gymbro6000
i'm scared

gymbro6000
more scared than i should be

taeraevision
yeah right 😭😭

hanbeean
i tried to ask my mom how she would feel about me having chinese friends and she seemed okay..?

hanbeean
but the things that happened in the past...

hanbeean
i'm not even going to repeat what she said

jjanghao
well i'm proud to be chinese and i'm proud to be ur boyfriend

die100
she can kiss my ass

jjanghao
EXACTLY!!!

ihoardsnacks5
i'm gonna be ricky's bodyguard 💪💪

die100
awwww

die100
what a funny joke!! 🥰

ihoardsnacks5
???? WTF

hanbeean
guys i know i said this like 600 times

hanbeean
but please

hanbeean
don't feel forced to come

jjanghao
no we're coming

jjanghao
i'd like to see this lady 😊😊😊

die100
i just wanna eat man

hanbeean
okay

hanbeean
you can leave whenever you want though

jjanghao
ok we'll see!!!

taeraevision
i'll pick up the children

die100
u are NOT picking me up

taeraevision
i'll pick up the children minus ricky*

hanbeean
jiwoong do you wanna carpool with me

kjwng
Yes please 🥹🥹

fartmaster1000
old man can't even drive anymore 😒

kjwng
???

kjwng
STOP IT

—

The drive to the restaurant is rather awkward. Hanbin is driving with one hand, his other one placed on Hao's thigh to bring some sort of comfort to him. The last time Hanbin's mother found out about one of his foreign friends, it was in high school, and she threatened to kick him out. He never understood why it was such a big deal to her, but Hanbin knew one thing: he's not going to let his mother step all over him anymore.

With a sigh of relief, Hanbin sees that his mother wasn't at the restaurant yet, but those who were in Taerae's car had arrived first.

"She's not here?" asks Hanbin, approaching the large table that was located in the corner of the restaurant.

"No," Taerae replies simply, sliding down the booth so that Hanbin and Hao had a place to sit. "I'm kind of glad, actually. She sounds scary."

"Tell me about it," Hao says with a chuckle. "I feel like I'm gonna get banished by Hanbinnie's mother."

Jiwoong shook his head. "There's no way we're gonna let her talk badly about you," he replied, distracted by the menu sitting in front of him on the table, reading through it carefully, tapping an order in on the tablet the restaurant provided.

"And there's no way she's gonna stop me from eating," another voice spoke. A simple glance to where the voice was coming from was enough for someone to know that it was Ricky.

"Look at you," Gyuvin says with a grin, wrapping an arm around Ricky as he sat down. "Not being the last one here!"

"Please." Ricky rolls his eyes. "I was gonna be pissed if I came after Hanbin's mom."

As if on cue, a woman walks through the doors of the restaurant. She scans the area before her eyes land on the group's table, her face lighting up. "Hanbin!" she shouts rather loudly, rushing towards the table. The woman hugs Hanbin quite tightly after he awkwardly stands up.

"Guys," Hanbin starts, squirming out of his mother's grasp. "This is my mom."

"Oh, Hanbin," his mother says, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Where did you find such handsome friends?"

Hanbin jokingly makes a face of disgust. "In a dumpster behind an abandoned building." He pulls the chair next to Ricky to allow his mother to sit, taking his own seat next to Hao right after.

The joke gains laughter from the group, and even though Hanbin's mother is laughing, the expression on her face shows that she isn't that amused. "Anyways," she says as the laughter dies down, "introduce me to your friends."

Hesitantly, Hanbin points at each of his friends,
naming them. Matthew and Ricky are questioned due to their English names, and instead of adding that he was from China, Ricky just says he spent some time in LA when he was younger. It seemed to pass by Hanbin's mother without raising suspicion—so far, so good.

"And this is...Hao," Hanbin finally adds, pointing to the boy sitting next to him.

"Hao?" The woman raises an eyebrow, leaning forward to stare Hao directly in the eye. "What's your last name?"

Clearly uncomfortable, Hao swallows dryly. "Um... Zhang," he eventually says, his gaze wandering around the room.

The woman gives Hanbin quite a nasty look before meeting her eyes with Hao once more. "Chinese. You're Chinese."

"Yes I am... ma'am." Hao confims, rather unsure of what to say. "Thanks for noticing."

"I don't like that."

Ricky opens his mouth to say something, but Gyuvin slapping him on the arm causes him to think differently. Instead, he crosses his arms and rolls his eyes, sinking into his seat.

"But you're my Hanbin's friend, so I guess it's okay... for now," the woman adds smugly. She turns to Jiwoong. "You're handsome. Are you the one my Hanbin is dating?"

Jiwoong sees Yujin and Gunwook trying to hold in their laughter, and he shoots them a glare. "While that's very, um, interesting to assume, unfortunately, Hanbin and I are just friends—not to burst your bubble or anything." He offers the woman a smile as he gently places a hand on Matthew's thigh.

Gyuvin stares at the eldest with wide eyes, lips pursed as he stifles a laugh. The entire situation is both funny and awkward, and Gyuvin has a hard time balancing between the two.

