LET ME - taehyun x oc

BONUS: Promises - 2 🔞

TAEHYUN

"I'll be right back," Violet squeezes my hand and stands up, leaving me with her mom and grandma. They smile at me from across the table and I flash them a smile back. But it's like all the years I've spent learning to be confident and conceal my nerves have gone out the window.

"So, Taehyun..." her eomma leans forward on her elbows, clasping her hands. "Violet told us you grew up in Gangnam."

She tries to put me at ease with her warm smile, but halmeoni's intense gaze feels like it's burning through me. I know she's sizing me up– probably comparing me to Violet's ex, or just wondering what a guy like me is doing with a girl like her.

But I try to stay present. I know I'm good enough to be with Violet. I love her and we're happy together. And although the fluttering in my stomach won't stop, I nod at eomonim and look at both of them while I speak. "Yes, my parents still live in Daechi-dong. That's where I grew up."

"That's a very nice part of Seoul," her grandma remarks, raising an eyebrow. "What do your parents do for a living?"

"My dad works for Hanwha and my mom used to be a flight attendant."

"Hmm..."

"And you also have an older sister?" her mom asks.

"Yes, she graduated from SNU two years ago and now works for Deloitte."

Halmeoni nods again, leaning over her elbows as if she were demanding proof or evidence. But when I glance at her, I notice she's looking at the ring on my finger.

"Sorry we took so long!"

Thank god...

Violet and her dad appear in the dining room and I hide my hands under the table.

"Dad wanted to catch up a bit..." she says as she sits down next to me.

I smile and take her hand, bringing it to my lap. "It's okay. Eomonim and halmeoni were asking about my family."

"Oh yeah?" she flashes me a grin and then turns to look at her grandma. "Tae's family is really nice."

"Yes, they all seem very accomplished..." halmeoni nods, clearing her throat.

"You met them during Seollal. Right, sweetie?" eomonim leans in. There's an eagerness to her smile that stands in stark contrast to halmeoni's rigid posture.

"Yeah, they invited us over to their apartment, and– ohmygod eomma, they live in such a nice part of Seoul," Violet's eyes go wide as she tells them about the neighborhood and the nice dinner my eomma prepared for us.

Meanwhile her dad sits next to me at the head of the table. He grabs the blue bottle of soju between us and starts unscrewing the top. "So, who's gonna translate for me tonight?" He grins and then nudges me with his elbow. "Maybe you can tell me what they're talking about–

"Dad– wait–" Violet pipes up, reaching her hand across the table to grab the bottle.

"Huh?"

"That's Tae's present for all of you," she explains, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry–" he laughs and puts the bottle down.

"No, it's okay! Please–" I motion for him to open it. "It's for everyone."

"That's very kind of you, Taehyun– thank you," eomonim smiles at me and then turns to her mother to translate. Halmeoni nods along and then gives me a quick smile, bowing with just her head.

"Tae spent a few days looking for this specific soju. Right, baby?" she caresses my knee and rests her head on her fist, gazing at me with a smile.

Taking a deep breath in, I try to smile at everyone around the table, holding my hands together in my lap. "Yeah, my appa really likes soju so I asked him to recommend me one. But you can't really buy this one at the grocery store, so I had to visit a few liquor stores to find it."