We're currently in the car on the way to Ryujin's main house. I try to dress as presentable as I can, just a simple summer dress.
The cottage is not far from the house, it's about a ten minute drive. So before I know it, we have arrived. I get out of the car and get Eva out of her car seat Karina and Travis doesn't seem nervous like me.
Yuna comes rushing out of the front door to greet us. She's really excited for this dinner for some reason or she's just naturally happy.
"Hey Yeji! I'm not sure if you remember me from earlier but I'm Yuna' she greets me. Ryujin is not standing next to me.
She looks at me, "Are you ready?" She ask. I just give her a nod and a small smile. We walk into the house with Karina and Travis following right behind us.
We were greeted by an older couple. The older man resembles Ryujin the most so I'm guessing that's her dad and the woman next to him is her mom.
"You must be Yeji" the woman gives me a warm smile and hug. The man just smiles and gives us a head nod.
"Uh yes" I say nervously.
"Mom and dad, this is Eva. Yeji's daughter and Karina her sister and Travis her boyfriend" Ryujin introduces them.
"Welcome to our home. Make yourself comfortable, just call us mom and dad by the way" she chuckles while touching my arm.
"Mom!" Ryujin whines.
"Fine. Mr. And Mrs. Shin is fine until you're comfortable with the mom and dad thing" she looks over to Ryujin with a smirk.
"Thank you" I simply say.
Her dad hasn't really said anything to us so it's kind of awkward. Mrs. Shin goes back to the kitchen to finish cooking while Mr. Shin goes to the living room to watch TV.
"Is it or was it awkward with the dad" my sister whispers to me.
"I'm sorry about that. He will warm up at some point" Ryujin holds my free hand.
"Ecko!" I hear someone yell while running down the stairs.
A little hoy runs up to Ryujin and gives her the tightest hug. She picks him up and she has the biggest smile on her face.
"Yeji, Eva, this is Gabe, my nephew. Gabe, this is Yeji and Eva" she introduces US.
"Hi!" Gahe says while waving at us.
"Can Eva play? I can show her all my trains" Gabe says, extremely excited.
Ryujin pur Gabe down and I do the same thing to Eva. I watch him as he tries to help her go to the living room. It's actually the cutest thing.
"He's adorable" I say to Ryujin.
"He is. Let's go join my dad in the living room so we're not just standing here" Ryujin holds my hand again and we walk to the living room.
Sitting down on the couch, I watch Eva and Cabe play. Karina and Travis are talking to Lisa.
"Are you doing okay?" Ryujin ask me.
"Yes, I just feel a bit overwhelmed" I say truthfully.
"Do you need anything?" She looks at me worried.
I touch her face and smile, "I'm okay."
"I could gag at the cuteness Ryujin's older sister walks in.
"You're just jealous because you and Lisa don't have the spark anymore" Ryujin teases.
"Hey Yeji. I'm Rosé. I don't know if you remember from earlier. I'm Gabe's other mom and the tall girl talking to your sister is my wife" she shakes my hand.
"Yes I remember. Nice to meet you" I say.
She sits down next to me. "Is Ryujin treating you well?" She ask.
"Yes. Extremely well. She's amazing" I answer.
"Take care of her okay? She's extremely generous when she loves so she gets hurt the most."
"I will do my best" I say.
"Sn Yeji, what do you do?" Ryujin's dad ask out of nowhere, completely startling me.
"I'm currently unemployed. Recently moved to a different province to live with my sister" I say kind of nervous how he would react.
"What happened to your daughter's dad?" He ask.
"Dad" Ryujin says in a warning tone.
"I can't ask?" He glares at her.
"Things didn't work out. He never really cared for Eva" I say honestly.
"So he has no intentions of staying in contact with her even if you two are not together?" He ask.
"Dad, your questions are too persortal" Ryujin informs him.
"It's okay" I tell Ryujin. She looks at me asking if I'm sure and I put my hand on her leg and squeeze it to assure her.
"Not really. He claims he will try to take custody of her to try to get me hack" I say.
"He sounds a bit manipulative" he mutters.
