.thirty-five

                                    

                                          
Minho stormed out of the room. His mother shot Jisung a glare before following him out, and Jisung followed at a distance. 
                          
"Did you know she was coming?" Minho pointed to his mother as he stomped into the kitchen to find his aunts. 
                          
Jeongyeon shook her head. "This was a surprise visit," she answered. 
                          
Of course it was. Minho's mother never was one for courtesy. Minho shook with anger, knowing well how his mother had treated his aunts in the past. And now she showed up at their home with no warning, demanding a place to stay for a few days while she schemed how best to make her son's life a living hell. 
                          
Jisung approached nervously and took a seat next to Nayeon. "Thank you for having me," he whispered, "I assume I should go home while Minho's mom is here, right?"
                          
Nayeon whispered back, "No, I think you'd better stay. Haeun will be mean, I'm warning you now, but Minho needs you here. I'll do what I can to protect you both." 
                          
Haeun rolled her eyes. "So you can be hospitable to this boy but not to your sister? Nayeon, I'm disappointed in you. Mom raised you better than that," she scolded. 
                          
"Mom raised me to protect the people I care about," Nayeon hissed, pulling Minho and Jisung close as she took a step toward her wife. 
                          
Her sister shrugged. "Mom did something wrong, obviously," she sneered, "Because if she hadn't, you'd have a husband and your own kids by now, and you wouldn't have to steal other people's children. Now let go of my son." 
                          
Nayeon opened her mouth to speak, but Minho cut her off. "You don't get to call me your son when you've never acted like my mother," he spat, "So leave Nayeon alone, because she's a way better parent than you ever were or will be." 
                          
This set Haeun off. "I'm calling your father!" She pulled out her phone and ignored Minho's snarky remark that the phone call would turn into an argument, as always. She stepped outside to make her call, and everyone remaining in the room breathed a sigh of relief. 
                          
"I feel like I'm intruding here," Jisung admitted, "I definitely don't belong with Nayeon and Jeongyeon – they're too good. And I would like to pretend I never met Minho's mom."
                          
Minho sat down next to Jisung and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "She'll be out of your life soon. You just need to survive the next two days without letting her close enough to shove her fake nails in your eyes." 
                          
Jisung laughed and leaned his head on Minho's shoulder. Outside, everyone could hear Haeun screaming into the phone, but they ignored it. They knew this was the most peace they'd get for the next two days.