It's the Lunar New Year's day. All my relatives were gathering at my place as my father was the eldest son of his generation. It would have been nice if I could do something with Mina during this precious long weekend, but well, tradition is tradition.
A few days before the holidays started, Mina messaged me late at night.
"Nana, are you sleeping"
"I was just about to go to bed"
"Without saying good night to me? : angry emoji:"
"I was just about to…"
"Fine"
"Sorry…"
Why do I always have to be sorry? Sometimes she gets way too serious and takes things way too personally, but on the other hand, I let it be because I know I'm the only one she acts like this to.
"Nana, I have been thinking"
"Yeah?"
"I think it's about time I introduce you to my parents"
"They already know me. I've been over to your house before"
"No, not like that"
"???"
"It's all because you didn't take the initiative first to introduce me to your parents"
"?? We've even had dinner together a few times though? You've been over at my place many times"
"Fine"
Oh. Whenever she repeats one answer twice, I know she isn't too happy with something. If I say a few things and all her answers are 'OK', I start to get nervous and wonder what she's mad about. That's exactly what's happening here with her repetition of "Fine". I can read the tone as if I was actually listening to her voice.
"Hey, what's up?"
"You know, we've been going out for a while"
"Yeah"
"Don't you think it's about time we come out? Isn't the Lunar New Year's Day the ideal time for it?"
…
"What do you think?"
….
"Isn't… isn't this too soon?"
"Too soon? Too soon for what? It's too soon for you to feel confident that we will be together long-term?"
"No, I mean like, THAT kind of introducing, you do it before getting married and stuff…"
"Yeah, I know"
I'm in panic but at the same time flustered that Mina so strongly believes in our relationship.
"Mina, maybe sometime in the future. I don't think my parents are ready to take the news well, yet"
"They've been so nice to me though"
"It's not about you, but about accepting that their daughter is into girls"
"Did you just say… girls? PLURAL?!"
Oh shit.
"That's not what I mean. I mean like, you know what I mean, right?"
"No, I don't"
…
I will just wait this one out.
…
"Fine"
"Sorry"
Then there was a few minutes of pause. So she really is ticked off. Welp, in these moments it's always been up to me to thaw the ice again.
"Hey, why don't you come over to my place during Luna New Year?"
"What for?"
"Maybe it's too early for my parents to accept me this way, but… won't hurt for my family and relatives to see that you are a wonderful girl, right?"
A bit of praise, a bit of compromise.
This will do.
"You think so?"
Yup.
Ironically, she's 'smarter' than me in every single way, except reading each other. It's always been this way. It took her a long time to realize that I was actually in love with her. But perhaps that was my fault too because I couldn't accept and admit it myself for a long time either.
"Yeah, I'm sure they'll love you"
"Let's do it then :smiling emoji:"
"I guess you also have a family gathering on the day too, though, right?"
"I will try to get out of it early"
"Don't get yourself in trouble though"
"Don't worry. I'll tell my mom my future depends on it and I have to go"
"THAT's exactly what you shouldn't do!"
"OK"
This 'OK' isn't a sign of being angry. It would have been if it were preceded by another two or more OKs, but this just appeared so for now we are… literally OK.
"Just text me before you come"
***
:Ding Dong:
I was expecting Mina to turn up shortly as I've just received her message like two minutes ago. She has a habit of giving late notice.
"Who could this be?", my mom was wondering as all our relatives were already here and we weren't expecting any more guests.
"I will get the door, mom"
I swiftly got up and rushed to the door, opened it, and found Mina standing there with a big gift-wrapped box.
"Hi, Mina"
"Hi, Nana"
It doesn't matter if we had an argument a few days ago (although this time we didn't really have an argument) or even the night before. The next day is always a brand new day for us and when we meet again all is forgotten and forgiven. She's super sensitive and easily gets unhappy with tiny things, but has a big enough heart to accept me and let the other things go.
"Come in"
"Thank you for having me"
I then took over the gift box from her as it looked pretty heavy.
"What is this? You didn't really have to, Mina"
"They are rice cakes. I made them with Mom yesterday"
"Gees, thanks. I'm sure everyone will love it"
Mina could cook very well, although her food can be dangerous at times and I haven't fully gotten over the trauma of her lunchbox of death. But since she made these with her mom, I could relax and just enjoy.