"Which one is it then, hm?" asks Hanbin's mother. "You said it was one of them."

Hanbin's grip on Hao's hand from how he was holding it under the table only tightened. "Well—"

A waitress comes with the food that Jiwoong had ordered, disrupting any thoughts going through Hanbin's mind. Ricky, who was forced to remain silent, wasted no time digging in, making sure to feed Gyuvin before he started complaining.

"Maybe we should eat first," suggested Matthew, trying to divert the conversation as he distributed the rice bowls to everyone.

The woman shakes her head. "No, I believe that I deserve this answer now." She turns to look at her son. "Hanbin?"

"Okay, fine!" Hanbin puts his hands up in defeat. "I'm dating Zhang Hao!" he confesses.

Silence.

Then, a beat.

"Hanbin."

"Mom."

"Hanbin."

"Mom."

"You live in Korea, Hanbin," she sternly says, crossing her arms. "Why can't you date a Korean?"

"Because I like—no, love—Zhang Hao, mom," Hanbin fires back, intertwining fingers with Hao once more.

Hanbin's mother looks offended for whatever reason. "Get your filthy hands off my son!" she exclaims, reaching over the table to try and pry Hao and Hanbin's hands apart.

Suddenly, everyone was panicking. Yujin, who was sitting right next to Hao, had grabbed the woman's wrist to prevent her from touching the older. Jiwoong and Matthew, although hesitant, had grabbed onto either of the woman's shoulders to try and keep her back.

Ricky, at that point, was suddenly fuming. He received a look of consent from Gyuvin before opening his mouth once again, this time letting the words out. "You're the only one with filthy hands, bitch, like, seriously. You're acting just like a child, so your hands must be crusty as well."

The woman was now staring at Ricky instead of attacking Hao, jaw dropped. "That hideous accent means that you're Chinese, too."

"So she is an accent expert," Gunwook mumbles, loud enough for Jiwoong to hear, as he had gently slapped the younger on the arm for saying that.

"Girl, shut the fuck up," Taerae finally speaks up after only listening to the conversation. "He's not Korean, yet he still speaks so much better than you."

"That's kind of embarrassing," Yujin adds, receiving a nod from Taerae.

"Get outshined by a Chinese person, bitch!" Gyuvin exclaims, and for the first time, Ricky agrees with him.

"Hanbin," the woman says sweetly, trying to place her hand over her son's, yet he pulls away. "You're surrounding yourself with the wrong people, I mean, look at how they affect you! You think you're in love with that boy!"

With pure silence filling the air, Hanbin turns to face Hao. He cups the latter's cheeks and leans in to press a long, hard kiss on Hao's lips.

"Enough, Hanbin!" the woman shouts with a gasp. "I—"

"Don't wanna hear it. I thought that maybe you changed, and that maybe there was a possibility that you stopped being a xenophobic piece of shit, but some things never change." He stands up, the rest of the group following suit. "And, honestly, don't bother to contact me ever again, either. I don't want to be known as your son when you treat other human beings like this. Bye." Hand in hand with Hao, he storms out of the restaurant.

"Hope you're okay with paying," Gunwook says with a smile, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder on his way out with the rest of the group.

hanbeean
everyone i'm so so sorry

hanbeean
i wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt but she never wants to change

die100
it's understandable

die100
she's ur mom

ihoardsnacks5
lol

ihoardsnacks5
ur mom!

hanbeean
???? STOP 😭😭

die100
babe what the fuck is this behaviour

die100
anyways

die100
as i was saying

die100
she's ur mom

die100
and it's hard to go against her

die100
but u stood up for us so thanks

die100
takes a real one to do that

hanbeean
it's the least i could do

hanbeean
i've been a bystander too many times and i couldn't just watch this unfold anymore

jjanghao
thank you hanbinnie ☹️☹️

jjanghao
i thought i was gonna be all cool and talk back

jjanghao
but tbh i wanted to cry a little

alvinthechipmunk
I WAS GONNA START CRYING FOR U BRO LIKE WHAT WAS THAT

gymbro6000
the big juicy kiss was my fav part

taeraevision
MINE TOO

taeraevision
u should've seen the absolute horror on her face

fartmaster1000
i wish i did more 😢😢

jjanghao
u are still just a baby yujin

jjanghao
u did more than enough ❤️

fartmaster1000
i love u

jjanghao
😚😚

kjwng
I normally don't condone violence

kjwng
But it's on sight if I see this lady

die100
trust me i'll be beating her with a sock full of butter if i ever come across her

hanbeean
okay maybe no violence 😭😭

hanbeean
i'm cutting her off completely so she shouldn't be back anytime soon

hanbeean
or else guess who's getting a restraining order!!

kjwng
Are you sure you're okay cutting your mom out of the picture so abruptly?

hanbeean
oh trust me

hanbeean
i'm so happy i managed to say all of that

hanbeean
i don't need her talking about my friend and boyfriend like that

gymbro6000
hanbin

gymbro6000
ur so cool for that

gymbro6000
we love u and we love hao and ricky!!!!

gymbro6000 named the group hanbin fan club ‼️