressing it against his cheek.

“You shouldn’t apologize so much,” he smiled at her heartwarmingly. “Tell me, what’s troubling you?”

“I. . .” she let out a sigh of frustration. Nabi was getting sick of the submissive attitude that she recently adopted due to all the arguing at her house. “It’s my parents. I keep arguing with my mom, and recently it just turned into one-sided bullying.”

“Want to talk about it?”

She contemplated if she should tell him the truth, but in the end figured that there was no point in keeping secrets. After telling him everything, which included the snarky comments that her mother made about her and even the fact that she disapproved of the relationship the two had.

“I just can’t take it anymore. . . If I talk back she starts to yell and if I don’t then she just keeps going at it until she feels satisfied. I want to believe that she has my best interest in mind, but it’s just so exhausting.”

After finally letting it all out, she leans against his shoulder with her eyes closed. Feeling his hand wrap around her felt comforting.

“Sounds to me that she just needs to meet me,” he chuckled. “I’m sure that if she got to know me, she’d be a bit more approving.”

“Maybe. . .” Nabi sighed. “Though, I’m not sure I’m ready for you to meet my parents yet. It hasn’t been that long since we started dating. . .”

“I’m willing to wait,” he smirked placing his free hand on her inner thigh, a bit too far up for her comfort just yet. “It’ll be okay.”

Opening her eyes, she gently guided his hand down to her knee. “Sorry, I-” she wanted to apologize but was cut off by the sound of his tongue clicking which took her by surprise.

“I told you not to apologize so much,” he kept his hand on her knee but pulled away from the hug to look at her. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It’s just that I feel at ease around you and when I’m feeling down I tend to enjoy someone’s affectionate touch. It was stupid to assume that it’s the same for everyone.”

“Oh. . . I see,” she smiled, glad to know that he wasn’t mad about her being a bit more conservative and feeling uncomfortable about being touched like that, especially in public. “I’ll keep that in mind if I ever see you feeling down,” she giggled before planting a kiss on his lips. “And don’t worry about it. I’m just new to it all, so it might take some time for me to get used to it.”

“Take your time,” he said planting another kiss on her lips. “Anything I could do to help the process?”

“Being understanding as you have is more than enough,” she smiled at him innocently. “I just need time to sort things out in my head.”

“Hopefully you don’t leave me waiting too long,” he said jokingly before laughing.

“I’ll try,” she awkwardly smiled, not sure how long her getting used to him would take.

They knew each other for a short time yet he acted as if they were long-time friends, meanwhile, she struggled to place her full trust in him.

“So we good now?” he asked.

“Yeah. . .” she nodded. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

“Sure.”

Their date continued as normal and her thoughts stopped wandering as much. The exhaustion she felt from overthinking things was finally subsiding. All she could do was listen to the advice others gave her which was to enjoy the moment and not worry about a thing. With a caring boyfriend like Hyun, she felt like she could try and be at ease as well, maybe even going as far as believing that it was finally time for her to properly introduce him to everyone.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.