A Visit From The Future Son-in-law

The evil men were planning but we were living our lives. Dancing on the street, Jin Ho swirled the puppy in his hands from left to right. He made a call and I quickly took the phone. I was about to answer immediately but then changed my mind. After counting from one to five, I picked it up.

"Amy, I am lost. Can you send me directions to your house?" He asked all of a sudden.

"What are you saying? "Perhaps…are you on your way to my house?" I asked.

"Yes", he replied.

"But how did you know the direction to my house?" I asked.

"You told me when you were drunk. In fact, you sang a song", he stated.

"A song? What song?" I asked and was praying that it wasn't that song.

"Some of the lyrics were: take a bus in Seoul. Alight at the fifth bus stop. Walk for thirty minutes whilst dancing, greet the woman selling tofu but make sure that you don't eat any. Then go to the left and go to the right, then to the right, then to the left, back to the right, curve to the left, to the left again, to the right again... Those are the lyrics I remember. The left and right sequence is what has gotten me lost", he replied.

"By chance did you also dance?" I asked.

"How did you know?" He asked unbelievably. "Alright, just stay where you are, I will come for you", I replied.

After hanging up, I began to wonder: "Why is he coming here?"

Albeit, I dressed up a little and went to meet him. Once I opened the door, I went back and slipped backwards, once again he caught me in his arms.

"How did you end up here?" I asked him whilst holding on to him. After raising me up, he said: "I had already bought the tofu. She brought me here."

"What? She brought you here?" I was stunned. That woman was the biggest gossiper in the entire Seoul. Though she just sold tofu, all reporters went to her for information. And whenever she had information in her hands, she spread it faster than rain.

"Everything will be fine. I am sure she has changed", I tried to reassure myself.

"Is everything okay?" Jin Ho asked and I said: "Everything is fine. But what brings you here, Jin Ho?"

"Jin Ho?" Mom asked out of the blue. I didn't know that she was standing behind me and even Jin Ho got a little startled.

"Mom, when did you get here?" I asked.

"I have been here all along. Don't tell me that because you wanted to see Jin Ho, everything around you became invisible", she jokingly said.

"Mom", I pinched her but she pushed me aside and told her guest: "Jin Ho, come inside."

"I didn't even introduce myself properly", Jin Ho said.

"There's no need to. I already know everything about you. Amy couldn't stop…" she nearly spilled the beans but I pushed them back in as I covered her mouth with my hand.

"Mom, let's just head inside", I said to her and signaled Jin Ho to come in.

"They look like a perfect family", the woman who sold tofu said as she got up from her hideout. After stretching her muscles, she asked herself: "How should I write the headline? Ah right, that's it. A Visit From The Future Son-in-law. Hahahaha!" She laughed out happily.

Back inside, mom texted dad. She told him in text: "Honey, come home right now. Jin Ho is here."

Once dad received the text, he exclaimed: "Jin Ho?" He was about to leave when he remembered that Poppy had asked him to pick her up

"She is a grown up now, I am sure she will be fine", dad said and hastily ran home.

At school, Poppy kept asking herself: "Why isn't dad coming?" She was at the gym cleaning up the floor and just in time, her archenemy arrived.

"How's the cleaning going? Didn't I tell you never to challenge me? Now, look at your ending. By the way, where's that friend of yours, that fatty?" She asked and all of a sudden, my sister became alarmed.

"What did you do to Su Jin?" She asked her enemy.

"Do you want to know? Well, we… " She started and drew her face closer to hers. She whispered the remaining words into her ears.

Once she was done, my sister, who had zero percent of self-control said to her in fury: "Come here you brat!"

She took hold of her enemy's hair and pulled it just as I had taught her when she was young.

"Help! Someone help me! Help!" Her enemy cried out.

"What's going on here?" CREW's top member, Jeremy, arrived at the scene.

"Oppa, see what she has done to me", her enemy accused my sister.

Poppy took in a deep breath and smirked at her enemy. In reply, she said: "Wow, I can't believe this girl. Did you stage all of this?"

Jeremy, who didn't know the full length of the story went ahead to say: "Poppy, I know that your grades aren't good but can you have some self dignity?"

Those words hurt her more than the bullying she had been receiving.

She didn't want to cry nor pout but her eyes became cloudy. Controlling the rain of tears from falling down, she said to him: "Because you are handsome, intelligent and a member of CREW, do you think you are all mighty? The way you are treating me now will bounce back to you later. Mark my words, Jeremy June."