"Oh, who is this lovely girl? Is she your friend?"
My granny said as soon as she saw Mina. For an old person, she had pretty good sight and attention as she was the first one to notice as I came back to the living room with Mina by my side.
"Thank you very much. My name is Mina and I'm Nana's-"
Kek. She's just paused a little here.
"Friend. I'm one of Nana's many FRIENDS"
She still holds grudges…
"Welcome, Mina, and happy new year!"
My dad said cheerfully and lifted whatever he was drinking to make a toasting gesture. I know he really liked Mina and was happy that she was my friend. Outside, Mina is a model student and behaves very well. It's both a blessing and a curse that only I see the other hidden sides of her.
"Happy New Year!"
All my relatives toasted and shouted together.
"Tha-, Thank you, everyone. Happy New Year!"
Mina was touched and happy, bowed her head, and responded to everyone.
"Mom, Mina brought some rice cake"
"Oh, you didn't have to, Mina. But thank you. Can we open it now and share it with everyone?"
"Yes. That's why I brought them here"
"Thank you then"
With that, my Mom opened the gift box and it was packed with very nicely made rice cakes in various colors with flower-shaped decorations.
"This is so lovely. Thank you!"
The rice cakes were distributed and everyone started eating them, and there were many Ooh and Ahh ringing around the room.
"She made them herself"
I felt like boasting about my girlfriend. Although I'm not so ready to tell them she is my girlfriend yet…
"Really?"
An auntie of mine asked in surprise.
"With my Mom, auntie… I didn't do much"
"She's being modest. I've tried some cookies she baked and brought us before and they were very nice too"
My Mom chimed in to boast about my girlfriend too, without knowing that she was my girlfriend.
Maybe someday… maybe someday we can tell our families…
"OH! You are the Chocolate Disaster girl!"
Kek. That was my cousin Nari, whom Mina met at a cafe some time ago. She's been drinking and seemed a little drunk.
"What is that?"
My granny inquired looking intrigued.
"It-it's a…"
"Nevermind! Toast! Happy New Year!"
Yup. Nari was kinda drunk.
So fortunately that was quickly forgotten, but alas, there were more to come.
"I think it's the first time I see Nana bring a girl home! She always just hung out with boys since she was young"
"Nari, that's like when I was in elementary school… and I did have a few girlfriends in middle school"
Mina flashed a glare at me.
Man, this was a lose-lose situation.
"Never mind, Toast! Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year!"
My father's side of relatives all loved drinking and were generally good drinkers who got cheerful and energetic when drunk, rather than lethargic or melancholic.
"So to celebrate, Nana's first girlfriend should go through our traditional initiation ceremony!"
:Face palm:
Nari… that really makes it sound like she is my girlfriend without saying she is my girlfriend.
"Sing! Sing! Sing! Sing!"
Nari started the chant and all my relatives started to follow, fists in the air.
Oh man, this is gonna scare Mina.
But when I looked over, Mina was actually all smiles and she was taking it well.
"Thank you for welcoming me. I will sing then"
"Yeah!", everyone shouted in unison and clapped their hands, and after a while the clapping stopped and everyone went silent to signal that she should start singing.
And singing she did, with her beautiful voice.
You ask how deeply I love you
And just how great my love is
My affection is real
And my love is true
The moon represents my heart
…
Everyone was stunned and stayed dead silent until Mina finished her song, and after a little bit of pause, thunderous applause came with lots of toast.
"That was amazing!"
"Wow, you can really sing"
"I've never heard someone sing that well in real life!"
There was nothing but praise from my relatives and Mina blushed a little, overwhelmed, but I knew this was a happy kind of blushing.
"I approve! I approve Mina!"
What are you instigating, Nari…
"Approve! Approve!"
Everyone chanted and Mina bowed her head.
"Thank you, everyone"
"Cheers! Cheers! Happy New Year!!!"
While everyone was happy toasting, Mina grabbed my hand softly and looked at me with a very happy smile and I returned in kind.
This isn't exactly what we thought, but somehow Mina's New Year's wish seemed to have come true.
We then spoke to each other at the same time while our fingers interlocked.
"Happy New Year"