"Ryujin talks about you a lot. My daughter loves you very much. Would you be able to say the same about her?" He looks at me with so much intensity.
"Yes. I love Ryujin more than I ever thought I could love anyone. She makes me want to be a better person. She's so loving, caring and understanding. I know I'm very lucky to have someone like her love me" I answer from my heart.
"Good. I know my eldest daughter has a wife so I should be used to this same sex relationships but its still new so be patient with me" he says.
"It's new for me too" I chuckle.
He continues watching his show and I look back to Iva and Gabe. Gabe is like Ryujin, so attentive. He's really trying to take care of Eva, he's sharing his favorite trains with her, he's even sharing his snacks. Rosé stands up to go to the kitchen, probably to help her mom. Ryujin is playing with the kids.
Karina sits next to me. "I think things are going well" she says to me.
"I think so too. Her family is actually very accepting" I say.
"They are. Lisa's family disowned her when she came out but the Shins let her stay here. Even though at the time, they weren't as accepting they still let her" she shares Lisa's story.
"We weren't really accepting until Ryujin came out to her mom. But I wasn't going to disown my child just because I didn't agree with their lifestyle" Mr. Shin joins our conversation.
"What do you mean?" I ask, confuse.
"We kind of ignored the fact Rosé and Lisa were together or refused to admit it. Then Ryujin came out to her mom and educated her then her mom educated me" he explains.
"Ryujin really is one of a kind" Karina says.
"Can I use the restroom?" Lask Mr. Shin.
"Oh yes, down the hall, first door on the right" he says. I stand up and quickly go to the restroom and lock it.
I suddenly feel a wave of emotions rushing in. How did I get so lucky with Ryujin? Even her family is great. I don't feel out of place. Once her dad opens up, the atmosphere just feels comfortable. It's crazy how they just accepted me, even accepted my sister and her boyfriend.
I quickly wash my hands and go back to the living room because I don't want them to think I'm pooping in here..
I go back to the living room and I don't see Ryujin. I sit back down next to Karina and she notice I'm looking for someone.
"Ryujin, Travis and Lisa went outside to get firewood. We're having a honfire later" she explains.
Yuna sits on the other side of me, "I know it's soon but welcome to the family" she winks at me.
I laugh, "I wouldn't go that far. Your sister has to want that too
"You're joking right? Ryujin is so smitten by you. I'm surprised she hasn't proposed" she jokes.
"And I'm happy to have a niece too. I can take her shopping and we can wear matching pretty outfits. If you're okay with that she smiles while looking at Eva.
"Just a warning, Yuna. My sister here is stupid but she has gone through a lot so try to be understanding when she does stupid things" my sister says and I'm not sure if she was helping me or insulting me.
"Is your family always this accepting to the people you and your sisters date?" I ask curiously.
"To be perfectly honest, you're the first girl that's been introduced to our parents formally like this. We first met Lisa when Rosé asked if she could live with us. With Lia, it just came out one day. They've been bestfriends since kids before then so
1nothing really changed. You're the first girl where our mom has to prepare dinner to welcome you so she's really excited about it" Yuna laughs.
"Why is she excited?" Karina ask.
"She likes a big family. Unfortunately, after giving birth to me, she can't get pregnant anymore. Once they accepted that Rosé is into women, my mom treats Lisa like a daughter now too. Now, theres Yeji. She's the first girl Ryujin has mentioned of marrying someday. She didn't even say that about Lia. With that information, my mom was extremely happy. She even got more excited after finding out you have a daughter so excuse her if she has Eva calling her grandma by the end of the night" Yuna says.
"Ryujin and Lia never talked about marriage?" I ask curiously. Out of all the things she said, I fixated on that.
"Nope. I think they mistakenly thought they had romantic feelings for each other because of how close they were. I'm just glad their relationship didn't end their friendship" she says.
"Is it okay that were talking about this when your dad is right there?" Karina whispers to Yuna.
"Yea. Once he's focused on TV, it's impossible for him to hear anything else."
Ryujin, Travis and Lisa are now back from getting firewood. At the same time, Mrs. Shin announces that dinner is ready.