Since Jeremy was here, it meant that all the girls were also present. And that's when my sister got herself into trouble.

"Did she curse at our oppa?" They asked.

In reply, she told them: "If you want to be attacked by this crazy bitch here, step forward."

Seoul girls have never cared about starting fights when it concerns their idols, hence the fight began. One against an unknown number.

All the girls run towards my sister. With steady feet, she awaited them, and once they were super close to her, she moved to the side and threw the bucket of soapy water she had mixed onto the ground. With the smoothness of the gym floor, these girls slipped as one fell onto another and another onto another leading to a long chain of girls on top of other girls. The boys looked on in amazement.

In less than ten seconds, the fight was over or so it seemed. Poppy went in for another bucket of water and before these ladies could get up, she threw the entire content on them.

"Never mess with me again", she warned and walked over to Jeremy. He went backwards as she approached him. Pinning him to the wall, she said: "And as for you, I'm not like these stupid girls who would be running all over the place because of a loser who can neither sing nor dance but uses his looks to his advantage. Develop real talent and stop lip syncing." She then walked out of the gym in style.

Back home, mom asked: "So Jin Ho, what brings you here?"

Jin Ho reached out for the pet carrier he was holding and said: "I saw this cute puppy on my way to work and decided to bring it to Amy."

"A cute dog? Let me see", mom said as she received the gift.

"Oh my, it's so cute", she sounded so excited and added, "Just like my daughter Amy. Or don't you agree that she's cute?" She asked Jin Ho.

"She's not cute", Jin Ho replied and mom nearly dropped the pet to the ground.

"What?" She was getting furious. But then Jin Ho said: "She's extremely pretty."

"Hahaha! You are so good at fluttering", mom now sided with him as she kept laughing like a lunatic. I didn't like how she was handling matters, hence I kept praying that dad would arrive and save the day.

Shortly after saying this prayer, he came in. "Dad!" I joyfully called out my hero. He had arrived, my hero had arrived.

Once he entered, Jin Ho turned around to see who it was. But after their eyes had met, Jin Ho stood up and exclaimed: "Master Dong Ju!"

"Joon Jin Ho?" He asked back.

"Do you know each other?" I asked them and dad replied saying: "Yes, I trained him in martial arts."

"Really? No wonder you are so good at it", I praised Jin Ho for his skills.

"Is he?" Mom asked. "Yes mom. He beat up a whole bundle of thugs with just a kick", I replied.

"Oh my! Oh my!" Mom smiled happily. In her mind, she made the evaluation. "Handsome and strong, all that's left is the money." "Hahahaha!" She laughed out heartily after making that analysis.

"Wow, you have really gained some muscles. Have you been working out?" Dad asked.

"I learnt it from you master", Jin Ho told him.

"Since it's been a while, why don't we have some drinks?" Dad threw the invitation.

The scene looked new and beautiful. Min Ki never visited my parents for fear that they might ask him to marry me. But just after knowing me for two days, here he was, seated before my parents and making them laugh their hearts out.

"Jin Ho, I have a question for you. You have known my daughter for just a few days, so why are you here?" Dad asked.

I was curious to hear the answer and so was mom.

"Perhaps, do you like her?" Dad asked.

"Well, since we are on the subject, I will go straight to the point. Yes, you are right. I like your daughter. I really really like her", Jin Ho said those words as if they didn't make his heart race. So why was mine beating uncontrollably?

"I see. Why do you like her?" Dad asked and poured Jin Ho a glass.

"Because I'm like his mom", I said to myself. But he said, "Because… because she's Amy Lee. I don't have a specific reason, I just like her."

"Do you want to start dating my daughter?" Dad asked. Was this why I wanted him around? Absolutely.

"If you will allow me, then I will take good care of her", Jin Ho requested.

"Amy, do you agree to date this guy?" Dad threw the question at me and I realized that I wanted to say yes but it felt so weird to say that to my parents.

All of a sudden, a thought ran through my head. The current situation seemed as if we were in the times of the kings. Dad was behaving like a minister handling his daughter to a noble's son. And I was like a well groomed noble being sent into marriage. As I made this comparison, dad nearly destroyed it all.

"It seems like my daughter hasn't decided yet…" dad said.

"Dad, don't. I like him", I confessed in the most embarrassing way.

"What did you just say?" Dad asked and I began trembling.

"I said I like him", I said firmly.

And that is how I confessed my love for Jin Ho. There was nothing romantic about it.